Tags: U.S. Politics

The Republican-dominated Texas Legislature moved closer on Monday to passing some of the toughest abortion restrictions in the country, as the State House of Representatives approved a bill that would ban abortion clinics to the same standards as hospital-style surgical centers, the New York Times reported. Senate Bill 5, as it is known, will require clinics to be surgical centers and mandating that doctors have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals. These measures will would force dozens of abortion providers in the state to close, news reports said.

In his first congressional testimony since disclosure of the secretive programs, the director of the National Security Agency gave a forceful defense of spy operations that have stirred fears of government snooping and violations of privacy rights

President Obama defended the U.S. policy's long-standing Internet and phone monitoring programs as valuable tools in an effort to fight terrorism, deflecting criticism that government intrusion to people's phone calls has been too overreaching.