US surveillance powers expired when Senate deal failed

US anti-terror provisions that allow security services to bulk collect phone data expire midnight after the Senate failed to reach a deal on renewing the post-9/11 Patriot Act.
A vote on the Freedom Act, a revised bill that imposes greater controls on phone data collection, will not take place until mid-week.The White House has described this failure as an "irresponsible lapse" by the Senate.
"On a matter as critical as our national security, individual Senators must put aside their partisan motivations and act swiftly. The American people deserve nothing less," it said in a statement. Read DEBKAfile Special Report on the ramifications of the Act's non-renewal.