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LEX 18 News - Lexington, KY (WLEX)

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1 story credited to LEX 18 News - Lexington, KY (WLEX)

Latest story Apr 15, 2026 · on ChamberLight since Apr 2026

A story can appear as several articles (copies of the same piece), so counts of stories and of articles differ.

Scores for LEX 18 News - Lexington, KY (WLEX)

Credibility

Not enough stories yet: 1 of 10.

How this is measured

Political lean

Not enough stories yet: 1 of 10.

How this is measured

Originality

Not enough stories yet: 1 of 10.

How this is measured

Writing quality not enough rated stories yet: 1 of 10. How it is measured

Scores last checked Sep 25, 2026.

Stories ChamberLight collected, by month

Stories credited to LEX 18 News - Lexington, KY (WLEX), by publication date. ChamberLight collects articles that mention the officials it tracks, so this shows its own coverage of this source, not how much the source publishes.

  • Stories from LEX 18 News - Lexington, KY (WLEX)
  • Shaded: ChamberLight collected no stories, or almost none, from any outlet (a gap in its collection, not in the outlet’s publishing)
Show as a table
MonthStoriesAll outlets
April 202612,577
May 20260none collected
June 20260none collected
July 20260none collected
August 202601 (collection gap)
September 202601,320

Top topics

Share of this source’s stories tagged with each topic. A story can carry several topics, so the shares do not add up to 100%.

  • Criminal Justice1

    100% of 1 stories · 19% across all outlets

  • Defense/Military1

    100% of 1 stories · 25% across all outlets

  • Ethics/Corruption1

    100% of 1 stories · 58% across all outlets

The thin mark on each bar is the topic’s share across all outlets.

Who they cover

Party of the officials these stories are mainly about, across all 2 officials named. A story counts once for each official it is mainly about, so the split is over 2 story–official pairs, from 1 story.

  • Democrat50% · 1 pair
  • Republican50% · 1 pair

Most covered

Stories mainly about each official, and their share of the source’s 1 story.

  1. 1Donald TrumpR1 story · 100%
  2. 2Tulsi GabbardD1 story · 100%

Article tone

ChamberLight’s article analysis assigns each story a tone toward the official it covers. It describes the coverage of that official, not LEX 18 News - Lexington, KY (WLEX)’s stance, and reader votes do not change it. 1 story.

Good Look
0 (0%)
Mixed
1 (100%)
Informational
0 (0%)
Bad Look
0 (0%)

Challenges to these scores

No one has challenged a score on this page yet. Anyone can; editors publish every outcome here.

Articles served from lex18.com

2

Trump urges extending foreign surveillance program as some lawmakers push for US privacy protections

Congress is set to take up the reauthorization of a divisive program that lets U.S. spy agencies pore over foreigners' calls, texts and emails, with supporters like President Donald Trump saying it has saved lives while critics point to long-standing concerns about warrantless surveillance of Americans. A key provision of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act permits the CIA, National Security Agency, FBI and other agencies to collect and analyze vast amounts of overseas communications without a warrant. It incidentally sweeps up the conversations of any Americans who interact with those foreigners targeted for surveillance. The program expires Monday, and critics want changes, including a requirement for warrants before authorities can access the emails, phone calls or text messages of Americans. They also want limits on the government's use of internet data brokers, who sell large volumes of personal information gleaned online, offering the government what critics say amounts to an end-run around the Constitution. Planned votes on the legislation were canceled Wednesday as an agreement between House Republican leaders and some rank-and-file members remained elusive. Members have pushed back despite a pressure campaign that included a trip to the White House and direct involvement from CIA Director John Ratcliffe. The chances of significant changes, however, seem to have dropped since Trump announced his support for the program's renewal, saying it had proved its worth in supplying information vital to recent U.S. actions in Venezuela and Iran. The fact is, whether you like FISA or not, it is extremely important to our military, Trump said on social media Tuesday. Trump calls for another extension of the program U.S. authorities say the program, known as Section 702 of the law, is essential to national security and has saved lives by uncovering terrorist plots. Critics question what they say is a dangerous infringement on civil liberties and privacy. In a Truth Social post, Trump said a different FISA provision was used to spy on his 2016 campaign but that he supported Section 702's renewal despite misgivings that political adversaries could use parts of the law against him in the future. He urged lawmakers to extend the foreign surveillance program for 18 more months. My administration has worked tirelessly to ensure these FISA reforms are being aggressively executed at every level of the Executive Branch to keep Americans safe, while protecting our sacred Civil Liberties guaranteed by our Great Constitution, Trump wrote. The Republican president is a longtime critic of the nation's intelligence services and was once opposed to Section 702 before he reversed himself. His director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, sponsored legislation to repeal Section 702 as a Hawaii congresswoman but now supports it. She says new protections added since her time in Congress helped change her mind. Some Republican House members who have opposed the extension without changes went to the White House late Tuesday to discuss the matter. Ratcliffe also met with lawmakers early Wednesday. I am asking Republicans to UNIFY, and vote together on the test vote to bring a clean Bill to the floor, Trump said Wednesday. We need to stick together. Greater protections are sought for Americans' communications In addition to a requirement for a warrant to access Americans' data, critics also want greater protections on how the FBI or other agencies can search communications and how that is reported to the public. Journalists, foreign aid workers, people with family overseas, all could have their communications swept up in this surveillance merely because they talked to someone outside of this country, said Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore. He is pushing for changes that he said will ensure the government is not violating civil rights in secret. Several Republicans also have suggested changes, such as the warrant requirement. National security and civil liberties are not mutually exclusive, said Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz. We can give our intelligence professionals the tools they need to target foreign threats while ensuring that Americans are not subjected to unconstitutional surveillance. Gabbard's office releases an annual report showing the number of foreign surveillance targets and number of searches likely to identify an American. For 2025, the number of foreign surveillance targets increased to nearly 350,000 from almost 292,000 in 2024. Searches using terms likely to identify an American decreased slightly to 7,724 from 7,845 in 2024. The totals are incomplete because agencies such as the FBI have found ways to access the data without reporting the searches publicly, said Elizabeth Goitein, senior director of the Liberty and National Security Program at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University. FBI officials repeatedly violated their own standards when searching for intelligence related to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol and racial justice protests in 2020, according to a 2024 court order. Its reminiscent of J. Edgar Hoover's tenure at the FBI, Goitein said, referring to the FBI's founding director who used illegal surveillance to harass and spy on Americans. They can pretty much target anyone." There's little time to make changes to the law Despite bipartisan concerns about the law and its implications for civil liberties, time is running out for Congress to make any changes before Monday's expiration. Trump's support also reduces the odds that enough Republicans will break ranks and join Democrats to push for an overhaul. Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, announced a proposal Tuesday that would require the Justice Department to seek a court order before the FBI could access search results involving Americans. Himes said in a statement that he wants to see Section 702 renewed with new protections. It is too critical to allow it to expire, but the legitimate concerns about the possibility of abuse also demand that we consider additional reforms, he said. The best chance for inserting changes likely is the House, where a large number of lawmakers from both parties have expressed concerns. But Rep. Rick Crawford, an Arkansas Republican who leads the House Intelligence Committee, is backing Trump's call for an 18-month renewal. Crawford has said he believes the government can empower spy agencies while also holding them accountable.

Apr 15, 202611 votes

Trump urges extending foreign surveillance program as some lawmakers push for US privacy protections

Congress is set to take up the reauthorization of a divisive program that lets U.S. spy agencies pore over foreigners' calls, texts and emails, with supporters like President Donald Trump saying it has saved lives while critics point to long-standing concerns about warrantless surveillance of Americans. A key provision of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act permits the CIA, National Security Agency, FBI and other agencies to collect and analyze vast amounts of overseas communications without a warrant. It incidentally sweeps up the conversations of any Americans who interact with those foreigners targeted for surveillance. The program expires Monday, and critics want changes, including a requirement for warrants before authorities can access the emails, phone calls or text messages of Americans. They also want limits on the government's use of internet data brokers, who sell large volumes of personal information gleaned online, offering the government what critics say amounts to an end-run around the Constitution. Planned votes on the legislation were canceled Wednesday as an agreement between House Republican leaders and some rank-and-file members remained elusive. Members have pushed back despite a pressure campaign that included a trip to the White House and direct involvement from CIA Director John Ratcliffe. The chances of significant changes, however, seem to have dropped since Trump announced his support for the program's renewal, saying it had proved its worth in supplying information vital to recent U.S. actions in Venezuela and Iran. The fact is, whether you like FISA or not, it is extremely important to our military, Trump said on social media Tuesday. Trump calls for another extension of the program U.S. authorities say the program, known as Section 702 of the law, is essential to national security and has saved lives by uncovering terrorist plots. Critics question what they say is a dangerous infringement on civil liberties and privacy. In a Truth Social post, Trump said a different FISA provision was used to spy on his 2016 campaign but that he supported Section 702's renewal despite misgivings that political adversaries could use parts of the law against him in the future. He urged lawmakers to extend the foreign surveillance program for 18 more months. My administration has worked tirelessly to ensure these FISA reforms are being aggressively executed at every level of the Executive Branch to keep Americans safe, while protecting our sacred Civil Liberties guaranteed by our Great Constitution, Trump wrote. The Republican president is a longtime critic of the nation's intelligence services and was once opposed to Section 702 before he reversed himself. His director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, sponsored legislation to repeal Section 702 as a Hawaii congresswoman but now supports it. She says new protections added since her time in Congress helped change her mind. Some Republican House members who have opposed the extension without changes went to the White House late Tuesday to discuss the matter. Ratcliffe also met with lawmakers early Wednesday. I am asking Republicans to UNIFY, and vote together on the test vote to bring a clean Bill to the floor, Trump said Wednesday. We need to stick together. Greater protections are sought for Americans' communications In addition to a requirement for a warrant to access Americans' data, critics also want greater protections on how the FBI or other agencies can search communications and how that is reported to the public. Journalists, foreign aid workers, people with family overseas, all could have their communications swept up in this surveillance merely because they talked to someone outside of this country, said Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore. He is pushing for changes that he said will ensure the government is not violating civil rights in secret. Several Republicans also have suggested changes, such as the warrant requirement. National security and civil liberties are not mutually exclusive, said Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz. We can give our intelligence professionals the tools they need to target foreign threats while ensuring that Americans are not subjected to unconstitutional surveillance. Gabbard's office releases an annual report showing the number of foreign surveillance targets and number of searches likely to identify an American. For 2025, the number of foreign surveillance targets increased to nearly 350,000 from almost 292,000 in 2024. Searches using terms likely to identify an American decreased slightly to 7,724 from 7,845 in 2024. The totals are incomplete because agencies such as the FBI have found ways to access the data without reporting the searches publicly, said Elizabeth Goitein, senior director of the Liberty and National Security Program at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University. FBI officials repeatedly violated their own standards when searching for intelligence related to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol and racial justice protests in 2020, according to a 2024 court order. Its reminiscent of J. Edgar Hoover's tenure at the FBI, Goitein said, referring to the FBI's founding director who used illegal surveillance to harass and spy on Americans. They can pretty much target anyone." There's little time to make changes to the law Despite bipartisan concerns about the law and its implications for civil liberties, time is running out for Congress to make any changes before Monday's expiration. Trump's support also reduces the odds that enough Republicans will break ranks and join Democrats to push for an overhaul. Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, announced a proposal Tuesday that would require the Justice Department to seek a court order before the FBI could access search results involving Americans. Himes said in a statement that he wants to see Section 702 renewed with new protections. It is too critical to allow it to expire, but the legitimate concerns about the possibility of abuse also demand that we consider additional reforms, he said. The best chance for inserting changes likely is the House, where a large number of lawmakers from both parties have expressed concerns. But Rep. Rick Crawford, an Arkansas Republican who leads the House Intelligence Committee, is backing Trump's call for an 18-month renewal. Crawford has said he believes the government can empower spy agencies while also holding them accountable.

Apr 15, 202618 votes