From KCRW in Santa Monica and PRI, Public Radio International, this is To the Point.

Countdown for the Patriot Act.

I'm Barbara Bogave, sitting in for Warren Alley, and this is To the Point from Public Radio International,

a daily look at the issues Americans care about most.

The NSA's bulk collection of Americans' phone records is due to expire June 1st if Congress can

agree on a set of reforms. Republican leaders in the Senate want to keep surveillance as is.

House lawmakers are trying to scale back the government's power.

If phone companies take over the data collection for the NSA, will the nation be less secure?

A look at the future of spying.

Also today, Newton's Apple, Galileo in the Leaning Tower of Pisa, why myths like these about the evolution of science harm us more than you might think.

The real story on how humans went from living in trees to understanding the cosmos.

First News.

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Continuous coverage on our mobile app or online at KCRW.com.

Support for To the Point comes from the members of KCRW and from the Public Radio International

Program Fund. This is To the Point on Barbara Bogavin for Warren Alney. Just ahead, a turning point for spying. Will Congress renew or reform disputed provisions in the Patriot Act, including the bulk collection of phone records? And later on our talking point, myth-making and the history of science, how stories like Newton's Apple keep us from developing a more sophisticated

approach to scientific controversies facing us today. That's all coming up. First,

this news update, though. Last night and this morning, a massive storm system hammered parts

of Oklahoma, Texas, and northern Mexico, causing at least 22 deaths, devastating floods, power outages, and leaving

dozens missing or stranded. Houston, the fourth largest city in the U.S. has been hit with

11 inches of rain so far, forcing a citywide shutdown of schools and transit systems. At least

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