Federal officials' authority to track and disable drones set to expire, snared in budget battle

Suspected drone sightings in the eastern U.S. are continuing to captivate many, but the federal government's authority to track and disable any threatening unmanned aircraft is set to expire after Friday. A proposal to extend that authority is included in a temporary spending bill that continued to be debated in Congress on Thursday. The bill to avoid a government shutdown was thrown into question when President-elect Donald Trump called for its rejection. Homeland Security officials have been calling for a reauthorization and expansion of their drone authority. Meanwhile, the Federal Aviation Administration has temporarily banned drones over parts of New Jersey for a month.