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| TSA agent killed, six hurt in Los Angeles airport shooting Friday, Nov 01, 2013 12:40 PM PDT By Tim Reid and Dana Feldman LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A gunman opened fire with an assault rifle in a terminal of Los Angeles International airport on Friday, killing a Transportation Security Agent and injuring at least six other people before he was shot and captured, authorities said on Friday. The incident prompted scenes of chaos at the airport, which halted departing flights and evacuated the terminal. Streets surrounding the airport were also shut down. "An individual came into Terminal 3 of this airport, pulled an assault rifle out of a bag and began to open fire in the terminal," Patrick Gannon, chief of the Los Angeles Airport Police said at a press conference. Full Story | Top |
| Israel vows to deny Hezbollah weapons as details of Syria raid emerge Friday, Nov 01, 2013 11:30 AM PDT  By Crispian Balmer JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel said it would not allow advanced weapons to fall into the hands of Hezbollah, after a raid on Syria that opposition sources said had hit an air force garrison believed to be holding Russian-made missiles destined for the militant group. Israel has a clear policy on Syria and will continue to enforce it, officials said on Friday, after U.S. and European sources said Israel had launched a new attack on its warring neighbor. Israel declined to comment on leaks to U.S. media that its planes had hit a Syrian base near the port of Latakia, targeting missiles that it thought were destined for its Lebanese enemy, Hezbollah. "We have said many times that we will not allow the transfer of advanced weapons to Hezbollah," said Home Front Defense Minister Gilad Erdan, a member of the inner security cabinet which met hours before the alleged Israeli attack. Full Story | Top |
| U.N. envoy says no preconditions for Syria peace talks Friday, Nov 01, 2013 07:47 AM PDT  By Erika Solomon BEIRUT (Reuters) - The United Nations envoy to Syria said on Friday there would be no preconditions for long-delayed peace talks, an assertion likely to anger an opposition movement that says it will only attend if the goal is to remove President Bashar al-Assad. Lakhdar Brahimi said he hoped the conference - known as Geneva 2 - could still be held in the next few weeks despite obstacles that have held it up for months. The talks are meant to bring Syria's warring sides to the negotiating table, but have been repeatedly delayed because of disputes between world powers, divisions among the opposition and the irreconcilable positions of Assad and the rebels. Brahimi has previously said he thought Assad would not be part of the transitional government that Geneva 2 would attempt to install. Full Story | Top |
| Adoption group calls for U.S. laws to stop online child trading Friday, Nov 01, 2013 11:05 AM PDT  A study by a major U.S. adoption research group calls for "targeted laws, policies and practices" to stop adoptive parents from giving their unwanted children to strangers through the Internet. The report, released by the Donaldson Adoption Institute this week, also says problems exposed by a Reuters investigation in September "should be seen as the tip of an iceberg of unmonitored, unregulated adoption-related activities taking place on the Internet." Reuters found that desperate parents turn to online groups to offer unwanted adopted children to others. The U.S. government is typically unaware of the arrangements or what becomes of those children. Through a survey of 1,500 adoptive parents and adoption professionals in the United States and abroad, researchers from the institute and Tufts University found that international adoption has shifted from mostly infants to a growing number of older children who have disabilities or other kinds of emotional, physical or behavioral problems. Full Story | Top |
| Fed officials eye inflation, jobs in dueling QE arguments Friday, Nov 01, 2013 12:44 PM PDT  By Alister Bull and Jonathan Spicer ST. LOUIS/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Top Federal Reserve officials on Friday gave only modest hints as to when a massive bond-buying program would be drawn down, with one saying they needed to wait for signs of rising inflation and two others reinforcing an argument the Fed has waited too long. Investors are trying to predict when the Fed will decide the U.S. economy and labor market are strong enough to withstand a reduction in the pace of quantitative easing (QE), in which $85 billion in assets are snapped up by the central bank each month to spur growth. The Fed, which has held interest rates near zero since late 2008 and quadrupled the size of its balance sheet to $3.8 trillion, opted this week to extend its policy support after a series of soft readings on the economy. St. Louis Fed President James Bullard, who backed the decision, said the huge balance sheet has created risks of financial instability and said officials would like to "get out of the uncharted territory if we can." But annual inflation, which was 1.2 percent in August according to the Fed's preferred measure of price pressures, remained too far beneath the central bank's self-imposed 2 percent medium-term goal, he said. Full Story | Top |
| Pakistani Taliban chief killed in drone strike Friday, Nov 01, 2013 12:14 PM PDT  By Mehreen Zahra-Malik and Saud Mehsud ISLAMABAD/DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan (Reuters) - The chief of the Pakistani Taliban was killed by a U.S. drone strike on Friday, security sources and a senior Taliban commander said. Hakimullah Mehsud was one of Pakistan's most wanted men with a $5 million U.S. bounty on his head. He led an insurgency from a secret hideout in North Waziristan, the Taliban's mountainous stronghold on the Afghan border. "We confirm with great sorrow that our esteemed leader was martyred in a drone attack," a senior Taliban commander told Reuters. Full Story | Top |
| Stock funds worldwide attract $12.4 billion, extending record inflows: BofA Friday, Nov 01, 2013 07:42 AM PDT  By Sam Forgione NEW YORK (Reuters) - Investors worldwide poured $12.4 billion into stock funds in the latest week, extending record inflows into the funds this year to $231 billion, data from a Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Research report showed Friday. The inflows into stock funds in the week ended October 30 marked the third straight week of investors seeking more risk in stocks, data from the report showed. The $231 billion inflows into stock funds this year, which are the most since records began in 2002, have dwarfed the previous record inflow of $69 billion in 2010, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch. The latest demand for stock funds came on expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve would stick to its current bond-buying program at its October meeting. Full Story | Top |
| Kerry to visit Egypt, tensions high before Mursi trial Friday, Nov 01, 2013 08:35 AM PDT  By Michael Georgy CAIRO (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will visit Egypt a day before deposed Islamist President Mohamed Mursi goes on trial, the next likely flashpoint in the struggle between his Muslim Brotherhood and the army-backed interim government. In Alexandria, seven people were wounded after residents clashed with Mursi supporters before security forces intervened, a security official said. Forty-five Mursi supporters were arrested. Ties between Washington and strategic ally Cairo have deteriorated since the overthrow of Mursi, Egypt's first democratically elected president. Full Story | Top |
| U.N. officials see risk of genocide in Central African Republic Friday, Nov 01, 2013 12:13 PM PDT  By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Central African Republic is at risk of spiraling into genocide as armed groups incite Christians and Muslims against each other in the virtually lawless country, senior U.N. officials told the Security Council on Friday. The landlocked, mineral-rich nation of 4.6 million people has slipped into chaos since northern Seleka rebels seized the capital, Bangui, and ousted President Francois Bozize in March. "More and more you have inter-sectarian violence because the Seleka targeted the churches and the Christians, so now the Christians have created self-defense militias and they are retaliating against the Muslims," said French U.N. Ambassador Gerard Araud after a briefing by U.N. rights and aid officials. Adama Dieng, U.N. special adviser on the prevention of genocide, John Ging, director of operations for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, and Ivan Simonovic, U.N. assistant secretary general for human rights, informally briefed the 15-member Security Council. Full Story | Top |
| Syrian army captures strategic town at approaches to Aleppo Friday, Nov 01, 2013 10:32 AM PDT  By Erika Solomon BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria's armed forces said on Friday they had captured a strategic northern town at the eastern gates of Aleppo, the former commercial hub long the scene of fierce fighting between government and rebel fighters. The town of Safira lies on a road the army said would be used to send in medicine and supplies to government-controlled areas of Aleppo, mired in a bloody stalemate for over a year. It is also the site of a chemical weapons installation under government control and cleared of equipment. The capture of Safira is significant in that it marks a rare victory for Assad's forces near the mostly rebel-held north. Full Story | Top |
| Four Palestinian militants killed in Gaza clashes with Israel Friday, Nov 01, 2013 08:40 AM PDT By Nidal al-Mughrabi GAZA (Reuters) - An Israeli air strike killed three militants in the Gaza Strip on Friday, the Islamist group Hamas said, hours after an overnight clash killed a fourth Palestinian gunman and wounded five Israeli soldiers. It was the worst violence between Israelis and Palestinians in the coastal enclave since a ceasefire ended an eight-day conflagration in November. There has also been a rise in shootings and clashes in the occupied West Bank in recent months, even as mediators push on with the latest round of U.S.-brokered peace talks - negotiations that observers say have shown little sign of progress. The Israeli military said its aircraft targeted a tunnel inside the southern Gaza Strip used by militants bent on attacking Israelis, and accused Hamas, Gaza's ruler, of breaching the terms of the ceasefire. Full Story | Top |
| "Do his phone," Murdoch editor told journalist hunting celebrity scoop Friday, Nov 01, 2013 11:16 AM PDT By Michael Holden LONDON (Reuters) - Andy Coulson, an editor of Rupert Murdoch's now defunct News of the World newspaper, instructed a journalist working on a story about a celebrity to "do his phone", a jury trying Coulson and three others for conspiring to hack phones was told on Friday. The trial was also told how a phone call from Queen Elizabeth's grandson Prince Harry was hacked, and fellow ex-editor Rebekah Brooks authorized payments at Murdoch's Sun tabloid to military figures for a picture of Prince William in a bikini and details of soldiers killed on active duty. Coulson and Brooks are the two most high-profile figures among eight defendants on trial on various charges related to phone-hacking, illegal payments to officials for stories, and hindering police investigations. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. factory growth readings mixed, but show expansion Friday, Nov 01, 2013 09:38 AM PDT  By Rodrigo Campos NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. manufacturing sector expanded at its fastest pace in years in October despite a partial government shutdown during the first half of the month, according to one industry report, though a separate reading cast doubt on the strength of factory activity growth. The Institute for Supply Management said on Friday its index of national factory activity rose to 56.4 in October, its best showing since April 2011. Both figures indicated expansion in the manufacturing sector and ISM's figure beat expectations of a slight slowdown in the growth rate. Treasuries prices sagged after the ISM data, while the U.S. dollar extended gains against both the euro and the yen. Full Story | Top |
| Snowden writes to Germans to seek support in spy row Friday, Nov 01, 2013 07:06 AM PDT  By Stephen Brown and Alexandra Hudson BERLIN (Reuters) - Fugitive U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden has told Germany he is counting on international support to stop Washington's 'persecution' of him for revealing the scale of its worldwide phone and Internet surveillance. In an open letter to a country at the center of the row over U.S. spying on allies, Snowden said his revelations had helped to "address formerly concealed abuses of the public trust". Complaining that Washington continued to "treat dissent as defection" and speaking of a "sustained campaign of persecution" that he said had forced him into exile in Russia, Snowden wrote that "speaking the truth is not a crime." "I am confident that with the support of the international community, the government of the United States will abandon this harmful behavior," read his letter to Chancellor Angela Merkel, the German parliament and German federal prosecutors. Snowden gave the letter to German lawmaker Hans-Christian Stroebele, who presented it to the media in Berlin on Friday. Full Story | Top |
| JPMorgan discloses wider probes of hiring, currency trading Friday, Nov 01, 2013 05:52 AM PDT  (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co, the biggest U.S. bank by assets, disclosed on Friday that the U.S. Department of Justice and agencies from other jurisdictions are investigating hiring practices in Hong Kong that were already being probed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. JPMorgan also gave more details about U.S. government investigations into the bank's relationship with convicted Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff. Two government offices, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, are currently looking into the ties between Madoff and the bank. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York is also investigating the bank's activities in the California and Midwest power markets that were the subject of a $410 million settlement between JPMorgan and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Full Story | Top |
| NATO stages exercise as rearming Russia worries some allies Friday, Nov 01, 2013 12:15 AM PDT By Peter Apps LONDON (Reuters) - When NATO forces start a major exercise in Latvia and Poland this weekend, they will be rehearsing how to oust an anonymous invading enemy from a fictional region. For some, however, exercise "Steadfast Jazz" will test how the Western alliance could deploy rapid reaction forces to its eastern flank - which borders Russia. A militarily resurgent and swiftly rearming Russia is alarming NATO states that lie close to its territory, chiefly the Baltic States. Other alliance members are simply baffled, wondering why Moscow feels the need to spend vast sums on meeting a threat from the West they say will never materialize. Full Story | Top |
| Turkey, Iran signal thaw in ties amid mutual concern on Syria Friday, Nov 01, 2013 04:26 AM PDT  By Humeyra Pamuk ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey and Iran said on Friday they had common concerns about the increasingly sectarian nature of Syria's civil war, signaling a thaw in a key Middle Eastern relationship strained by stark differences over the conflict. Iran has been a staunch ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad since the start of the 32-month-old uprising against him, while Turkey has been one of his fiercest critics, supporting the opposition and giving refuge to rebel fighters. But the election in June of President Hassan Rouhani, a relative moderate who says he wants to thaw Iran's icy relations with the West, and shared concern over the rise of al Qaeda in Syria, have spurred hopes of a rapprochement. "Sitting here together with the Iranian foreign minister you can be sure we will be working together to fight these types of scenarios which aim to see a sectarian conflict," Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told a conference in Istanbul. Full Story | Top |
| Insight: Militant financing case puts Israel and China in spotlight Friday, Nov 01, 2013 02:52 AM PDT  By Crispian Balmer JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Long determined to deprive Islamist groups of funding, Israel has unexpectedly hit the brakes in a U.S. court case centered on allegations that the Bank of China knowingly let cash flow to Palestinian militants. Apparently reluctant to send a former Israeli intelligence official who is a potentially crucial witness to testify in New York, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces accusations from his critics that he might let the case unravel rather than put bilateral trade ties with Beijing at risk. The law suit against the Bank of China was brought by the American family of Daniel Wultz, a 16-year-old killed while on holiday in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv in a 2006 suicide attack claimed by the Islamic Jihad faction during a Palestinian uprising. From the horror of the attack grew a complex investigation that has already seen the governments of Iran and Syria convicted in a U.S. court for sponsoring Islamic Jihad. Full Story | Top |
| China's Xinhua says 'Peeping Tom' U.S. risks own security by spying on allies Friday, Nov 01, 2013 04:00 AM PDT The United States country risks its own security by refusing to trust even its own friends and spying on its allies, China's official Xinhua news agency said on Friday, labeling the latest revelations heart-stoppingly fascinating. It is particularly hurtful to those supposed to trust America the most - its allies," Xinhua said in an English-language commentary, peppered with colorful language. "What is counter-intuitive in the NSA forage is its nonsensical approach: relentless and indiscriminate like a vacuum cleaner. It just bugs everybody, even its closest allies in Europe," it added. Full Story | Top |
| Kerry to make first trip to Egypt since Mursi's ouster Friday, Nov 01, 2013 03:38 AM PDT  U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will visit Egypt on Sunday for the first time since the army toppled the country's first freely elected president on July 3, state news agency MENA said. It said the visit to Egypt, whose alliance with the United States has come under strain, would only last several hours. Ties between Washington and Cairo have deteriorated since the overthrow of President Mohamed Mursi, an Islamist who was elected last year. A popular uprising toppled authoritarian ruler Hosni Mubarak, a longtime U.S. ally, in February 2011. Full Story | Top |
| Federal appeals court reinstates abortion restrictions in Texas Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 10:33 PM PDT  By Brendan O'Brien (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Thursday reinstated a Texas abortion restriction that was blocked by a lower court this week, allowing nearly all of the state's sweeping anti-abortion law to go into effect. The decision by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals means doctors who perform abortions in Texas must have admitting privileges with local hospitals within 30 miles of their clinic, according to court documents. The Texas law passed in July was the most fiercely debated proposal to restrict abortions in the United States this year. The Appeals Court overturned U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel's ruling on Monday, a day before the law was due to go into effect, that a section of the measure pertaining to admitting privileges was unconstitutional after supporters said it would force clinics to close. Full Story | Top |
| Enrollment in Obamacare very small in first days: documents Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 06:16 PM PDT  By Susan Cornwell and David Morgan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Enrollment in health insurance plans on the troubled Obamacare website was very small in the first couple of days of operation, with just 248 Americans signing up, according to documents released on Thursday by a U.S. House of Representatives committee. The Obama administration has said it cannot provide enrollment figures from HealthCare.gov because it doesn't have the numbers. The federal website, where residents of 36 states can buy new healthcare plans under President Barack Obama's law, was launched on October 1. "We do not have any reliable data around enrollment, which is why we haven't given it to date," Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told lawmakers on Wednesday. Full Story | Top |
| Syria meets deadline to destroy chemical production facilities Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 07:42 PM PDT  By Dominic Evans BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria has destroyed or rendered inoperable all of its declared chemical weapons production and mixing facilities, meeting a major deadline in an ambitious disarmament program, the international chemical weapons watchdog said Thursday. The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which won the Nobel Peace prize this month, said its teams had inspected 21 out of 23 chemical weapons sites across the country. Syria "has completed the functional destruction of critical equipment for all of its declared chemical weapons production facilities and mixing/filling plants, rendering them inoperable," it said, meeting a November 1 deadline for the work. The next target date is November 15, by when the OPCW and Syria must agree to a detailed plan of destruction, including how and where to destroy more than 1,000 metric tonnes of toxic agents and munitions. Full Story | Top |
| Fannie Mae sues nine banks for rigging Libor Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 06:14 PM PDT  By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK (Reuters) - Fannie Mae sued nine of the world's largest banks on Thursday, accusing them of colluding to manipulate interest rates and seeking more than $800 million of damages. In a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan, the government-controlled mortgage company accused the banks of conspiring for many years to suppress Libor, or the London Interbank Offered Rate, including during the 2008 financial crisis. Libor underpins hundreds of trillions of dollars of transactions, and is used to set interest rates on such things as credit cards, student loans and mortgages. But according to Thursday's 71-page lawsuit, "defendants' promises and representations regarding the legitimacy of Libor were false," causing Fannie Mae to lose money on swaps, mortgages, mortgage securities and other transactions. Full Story | Top |
| Senate panel passes plan to restrict but keep mass surveillance Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 06:28 PM PDT  By Patricia Zengerle and Joseph Menn WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate Intelligence Committee approved legislation on Thursday that would tighten controls on the government's sweeping electronic eavesdropping programs but allow them to continue. In a classified hearing, the panel voted 11-4 for a measure that puts new limits on what intelligence agencies can do with bulk communications records and imposes a five-year limit on how long they can be retained. Despite growing national concern about surveillance, the "FISA Improvements Act" would not eliminate programs that became public this year after former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden leaked documents describing how the government collects far more internet and telephone data than previously known. "The NSA call-records program is legal and subject to extensive congressional and judicial oversight, and I believe it contributes to our national security. Full Story | Top |
| German MP meets Snowden, says he is willing to come to Germany for inquiry Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 03:19 PM PDT  By Alexandra Hudson BERLIN (Reuters) - A German lawmaker said he met Edward Snowden in Moscow on Thursday and the fugitive former U.S. spy agency contractor was willing to come to Germany to assist investigations into alleged U.S. surveillance of Chancellor Angela Merkel. Hans-Christian Stroebele, a legislator for the opposition Greens party, told German broadcaster ARD it was clear Snowden "knew a lot" and that he would share details of their surprise meeting including a letter from Snowden addressed to the German government and chief federal prosecutor on Friday. "He made it clear he knows a lot and that as long as the National Security Agency (NSA) blocks investigations..., he is prepared to come to Germany and give testimony, but the conditions must be discussed," said Stroebele. Germany is a close ally of the United States. Full Story | Top |
| AIG earnings point to room for improvement-analysts Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 04:13 PM PDT  AIG, which saw sour derivative bets threaten the company's future five years ago, saw stronger commercial lines business. Analysts said they had expected better results in its consumer lines business. AIG "is becoming a normal company," Sanford C. Bernstein & Co analyst Josh Stirling said. "They're making great progress in fixing their underwriting in their commercial lines business, but still have more progress to make in consumer lines. Full Story | Top |
| Obama halted NSA spying on IMF and World Bank headquarters Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 03:49 PM PDT  By Mark Hosenball WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama has ordered the National Security Agency to stop eavesdropping on the headquarters of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank as part of a review of intelligence gathering activities, according to a U.S. official familiar with the matter. The order is the latest move by the White House to demonstrate that it is willing to curb at least some surveillance in the wake of leaks by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden of programs that collect huge quantities of data on U.S. allies and adversaries, and American citizens. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. to allow expanded electronic device use on flights Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 01:59 PM PDT  Airline passengers will soon be able to use certain electronic devices throughout their entire flight after the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration ended a long-standing ban on Thursday. Mobile phone calls remain barred under Federal Communications Commission rules. Delta Air Lines Inc and JetBlue Corp quickly filed plans with the FAA to show that their aircraft can tolerate radio signals from electronic devices, a condition required by the regulator. The change is likely to boost the use of gadgets such as Amazon Inc's Kindle readers or Apple Inc's iPad. Full Story | Top |
| Syria meets deadline to destroy chemical production facilities Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 02:01 PM PDT  By Dominic Evans BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria has destroyed or rendered inoperable all of its declared chemical weapons production and mixing facilities, meeting a major deadline in an ambitious disarmament program, the international chemical weapons watchdog said Thursday. The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which won the Nobel Peace prize this month, said its teams had inspected 21 out of 23 chemical weapons sites across the country. Syria "has completed the functional destruction of critical equipment for all of its declared chemical weapons production facilities and mixing/filling plants, rendering them inoperable," it said, meeting a November 1 deadline for the work. The next target date is November 15, by when the OPCW and Syria must agree to a detailed plan of destruction, including how and where to destroy more than 1,000 metric tonnes of toxic agents and munitions. Full Story | Top |
| Obamacare website gets new tech experts; oversight pressure grows Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 02:50 PM PDT By Susan Cornwell and David Morgan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration said it has brought in experts from top technology companies including Google Inc and Oracle Corp to fix the HealthCare.gov website, as Republicans press for details about the botched October 1 launch that prevented millions of Americans from signing up for new insurance plans. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said it had added dozens of technology experts and engineers to its round-the-clock effort to fix the technical glitches on the site that is key to the implementation of President Barack Obama's healthcare restructuring law. Giving some of the first details of who might be leading the tech fix, HHS officials identified two experts by name: Michael Dickerson, a website reliability engineer on leave from Google, and Greg Gershman, a Baltimore-based innovation director with the firm Mobomo and who previously worked for the White House and the General Services Administration. "We are doing everything we can to assist those contractors to make HealthCare.gov a highly performant, highly reliable, highly secure system." Oracle CEO Larry Ellison told shareholders at the company's annual meeting on Thursday in Redwood City, California. Full Story | Top |
| Senate panel passes plan to restrict, not end, surveillance Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 03:59 PM PDT By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate Intelligence Committee approved legislation on Thursday to tighten controls on the government's sweeping electronic eavesdropping programs, but allows them to continue. In a classified hearing, the panel voted 11-4 for a measure that puts new limits on what intelligence agencies can do with bulk communications records and imposes a five-year limit on how long they can be retained. Despite growing national concern about surveillance, the "FISA Improvements Act" would not eliminate the program, which became public earlier this year when former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden leaked information that the government collects far more internet and telephone data than previously known. "The NSA call-records program is legal and subject to extensive congressional and judicial oversight, and I believe it contributes to our national security. Full Story | Top |
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