Proposal would require details on NSA efforts
WASHINGTON – Exactly how many phone records of Americans does the National Security Agency collect in its massive surveillance program?
Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate, tucked a provision into the 2014 fiscal year defense spending bill that would require the NSA to report to Congress – within 90 days after the legislation becomes law – on the precise number of phone records collected, the total reviewed by NSA employees and all bulk collection activities, including how much they cost and when they began.
The NSA also would have to provide Congress with a list of potential terrorist attacks that have been thwarted because of the information obtained through the sweeping data collection program.
The Senate Appropriations Committee backed the report request Thursday in voting for the overall bill.
Egypt to cordon off pro-Morsi sit-in sites
CAIRO – Authorities outlined plans Friday to break up two sit-ins by supporters of deposed President Mohammed Morsi, saying they would set up a cordon around the protest sites, and riot police used tear gas to disperse demonstrators threatening a TV complex.
Morsi backers also showed their defiance by briefly setting up a third camp near the airport, but later folded their tents and left.
The military-backed interim government seeks to end a political stalemate that has paralyzed Egypt and deeply divided the country.
Supporters of Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood say they will not disperse until he is returned to power.
The second-ranking U.S. diplomat arrived in the Egyptian capital for talks on the political crisis, as Secretary of State John Kerry warned both sides that “the last thing we want is more violence.”
FDA ties food illness salad from Mexico farm
WASHINGTON – The Food and Drug Administration says an outbreak of stomach illnesses in Iowa and Nebraska is linked to salad mix served at Olive Garden and Red Lobster restaurants and supplied by a Mexican farm.
The outbreak of cyclospora infections has sickened more than 400 people in 16 states. The agency says it is working to determine whether the salad mix is the source of illnesses in the other states.
“It is not yet clear whether the cases reported from other states are all part of the same outbreak,” the agency said in a statement.
“The investigation of increased cases of cyclosporiasis in other states continues.”
The FDA traced illnesses from the restaurants to Taylor Farms de Mexico, a processor of food service salads.
Senators offer proposal to save Postal Service
Saturday mail delivery would be ended in a year and the U.S. Postal Service could start shipping alcoholic beverages under a plan offered Friday by two key senators seeking to turn around the struggling agency’s finances.
Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Tom Carper, D-Del., and the panel’s ranking Republican, Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, said they hope Congress can act quickly to help the agency.
The Postal Service lost $16 billion last year, $11 billion of it in congressionally-mandated payments to its health fund for future retirees.
The Senate plan includes changes in how pensions and retiree health costs are calculated in an attempt to stabilize the agency’s finances.
It also would save mail processing plants. The agency would be allowed to ship beer, wine and spirits to compete with private shippers such as FedEx, under the proposal.
Associated Press
