Topic: United States

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How well do you know the world of spying? Take our CIA and NSA quiz.

The history of US espionage can be as fascinating and mysterious as any spy novel. Think you’re a regular John Le Carré when it comes to this stuff? See if D.C. Decoder can stump you.

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Cellphone tracking: Police must obtain warrants, N.J. court says

State courts and legislatures are grappling with the murky legal principles governing police surveillance and privacy. One point of concern: GPS-enabled smart phones can now reveal razor-sharp details about a person’s movements.
John Kerry: 'Basis' reached for renewed Mideast talks; initial round in D.C.

On his sixth trip to Mideast in six months, John Kerry hailed 'significant ... step forward,' but said the Israeli and Palestinian agreement on the renewed peace talks were still 'being formalized.'
Former head of CIA: Huawei engaged in espionage for Chinese state

Former CIA chief Michael Hayden accused the Chinese telecom company Huawei of colluding with the Chinese government.
Stocks held back by tech sector

Stocks fell Friday led by a slump in technology stocks. Microsoft fell the most in more than four years after the company wrote off nearly $1 billion on its new tablet computer and reported declining revenue for its Windows operating system.
Why did Obama speak out on Trayvon Martin now?

While downplaying the prospect of a federal civil rights case against George Zimmerman, President Obama offered his own views on the impact of racial disparities on young black men and their families. 'There's a lot of pain,' he said.
Monitor Breakfast Why Sen. Carl Levin backs military's position on sexual-assault cases

Sen. Carl Levin (D), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, believes military sexual-assault cases should remain under the control of the chain of command. Many in his party disagree. What's his rationale?
Detroit bankruptcy: Already, clock is ticking to get in and out

The plan calls for Detroit, burdened by $18 billion in debt, to emerge from bankruptcy in 15 months. The timeline is ambitious but realistic, say bankruptcy experts. But some speed bumps have already appeared.
Verizon to let users upgrade phones more frequently

Verizon Wireless will let customers upgrade cellphones more frequently if they pay for their devices in installments.
Navy's first black pilot not forgotten as vet returns to North Korea

Navy's first black pilot: A retired Navy captain, heads to Pyongyang on Saturday with hopes of traveling in the coming week to the region known in North Korea as the Jangjin Reservoir, accompanied by soldiers from the Korean People's Army, to the spot where his wingman died in December 1950.
US promises to declassify more information on surveillance programs

US intelligence officials are working to declassify information on programs that have been partially disclosed, a senior official said on Friday.
For Nokia, Lumia sales are a bright spot in an otherwise bumpy quarter

The Lumia line is selling well in Europe and Asia. But Nokia sales in the US have been anemic.
Zimmerman won't get his gun back yet, per Justice Department. What's up? (+video)

The US Justice Department wants the George Zimmerman gun and other physical evidence in the Trayvon Martin shooting to be held intact, pending its civil rights probe. That might signal stepped-up activity by the feds, but analysts see reason to doubt they will ultimately file charges.
Italy eyes ex-CIA spook's extradition, complicating US ties

Panamanian authorities detained Robert Seldon Lady on request from Italy, which convicted him for the 2003 'rendition' kidnapping of a cleric in Milan.
Modern Parenthood Heat wave and kids: A revisit to the lessons of kids forgotten in cars

Heat waves, like the current scorcher, are reminders for parents: Stories of kids forgotten in hot cars are rare, but parents would still do well to take precautions to remind themselves of that quiet, sleeping baby in the backward-facing car seat.
Global News Blog Good Reads: From raising champions, to Norway’s slow TV, to making real friends

This week's round-up of Good Reads includes a profile of Olympian Missy Franklin, American sitcoms in Kyrgyzstan, a strange TV phenomenon in Norway, a 'slow friend' backlash to Facebook, and productive early risers.
Tomato woes and fixes

Most of the troubles stem from water and fertilizing issues. But beware the hornworm.
Are US and UK 'turning a blind eye' as Ethiopia uproots natives?

California think tank issues double-barreled report alleging Washington, London are willfully ignoring gross violations.
Africa Monitor Mandela and Africa in the American imagination (+video)

What Americans see in Africa often reveals more about our state of mind than it does about the realities on the continent.
How well do you know the world of spying? Take our CIA and NSA quiz.

The history of US espionage can be as fascinating and mysterious as any spy novel. Think you’re a regular John Le Carré when it comes to this stuff? See if D.C. Decoder can stump you.
Panama arrests former CIA station chief sought by Italy in rendition case

Robert Lady was the CIA station chief in Milan when wanted Egyptian cleric Nasr was pulled from the streets there and sent back to Egypt where his lawyer says he was tortured.
Top Picks: National Geographic's 'Inside the American Mob,' a café soundtrack for your computer, and more

Leon Fleisher's birthday is celebrated with a 23-CD box set, Chicago restaurant Hot Doug's gets its own book, and more.
June 2013 was world's fifth-hottest June on record, says NOAA

June 2013 broke monthly records over much of northern Canada, western Russia, southern Japan, the Philippines, part of southwestern China, and central southern Africa.
Jimmy Carter: Unchecked campaign contributions are 'legal bribery'

'It's accepted fact,' Carter said during a speech in Atlanta. 'It's legal bribery of candidates. And that repayment may be in the form of an ambassadorship...'
Palestinians: Israel must agree on borders

Kerry has been shuttling for months in search of a formula to allow resumption of talks for the first time since 2008. Israeli settlements remain at the heart of the deadlock.
Should Congress restore key part of Voting Rights Act? House hears both sides.

A House subcommittee hosted an exchange of views Thursday about the meaning of and potential fallout from the US Supreme Court’s decision last month that struck down a portion of the Voting Rights Act.