All DC Decoder
When in doubt, NSA searches information on AmericansAccording to newly revealed secret documents, the NSA retains wide discretion over targeting individuals for surveillance聽鈥� including, potentially, Americans. Civil libertarians say 'it confirms our worst fears.'- Gay rights bombshell: Why key 'gay conversion' group is closingExodus International, a leading practitioner of 'gay conversion' therapy, is closing after 37 years, as its president apologizes for causing 'pain and hurt.' A new ministry will replace it, leaving gay rights advocates wary.
Remember Mitt Romney's (proposed) garage with the elevator? It's back.Ann Romney spoke at a town council meeting in La Jolla, Calif., to speed up consideration of permits to expand the family's coastal home 鈥� a luxury project that figured in the 2012 race.
Obama nuke proposals: Status quo, or too risky?Obama's offer to Russia to jointly cut deployed strategic nukes was just part of a broader, and more cautious, nuclear weapons strategy announced by the White House.聽
Obama pushes big cut in nuclear weapons. Is that a good idea?In Berlin, President Obama calls for cutting US deployed nuclear weapons by one-third and urges NATO allies to pursue 'the security of a world without nuclear weapons.'
House GOP passes major antiabortion bill. Why Democrats are pleased.House Republicans passed legislation Tuesday that would ban abortions after 20 weeks' pregnancy. The party's social conservative base is happy, but Democrats see a political boon.聽
Immigration reform: Senate Republicans on the cusp of buying in?Republican senators are bringing new momentum to the bid to boost support for immigration reform, even as the GOP-controlled House strikes a harsher tone.
Immigration reform tying House Republicans in knotsHouse Speaker John Boehner said Tuesday that immigration reform will not come to the floor without majority Republican support, hurting its prospects. Yet the House GOP is also planning outreach to Hispanic voters.聽
Is NSA exaggerating its surveillance successes?Critics of NSA data-mining and Internet surveillance programs discount Tuesday's report that such efforts foiled 50 terrorist attacks 鈥� 10 of them in the US. Here's why they remain skeptics.
NSA chief: Snooping helped thwart 50 terrorist attacks in 20 countriesNSA Director Keith Alexander, responding to critics, tells Congress that surveillance programs disrupted plots to bomb the New York Stock Exchange and subway system.
FocusIn the end, NSA might not need to snoop so secretlyNSA data-collection programs have spawned support and criticism. But in an era when many Americans already know their personal information is being gathered, perhaps being more open about it would help, some say.
Gun control: Why Vice President Biden is trying againVice President Biden on Tuesday will tout executive action on gun control and push to revive legislation. But the recent news on NSA data-mining could make it even harder to get votes.
Can immigration reform pass? Five senators to watch. Immigration reform will pass the Senate before the Fourth of July, Senate majority leader Harry Reid (D) of Nevada has vowed. Here are five key senators (or groups of senators) that will be pivotal during the two weeks of debate.
Obama job approval drops 17 points among young AmericansThe latest poll from CNN is bad news for the president, who rode to reelection on the backs of young and minority voters. But Republicans are doing even worse.
Sarah Palin returns to Fox: What did she say?Sarah Palin goes lite on whistleblower Edward Snowden 鈥� 'nothing will ever be the same for this man' 鈥� and calls for 'more revelations' about what a 'big, overgrown government' is doing.
Dick Cheney: Edward Snowden a 'traitor' who likely spied for ChinaOfficials and lawmakers are scrambling to explain the National Security Agency's massive surveillance program leaked by former intelligence analyst Edward Snowden. Many of them weighed in on the Sunday TV news shows.
In Syria, do Americans hear echoes of Vietnam and Iraq?Polls consistently show most Americans oppose direct military involvement in the Syrian civil war. But that changes with the presumption that the Assad regime has used chemical weapons.
Did Bill Clinton goad Obama into stepping up in Syria?Former President Clinton told a private forum this week that President Obama would look like 'a total fool' if he followed public opinion too closely on Syria. Now the US is sending small arms to the rebels.
US military aid to Syria rebels: Why Obama is starting with the minimumObama's cautious shift away from providing only non-lethal assistance to Syria's rebels reflects continued deep misgivings about sending US arms into the war and a desire to keep a door open to diplomacy.
NSA surveillance 101: What US intelligence agencies are doing, what they know US intelligence agencies are gathering massive amounts of US telephone calling data and social media data on both foreigners and citizens. 锘縃ere are seven questions and answers about what is known so far.
