In 2009, the FBI reported to Congress that it had used Section 215 only 21 times to access business records. That total had soared by last year to 212 requests—a 1,000% increase. Experts say this indicates a broadening interpretation of the provision on the part of government, so that it is being applied not only to targeted individuals but to Americans who have no apparent ties to terrorist activity.   read more

Lawmakers who say they were never told about the program are dismissive. “It's playing with words. What does ‘brief’ mean?” Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-West Virginia) said to NPR. “I would [typically] go up there to the White House and get briefed, and come back knowing nothing.”   read more

Presumably, the information gathered includes phone calls, emails, text messages, social network posts, credit card purchases and bank transactions, among other items of interest. Whether the Bush and Obama administrations have shared this information with “friendly” dictators is not known…yet.   read more

Ellsberg was initially charged with theft, conspiracy and violating the Espionage Act of 1917, all charges against him were eventually dropped, and he was widely regarded as a hero. Forty years later, the Obama administration and its allies have gone to great lengths to portray Manning as a traitor, and they appear to be gearing up to do the same with Snowden.   read more

Crossing the border to enter or leave the U.S. can mean border agents legally searching, and even confiscating, a person’s laptop, cell phone and other electronic devices—solely on the grounds of having a “hunch” that something may be amiss. Agents with Customs and Border Protection and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement have seized Americans and others’ possession without any real suspicion of wrongdoing or possible threat.   read more

The appellate court said limiting layoffs to unionized employees violated their constitutional right of association. “[I]mportantly, defendants have not shown why the State’s fiscal health required firing only union members, rather than implementing membership-neutral layoffs,” Judge Gerard E. Lynch wrote for the court.   read more

Northrop Grumman hopes DHS will like its automated tracking device that was first developed to help soldiers detect roadside bombs in Afghanistan. General Atomics, which builds reconnaissance drones, is hoping to sell more of the aircraft as part of a $443 million contract. If the legislation as currently drafted becomes law, DHS will have only six months to offer up ways to achieve “effective control” and “persistent surveillance” of the entire 1,969-mile border with Mexico.   read more

President Barack Obama said that he welcomed “this debate,” although his actions make it clear that there is no room for debate. Despite the assurances of Obama and Clapper, civil liberties advocates point out that there is no guarantee whatsoever that use of the gathered information is limited to combating terrorism.   read more

The court order allows the NSA to gather phone records on a daily basis for three months until July 19. The data is then turned over to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for use in counterterrorism investigations. The order appears to be simply the latest in a program that has gone on for seven years. According to an ACLU analysis of the order, the NSA wants to know “when you’re calling, who calls you, how long you talk, and maybe where you’re calling from.”   read more

In 2012, reports of murder, rape, and similar violent crimes increased in the West as well as in major metropolitan areas of the United States. In the Western U.S., violent crime rose 3.3%, according to data released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.   read more

Three conservative Supreme Court judges—Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr.—joined liberal Stephen Breyer and swing-vote Anthony Kennedy in deciding it’s okay for police to use DNA tests to identify suspects in custody, rather than just to find those responsible for unsolved crimes.   read more

The Wall Street Journal and other news organizations seeking doctor-specific information will still have to file Freedom of Information Act requests, which will then be reviewed on a case-by-case basis by the Department of Health and Human Services. In 2012, the Obama administration, as part of the Affordable Care Act made some doctor-specific Medicare data available to local community groups, but not to news organizations.   read more

In court papers that surfaced last week, prosecutors accuse Manning of aiding three "enemies": al-Qaeda, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, and a "classified enemy," whose name the government wants to keep secret from the public. The "classified enemy" gambit, like the government's whole "aiding the enemy" case, arises because the government's case, as many legal scholars have argued, involves some highly questionable overreaching to turn a simple leak case into an "aiding the enemy" case.   read more

After failing to convince Congress to lower the cap to $200,000, the White House now is calling for a ceiling of $400,000. That is the equivalent of the president’s salary, and the plan is to tie contractors’ annual earnings to that. So when the president gets a raise, contractors’ compensation cap will rise accordingly. In the meantime, federal workers are in the third year of a basic pay rate freeze, which is in addition to wage reductions brought on by budget cuts and unpaid furlough days.   read more

The poll found 77% feel there is less religious influence today in America. Another 20% said religion is gaining influence. The 77% figure was the most negative evaluation of religion’s impact since 1970. About the same number of Americans (75%) told Gallup that the country would be better off if it were more religious.   read more

Researchers at Harvard Medical School analyzed immigrants’ contributions to the area of Medicare that covers hospital care and found they generated surpluses totaling $115 billion from 2002 to 2009. In comparison, native-born citizens used more in benefits than they paid into Medicare, creating a deficit of $28 billion over the same period.   read more