1. U.S. House passes curbs on NSA surveillance
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House on Thursday passed legislation to end the National Security Agency’s bulk collection of American phone records, responding to the outrage that followed former NSA analyst Edward Snowden’s disclosure of the practice last year.
Although the compromise measure was significantly “watered down,” in the words of Democrat Jan Schakowsky, it passed by a vote of 303 to 120, with 9 members not voting.
“We must not let the perfect be the enemy of the good,” Schakowsky, an intelligence committee member, said in summing up the feelings of many Republicans and Democrats who voted for the measure but wanted tougher provisions. Dropped from the bill was a requirement for an independent public advocate on the secret intelligence court that oversees the NSA.
The USA Freedom Act would codify a proposal made in January by President Barack Obama, who said he wanted to end the NSA’s practice of collecting the “to and from” records of nearly every American landline telephone call under a program that searched the data for connections to terrorist plots abroad.
The bill doesn’t ask the phone companies to hold records for any longer than they already do, which varies by carrier. The bill would give the NSA the authority to request certain records from the companies to search them in terrorism investigations in response to a judicial order. The phone program was revealed last year by Snowden, who used his job as a computer network administrator to remove tens of thousands of secret documents from an NSA facility in Hawaii.
The measure now heads to the Senate.
2. U.S. reviews Thailand aid, military ties after coup
WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States is preparing to suspend up to $10 million in bilateral assistance to Thailand and is reviewing military ties after the nation’s armed forces took power after months of political strife.
Secretary of State John Kerry said there was no justification for Thursday’s coup which he said will have “negative implications” for the relationship between the U.S. and its oldest ally in Asia.
The bloodless military takeover quickly drew stiff international criticism. The European Union said it was following developments in Thailand with “extreme concern” and called for credible and inclusive elections “as soon as feasible.” U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appealed for a prompt return to democratic rule.
“I am disappointed by the decision of the Thai military to suspend the constitution and take control of the government after a long period of political turmoil, and there is no justification for this military coup,” Kerry said.
He called for the release of detained senior political leaders of Thailand’s major parties and voiced concern that media outlets have been shut down. He urged the immediate restoration of civilian government and a return to democracy.
After Thailand’s last military coup in 2006, the U.S. froze military assistance for a year-and-a-half until democracy was restored.
3. Boy Scouts formally confirms Gates as president
DALLAS (AP) — Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates was confirmed Thursday as the Boy Scouts of America’s new president, taking over one of the nation’s largest youth organizations as it fights a membership decline and debates its policy toward gays.
The group’s national council voted to approve Gates for the volunteer role at the organization’s annual meeting in Nashville.
Gates, 70, was announced as interim president in October. He will become one of Scouting’s most public figures at a pivotal time in its history.
As the U.S.’s defense secretary, Gates oversaw the end of the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy excluding openly gay soldiers.
The Boy Scouts voted last year to allow openly gay boys in its ranks while continuing to exclude openly gay adult leaders, a compromise that continues to entangle the group in debates over its membership policy. Shortly after the change was enacted, one openly gay Boy Scout received his Eagle award, the highest in Scouting. But the organization’s expulsion of a gay Seattle-area Scoutmaster drew national headlines, and some gay-rights advocates are still urging sponsors to drop the Scouts.
4. Facebook expands privacy checkup tool
NEW YORK (AP) — More Facebook users can expect to see a blue cartoon dinosaur popping up in their feeds, reminding them to check their privacy settings.
No stranger to privacy fiascos, Facebook had already made the tool available to users who were posting public updates. The feature is designed to remind people how widely they share posts, what apps they use and other privacy issues.
Facebook engineering manager Raylene Yung says the tool is the result of user feedback and decisions by the company to improve the user experience. Facebook says users are sometimes worried about sharing something by accident, or sharing with the wrong audience.
Facebook also will make the default audience for new users’ posts to “friends.” Previously, it was set to public.
5. GM tells Wall Street recalls may last into summer
DETROIT (AP) — General Motors is telling Wall Street that a recent spate of recalls may last until mid-summer as the company continues to review unresolved safety issues.
The news comes a day after The Associated Press learned that GM CEO Mary Barra told members of Congress that the company cannot make ignition switches fast enough to keep up with demand in its recall of 2.6 million small cars.
The ignition switch problem has been linked to at least 13 deaths in crashes involving Chevrolet Cobalts and Saturn Ions. Congress and the Justice Department are investigating why GM knew about the switch problem for at least a decade but only started recalling the cars this February.
In a note to investors, Barclays analyst Brian Johnson wrote that he met with GM management on Wednesday, and was told by product development chief Mark Reuss that GM continues to review safety data for potential recalls. Johnson also wrote that it’s possible that cars already subject to one recall could be part of future recalls.
GM has now issued 29 U.S. recalls so far this year covering a total of 13.8 million GM vehicles, more than five times the number of cars the company sold last year.
Senior management will be more involved in safety, with Reuss leading a team of five people who will decide on future recalls, Johnson wrote. The company is trying to issue recalls as soon as it learns about an issue rather than waiting for more data, according to Johnson.
“This will increase the frequency of recalls, but will reduce the total number of vehicles recalled,” the analyst wrote.
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