Morning Must Reads: October 15

In the News: Senate inching toward a deal, why Iran doesn't trust America, and what the NSA is collecting now

  • Share
  • Read Later
Nicholas Kamm / AFP /Getty Images

The US Capitol in Washington is seen on September 30, 2013 , a day before the government shutdown began.

  • NSA Collects Millions of Email Address Books Globally: “The National Security Agency is harvesting hundreds of millions of contact lists from personal e-mail and instant messaging accounts around the world, many of them belonging to Americans, according to senior intelligence officials and top-secret documents provided by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.” [Washington Post]
  • Four Good Reasons Why Iran Doesn’t Trust America: ….”But as Iran and Western negotiators sit down in Geneva today, it’s worth considering some of the reasons why Iran bears such animus toward America, and why cutting a deal with the U.S. won’t be easy for Tehran either. Many of those reasons have to do with the basic Islamic fundamentalist philosophy of Iran’s clerical leaders, to be sure. But as the nuclear talks move forward, it’s worth remembering that the U.S. bears some blame for the poisoned state of the relationship between the two countries.” [TIME]
  • The Shutdown and John Boehner’s Moment in History [TIME]
  • Critical caucus meetings for John Boehner, Mitch McConnell: “Both the House speaker and Senate Republican leader go into meetings with their GOP colleagues this morning to determine if they should accept a Democratic offer to end the two-week government shutdown and avoid a potentially catastrophic default on $16.7 trillion in U.S. debt.” [Politico]
  • Senate Women Lead an Effort to Find Accord: Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), and Kelly Ayotte (R- N.H.) formed the bipartisan group whose “whose negotiating framework formed the centerpiece of a tentative Senate deal nearing completion Monday to reopen the federal government and avert a disastrous default.” [NYT]
  • The Affirmative Action Case Liberals Deserve to Lose [Slate]
  • Sarah Palin: Barack Obama Flirts With Impeachment [Politico]