The early morning sun rises behind the US Capitol Building in Washington, DC.
- “U.S. officials are alerting some foreign intelligence services that documents detailing their secret cooperation with the United States have been obtained by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden…” [WashPost]
- “European leaders expressed outrage and dismay at news that America may have been eavesdropping on the mobile telephone conversations of Angela Merkel, the German chancellor and Europe’s most powerful leader. For the first time since Edward Snowden’s revelations about wholesale surveillance broke last summer, the affair became the subject of conversations at the high table of European leaders.” [Economist]
- “Some five million Syrians are now refugees in their own country, many living hand-to-mouth in vacant buildings, schools, mosques, parks and the cramped homes of relatives. Others are trapped in neighborhoods isolated by military blockades, beyond the reach of aid groups. Already desperately short of food and medicine as winter closes in, they could begin to succumb in greater numbers to hunger and exposure, aid workers say.” [NYT]
- “In Syria, the number of political parties is skyrocketing: Dissidents estimate 200 parties have been established, each jockeying to present itself as the best alternative to President Bashar Assad’s government.” [L.A. Times]
- Contractors Blame Feds for ObamaCare Snafu [TIME]
- “A Game of Shark and Minnow: The shell of a forsaken ship has become a battleground in a struggle that could shape the future of the South China Sea and, to some extent, the rest of the world.” [NYT Magazine]
- How Kirsten Gillibrand Shed Her Past on the Way to Liberal Stardom [National Journal]
- Why Republicans Kill Their Darlings [National Journal]
- How Washington is Killing the Economy [Politico]
- Feds Act to Bolster Safety Net at Banks [WSJ]
- “Twitter Inc.’s $10.9 billion initial public offering valuation is as economical as its 140-character tweets.” [Bloomberg]