Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/309663
ByEileenSullivan The Associated Press WASHINGTON The House crossed a major hurdle in its efforts to rein in the Na- tional Security Agency when two oversight committees agreed this week on a pro- posal to end the agency's practice of collecting Amer- icans' phone records and the bulk collection of all other re- cords, such as credit card data. The House could vote on the bill as early as this month. It was the first sign of consensus in the bitterly di- vided House on the contro- versial NSA surveillance programs since the spy- ing was disclosed nearly a year ago. President Barack Obama has called for simi- lar changes but is relying on Congress to hammer out the details. Senate over- sight committees have yet to agree, which would be nec- essary before any new law is approved. The House proposal — passed Wednesday by the Judiciary Committee and Thursday by the Intelli- gence Committee — would strengthen privacy safe- guards for Americans' com- munications that are swept up by the NSA. It also would require more transparency for disclosing how often pri- vate companies cooperate with the government on re- cords requests. Obama has not formally backed any of the proposals under consideration, but a White House spokeswoman said the bill is a "very good step." While civil liberties advo- cates consider the House bill a big step, more consensus is needed before the Obama administration stops sweep- ing up Americans' phone re- cords and holding them for five years. It's unlikely that any final decision will come before the midterm elections in Novem- ber. Republicans are cau- tiously optimistic they could win back control of the Sen- ate but might be wary of a vote on such a contentious is- sue before Election Day. The Obama administra- tion and some lawmakers have defended the surveil- lance programs, while oth- ers have called for an end to the spying. The debate over balancing national security with civil liberties exposed divisions within the politi- cal parties. The House measure is not as strong as some privacy advocates and the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Com- mittee, Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., would like. For instance, the proposal does not include a provision that would require the NSA to obtain a warrant before searching for Amer- icans' communications that were unintentionally cap- tured in surveillance tar- geting foreigners overseas. Leahy said his committee will consider changes this summer. A spokesman for House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., said a vote for the bill has not yet been scheduled but could come the week of May 19. It was unclear what the members of the House In- telligence Committee dis- cussed during a meeting Thursday or why they did not consider their own leg- islation. Committee staff insisted that the meeting was open even though it was in a location closed to the public. "The markup was con- sidered 'open' but held in a 'closed' location so that members could easily close the session to discuss clas- sified information should they need to," committee spokeswoman Susan Pha- len said. WASHINGTON House committees pass bill on reigning in NSA surveillance By Peter Leonard The Associated Press DONETSK, UKRAINE The photocopy machines churn- ing out the ballots for east- ern Ukraine's sovereignty referendum have been clat- tering around the clock for days. Even the powerful Vladimir Putin can't stop them. Despite the Kremlin lead- er's plea to postpone Sun- day's vote, the pro-Russia rebels in Ukraine who call themselvestheDonetskPeo- ple's Republic said they'll go ahead with the referendum. Ukraine has in recent weeks grown perilously polarized — with the west looking toward Europe and the east favoring closer ties with Russia. Insurgents who detest the central gov- ernment in Kiev that took power amid chaos in Feb- ruary have seized police sta- tions and government build- ings in more than a dozen cities in the east. Ukrainian forces have mounted an of- fensive to drive them out, an operation that has left sev- eral dozen dead. Support for the referen- dum is most pronounced among eastern Ukraine's proudly Russian-speaking working class. Rage against the central government that came to power after months of Ukrainian nationalist- tinged protests is blended with despair at Ukraine's dire economic straits and corruption. The occasionally violent protests that culminated in President Viktor Yanu- kovych's fleeing to Russia were for many in the east seen as a putsch and a por- tent of repression against the region's Russian-speak- ers. "This isn't our govern- ment. It's the government of those that destroyed ev- erything," said construction laborer Galina Lukash, 48. Along with the vote in the eastern Donetsk region, a similar and even more hast- ily improvised referendum is due to take place Sunday in the neighboring Luhansk region. Together they have about 6.5 million people. The referenda are simi- lar to the one in Crimea in March that preceded Rus- sia's annexation of that stra- tegic Ukrainian Black Sea peninsula. Like the one in Crimea, they are regarded as illegitimate both by Kiev and the West. But unlike the Crimean vote, which was held as Rus- sian soldiers and affiliated local militias held control of the peninsula, the eastern referenda take place amid armed conflict. And, criti- cally, unlike Crimea, whose majority Russian-speaking population made approval a foregone conclusion, the Do- netsk and Luhansk regions have a more mixed popula- tion. A poll by the Washington- based Pew Research center released on Thursday found that 70 percent of the resi- dents of Ukraine's east want Ukraine to maintain its cur- rent borders. That suggests the referenda have a chance of failing, if opponents turn out in force and the count is honest. However those opposed to the referendum seem likely to ignore it. Some have grown desperate at the an- archy in eastern Ukraine. "This is a madhouse. That isn't a particularly literary word, I know, but there is no better way to put it. People are killing one another and we don't know why," said 58-year-old retiree Svet- lana Amitina. Putin's surprise call on Wednesday for the refer- endum to be put off ap- pears to reflect Russia's de- sire to distance itself from the separatists. The West and the Ukrainian govern- ment accuse Russia of sup- porting or outright direct- ing the unrest in the east, while Moscow denies in- volvement. "Russia has made it clear it doesn't want the referen- dum, so it has no obligation to recognize its results, especially if it fails," said Alexei Makarkin, deputy head of the Moscow-based Center for Political Tech- nologies think-tank. The decision Thursday by the insurgents' councils to go ahead with the votes reinforces Russia's claim it is not in league with the sep- aratists. "Putin is seeking a way out of the situation. We are grateful to him for this, but we are just a bullhorn for the people. We just voice what the people want," said Do- netsk People's Republic co- chairman Denis Pushilin. UKRAINE Pro-Russia insurgents to hold vote in the east ALEXANDERERMOCHENKO—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Ukrainian government soldiers aim their weapons as they guard an administration building in Mariupol, eastern Ukraine, on Thursday. By Adil Jawad The Associated Press KARACHI,PAKISTAN Pak- istan freed an FBI agent on nearly $10,000 bail three days after he was detained carrying knives and ammunition in his bag, officials said, a rela- tively quick release that was likely to prevent the situation from escalating into a diplomatic spat. The arrest of the Amer- ican, identified as Joel Cox from the bureau's Miami field office, came amid thawing relations between a new Pakistani govern- ment dependent on aid and a U.S. administration that needs Islamabad to help contain militancy on the border with Afghanistan. The two countries, which have been uneasy allies since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, have seen ties strained over a series of incidents. CIA contractor Raymond Da- vis shot and killed two Pakistani men in Lahore in January 2011. The U.S. unilaterally killed Osama bin Laden in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad in May 2011 and American forces accidentally killed 24 Pak- istani troops along the Afghan border the same year. U.S. drones strikes in the country also have angered Pakistanis. But Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who took office last June, and Pres- ident Barack Obama have moved to ease tensions. The U.S. has released more than $1.6 billion in military and economic aid to Pakistan that was sus- pended in 2011, and both leaders have agreed on the need for a stable and secure Afghanistan af- ter the NATO-led com- bat mission formally con- cludes there at the end of this year. WORLD Pakistan frees FBI agent on $10K bail SHAAM NEWS NETWORK VIA AP VIDEO — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS This image shows an explosion that destroyed the Carlton Hotel in Aleppo, Syria, on Thursday. By Albert Aji The Associated Press HOMS,SYRIA With a gigan- tic explosion, Syrian rebels on Thursday leveled a his- toric hotel being used as an army base in the north- ern city of Aleppo by deto- nating bomb-packed tunnels beneath it, activists and mil- itants said. The blast near Aleppo's medieval citadel, an impos- ing city landmark that was once swarming with tour- ists, killed an unknown num- ber of soldiers. It turned the Carlton Hotel, known for its elegant architecture and proximity to the citadel, into a pile of rubble. The attack was a power- ful statement that the rebels could still deal heavy blows elsewhereinSyriaevenasthey withdrewfromHoms,surren- dering that city to President Bashar Assad's forces. In Homs, 95 miles south of Aleppo, army troops were poised to enter the city's old quarters after hundreds of fighters complete their evacu- ation,whichwassuspendedaf- ter gunmen in northern Syria preventedtruckscarryingaid from entering two villages be- siegedbyrebels.Theaiddeliv- ery was part of the cease-fire agreement allowing rebels to leave Homs for rebel-held ar- eas farther north. Earlier,footagefromHoms broadcast by the pro-Syrian Al-Manar TV showed rebels, many of them covering their faces with masks and carry- ing backpacks, boarding a green bus, its windows cov- ered with newspapers. An Associated Press jour- nalist who visited Homs on Thursday reported mas- sive destruction. Standing near the city's main square, known as the Clock Square, the streets appeared almost apocalyptic. Even the trees were burnt. Buildings along Dablan street were completely shat- tered with gaping holes, crumbled facades and flat- tened upper floors, testimony to what Syria's third largest cityhasenduredinmorethan two years of fighting. A cafe and restaurant known as the city cafe was scorched. Rub- bish,glass,debris,fallentrees and electricity poles blocked deserted roads that inter- sected with Dablan street. The withdrawal, in line with a cease-fire agreement reached last week following a fierce, two-year battle, is a major win for Assad. Militarily, it solidifies the government's hold on a swath of territory in cen- tral Syria, linking the capital Damascus with government strongholds along the coast and giving a staging ground to advance against rebel ter- ritory farther north. Politically, gains on the ground boost Assad's hold on power as he seeks to add a further claim of legitimacy in June 3 presidential elec- tions, which Western pow- ers and the opposition have dismissed as a sham. Rebels level historic Syrian Aleppo hotel MIDDLE EAST Select"Subscribe"tabinlowerrightcorner Complete information for automatic weekly delivery to your email inbox That's it! This FREE service made possible by the advertisers in TV Select Magazine Kindly patronize and thank them. Click on their ads online to access their websites! FREE online subscription to TV Select Magazine Digital edition emailed to you, every Saturday! Just go online to www.ifoldsflip.com/t/5281 (You'll only need to go there one time) N EWS D AILY RED BLUFF TEHAMA COUNTY • Fully searchable online, zoom in, print out pages and more! • No newspaper online subscription or website access required. • Best of all ... it's ABSOLUTELY FREE! | NEWS | REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM FRIDAY, MAY 9, 2014 4 B