The National Security Agency announced Friday it would end its controversial practice of sweeping up any email or text message an American exchanges with someone overseas that makes reference to a real target of NSA surveillance.

The powerful US spy agency said that although it has the legal power to continue scooping up such communications, it would halt the practice to protect the privacy of US citizens.

"NSA will no longer collect certain internet communications that merely mention a foreign intelligence target," it said in a statement.

The NSA, the country's premier signals intelligence body, is permitted to collect communications of any foreign target, but not that of Americans except in certain situations, or if it gains a warrant to do so.

While the U.S. maintains a vast empire of military installations around the world, with huge — and hard to miss — complexes throughout Europe and Asia, bases in Africa have been far better hidden. And if you listened only to AFRICOM officials, you might even assume that the U.S. military’s footprint in Africa will soon be eclipsed by that of the Chinese or the Russians.

The Guardian reported former MI6 agent Christopher Steele’s infamous dossier about possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia was first given to the UK intelligence services. These documents reportedly contain records of payments from the Trump campaign to banks of Russian cyber trolls tasked with spreading disinformation ahead of the 2016 election.

Former President Barack Obama is making the most of his first 100 days out of office and is already set to make at least $800,000 from just two speeches this year.

Mr Obama met up with presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin on Thursday at the A&E Networks advertising upfront at the Pierre Hotel and was rewarded $400,000 for a 90-minute interview with her in front of advertisers for the cable network.

That marks the second known speech for that amount since leaving the White House alongside one planned for September sponsored by a Wall Street bank that sparked criticism earlier this week.

President Trump will give a speech at the National Rifle Association’s annual gathering in Atlanta later today. The NRA has fought tirelessly to make sure that gun owners can take their guns anywhere. But ironically, conference attendees won’t be able to hold onto the rock-hard steel of their sensuous guns as they watch Donald Trump’s speech.

Yes, despite the fact that Georgia has an open carry law, and the fact that this is America’s biggest gun-friendly circle-jerk of the year, the Secret Service has banned guns from the event while President Trump is there.

Americans are struggling to get out of the red.

Some 40% of Americans with debt are spending up to half of their monthly income paying it back. And that may not even be enough to cover how much they owe. That’s according to a study on debt Thursday released by Northwestern Mutual, a life insurance and financial services company. The polling company Harris Poll surveyed more than 2,000 U.S. adults in February 2017 on behalf of Northwestern Mutual.

The survey found that nearly half of Americans are carrying at least $25,000 in debt, with an average debt of $37,000, excluding mortgage payments. About one in 10 surveyed said their debt was more than $100,000. “It becomes an ongoing cycle and really hard to get out of, given that people are not prioritizing debt and saving for their future as the first part of their budget,” Rebekah Barsch, the vice-president of planning at Northwestern Mutual, said.

George W Bush's chief ethics lawyer has called for Donald Trump to be impeached if he doesn't comply with Congress's demand to release documents relating to Michael Flynn.

"US House must subpoena the docs," Richard W Painter wrote on Twitter. "If no compliance, impeach."

"Zero tolerance for WH covering up foreign payoffs."

So far, lawmakers in at least 18 states have proposed legislation that would make it harder to protest, create harsher penalties for protestors who are arrested, and, in two states, remove liability from drivers who accidentally injure protesters on roadways.

Proponents of the bills say they are commonsense measures to ensure public safety after the high-profile protests against the Dakota Access pipeline near Cannonball, North Dakota, and against the police shootings of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and of Jamar Clark and Philando Castile in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota, area.

But the trend is alarming to civil rights groups and others who say the measures would trample the public's First Amendment rights.
"Some of these bills are so egregious that you don't need a law degree to conclude they're unconstitutional," said Lee Rowland, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union, who has monitored state legislation for more than a decade.
The United Nations has also taken note, releasing a report by the special rapporteur identifying anti-protest bills in 16 states, which the report called "a worrying trend."

Former United Airlines passenger Dr. David Dao is being blamed for his own injuries sustained while being forcibly removed from his seat and dragged down the aisle of the plane.

According to a report released Monday in the Los Angeles Times, the aviation officers attribute the blood dripping down his face to injuries he incurred while being threatening.

Officer James Long alleges, “the subject started swinging his arms up and down with a closed fist. Ofc. Long was able to grab the subject and pull him away from the window seat towards the aisle. But suddenly the subject started flailing and fighting.”

Long claimed that Dao knocked the officer’s arm away, “which caused the subject to fall, hit, and injured his mouth on the armrest on the other side of the aisle.”

Dao is being represented by Chicago personal injury lawyer Thomas Demetrio, who claimed the reports were “utter nonsense.”