Official defends spying

Official defends spying

WASHINGTON

Eager to quell a domestic furor over U.S. spying, the nation’s top intelligence official stressed Saturday that a previously undisclosed program for tapping into Internet usage is authorized by Congress, falls under strict supervision of a secret court and cannot intentionally target a U.S. citizen. He decried the revelation of that and another intelligence-gathering program as reckless.

For the second time in three days, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper took the rare step of declassifying some details of an intelligence program to respond to media reports about counterterrorism techniques employed by the government.

Man surrenders in Pa. building collapse

PHILADELPHIA

A heavy-equipment operator with a lengthy rap sheet who is accused of being high on marijuana when a downtown building collapsed onto a thrift store, killing six people, surrendered Saturday to face charges in the deaths, police said.

Sean Benschop faces six counts of involuntary manslaughter, 13 counts of recklessly endangering another person and one count of risking a catastrophe.

Mandela in hospital

JOHANNESBURG

South Africans on Saturday said their thoughts were with former President Nelson Mandela, who was in “serious but stable” condition after being taken to a hospital to be treated for a recurring lung infection.

Mandela, who is 94 years old, was treated in a hospital several times in recent months, with the last discharge coming April 6 after doctors diagnosed him with pneumonia and drained fluid from his lung area.

Protests continue

ANKARA, Turkey

Police in Ankara fired tear gas and used water cannons to disperse thousands of people protesting near government buildings Saturday, as Turkey’s biggest wave of anti-government protests in decades entered its second week with no signs of waning.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s governing party, meanwhile, rejected calls for early elections and dismissed the protests as an attempt by the opposition to topple the government.

Booker to run for Senate

newark, N.J.

Newark Mayor Cory Booker is officially a candidate for U.S. Senate in New Jersey.

The 44-year-old Democrat made his candidacy official at a news conference Saturday in New Jersey’s largest city.

Booker was joined by former U.S. Sen. Bill Bradley, a former pro basketball player who for 18 years held the seat Booker is seeking.

The seat became vacant with the death of the country’s oldest senator, Frank Lautenberg, on Monday.

Associated Press