Is the United States a strong nation? There's a notion that it is, of course -- based mainly on the disruptive philosophical underpinnings upon which this country was established. But these are all really the fumes of nostalgia. What else is there? W... [...]

United States President Barack Obama said Thursday afternoon that his administration is prepared to take further action against Russia if an agreement reached earlier in the day in Geneva concerning the crisis in Ukraine fails to materialize. [...]

Russia, the US, the EU and Ukraine have adopted a joint document on the de-escalation of the Ukraine crisis, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, after talks in Geneva. It calls for all illegal armed groups to lay down arms and a wide amnesty. [...]

Russia has "€œno mass surveillance in our country,"€ according to President Vladimir Putin, after he was asked a surprise question by whistle blower Edward Snowden at his Q&A session, adding "€œour surveillance activities are strictly controlled by the law." [...]

White House spokesman Jay Carney confirmed that CIA Director John Brennan visited Ukrainian capital Kiev over the weekend and met with high-ranked Ukrainian officials. Previously, deposed Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich accused Brennan of ordering a crackdown on pro-Russian activists in the east of the country. [...]

Environmental regulators and North Dakota state officials have expressed concern that the state has failed to adequately adjust to the state'€™s sudden influx of crude oil output, a worry highlighted by the recent discovery of abandoned radioactive waste. Last month, the North Dakota Health Department announced that a large pile of oil filter socks [...]

NSA whistleblower praises Guardian and Washington Post after pair share Pulitzer prize for public service. The former NSA contractor Edward Snowden issued a statement on Monday in response to the decision by the Pulitzer prize committee to reward the Guardian and the Washington Post with its top 2014 award. It reads, in full: [...]

Russian President Vladimir Putin urged his American counterpart on Monday to use the White House's influence on the Ukrainian government to prevent further "bloodshed" from occurring in the country. United States President Barack Obama placed a phone call to Mr. Putin on Monday afternoon (EST) to discuss the ongoing and increasingly tense situation in eastern Ukraine amid growing concerns [...]

The critical "€œHeartbleed"€ bug reported earlier this week to have affected the security of most of the internet was discovered by researchers at the United States National Security Agency two years earlier, according to a new report. On Friday afternoon, Bloomberg News journalist Michael Riley reported that the NSA knew about the monstrous flaw for at least two years ahead of this week’s [...]

A new bill introduced in Congress looks to ban states from implementing their own labeling laws when it comes to food containing genetically engineered ingredients. According to Reuters, US Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.) introduced the legislation on Wednesday, which is intended to head off bills in about 24 states that would require companies to inform customers when their food is produced using genet [...]

The United States National Security Agency was well aware that Edward Snowden was troubled by the spy office’s activities, the intelligence contractor-turned-leaker tells Vanity Fair, and that evidence exists to confirm that claim. Ahead of a 20,000-word article on the former NSA analyst expected to be published later this week, [...]

In an interview, German Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière, 60, warns that American spying has become "boundless" and expresses sorrow that approval ratings for the United States have plummeted in Germany. The following is an excerpt from a longer interview conducted with German Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière. [...]

Being the head of state in Germany should bring undoubted benefits and influence. However, it wasn't enough for Angela Merkel, whose request to see her secret service file, compiled by the US National Security Agency, was denied. The request by Germany’s Interior Ministry to the NSA was made six months ago, after the American security organization had compiled over 300 reports on the chancellor, [...]

No legal means exist to challenge mass surveillance, said NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, testifying to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. A former NSA contractor, Snowden was speaking to the PACE session in Strasbourg via a video link-up from Moscow. [...]

Serious issues regarding constitutional law rose to the surface on Friday as a US federal judge dismissed a court case against the US government by families of three Americans killed in US drone strikes in Yemen. [...]

President Obama promised that NSA surveillance activities were aimed exclusively at preventing terrorist attacks. But secret documents from the intelligence agency show that the Americans spy on Europe, the UN and other countries. [...]

Who would have thought a unitary superpower on Earth would accelerate a return to regionalism in place of globalization? For all those who deem ‘Financial Innovation’ to be an oxymoron, that brilliant invention the credit card springs to mind. [...]

Parliamentary hearings into the scandal involving NSA spying on Germany have started. Some members of the investigative committee have suggested bringing in the document leaker Edward Snowden himself to testify. Some expect this to anger Washington. [...]

US officials on Friday slammed plans to construct an EU-centric communication system, designed to prevent emails and phone calls from being swept up by the NSA, warning that such a move is a violation of trade laws. Calling Europe’s proposal to build its own integrated communication system “draconian,” the office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) said American tech companies, which are w [...]

I would like to thank the European Parliament for the invitation to provide testimony for your inquiry into the Electronic Mass Surveillance of EU Citizens. The suspicionless surveillance programs of the NSA, GCHQ, and so many others that we learned about over the last year endanger a number of basic rights which, in aggregate, constitute the foundation of liberal societies. [...]

A Senate report found that CIA officials lied to the government and public about its post-9/11 torture program, most notably by distorting intelligence gleaned from traditional interrogations as that attained by far more brutal methods. [...]

The United States has suspended contact between NASA and its Russian counterpart over the ongoing situation in Ukraine. Only ongoing International Space Station cooperation will continue through the freeze in relations. NASA associate administrator Michael O’Brien said in a memo sent Wednesday that all missions with Russia’s Roscosmos are on hold indefinitely, UPI reports. [...]