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NSA head, lawmakers defend surveillance programs
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The head of the National Security Agency said U.S. surveillance programs had helped disrupt more than 50 possible attacks since September 11, 2001, as sympathetic members of Congress also defended the use of the top-secret spying operations.

Republican-led House passes bill restricting abortion
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday passed legislation that would ban late-term abortions, a move that could alienate women from the conservative party.

Italian court says Knox murder acquittal had inconsistencies
ROME (Reuters) - Italy's top court said on Tuesday it had ordered a retrial of American Amanda Knox and her ex-boyfriend in the murder of British student Meredith Kercher because their acquittals contained "shortcomings, contradictions and inconsistencies."

Four from U.S. forces killed in attack in Afghanistan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Four from U.S. forces were killed in an attack on Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, a U.S. official said on Tuesday, speaking on condition of anonymity, just as the United States prepares for talks this week with the Taliban.

U.S. says surveillance thwarted NYSE attack, Somali funding
(Reuters) WASHINGTON - U.S. intelligence officials on Tuesday identified two of the more than 50 classified cases in which they say National Security Agency eavesdropping helped thwart terrorist plots including a planned attack on the New York Stock Exchange.

United States to meet Taliban to seek Afghan peace
WASHINGTON/KABUL (Reuters) - The United States will meet the Taliban this week for talks aimed at achieving peace in Afghanistan, where U.S.-led forces and the insurgents have fought a bloody and costly war for the past 12 years, U.S. officials said on Tuesday.

Moves to limit contractor access to secrets meets resistance
(Reuters) - Industry executives and some corners of the U.S. intelligence community are pushing back against possible legislative moves to curb contractors' access to classified information.

Dozens held in Turkey, silent protester goes viral
ISTANBUL/ANKARA (Reuters) - A lone, silent vigil by a man in Istanbul inspired copycat protests on Tuesday, as police detained dozens of people across Turkey in an operation linked to three weeks of often violent demonstrations against Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan.

G8 urges Syria peace talks as fighting flares in north
ENNISKILLEN, Northern Ireland/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Differences between Russia and the West mean an international peace conference on Syria is now unlikely before August, a source at a meeting of Group of Eight leaders said on Tuesday as surging government forces brought heavy fighting to Aleppo.

Russia\'s Putin torpedoes G8 efforts to oust Assad
ENNISKILLEN, Northern Ireland (Reuters) - Russia's Vladimir Putin derailed Barack Obama's efforts to win backing for the downfall of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad at a G8 summit on Tuesday, warning the West that arms supplied to the rebels could be used for attacks on European soil.

Quake shakes Peru\'s capital of Lima
LIMA (Reuters) - A moderate earthquake shook buildings in Peru's capital on Tuesday but there were no reported injuries or damage, Reuters witnesses and safety officials said.

WikiLeaks trial focuses on whether Tweets meet evidence standards
FORT MEADE, Maryland (Reuters) - The court-martial of the U.S. soldier accused of providing reams of classified documents to WikiLeaks in a case illustrating the challenge of keeping secrets in the digital age must decide whether tweets and Web pages can be admitted as evidence.

Mobster recounts murder for hire in ?Whitey\' Bulger trial
BOSTON (Reuters) - The plan called for John Martorano, a mobster who has confessed to 20 murders, to lure associate Tommy King into a waiting car with a contrived story that he was needed for a hit. King was handed a gun loaded with blanks.

NSA chief: agency programs prevented over 50 potential terrorist acts
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - General Keith Alexander, the director of the U.S. National Security Agency, said on Tuesday that the NSA's data gathering programs had prevented potential terrorist attacks more than 50 times since September 11, 2001.

Mali signs deal with Tuareg separatist rebels
OUAGADOUGOU (Reuters) - Mali signed a ceasefire deal with Tuareg separatist rebels on Tuesday, paving the way for government troops to return to the northern, rebel-held town of Kidal before a presidential election next month.

Inflation data points to firming economy
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A gauge of underlying inflation showed signs of stabilizing in May after a long decline, a potential comfort to Federal Reserve policymakers who want firmer prices.

Rousseff praises Brazil protests, says committed to change
SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff on Tuesday sought to defuse a massive protest movement sweeping the country, acknowledging the need for better public services and more responsive governance at all levels.

Biggest protests in 20 years sweep Brazil
SAO PAULO (Reuters) - As many as 200,000 demonstrators marched through the streets of Brazil's biggest cities on Monday in a swelling wave of protest tapping into widespread anger at poor public services, police violence and government corruption.

\'Taliban is ready to talk peace\' with Afghan state: Afghan official
KABUL (Reuters) - The Taliban is willing to consider peace talks with the Afghan state following secret discussions, a senior Afghan official said on Tuesday, in what may be the first significant step towards an end to the long-running war.

Iceland received informal approach over Snowden seeking asylum
REYKJAVIK (Reuters) - Iceland has received an informal approach from an intermediary who says Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor who exposed the U.S. government's secret surveillance programs, wants to seek asylum there.

Twin suicide bombs kill 29 in Baghdad
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Two coordinated suicide bombings at a Shi'ite Muslim mosque in Baghdad killed at least 29 worshippers at noon prayers on Tuesday, medics said.

Housing starts miss expectations, but overall tone upbeat
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Housing starts rose less than expected in May, likely reflecting labor and material constraints, but the overall trend remained consistent with strength in the housing market.

Lebanese Sunni Muslim politician warns of state collapse
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon's main Sunni Muslim political party pleaded with the presidency on Tuesday to prevent "state collapse", blaming the Shi'ite Hezbollah group for dragging the country into the war in neighboring Syria.

Karzai announces peace talks as Afghans take over security
KABUL (Reuters) - Afghanistan will send a team to Qatar for peace talks with the Taliban, President Hamid Karzai said on Tuesday, as the U.S.-led NATO coalition launched the final phase of the 12-year war with the last round of security transfers to Afghan forces.

Battles ahead for Greek PM weakened by state TV crisis
ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece has avoided the uncertainty of an early election but the standoff over the state broadcaster's closure has weakened the prime minister and deepened mistrust in his fractious coalition.

Politics

\'Conservative Republican\' at IRS defends treatment of Tea Party
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A manager from a U.S. Internal Revenue Service office in Cincinnati where staffers have been accused of unfairly subjecting conservative groups to extra scrutiny has said his agents were not influenced by any political agenda.

Massachusetts Senate candidates spar on surveillance programs
BOSTON (Reuters) - The candidates fighting for Massachusetts' open seat in the U.S. Senate staked out contrasting positions on recent revelations that the National Security Agency was tracking Americans' use of phones and the Internet in a debate on Tuesday.

Missouri senator joins effort urging Hillary Clinton to seek presidency
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has not committed to a run for president in 2016 but on Tuesday she picked up an endorsement from Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill, who announced she is supporting a group encouraging Clinton to run for the White House again.

Mississippi leans on Google to crack down on illegal products
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Mississippi's attorney general said on Tuesday he would subpoena documents from Google Inc as part of a probe into allegations the Web search company facilitated the sale of drugs without a prescription and other illegal products.

Enroll America sets private outreach for Obamacare sign-up
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Enroll America, a nonprofit group at the center of the political fight over President Barack Obama's healthcare reform law, launched a multi-state grassroots campaign on Tuesday to help sign up millions of uninsured Americans for health coverage in the coming months.

Gaps widen between House, Senate on immigration
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Work intensified on Tuesday to revamp the U.S. immigration system, but gaps widened between the Democratic-led Senate and Republican-led House of Representatives over what proposed changes should become law.

Protesters jailed as they decry Republican shift in North Carolina
RALEIGH, North Carolina (Reuters) - A conservative shift by North Carolina's first Republican-led government in more than a century is drawing weekly protests to the state capital of Raleigh, but some lawmakers are defiantly standing their ground.

U.S. groups form alliance to push for Indian trade reforms
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A coalition of U.S. business groups on Tuesday demanded President Barack Obama's administration increase pressure on India to change trade policies that they said threaten U.S. exports, jobs and innovation.

Maine Democrats scramble after governor blocks Medicaid expansion
BOWDOINHAM, Maine (Reuters) - Democratic legislators in Maine scrambled on Tuesday to muster the votes needed to override Republican Governor Paul LePage's late-night veto of a bill to expand Medicaid coverage to an additional 60,000 people.

Obama says Bernanke has \'stayed a lot longer\' than he wanted at Fed
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama hinted in an interview aired on Monday that he may be looking for a new chief of the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank, saying Ben Bernanke has stayed a lot longer than the current chairman had originally planned.

Senior Republican says Snowden\'s surveillance comments \'dangerous\'
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Republican head of a congressional panel on Tuesday said officials are concerned that former U.S. contractor Edward Snowden's continued efforts to speak out and release intelligence information pose more risk for the United States.

Obama pick for top U.S. telecom regulator to face Senate panel
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's choice for chairman of the Federal Communications Commission is expected to face questions about his past work within the telecommunications industry at a Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday.

Insight: FBI relies on secret U.S. surveillance law, records show
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The FBI has used secret evidence obtained under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to prosecute at least 27 accused terrorists since 2007, according to a Reuters review of public records.

Obama sees Iran\'s election of moderate as hopeful sign
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Monday that Iran's election of a moderate as its next president is a sign that Iranians want to move in a different direction, but he was uncertain whether it would lead to a breakthrough over Tehran's nuclear ambitions.

U.S. says it will buy Russian helicopters for Afghan military
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon said on Monday it will spend $572 million to buy 30 Russian-built military helicopters that will be used by Afghan security forces.