The Solitary Leaker  —  From what we know so far, Edward Snowden appears to be the ultimate unmediated man.  Though obviously terrifically bright, he could not successfully work his way through the institution of high school.  Then he failed to navigate his way through community college.

A.C.L.U. Files Suit Over Phone Surveillance Program  —  WASHINGTON — The American Civil Liberties Union on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against the Obama administration over its “dragnet” collection of logs of domestic phone calls, contending that the once-secret program — whose existence …

Asking the U.S. government to allow Google to publish more national security request data  —  This morning we sent the following letter to the offices of the Attorney General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  Read the full text below.  -Ed.  —  Dear Attorney General Holder and Director Mueller

Wake Up!  —  In 2007, John McCain's “comprehensive” immigrant-legalization bill failed after opponents flooded the Senate with calls, shutting down the switchboard.  Despite considerable press hype, the bill didn't even muster a majority on the crucial cloture vote.  —  It won't be that easy this time.

U.S. disrupts al-Qaeda's online magazine  —  U.S. intelligence operatives covertly sabotaged a prominent al-Qaeda online magazine last month in an apparent attempt to sow confusion among the group's followers, according to officials.  —  The operation succeeded, at least temporarily …

Former President George W. Bush's Image Ratings Improve  —  Views of Bush more positive than negative for first time since 2005  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Americans' views of former president George W. Bush have improved, with 49% now viewing him favorably and 46% unfavorably.

Hillary's sorry state of affairs  —  Probes into her department's sex scandals were quashed, memo says  —  WASHINGTON — A State Department whistleblower has accused high-ranking staff of a massive coverup — including keeping a lid on findings that members of then-Secretary Hillary Clinton's security detail …

The New York Times takes down Anthony Weiner story  —  The New York Times “inadvertently” posted an article on the women involved in Anthony Weiner's sexting scandal — and then deleted it.  —  “For Women in Weiner Scandal, Indignity Lingers” by Michael Barbaro was posted on the Times's website Monday …

Obama Schmoozes Reporters At Secret Meeting  —  The president popped into an off-the-record briefing with reporters Monday.  —  Via: Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama held an off-the-record meeting with select reporters from some of the nation's largest print …

WBUR Poll Suggests Gomez Struggling To Catch Markey  —  Audio report above by Fred Thys; text report by David Scharfenberg  —  BOSTON — With two weeks to go until the special Massachusetts U.S. Senate election, a new WBUR poll (PDFs - topline, crosstabs) suggests Republican Gabriel Gomez …

Why Should We Even Care If the Government Is Collecting Our Data?  —  Kafka, not Orwell, can help us understand the problems of digitized mass surveillance, argues legal scholar Daniel J. Solove.  —  As people have tried to make sense of the recent revelations about the government's mass …

Why were roadblocks in St. Clair and Bibb counties asking for blood and DNA samples this weekend?  —  PELL CITY, Alabama — St. Clair and Bibb county authorities are confirming there were roadblocks at several locations in their counties Friday and Saturday asking for blood and DNA samples.