Obama announces proposals to reform NSA surveillance  —  President Obama announced plans Friday to pursue reforms that would open the legal proceedings surrounding the National Security Agency's surveillance programs to greater scrutiny, the administration's most concerted response yet to a series of national security disclosures.

TRANSCRIPT: President Obama's August 9, 2013, news conference at the White House  —  By Washington Post Staff,  —  President Obama took questions from reporters at the White House on Aug. 9, 2013.  —  PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: Good afternoon, everybody.  Please have a seat.

Chief of Staff Lee Burdick says Mayor Bob Filner entered therapy a week early, completed program  —  SAN DIEGO - San Diego Mayor Bob Filner's chief of staff confirmed to 10News that the mayor began his therapy a week early and has already completed the program.

Jay Leno's Last ‘Tonight Show’ to Air Feb. 6  —  NBC to pull latenight host on the eve of Olympics coverage  —  Jay Leno's last “Tonight Show” on NBC will air Feb. 6, sources confirm to Variety.  —  “Tonight Show” exec producer Debbie Vickers made the announcement today to employees of the show …

LePage in fighter jet simulator: ‘I want to find the Press Herald building and blow it up’  —  NORTH BERWICK, Maine — Gov. Paul LePage — who earlier this summer told his commissioners to stop speaking to reporters from the Portland Press Herald and its two sister papers after he objected …

Social Security Payments Limited To Same-Sex Married Couples Living In States That Recognize Marriage Equality  —  For a same-sex couple legally married in Massachusetts, who live in Texas and “meet all other factors of entitlement,” the Social Security Administration told employees Friday, “Hold the claim.”

Labour must shout louder or risk election defeat, warns Andy Burnham  —  Shadow health secretary says time is running out for coherent Labour challenge to the coalition  —  Labour's leadership must put its cards on the table before next spring and produce a set of policies which define …

Fox May Produce Clinton Biopic Reviled by G.O.P.  —  The script for the proposed mini-series on the life of the possible presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton hasn't even been written but we may already have a plot twist.  —  While NBC has come under heavy fire, especially from Republican critics …

Cantor: ‘No One Is Advocating a Government Shutdown’  —  As the fall's fiscal drama nears, a group of conservative lawmakers are urging Republican leaders to use Obamacare as a bargaining chip.  Behind the scenes, they're warning Speaker John Boehner and Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell …

Lavabit's Ladar Levison: ‘If You Knew What I Know About Email, You Might Not Use It’  —  Ladar Levison, 32, has spent ten years building encrypted email service Lavabit, attracting over 410,000 users.  When NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden was revealed to be one of those users in July …

Know Thine Enemy  —  On December 7, 1941, the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor was attacked.  Three years, eight months, and eight days later, the Japanese surrendered.  These days, America's military moves at a more leisurely pace.  On November 5, 2009, another U.S. base, Fort Hood …

Reid raises race in discussing GOP opposition to Obama's agenda  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Friday said he hoped GOP opposition to President Obama was not based on his race.  —  Reid made the comments in response to a question during a radio interview.

Detroit's misplaced $1M check bares inefficiency  —  In late February, cash-strapped Detroit received a $1 million check from the local school system that wasn't deposited.  The routine payment wound up in a city hall desk drawer, where it was found a month later.