WASHINGTON, DC–(ENEWSPF)–December 16, 2013 – Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) issued the following statement today after a federal judge declared that the bulk collection of Americans’ telephone records by the National Security Agency is likely to violate the Constitution’s ban on unreasonable searches and probably is not effective in fighting[Read More…]

Washington, D.C.–(ENEWSPF)–December 16, 2013.  U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) issued the following statement regarding the U.S. District Court’s ruling on bulk collection of phone records. “Judge Leon’s ruling hits the nail on the head.  It makes clear that bulk phone records collection is intrusive digital surveillance and not simply inoffensive data[Read More…]

Call on Banking Committee to Provide Certainty to Employers, Insurers WASHINGTON—(ENEWSPF)—December 16, 2013. U.S. Senators Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) and Dean Heller (R-Nev.) today urged the Senate Banking Committee to provide certainty to businesses that purchase terrorism risk insurance by beginning work on reauthorizing the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) when[Read More…]

WASHINGTON–(ENEWSPF)–December 16, 2013.  A federal court ruled today that the NSA’s mass call-tracking program violates the Constitution. The lawsuit was filed in Washington by activist Larry Klayman. The American Civil Liberties Union is currently litigating a similar legal challenge in New York, ACLU v. Clapper. ACLU Deputy Legal Director Jameel[Read More…]

Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–December 16, 2013. Assistant Press Secretary Carl Woog provided the following readout:   Secretary Hagel called Israeli Minister of Defense Moshe Ya’alon today to continue their close consultations on shared regional security challenges and the strong defense cooperation between the United States and Israel.  During the call, they discussed[Read More…]

Hanoi, Vietnam–(ENEWSPF)–December 16, 2013. MODERATOR: (Via interpreter) Excellency John Kerry, U.S. Secretary of State, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh, ladies and gentlemen, correspondents; you may now have the honor to introduce Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh and U.S.[Read More…]

Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–December 16, 2013. Index for Today’s Briefing DEPARTMENT Secretary Kerry’s Travel SYRIA Condemnation of ‘Barrel Bomb’ Attack MIDDLE EAST PEACE Administration Heavily Engaged in Process / Strong Partnership with Saudi Arabia Continues SYRIA Committed to Geneva Communique Political Transition is Needed Russia, U.S. and the UN Are Committed to[Read More…]

Bureau’s First Online Lending Action Seeks Refund of Illegally Collected Money WASHINGTON, D.C.—(ENEWSPF)—December 16, 2013. Today the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) took its first action against an online loan servicer, CashCall Inc., its owner, its subsidiary, and its affiliate, for collecting money consumers did not owe. The CFPB alleges[Read More…]

New York—(ENEWSPF)–16 December 2013 Good morning, Ladies and Gentlemen, It is a great pleasure to see you in this press conference. Welcome to our traditional end-of-year press conference. I would like first of all to touch on some leading challenges for the coming year.  Ladies and Gentlemen, let me begin with a[Read More…]

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam–(ENEWSPF)–December 14, 2013. SECRETARY KERRY: Mr. Ambassador, David, thank you very, very much. And thank you so much for your great leadership these past years. Xin chao, Vietnam. I’m very, very happy to be here and to be back. It’s an honor for me to be[Read More…]