USA to end NSA surveillance program?

The U.S. House of Representatives has narrowly defeated an amendment that would have ended a National Security Agency surveillance program that collects hundreds of millions of Americans' phone records, says Albany Tribune.

Yesterday night's 217-205 vote was unlikely to be the final word on government intrusion to defend the US and Americans' civil liberties. A vote marked the first chance for lawmakers to take a stand on the secret surveillance program since former NSA systems analyst Edward Snowden leaked classified documents last month that spelled out the monumental scope of the government's activities, reports Business Standard.

Conservative Republicans leery of what they see as Obama administration abuses of power teamed up with liberal Democrats long opposed to intrusive intelligence programs. The Obama administration made common cause with the House Republican leadership to try to block it, informs The American Conservative (blog).