Bush Doesn't Confirm NSA Data Collection

WASHINGTON -
President Bush did not confirm or deny a newspaper report Thursday that the National Security Agency was collecting records of tens of millions of ordinary Americans' phone calls.

"Our intelligence activities strictly target al-Qaida and their known affiliates," Bush said. "We are not mining or trolling through the personal lives of innocent Americans."

USA Today, based on anonymous sources it said had direct knowledge of the arrangement, reported that AT&T Corp., Verizon Communications Inc., and BellSouth Corp. began turning over records of Americans' phone calls to the NSA shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

http://today.reuters.com/News/newsAr...Top+NewsNews-2
Congress to look at NSA database of US phone calls

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Senate panel will ask U.S. phone companies about a new report that the National Security Agency has been secretly collecting phone records of tens of millions of Americans, including calls made within the United States.

USA Today reported that the domestic spy agency has been building up the database using records provided by three major phone companies -- AT&T Inc., Verizon Communications Inc. and BellSouth Corp. -- but that the program "does not involve the NSA listening to or recording conversations."

"We've got to call on those telephone companies to provide some information to figure out what is going on," Sen. Arlen Specter, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said on Thursday.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washing...5-10-nsa_x.htm

NSA has massive database of Americans' phone calls

The National Security Agency has been secretly collecting the phone call records of tens of millions of Americans, using data provided by AT&T, Verizon and BellSouth, people with direct knowledge of the arrangement told USA TODAY.

The NSA program reaches into homes and businesses across the nation by amassing information about the calls of ordinary Americans â?? most of whom aren't suspected of any crime. This program does not involve the NSA listening to or recording conversations. But the spy agency is using the data to analyze calling patterns in an effort to detect terrorist activity, sources said in separate interviews.