World/Nation
Obama says GOP attacks on Iran deal 'ridiculous'
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia - President Barack Obama unleashed a blistering and belittling rebuke of Republican White House hopefuls Monday, calling their attack on his landmark nuclear deal with Iran "ridiculous if it weren't so sad."
Standing before television cameras during a trip to Africa, Obama suggested the bellicose rhetoric from some GOP candidates was an attempt to divert attention from Donald Trump, the wealthy businessman-turned presidential contender whose popularity is confounding the Republican field.
"Maybe it gets attention and maybe this is just an effort to push Mr. Trump out of the headlines, but it's not the kind of leadership that is needed for America right now," Obama said during a news conference in Ethiopia.
Obama's comments marked his most direct engagement in the race to succeed him. Until now, he's largely limited his commentary to policy differences with Republicans, often sidestepping the names of specific candidates.
NSA to stop using American calling records
WASHINGTON - The Obama administration has decided that the National Security Agency will soon stop examining - and will ultimately destroy - millions of American calling records it collected under a controversial program leaked by former agency contractor Edward Snowden.
When Congress passed a law in June ending the NSA's bulk collection of American calling records after a six-month transition, officials said they weren't sure whether they would continue to make use of the records that had already been collected, which generally go back five years. Typically, intelligence agencies are extremely reluctant to part with data they consider lawfully obtained. The program began shortly after the September 2001 terrorist attacks, but most of the records are purged every five years.
The NSA's collection of American phone metadata has been deeply controversial ever since Snowden disclosed it to journalists in 2013. President Barack Obama sought, and Congress passed, a law ending the collection and instead allowing the NSA to request the records from phone companies as needed in terrorism investigations.
That still left the question of what to do about the records already in the database. On Monday, the Director of National Intelligence said in a statement those records would no longer be examined in terrorism investigations after Nov. 29, and would be destroyed as soon as possible.
The records can't be purged at the moment because the NSA is being sued over them, the statement said.
Boy Scouts end total ban on gay adults
NEW YORK - The Boy Scouts of America on Monday ended its blanket ban on gay adult leaders while allowing church-sponsored Scout units to maintain the exclusion for religious reasons.
The new policy, aimed at easing a controversy that has embroiled the Boy Scouts for years, takes effect immediately. It was approved by the BSA's National Executive Board on a 45-12 vote during a closed-to-the-media teleconference.
"For far too long this issue has divided and distracted us," said the BSA's president, former Defense Secretary Robert Gates. "Now it's time to unite behind our shared belief in the extraordinary power of Scouting to be a force for good."
Initial reactions to the decision from groups on both sides suggested the issue would remain divisive.
The Mormon church, which sponsors more Scout units that any other organization, said it was "deeply troubled" by the decision. Church officials suggested they would look into the possibility of forming their own organization to replace Boy Scouts.
Judge did not involuntarily commit gunman
CARROLLTON, Ga. - The gunman responsible for last week's deadly attack in a Louisiana movie theater was delivered by deputies to a hospital for a mental evaluation in 2008 after his family said he was a danger to himself and others.
But the judge who ordered John Russell Houser detained said Monday that she did not have him involuntarily committed, which may explain why he was able to legally purchase the gun he used to kill two people and wound nine others before killing himself.
Funerals were held Monday in Louisiana for Jillian Johnson and Mayci Marie Breaux, the two women killed when Houser opened fire in a theater in the city of Lafayette.
- The Associated Press