US intel chief admits giving 'erroneous' testimony, apologizes
By Barbara Starr
James Clapper, the director of national intelligence, has apologized to a Senate committee for giving members a "clearly erroneous" answer about U.S. surveillance programs this year.
In a June 21 letter to Intelligence Committee Chairman Dianne Feinstein that is just coming to light now, Clapper said he wanted to "set the record straight."
The end of a March hearing touched on remarks last summer by National Security Agency Director Gen. Keith Alexander, who said a "story that we have millions or hundreds of millions of dossiers on people is completely false."
That comment was the basis for a question by Sen. Ron Wyden, who asked Clapper whether the National Security Agency (NSA) collected "any type of data at all on millions or hundreds of millions of Americans?"
Clapper answered, "No, sir."
Snowden's asylum options dwindle
By Michael Pearson, Matt Smith and Jethro Mullen
Edward Snowden's hopes of finding asylum from U.S. prosecution on espionage charges appeared to dim Tuesday as country after country denied his request or said he would have to find a way to travel to their territory to apply.
While Bolivia and Venezuela seemed supportive, 11 of the 21 countries he's applied to, including Ecuador and Iceland, have said they can't consider his request until he shows up at one of their embassies or on their borders. Three have denied the request outright - Brazil, India and Poland.
Snowden had already withdrawn his asylum request with Russian authorities after President Vladimir Putin said he would have to "stop his work aimed at harming our American partners" if he wanted to stay in the country.
FULL STORYU.S urging Morsy to call early elections amid official denials
By Elise Labott
The United States urged Egypt’s President Mohammed Morsy to call early elections with anti-government demonstrations intensifying and the Egyptian military pressuring him to resolve the situation, senior administration officials told CNN privately.
"We are saying to him, 'Figure out a way to go for new elections,'" one senior official said on Tuesday. "That may be the only way that this confrontation can be resolved."
The source asked not to be identified due to the diplomatic sensitivity of the matter.
But publicly, the administration pushed back at the characterization that it urged early elections.
State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki went so far as to say reports saying so were inaccurate.
“It's not up to the U.S. to make that decision or to make that call,” Psaki said.
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