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Buzz Cut:
• NSA can track three-fourths of US Internet
• Islamists targeting Christians in Egypt
• What Brown can't do for you: UPS sheds coverage under ObamaCare
• FaceBook face time for Rubio
• Stunning cell phones
DETAILS ON NSA'S BROAD REACH - Fox News: The National Security Agency's surveillance network has the capacity to spy on 75 percent of all U.S. Internet traffic. As first reported in the WSJ: "The National Security Agency -- which possesses only limited legal authority to spy on U.S. citizens -- has built a surveillance network that covers more Americans' Internet communications than officials have publicly disclosed, current and former officials say."
Eyes on you - The NYT considers the progress the government is making, merging facial recognition with other surveillance technologies.
["Journalism is not a crime and it is not terrorism" – Guardian reporter Glenn Greenwald, in an appearance on CNN with his spouse, David Miranda, recently detained by British authorities.]
Too much of a good thing? - Liberal scholar William Galston asks at WSJ: How much transparency do we really want? - "Transparency is very nearly the opposite of privacy. In the current controversy, it is a demand that the government make public matters it conducts in private and wants to keep private."
Manning Sentencing - Fox News: Prosecutors have asked a military judge for a sentence of at least 60-years for Wikileaker Pvt. Bradley Manning. FNC Correspondent Peter Doocy has the decision live at 10am ET.
Cell phone sleuthing- The Obama administration is asking the Supreme Court to allow warrantless cell phone searches for most regions in the country. FNC Correspondent Doug McKelway reports.
BAIER TRACKS… MODERN MARTYRS-- Bret Baier - "One thing that hasn't gotten much attention in Egypt's ongoing clashes are the attacks on Christians, who make up about 10 percent of Egypt's population. The attacks have been non-stop and apparently encouraged by the Islamist factions. The NYT details it here: "Islamists set upon homes and churches, shops and schools as Christians were scapegoated for supporting the military ouster of Mohamed Morsi as president." But, it's not just happening in Egypt… the attacks are in Syria, in Lebanon, in Iraq and elsewhere. Is there an ethnic cleansing operation underway?"
[Watch FOX: Gen. Jack Keane, former vice chief of staff of the Army and Fox News military analyst discusses Egypt aid in the 9am ET hour.]
Egypt prime minister: not a civil war - ABC News: "Egyptian interim Prime Minister Hazem el-Beblawi does 'not fear civil war' in Egypt… Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait have pledged billions of dollars in aid to the new Egyptian government in recent weeks and Beblawi said Egypt's army could survive without the $1.3 billion in military aid from the United States..''
Obama huddle on aid - Washington Examiner: "President Obama held a National Security Council meeting Tuesday afternoon to review whether to cut aid to Egypt, capping a confusing day in which the administration fought back against assertions that it had temporarily suspended money flowing to the longtime ally. The White House provided no details about specifics of the meeting."
Hawks divided on Egypt aid - John Bolton, who served as UN ambassador under President George W. Bush writes in support of backing the Egyptian military in this WSJ Op-Ed: "The U.S. should support the military because even with its obvious flaws, it is more likely to support the palpable U.S. interests at stake.
But Elliot Abrams, who served as Bush's deputy national security adviser, says no: "The first mistake the Obama administration made was not instantly suspending aid when the coup occurred in July."
[Watch FOX: Walid Phares, Fox News Middle East and terrorism analyst discusses the persecution of Christians in the 10am ET hour.]
STATE STANDS BY BENGHAZI REINSTATEMENTS - Fox News: The State Department is defending Secretary of State John Kerry's decision to allow officials faulted in a report on the Islamist raid on the US outpost in Benghazi, Libya to return to work. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf told reporters, "There was no breach of duty by these four employees" and that reassignment was the "the right answer." Harf noted things "could have been done better" but that "…we can't take action just to make ourselves feel better."
"I am highly disappointed… I don't understand how this administration will ensure accountability at one of our most vital government departments without disciplining those who fail in their duties" – Statement from Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., ranking Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
OBAMACARE WOES - UPS slashes spousal benefits, blames ObamaCare - UPS is blaming ObamaCare for its decision to remove spouses from their health care plan. In a memo to employees, the company stated, "... The costs associated with the Affordable Care Act, have made it increasingly difficult to continue providing the same level of health care benefits to our employees at an affordable cost." More from USA Today.
Pain in the produce aisle - The implementation of ObamaCare is expected to have a dramatic impact on produce prices. The NYT reports: "Insurance brokers and health providers familiar with California's $43.5 billion agricultural industry estimate that meeting the law's minimum health plan requirement will cost about $1 per hour per employee worked in the field."
HOLDER PROMISES WALL STREET PROSECUTIONS - The Justice Department is promising prosecutions from the Panic of 2008. Attorney General Eric Holder told the WSJ: "My message is, anybody who's inflicted damage on our financial markets should not be of the belief that they are out of the woods because of the passage of time. If any individual or if any institution is banking on waiting things out, they have to think again."
Intrigues surround Fed nod - WaPo reports on the battle behind the scenes between supporters of former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers and Fed Vice Chairwoman Janet Yellen.
THE COMING BUDGET FIGHT - The Hill: "House Republicans may hold a 'clean' debt-ceiling vote this fall to prove to President Obama that it lacks the support to pass Congress. Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) played that card in 2011 before the parties negotiated the Budget Control Act. At that time, the House voted overwhelmingly to oppose a clean debt-limit increase."
AIR BUBBA - Fox News - Internal Tax documents reveal that former President Bill Clinton's foundation racked up nearly $50 million in travel costs over the past decade. $4.2 million dollars was spent on travel in 2011 alone. This comes on the heels of a scathing NYT report of mismanagement within the foundation and revelations from the NY POST that the foundation flew actress Natalie Portman first class with her pooch to an event.
WITH YOUR SECOND CUP OF COFFEE...WSJ's Ben Casselman, in his piece "Summer jobs elude many teenagers," considers how the slow economic recovery is hurting teenagers, especially low-income ones. "..[W]ith the ranks of unemployed including many better-qualified candidates, companies have little incentive to hire inexperienced teenagers."
Got a TIP from the RIGHT or LEFT? Email FoxNewsFirst@FOXNEWS.COM
POLL CHECK
Real Clear Politics Averages
Obama Job Approval: Approve – 44.5 percent//Disapprove – 50.3 percent
Direction of Country: Right Direction – 29.6 percent Right Track//Wrong Track – 62.2 percent.
OFF TO THE RACES-Campaign Carl Cameron, watching the 2016 field take shape: "Does Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker really think it's too early for 2016 positioning given his assertion Tuesday on Fox News that Rand Paul and Chris Christie are doing the GOP 'a disservice' by sparring for position before next year's midterm elections? On the Democratic side: Is Hillary Clinton too moderate for the post Obama Democratic Party? Both former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren are allowing speculation to flourish about their potential candidacies and they would both be way to Clinton's left."
[Listen to FOX: Gov. Scott Walker R-Wis., discusses his future and the 2016 race on Fox News Radio's "Kilmeade and Friends" in the 10am ET hour.]
FaceBook face time for Rubio - The Tampa Bay Times reports Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., will be meeting today with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerburg in California. While the subject matter of the meeting is unknown, it is suspected immigration may be on the agenda. Zuckerburg has previously funded efforts supporting Rubio on the issue.
Brandstad's buddies - A fundraiser next month for Gov. Terry Brandstad, R-Iowa, is bringing a full slate of 2016 GOP hopefuls. According to an invitation obtained by Politico, "Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker are expected to attend."
Cruz can't just walk out on Canada - Reuters reports that the Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas "…must win security clearance from Canada's spy agency, fill out a four-page form and then wait up to eight months to sever his ties to America's northern neighbor."
First Iowa, then New Hampshire - The Daily Caller reports former Vermont governor and 2004 presidential candidate, Howard Dean, will head to New Hampshire next month to speak on health care. Dean is scheduled to be in Iowa for a labor union event today.
Alexander gets a challenger - WZTV: State Rep. Joe Carr R-Tenn., announced his campaign to unseat Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., Carr told WTN-FM host Ralph Bristol that Alexander was, "the most liberal member of the delegation from Tennessee."
FROM THE READERS - "I wanted to thank [Fox News] for bringing us FoxNewsFirst. I received my first news breakdown and enjoyed it immensely. I have been a long time listener to Fox and this new addition is superb. Keep it up." -- Jack Hord; Fairhope, Ala., via FoxNewsFirst@FOXNEWS.COM [Ed. note: Thanks!]
TECH JOLT - NYT: "The Yellow Jacket smartphone case is meant to protect more than a phone. The $140 smartphone cover conceals a stun gun… the stun gun has an output of 650,000 volts at 0.8 milliamps, which the company said should be painful, but not harmful."
GET SHORTER - One of America's greatest authors of crime novels, Elmore Leonard, died Tuesday at the age of 87. Leonard, whose catalogue includes "Get Shorty" and "Out of Sight," laid out his 10 rules for writing in a 2001 NYT essay, saying "If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it." He acknowledged exceptions, but wrote under these guidelines: 1. Never open a book with weather.//2. Avoid prologues.//3. Never use a verb other than "said" to carry dialogue.//4. Never use an adverb to modify the verb "said."//5. Keep your exclamation points under control.//6. Never use the words "suddenly" or "all hell broke loose."//7. Use regional dialect, patois, sparingly.//8. Avoid detailed descriptions of characters.//9. Don't go into great detail describing places and things.//10. Try to leave out the part that readers tend to skip.
AND NOW, A WORD FROM CHARLES - "The new secretary of State looks at this and says, essentially, these people were not responsible, or they don't really carry any accountability - they are back on the job, as you say, without ever missing a paycheck, and no one is held responsible. Whatever the intent was, it surely is a Clinton protection operation, in effect." – Charles Krauthammer on "Special Report with Bret Baier." Watch the video here.
Chris Stirewalt is digital politics editor for Fox News. Want FOX News First in your inbox every day? Sign up here. To catch Chris live online daily at 11:30amET, click here.
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