Technically, everything can be recorded, so restrictions on what analysts can access are based solely on IT policy. In practice that means data filters are set at "widest allowable aperture," and if data leaves US borders it's automatically scooped.

"If I target for example an email address, for example under FAA 702, and that email address sent something to you, Joe America, the analyst gets it. All of it. IPs, raw data, content, headers, attachments, everything. And it gets saved for a very long time – and can be extended further with waivers rather than warrants," he said.

"Being called a traitor by Dick Cheney is the highest honor you can give an American, and the more panicked talk we hear from people like him, Feinstein, and King, the better off we all are," he said.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler, a New York Democrat, disclosed on Thursday that during a secret briefing to members of Congress, he was told that the contents of a phone call could be accessed "simply based on an analyst deciding that."

If the NSA wants "to listen to the phone," an analyst's decision is sufficient, without any other legal authorization required, Nadler said he learned. "I was rather startled," said Nadler, an attorney and congressman who serves on the House Judiciary committee.

There are serious "constitutional problems" with this approach, said Kurt Opsahl, a senior staff attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation who has litigated warrantless wiretapping cases. "It epitomizes the problem of secret laws."

Earlier, in a speech in Ankara, Mr Erdogan told tens of thousands of AK party supporters: "If Taksim Square is not evacuated, this country's security forces will know how to evacuate it."

Demonstrators have accused Mr Erdogan's government of becoming increasingly authoritarian and of trying to impose conservative Islamic values on a secular state.

Thousands of technology, finance and manufacturing companies are working closely with U.S. national security agencies, providing sensitive information and in return receiving benefits that include access to classified intelligence, four people familiar with the process said.

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), the world’s largest software company, provides intelligence agencies with information about bugs in its popular software before it publicly releases a fix, according to two people familiar with the process.

The FBI has shrugged off growing congressional anxiety over its surveillance of US citizens, claiming such programs could have foiled the 9-11 terrorist attacks and would prevent "another Boston".

He also rejected calls from technology companies such as Google to disclose the scale of the programs, saying even this information could help terrorists seeking to hide their communications.

Lucas' and Spielberg's comments -- alongside those of Xbox executive Don Mattrick at the panel on the sidelines of the E3 gaming conference -- come as the movie industry is starting a record season of "tentpole" films -- the mega-budget film that studios place all their bets on.

After the tentpoles buckle, Lucas predicts a shift that makes going to a movie like going to a Broadway show -- an entertainment outing loaded up with bells and whistles that may cost you up to $150 per ticket.

The movie's distributor, Open Road Films, announced the new release date on Wednesday, according to Deadline Hollywood. The film was initially scheduled for a nationwide release on April 19 but was reportedly pushed back for marketing reasons.

"Jobs" portrays the early life and career of the late Apple leader, traveling from 1971 through 2001 to follow his up-and-down path from college dropout to CEO of the company he co-created.

A majority of Americans – 56% – say the National Security Agency’s (NSA) program tracking the telephone records of millions of Americans is an acceptable way for the government to investigate terrorism, though a substantial minority – 41% – say it is unacceptable.

Currently 62% say it is more important for the federal government to investigate possible terrorist threats, even if that intrudes on personal privacy.

The NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden was condemned by US politicians and threatened with prosecution by the country's intelligence chief on Sunday after revealing himself as the Guardian's source for a series of explosive leaks on the NSA and cyber surveillance.

"If Edward Snowden did in fact leak the NSA data as he claims, the United States government must prosecute him to the fullest extent of the law and begin extradition proceedings at the earliest date," King, a New York Republican, said in a written statement. "The United States must make it clear that no country should be granting this individual asylum. This is a matter of extraordinary consequence to American intelligence."

Two of the football players were actually charged and found guilty of rape. They were sentenced to one and two years of juvenile detention.

But now one of the hackers who brought national attention to their crime could be locked up longer than they will be. Lostutter could go to prison for 10 years if he's convicted of hacking into Big Red's fan page, Mother Jones reports.

"I stood up for a rape victim, I shared information that was public, I had an opinion, and now I am needing you to stand up for me," he wrote on his blog.