One of the most explosive revelations from the leaks by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden was that the US government was spying on the phone calls of close allies, including German Chancellor, Angela Merkel. President Obama says he doesn’t let there a compelling national security purpose, the US will not monitor the communications of heads of states, of close friends and allies. 

“Leaders of our close friends and allies deserve to know that I want to know what they think about an issue, I’ll pick up the phone and call them rather than turning to surveillance.”

But senior administration officials wouldn’t get into detail about which countries are considered close friends. Tamara Keith, NPR News, Washington. 

 

The Taliban are claiming responsibility for a suicide attack on a popular Lebanese restaurant in the Afghan capital of Kabul.That killed as many as 16 people, including the International Monetary Fund representative in Afghanistan. NPR’s Sean Carberry reports most of victims are foreigners. 

A little after 7 p.m. local time, an explosion shook a residential neighborhood of Kabul. Gunfire followed as police quickly cordon off the area, which is close to a number of embassies. Afghan officials say one attacker blew himself off outside Lebanese Taverna and 2 gunmen entered and began shooting the customers. Security forces eventually killed the 2 gunmen. So far the United Nation says they have personnel unaccounted for, as do other international organizations. The owner of this restaurant, who is a friend of internationalclient-tier, was killed. This attack is particularlystriking that theyindiscriminately targeted foreign civilians. The Taliban generally targeted military or government personnel. Sean Carberry, NPR News, Kabul.

 

California governor Jerry Brown is now officially declaring a drought emergency in the state. The governor’s declarations today clear the way for financial assistances and other helps from the federal government after months of unseasonably dry conditions. 

“Today, I’m declaring a drought emergency in the state of California, because we’re facing perhaps the worst drought that California has ever seen since records began being captured about 100 years ago.”

Brown made announcement at San Francisco, formalizing that many Californians have been aware for months. 

 

Pack shipper UPS is warning Wall Street to expect a lower fourth quarter profits after the company says it was a difficult holiday shopping season. UPS also says it hired 30,000 more seasonal workers in plan to get those packages out on time. 

 

On Wall Street, the Dow was up 41 points to close 16,458; the NASDAQ fell 21 points. 

 

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Secretary of State John Kerry says he’s responding to calls from Canada for the US to make a decision on the controversial Keystone XL Pipeline. Kerry says today he will not be pressured to making a snap judgment on whether to allow 7-billion-dollars pipeline project to go forward. Kerry has joined a conference with Canada 4 Minsters today said that there’s a lot of questions about the 1,700 miles pipeline, which is designed to carry oil from western Canada, US Gulf Coast oil refineries. 

 

Opponents of voter identification requirement scored a victory in Pennsylvania today. A state judge struck down the 2-year-old voter photo ID law, considering to be one of the strictest in the nation. NPR’s Pam Fessler has that story. 

The identification law was enacted in 2012 along a strictly part line. Republicans said it’s needed to prevent voter flawed; Democrats and voting rights groups argued that was in efforts to suppress the votes from minorities and other voters who lack the required ID. Commonwealth Court Judge Bernard McGinley said his decision that the law, which was not enforced in the last election, could disfranchise hundreds of thousands of voters through no flaw to their own. He said it violated the state constitution. He also said there is no evidence that such a law is needed. The state has no immediate response, but the decision is expected to be appealed to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Pam Fessler, NPR News. 

 

Russian president Vladimir Putin says his country intends to do everything possible to ensure the safety of those who participating in an attending to 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Security concerns have been raised in light of recent terror attacks on city of Volgograd. Winter Games begins on February 7th.