Office of the Director of National Intelligence General Counsel Robert Litt delivered remarks titled, "Privacy, Technology, and National Security: An Overview of Intelligence Collection," at the Brookings Institution on July 18, 2013.

Isobel Coleman leads a conversation on the current situation in Egypt, as part of CFR's Religion and Foreign Policy Conference Call series.

Reza Aslan shares an excerpt from his new book, Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth, with the Washington Post.

On July 10, 2013, President Barack Obama's National Economic Council, Domestic Policy Council, Office of Management and Budget, and the Council of Economic Advisers released a report on the "range of benefits to the U.S. economy that would be realized from passage of commonsense immigration reform, and the high costs of inaction."

The new documentary gives voice to the undocumented children of immigrants, while commenting on current U.S. policies.

Across Mexico, the lawlessness and carnage of the drug wars have given rise to scores of local self-defense forces aiming to defend their communities. The federal government may be tempted to disband and disarm these armed vigilantes, but until it can shape up its security sector, the local groups offer an imperfect but acceptable alternative.

As two new books detail, Israel's ultra-Orthodox community has formed a partisan bloc able to manipulate the country's political system even as it makes little effort to hide its contempt for secular democracy. But it is not too late for Israeli centrists to push back.

Peter Orszag writes that cities installing traffic cameras to curb speeding and impose fines may also be tempted to monetize the data that those cameras collect.

Beijing's push for rapid urbanization aims to promote growth, but the socioeconomic effects remain unclear.

Which style of Islam will prevail in Tunisia?

Peter Orszag explains that employment, in and of itself, may provide health benefits in the form of decreased rates of depression, increased mobility, and improved life expectancy as compared to those who are unemployed or retired.

The Guardian obtained a secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court order requiring Verizon to give the National Security Agency "information on all telephone calls in its systems, both within the U.S. and between the U.S. and other countries" on an "ongoing, daily basis" from April 25 through July 19, 2013.

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper released a statement to address the recent "unauthorized disclosure" of a U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court order. The document requires Verizon to provide the National Security Agency with detailed telephone call records of millions of U.S.-based customers on a daily basis. In response, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence has declassified selected details related to the "business records" provision of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

This report discusses the history of constitutional interpretations and legislative responses relevant to the collection of private information for criminal investigation, foreign intelligence gathering, and national security purposes. Next, it summarizes the relevant statutory frameworks and changes made by the USA PATRIOT Act and subsequent measures

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) provides a statutory framework by which government agencies may, when gathering foreign intelligence information, obtain authorization to conduct wiretapping or physical searches, utilize pen registers and trap and trace devices, or access specified business records and other tangible things.

Permanent Representative to the Organization of American States, U.S. Department of State, Carmen Lomellin, discusses her career at the Conference on Diversity in International Affairs.

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom's (USCIRF) Katrina Lantos Swett and Elizabeth K. Cassidy discuss USCIRF's 2013 Annual Report, as part of CFR's Religion and Foreign Policy Conference Call series.

Anya Schmemann remembers life under surveillance in the Soviet Union in light of the recent U.S. embassy staffer's explusion from Moscow.

Dr. Helene D. Gayle and Deputy Administrator Donald K. Steinberg speak about the challenges of combatting child marriage at the launch event for CFR's new report on child marriage.

Child marriage is a global epidemic and a human rights violation that occurs across regions, cultures, and religions. According to Rachel Vogelstein, the success of U.S. efforts to foster economic growth, improve global health, and promote stability and security will grow if this persistent practice comes to an end.