NSA vs. civil liberties groups on phone surveillance

U.S. intelligence officials have asked Congress to permanently extend a controversial program that has allowed the National Security Agency to collect millions of telephone records. Civil liberties groups aren’t happy about it.

In mid-August, outgoing Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats wrote leaders of two Senate committees to request that they extend authorization for the NSA to collect business records and U.S. residents’ phone records related to authorized national security investigations.