A.M. Links: NSA Doesn't Need Warrants to Scrutinize Phone Calls, Obama Approval Rating at 18-Month Low, Russia Won't Allow Syria No-Fly Zone

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  White House

  The NSA says it can wiretap domestic phone calls without a warrant, but claims to only have scrutinized fewer than 300 phone numbers.  The president's chief of staff, meanwhile, says President Obama doesn't think the NSA is violating Americans' privacy. At 45 percent, the president's approval rating is at an 18-month low.

• Backers of the Republican candidate running in Massachusetts' special senate election are upset about a perceived lack of outside support, while Democrats worry about a repeat of the 2010 special election.
• Apple disclosed how many thousands of times various U.S. authorities have requested, and received, information on users.
• Russia won't allow a no-fly zone over Syria, while Egypt cut diplomatic relations with the country embroiled in civil war.
• Hassan Rouhani, a Shia cleric and reformist, won the presidential election in Iran.
• At least 30 people have been killed in a series of car bombs across Iraq.
• Turkish police pushed protesters out of Taksim Gezi park, the site of demonstrations over the last several weeks. Turkish trade unions are urging labor strikes this week.

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