NSA Faces Court Challenges Over Domestic Spying

A little more attention than the agency likes

WASHINGTON — The federal government's once-secret telephone and Internet surveillance programs face crucial court hearings in Washington and New York this coming week, but the Supreme Court won't reconsider the decisions of a secret federal court.

The challenges, brought by liberal, conservative and privacy watchdog groups, raise the prospect that a federal judge could order at least a temporary halt to the National Security Agency's snooping on millions of Americans.