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Protests reach fever pitch in Taksim Square – Arwa Damon reports
The situation intensifies in Turkey where protest leaders are now scheduled to sit down face-to-face with the very man they've been rallying against: The prime minister.
Protests reached a fever pitch in Taksim Square last night when demonstrators fended off tear gas, water cannons and stun grenades. And, at times, they themselves set off fireworks in celebration and protest. There was cleanup this morning, but riot police are back out in the square.
Senior International Corresponent Arwa Damon joins us live from Istanbul overlooking Taksim Square with the latest developments.
Black Forest Fire forces thousands of evacuations in Colorado – Dan Simon reports
Five separate wildfires are burning across Colorado, the most troublesome of which is wreaking havoc near Colorado Springs. The Black Forest Fire has already consumed at least 75-hundred acres and forced the evacuation of some five thousand homes. CNN's Dan Simon has more on the scene.
Fmr. NFL star Chad Johnson gets 30 days jail time for butt slapping his attorney in court – Pam Brown reports
After he was asked if he was pleased with his attorney, the former wide receiver once known as "Chad Ochocinco" gave his lawyer, Adam Swickle, a gentle pat on the rear.
McHugh was furious when people in the audience laughed.
"There's nothing funny about what's going on here today," she told Johnson.
Johnson, 35, replied that he wasn't laughing.
Then McHugh said, "I don't think anything's funny about it, Mr. Johnson. This isn't a joke."
Johnson said he didn't do it as a joke.
Swickle agreed, saying: "I don't think it was done as any disrespect to the court. I don't think he meant to get a reaction from the court room, judge."
The judge told Johnson she wouldn't accept a plea deal that involved only community service and more anger management counseling. Instead, she sentenced him to 30 days in jail and tacked three months onto his one-year probation, which would have ended in September.
READ MORE: Butt pat lands former NFL star Chad Johnson in jail
Police move into Istanbul's Taksim Square in day 12 of protests – Nick Paton Walsh reports
CNN is reporting breaking news from Turkey this morning.
Police in riot gear have moved into Istanbul's Taksim Square where they have been facing off with protesters using tear gas and water cannons. Turkey's Prime Minister spoke with lawmakers about the situation just moments ago and plans to meet with protest organizers tomorrow.
CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is live with the latest on the riots and discontent in Istanbul.
Tornadoes, rip tides, heatwaves across the country – Indra Petersons reports
Extreme weather is striking across the country with heat waves out west and storms spinning out tornadoes in places like Maryland and Kentucky. Indra Petersons is tracking the latest.
NSA leaker revealed; who is Edward Snowden? – Barbara Starr reports
A 29-year-old computer technician for a U.S. defense contractor leaked details of a top-secret American program that collects vast streams of phone and Internet data, American and British newspapers revealed Sunday.
"My sole motive is to inform the public as to that which is done in their name and that which is done against them," the source, Edward Snowden, told Britain's the Guardian, one of the papers that broke stories on the program last week.
The Washington Post also disclosed Sunday that Snowden was the source on its stories.
Snowden is a former technical assistant for the CIA and has been working at the National Security Agency, the U.S. electronic intelligence service, for the past four years, the newspaper reported. He said he walked away from a six-figure job in Hawaii for the computer consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton and has holed up in a hotel in Hong Kong in preparation for the expected fallout from his disclosures.
READ MORE: NSA leaker comes forward, warns of agency's 'existential threat'
Political fallout after NSA leaker reveals himself – Brianna Keilar reports
The Justice Department is now officially launching an investigation into the unauthorized leaks made by Ex-CIA employee Edward Snowden regarding the NSA.
Intelligence committee leaders both in the House and Senate are now saying Snowden should be prosecuted. Brianna Keilar has more on the story.
George Zimmerman trial begins today with jury selection – George Howell reports
Self-defense or murder?
That's the question at the heart of the trial of George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer who killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.
Monday marks the start of jury selection in Seminole County, Florida, where Martin was fatally shot on February 26, 2012. (...)
An initial decision not to pursue charges against Zimmerman led to the dismissal of the town's police chief and the appointment of a special prosecutor, who accused the neighborhood watch volunteer of unjustly profiling and killing Martin.
Zimmerman now faces a second-degree murder charge in Martin's death. He has pleaded not guilty and is currently free on $1 million bond.
READ MORE: Self-defense or murder? George Zimmerman goes on trial
Fierce battle at Kabul airport – The Times of London reporter Jeremy Kelly reports
CNN is reporting breaking news from Afghanistan this morning.
A battle erupted between Taliban fighters and Afghan security forces near the airport in Kabul overnight. The Taliban is claiming the attack was intended to target Americans.
The Times of London reporter Jeremy Kelly delivers the latest live from Kabul. Kelly says this attack does not indicate an increase in attacks on Americans as the U.S. prepares to pull out from Afhanistan. "This has been a continuation of a Taliban tactic for some time now, where they are preferring to target Afghan security forces," he says. "They're perceived as a softer target and easier to attack."
U.S. intelligence agencies mining data of at least 9 Internet companies – Barbara Starr reports
America's top intelligence official on Thursday night challenged news reports claiming Facebook posts, Gmail messages and more have been intercepted for years in a vast data-mining operation, saying the reports "contain numerous inaccuracies."
The Guardian, a British newspaper, and the Washington Post reported Thursday that U.S. intelligence agencies had access to the central servers of nine of the country's biggest technology firms including Microsoft, Apple, Google, Yahoo and Facebook.
The Post reported the program - called PRISM - underwent "exponential growth" since its founding in 2007. In fact, the newspaper said the program has become the leading source of raw material for the National Security Agency, the secretive U.S. intelligence operation that monitors electronic communications.
READ MORE: Top U.S. intel official challenges reports that spy agencies mined Internet data
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