Free Republic

The U.S. government has demanded that major Internet companies divulge users' stored passwords, according to two industry sources familiar with these orders, which represent an escalation in surveillance techniques that has not previously been disclosed. If the government is able to determine a person's password, which is typically stored in encrypted form, the credential could be used to log in to an account to peruse confidential correspondence or even impersonate the user. Obtaining it also would aid in deciphering encrypted devices in situations where passwords are reused.

CHICAGO – A state senator will face an investment banker-turned-teacher after each emerged as his party's nominee for a U.S. Senate race that could shape the balance of power in Congress. "This is going to be a contest of ideas," state Sen. Barack Obama said Tuesday after rolling up more than 50 percent of the vote in the Democrat primary, crushing six rivals. The 42-year-old former civil rights lawyer, who could become only the third black U.S. senator in a century, faces Republican Jack Ryan, a 44-year-old millionaire high school teacher who has been dogged by questions about his divorce...