■UNITED STATES
Department reins in NSA
The Justice Department has reined in electronic surveillance by the National Security Agency (NSA) after finding the agency had improperly accessed phone calls and e-mails. The problems were discovered during a review of the intelligence activities, the Justice Department said in a statement on Wednesday night. The New York Times, which first reported the matter on its Web site, said the NSA had been improperly intercepting communications by Americans. In its statement, the Justice Department said it has taken “comprehensive steps to correct the situation and bring the program into compliance.” The Justice Department did not elaborate on what problems it found. Once corrective measures were taken, Attorney General Eric Holder sought authorization for renewing the surveillance program, officials said.
■UNITED STATES
California satellite energy
Californians could soon be powering their homes, and no doubt their hot tubs, from a space-based solar electricity program. The plan by the state’s massive energy company PG&E calls for the generation of 200 megawatts over 15 years to be collected by space-based solar arrays and beamed down to earth via radio frequency. PG&E hopes to have the system running by 2016 and is seeking permission from regulators to contract with a company called Solaren to put the system in place. Experts say that harnessing solar power in space has advantages over terrestrial systems since solar energy can be harvested around the clock and is never obscured by clouds or bad weather. Solaren’s solar-power satellite would consist of mirror arrays up to several kilometers wide that would focus sunlight onto photoelectric cells. The electrical power would be converted into a microwave beam directed toward Earth, where it would be converted back into electricity. The company said the system could generate roughly 1.2 gigawatts to 4.8 gigawatts of power at a price comparable to that of other renewable energy sources.
■GERMANY
US sergeant sentenced
A US Army master sergeant convicted of murder in the 2007 killings of four bound and blindfolded Iraqis was to be sentenced yesterday and could receive life in prison without parole. Master Sergeant John Hatley was convicted of premeditated murder and conspiracy in the execution-style killings. But the jury of eight officers and noncommissioned officers on Wednesday found him not guilty of obstruction of justice in the incident and not guilty of premeditated murder in the January 2007 death of an Iraqi insurgent. Hatley faces a possible sentence of life in prison, but is likely to receive parole and a lesser sentence. He could also see his punishment reduced further through an appeal or other future Army clemency.
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