10 things you need to know today: October 23, 2013

American spy chief denies hacking French phone calls, most Americans now back marijuana legalization, and more

Marijuana legalization
(Image credit: (Marc Piscotty/Getty Images))

1. American officials deny reports of spying on French citizens

U.S. intelligence chief James Clapper said late Tuesday that France's claim that the National Security Agency had collected data on French citizens' phone calls was "false." The French daily Le Monde, citing secret documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, reported that the NSA had collected more than 70 million "recordings of French citizens' telephone data," a claim that Clapper said was "misleading and inaccurate." France has summoned the U.S. ambassador in outrage. [BBC News]

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Harold Maass, The Week US

Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.