10 things you need to know today: June 10, 2013

A former CIA employee identifies himself as the NSA leaker, thousands are forced to evacuate their homes as flooding in Europe persists, and more

German soldiers ride an amphibious transporter through floodwaters from the swollen Elbe river on June 9 in Magdeburg.
(Image credit: Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

1. NSA LEAKER COMES FORWARD

Edward Snowden, a 29-year-old former CIA employee, identified himself Sunday as the person behind the biggest intelligence leak in the National Security Agency's history. Snowden, a tech specialist who has done contract work for the NSA, said he disclosed secret documents on the agency's broad telephone and internet surveillance programs to expose the "surveillance state" and ignite debate on privacy. He is now holed up in a Hong Kong hotel seeking asylum. [Washington Post]

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
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.