10 things you need to know today: February 7, 2013

Brennan heads to hearing for CIA post, Boy Scouts delay decision on gay ban, and more in our roundup of the stories that are making news and driving opinion

The Boy Scouts of America won't have a decision about its gay ban until May.
(Image credit: Tom Pennington/Getty Images)

1. BRENNAN HEADS TO CONFIRMATION HEARING FOR TOP CIA POST

John Brennan, deputy national security adviser to President Obama, heads to the Senate Thursday for his confirmation hearing as the nominee for CIA director. Brennan's meeting comes amid heightened anger over new details about the government's clandestine drone program, which Brennan "essentially institutionalized himself." On Monday, NBC published a confidential Justice Department memo outlining the expansive justification with which the U.S. authorizes drone strikes. On Wednesday, the White House directed the Justice Department to release to two congressional intelligence committees classified documents discussing the legal justification for killing, by drone strikes and other means, American citizens abroad who are considered terrorists. The announcement appears to refer to a 2010 memo justifying the killing of Anwar al-Awlaki, an American-born cleric who had joined al Qaeda in Yemen. He was killed in a CIA drone strike in September 2011. Members of Congress have long demanded access to the document. [CBS News, New York Times]

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Frances is a senior editor at TheWeek.com, managing the website on the early morning shift and editing stories on everything from politics to entertainment to science and tech. She's a graduate of Yale and the University of Missouri journalism school, and has previously worked at TIME and Real Simple. You can follow her on Twitter and on Tumblr.