Last Update on June 17, 2013 07:14 GMT

IN THE NEWS: INTELLIGENCE OFFICIALS CLAIM SURVEILLANCE NOT AS EXTENSIVE AS FIRST THOUGH

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Top U.S. intelligence officials are trying to quiet the criticism of the National Security Agency data-collection programs. The officials aren't saying a whole lot more than they have since the programs were revealed -- but they insist that the policy of scouring through phone and Internet records thwarted terrorist plots in the U.S. and in 20 other countries. The officials also indicate the practice is less sweeping than its critics have claimed. They say last year for example, fewer than 300 phone numbers were checked against the database of millions of U.S. phone records gathered daily by the NSA in one program. The officials add the data that is gathered is destroyed every five years.