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Today's Headlines Friday, September 6, 2013

IN THIS E-MAIL  World | U.S. | Business | Sports | Arts | Movies | Today's Video |Editorials | Op-Ed | On This Day | CUSTOMIZE »

Top News N.S.A. Able to Foil Basic Safeguards of Privacy on Web By NICOLE PERLROTH, JEFF LARSON and SCOTT SHANE The National Security Agency has secretly circumvented or cracked much of the digital scrambling that protects global commerce, e-mails, phone calls, medical records and Web searches.   Secret Documents Reveal N.S.A. Campaign Against Encryption    Graphic: Unlocking Private Communications Israel Backs Limited Strike Against Syria By JODI RUDOREN For Jerusalem, the status quo in Syria seems preferable to either a victory by President Bashar al-Assad's government or a strengthening of rebel groups. Proudly Patriotic but Skeptical on Syria Attack By MICHAEL WINES As President Obama tries to rally domestic support for military action against Syria, the skepticism in Waynesburg, Pa., underscores the political hurdles he faces. For more top news, go to NYTimes.com »

Editors' Picks U.S.  GRAPHIC: Unlocking Private Communications Encryption tools the N.S.A. has had some success in cracking, according to documents provided by Edward J. Snowden describing the agency's code-breaking capabilities. OPINION | OPINIONATOR Hi, It's Your Doctor By EZEKIEL J. EMANUEL After a half-century, the doctor's house call is making a comeback.

QUOTATION OF THE DAY "This is the golden age of spying." PAUL KOCHER, a cryptographer, on the National Security Agency's ability to circumvent encryption systems in gathering private Internet information.

World Pentagon Is Ordered to Expand Potential Targets in Syria With a Focus on Forces By DAVID E. SANGER and ERIC SCHMITT The Obama administration is now talking about using aircraft to strike specific targets, as intelligence indicates the Syrian government has moved troops and equipment. Egypt's Interior Minister Survives Assassination Attempt By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK and MAYY EL SHEIKH Security officials said a powerful bomb ripped through a convoy of cars carrying the minister, Mohamed Ibrahim, raising fears of a turn toward terrorist violence. Mayoral Run by Putin Critic Vexes Kremlin By STEVEN LEE MYERS Aleksei A. Navalny's improbable campaign for mayor of Moscow has exposed disarray in President Vladimir V. Putin's carefully constructed political system.    Video: Activist Shakes Up Mayor's Race For more world news, go to NYTimes.com/World »

U.S. National Parks Try to Appeal to Minorities By KIRK JOHNSON Only about one in five visitors to a National Park site is nonwhite, according to a report commissioned by the Park Service, and only about 1 in 10 is Hispanic. San Antonio Passes Far-Reaching Antidiscrimination Measure By MANNY FERNANDEZ The City Council's vote capped weeks of debate that exposed racial, religious and gay-and-straight divisions and drew the scorn of the state's Republican leaders and candidates. In Gut Research's Latest Advance, Bacteria From Thin Humans Can Slim Mice Down By GINA KOLATA Mice exposed to gut bacteria of overweight humans become overweight, while those exposed to the microbiomes of thin humans lose weight, a new study found. For more U.S. news, go to NYTimes.com/US »

Business Plan at G-20 Is to Tighten Global Rules on Taxes By ANDREW E. KRAMER The Group of 20 summit meeting is expected to enact new laws that would tighten rules on multinational companies that use subsidiaries to legally avoid paying taxes. DEALBOOK A New Divestment Focus: Fossil Fuels By RANDALL SMITH Concern over global warming has spurred students to dust off investment choice as a weapon in their campaign. But whether it will be as effective this time is another matter. A Biotech King, Dethroned By ANDREW POLLACK David Blech, who was once biotechnology's top gunslinger and was worth about $300 million, is about to begin a four-year prison term, having pleaded guilty to stock manipulation. For more business news, go to NYTimes.com/Business »

Sports Deference to a Revered Record in Japan Is Going, Going ... By HIROKO TABUCHI and JOSHUA HUNT As Wladimir Balentien closes in on a single-season home run record of 55, first set by Sadaharu Oh, many fans are now rooting for Oh's record to fall, a development that once seemed unthinkable. Djokovic Easily Reaches Semifinals By GREG BISHOP Mikhail Youzhny became the first player of this United States Open to take a set from Novak Djokovic, but Djokovic still rolled to a victory in their quarterfinal match. 3 Cities in Running for 2020 Olympics Have Shortcomings By JERÉ LONGMAN All three candidate cities to host the 2020 Summer Games - Istanbul, Tokyo and Madrid - presented risks ahead of Saturday's vote. For more sports news, go to NYTimes.com/Sports »

Arts Putting the Sex in Homosexuality By STEPHEN HOLDEN The 25th edition of NewFest, which features films on gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender issues, appears mostly concerned with primal physical acts between same-sex couples.    Slide Show: Playing at NewFest 'SALINGER' The Punishment for Being Publicity-Shy By A. O. SCOTT The documentary "Salinger," about the author of "The Catcher in the Rye," seeks to tear down the fortress of privacy he erected around his life. ART REVIEW Modernism Blooming in Iran By HOLLAND COTTER Asia Society and the N.Y.U. Grey Art Gallery are mounting exhibitions of art from Iran that illustrate the idea that Modernism has always been a global adventure.    Slide Show For more arts news, go to NYTimes.com/Arts »

Movies Huge Summer for Hollywood, but With Few Blockbusters By BROOKS BARNES Ticket revenue in North America totaled $4.71 billion, up 10.2 percent from last summer, but a competition glut hurt films that could have been hits in a thinner field. Rubber-Suit Monsters Fade. Tiny Tokyos Relax. By MARTIN FACKLER In an era when digital effects have made the use of small models and suited actors look quaint, tokusatsu, or "special filming," is on the way out. ARTSBEAT 'Fifty Shades' Film Gets Its Christian and Anastasia By LARRY ROHTER Charlie Hunnam will play Christian Grey and Dakota Johnson will be Anastasia Steele in the movie adaptation of E.L. James's blockbuster novel. For more movie news and reviews, go to NYTimes.com/Movies »

Obituaries William Glasser, 88, Doctor Who Said One Could Choose Happiness, Is Dead By PAUL VITELLO Dr. Glasser, through "choice theory," posited that people were in much more control of their lives than they realized in solving emotional and mental problems. Zvonko Busic, 67, Croatian Hijacker, Dies By DANIEL E. SLOTNIK Mr. Busic was a Croatian nationalist who in 1976 hijacked a Trans World Airlines flight out of La Guardia Airport and planted a bomb beneath Grand Central Terminal that killed a police officer.

Today's Video  VIDEO: Stuck in Mexico City Traffic In a crowded city of 20 million people and about four million cars, congestion is a way of life.  Related Article  VIDEO: Taking to the Streets in Cambodia Opposition leaders geared up for a protest Saturday against the government of Prime Minister Hun Sen.  Related Article