To the Point

Michael Hayden, the CIA and Wiretaps without Warrants

When Michael Hayden goes before the Senate Intelligence Committee tomorrow as President Bush's nominee to head the CIA, he'll be carrying heavy baggage. Even Republicans ask if an Air Force general should lead a civilian agency that's supposed to provide a check on military intelligence. Others say Hayden caused the National Security Agency to monitor domestic telephone calls without legal authorization. The President, who previously insisted that only a few members be briefed on the warrantless wiretaps and e-mails that began when Hayden headed the NSA, has agreed that all committee members be party to classified information. Is the Central Intelligence Agency still the heart of America's espionage operations? Will Hayden's nomination shed more light on the NSA's surveillance program? Making News: Enron Case Goes to the JuryThe jury in Houston today began deliberating the fate of Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling. They're the former Enron executives accused of fraud and conspiracy in one of America's biggest corporate scandals. John Emshwiller, whose 24 Days, about the collapse of the energy giant, was in the courtroom for the Wall Street Journal.Reporter's Notebook: Da Vinci Code Sparks Global Protests, Bad ReviewsEveryone knows about The Da Vinci Code, but few have seen it. Christians in South Korea, Thailand, Greece and India are calling for boycotts. The film, whose plot turns on the Catholic Church conspiring to commit murder to keep secret the marriage of Jesus and Mary Magdalene, was screened last night for New York critics and at the Cannes Film Festival. Peter Boyer of New Yorker magazine has more on the reaction and how it was anticipated by Sony Pictures.