Week In Review: NSA Surveillance, Senate Debate, Bulger Jury

We discuss this week's top stories, from the discovery that the National Security Agency has been collecting the phone and Internet records of law-abiding citizens, to the first face-off between the U.S. Senate candidates, to the grueling jury selection process in the trial of James "Whitey" Bulger.

Peter Canellos, editorial page editor for The Boston Globe.

Peter Ubertaccio, chair of the political science department at Stonehill College.

WBUR, "The value of privacy, the protections of our liberties are something that are very unique to this country and something that we have always cherished. The thought that we’re just going to put those things aside because we want to make sure that we cast a wide net to make sure that we know what everybody’s doing in an effort to try to combat crime or terrorism, I think, compromises who we are as a country."

WBUR, "Markey has been in Washington 36 years. He did his best [Wednesday] night to ensure his two next two years are in the Senate. Gomez did his best to keep Markey in the House."

Radio Boston, "One trillion dollars. That’s how much Americans owe in outstanding student loans. The heavy debt burden is a drag on the economy, and tough on young people starting out in life. And that burden is about to get a whole lot heavier. Unless Congress acts, interest rates on government-subsidized student loans will double next month, from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent. There are a number of bills and proposals in Washington to prevent the rate hike."

Radio Boston, "Jury selection in the trial of James 'Whitey' Bulger began today. Judge Denise J. Casper’s 'rule number one' for citizens called to jury duty: ignore media coverage of the case. But, ignoring media coverage may well be impossible, as the trial of Boston’s most notorious gangster is the highest-profile case the region has seen in some time."