News Byte

Amazon to Let Independent Bookstores Sell Kindles and Gives Them a Cut of E-Book Sales

Amazon, which has been blamed in part for the decline of independent bookstores, said it has a new program called Amazon Source to allow them and other retailers to resell Kindle devices and accessories, and also give them 10 percent on every e-book bought on them for two years. “With Amazon Source, customers don’t have to choose between e-books and their favorite neighborhood bookstore — they can have both,” said Amazon Kindle VP Russ Grandinetti in a statement.

Voices

Obama Unaware as U.S. Spied on World Leaders: Officials

The National Security Agency ended a program used to spy on German Chancellor Angela Merkel and a number of other world leaders after an internal Obama administration review started this summer revealed to the White House the existence of the operations, U.S. officials said.

Explaining What It’s Going to Do With All That Dough, Pinterest Unveils Stats on Strong Mobile and International Usage

Yes, you may say it out loud: Has Silicon Valley lost its mind?

Good Eggs Nabs $8.5 Million from Sequoia and Others for Local Farm-to-Fridge Effort (Video)

Founder Rob Spiro talks about getting sustainable food to consumers.

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Apple iPhone Trade-Ins More About Convenience Than Savings

Apple’s long-rumored iPhone trade-in program is up and running at its U.S. stores around the country, adding to a healthy mix of competitors offering similar schemes. But is Apple’s program a good deal?

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Two Dead in San Francisco Plane Crash

Two 16-year-old Chinese girls were identified as the passengers killed in Saturday’s airliner crash in San Francisco.

News Byte

Venezuela Offers Snowden Asylum

Former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden — whom the U.S. government is trying to arrest for revealing classified information about its spying programs — has been offered asylum by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. “He is a young man who has told the truth, in the spirit of rebellion, about the United States spying on the whole world,” said Maduro. It’s not clear if Snowden, who is reportedly still in the transit area of Sheremetyevo airport in Moscow, has accepted the offer, but he has made appeals for asylum to several countries.

FISA Request Data Could Soon Be Public, With Google Also in Talks With U.S. Government About More Disclosure

Secretive government process might become a little less secretive.

Bill Gates on Steve Jobs on “60 Minutes”

Gates: “We grew up together.”

Survey Says: Despite Yahoo Ban, Most Tech Companies Support Work-From-Home for Employees

CEO Marissa Mayer is swimming against the tech workplace tide with her new ban.