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The amicus brief was filed by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and a number of media organizations. It supports a Center for Constitutional Rights' suit seeking a preliminary injunction from the U.S. District Court in Baltimore that would require the U.S. military court trying Manning to release all filed documents as the court martial progresses.

Throughout the course of the legal proceedings against Manning, journalists have had a difficult time obtaining the vast majority of pre-trial documents and docket listings. This in turn has made it very difficult to comprehensively and accurately cover the Manning case, the news groups have argued. The National Press Club and the other organizations are not weighing in on the guilt or innocence of Manning but instead are pushing for more transparency.

"The interest in openness in this case is not mere curiosity but rather a concern about the integrity of this nation's government and military courts. But the pervasive secrecy underlying the Manning prosecution has reinforced and indeed fueled a theory that the U.S. government keeps far too many secrets in an attempt to evade public oversight," the amicus brief states.

The National Press Club in September 2012 signed on to an earlier friend-of-the-court brief in this matter that was delivered to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. The court determined it did not have the jurisdiction to make a ruling on a third party's suit for access and recommended filing the claim in federal court, which the Center for Constitutional Rights has done.

The National Press Club, established in 1908 and located in Washington, D.C., is the world's leading professional organization for journalists. It counts among its members more than 3,000 reporters and news sources. Working through its Press Freedom Committee, the Club is an ardent advocate of press freedom and open government in the United States and around the world.

Contact: John Donnelly, 202-650-6738

SOURCE National Press Club

A White House official confirmed the personnel changes Wednesday morning ahead of a planned announcement by the president later in the day.

Donilon has been a key foreign policy adviser to Obama since he first took office. But the 58-year-old had been expected to depart sometime this year, with Rice seen as the likely candidate to replace him.

Rice, a close Obama confidante, came under withering criticism from Republicans as part of the investigations into the deadly attack on a U.S. compound in Benghazi, Libya. Rice, relying on talking points from the intelligence community, said in television interviews that the attacks were likely spontaneous, which was later proven incorrect.

Obama considered nominating Rice as his second-term secretary of state, but she withdrew amid the GOP criticism, saying she didn't want her confirmation fight to be a distraction for the White House. The president instead nominated John Kerry, who easily won confirmation from his former Senate colleagues.

Rice's new post as national security adviser does not require Senate confirmation.

Obama will also name Samantha Power, a human rights expert and former White House adviser, to replace Rice as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Power left the White House earlier this year, though she was considered the president's likely pick to move to the U.N. should Rice be promoted to the White House.

Power won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize in general nonfiction for her book "A Problem From Hell: America and the Age of Genocide," which examined U.S. foreign policy toward genocide in the 20th century. She is a graduate of Yale University and Harvard Law School.

The White House official said Donilon is expected to stay on the job until early July, after Obama wraps up overseas trips to Europe and Africa, as well as an unusual summit in California later this week with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The official insisted on anonymity in order to discuss the personnel changes before they were publicly announced.

Donilon has overseen a foreign policy agenda at the White House that put increased emphasis on the U.S. relationship with Asia. He's also played a key role in the administration's counterterrorism strategy, including the raid that led to the death of Osama bin Laden, and in managing the complex U.S. ties with Russia.

Rice, who first started working for Obama during his 2008 presidential campaign, has a close relationship with the president and many of his advisers. She's known for being outspoken on human rights issues and also pushed for a more interventionist strategy in Libya.

(Reuters) - Twitter Inc unveiled technology to boost security for its users, following a spate of attacks on accounts of prominent media outlets including the Associated Press, the Financial Times and The Onion.

The micro blogging site, which transmits some 400 million messages a day, said on Wednesday that it had begun rolling out an optional "login verification" service to thwart hackers seeking to hijack accounts with stolen passwords.

Security experts welcomed the move as a positive step toward securing a service that is widely used by consumers, political activists, advertisers and news outlets around the globe to quickly exchange information.

Twitter had come under fire over the past year for failing to offer such an option, which is known as two-factor authentication, amid a surge in breaches of high-profile accounts. That criticism intensified in April after a fake tweet about a non-existent White House explosion sent from the Associated Press account briefly roiled U.S. financial markets.

"It's been a long time coming," said Jeremiah Grossman, chief technology officer of White Hat Security. "It's not going to solve all problem, but it's a step in the right direction."

When users log in to Twitter via a web browser, they must confirm their identity by entering a six-digit code that Twitter delivers to their smartphones. To access the service through applications for PCs and smartphones, users must use an automatically generated temporary password for each of the programs.

Twitter described the offering in a blog post, reminding users that they still need to use strong passwords to keep accounts secure.

The approach is similar to security tools previously introduced by other Internet services from companies including Facebook Inc, Google Inc and Microsoft Corp.

"This would have made the AP hack and other hacks against Twitter more difficult to accomplish," said Jeffrey Carr, CEO of cyber security firm Taia Global Inc.

Yet he added that hackers looking to break into corporate accounts will still be able to do so if they can take control of PCs or smartphones running applications authorized to use the service.

"Two-factor authentication isn't perfect," Carr said. "If you own the machine, it really doesn't matter."

(Reporting by Jim Finkle; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oscar-winning film star Angelina Jolie revealed on Tuesday that she underwent a double mastectomy after learning she had inherited a high risk of breast cancer and said she hoped her story would inspire other women fighting the life-threatening disease.

Jolie, an actress who has long embodied Hollywood glamour and has in recent years drawn nearly as much attention for her globe-trotting work on behalf of refugees as for her role as a celebrity mom, disclosed her choice in an op-ed column in the New York Times.

The 37-year-old performer, raising a family with fellow film star and fiance Brad Pitt, wrote that she went through with the operation in part to reassure her six children that she would not die young from cancer, as her own mother did at age 56.

"We often speak of 'Mommy's mommy,' and I find myself trying to explain the illness that took her away from us. They have asked if the same could happen to me," wrote Jolie.

"I have always told them not to worry, but the truth is I carry a 'faulty' gene."

The actress, who won an Oscar as best supporting actress for her 1999 role in the film "Girl, Interrupted," said she opted for the surgery after her doctors had estimated she had an 87 percent risk of breast cancer and 50 percent risk of ovarian cancer, due to an inherited genetic mutation.

"Once I knew this was my reality, I decided to be proactive and to minimize the risk as much as I could. I made a decision to have a preventive double mastectomy," she said. She said her breast cancer risk had dropped to under 5 percent as a result.

Celebrities, cancer survivors and doctors expressed admiration for her openness, saying she was an inspiration for other women.

"I commend Angelina Jolie for her courage and thoughtfulness in sharing her story today regarding her mastectomy. So brave!" tweeted singer Sheryl Crow, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006.

Singer Kylie Minogue, another cancer survivor, thanked Jolie for helping women, as did television host Giuliana Rancic, who also had surgery after being diagnosed with the disease.

"Angelina Jolie reveals double mastectomy. Proud of her for using her incredible platform to educate women," Rancic said on Twitter.

PITT AT HER SIDE

Pitt was by Jolie's side through three months of treatment that ended late in April, she said. The two became engaged last year.

"Having witnessed this decision firsthand, I find Angie's choice, as well as so many others like her, absolutely heroic," Pitt told London's Evening Standard newspaper.

"All I want is for her to have a long and healthy life, with myself and our children. This is a happy day for our family."

Jolie opted for reconstruction with implants. Breast tissue was removed during surgery and temporary fillers were inserted in their place. Nine weeks later the surgery was completed with the implants.

"On a personal note, I do not feel any less of a woman," she wrote. "I feel empowered that I made a strong choice that in no way diminishes my femininity."

The actress decided to be open about her surgery after finishing treatment to help women who might be living under the shadow of cancer.

"It is my hope that they, too, will be able to get gene tested," she said.

Breast cancer kills about 458,000 people each year, according to the World Health Organization. It is estimated that one in 300 to one in 500 women carry a BRCA 1 or BRCA 2 gene mutation, as Jolie does.

CNN anchor Zoraida Sambolin announced on Tuesday that she had breast cancer and was also getting a double mastectomy.

Sambolin, who anchors CNN's "Early Start" morning show, discussed her condition on the show while talking about Jolie's procedure.

"I struggled for weeks trying to figure out how to tell you that I had been diagnosed with breast cancer and was leaving to have surgery," Sambolin, 47, said on Facebook. "Then ... Angelina Jolie shares her story of a double mastectomy and gives me strength and an opening."

Dr Chet Nastala, a breast surgeon at PRMA Plastic Surgery in San Antonio, Texas, said Jolie's fame and openness about her treatment will have a big impact on women faced with the same decision.

"It is difficult to go public," he said in an interview. "It shows a lot of courage."

In past 10 years the PRMA practice has done about 5,000 reconstructive breast surgeries and about 20-30 percent have been for preventative mastectomies.

Dr. Kristi Funk, director of the Pink Lotus Breast Center in Beverly Hills where Jolie was treated, also applauded her choice.

"We hope that the awareness she is raising around the world will save countless lives," said Funk at a brief news conference outside the clinic.

Richard Francis, head of research at the Breakthrough Breast Cancer charity in Britain, said it demonstrated the importance of educating women with the gene fault.

"For women like Angelina it's important that they are made fully aware of all the options that are available, including risk-reducing surgery and extra breast screening," Francis told Reuters.

Jolie also lends her star power to a range of humanitarian causes, including serving more than 10 years as a goodwill ambassador for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.

In April, she urged governments to step up efforts to bring wartime sex offenders to justice.

(Additional reporting by Paul Casciato, Eric Kelsey, Steve Gorman, Elaine Lies and Belinda Goldsmith; Editing by Mary Milliken and Cynthia Osterman)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - French electronic dance music duo Daft Punk scored their first No. 1 album on the U.S. Billboard 200 album chart on Wednesday, as their risk to use retro technology paid off with fans.

"Random Access Memories," the highly anticipated fourth studio album from Daft Punk, sold 339,000 copies in its first week, according to figures from Nielsen SoundScan. That was the group's best sales week to date.

Digital downloads of the album were approximately 65 percent of overall sales, with 221,000 copies downloaded.

Daft Punk, formed by childhood friends Thomas Bangalter, 38, and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, 39, were at the forefront of electronic dance music in the 1990s, fusing synthesizers and computers to create music on hits such as "Around the World." Daft Punk became popular figures in the dance music field, known for wearing shiny helmets on stage and being elusive and unpredictable.

For the release of their latest album, they stayed away from big stages and instead launched it at a small music festival in the small Australian town of Wee Waa on May 17, which they themselves did not attend.

After the 2005 album "Human After All," Bangalter and de Homem-Christo said they took time out to explore "uncharted territories" in their field, waiting eight years before releasing "Random Access Memories."

"It's always been a quest (with the) making of each record, somehow reinventing ourselves a little bit, and this time we feel like it's the same musical influence somehow that we maybe had 15 years ago on our first record," Bangalter told Reuters ahead of the album's release.

"Random Access Memories" is not just an homage to the dance floor music of the late 1970s but an attempt to capture the actual time period itself, the duo said.

"If you listen to Pink Floyd records or the majority of the albums in the late 1970s, they were really experimenting with art, elegance, radicality and integrity," Bangalter said. "That was inspiring for this record, to try to do something that has certain elegance and certain experimentation to it."

The new album features numerous collaborators, including singer Julian Casablancas of the Strokes, veteran Italian music producer Giorgio Moroder and R&B singer Pharrell Williams, who lent his vocals to the raunchy dance floor track "Get Lucky."

ANALOG IN A DIGITAL WORLD

After inspiring a new wave of electronic dance music DJs in the past decade that has included David Guetta, "Random Access Memories" sees Daft Punk strip away all digital components, recording solely with live instruments onto analog tape in a studio setting.

"Digital technologies are more efficient at working on other aspects of music, like dynamic and energetic qualities," Bangalter said.

"In the same way that sometimes a film camera seems to grab a moment in raw emotion than with a digital camera, that's what analog tape usually is ... it tends to - and we don't know why - grab a magic moment that is emotional."

The risk of going analog appears to have paid off, as the duo topped the Billboard chart with the second-highest debut album of the year, behind only Justin Timberlake's "The 20/20 Experience," which opened in March with 968,000 copies.

"Get Lucky," which first premiered as a music video broadcast at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Southern California in April, has been streamed more than 33 million times globally on Spotify since its April 18 release.

Daft Punk led four new albums debuting in the top 10 of the Billboard chart this week. Darius Rucker, frontman of rock group Hootie & the Blowfish, entered the chart at No. 2 this week with his country solo effort, "True Believers," selling 83,000 copies.

Rock band The National landed at No. 3 with "Trouble Will Find Me," while rapper French Montana rounded out the debuts in the top 10 this week with his first album, "Excuse My French," at No. 4.

Rockers 30 Seconds to Mars landed at No. 6 the album "Love Lust Faith + Dreams," while last week's chart-toppers, Vampire Weekend, fell to No. 7 this week as sales of "Modern Vampires of the City" dropped by 64 percent.

(Editing by Eric Kelsey and Bill Trott)

The director of civil defense for Oaxaca state, Manuel Maza Sanchez, said a 61-year-old man from Colorado died while surfing at Playa Azul, a beach near the resort town of Puerto Escondido, as Barbara made landfall about 120 miles (200 kilometers) to the east. He said the man was dragged out by waves kicked up by Barbara and then battered against the shore.

The U.S. Embassy in Mexico City was not immediately able to confirm the man's name, nationality or hometown.

Maza Sanchez also said a 26-year-old Mexican man drowned in the nearby city of Pinotepa Nacional while trying to cross a rain-swollen creek.

Farther to the east, near the landfall area, 14 fishermen who set out to sea Wednesday morning in the town of Tapanatepec, Oaxaca, had been reported missing, Maza said.

Barbara made landfall at midafternoon with winds of about 75 mph (120 kph) and headed inland, where it was expected to weaken quickly.

On May 23, the National Hurricane Center had said odds favor a below-normal hurricane season in the eastern Pacific for 2013. It said 11 to 16 named storms were likely, below the 15-storm annual average for 1981-2010.

But Barbara appeared to start the Pacific season unusually early, and it also made landfall farther east than any other Pacific hurricane since 1966. Such storms often form closer to the resort of Acapulco, to the west.

The hurricane was moving roughly north over land at about 9 mph (15 kph) over sparsely populated terrain, but flooding was reported in some areas and could remain a threat even after the storm weakened.

Officials in Oaxaca had rushed to prepare emergency shelters and suspended school for children in coastal communities as rain began lashing the coast when the storm formed close to shore.

The area first hit by the storm is a largely undeveloped stretch of coastal lagoons, punctuated by small fishing villages.

The major Gulf oil port of Coatzacoalcos is located on the other side of the narrow waist of Mexico known as the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. But the hurricane center said the storm should weaken rapidly once it hit land, well before reaching Coatzacoalcos.

Maza Sanchez said ports had been closed to navigation in tourist resorts of Puerto Angel, Puerto Escondido and Huatulco, all located more than 120 miles (200 kilometers) to the west.

He said classes would be suspended at schools along the coast for the rest of the week. Storm shelters were being set up in 20 towns and hamlets. Such shelters are frequently installed at local schools.

He has been very "hand-sy" with me -- giving me massages, kissing my cheek -- and this all makes me very uncomfortable. I thought it was because he hasn't seen me in a while, but today as I was leaving to go to my mom's, he slapped my butt as I walked out the door. Now I'm scared. I spend a lot of the day at home with him alone. I don't want things to get out of hand. Any advice? -- WORRIED IN DELAWARE

DEAR WORRIED: Your father has lost three years with you. He may not realize that his "little girl" is no longer a child. That is why it is important that you tell him what he's doing makes you uncomfortable. You should also tell your mother and grandparents about what's happening and that it scares you. You do not have to tolerate unwanted contact, and if it persists, report it to a teacher or counselor at school or contact me again.

DEAR ABBY: I have a dilemma. I work in a small high school in a student support position. Girls come into my office who are pregnant and excited about it! Telling them congratulations for putting themselves in this position seems counterproductive, or like I am endorsing this choice. I don't!

No high school girls -- or boys, for that matter -- should put themselves in a position to be a parent when they themselves aren't fully grown and independent. I feel like saying, "You have ruined your life" instead, but I hold my tongue. What do you suggest? -- DON'T WANT TO ENCOURAGE THEM IN ILLINOIS

DEAR DON'T WANT TO ENCOURAGE: Your job is to support the students, not to condemn or endorse their predicament. Telling a pregnant girl she has ruined her life isn't helpful. What you need to do is encourage the girl to get a diploma while she can.

Too many girls fail to complete their high school education when they have a baby, and it impedes their ability to provide for themselves and their child because they are suited only for minimum-wage jobs. If you are enthusiastic about helping them, your positive attitude may be contagious and inspire them to succeed.

DEAR ABBY: I wrote you a short time ago about my marital problems, but I have to share this with you! My husband, who walked out on me, went to a counselor for a session. Then we went together, and he learned a few things about me and himself.

He is coming back, and we are going to work harder at our marriage. We both recognize there were places where we needed to work together more, that he doesn't need to be afraid to talk to me and I can be pretty understanding.

Thank you so much for being there, Abby. I know you always recommend talking to a counselor before doing anything rash, and you are so right. It made all the difference. -- GRATEFUL WIFE IN ARIZONA

DEAR GRATEFUL: I'm pleased counseling helped to open the clogged lines of communication between you and your husband. While it may seem expensive, it's far cheaper than a divorce can be, both emotionally and financially.

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Write Dear Abby ator P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.

To receive a collection of Abby's most memorable -- and most frequently requested -- poems and essays, send your name and mailing address, plus check or money order for $7 (U.S. funds) to: Dear Abby -- Keepers Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, IL 61054-0447. Shipping and handling are included in the price.

Armstrong founded Livestrong in 1997 after he was diagnosed with testicular cancer, and the group flourished during his cycling career, which saw him win the grueling Tour de France race seven times.

The cyclist stepped down from Livestrong after being stripped of his titles last fall amid accusations that he used performance-enhancing drugs.

"We expected changes like this," Katherine McLane, a Livestrong spokeswoman, said in a conference call with reporters of the decision by Nike. "We are not the organization that we were a year ago."

She described the foundation as being in a "rebuilding" mode.

"Could there be fallout? Of course," she said. "We remain enormously confident. ... We are in strong fiscal shape."

Nike, which has helped support the foundation since 2004, helped raise more than $100 million through creation of the group's distinctive yellow wristbands and production of Livestrong apparel and footwear, the spokeswoman said.

Nike said it would end production of its Livestrong gear and apparel after the holiday 2013 line but would continue to support the foundation by funding it directly.

Livestrong said the contract with Nike was set to conclude at the end of 2014 and will not be renewed, and she said the impact had been factored into the foundation's fiscal outlook.

"We hoped a change like this wouldn't occur but certainly planned for it," McLane she said. "There will be no immediate financial effect."

Armstrong stepped down as chairman of the charity in October. Nike said at that time that it would still back the charity but no longer sponsor the man behind it.

"Due to the seemingly insurmountable evidence that Lance Armstrong participated in doping and misled Nike for more than a decade, it is with great sadness that we have terminated our contract with him," the company at the time.

Nike will benefit from distancing itself from the charity and from the scandal-stained athlete, said Robert Boland, a professor of sport management at New York University's Tisch Center.

"Their relationship with Livestrong was so based on Lance Armstrong and his story that it's almost impossible to separate them from a branding standpoint," Boland said.

"The chief thing that is motivating Nike is they're looking to move on and put their years with Lance Armstrong behind them."

Nike said more than 87 million of the foundation's well-known wristbands have been distributed since their inception.

Austin, Texas-based Livestrong said in a statement that "this news will prompt some to jump to negative conclusions about the foundation's future. We see things quite differently."

Armstrong in January finally admitted that he had used performance-enhancing drugs after years of denial. In an interview with Oprah Winfrey, he said having to sever ties with Livestrong was his "most humbling moment."

Last month, the U.S. government filed court documents laying out a case against Armstrong, who is accused of defrauding the U.S. Postal Service by taking millions of dollars in sponsorship money while flouting professional cycling rules by doping.

Armstrong and his teammates were paid $40 million by the Postal Service from 1998 to 2004, according to the government's suit. Armstrong's salary during that time, excluding bonuses, was $17.9 million, according to the complaint.

(Reporting by Scott Malone, Phil Wahba and Ellen Wulfhorst; Writing by Ellen Wulfhorst; Editing by Leslie Adler and Marguerita Choy)

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TALLAHASSEE (Reuters) - Florida Governor Rick Scott signed the largest budget in his state's history on Monday while vetoing a college tuition increase and axing $368 million in projects he said did not meet his Republican criteria of job creation, education improvement and holding down the cost of government.

Scott, who had a tough time selling some of his economic priorities in the Republican-led legislative session that ended May 3, used his line-item veto to delete a 3 percent tuition hike. The increase was a priority of House Speaker Will Weatherford, a fellow Republican who had personally thwarted the governor's plan to expand Medicaid during the session.

At a news conference before leaving on a trade mission to Chile, Scott said he was not punishing the presiding officers with his vetoes in the $74.1 billion budget.

But some of Scott's vetoes appeared to be made with an eye toward his re-election in 2014. He allowed $1 million for a Bay of Pigs Museum in Miami but vetoed $500,000 for Broward County's Holocaust Documentation and Education Center and axed $1 million earmarked for the Black Cultural Tourism Enhancement Commission.

Cuban-Americans tend to vote Republican in the Miami area, while blacks and Jewish voters mainly support Democrats.

"It's really tough to make these decisions," Scott said, when asked about the vetoes. "I look at every project and say, 'Will it help create more jobs? Will it improve our education system? Will it keep the cost of government low?'"

Scott's opposition to the tuition increase was expected and could still be challenged in court.

Scott also vetoed $50 million for a cross-state bicycle trail, saying it was nice but not vital for improving education and the economy.

The budget contains $480 million for teacher pay raises of $2,500 for good-performing teachers and $3,500 for those rated superior. State employees will get their first general raises in six years, $1,400 for those making less than $40,000 and $1,000 for others.

Weatherford praised Scott's budget decisions. "While we did not agree on every line item, he signed 95 percent of our budget, which is a resounding endorsement of the House and Senate work product," the speaker said.

Other Republicans praised Scott for signing a budget that did not raise taxes while increasing the salaries of state workers and teachers.

There was also $70 million for Everglades restoration.

"This is the most important environmental and economic restoration project in the world," said Eric Eikenberg, CEO of the Everglades Foundation. "Our foundation is grateful to be part of protecting and preserving this very special ecosystem that Florida families and our growing population can rely on for years to come, as a clean-water source and natural wonder."

Senate Minority Leader Chris Smith, a Democrat, said he was "extremely disappointed" by the governor's line-item vetoes.

"His targets reveal a basic misunderstanding of the critical role local communities, and local community projects, play in Florida," said Smith.

(Editing by David Adams and Dan Grebler)