NSA gathered thousands of Americans' e-mails before court struck down program  —  The National Security Agency unlawfully gathered as many as tens of thousands of e-mails and other electronic communications between Americans as part of a now-discontinued collection program, according to a 2011 secret court opinion.

Disney's ESPN Holds Preliminary Talks for Web-Based TV  —  Walt Disney Co. (DIS)'s ESPN sports network has held preliminary talks to offer programming on a Web-based TV service like those proposed by Google Inc. (GOOG), Sony Corp. and Intel Corp. (INTC)  —  An Internet TV provider …

Yahoo, Foursquare In Talks Over Data Partnership  —  Foursquare sells a lot of ads, but the biggest upside for the location-sharing start-up may be in selling its data.  And sources say Yahoo is interested.  Foursquare, once criticized for not being able to figure out a business, may have finally struck gold deep in its data centers.

Apple poaches Levi's Senior VP for U.S. Retail as search for chief continues  —  Apple has poached Enrique Atienza from Levi Strauss, a global clothing sales powerhouse, to become a top director for its U.S. Retail market, according to sources with knowledge of the hire.

Embedded Posts Now Available to Everyone  —  We introduced Embedded Posts in July to make it easy for publishers to add any public post from Facebook to their blog or web site.  Today, we're excited to make Embedded Posts available to everyone.  We've also added several enhancements based on feedback from our launch partners.

Yahoo #1 Web Property Again In US, First Time Since Early 2008 [Updated with comScore Statement]  —  ComScore just released its monthly Top 50 US Web properties list today.  I've generally stopped looking at this list.  But it was pointed out to me that Yahoo is back at number one.

C is for Choices  —  I have to admit, it was a bit of a thrill breaking the news to the western world of the latest iPhone leak: … Still, it really wasn't anything new (although I did learn the reason for dual flash), and certainly nothing of strategic import. … So let's analyze.

Field Trip now ready for Google Glass  —  The Field Trip app for exploring and learning about your surroundings launches a Glassware app for a more hands-free approach to real-world discovery.  —  Self-guided smartphone tours just got a lot more hands-free, as the Field Trip app …

Maker Studios Buys Blip, and a Home Outside of YouTube (Update)  —  Maker Studios, one of the biggest YouTube networks, is buying Blip, a video maker and distributor.  —  Blip officials informed their staff of the deal this morning, and it is expected to close in early September.

Millions stolen from US banks after ‘wire payment switch’ targeted  —  Three banks plundered with DDoS distraction.  —  Criminals have recently hijacked the wire payment switch at several US banks to steal millions from accounts, a security analyst says.  —  Gartner vice president Avivah Litan …

Amid Executive Changes, HP Posts Declining Q3 Revenue Of $27.2B As Its PC Division Weakens  —  Today HP announced its third-quarter financial performance, including revenue of $27.2 billion, down 8 percent year over year.  The company earned $0.86 per share on a non-GAAP basis.

Telepathy raises $5 million to develop Google Glass rival  —  The Silicon Valley startup uses the funding to hire new engineers for its wearable, programmable computing device.  —  CNET's Scott Stein wearing the prototype Telepathy One headset along with his regular glasses.

Bradley Manning sentenced to 35 years for WikiLeaks disclosures  —  Bradley Manning's court-martial reached an end today, with Army Colonel Denise Lind sentencing him to 35 years in prison.  The WikiLeaks source, arrested in Iraq in 2010 for releasing nearly 700,000 government documents to WikiLeaks …

Microsoft offers classrooms free Surface RT tablets with ad-free Bing for Schools  —  Microsoft's plan to battle Google in the classroom is launching today.  Bing for Schools is a new ad-free version of Microsoft's search service that includes strict filtering and privacy protections designed for schools.

Goldman Invests $40 Million in Salesforce Rival SugarCRM  —  SugarCRM Inc., a maker of sales-tracking software, raised $40 million from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to speed global expansion as it takes on larger rivals Oracle Corp. (ORCL) and Salesforce.com Inc. (CRM)

Tumblr issue causes incorrect posts to appear on users' blogs  —  Only a small number of users were affected, the site said  —  Tumblr is working to resolve an issue causing seemingly random content to be posted to people's blogs that they didn't put there themselves, with pornography showing up in some instances.

Orb Networks shuts down after being acquired by Qualcomm in May  —  Oakland, Calif.-based media streaming startup Orb Networks has been acquired by Qualcomm, and is now winding down its operations in the coming months.  A notice on Orb's home page, first spotted by Engadget …

SmartThings, the “Internet of Things” Company That Connects the Gadgets in Your Home, Launches Its Own Store  —  SmartThings, the connected-home platform that lets you control your lights, your coffee maker and even your door lock from a mobile app, doesn't just want to control them — it wants to sell them, too.

Nearly A Year Later, Twitter Triggers Return to IFTTT With Official Support  —  Today, the ‘Internet glue’ service IFTTT gets a fresh set of Twitter triggers that allow users to build recipes that react to tweets, favorites, retweets and more.  This enables users to return to archiving tweets to Dropbox …