A Twitter transparency report released Wednesday showed that the U.S. government is making increasing numbers of requests for user data, reflecting what has become a point of contention between Internet companies and authorities.

From January to June, U.S. authorities made 902 requests for user information on 1,319 separate Twitter accounts, according to the report. The company's report for the first six months of 2012 showed that the U.S. government made 679 requests.

The report broke down request numbers by legal process, including subpoenas, search warrants and court orders, but did not specify how many of those requests were related to national security.

"An important conversation has begun about the extent to which companies should be allowed to publish information regarding national security requests," Twitter's Manager for Legal Policy Jeremy Kessel wrote on the company blog. "We have joined forces with industry peers and civil liberty groups to insist that the United States government allow for increased transparency into these secret orders. We believe it’s important to be able to publish numbers of national security requests – including FISA disclosures – separately from non-secret requests. Unfortunately, we are still not able to include such metrics."

Google recently filed a motion with the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court asking the court to relax its gag order on disclosing FISA request numbers.

MSNBC host Thomas Roberts stopped himself on air Wednesday after calling Sydney Leathers, the woman who traded sexts with New York City mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner, "batshit."

Roberts played a clip of Leather's interview with Howard Stern's radio show, in which she explained how Weiner "lured her in" to the sexting situation.

"This chick is so batshit you know --" Roberts said before stopping himself. "Excuse me. But Leathers is reportedly considering a porn deal now. So that's why I say that this whole thing is such a big mess."

Watch:

Another San Diego woman came forward Tuesday night to say that San Diego Mayor Bob Filner once gave her a "wet, saliva-filled kiss" on the cheek in a business meeting, making her the eighth woman to do so since allegations of the mayor's unwanted advances toward women began to surface.

Lisa Curtin, the director of government and military education at San Diego City College, told San Diego's KPBS News that Filner also examined her wedding band and asked if it was real during a 2011 meeting to discuss property around the city's Naval Training Center.

"He then asked me if it could come off while I was in D.C. and if I would go out with him,” Curtin told KPBS. “I said I really didn’t think so. And at that point, he pulled my hand closer to him and he reached over to kiss me. I turned my head at that moment and on the side of my face, I got a very wet, saliva-filled kiss including feeling his tongue on my cheek.”

Last week, Filner announced that he would enter a behavorial counseling clinic for two weeks, but would not be resigning the mayor's office.

Watch the interview below, courtesy of KPBS: 

North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory (R) may have previously refused to speak with protesters about an abortion bill he signed, but on Tuesday he stunned a group of demonstrators by stepping out of his mansion to deliver a plate of cookies to them. 

Planned Parenthood supporters were holding a vigil outside the governor's residence to protest the strict abortion bill McCrory signed into law Monday, according to the Raleigh News & Observer. At one point, McCrory emerged with his security detail and signaled to one protester to meet him in the middle of the street.

Jamie Sohn told the newspaper that McCrory pointed to her and handed her the plate of cookies, saying "These are for you. God bless you, God bless you, God bless you." Sohn said she was so surprised, she didn't say anything back.

The protesters reportedly responded by slipping the plate of cookies back under the mansion's gates, accompanied by a note that read "We want women's health care, not cookies."

Photo: Shutterstock / Lusoimages

In a wide-ranging interview with The New Republic published Tuesday, Sen John McCain (R-AZ) praised former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, his running mate in the 2008 presidential race, for "exciting" the GOP base in a way the senator couldn't achieve.

Asked if it "bothered" him when people said his legacy was choosing Palin as his running mate in 2008, McCain said "no."

"We were four points down when I chose her and three points up afterwards," he told the magazine. "She held her own and, some people said, won a debate with the vice president. She did everything I ever wanted. She excited our base in a way I was unable to achieve."

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) was asked to weigh in on a hypothetical Hillary Clinton versus Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) presidential showdown in an interview with The New Republic published Tuesday.  

"It's gonna be a tough choice," McCain laughed.

"Let me just clarify that. I think that Rand Paul represents a segment of the GOP, just like his father," he added. "And I think he is trying to expand that, intelligently, to make it larger."

Asked what he thought of Clinton's tenure as secretary of state, McCain told the magazine she "did a fine job."

"She’s a rock star," he said. "She has, maybe not glamour, but certainly the aura of someone widely regarded throughout the world."

Three prominent Texas Democrats were featured on the cover of Texas Monthly's August issue, including state Sen. Wendy Davis (D) holding the pair of pink Mizuno sneakers she iconically wore during her filibuster of the state's restrictive abortion bill.

The cover also features brothers Julián Castro, the mayor of San Antonio, and U.S. Rep. Joaquín Castro (D).

This post has been updated.

The American Civil Liberties Union issued a statement Tuesday condemning a military judge's decision to convict Army Pfc. Bradley Manning under the Espionage Act, characterizing it as an effort to "intimidate anyone who might consider revealing valuable information in the future."

"While we're relieved that Mr. Manning was acquitted of the most dangerous charge, the ACLU has long held the view that leaks to the press in the public interest should not be prosecuted under the Espionage Act," Ben Wizner, the ACLU's Speech, Privacy and Technology Project director, said in a statement. "Since he already pleaded guilty to charges of leaking information – which carry significant punishment – it seems clear that the government was seeking to intimidate anyone who might consider revealing valuable information in the future."

Manning was acquitted on charges of aiding the enemy.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) on Tuesday stoked the fire in his feud with Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), saying the senator should cut Kentucky's "pork barrel spending."

At a news conference announcing grants for homeowners affected by Hurricane Sandy, Christie told reporters that as a "donor state" New Jersey only receives 61 cents back from every dollar it sends to Washington, while Kentucky receives $1.51, according to the AP.

"Maybe he should start cutting the pork barrel spending that he brings home to Kentucky," Christie told reporters, as quoted by PolitickerNJ. "But I doubt he will because most Washington politicians only care about bringing home the bacon so that they can get re-elected."

Paul slammed Christie on Sunday at a Tennessee fundraiser for diverting resources from national security with his "gimme gimme" attitude towards Hurricane Sandy relief, and accused him on Tuesday of exploiting 9/11 victims.

A military judge on Tuesday acquitted Army Pfc. Bradley Manning on charges of aiding the enemy for turning classified government documents over to WikiLeaks, the Associated Press reported. 

Manning was convicted on five counts of espionage, however.

BREAKING: US Army Pfc Bradley Manning acquitted of aiding the enemy for giving secrets to WikiLeaks.

— The Associated Press (@AP) July 30, 2013

BREAKING: Army Pfc. Bradley Manning convicted of 5 espionage counts in WikiLeaks case.

— The Associated Press (@AP) July 30, 2013

Update:

CORRECTION: Army Pfc Bradley Manning convicted of 6 espionage counts in WikiLeaks case, not 5.

— The Associated Press (@AP) July 30, 2013