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A team appointed by President Obama to review U.S. spying policies in the wake of the Edward Snowden revelations has delivered an interim report to the White House.

National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said in an email to news organizations Bloomberg the review group "has orally provided their interim report to the White House, with their final report due by Dec. 15." She said the results would be made public "in some way" once the finished review is submitted.

NPR's Ari Shapiro says the panel was appointed in early August after months of leaks about U.S. electronic surveillance from whistleblower Snowden. The president asked five intelligence experts to examine U.S. surveillance policies and make recommendations about "how best to balance security needs against privacy concerns."

"At the White House, the panel briefed Obama's National Security Advisor Susan Rice and counterterrorism advisor Lisa Monaco, along with National Security Council staffers."

The Justice Department has reached a deal that will allow for the merger of American and US Airways, opening the door to the creation of the world's largest airline.

The merger still needs final approval from a bankruptcy court.

The U.S. had hoped to block the merger arguing that it would result in less competition and higher prices for consumers.

Under the deal announced Tuesday, American and US Airways have agreed to "divest slots and gates at key constrained airports across the country to low cost carrier airlines (LCCs) in order to enhance system-wide competition in the airline industry resulting in more choices and more competitive airfares for consumers."

In a press release, the Justice Department said the agreement will increase the presence of low cost airlines at Boston Logan International, Chicago O'Hare International, Dallas Love Field, Los Angeles International, Miami International, New York LaGuardia International and Ronald Reagan Washington National.

"This agreement has the potential to shift the landscape of the airline industry," Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement. "By guaranteeing a bigger foothold for low-cost carriers at key U.S. airports, this settlement ensures airline passengers will see more competition on nonstop and connecting routes throughout the country."

American said in a press release that it also agreed to keep its hubs in Charlotte, New York (Kennedy), Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago (O'Hare), Philadelphia and Phoenix operating at historical levels for three years.

"Completion of the merger remains subject to the approval of the settlements by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, and certain other conditions," American said. "The companies now expect to complete the merger in December 2013."

The woman whose smiling face adorned the HealthCare.gov website in the first days after its launch has stepped forward to tearfully address those who she say cyberbullied her as they took potshots at the Obama administration's troubled online health care exchange.

Breaking News

If at first you don't succeed, try again.

That's the message from the White House on Tuesday, with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) asking more than 275,000 people who tried and failed to sign up for health plans on the stalled HealthCare.gov website to give it another shot.

As NPR's Julie Rovner reports that the first of several waves of email invitations are going out to people who could not complete registration and therefore were unable to sign up for health insurance in the first weeks of the Affordable Care Act's enrollment period.

Rovner says: "Health officials apparently are satisfied enough with the website's operations that they are ready to welcome back those who failed to complete the enrollment process during the difficult early days and weeks."

"We want to make sure we are inviting individuals to come back into the system and that their experience will be a positive one," Julie Bataille, a spokeswoman for CMS said.

Officials still say they are track to get the site working for the vast majority of users by the end of this month.

Bloomberg reports:

"High participation is critical to the success of the 2010 health law and its promise of making medical coverage an affordable possibility for at least 25 million uninsured people. While there was an early U.S. goal of about 800,000 sign-ups nationally for the first two months, officials have recently said they anticipate lower initial enrollment that will increase over time.

The Department of Health and Human Services is set to report data this week for the federal insurance marketplace serving 36 states and for the 14 state-run exchanges.

About 49,100 people have enrolled at 12 state sites, consultant Avalere Health said yesterday in a study based on news reports. About 40,000 to 50,000 more have signed up through the federal exchange, the Wall Street Journal reported. Website flaws and the slow start may hurt the overhaul's long-term prospects, said Avalere Chief Executive Officer Dan Mendelson."