Obama: U.S. needs checks on NSA data gathering but can't disarm

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama tried to strike a middle ground on Friday on questions about broad surveillance practices conducted by the U.S. National Security Agency, saying some checks are needed on the system but "we can't unilaterally disarm."

At a White House news conference, Obama said he would spend the next few weeks sorting through the recommendations of a presidential advisory panel on how to rein in the NSA in the wake of disclosures from former U.S. spy contractor Edward Snowden.