Top Items:
Glenn Greenwald / Guardian:
Revealed: NSA collecting phone records of millions of Americans daily — Exclusive: Top secret court order requiring Verizon to hand over all call data shows scale of domestic surveillance under Obama — • Read the Verizon court order in full here — • Obama administration justifies surveillance
Discussion:
BuzzFeed, Washington Wire, American Prospect, Joshua Foust, Hullabaloo, JustOneMinute, Politico, Yahoo! News, The Atlantic Wire, Post Politics, CNN, his vorpal sword, Wonkblog, The Plum Line, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Rand Paul, The World's Greatest …, TIME, msnbc.com, Mediaite, San Francisco Bay Guardian, The Monkey Cage, Forbes, Business Insider, Washington Monthly, New York Times, The Week, Salon, Wall Street Journal, Wired, Via Meadia, NO QUARTER USA NET, National Review, ThinkProgress, Atlas Shrugs, Progressive Policy Institute, The Hill, The Fix, Hot Air, Washington Free Beacon, Mashable, ACS Blog, Engadget, American Spectator, Democracy in America, WorldViews, Firedoglake, Wake up America, Examiner, Patterico's Pontifications, FreedomWorks, New Republic, First Read, U.S. News, Taylor Marsh, News Desk, Daily Kos, TechCrunch, The Verge, TalkLeft, Associated Press, The Maddow Blog, Library of Law & Liberty, The Daily Caller, Moon of Alabama, The Huffington Post, Betsy's Page, Electronic Frontier Foundation, The Volokh Conspiracy, AllThingsD, Outside the Beltway, BBC, No More Mister Nice Blog, VentureBeat, susiemadrak.com, The Gateway Pundit, Shakesville, The Hinterland Gazette, Illinois Review, Real Clear Politics, Weasel Zippers, CANNONFIRE, AMERICAblog, The PJ Tatler and The Raw Story
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New York Times:
President Obama's Dragnet — Within hours of the disclosure that the federal authorities routinely collect data on phone calls Americans make, regardless of whether they have any bearing on a counterterrorism investigation, the Obama administration issued the same platitude it has offered every …
Discussion:
BuzzFeed, Business Insider, Weasel Zippers, Washington Wire, The World's Greatest …, Guardian, msnbc.com, Politico and CNN
New York Times:
U.S. Is Secretly Collecting Records of Verizon Calls — WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is secretly carrying out a domestic surveillance program under which it is collecting business communications records involving Americans under a hotly debated section of the Patriot Act …
Discussion:
ACLU, Guardian, Yahoo! News, The PJ Tatler, BuzzFeed, americanthinker.com, U.S. News, WJLA-TV and Mashable
Glenn Thrush / Politico:
George W. 'Bush's 4th term' — The outrage over President Barack Obama's authorization of a nearly limitless federal dive into Americans' phone records obscures a hiding-in-plain-sight truth about the 44th president many of his supporters have overlooked for years:
Discussion:
Taegan Goddard's …
Meghashyam Mali / The Hill:
White House defends NSA collecting Verizon phone records — The White House on Thursday defended the National Security Agency's use of a secret court order to collect telephone records from millions of Verizon customers. — An administration official called the phone data a …
Discussion:
Politico, The PJ Tatler, ThinkProgress and Crooks and Liars
Guardian:
Verizon forced to hand over telephone data - full court ruling — The US government is collecting the phone records of millions of US customers of Verizon under a top secret court order. Read the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court order
Discussion:
Yahoo! News, USA Today, New York Times, American Spectator, msnbc.com, Reuters, Law Blog, National Review, News Desk, The Daily Caller, The Atlantic Wire, The Huffington Post, Business Insider, emptywheel, Wonkblog, The Raw Story, UPROXX, U.S. News, Betsy's Page, DISSENTING JUSTICE, Weasel Zippers, Mashable, BuzzFeed, CNN, The Dish, Michelle Malkin, Firedoglake, The Week, Politico, JustOneMinute, Washington Free Beacon and Wired
Igor Volsky / ThinkProgress:
What You Should Know About The Government's Massive Domestic Surveillance Program
What You Should Know About The Government's Massive Domestic Surveillance Program
Discussion:
The Impolitic, No More Mister Nice Blog, Guardian, New Republic and The Week
Ed O'Keefe / Post Politics:
Mike Rogers: NSA program helped stop a terrorist attack in the U.S. in ‘the last few years’
Mike Rogers: NSA program helped stop a terrorist attack in the U.S. in ‘the last few years’
Discussion:
American Spectator and emptywheel
Sahil Kapur / Talking Points Memo:
'It's Called Protecting America': Senators Defend NSA On Phone Records
'It's Called Protecting America': Senators Defend NSA On Phone Records
Discussion:
Yahoo! News and The Daily Caller
Michael Calderone / The Huffington Post:
NBC's Pete Williams: DOJ Will ‘Very Likely’ Investigate Guardian Scoop
NBC's Pete Williams: DOJ Will ‘Very Likely’ Investigate Guardian Scoop
Discussion:
Yahoo! News, Guardian, Mediaite, Daily Kos, Hot Air, Mashable and msnbc.com, more at Mediagazer »
Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed:
Flashback: Obama Railed Against Monitoring Citizens Who Did Nothing Wrong
Flashback: Obama Railed Against Monitoring Citizens Who Did Nothing Wrong
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers
Anna Palmer / Politico:
Verizon on offense behind the scenes
Verizon on offense behind the scenes
Discussion:
The Verge and Guardian, more at Mediagazer »
Conor Friedersdorf / The Atlantic Online:
The Unknown Patriot Who Exposed the Government's Verizon Spy Program
The Unknown Patriot Who Exposed the Government's Verizon Spy Program
Discussion:
Guardian, WorldViews, Business Insider and Post Politics
Tal Kopan / Politico:
Lindsey Graham ‘glad’ NSA tracking phones
Lindsey Graham ‘glad’ NSA tracking phones
Discussion:
Yahoo! News, Hot Air, Mediaite and Connecting.the.Dots
Ellen Nakashima / Washington Post:
Report: Verizon providing all call records to U.S. under court order
Report: Verizon providing all call records to U.S. under court order
Marc Ambinder / The Week:
U.S. responds to NSA disclosures
U.S. responds to NSA disclosures
Discussion:
emptywheel, The Hill and The Hinterland Gazette
Bobby Cervantes / Politico:
Mike Rogers: ‘Legal’ NSA phone program ‘thwarted’ domestic terrorism plot
Mike Rogers: ‘Legal’ NSA phone program ‘thwarted’ domestic terrorism plot
Discussion:
Business Insider
New York Times:
Christie Picks Chiesa, New Jersey's Attorney General, to Be Interim Senator — Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey on Thursday announced the appointment of Jeffrey S. Chiesa, the state's attorney general, to fill the Senate seat left vacant by the death of Frank R. Lautenberg.
Discussion:
Towleroad News #gay and The Hinterland Gazette
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Jenna Portnoy / New Jersey Online:
Christie names N.J. attorney general Jeffrey Chiesa to fill Lautenberg's seat — TRENTON —Gov. Chris Christie today named state attorney general Jeffrey Chiesa to fill the Senate seat left vacant by the death of U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg. — Chiesa said he won't seek election later this year.
Discussion:
Yahoo! News, Outside the Beltway, Taegan Goddard's …, Joe. My. God. and Hot Air
Ian Millhiser / ThinkProgress:
New Senator Supports Program To Take ‘Lethal Weapons Out Of Circulation,’ Opposes Death Penalty
New Senator Supports Program To Take ‘Lethal Weapons Out Of Circulation,’ Opposes Death Penalty
Discussion:
Yahoo! News, nj.gov, The Political Carnival, The Week and msnbc.com
Matt Stout / Boston Herald:
Manhunt over, Deval Patrick tied one on — Candid gov discusses attacks — By: — Gov. Deval Patrick gave a candid, behind-the-scenes look at the horrific days after the Boston Marathon bombings, telling employees at a Cambridge marketing firm yesterday he got “quite drunk” the day after the intense manhunt finally ended.
Discussion:
Hot Air, Washington Monthly, The Hill, Sister Toldjah, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, CNN and Mediaite
RELATED:
Katie Glueck / Politico:
Gov. Deval Patrick says he got drunk after bomber captured
Gov. Deval Patrick says he got drunk after bomber captured
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway
Bloomberg:
Gay Marriage Gains Ground in Poll as Court Readies Ruling — More than half of Americans support allowing same-sex couples to marry, endorsing the goal of gay-rights activists as the U.S. Supreme Court this month prepares to rule on the issue for the first time.
Discussion:
Associated Press, Joe. My. God., Taylor Marsh, Truth Wins Out, Taegan Goddard's … and Right Wing Watch
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Kevin Drum / Mother Jones:
Report Says IRS Approved Tax-Exempt Status For Twice as Many Conservative Groups as Liberal Groups — Here's an interesting tidbit from the newsletter Tax Notes. As we all know by now, the IRS applies extra scrutiny to a group applying for tax-exempt status if it suspects the group is political in nature.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, The Impolitic, Prairie Weather and Daily Kos
RELATED:
Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:
House votes to defund Obama's ‘administrative amnesty’ for immigrants — The House voted Thursday morning to defund President Obama's orders that allow officials to focus deportation efforts on illegal immigrants who have been convicted of crimes. — Republicans have argued that these orders amount …
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Post Politics, Weasel Zippers, National Review and Daily Kos
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Rebecca Leber / ThinkProgress:
House Republicans Booed As They Vote To Deport DREAMers
House Republicans Booed As They Vote To Deport DREAMers
Discussion:
Little Green Footballs and The Plum Line
Ryan Grim / The Huffington Post:
Grand Bargain Loses Center For American Progress Support In Major Blow To Austerity — WASHINGTON — The Center for American Progress, a pillar of the Democratic establishment in Washington is walking away from the broad negotiations aimed at reaching a “grand bargain,” …
Discussion:
Taylor Marsh, Campaign for America's Future and ThinkProgress
RELATED:
Michael Linden / Center for American Progress:
It's Time to Hit the Reset Button on the Fiscal Debate
It's Time to Hit the Reset Button on the Fiscal Debate
Discussion:
Washington Wire and ThinkProgress
Alexandra Jaffe / Ballot Box:
Dems to hit Gomez with ads — National Democrats will launch television ads on Friday that tie GOP Senate candidate Gabriel Gomez to his national party. — Republicans argue the ads, which will run just three weeks before a special election, suggest Democrats are worried about Gomez …
Discussion:
Politico
RELATED:
Joel Gehrke / Washington Examiner:
Kirk to Eric Holder: Is DOJ spying on Congress? … Attorney General Eric Holder refused to answer when asked if the Justice Department is spying on Members of Congress, citing the need for a classified conversation, which lawmakers accepted while asking him to make sure that evidence of such surveillance is not destroyed.
Discussion:
Ed Driscoll, Mediaite, Post Politics and Hot Air
RELATED:
Jonathn Easley / The Hill:
Holder says ‘fatigue’ may eventually lead him to step aside
Holder says ‘fatigue’ may eventually lead him to step aside
Discussion:
Politico
Politico:
GOP to Darrell Issa: Cool it — Shortly after Darrell Issa dubbed Jay Carney a “paid liar” on CNN last Sunday, House Republican leadership staffers called the California Republican's aides with a message: Cool it. — Issa's aides promptly responded: The remark was over the top, they agreed …
Discussion:
The Plum Line, New York Times, Booman Tribune, Daily Kos and Post Politics
Maria Sacchetti / The Boston Globe:
Mass. pair sues New York Post over Marathon bombing portrayal — A Massachusetts teenager and his 24-year-old friend filed a defamation lawsuit against the New York Post Wednesday in Boston, accusing the tabloid of falsely portraying them as suspects in the deadly Marathon bombings by plastering …
Discussion:
The Week, Politico, Mediaite, The Verge, The Huffington Post and Business Insider, more at Mediagazer »
Michael McAuliff / The Huffington Post:
Atheist Chaplains Would Call Fallen Soldiers ‘Worm Food,’ GOP Congressman Says (VIDEO) — WASHINGTON — There are no atheists in foxholes, the saying goes. Republicans in Congress don't want them in the military chaplain corps, either. — That's after New Jersey Democratic …
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars
Michelle Mondo / MySanAntonio.com:
Jury acquits escort shooter — Ezekiel Gilbert denied he meant to kill Craigslist escort. — A Bexar County jury on Wednesday acquitted Ezekiel Gilbert of murder in the death of a 23-year-old Craigslist escort. — Gilbert, 30, embraced defense attorneys Bobby Barrera and Roy Barrera Sr …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Gawker, Juanita Jean's, ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES and The Raw Story
Mark Murray / First Read:
Health care law's unpopularity reaches new highs — President Barack Obama's signature health care reform law remains unpopular with the American public just months before it fully goes into effect, according to the new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll. — The poll shows 49 percent …
Discussion:
Firedoglake, msnbc.com, Politico, Wake up America, Hot Air and Taegan Goddard's …