Top Items:
New York Times:
A Powerful Rebuke of Mass Surveillance — For the first time since the revelation of the National Security Agency's vast dragnet of all Americans' telephone records, a federal court has ruled that such surveillance is “significantly likely” to be unconstitutional.
Discussion:
Daily Kos, Prairie Weather and Taegan Goddard's Wonk Wire
RELATED:
Charlie Savage / New York Times:
Judge Questions Legality of N.S.A. Phone Records — WASHINGTON — A federal district judge ruled on Monday that the National Security Agency program that is systematically keeping records of all Americans' phone calls most likely violates the Constitution, describing its technology as …
Discussion:
Close Read, No More Mister Nice Blog, Mediaite, Mark Udall, The Volokh Conspiracy, Washington Post, Firedoglake, SCOTUSblog, Guardian, DISSENTING JUSTICE, ThinkProgress, The Reaction, NYT Bits, Outside the Beltway, The BLT, TechCrunch, TIME, Hit & Run, Mashable, Senator Wyden's Press Feed, TalkLeft, The Raw Story and Althouse, more at Mediagazer »
Josh Gerstein / Politico:
Judge: NSA phone program likely unconstitutional — A federal judge ruled Monday that the National Security Agency program which collects information on nearly all telephone calls made to, from or within the United States is likely to be unconstitutional. — U.S. District Court Judge …
Discussion:
Hot Air, TIME, American Spectator, Hit & Run, Atlas Shrugs, Daily Kos, The Moderate Voice, The Daily Caller, Gawker, Freedom Outpost, Gizmodo, Business Insider, The Hinterland Gazette, JONATHAN TURLEY, Little Green Footballs, Washington Monthly, CNN, National Review, Maggie's Farm and The Verge
Ian Millhiser / ThinkProgress:
This Is The Most Important Paragraph In The Court Decision Against The NSA — The National Security Agency went into Judge Richard Leon's courtroom with a powerful precedent on its side. In its 1979 decision in Smith v. Maryland, the Supreme Court held that individuals do not have a …
Discussion:
Taylor Marsh and Liberal Values
Guardian:
NSA phone surveillance program likely unconstitutional, federal judge rules
NSA phone surveillance program likely unconstitutional, federal judge rules
Discussion:
The Agonist, The Week and Frederick Leatherman Law Blog
Orin Kerr / The Volokh Conspiracy:
Preliminary Thoughts on Judge Leon's Opinion
Preliminary Thoughts on Judge Leon's Opinion
Discussion:
emptywheel, ACS Blog and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion
Guardian:
Edward Snowden says judge's ruling vindicates NSA surveillance disclosures
Edward Snowden says judge's ruling vindicates NSA surveillance disclosures
Discussion:
USA Today, The Week, Informed Comment, TechCrunch and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »
Eric Lach / Talking Points Memo:
Federal Judge: NSA Program Revealed By Snowden Likely Unconstitutional
Federal Judge: NSA Program Revealed By Snowden Likely Unconstitutional
Discussion:
The Impolitic
Dylan Byers / Politico:
Lara Logan to return to ‘60 Minutes’ — Lara Logan and Max McClellan, the ‘60 Minutes’ journalists who were put on a leave of absence following their now-retracted report on Benghazi, are set to return to the program early next year, POLITICO has learned. — Logan and her producer …
Discussion:
The Raw Story, Hullabaloo and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »
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David Weigel / Slate:
Why 60 Minutes Tanked the NSA Story: The Producers Theory
Why 60 Minutes Tanked the NSA Story: The Producers Theory
Discussion:
Guardian, Reuters and Hit & Run, more at Mediagazer »
Jessica Hopper / Sound of the City:
Read the “Stomach-Churning” Sexual Assault Accusations Against R. Kelly in Full — It has been nearly 15 years since music journalist Jim DeRogatis caught the story that has since defined his career, one that he wishes didn't exist: R. Kelly's sexual predation on teenage girls.
Discussion:
Business Insider and The Hinterland Gazette
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Annie Linskey / Bloomberg:
Brown's Move to New Hampshire Fuels Talk of Senate Race — Former Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown plans to move to New Hampshire, the latest sign that he's considering a U.S. Senate bid there, which would complicate Democrats' effort to hold their majority in the chamber.
Discussion:
The Fix, Daily Kos, ABC News, CNN, First Read and Balloon Juice
Anneta Konstantinides / ABC News:
Mike Huckabee to Launch ‘Huckabee Post’ — Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee will launch a news publication “Huckabee Post” in January 2014, ABC News has learned. — The site will cover a range of topics from news and politics to sports and pop culture, according to the former governor's son, David Huckabee.
Discussion:
Politico, Talking Points Memo, TheBlaze.com and NewsBusters, more at Mediagazer »
David Nather / Reuters:
Next Obamacare crisis: Small-business costs? — Think the canceled health policies hurt the Obamacare cause? There's another political time bomb lurking that could explode not too long before next year's elections: rate hikes for small businesses. — Like the canceled individual health plans …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo and Politico
Brendan Sasso / The Hill:
Tech execs to confront Obama on spying — Executives from the nation's biggest technology companies will meet with President Obama on Tuesday to discuss the revelations about National Security Agency surveillance. — The meeting will include Apple CEO Tim Cook, Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer …
mynews13.com:
George Zimmerman is selling his original artwork on eBay — SANFORD — It appears George Zimmerman has turned to painting, and is selling his own, original artwork on eBay not one week after prosecutors dropped domestic violence charges against him. — Now the painting has a bid of almost $100,000.
Discussion:
NY Daily News, Talking Points Memo, The Raw Story, Gawker, Mediaite and Liberaland
Rick Kissell / Variety:
Fox News Remains Ratings Champ As 2013 Comes to Close — It and rivals CNN, MSNBC down from last year — Fox News Channel maintained its grip on the cable-news network ratings prize in 2013, drawing more viewers than the combined averages of CNN, MSNBC and HLN.
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers, Scared Monkeys and The Gateway Pundit
FDA Consumer Health Information Updates:
FDA Taking Closer Look at ‘Antibacterial’ Soap — On this page: — When you're buying soaps and body washes, do you reach for the bar or bottle labeled “antibacterial”? Are you thinking that these products, in addition to keeping you clean, will reduce your risk of getting sick or passing on germs to others?
Discussion:
New York Times, The Verge, NBCNews, BBC, Los Angeles Times and The Week
Bloomberg:
Make Obamacare Cool, or Make It Hurt — Instead of outreach programs and sappy TV ads with parents imploring their kids to sign up for Obamacare, President Barack Obama needs to start thinking creatively if he wants his signature legislative achievement to be a success. What motivates kids?
Discussion:
NewsBusters, Connecting.the.Dots, National Review and Weasel Zippers
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John Hinderaker / Power Line:
Is A Big Chill On the Way? — As Steve noted a little while ago, the Northern states have been in a deep freeze for a while now. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that northern Minnesota hasn't had a six-day stretch colder than the one the state has just suffered through since the Nixon administration, 1972.
Discussion:
Minneapolis Star Tribune
Juan Williams / The Hill:
Republicans must see the light on combatting poverty — Fifty years ago this month, President Johnson was closing in on his first State of the Union address. The famous speech, delivered in January 1964, kickstarted the War on Poverty. — The war was never won.
Washington Post:
Obama suffers most from year of turmoil, poll finds — President Obama is ending his fifth year in office matching the worst public approval ratings of his presidency, with record numbers of Americans saying they disapprove of his job performance and his once-hefty advantages over Republicans …
Discussion:
NewsBusters
Katie Thomas / New York Times:
Glaxo Says It Will Stop Paying Doctors to Promote Drugs — The British drug maker GlaxoSmithKline will no longer pay doctors to promote its products and will stop tying compensation of sales representatives to the number of prescriptions doctors write, its chief executive said Monday …
Discussion:
Guardian and Balloon Juice