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:
Bradley Brooks / Associated Press:
Snowden Petitions Brazil For Asylum In Exchange For Help With Spying — RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden says he would be willing to help Brazil investigate NSA spying on its soil, but could not fully participate without being granted political asylum …
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway
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:
American Prospect, Close Read, No More Mister Nice Blog, Mediaite, Mark Udall, The Volokh Conspiracy, Firedoglake, Washington Post, SCOTUSblog, Guardian, DISSENTING JUSTICE, The Reaction, ThinkProgress, Outside the Beltway, NYT Bits, The BLT, TechCrunch, Senator Wyden's Press Feed, Mashable, TIME, Talking Points Memo, Hit & Run, TalkLeft, The Raw Story and Althouse, more at Mediagazer »
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:
The Impolitic, Taylor Marsh and Liberal Values
Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:
‘Passionate’ Judge Has Record of Wrestling With Thorny Issues, and the U.S. Government
‘Passionate’ Judge Has Record of Wrestling With Thorny Issues, and the U.S. Government
Discussion:
Politico, Washington Post and The Volokh Conspiracy
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
David Weigel / Slate:
Why 60 Minutes Tanked the NSA Story: The Producers Theory — It'll be a good 30 years until I can start collecting Social Security checks, and I can't say where I was when JFK was shot, so I'm not really in 60 Minutes' target audience. * Other reporters, who have closely covered the NSA story …
Discussion:
Guardian, Reuters and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion
RELATED:
Dylan Byers / Politico:
Lara Logan to return to ‘60 Minutes’
Lara Logan to return to ‘60 Minutes’
Discussion:
The Reaction, The Raw Story, Hullabaloo and Mediaite, 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:
Politico and Talking Points Memo
RELATED:
Erik Wasson / The Hill:
Senate poised to approve budget — The Senate is poised to approve the two-year budget deal on Tuesday, but the tally is not expected to match the landslide in the House. — The bill, which sets top-line spending levels for 2014 and 2015, is on track to just barely get the 60 votes it needs to clear the upper chamber.
Discussion:
Roll Call
RELATED:
Daniel Strauss / Talking Points Memo:
Senate Conservatives Fund: Boehner Targeting Conservatives Just Like IRS
Senate Conservatives Fund: Boehner Targeting Conservatives Just Like IRS
Discussion:
Daily Kos
Ron Fournier / NationalJournal.com:
‘This Is the End of the Presidency’ — Tracking the same horrible second-term path as Bush, can Obama learn from the past? — Claiming a mandate he never had, the newly reelected president foisted a bold agenda upon Congress and the public, then watched it collapse within months …
Bret Stephens / Wall Street Journal:
Of Jane Fonda and Pope Francis — The pontiff understands the power of moral example. Today's liberal high priests do not. — In the same week that Pope Francis was named Time's Person of the Year, word arrived of the charitable contributions made by the Jane Fonda Foundation.
RELATED:
Lucas Grindley / Advocate:
The Advocate's Person of the Year: Pope Francis
The Advocate's Person of the Year: Pope Francis
Discussion:
Shakesville, AMERICAblog News and TheBlaze.com
Quinnipiac News + Events:
Release Detail — December 17, 2013 - Iowa Gov's Approval, Reelection Prospects Improve, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Christie Tops Clinton By 5 Points In 2016 Race — Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad's reelection prospects are improving as voters approve 58 - 32 percent of the job he is doing …
Discussion:
Taegan Goddard's … and Politico
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:
The Hinterland Gazette and Business Insider
RELATED:
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:
Post Politics, NBCNews, Outside the Beltway, The Fix, ABC News, Daily Kos, CNN, First Read and Balloon Juice
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:
Business Insider, The Plum Line, NewsBusters and Althouse
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:
Scared Monkeys and The Gateway Pundit
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
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 »