memeorandum: 5 facts about prayer (Michael Lipka/Pew Research Center)

1:30 PM ET, May 7, 2015

Top Items:

Charlie Savage / New York Times:

N.S.A. Phone Data Collection Illegal, Appeals Court Rules — WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court in New York on Thursday ruled that the once-secret National Security Agency program that is systematically collecting Americans' phone records in bulk is illegal.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Outside the Beltway, TalkLeft, CANNONFIRE, PandoDaily, Hot Air and Shakesville

Devlin Barrett / Wall Street Journal:

Appeals Court Rules NSA Phone Program Not Authorized by Patriot Act — ACLU lawsuit argued the data collection should be stopped because it violates Americans' privacy rights — A federal appeals court ruled Thursday the National Security Agency's controversial collection of millions …

Discussion: Fox News Insider, Daily Kos, Political Wire and The Week

Ariane de Vogue / CNN:

Court rules NSA program illegal — NSA & the battle over metadata 01:47 — Washington (CNN)A federal appeals court ruled Thursday that the National Security Agency's controversial collection of Americans' phone records, the subject of documents leaked by Edward Snowden, is not legal under the Patriot Act.

Discussion: The PJ Tatler

Julian Hattem / The Hill:

Top federal court rules against NSA's phone records program — A federal court has decided that the National Security Agency's (NSA) bulk, warrantless collection of millions of Americans' phone records is illegal. — The decision from the Second Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday represents …

Discussion: Hit & Run

Ben Kamisar / The Hill:
McCain weighs in on NSA ruling: ‘People seem to have forgotten 9/11’

Discussion: Mediaite

USA Today:
Appeals court strikes down government's phone surveillance program

Discussion: Western Journalism and Common Dreams

Quinnipiac News + Events:

Release Detail — What Trouble? Clinton Has Early Lock On Iowa Caucus, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Sanders, Biden Are Only Dems Over 3% — Sample and Methodology detail — With 60 percent of the vote among Iowa likely Democratic Caucus participants, former Secretary …

Discussion: Des Moines Register, New York Times, Mediaite, OnPolitics, Taylor Marsh, Washington Post, Hot Air and The Week

Heidi Przybyla / Bloomberg Business:
Trade Debate Gives Bernie Sanders a Chance to Put Hillary Clinton on the Hot Seat

Discussion: Politico

CNN:

Sources: Baltimore police investigation doesn't support some of prosecution's charges — Baltimore (CNN)The Baltimore police investigation into the death of Freddie Gray doesn't support some of the charges, including the most serious, filed by the Baltimore City State's Attorney …

Discussion: Western Journalism, The Gateway Pundit, The PJ Tatler, The Daily Caller and Twitchy

Sarah Maslin Nir / New York Times:

The Price of Nice Nails — Manicurists are routinely underpaid and exploited, and endure ethnic bias and other abuse, The New York Times has found. — The women begin to arrive just before 8 a.m., every day and without fail, until there are thickets of young Asian and Hispanic women …

Discussion: The Week, Gothamist and Balloon Juice

Andrew M. Cuomo / New York Times:
Fast-Food Workers Deserve a Raise

Discussion: Politics on the Hudson, Gothamist, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Washington Post and Capital New York

Tom Ley / Deadspin:

The Cavaliers Should Have Thought A Little Harder About This Promo — During last night's playoff game against the Chicago Bulls, the Cleveland Cavaliers showed the video below on the in-arena jumbotron. The premise of the skit, which is supposed to be a Dirty Dancing spoof …

Discussion: FOX31 Denver, fox13now.com and Mediaite

Jeff Kaufmann / Politico:

It's Time to Change the Iowa Straw Poll — Much has changed since 1979 and sometimes cherished traditions—like the Iowa GOP Straw Poll—must change too. What is supposed to be a fun opportunity for Iowans and presidential candidates has turned into a high-stress and expensive endeavor.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Washington Post, RedState, OnPolitics and Moe Lane

Christine Byers / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

Dorian Johnson, figure in Michael Brown case, arrested in St. Louis — ST. LOUIS • Dorian Johnson, the man who was with Michael Brown when Brown was fatally shot by a Ferguson police officer last summer, has been arrested on suspicion of drug charges and resisting arrest, a St. Louis police source said Wednesday.

Discussion: Hot Air, Raw Story, The Daily Caller, Mashable and The Gateway Pundit

Justin Wolfers / New York Times:

How Britain's Election Has Stumped the Betting Markets — British voters are heading to the polls Thursday, and it looks as if it's going to be a nail-biter. Political prediction markets suggest that it's basically a 50-50 bet as to whether the Conservative prime minister, David Cameron …

Discussion: Washington Post, Guardian, FiveThirtyEight, Outside the Beltway and The Week

Jenny Gross / Wall Street Journal:
U.K. Election 2015 Unlikely to Yield Clear Winner

Discussion: The American Conservative and Spectator

Mary Katharine Ham / Hot Air:

Heh: Carly Fiorina answers Seth Meyers question about domain snafu by buying SethMeyers.org — Carly Fiorina, who just jumped into the race for the presidency Monday, has spent the week coolly sitting for interviews and cleverly parrying jabs from reporters and critics.

Discussion: bizjournals, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Mediaite, Yahoo Politics, Moe Lane and Washington Times

Cathy O'Neil / mathbabe:

Nick Kristof is not Smarter than an 8th Grader — This is a post by Eugene Stern, originally posted on his blog sensemadehere.wordpress.com. — About a week ago, Nick Kristof published this op-ed in the New York Times. Entitled Are You Smarter than an 8th Grader, the piece discusses …

Discussion: Washington Center …

John DiStaso / WMUR:

Bush leads, Rubio up, Christie down in new WMUR poll — Tightly packed field continues with 9 months to go — Nine months is an eternity in politics, particularly in late-deciding New Hampshire. And so not surprisingly, the Republican presidential primary field remains crowded with no true frontrunner …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, New York Times, DownWithTyranny!, Political Wire and Quinnipiac News + Events

Marianne LeVine / Politico:

Chris Christie faces another blow — His “biggest” achievement, state pension reform, is likely to be dismantled by New Jersey courts. — Chris Christie's signature achievement as New Jersey governor may be going up in smoke. — The potential presidential candidate has said his …

Discussion: New Jersey News …

Jordain Carney / The Hill:

Cruz: Iran legislation is a ‘bad bill’ — Presidential hopeful Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) on Wednesday slammed legislation that would allow Congress to review and vote on a final Iran nuclear deal, calling the proposal a “bad bill.” — “I agree that it is of paramount important to give Congress …

David Espo / ABC News: Analysis: Republican Budget Claims Don't Add Up

James Franco / Washington Post:

McDonald's was there for me when no one else was — Before stardom, James Franco was just a fast-food employee eating fries straight from the hopper. — McDonald's sales have slumped. Maybe the public wants healthier food. Maybe there's too much competition. Maybe people aren't into the chipotle barbecue snack wrap.

Discussion: Chicago Boyz, Mashable, Adweek and Mediaite

Conor Friedersdorf / The Atlantic:

Mystery Planes in the Skies Above Baltimore — In Baltimore, Maryland, where law enforcement officials ought to be doing their utmost to win back the trust of brutalized residents who perceive a conspiracy against them, a shadowy police tactic is stoking more dark suspicions.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice and Gawker

Sydney Morning Herald:

Online jihadist hails power of social media after Texas attack — US Muslims condemn Texas attack — Largest Muslim advocacy group in the US speaks out against Sunday's attack on a provocative anti-Islamic cartoon event. — An Australian Twitter user and Islamic State supporter …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit

New York Times:

Clinton Takes the Lead on Immigration — With her speech on immigration in Las Vegas on Tuesday, Hillary Rodham Clinton took a large step forward, up front and to the left of President Obama. That is a good place to be for a presidential candidate who proposes to get the stalled debate moving again …

Discussion: Slate, Washington Post, hillaryclinton.com, Prairie Weather, ImmigrationProf Blog and Taylor Marsh

Brendan James / Talking Points Memo:

Piers Morgan Causes Mika Brzezinski To Roll Off ‘Morning Joe’ Set (VIDEO) — Former CNN personality Piers Morgan's opinions led to an Irish exit from co-host Mika Brzezinski on the set of MSNBC's “Morning Joe” on Thursday morning. — The moment came during a segment about paid paternity leave …

Discussion: Mediaite