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.

The media's real role in 2016  —  Let's be honest with ourselves for a second: This is Hillary Clinton's election to lose.  —  On Nov. 8, 2016, Clinton will start — start — with a minimum 247 of the 270 electoral votes she needs to win.  If you give her Colorado and Virginia …

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, which was removed from the team's Vimeo page this morning, on the in-arena jumbotron.

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 …

Senate overwhelmingly approves Iran review bill in 98-1 vote  —  The Senate voted overwhelmingly Thursday to approve legislation allowing Congress to review a nuclear deal with Iran in a 98-1 vote.  —  Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) was the only senator to oppose the bill.

One of Jeb Bush's top advisers on Israel: George W. Bush  —  When asked this week at an exclusive Manhattan gathering about who advises him on U.S.-Israel policy, Jeb Bush surprised many of the 50-plus attendees by naming his brother, former president George W. Bush, as his most influential counselor.

Exposure to ideologically diverse news and opinion on Facebook  —  1Facebook, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA.  —  2School of Information, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.  —  ↵† These authors contributed equally to this work.  —  Exposure to news, opinion …

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.

Woman claims Verizon Wireless gave her a heart attack  —  Angela Hawkins called Verizon Wireless last year to straighten out a problem with her bill.  —  The grandmother of four hoped to talk to a helpful customer service representative.  —  Instead, according to a lawsuit …

Election 2015: Exit poll puts Tories close to majority  —  The Conservatives are set to be the largest party in the Commons but just short of a majority, according to the general election exit poll.  —  The survey taken at polling stations across the UK suggests the Tories will get 316 MPs …

Rise of the GOP's culture-war zombies: Why the party of right-wing extremism will never give it up  —  One of the more predictable tropes on the left side of America's political dial is the notion that the culture wars are over, that Christian conservatives are in retreat, and that the far right is breaking up due to its irrelevance.

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 …

Stephen Colbert funds $800,000 in grants for South Carolina public school teachers  —  Stephen Colbert spoke to S.C. Supt.  Molly Spearman at Alexander Elementary School to announce he, along with ScanSource and Share Fair Nation, would fund all 1,000 classroom projects South Carolina teachers asked for on DonorsChoose.org.

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 …

Peter King: Pam Geller Event Put “People's Lives At Risk For No Good Reason”  —  “I think that — listen, she has the right to do what she did.  Just because you have the right to do it doesn't mean you should do it.”  —  w.soundcloud.com  —  New York Republican Rep. Peter King …

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 …

Clock ticks down on highway funding  —  Congress has just weeks to sift through several options for short-term highway funding, as Republicans scramble to ensure that a shutdown of infrastructure projects doesn't occur this summer.  —  There's little doubt among lawmakers that some sort …

VIDEO: Sexual predator attacks 13-year-old girl in West San Jose  —  San Jose police are trying to track down a man who tried to sexually assault a woman in a grocery store restroom last month and this week forced his way into the home of a 13-year-old girl as she arrived home from school.

He Was a Staunch Agnostic Who Laughed at Christianity.  But When He Set Out to Disprove It, He Says the Evidence Forced Him to Make a Life-Changing Decision.  —  Famed author and evangelist Josh McDowell's decades-long career in ministry has enabled him to reach scores of people across the globe …

THIS WEEK'S COVER: INSIDE QUENTIN TARANTINO'S BLOODY, BRUTAL NEW WESTERN THE HATEFUL EIGHT  —  Somebody's dying today—you can hear it in Samuel L. Jackson's voice.  On a soundstage in Hollywood this April, the actor who plays Major Marquis Warren in Quentin Tarantino's The Hateful Eight …