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LIKELY UNCONSTITUTIONAL
A federal judge ruled Monday that the collection of Americans’ phone call
metadata by the NSA is likely unconstitutional, paving the way for future lawsuits
that could land a case in front of the Supreme Court. According to the judge, the
program violates the Fourth Amendment prohibition on unreasonable searches
and seizures. It came into the spotlight earlier this year when former government
contractor Edward Snowden released documents detailing the surveillance. The
agency says the spying is key to preventing terrorism, but the program’s scope
and secrecy have both liberals and conservatives outraged. “A secret program
authorized by a secret court was, when exposed to the light of day,