10 things you need to know today: December 28, 2013

Police release a trove of new information on Sandy Hook, A&E reverses course on Duck Dynasty, and more

Newtown
(Image credit: (Photo by Connecticut State Police via Getty Images))

1. Federal judge upholds NSA phone-data dragnet

The National Security Agency program that collects data on millions of phone calls was deemed legal by a federal judge in New York. The ruling comes two weeks after a judge in Washington, D.C., said the government failed to make the case that the program was necessary. The new ruling by Judge William H. Pauley III centers on the idea that the controversial practice may have stopped the 9/11 hijackers. Both cases will be reviewed by the appeals courts in New York and Washington, and the issue could wind up before the Supreme Court. [New York Times]

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Laura Colarusso is a freelance journalist based in Boston. She has previously written for Newsweek, The Boston Globe, the Washington Monthly and The Daily Beast.