Midday Roundup: Court rules against NSA phone records collection

Data decision. A federal appeals court ruled today that the U.S. government’s bulk collection of Americans’ phone data exceeds limits set by Congress. The ruling is a set back for the most controversial of the government spying programs exposed last year by National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden. Though the court allowed the data collection to continue while the case is on appeal, the judges asked Congress to better define the boundaries between national security and privacy in the meantime. “If Congress decides to institute a substantially modified program, the constitutional issues will certainly differ considerably from those currently raised,” the ruling stated.

Storm season. About 50 tornadoes were reported Wednesday night in an outbreak of severe weather across the southern Plains. Residents reported damage to homes in Nebraska and Oklahoma City, where about 12 people from a trailer park were taken to a hospital for injuries. The storms also triggered major flooding in Oklahoma City. Numerous tornadoes touched down in Kansas, but mostly in unpopulated areas. The states are bracing for more severe weather forecast through Saturday.

Domestic cells. The Islamic State (ISIS) claims trained fighters are planted in 15 American states. An online threat named five of the states: Virginia, Maryland, Illinois, Michigan, and California. Coming on the heels of a failed terrorist attack in Texas over the weekend, presidential candidate Mike Huckabee said ISIS’s claims further confirm the government’s failure to protect the United States from the rising threat of Islamic terrorism. “I think it’s a reminder that we’re not safe anymore in our own country, because we haven’t had control of our security situations,” Huckabee said. The U.S. government is now offering up to $20 million in rewards for information that would lead to the whereabouts of top ISIS leaders.

Dry state. With the drought in California now in its fourth year, state regulators this week approved unprecedented water restrictions. Cities must reduce water use by up to 36 percent, though they have discretion in how to meet those targets such as encouraging people to let their lawns die. Regulators have authority to fine cities up to $10,000 for failing to meet targets.

Separated at birth. Eighteen African-American women who were told their newborns had died shortly after giving birth in St. Louis decades ago are now questioning that story. The issue arose after gospel singer Zella Jackson Price recently reunited with her 49-year-old daughter whom she thought was long dead. All of the women were poor when they gave birth at the now-closed Homer G. Phillips Hospital in the 1950s and ’60s. In each case, the hospital did not issue a death certificate and did not allow the mothers to see the deceased infants. Investigators are now looking into whether the babies were sold and who might have profited from it. The women intend to sue to obtain birth and death records.

The Associated Press and WORLD Radio’s Christina Darnell, Carl Peetz, and Mary Reichard contributed to this report.