all right. we're going to begin with questions about whether the government can spy on your cell phone records. a federal judge now says it's the unconstitutional. >> the white house says the program is necessary to keep americans safe. abc's karen travers has the details from washington. >> reporter: it was a strong rebuke to the obama administration's controversial nsa surveillance program. >> a federal judge is finally pushing back, finally saying to the nsa no. in fact, mass collection of phone records without individualized suspicion is not illegal. >> reporter: president obama has defended the phone data collection program saying it is a critical tool in the fight against terrorism. judge richard leon, a george w. bush appointee, said the nsa's massive database was unconstitutional. he said the program almost certainly does violate a reasonable expectation of privacy and is indeed an unreasonable search under the fourth amendment.