Conservative News
The Daily Signal delivers conservative news with reporting, analysis, and commentary on the values and policies shaping America.
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news
Why This Abortion Survivor Had to Thank President Trump
At age 14, Melissa Ohden learned that her biological mother was forced to have a saline abortion, one that she defied the odds by surviving despite being in the womb only an estimated 31 weeks. Years later, a nurse who cared for her in the NICU told Ohden: “A tall blond nurse rushed me in,… -
news
West Virginia Teachers Strike Ends With No Compromise on School Choice
West Virginia teachers are tasting victory after a two-day strike, putting to rest state legislation that would have allowed the opening of charter schools and 1,000 education savings accounts for special-needs or bullied students to use toward a private education option. The teachers strike ended Wednesday with the adjournment of state lawmakers who failed to… -
opinion
Podcast: Jussie Smollett’s Hate Crime Hoax Unravels
Jussie Smollett, the now-disgraced actor from “Empire,” has turned himself in. Chicago police say he fabricated a hate crime against himself in order to get attention because he was dissatisfied with his salary. In this episode, we recount what happened, the media’s careless response, and what Smollett’s actions mean for the real victims of hate… -
opinion
GOP Pounces by Allowing Democrats to Vote on Their Own Idea
“The Green New Deal is the only way to save the earth from utter extinction. If you keep standing in the way, troglodytes, we are doomed.” “OK, Democrats, let’s vote on your nonbinding resolution.” “Why are you sabotaging our legislation?!” If you think this is an exaggeration of the illogical position of Democrats and their… -
news
California Parents Object to New Sex Ed Program in Public Schools
Fed-up California parents participated in a “Sexxx Ed Sit Out” Tuesday morning to protest the state’s sex education curriculum, calling it “pornographic,” “age-inappropriate,” “highly biased and medically inaccurate instruction.” In an open letter to principals, lawmakers, and state Department of Education officials, the grassroots effort organized by Informed Parents of California rebuked what’s being taught… -
news
3 Recent Libel Suit Outcomes
Kentucky teenager Nick Sandmann’s lawsuit against The Washington Post over its depiction of him and Covington Catholic High School is still fresh, but recent libel cases might offer guidance as to how this case might end. Litigants have done quite well in recent high-profile libel cases, notwithstanding the high legal bar set in place by… -
opinion
Supreme Court’s 9-0 Ruling Protects Americans Against Excessive Fines
It’s a good day when all nine justices of the Supreme Court make a stand for liberty. On Wednesday, the court held unanimously that the excessive fines clause of the Constitution’s Eighth Amendment applies to the states. The ruling is potentially a major win for property owners and individual citizens facing excessive fines, fees, and… -
news
Business Coalition Cites 4 Reasons to Repeal Death Tax
A bill to repeal the estate tax, often called the death tax, has the support of about 150 national business and trade associations that signed on to an open letter to the sponsors of the legislation. “We appreciate your work to lead the country towards a commonsense tax code that does not impose a destructive… -
opinion
Changing Reality With Words
The reinvention of vocabulary can often be more effective than any social protest movement. Malarial swamps can become healthy “wetlands.” Fetid “dumps” are often rebranded as green “landfills.” Global warming was once a worry about too much heat. It implied that man-made carbon emissions had so warmed the planet that life as we knew it… -
news
Trump Weighs in on Jussie Smollett’s Arrest
President Donald Trump weighed in on Twitter after actor Jussie Smollett was arrested Thursday and charged with felony disorderly conduct for filing a false police report following an alleged hate crime hoax. “[Jussie Smollett]—what about MAGA and the tens of millions of people you insulted with your racist and dangerous comments!? #MAGA,” Trump wrote on Twitter Thursday…. -
news
Obama EPA Regulations Blamed for Closure of 100-Year-Old Coal Plant
A coal-fired power plan that’s operated for more than 100 years is shutting down, and its owners say Obama-era regulations are to blame. Alabama Power’s Plant Gorgas will officially close in April. It’s only the latest coal industry casualty, driven by Environmental Protection Agency regulations and market forces. “We recognize that Plant Gorgas and the… -
opinion
How the Space Force Can Restore Our Edge Against China, Russia
The U.S. just moved one step closer to creating a Space Force. On Tuesday, President Donald Trump directed the Department of Defense to draft legislation to establish the Space Force as a new branch of the military under the secretary of the Air Force. This move is an important step toward defending the space domain,… -
opinion
Podcast: ‘Duck Dynasty’ Star Phil Robertson on His Christian Faith
Why did the patriarch of the hit TV show “Duck Dynasty” become a Christian after an early life of sexual hedonism? What’s his advice to parents trying to raise kids who stay Christian? And what does it mean to be a Christian in our current secular culture? Phil Robertson, author of “The Theft of America’s… -
news
Covington Teen’s Libel Suit Follows Justice Thomas’ Questioning of Libel Precedent
A day after Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas signaled it might be time to review a landmark ruling on libel law, President Donald Trump cheered the libel lawsuit of a Covington, Kentucky, high school student against The Washington Post. Although Trump has repeatedly insisted that Congress change existing libel laws to make it easier to… -
news
US Won’t Take Back Alabama Woman Who Joined ISIS
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday the United States would not allow an American-born woman who joined the Islamic State terrorist group back into the country. In 2015, Hoda Muthana, then 19, gained national attention for leaving her family in Birmingham, Alabama, to join the Sunni Muslim extremist group. Now, the remorseful 24-year-old is… -
opinion
Smollett Case Highlights Reasons for Skepticism About Hate Crime Statistics
Update: The Chicago Police Department took “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett into custody early Thursday on a charge of making a false report to police. “Bogus police reports cause real harm,” Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said at a press conference announcing Smollett’s arrest. Don’t let the facts get in the way of a good narrative…. -
opinion
Military Members Should Fight Dangers Abroad, Not in Their Own Homes
Despair filled the eyes of the mother next to me in the Senate committee hearing room as she showed me a picture of her son. She explained he will need lifelong medical care because she was unknowingly exposed to lead paint and mold in her home during her pregnancy. To my surprise, she wasn’t living… -
opinion
Pompeo’s Tough Diplomacy on Display in Europe
Europeans routinely complain about being neglected by U.S. administrations. As much as Europeans doted on then-President Barack Obama, he indeed treated them with benign indifference, taking their support for granted. But now, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo having made his way through their capitals last week, Europeans have gotten a taste of a new… -
opinion
Hope for an Overregulated Nation
By some estimates, the cost of government regulation in the U.S. exceeds $2 trillion. An amazing number. And while we’re paying a fortune for existing regulations, major new ones are coming out at the rate of 3,000 per year—so fast that the White House can only do a cost-benefit analysis on less than one half… -
news
Mueller’s ‘Foreign Agent’ Prosecutions May Lead to Probes of Green Groups
By invoking a law regulating foreign agents to pursue prosecution of former Trump campaign officials, special counsel Robert Mueller opened the door to more intense scrutiny of some U.S. environmental groups, according to legal analysts who say China and Russia use such groups to influence America’s energy policy. But these legal analysts said they also…