Daily news coverage of politics, policy, and issues shaping the nation.
A federal judge has, at least temporarily, blocked the Trump administration from implementing a rule that would require immigrants prove that they have health insurance or can afford to pay for it. Judge Michael Simon of the federal district court in Portland, Oregon, issued a nationwide temporary restraining order Saturday, barring President Donald Trump from implementing his…
The Environmental Protection Agency will propose easing rules on disposal of coal ash, the residue from burning coal, to make it less likely the federal government would shutter a coal-fired utility plant, in an announcement set for Monday. The move is part of what has been a larger deregulation push by the Trump administration to…
Under a new proposed rule from the Department of Health and Human Services announced Friday, the federal government no longer will withhold federal grant money from faith-based adoption providers that won’t compromise their views on same-sex marriage. “I don’t want to discriminate against anyone. I want groups to be able to continue their work without…
The U.S. economy added 128,000 jobs in October, while the unemployment rate rose to 3.6%, according to Department of Labor data released Friday. Despite a General Motors strike, 128,000 jobs were added in October, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics report—about 8,000 fewer jobs than were added in September. Economists predicted the General Motors strike would heavily impact…
School systems across the country are seeking to abolish honors classes, teach how math has been used to oppress people, and let truant students into gifted schools. Advocates say the moves are aimed at diminishing an achievement gap between demographic groups. In one county, a busing initiative led to a populist uprising and rare bipartisan…
The focus of impeachment is now on the Democrat-controlled House and President Donald Trump, but the Republican-controlled Senate and Chief Justice John Roberts almost certainly will clear space on their calendar soon. The House vote Thursday to formalize the impeachment inquiry against Trump is the first step in a process that likely will lead to…
The Kentucky Supreme Court ruled unanimously Thursday that a printer cannot be forced to print T-shirts that violate his faith. In a case that dragged on for seven years, Blaine Adamson, owner of Hands On Originals, a promotional printer in Lexington, declined to print T-shirts for the Lexington Pride Festival, hosted by the Gay and…
The chairman of the Republican Study Committee criticized the impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump, deriding them for being conducted “in secret.” “The problem right now is they’re doing this all in secret,” says Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., “They’re having these secret depositions and these top secret hearings in a basement somewhere.” “I’m on the…
Only two House Democrats voted “no” Thursday on a resolution formalizing an impeachment inquiry: Rep. Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey and Rep. Collin Peterson of Minnesota. The House voted to open an impeachment inquiry regarding President Donald Trump with 232 in favor and 196 against. Not a single House Republican voted yes. Van Drew warned that impeachment would…
Lawrence VanDyke, one of President Donald Trump’s nominees for the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, was overcome with emotion before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday as he defended himself against charges that he would treat LGBT litigants unfairly. The American Bar Association issued a scathing review of VanDyke’s nomination on the eve of…
America’s military is stronger than before, but lacks the capacity to fight more than one war with a major power as adversaries such as China and Russia grow more ambitious, according to the 2020 Index of U.S. Military Strength. The Heritage Foundation released the 500-page report Wednesday, grading all four branches of the U.S. military…
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos criticized the state of American students’ education Wednesday, saying the United States is in a “student achievement crisis.” DeVos referred to the 2019 Nation’s Report Card, a national assessment of U.S. students’ academic understandings and abilities released Wednesday. The report found that between 2017 and 2019, reading and mathematics scores lowered for all students,…
The White House is making a strong push against Democrats’ “Medicare for All” proposal, laying out a “Health Care for You” agenda to boost competition and transparency, lower prescription prices, and produce greater affordability in health-related costs. Speaking Wednesday to a crowd in Las Vegas, Joe Grogan, director of the White House Domestic Policy Council,…
Customs and Border Protection officers rescued nearly 5,000 illegal immigrants from danger, while also greatly increasing the capture of illicit drugs and weapons smuggled into the country at the southwest border, according to numbers for fiscal year 2019 released Tuesday. CBP reported that it seized about 750,000 pounds of illegal drugs. Seizures in every drug category…
White House counselor Kellyanne Conway ripped into The Washington Post on Monday for the newspaper’s headline calling ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi an “austere religious scholar.” The Post changed its Sunday headline after facing criticism for referring to the leader of a terrorist organization as a “religious scholar.” The original headline read “Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi,…
Major media outlets appear to be normalizing non-monogamous relationships. CBSN, the digital streaming arm of CBS News, provided the latest example with an hourlong special on “consensual non-monogamy” that aired Sunday night. It included a 22-minute documentary that centered around interviews with people in openly non-monogamous relationships. Interviews with a pro-polyamory researcher and a pro-polyamory…
Singer John Legend will release a rendition of “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” this Christmas featuring the line “It’s your body, and your choice.” The musician spoke out about his upcoming Christmas releases in an interview with Vanity Fair, explaining that he changed the lyrics to the song in collaboration with actress and writer Natasha Rothwell…
A federal judge reversed his ruling Monday and announced that the family of Kentucky teenager Nick Sandmann may sue The Washington Post for libel over its coverage of the teenager. Sandmann’s family sued the Post in February, writing that the publication allegedly “target and bullied” the teenager after an incident involving a Native American activist…
The Trump administration has asked the Supreme Court to quash California’s migrant sanctuary law, which broadly prohibits state and local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities. The dispute over the California Values Act, or SB 54, is ideologically scrambled, featuring President Donald Trump’s conservative administration arguing for strong federal power against California liberals…
Speaking before a gathering of police chiefs in Chicago, President Donald Trump on Monday sharply criticized the city’s police superintendent, who boycotted his speech, noting the high rates of violent crime there. “The courageous police officers of Chicago, and I know some of them, and they are the most incredible people, could solve this problem…