Daily news coverage of politics, policy, and issues shaping the nation.
Russell Berger, the chief knowledge officer for the fitness movement and company known as CrossFit, was fired Wednesday for saying that LGBTQ pride and celebrations of such are a “sin.” His criticism came after showing support for a CrossFit facility in Indianapolis, which canceled a workout session that was intended to support Pride Month, according…
A group of 56 lawmakers led by Rep. Vicky Hartzler, R-Mo., is urging federal officials to investigate the extent to which Planned Parenthood fails to report suspected sexual abuse of minors. In a letter Thursday to the Department of Health and Human Services, Hartzler and 55 other Republicans ask the agency to probe whether Planned…
Both Mexico and the European Union on Wednesday announced retaliatory tariffs on U.S. products as President Donald Trump prepares for potentially confrontational talks with allies at the Group of Seven summit. The G-7 gathering will take place Friday and Saturday in Charlevoix, Quebec, Canada. Trump has pushed 25 percent tariffs on imported steel and 10…
A California college stopped playing the national anthem for its 2018 graduation ceremony, a student publication revealed Monday. Pomona College, a private California institution, played the anthem in 2017, but dropped it for the 2018 ceremony, reported The College Fix. “I think private colleges should not be required to play the national anthem—three of the Claremont…
A major conservative-libertarian advocacy group has thrown its support behind President Donald Trump’s call for canceling more than $15 billion in spending as a good first step in reining in the federal budget. Americans for Prosperity praises the president’s rescission request, which would claw back up to $15.3 billion in appropriated but unspent funds, and…
Andrew McCabe, the former deputy director of the FBI, is seeking immunity in order to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee, according to documents released Tuesday. “This is a textbook case for granting use immunity,” Michael Bromwich, an attorney for McCabe, wrote Monday in a letter to Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the chairman of the judiciary panel….
The Obama administration secretly allowed Iran to access the U.S. financial system to convert assets to U.S. dollars, despite repeated assurances that it would not permit such transactions, a new Senate subcommittee report alleges. “The Obama administration misled the American people and Congress because they were desperate to get a deal with Iran,” Sen. Rob…
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has cancelled the traditional August recess following repeated calls from conservative senators to stay in Washington to pass a budget and confirm dozens of President Donald Trump’s nominees. “Due to the historic obstruction by Senate Democrats of the president’s nominees, and the goal of passing appropriations bills prior to the…
The Trump administration has tripled enforcement against employers that hire illegal immigrants, an offense that could involve an array of crimes, the nation’s top immigration official says. “Simple math, more officers in the county jail equals less officers in the community,” @ICEgov Director Thomas Homan says. “We’ve increased worksite enforcement by over 300 percent. We’re…
As Congress returns from its Memorial Day recess, 70 prominent conservative activists have joined forces in opposing a discharge petition being pushed by “liberal Republicans” in the House to force a debate and votes on immigration reform measures that opponents say amount to “amnesty.” The Conservative Action Project on Monday issued a statement in which…
Criminal prosecutions of people arrested trying to cross the southwest border illegally surged in April, following an order from Attorney General Jeff Sessions that adopted a “zero tolerance” policy for unlawful entry. Federal prosecutors accepted 8,298 unlawful entry case referrals from Customs and Border Protection in April, about 30 percent more than the 6,368 they…
Colorado baker Jack Phillips can’t wait to resume his custom wedding cake business now that the Supreme Court has ruled in favor of his religious freedom. “I’m just hoping to get back to that as soon as we can,” Phillips said Tuesday in a telephone interview with The Daily Signal. “We just have to look…
Insurers in Maryland’s Obamacare market are requesting an average rate increase of 30 percent in insurance premiums, with some asking for premium hikes as high as 91 percent. CareFirst seeks a rate increase of 18.5 percent for a health insurance plan that covers 123,000 Maryland residents. CareFirst requests an increase of 91 percent for a…
The personal legal team for President Donald Trump argued in support of broad presidential powers in a letter to special counsel Robert Mueller—and Trump advanced his own legal arguments on Twitter on Monday. John Dowd, Trump’s former personal lawyer who the president fired in March, and Jay Sekulow, still on the team, wrote the 20-page…
Juanita Broaddrick, the Arkansas woman who has long claimed that former President Bill Clinton raped her, ripped NBC on Monday for not asking Clinton about the alleged rape in a “Today” show interview that aired on Monday. NBC’s Craig Melvin did ask Clinton about his relationship with former intern Monica Lewinsky, at which point the…
San Diego officials proposed banning polystyrene food and drink containers Thursday, potentially becoming the 117th city in California to ban the foam packages, the Los Angeles Times reports. City Councilman Chris Ward is leading the push to ban polystyrene to “get the plastics out of our oceans and out of our streams.” “It’s time San Diego joins…
A Virginia public school district will pursue an appeal after a federal judge ruled that a transgender student can challenge the district’s bathroom access policies under federal civil rights law and the Constitution. Gloucester County Public Schools asked U.S. District Court Judge Arenda Wright Allen to allow its appeal on Friday. Allen’s late May decision allowing the student…
Women’s March leader Tamika Mallory on Friday slammed the United States government for providing aid to Israel. While speaking at an event hosted by the progressive Center for Constitutional Rights, Mallory claimed that Israel’s founding in 1948 amounted to a “human rights crime.” “My soul would not rest, standing by and doing nothing about it, to…
A new research study suggests opioid abuse in the U.S. is now responsible for 20 percent of deaths among young adults. The study, published Friday in the journal JAMA Network Open, reveals that young Americans are dying at a far greater pace than any other group. While 1 in every 65 adults in the U.S. suffered…
Former President Bill Clinton insists he “defended the Constitution” by refusing to resign and choosing to fight his impeachment two decades ago. Clinton, who faced impeachment counts of perjury and obstruction of justice in 1998-1999 after an affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky, said he wouldn’t do anything differently if he had faced the…