Daily news coverage of politics, policy, and issues shaping the nation.
A record number of people died last year under Belgium’s 13-year-old euthanasia law, according to an oversight commission. In 2015, a total of 2,022 Belgians were legally euthanized. In 2002, the first year the practice was legal, 24 people died by euthanasia. Since the law took effect, a total of 12,762 people officially have been…
Two top GOP lawmakers claimed Tuesday the massive legal settlement imposed on Volkswagen from last year’s fuel emission scandal will allow the company to corner the electric vehicle market. “VW may be able to obtain substantial competitive benefits, if not a monopoly on electric vehicle infrastructure, under the required investments,” Republican Reps. Fred Upton of…
In just the last week, prosecutors pursued three voter fraud-related charges in three major battleground states—Florida, Iowa, and Virginia. Numerous other election irregularities such as voting beyond the grave, voting more than once, voting without citizenship, and registrations by nonexistent people have occurred throughout 2016. While some cases have been prosecuted, others were discovered through…
KYIV, Ukraine—Countries across Eastern Europe are militarizing to defend themselves from Russia, underscoring how Kremlin brinkmanship could spark a regional conflict. “If you’re in Estonia, or Latvia, and Russia’s sitting there on your border, it’s scary,” Jill Russell, teaching fellow in the Defense Studies Department at King’s College London, told The Daily Signal. “And those…
Insurance companies continue to put pressure on members of Congress over two Obamacare programs set to expire at the end of the year. Lawmakers and outside groups expect a fight over the risk corridor and reinsurance programs—referred to as insurer “bailouts” by conservatives—during the lame-duck session, the period after the Nov. 8 election and before…
The air conditioning and refrigeration industries are accustomed to change. Indeed, manufacturers had been bracing for an international climate regulation targeting them, and representatives of the industries even had a seat at the negotiating table. Global leaders last month celebrated completion of a deal to phase down worldwide emissions of chemical coolants called hydrofluorocarbons, or…
Natural gas and other conventional energy sources are replacing power generated by shuttered nuclear reactors, according to federal energy data. Despite numerous claims that solar and wind power would replace nuclear sources, both wind and solar combined have historically replaced only a small fraction of shuttered capacity. The same pattern is expected to continue as…
A mother who is part of a lawsuit against the Obama administration’s transgender restroom mandate for schools says she is encouraged by the Supreme Court’s decision to review a similar case. That case, arising from a Virginia school system, could set a national precedent in the debate over transgender individuals using public facilities according to…
James Slatic was sitting in a breakfast meeting when he heard the news. An employee who worked for him and his medical marijuana business, Med-West Distribution, called to tell him he arrived at Med-West’s facility in San Diego, California, to find “25 police cars” outside. It was Jan. 28, and on that day, an estimated…
The University of Redlands has torpedoed student efforts to hold a “funeral” for the Halloween holiday, saying such a display would cause “emotional and psychological harm” to other students. Redlands’ chapter of Young Americans for Freedom, a conservative group, wanted to hold the “funeral” as a protest against political correctness, which they claim has effectively…
While the issue of term limits has waned since its high point in the 1990s, just outside Washington it’s on the ballot and appears to have broad support in a predominantly Democratic county with about 1 million residents. Voters in Montgomery County, Maryland, will decide Question B, which would limit the terms of the elected…
A Chicago-based health care startup that allows customers to conduct eye exams from their homes and obtain a prescription is fighting back against a South Carolina law that prohibits the company from operating in the state. Opternative, an online eye exam company, and the Institute for Justice, a public interest law firm, filed a lawsuit…
While the debate over illegal immigration tends to focus on how to control and treat those who make it across our nation’s borders, a more enduring challenge for the U.S. government has been what to do to stop legal entrants from overstaying their allotted time here. The problem of so-called visa “overstays”—which make up about…
KURAKHOVO, Ukraine—More than two and a half years after the war in Ukraine began, a cease-fire has failed to stop the fighting. And it’s still too dangerous for many of Ukraine’s 1.7 million internally displaced persons to return home. For those who fled the conflict, they’ve had to adapt to life as de facto refugees…
Vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine says Democrats would “change the Senate rules” to confirm a ninth Supreme Court justice if they win control of the upper chamber in November. “I have a prediction,” Kaine said in an interview last week with The Huffington Post. “This is not a guarantee and I’m not revealing inside intel….
A gun control measure on California’s ballot Nov. 8 is pitting sheriffs, police chiefs, and prosecutors against most of the state’s political establishment. “This initiative would do nothing to stop criminals from acquiring ammunition, guns, or large-capacity magazines,” @michele_hanisee says. A state that already has some of the strictest limits on gun ownership in the…
KYIV, Ukraine—The young man never told anyone he was going to war. The 20-year-old student at Kyiv’s Taras Shevchenko National University slipped away in June 2014 to join a civilian paramilitary group fighting in eastern Ukraine. The young man, whose name was Sviatoslav Horbenko, was a star pupil at the university’s Institute of Philology, where…
The U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether a federal order requiring public schools to allow transgender students to use the bathroom corresponding to their gender identity is lawful. The Obama administration issued a directive earlier this year requiring public schools to accommodate transgender students. The case before the Supreme Court originates in Gloucester County, Virginia. The…
Robert Laszewski is a policy adviser and analyst for the health insurance industry. He’s correctly predicted Obamacare’s pitfalls since Day One. In an interview with “Full Measure” this Sunday, Laszewski says he warned the Obama administration and other Democrats not to call it the “Affordable Care Act.” Earlier this week, the administration announced Obamacare premiums…
Following the public release of rates for health insurance plans under Obamacare for 2017, brokers from around the country began fielding calls from angry clients, many of whom were panicked about the rising cost of their health insurance. But separate from the worried voices of clients on the other end of the telephone, many brokers…