Daily news coverage of politics, policy, and issues shaping the nation.
COALITION AIR BASE, Persian Gulf Region—Framed by a matted khaki sky, a Royal Air Force MQ-9 Reaper drone armed with four Hellfire missiles and two GBU-12 laser-guided bombs takes off from this undisclosed location. The unmanned aircraft is on its way to Iraq or Syria as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the coalition air war…
A nationally recognized charter school in Minnesota is fighting a complaint filed by the parents of a transgender kindergartner who allege the school enabled discrimination against their child. Nova Classical Academy administrators said they will deny the allegations, filed last month with the city of St. Paul, while continuing their push to improve school policies…
Every Saturday, Jihee Ewart’s three sons, Logan, Scott, and Ryan fight for a spot in front of the computer in their Leesburg, Va., home, where they patch through a connection on Skype. Half a world away on a military base in Jordan, Greg Ewart, the boys’ father, waits on the other end. Saturdays are Greg…
Republicans arrived in Washington this year promising a return to “regular order” in Congress. It was a hallmark of Paul Ryan’s quest to be House speaker and Mitch McConnell’s way of showing that the Senate could get things done. Gone were the days of omnibus spending bills and continuing resolutions—or the dreaded combination of the…
In an unprecedented move, California legislators look to extend Obamacare health coverage to the state’s estimated 2.6 million illegal immigrant population. If passed and signed into law, California would be the first state in the nation to request illegal immigrants be covered through a state exchange, the Los Angeles Times reported. It is against the…
More than 19,000 criminal illegal immigrants were released from custody in 2015, according to new figures disclosed by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency. The 19,723 criminal releases—as the government refers to them—represent a 35 percent decrease from fiscal year 2014. The phrase “criminal releases” can apply to a wide range of crimes, including…
Why did the president and CEO of the Game Show Network get involved in the debate over America’s broken health care system? In an interview with The Daily Signal, David Goldhill tells the story of his father, who died in 2007 from infections acquired in a well-regarded New York hospital. Goldhill was determined to understand…
Conservative lawmakers attacked President Barack Obama’s decision to make the U.S. part of an international agreement on climate change, calling the deal an attempt to circumvent Congress. Rep. Tim Huelskamp, R-Kan., said Wednesday at a monthly Capitol Hill meeting between House conservatives and reporters that Obama is “desperately seeking some type of legacy and this…
The chairman of the House Freedom Caucus said Wednesday that Republicans should be able to put forth “conservative policy riders” to appropriation bills. “If we really are about quote ‘regular order’ then that means the ability to offer amendments and push for those policy changes that we think make sense,” Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, told…
A measure that attempted to take the power away from Missouri lawmakers and give it to the people to decide how to handle the marriage and religious liberty debate died in committee Wednesday after three Republicans voted against it. “It is unfortunate that Republican representatives who typically campaign as conservatives refused to govern that way,”…
House conservatives said Wednesday that “it’s time” for Congress to address the marriage debate and protect religious liberty at the national level, arguing for legislation that would prohibit the federal government from taking punitive actions against individuals who believe that marriage is between one man and one woman. “It’s time for us to respond to…
As the House struggles to find consensus on a plan to rescue Puerto Rico from its debt crisis, an influential conservative lawmaker today laid out his expectations for what legislation should look like. Rep. Raúl Labrador, who is Puerto Rican, has been quiet about the plan being crafted by the Natural Resources Committee since he…
The GOP lawmaker charged with devising a plan to rescue Puerto Rico from its debt crisis uses a word dreaded by most Republicans—bailout—only to describe what could happen if Congress doesn’t act now. “The soonest you solve this problem or get a structure in place to solve the problem, the more you lessen the problem,”…
While Senate leaders are hoping to earn final passage on a $37.5 billion energy and water spending bill this week, the legislation lacks amendments pushed by conservatives and boosts spending above President Barack Obama’s budget request. One of those amendments would have blocked funding for a major Environmental Protection Agency rule. Last week, Senate Republicans…
In the wake of UnitedHealthcare’s decision to exit Obamacare’s marketplaces in 2017, consumers purchasing coverage on the exchanges may have fewer choices and less competition. UnitedHealth Group CEO Stephen Hemsley announced during an earnings call last week that the nation’s largest health provider would be exiting the majority of the exchanges after warning the marketplaces…
The Colorado Supreme Court will not review the case of a Denver-area “cake artist” ordered by the state government to bake and decorate cakes to celebrate same-sex marriages. Lawyers for Jack Phillips, owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop in Lakewood, Colo., said they are evaluating his legal options. “We asked the Colorado Supreme Court to take this…
In an interview with The Daily Signal, author and columnist Kevin Williamson talks about why, like many other Americans, conservatives are in a bad mood. And it’s not, he says, just because of this presidential election cycle.
The Oregon bakers who were ordered to pay $135,000 for refusing to bake a cake for a same-sex wedding filed a brief with the Oregon Court of Appeals on Monday, arguing the ruling against them was biased and violates both the Oregon and U.S. constitutions. “In America, you’re innocent until proven guilty,” said Kelly Shackelford,…
A Texas man and his Burmese Christian band, who had $53,000 seized by law enforcement in Muskogee, Okla., in February will get their money back, the prosecutor said. Muskogee County District Attorney Orvil Loge confirmed Monday afternoon that civil and criminal charges filed against Eh Wah, a 40-year-old musician are going to be dropped. “[Eh] Wah had court…
Big corporations have come out to criticize state religious liberty measures in Georgia, Mississippi, and North Carolina as discriminating against those who aren’t heterosexual, some going as far as to propose boycotting states that enact such laws. However, several of the most vocal companies that say they stand with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Americans also operate in countries…