Daily news coverage of politics, policy, and issues shaping the nation.
A regular target of conservatives, Mitch McConnell often takes flak for political hesitancy and his willingness to cut bipartisan deals in the Senate. But Tuesday night, the Senate majority leader won high praise from leaders of the House Freedom Caucus for promising to block the confirmation of any new nominees to the Supreme Court until…
Grassroots conservationists and property rights activists in Nevada stand poised to secure an unprecedented legal victory over government-backed wind energy proponents that could reverberate across state lines. If they prevail, they will have handed a rare defeat to the U.S. Senate’s top Democrat, Harry Reid, in his hometown. A federal District Court judge ruled against…
The Obama administration isn’t prepared for a revived wave of unaccompanied children crossing illegally into the United States, Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said Tuesday. In opening remarks before a Judiciary Committee hearing, Grassley criticized the White House for “shirking responsibility” while the influx of Central American children fleeing across the U.S.-Mexico border threatens to outpace 2014’s crisis. “We…
Cynthia and Robert Gifford, the owners of a small farm in upstate New York who were ordered to pay $13,000 for refusing to host a same-sex wedding ceremony, chose to end their legal battle with the state of New York on Tuesday. Of the decision, their lawyer, James Trainor, told The Daily Signal the lawsuit…
All Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee promised Tuesday to block any candidate nominated by President Barack Obama to fill the Supreme Court seat vacated by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. In an open letter to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, the 11 Republican senators said they plan “to exercise our constitutional authority to…
A popular television and movie actor has quit Twitter in protest of policies he says limit free speech. “I’ve had enough. Twitter is dead to me,” Adam Baldwin told Independent Journal Review. “I’m going to find greener pastures elsewhere and I’m not coming back.” Baldwin, whose big-screen credits include “The Patriot” and “Independence Day,” currently stars…
When it opens next week, this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference aims to inspire conservatives with a theme drawn from the words of President Ronald Reagan: “Our Time Is Now.” “With everything that is going on in the world, our focus as a country is really on all the wrong things,” Matt Schlapp, chairman of the…
Aaron and Melissa Klein, the Oregon bakers who were ordered to pay $135,000 for refusing to make a cake for a same-sex wedding, have assembled a new legal team to take their case through the appeals process. Â The Kleins are now being represented by attorneys at First Liberty, a law firm that specializes in…
Adding to the momentum to defund abortion giant Planned Parenthood, Ohio Gov. John Kasich signed a bill Sunday that strips $1.3 million in taxpayer money from the organization. Ten states—Wisconsin and Ohio being the most recent—have taken action over the past several months to cut taxpayer dollars from Planned Parenthood. “Not one more penny should go to…
Oregon state legislators, acting despite the concerns of business groups, have passed a geographically based increase in the minimum wage. Two of the state’s business leaders, speaking to The Daily Signal, say they’re worried about what comes next. Jason Brandt, president and CEO of the Oregon Restaurant and Lodging Association, said he expects “significant, unintended consequences,” adding: We are…
Residents of one state continue to reap the benefits of a budget bill passed five years ago that has saved taxpayers over $5 billion, researchers say. As a $3.6 billion deficit threatened to hit his state, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, a Republican, championed the legislation in February 2011. Walker and the Republican-held legislature successfully balanced the budget, primarily through curbs…
A man claimed a right to use a women’s locker room at a public swimming pool after his partial undressing there caused alarm. According to Seattle Parks and Recreation, women alerted staff at Evans Pool staff when a man wearing swim trunks entered the women’s locker room and took off his shirt. When staff told him to leave,…
A federal appeals court has ruled that Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN), a global Catholic TV channel, must cover contraceptives and abortion-inducing drugs in employee health plans, as mandated by Obamacare. In a 2-1 decision, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decided Thursday that the U.S. government has “a compelling interest” to ensure that EWTN employees…
On Monday night, Speaker Paul Ryan channeled the Rolling Stones and “Schoolhouse Rock” on Fox News’ “The Kelly File” to explain the concept of divided government and the current context of Capitol Hill gridlock. The Republican House speaker told host Megyn Kelly that Republicans can’t always get what they want. But if the electorate gives…
Food stamp recipients in New York could be barred from using their benefits to purchase “luxury” items like steaks and lobsters if a bill makes it through the state legislature. State Sen. Patty Ritchie, R-Oswegatchie, introduced legislation last week that would impose restrictions on enrollees in New York’s food stamps program to ensure they purchase only food and…
Months before the 1992 presidential election, Joe Biden urged fellow U.S. senators to shut down the nomination process and block President George H.W. Bush’s judicial picks from a confirmation vote. Today, Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, called on the Senate to follow what he dubbed “the Biden Rules.” The lawmakers should leave Antonin Scalia’s…
Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval, a Republican, has risen as a rumored Supreme Court successor to the late Justice Antonin Scalia, but conservative lawyers say the “unqualified” governor’s nomination is highly unlikely. “This guy is a lightweight,” Ed Whelan, president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, told The Daily Signal. “He’s not remotely qualified to…
The crisis of unaccompanied Central American children illegally crossing the United States’ southern border does not end when they enter this country. As the children arrive and settle in the U.S. and wait to hear their fate in immigration court, some are placed into homes where they are sexually assaulted or forced to work. Meanwhile,…
The fight over the makeup of the U.S. Supreme Court is spilling over into a second week, with most Senate Republicans uniting around the idea that the American people should be left to decide the fate of the high court. Using the hashtag #NoHearingsNoVotes, conservatives spent Friday building support around the idea that the Senate…
An Oregon home health care provider filed a federal lawsuit against a union she claims is illegally collecting dues from employees in her field. Maryann Rose has been forced to continue paying dues to Service Employees International Union Local 503 despite multiple attempts to opt out. She argues that the union is violating her First Amendment…