Daily news coverage of politics, policy, and issues shaping the nation.
The Justice Department is halting a controversial program that allows law enforcement to keep most of the proceeds of cash and property they seize from Americans under federal law, sometimes without charging anyone with a crime. Now the law enforcement community, which benefits from the program, is pushing back against the Justice Department, saying its decision…
Acting to resolve a conflict between personal conscience and political duty on the subject of same-sex marriage, Kentucky’s new governor decided that marriage licenses don’t have to bear the name of the county clerk whose office issues the license. Gov. Matt Bevin, a Republican, announced his executive order last week along with four others. “To ensure that the sincerely…
Fans today remembered basketball star George “Meadowlark” Lemon of the Harlem Globetrotters, who died Sunday at 83 in Scottsdale, Ariz. Lemon, dubbed the “Clown Prince of Basketball,” was famous for his trademark hook shot as well as his on-court comedy at the height of the Globetrotters’ popularity in the 1960s and 1970s. He was considered by many…
HOT SPRINGS, Va.—Conservative lawmakers, scholars, and activists say it’s time for the Virginia General Assembly to look into the taxpayer funding of academics and scientists who don't want President Obama to tolerate dissenting views on climate change. The question, they told The Daily Signal, is why taxpayers should pay for the work of radical academics and…
NAMCHE BAZAR, Nepal—There are a lot of ways to die on the Nangpa La. For one, the altitude can kill you. This is what Tibetan refugees face as they flee China's oppression: At more than 19,000 feet (roughly the same height as Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa) this mountain pass, which bridges the Himalayas between Nepal…
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, are no strangers to online backlash. https://twitter.com/PoliticalRiff/status/632216048536678404 On Twitter, Facebook and other social media, critics comment regularly on the Kleins’ story, calling them “bigots” and “homophobes” for abiding by their biblical belief that marriage is…
Virginia will stop honoring concealed carry permits from more than two dozen other states that currently have reciprocity privileges with the commonwealth. Attorney General Mark Herring, a Democrat, announced the change Tuesday after a state audit determined that gun laws in 25 states failed to meet Virginia’s requirements for concealed handguns. The shift will take effect Feb….
In nine courts around the country, trial lawyers and judges work together in extracting large sums of money from people who may not deserve it, according to a new report. By taking advantage of tort laws, the ease with which civil justice cases are tried in these “judicial hellholes” can lead to higher costs of…
Less than one week after Congress passed a massive year-end spending bill that failed to strip Planned Parenthood of its taxpayer dollars, evangelist Franklin Graham announced he is leaving the Republican Party. “Shame on the Republicans and the Democrats for passing such a wasteful spending bill last week,” Graham wrote Monday on Facebook. “And to…
Police lifted a ban on Christmas caroling after ordering a group of pro-life activists to stop singing “Silent Night” and other carols on a sidewalk outside an abortion clinic. The carolers planned to head back to the clinic before Christmas Eve, relieved they each no longer face a year in jail and a fine of up to $2,500. “No…
A new report examining the collapse of Health Republic of New York, Obamacare’s largest co-op, said its failure—which may lead to a $265-million loss of taxpayer dollars—can be attributed in part to heightened regulatory control by the state. According to the analysis from the Albany, New York-based Empire Center, a “breakdown” in oversight from the…
Waving off pleas from the Austin chief of police and Travis County sheriff, the Austin City Council voted 9-2 on Friday morning to require drivers for ridesharing companies like Uber and Lyft be fingerprinted beginning Feb. 1. Unless something changes between now and then, Uber, which has stood firm in opposing fingerprint requirements, will leave…
Colorado’s Medicaid caseload nearly doubled in the past two years after the state expanded coverage, surprising state budget officials and putting more pressure on state coffers. And in 2017, the federal government will start decreasing the percentage of the expanded population it funds, raising concerns about a budget crunch caused by hospital provider fee income…
The IRS incorrectly issued more than $46 million in refunds for tax year 2013, government inspectors discovered. The Treasury Department released an internal audit Monday faulting a computer programming error and ineffective monitoring for the tens of millions in taxpayer dollars mistakenly refunded for returns covering tax year 2013. The mistakes and shortcomings at the Internal Revenue…
Ohio’s largest labor union is in the business of selling worker “solidarity,” and for union bosses, business is good. Ohio Education Association president Becky Higgins was paid $209,039 to preside over a union that took member dues and mandatory fees from 121,625 teachers during the fiscal year ending Aug. 31. Regular OEA dues for full-time teachers are…
The largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender activist group in the country is calling on the Department of Education to address what it calls a “disturbing trend” on college campuses. Specifically, the Human Rights Campaign is calling for more transparency towards what it sees as a trend of schools citing religious reasons for not adhering…
This week on “Full Measure,” we reported an unbelievable story that sounds more like an episode of “Breaking Bad” than real life—a lurid tale of drugs, sex, and taxpayer waste. It takes place at a federal agency under the Commerce Department you probably never heard of: the National Institute of Standards and Technology, or NIST….
The Senate will vote on Sen. Rand Paul’s legislation to audit the Federal Reserve when Congress returns from recess in January. The Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2015 would expand congressional oversight of the nation’s central bank and give the Government Accountability Office the authority to review the Fed’s monetary policy decisions. Paul, R-Ky., announced…
California Gov. Jerry Brown raised some eyebrows while attending the U.N. Climate Summit in Paris this month, proclaiming that the “coercive power of the central state” is needed to promote good public policy, specifically when it comes to a cleaner environment. Taking part in an onstage presentation with billionaire and climate activist Tom Steyer, Brown said…
A recent report by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute ranking America’s best and worst cities for school choice includes two consistent winners—New Orleans and Washington, D.C.—at the top, and a trio of Texas cities in the bottom half of the 30 areas surveyed, with Albany, N.Y., bringing up the rear. Fordham considered three criteria: political support,…