Daily news coverage of politics, policy, and issues shaping the nation.
Iraq War veteran Joe Leal knows firsthand the difficulties associated with readjusting to domestic life after combat. “You hear this, ‘We support the troops,’ and there’s commercials out there where troops will be walking down the airport and people will clap, like, ‘Thank you for your service,’” Leal says. “But what happens after they take…
After nearly two years in operation and millions of dollars spent in development, the small business health insurance exchange created by the Affordable Care Act is struggling to catch on. Nationally, about 85,000 people, from 11,000 small businesses, have coverage through the online marketplace known as the Small Business Health Options Program, or SHOP, according to…
On a Monday afternoon in October 2011, West Virginia Democrat Nick J. Rahall II waited at the Charleston airport for a 4:50 p.m. U.S. Airways Express flight to Washington. If the plane left on schedule, the roughly 80-minute flight would allow him to get to the Capitol in time for votes in the House of…
In 2014, education leaders ranging from the U.S. secretary of education down to local school officials promised that kids would do better if districts adopted a federal program that provides no-cost lunches to students regardless of financial need. It hasn’t worked out that way in Chattanooga, Tenn. Board members in charge of the Hamilton County School System voted…
The Pentagon and professional sports teams seem to have teamed up. The Department of Defense (DOD) has been exposed for paying pro teams to honor American soldiers at sporting events, a government oversight report finds. U.S. Senators Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., and John McCain, R-Ariz., authored the report. “Dear Taxpayer,” Flake and McCain write. “In 2013,…
PHILADELPHIA—Longtime residents know East Walnut Lane, on the outskirts of Philadelphia County, as a quiet street. It’s a street lined with houses all featuring the same façade—stone on the first story, brick on the second; alternating black and white screen doors; four steps leading up to the front porch. It's a street that has been…
Republicans in the U.S. Senate who are taking aim at filibuster rules in the upper chamber won’t find an ally in House Speaker Paul Ryan, if the speaker’s new chief of staff has his way. Although Ryan, R-Wis., has been silent on the issue since assuming the speakership Oct. 29, top aide David Hoppe consistently…
Forbidding free speech on a public sidewalk may sound to many Americans like the mandate of some foreign despot in a faraway country. Such a law exists, however, in Pittsburgh. Oral arguments concluded Friday in the case of Bruni v. City of Pittsburgh, where attorneys with Alliance Defending Freedom appealed a federal judge’s decision to deny the pleas…
A new Christian-based consumer organization that ranks companies based on their friendliness toward people of faith released a Christmas “Best in Class” list, hoping to have a major impact on where people spend their money this holiday season. Topping the list are brands like Chick-fil-A, Dillards, Hobby Lobby, JetBlue, Pepsi, and Wal-Mart. The organization behind…
A 12th Obamacare co-op has decided to close its doors after receiving more than $71 million in taxpayer-funded loans and enrolling more than 25,000 consumers in health insurance. Consumers Mutual Insurance of Michigan and the state Department of Insurance and Financial Services announced their decision to wind down the co-op’s operations last week, bringing the…
PHILADELPHIA—On a September day in 2014, Leandro Banks saw his money disappear in an instant. Banks, an independent contractor, left the bank with $1,858 in his pocket. The money came from his paycheck of nearly $5,000, Banks says. Some of it he deposited, some he shared with an employee, and the rest—the $1,858—he says he…
After experiencing the first week of Speaker Paul Ryan’s House, conservatives say they feel right at home. A week into Ryan’s tenure, members of the House Freedom Caucus are crediting the speaker for delivering on his promise to open up the legislative process, and delegate authority to rank-and-file members. And though the outcomes of the…
Michelle Obama’s healthy school meal standards have scored not too tasty. Over a span of three school years, 1.4 million children dropped out of the National School Lunch Program, reports the Government Accountability Office (GAO). While the first lady’s Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act has brought healthier items to lunch trays, sugary and salty foods that…
President Barack Obama announced that his administration will not authorize construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline during remarks at the White House on Friday. “This morning, Secretary Kerry informed me that, after extensive public outreach and consultation with other Cabinet agencies, the State Department has decided that the Keystone XL Pipeline would not serve the…
Nearly a month after a tragic mass shooting shook Umpqua Community College, a rural Oregon county roughly two hours west of the school passed a measure directing the sheriff to bypass state and federal gun laws if he judges them unconstitutional. Coos County residents smoothly approved the Second Amendment Preservation Ordinance on Tuesday with more than…
The city of Sacramento recently approved a gradual increase in minimum wage to $12.50 by 2020, and with that a raise in the cost of operating small businesses. While the California Legislature passed a proposed minimum wage of $10 to take effect Jan. 1, Sacramento’s increase to 12.50 over the next four years will put…
AMMAN, JORDAN—In the small town of Marka, Jordan, about 20 minutes from downtown Amman, hundreds of Christian refugees and their families live under the steadfast care of Father Khalil Jaar, a humble priest originally from Bethlehem. Here, at a small church complex called St. Mary’s, children receive an education. On this particular Sunday, French missionaries…
It’s open enrollment season for Obamacare, and two pro-life groups want to make sure consumers seeking health insurance know which plans cover elective abortion. ObamacareAbortion.com, a joint project of the Family Research Council and the Charlotte Lozier Institute, the research arm of the Susan B. Anthony List, was launched in November of 2014 to help consumers…
Democratic lawmakers appointed to the Energy and Commerce Committee’s Select Investigative Panel on Planned Parenthood received more than $81,000 in campaign contributions from the organization since 1990, according to a study by the Media Research Center. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., announced the Democratic appointments to the panel earlier this week. “I am proud to…
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., wants to pledge American resources to clean up the Chinese, Indian, and Russian environments. Flanked by environmental activists Wednesday on the Capitol’s East Lawn and joined by Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., the Vermont senator touted the pair’s legislation to prohibit all new fossil fuel developments on federal land, a measure aimed…