Daily news coverage of politics, policy, and issues shaping the nation.
A judge has ordered that Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis be released from jail on the condition that she does not try to prevent her office from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. According to U.S. District Court Judge David Bunning’s order, issued Tuesday, “the Court’s prior contempt sanction against Defendant Davis is hereby lifted.” The…
Democrats today cinched the 41 votes needed to filibuster the Republican-led effort to send a rejection of the Iran nuclear agreement to President Barack Obama’s desk. Democratic Sens. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Gary Peters of Michigan, and Ron Wyden of Oregon announced their backing of the accord Tuesday, garnering the support needed to prevent a…
GLEN ALLEN, VA.—For one conservative lawmaker, Congress’s upcoming debate on funding the government and stripping Planned Parenthood of federal dollars could play a significant role in whether a challenge to House Speaker John Boehner is mounted. In an interview with The Daily Signal, Rep. Dave Brat, R-Va., warned that Boehner’s, R-Ohio, future as the party…
In Oklahoma, law enforcement agencies across 12 counties took $6 million in cash over a five-year span. Less than half of the money came from property owners who were charged with a crime. The American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma analyzed records regarding cash seizures that took place in a dozen counties along Interstate 40,…
The government’s push to mandate kids to eat healthier is finding its efforts at the bottom of a waste bin. A study published last week in Public Health Reports found that while kids may be piling more fruits and vegetables onto their plates as federal guidelines require, most are just tossing the healthy additions into the…
Planned Parenthood clinics have displayed a pattern of failure to report sexual abuse, according to a report by Alliance Defending Freedom. Alliance Defending Freedom, a non-profit legal organization that advocates freedom of religion, compiled a report that states clinics in Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Minnesota, and Ohio failed to report the sexual abuse of minors in…
A new study by the non-profit Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) is shedding light on the effectiveness of pesky speed cameras, suggesting they may reduce the likelihood of fatal accidents as a result of speeding by up to 19 percent. The study, which also found that speed cameras positively affect long-term driving habits, was…
Before he met Jaclyn McLoughlin, combat veteran Androcles Scicluna passed most days focused on survival, picking abandoned bottles and milk cartons out of trash cans and curling up in whatever public dry spot he could find to sleep at night. “I had to leave [the armed forces] for medical reasons, and after that, you know,…
NEW ORLEANS—Millennials are moving to New Orleans by the thousands, and it’s not just for Bourbon Street. Since Hurricane Katrina, young entrepreneurs have flooded the city, finding opportunities to start businesses, have families, and give back. In the past five years alone, more than 44,000 millennials have moved here. “And that number keeps on growing,”…
Good news for those loading up the Tahoe to get out of town this Labor Day weekend: Gas prices are at a record low. The national average for gasoline prices dropped to $2.44 on Thursday, according to gas-pricing site GasBuddy.com. Friday’s national average sits at $2.42 per gallon. This marks the lowest price at the…
When you meet confident, Emmy-winning Michael Henneberger, it’s hard to believe that just seven years ago he was diagnosed with both panic disorder and major depressive disorder. Henneberger, then 25, had joined the Army as a combat photographer. He was stationed at Ft. Meade, Md., for a year of training prior to his discharge. The former musician found…
In the middle of a cold Chicago night in November 2013, brothers Joe and Luke Simonds sat awake in their hotel room, talking animatedly and tossing around ideas for a new business. “You wake up one day and you just think, ‘This is not what I want to do for the rest of my life,’”…
Before 27-year-old Justin Chen was ever appointed CFO of an emerging startup, he was just a kid selling sneakers for fun. “There’s Nikes, and Jordans, and this whole community,” Chen explains. “I’m a huge collector. In high school, I would basically pay for all my purchases by reselling my sneakers. Just buying and selling them…
In an analysis of Internal Revenue Service income statistics and migration data, Americans for Tax Reform—an advocacy group for lower and simpler taxes—concluded that in 2013 more than 200,000 taxpayers fled states with a Democrat governor to states with Republicans in control. The analysis shows that in 2013 states run by Democrats lost 226,763 taxpayers…
About 5 million California residents left the Golden State during the past decade, marking an “unprecedented” number according to a report released this week. The Sacramento Bee analyzed tax return data from the Internal Revenue Service between 2004 and 2013, the height of the housing crash and recession, which impacted California more sharply than most states….
A San Francisco elementary school has created gender-neutral bathrooms for its students in kindergarten and first grade, the “Today” show reported Friday. Miraloma Elementary School decided to transform two single-stall facilities that had been divided by gender in the classroom into two gender-neutral facilities. Now, any student can use either bathroom. School officials defended the…
Physician-owned hospitals are often vilified in America’s health care system, accused of siphoning the most profitable operations away from other hospitals while leaving them with the sicker and poorer patients. Congress has banned new ones from opening. But an independent study released Wednesday argues physician-owned hospitals have gotten a bad rap. The study, published online…
Thousands of migrants from Middle Eastern countries, including Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan, have fled to Europe. As European countries grapple with the situation, Hungary has become the epicenter of the crisis, with many on trains or at train stations. Many of the migrants have resisted going to a refugee camp. 100s of #refugees stuck inside…
For Evan and Olivia Rodriguez, the birth of their daughter Layla Sky Rodriguez in December should be a time of joy and love. Instead, the first-time parents are facing unimaginable tragedy: 15 weeks into their pregnancy, the Rodriguezes discovered that Layla has a birth defect called anencephaly. As a result, she is missing a portion…
A Kentucky clerk at the center of a national controversy was held in contempt of court and sent to jail for refusing to comply with a judge’s order to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. But she isn’t the only public official who has defied the law over same-sex marriage. On Thursday, a federal judge…