Daily news coverage of politics, policy, and issues shaping the nation.
President Obama suggested Monday that the Supreme Court should never have taken up King v. Burwell, the latest challenge to his health care law. “This should be an easy case. Frankly, it probably shouldn’t even have been taken up,” Obama said to reporters following the G-7 summit. The Supreme Court will decide whether the Internal…
During a special session in the Florida Legislature, the state’s House of Representatives voted down a proposal last week that would have expanded the state’s Medicaid program. The state Senate overwhelmingly passed the plan just days prior. The issue created a sharp divide between the chamber’s Democrats and Republicans. Republicans, rebuking the president’s health care…
One year ago this week, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria seized Iraq’s second largest city, Mosul—its first major land grab in a battle for territorial expansion that continues today. But the reach of the terrorist organization, best known as ISIS, extends beyond a geographic battlefield, bridging traditional war tactics to disseminate brutality online….
Marking the anniversary of when the First Amendment right to “freedom of religion” was introduced, Sen. James Lankford is pressuring the Department of Homeland Security to change language used in a U.S. citizens exam. “It is my understanding that the answer choice ‘freedom of worship’ has been used since 2008, when [the U.S. Citizen and…
The abortion rate is declining in the United States, according to a report by the Associated Press. According to the AP, the abortion rate has dropped about 12 percent since 2010. States that have passed laws to reduce abortion such as Indiana, Missouri, Ohio and Oklahoma, have seen a drop in the number of abortions,…
All eyes are on the federal and state health insurance exchanges in anticipation of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in the case King v. Burwell. In anticipation of the ruling, a Daily Signal analysis of the 17 exchanges originally established by states and the District of Columbia found that more than half are struggling after…
NASHUA, N.H.—Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry promised during a campaign stop today that he would reform the Department of Veterans Affairs if elected president of the United States. Perry, speaking at Nashua Community College in New Hampshire, pledged to work for veterans “until I take my last breath.” “If you elect me your president, there…
Worried about going without health coverage, musician Tom Miller bought a nine-month insurance policy in January to tide himself over while he rebuilt his business after a divorce and moved from Maryland to North Carolina. At $90 a month, it fit his budget, even though it does not offer the broad benefits required by the…
MARIUPOL, Ukraine—In 1995, New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman coined the Golden Arches Theory of Conflict Prevention, also known as “McPeace.” The idea was that countries stable enough economically and politically to court a McDonald’s franchise share too many democratic values to go to war with one another. “People in McDonald's countries,” Friedman wrote, "don't…
KYIV, Ukraine—For those who might have thought the Ukraine conflict was finally fading from the headlines, this week should serve as sufficient evidence to the contrary. Renewed fighting has left the Feb. 12 cease-fire, as well as towns in eastern Ukraine, shattered, and edged the conflict closer to a full-on war between Ukraine and Russia….
Years ago, when Brandon Fraley was a senior at Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn., he prayed to God for a miracle. He was happy and healthy, preparing to settle into a promising future, and in the middle of hosting a Christmas party for all of his friends. But he really needed a CD. A freshman…
The Affordable Care Act was expected to be a boon for eHealth Inc., the nation’s largest online health insurance broker. After all, the law required most Americans to have coverage, provided government assistance to afford it and allowed Internet brokers to sell Obamacare policies. But while the health law helped pump up profits and stock…
MANCHESTER, N.H.—Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., celebrated what he characterized as a small victory against the government’s bulk collection of metadata at the grand opening of his Manchester campaign office. “It wasn’t a complete victory, but we did send a message to the president. The court told him it was illegal, and last week Congress told…
The Obama administration announced yesterday that the private records of as many as four million current and former federal employees could be in the hands of foreign hackers. The Office of Personnel Management, the organization that handles government security clearances and federal employee records, housed the compromised data. While various American authorities have blamed China…
A group of House Republicans unveiled a 192-page health care plan that fully repeals Obamacare and replaces it with “patient-centered reforms” and “free-market solutions.” “American citizens are suffering from the president’s broken promises under the unaffordable Obamacare law,” says @AustinScottGA08 Lawmakers released the plan Thursday as the GOP-led Congress prepares to attack the Affordable Care Act. Both houses of…
On June 4, 1989, leaders of the Chinese Communist Party ordered the People’s Liberation Army to open fire on thousands of student protesters in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square to stamp out a pro-democracy protest. A day later, the famous "Tank Man" episode played out before camera. Nonviolent and unarmed civilians were confronted by military troops and…
Making clear its official stance against Operation Choke Point, the House passed a measure that prohibits the Justice Department from using any funds to carry out the controversial program. Critics say it unfairly targets legal businesses like pawn shops, gun dealers and payday lenders. On Wednesday, lawmakers approved the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, which…
Americans might have jobs, but they probably aren’t getting raises. In spite of the unemployment rate falling to its lowest level since 2008, wage growth is still lagging significantly behind job growth, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal. The Wall Street Journal conducted an analysis of 400 metropolitan areas in the United…
It has been 2,292 days since the Department of Interior has had a permanent inspector general in place to serve as a watchdog over the agency. But the Interior Department is not alone; the inspector general position is vacant in seven other agencies as well. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., chairman of the Senate Homeland Security…
The future of the Export-Import Bank, which provides taxpayer-backed loans to foreign countries and companies to pay for U.S. products, is causing a divide among House Republicans. With Ex-Im’s charter set to expire June 30, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling acknowledged Wednesday that House Republicans are having a “principled debate” concerning the bank’s…