Daily news coverage of politics, policy, and issues shaping the nation.
Fresh on the heels of The Daily Signal’s two-part investigation into Covered California, the Columbia Journalism Review launched its own probe asking why more news outlets haven’t taken a critical look at the largest Obamacare state exchange. In an article titled, “Why we need stronger coverage of Covered California,” Columbia Journalism Review reporter Trudy Lieberman…
The Daily Signal has exclusively learned that the government agency responsible for enforcing Oregon’s anti-discrimination law appears to be working closely with a powerful gay rights advocacy group in its case against Aaron and Melissa Klein, owners of Sweet Cakes by Melissa. Communications between the agency, the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries, and the…
SAN FRANCISCO—For Sam Chapple-Sokol, a chef who has spent time working at the White House, food is the missing ingredient in international relations. The Daily Signal connected with the food connoisseur in San Francisco’s Mission District, where he explained the concept of “culinary diplomacy,” a term he coined. Chapple-Sokol defines the idea of culinary diplomacy…
Portions of the USA Patriot Act expired at midnight after the Senate failed to reach a deal. Supporters of the USA Freedom Act, legislation to amend the Patriot Act, had hoped it would serve as a compromise by striking an appropriate balance between security and civil liberties. Opponents argued it was still too intrusive. The…
The Alabama House of Representatives has passed legislation that would prevent new abortion facilities from opening near schools. If signed into law, House Bill 527 would prohibit the Alabama Department of Public Health from renewing or granting a license to an abortion facility within 2,000 feet of a public school. The legislation was modeled after…
Earlier this week, professor Patrick Wolf of the University of Arkansas made the case for school choice in Washington, D.C. Based on his research, The Daily Signal pulled out data to tell the story visually.
Planned Parenthood of Northern New England is advertising itself as a “safe haven” for newborns. According to Vermont’s Department for Children and Families, the state’s Baby Safe Haven Law “offers you safe places you can give up your baby—anonymously and legally.” Under the Baby Safe Haven Law, parents may deliver a child younger than 30…
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie says he will pull the state out of Common Core education standards—increasingly unpopular among parents and teachers alike—in favor of “higher, New Jersey-based standards” to be developed by the end of the year. He has asked the state’s top education official to convene parents, teachers and educators to drive development of…
In an effort to combat high gasoline prices in California, billionaire environmentalist activist Tom Steyer is pushing for a state ballot measure to pass an oil severance tax. Steyer, founder of NextGen Climate, announced support for the potential ballot measure earlier this month at the California Democratic Party convention. “I want to understand why Californians…
The U.S. House of Representatives had its first day in court today after filing a lawsuit against the Obama administration for making unilateral changes to the Affordable Care Act in November. Now, a district judge must rule on whether the case will proceed. Lawyers representing the Obama administration and the House of Representatives gathered today…
A bill has been introduced in the Senate that would ban the use of microbeads in household products such as soap. Sens. Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters, both Democrats from Michigan, introduced the Senate version of a House bill on Tuesday. The House bill was introduced by Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., in March. The Microbead-Free…
The Nebraska Legislature has voted to end the death penalty in the state, overriding the governor’s veto. Lawmakers voted 30-19 to abolish capital punishment in Nebraska on Wednesday. Only 30 votes were required to override the veto. The Daily Signal previously reported that Nebraska lawmakers approved legislation that would end capital punishment in the state…
When Maria Harrill was growing up in suburban Maryland in the early 1990s, she kept a journal outlining all the things she’d do when she was a mom. She attentively monitored her own family of 10 and—more like a discerning social worker stopping by for a visit than the second youngest of a brood of…
The Internal Revenue Service seized $107,702 in company profits from Lyndon McLellan just because agents didn't like the size of the convenience store owner’s bank deposits. If a bipartisan proposal before Congress had been the law of the land, though, the IRS could not have justified the money grab. Countless Americans like McLellan, who never intended to…
In a controversial use of executive power, the Obama administration has finalized a set of environmental regulations expanding its authority over the nation’s waterways. On Wednesday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers announced the Clean Water Rule, intended to protect the nation’s streams and wetlands from “pollution and degradation.” In…
Child Protective Services has ruled out neglect charges in one of two investigations into Maryland’s “free range” parents, according to the Associated Press. Danielle and Alexander Meitiv, the parents of Dvora, 6, and Rafi, 10, practice what they call a “free range” parenting style in which their children are given a great deal of independence….
For most Americans, last year’s Ebola outbreak was a public health concern and cause for a debate over infectious disease practices, safety and travel. For West Africans, it was a real-life crisis with deaths in the thousands and desperate efforts to keep it from spreading. But for those tasked with developing the response for it…
After watching federal officials with the U.S. Department of the Interior unilaterally rewrite regulatory rules without state input in what was supposed to be a joint venture, West Virginia has joined with five other states to withdraw from a cooperative agreement they say the Interior Department has violated. In 2010, the Interior Department’s Office of…
Congress has less than a week to decide the fate of a government surveillance program that was created after 9/11 to prevent terrorist attacks. The program, enabled by a provision under the Patriot Act, gives the National Security Agency a number of tools to fight terror, such as the ability to collect phone records in…
A federal appeals court has decided to keep a hold on President Obama’s immigration executive actions, preventing the program from at least temporarily going into effect. Two of three judges on a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit ruled to uphold an injunction on Obama’s 2014 immigration actions. Judge Andrew…