Daily news coverage of politics, policy, and issues shaping the nation.
The spat between Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky over President Obama’s attempt to normalize U.S.-Cuba relations spilled into the weekend, surfacing on the Sunday talk show circuit this morning. “Rand, if he wants to become the chief cheerleader of Obama's foreign policy, he certainly has a right to do…
MONTICELLO, Minn. — Supporters of solar power say the future is bright in Minnesota, thanks to a slew of subsidies toward requiring big utilities to generate 1.5 percent of their power from solar by 2020. Despite a rush by some cities to get on the bandwagon, Monticello was the first municipality in the state to impose at…
LINCOLN, Neb. — The University of Nebraska has been dinged by the state auditor for allowing employees to spend nearly $96,000 on 20 first-class flights around the world, book $300-a-night oceanfront resort rooms for a week and get reimbursed for alcohol while traveling, in violation of state law. While digging through travel records, auditors found…
Smile Mississippi, police may have you on camera. Police body cameras could work as an accountability tool for patrol officers and help protect them from false abuse complaints. Studies have backed up the advantages of using the devices, but with technology and data storage come privacy concerns. Columbus and Cleveland police already use body cameras…
LINCOLN, Neb. — Nebraska’s state auditor has unearthed a variety of problems with the way Nebraska doles out welfare and monitors the program, including $11,000 in payments for six months’ worth of cab rides, even though the welfare recipient owned a car. Even though the problems were found during audits that are still in progress,…
With Wisconsin leading the way, 14 states enacted “significant, broad-based tax cuts” in 2014, according to a report released this week. Surprisingly, several states controlled by Democrats made the American Legislative Exchange Council list. Then again, 2014 was an election year. The blue states that made the cut were: Minnesota: The Democratic stronghold “bowed to…
Supporters of University of Texas President Bill Powers have for months worked mightily to deny or to marginalize evidence lawmakers were pulling strings to get unqualified students admitted to the university. A new trove of public records demonstrates that many of Powers’ most vocal defenders — key alumni association members, an education coalition, politicians and…
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Hilda Hall-Dennis was no stranger to nonprofit community work. Over the course of 11 years, she managed three nonprofits in South Florida. In February 2006, she launched her own nonprofit — the Business Technology Development Corp., a business incubator subsisting on government grants. The venture purportedly provided business development classes, technical assistance,…
Philadelphia’s city government has dropped its attempt to seize two homes using civil asset forfeiture laws. The city’s seizure of the homes made national headlines and became the basis for a lawsuit that challenges Philadelphia law enforcement agencies’ use of civil asset forfeiture in drug cases. That lawsuit will continue even though the city has…
Harvard University’s dining services backtracked on a plan to boycott Israeli-based SodaStream following a rebuke from the university president. Palestinian students had complained that the mere logo offended them. Before the controversy sparked worldwide attention, the university’s dining services division decided to remove SodaStream labels while it awaited new machines from American companies EverPure and…
A relaxed President Obama held a year-end press conference this afternoon, where he reflected on his first six years in office and looked ahead to the last quarter of his presidency. In a brief prepared statement and then a lengthy question-and-answer session, Obama weighed in on issues such as the U.S. economy, relations with Congress,…
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., was interviewed on Wednesday by Greta van Susteren about President Obama’s decision to normalize relations with Cuba. Ros-Lehtinen said that the president “has broken the law.” When asked if our previous policy towards Cuba had been working, Ros-Lehtinen said: Has our foreign policy been working? Well, the policy of 190 other…
On Thursday’s episode of “The Tonight Show,” host Jimmy Fallon discussed Sony Pictures’ decision to cancel the release of “The Interview.” “Which means the hackers have accomplished their goal of making everyone in the world want to see ‘The Interview,’” said Fallon. “I mean, I wasn’t planning [to], now I can’t wait to see it.”
President Obama’s new Cuba policy is sparking heated debate among potential 2016 contenders, escalating today following Sen. Marco Rubio’s attack on Sen. Rand Paul’s opposing position. The Florida senator, whose parents came to America from Cuba, told Megyn Kelly last night that Paul “has no idea what he’s talking about” regarding Cuba. Rubio was referring…
On “Morning Joe” today, Willie Geist asked if the North Koreans were capable of organizing a 9/11-style attack. “North Korea never carries out its threats—except when it does,” said Bruce Klingner, a senior research fellow at The Heritage Foundation who focuses on North Korea. Klingner detailed attacks orchestrated by the North Koreans, mostly on South…
Mark Levin was less than thrilled to hear that Jeb Bush is running for president. On his radio show, Levin called “the ambition of a single family” a “serious matter.” “Attempting to hold that office with three different members [of the same family] is worthy of discussion,” said Levin. He added that this ambition “should…
MONTPELIER, Vt. — Gov. Peter Shumlin announced this week he has called off his plans for single-payer health care in Vermont for 2015, saying “now is not the right time.” At an unannounced news conference, Shumlin said he received the final modeling for financing single-payer health care on Tuesday and concluded the taxes required to fund…
Is Detroit doomed to fail or on the brink of rebirth? One filmmaker is on a mission to find out. Ben Howe, founder and creative director of Mister Smith Media, is investigating the Motor City in his latest project. “Someone needs to cover both the dangers that Detroit faces as well as the uplifting stories,”…
In his final move as majority leader, Sen. Harry Reid ushered through a series of tax breaks that directly benefit residents of his home state of Nevada. Called tax extenders, the package retroactively renews expired tax breaks, including a state sales tax deduction and the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act. The Senate passed the tax…
Reduced gasoline prices are good news for drivers across the country, but they’re causing headaches for budget directors in oil-producing states who are now revising their numbers downward and hoping prices stabilize quickly. “I haven’t seen anything this rapid in my time,” Oklahoma Finance Secretary Preston Doerflinger said. “I don’t think we’ve seen anything in…