Daily news coverage of politics, policy, and issues shaping the nation.
The MTV Video Music Awards and Emmy Awards this week offered pop culture fans a foretaste of awards season, which — say those who notice such things — kicks off in November. As the winners took the stage and clutched their trophies, they voiced immense gratitude to fans, producers, writers, agents, directors and so on….
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal today sued the Obama administration over Common Core, contending that federal officials unlawfully coerced Louisiana and other states into adopting the increasingly unpopular national education standards. “The federal government has hijacked and destroyed the Common Core initiative,” Jindal said in a prepared statement. The lawsuit, filed this morning by the Republican governor…
About a year before the birth of Obamacare, Dr. Keith Smith, director of the Surgery Center of Oklahoma, posted all the prices for his center’s surgeries online. Today he’s expanding, looking to build two more operating rooms. His fastest-growing group of patients? Obamacare enrollees. Though they have Obamacare health insurance plans, many patients are saddled…
Justice Department lawyers say that it would be “too onerous” to retrieve lost emails from Lois Lerner when she was head of the Internal Revenue Service’s tax-exempt division. Last night on Fox News’ “Special Report,” commentator George Will responded, beginning with: “I can just hardly wait until the IRS lawyers go into that courtroom and tell the judge that it would be…
It’s probably unusual for political contributors to thank a candidate for taking their money, but that’s what Mike Elliott, executive director for the Marijuana Industry Group, did at a pot-industry fundraiser for Rep. Ed Perlmutter last month. “We really appreciate the fact we can come here and show you how much we appreciate you showing…
About three out of four voters say the terrorist killer of American journalist James Foley should be sentenced to death if convicted for the murder, a new survey shows. At the same time, Americans strongly oppose paying the ransom demands of terrorists and have mixed feelings about trying to rescue hostages, according to the survey…
Following Burger King’s example, more companies will aim to move their headquarters to other countries if the United States doesn’t lower — or eliminate — the corporate tax rate, a prominent economist says. “Taxes really do matter,” Stephen Moore, chief economist at The Heritage Foundation, said at the Bloggers Briefing held at the think tank, adding: “Why…
MADISON, Wis. – Conservative targets of a Democrat-launched John Doe investigation have described the secret probe as a witch hunt. That might not be a big enough descriptor, based on records released Friday by a federal appeals court as part of a massive document dump. Attorneys for conservative activist Eric O’Keefe and the Wisconsin Club…
SunTrust Bank is cutting ties with three types of legal businesses in the latest evidence of the Obama administration’s secretive crusade against “objectionable” enterprises. SunTrust, which counts more than 400,000 small business clients, cited “compliance requirements” as its reason for closing accounts with "payday lenders, pawn shops and dedicated check-cashers." “It is consistent with long-standing…
NASHVILLE — One of Robin Williams’ final movies, “Boulevard,” filmed in Nashville more than a year ago with a $302,000 investment from Tennessee taxpayers, still has earned no interest from film distributors. Tennessee Watchdog asked Sara Serlen, spokeswoman for the New York-based ID public relations firm, listed as one of the film’s press contacts, if…
The television screen captures a boy with a buzz cut swiveling in a chair at a table in an otherwise empty white room inside a detention center in an isolated New Mexico desert town. The 7-year-old, Anthony Damian Ramos Sanchez, sits next to his mother, Jessica Ramos Sanchez, who initiated their journey from El Salvador…
A California state regulatory agency has issued a health care directive requiring health insurers to cover the costs of elective abortions, according to the Associated Press. Last week, California’s Department of Managed Health Care informed seven insurance companies that they must comply with the Knox Keene Act, a state provision passed in 1975 that guarantees…
“There’s no such thing as Lois Lerner’s missing emails. It’s all been a big lie. They’ve been lying to the courts, to the American people, and to Congress. It’s really outrageous.”
St. Louis County residents who wanted their voices to be heard decided to show up in Ferguson, Mo. Their goal: To give some much-needed business to shops damaged by vandals and looters. More than 40 members of the St. Louis Tea Party Coalition headed to the embattled town Thursday evening to shop at the small businesses and…
Pop singer Miley Cyrus shocked those watching the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards last night – but not in the way you might think. Instead of taking the stage to accept the “Video of the Year” award for “Wrecking Ball,” the former Disney star turned over her airtime to a young homeless man named Jesse, who then spoke on behalf of…
An environmental group that stands accused of overstepping its inspection authority and trespassing across a Virginia farm also tried to have video cameras installed to monitor the property. An officer of the Piedmont Environmental Council proposed that one of that group's board members "runs a security company and could offer the use of security cameras to…
Before opening a new bank account, filling up your tank, shopping for groceries, purchasing a computer, booking a flight or visiting a drug store, you can now find out how those companies are spending on political causes. Thanks to a free online app called 2nd Vote, consumers have this information at their fingertips for America’s…
As Mississippi students head back to school, their teachers are taking home a healthy pay raise. And those extra Benjamins are going a lot further. The pay raise, passed by the state legislature in last year’s session, gives a starting teacher with a bachelor’s degree a yearly salary of $33,390. That’s up $2,490 from last year, an…
Republican leaders today said President Obama must act decisively to combat the brutal jihadist group Islamic State and put forth a coherent strategy for ultimately defeating the terrorists in both Iraq and Syria. One said the Islamist group, also known as ISIS, is “one plane ticket away” from an attack on the American homeland. Rep. Paul…
At a time when some Republicans considering presidential campaigns are trying to show their compassionate sides, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., took on a mission to help the poor a world away. Paul, an ophthalmologist, conducted dozens of eye surgeries at no charge over three days in Salama, Guatemala, joining a team of other doctors from the John A….