Daily news coverage of politics, policy, and issues shaping the nation.
Should Russia play host to the World Cup in 2018 in light of its recent aggression against its neighbors? Prominent people on both sides of the Atlantic have begun to raise that question in the wake of Russia’s annexation of Crimea and arming of separatists in eastern Ukraine. Leaders from Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and…
Councilmen in Oakland, Calif., rejected an increase in the city’s minimum wage, opting instead to let residents vote in November on a plan to hike the rate from $9 per hour to $12.25. The proposal the city council rejected last week was drafted as a business-friendly alternative to the more aggressive initiative pushed by the Lift Up…
The Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare, authorized the Department of Health and Human Services to cut or increase categories of Medicare spending. Last year, then-HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced home health care funding would be slashed by 3.5 percent annually until 2017. Industry analysts say these cuts disproportionately affect women—who make up the…
“I’m in labor; pardon me,” Courtney says cheerfully, planting herself cross-legged in the armchair next to me. She’s already been to the hospital, but it won’t admit her until she’s further along. A thin blonde, she is one of four young mothers living together in Borromeo House. The house, surrounded by a white picket fence…
The deadly Ebola virus is “scary,” but “we can stop it,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Tom Frieden said today. The day after an American doctor who contracted the virulent disease while doing missionary work in Liberia was flown into the United States for treatment, the CDC chief talked about the task ahead on CBS’…
Congress should approach immigration reform in stages rather than in one big package that “never” will attract enough votes in the House, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said today, backing further away from the “comprehensive” Senate bill he helped pass last year. “We’re not debating what to do. We’re debating how to do it,” Rubio told…
Don’t look for Rick Santorum to go Hollywood. Sure, a little over a year ago, the former Pennsylvania senator and 2012 Republican presidential candidate took on the role of CEO of EchoLight Studios, which describes itself as a producer and distributor of “high-quality movies for families of faith.” His first project for EchoLight, the feature-length…
Al Qaeda may have been seriously degraded in recent years, but the Islamic State, formerly known as ISIS, is rising to take its place as the top terror organization in the Middle East. The group is sweeping through Iraq in a terrorizing campaign to reestablish the Muslim caliphate. Its rapid defeat of Iraqi military troops…
SANTA FE, N.M.—“The Bachelor” is one of television’s highest-rated shows. But for taxpayers such as Jill Meyer, the decision by the Santa Fe City Council to commit between $50,000 and $100,000 to try to lure the show to the state capital is worthy of two thumbs “way down.” “This is so stupid,” Meyer said. “We have so…
Public support for Obamacare dwindled in July. Last month’s Kaiser Health Tracking Poll found that more than half of Americans view the law unfavorably, an eight point increase from June. Only 37 percent view the law favorably while 53 percent disapprove. This increase in disapproval may be driven by Americans reporting they hear more negative than…
Aetna has picked up 600,000 customers thanks to the Affordable Care Act. But is the company any more profitable? CEO and Chairman Mark Bertolini couldn’t say for sure. Speaking this week on CNBC’s The Squawk Box, Bertolini admitted he was unsure if customers who signed up through Obamacare’s federal and state-run insurance exchanges would yield…
More than a decade ago, a cooperative effort between Washington and Mexico City resulted in the arrest and repatriation of thousands of illegal immigrants, reduced border apprehensions of Central American immigrants by 76 percent, and saved U.S. taxpayers millions of dollars. In an interview with the Center for Immigration Studies, retired U.S. immigration official Hipolito…
House Republicans worked overtime last night to pass two bills addressing the border crisis — measures all but certain to die in the Senate — hours after President Obama threatened to act on his own. “I’m gonna have to act alone,” Obama told reporters during an afternoon briefing, dismissing the House’s emergency spending bill in…
With three months to go before HealthCare.gov opens again for business to Americans seeking insurance through Obamacare, congressional investigators and government accountants are sounding the alarm that consumers could “encounter challenges.” “The agency needs to make an assessment of … whether they are, in fact, on schedule and whether there are risks to the open…
MADISON, Wis.—After three years of legal battles, the war for Gov. Scott Walker’s cornerstone public-sector collective bargaining reforms ended Thursday with the state Supreme Court upholding Act 10 in its entirety. The Supreme Court, in a 5-2 decision, with even liberal Judge Patrick Crooks agreeing Act 10 is constitutional, gave its approval to the public…
Homeland Security agents raided a North Carolina couple’s property and seized their $60,000 Land Rover Defender, claiming it violated EPA emissions standards. Jennifer Brinkley said the agents didn’t give her a chance to defend her rights to keep the car before hauling it away. She and her husband have 35 days to appeal the alleged…
The Sudanese mother who was sentenced to death for refusing to renounce her Christian faith safety arrived Thursday night in the United States. Her husband, U.S. citizen Daniel Wani, cried tears of joy, according to a report in the New Hampshire Union Leader. “Thank you so much,” Wani, a resident of Manchester, N.H., told reporters. “I…
HONOLULU—Although 2,500 miles from the continental United States, Hawaii has joined the list of states temporarily housing unaccompanied minors from Central America who have illegally crossed into America through the U.S.-Mexico border. Who’s paying to transport the minors to Hawaii? You, the taxpayer. Some 60,000 Central American youths fleeing their home countries have come to the…
Gov. Terry McAuliffe said the border crisis is a federal problem, not Virginia’s, and that undocumented children are only being housed at one location in the state—even though news outlets have confirmed more. During a Wednesday radio interview on WTOP, a caller asked the Democratic governor how he is going to handle the border crisis now that it has…
Education officials in New Jersey are being sued for allegedly infringing on a student’s free-speech rights when he was accused of bullying another student. According to a lawsuit filed by the Rutherford Institute, a school nurse sent a letter to parents informing them a student had head lice. While fourth-grade students were working in small groups, one student…