Daily news coverage of politics, policy, and issues shaping the nation.
Miss Pennsylvania Valerie Gatto, a contestant on last night’s Miss USA pageant, described herself as a “product of rape” in an interview with TODAY.com. Gatto revealed she was conceived after her mother was raped at knifepoint by a stranger. Gatto is using her experience and status to educate women about sexual assault and to provide…
Prohibiting federal food stamp dollars from being used to buy sodas and sugary beverages could slash obesity and Type 2 diabetes in recipients, claimed a new study in Health Affairs. Modeling from a sample of 19,000 Americans receiving benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, researchers found a ban on soda and sugary beverages would…
A week ago, Seattle made history when it bumped its minimum wage to $15 an hour, and yesterday Mayor Ed Murray defended the city’s move, trumpeting it as a “model for the nation.” Murray argued that the minimum wage hike is key to Washington state’s recovery. “If we want to regain our economic strength and…
Obamacare prompts one huge headache right off the bat for Sylvia Mathews Burwell, the newly confirmed secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. Vast discrepancies in data on Obamacare enrollees could put at least 2 million newly insured Americans at risk, according to a government report provided to Associated Press. Officials found data from…
The feature film “Obvious Child,” which hits the big screen June 13, is a feel-good romantic comedy about a 20-something’s “hilarious and totally unplanned” journey to self-discovery, empowerment, and … abortion. Some in the media are touting the summer movie as “the first successful abortion comedy ever made,” but pro-life advocates are skeptical. The plot…
Yesterday was the 30th anniversary of Republican Rep. Jack Kemp’s introduction of the Gold Standard Act of 1984—a bill that some regard as the last congressional push for sound money. “Lower marginal tax rates and a proxy for the gold standard created 40 million jobs,” Jack Kemp Foundation President Jimmy Kemp said at a forum…
In the city of SeaTac, Wash., where the minimum wage is now $15 an hour, one business is charging customers a “living wage” surcharge. An airport parking service, Masterpark, “is charging customers an additional 99 cents per parking day,” reported Northwest Watchdog. Near SeaTac, Seattle also is hiking its minimum wage. On Monday, the city…
When he recovers sufficiently to return to the United States, Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl will be able to see his family–and experience freedom–after five years of Taliban captivity. But once he arrives home to Idaho following a stay at a medical facility in Landstuhl, Germany, Bergdahl will encounter the military justice system like any other…
Fewer Americans will pay a fine in two years for failing to buy insurance as mandated by Obamacare, according to revised numbers this week from the Congressional Budget Office. That’s because about 2 million more uninsured Americans than previously estimated will be exempt from the requirement, CBO said. Even so, what of the estimated 4…
It’s safe to say Nathan Huff is not a fan of the new Environmental Protection Agency regulations that mandate a 30 percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by 2030. Huff is a coal miner in the Ohio Valley, and the regulations, he and others believe, will cost them their jobs. “People need jobs,” he said….
Seventy years ago, U.S.-led western allies invaded Normandy in an effort to liberate Europeans from Nazi power during World War II. June 6, 1944 ultimately brought down Nazi Germany. We remember those who fought for freedom today.
Common Core is on the chopping block. Oklahoma today became the third state to exit the national education standards and reclaim its decision-making authority in education. The move comes on the heels of South Carolina, which days ago put an end to Common Core—setting precedent for other states to follow. South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley…
The Senate today confirmed Sylvia Mathews Burwell as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services by a vote of 78 to 17, making her the nation’s new lead figure in implementing Obamacare. “Sylvia is a proven manager who knows how to deliver results, and over her career she has built relationships with Democrats…
Just when you thought you couldn’t despise the Department of Motor Vehicles any more, Virginia’s DMV decided to wage war against popular passenger carrier companies Uber and Lyft, sending cease and desist letters urging them to stop doing business in the commonwealth. The Virginia DMV, which has already fined Uber and Lyft $26,000 and $9,000,…
After stirring controversy over its handling of the movie “Gosnell,” crowdsourcing website Kickstarter is altering its policies. In a blog post Tuesday, the company announced two changes: a “Launch Now” feature and “dramatically simplified rules.” “Gosnell” filmmakers say it’s a big win for diversity of opinion. Earlier this year, filmmakers Phelim McAleer and Ann McElhinney…
As graduation season draws to a close, more and more high school and college graduates have tossed their tasseled caps in celebration, only to lower their economic expectations later. A joint CNN-ORC poll released this week reports that nearly 6 in 10 young Americans believe the iconic American Dream has drifted out of reach. Surveying…
More than 65 million Americans—about one in five—are enrolled in Medicaid or a government health program for children, according to new federal data. About 1.1 million of them signed up in April, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services reported. The agency oversees the federal-state Medicaid program and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, or CHIP….
Some of Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s latest appointments to posts at Virginia’s prestigious public universities also have donated generously to his gubernatorial campaign — up to $130,000 in one case. Of McAuliffe’s 65 appointees to university and college governing boards, about 17 percent had contributed a substantial sum to his campaign, and two more —…
Did a government-funded experiment put the lives of 1,316 premature babies at serious risk? Investigative journalist Sharyl Attkisson explains the ethical debate surrounding a multiyear study of these fragile infants, in the third part of her “Full Disclosure”series for The Daily Signal. SUPPORT, a study that deliberately manipulated oxygen levels assigned to extremely premature babies, was sponsored by the National Institutes…
In May 2007, Carrie and Shawn Pratt agreed to sign up their severely premature daughter, Dagen, for a government-funded study being conducted at Duke University Hospital. The Pratts say they were told that researchers simply were gathering information to help other children. “We never understood the study to be based on manipulating her oxygen level…