Today, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano announced a replacement for the Homeland Security Advisory System, which was scrapped by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in January and won’t likely be missed by anyone. The new system—dubbed the National Terrorism Advisory System—takes the right steps toward adequately communicating with …
Last week, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced new initiatives intended to provide states with increased flexibility to better manage their Medicaid programs. However, these initiatives do not seriously address states’ mounting Medicaid crises. The first HHS initiative is to improve coordination of care for individuals enrolled …
A year ago today, an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico cost the lives of 11 men and threatened untold damage to the ecosystem. It was an unprecedented disaster, and the tragic loss of life it entailed made it all the more imperative that … 
Someone should really tell the Department of Energy (DOE) about the federal government’s spending crisis. On Monday, it granted a $2.1 billion loan guarantee to a German developer to help finance a 1,000 megawatt solar thermal power plant in Southern California. But wait, there’s more. Add to that a $1.6 …
Today the Supreme Court took up the case of American Electric Power Co. v. Connecticut, reviewing a Second Circuit decision finding that states and private parties could sue electricity generators for global warming under the judge-made law of nuisance. To the Second Circuit, this was just a “garden-variety” claim, despite …
Speaker of the House John Boehner’s announcement that former Solicitor General Paul Clement will lead the defense of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in federal court is a victory for the rule of law—and for an irreplaceable institution of civil society. Ever since February 23, when Attorney General Eric …
Last week’s congressional tussle over defunding Planned Parenthood demonstrates that national deliberation on controversial moral debates is far from over. While federal funding of abortion is currently in the media spotlight, a new fight is being waged in the culture war over individuals’ right of conscience. As new Heritage research …
