The Daily Signal

Since she began serving on her local school board in Arizona in January, Heather Rooks has made it a practice to begin her meeting comments by reading a Scripture verse she found encouraging.Rooks says citing Scriptures such as Isaiah 41:10—“Do not fear for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God”—served as an inspiration to her.“I continued to do it, because it really gave me a lot of strength and courage, and just really brought me peace while I'm up there making those big decisions when it comes to children,” she says.But it did not take long before the mother of four was told she had to stop the practice.Rooks' Scripture reading drew objection from inside and even outside the school district, and she received a “cease and desist” letter from a secular organization that told her she had to stop her practice because it violated the establishment clause of the First Amendment. After receiving the letter, Rooks contacted First Liberty Institute, a Texas-based conservative law firm specializing in religious freedom.Rooks’ actions are “clearly within the framework of legislative acknowledgements of religion,” says Hiram Sasser, Rooks' attorney.Of behalf of Rooks, First Liberty Institute has served the Peoria Unified School District in Glendale, Arizona, with a lawsuit holding that it's within the school board member's rights to read Scripture at the meetings.Rooks and Sasser join “The Daily Signal Podcast” to discuss the lawsuit and explain why citing Scripture at a school board meeting is not a violation of the establishment clause.Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

TOP NEWS | On today’s Daily Signal Top News, we break down: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says America has carried out two strikes on Iran-linked targets in Syria. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis explains what his foreign policy toward China would be if elected president.  The Biden administration urges Congress to pass gun control measures following the mass shooting in Maine.  A Pennsylvania Jewish community faces threats.   The House passes an energy spending bill.  Relevant Linkshttps://www.dailysignal.com/2023/10/27/desantis-reveals-plan-combat-threat-global-dystopia/Listen to other podcasts from The Daily Signal: https://www.dailysignal.com/podcasts/Get daily conservative news you can trust from our Morning Bell newsletter: DailySignal.com/morningbellsubscription Listen to more Heritage podcasts: https://www.heritage.org/podcastsSign up for The Agenda newsletter — the lowdown on top issues conservatives need to know about each week: https://www.heritage.org/agenda Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There is still hope religious liberty will prevail in America even though many wish to tear it down, including some in government, according to the president of the religious freedom law firm the Becket Fund.Many religious liberty cases succeed because they tap into the “live and let live instinct” of Americans, Mark Rienzi told Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts on “The Kevin Roberts Show” podcast.On today's show, we share Roberts' conversation with Rienzi as they discuss the success of religious liberty in America. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

TOP NEWS | On today’s Daily Signal Top News, we break down: Left-wing media and organizations rush to criticize the new Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson. Police in Maine continue to hunt for a mass shooting suspect named Robert Card.  According to Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, the FBI received 'criminal information' from over 40 confidential sources on President Joe Biden.  A group of Jewish students at Cooper Union were locked inside a library as pro-Hamas protesters beat their fists on the doors, screamed, and tried to gain entry. New York Democrat Rep. Jamaal Bowman pleads guilty on charges that he illegally pulled a House office building fire alarm. Customs and Border Protection encountered a record number of Russian and Chinese foreign nationals along America’s borders and at ports of entry in fiscal year 2023. Relevant Linkshttps://www.dailysignal.com/2023/10/26/record-number-of-chinese-russian-foreign-nationals-encountered-on-border-should-not-shock-anyone-lawmaker-says/Listen to other podcasts from The Daily Signal: https://www.dailysignal.com/podcasts/Get daily conservative news you can trust from our Morning Bell newsletter: DailySignal.com/morningbellsubscription Listen to more Heritage podcasts: https://www.heritage.org/podcastsSign up for The Agenda newsletter — the lowdown on top issues conservatives need to know about each week: https://www.heritage.org/agenda Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Snowboarding coach David Bloch was fired after acknowledging biological differences exist between men and women. Bloch worked as a coach at Woodstock Union High School in Woodstock, Vermont, for 12 years and says he loved being in the snow and watching the kids he coached grow. “I think it's so incredible to watch the progress,” Bloch said, adding that he loves watching students “sit on top of a giant slalom course for the first time, and you can see the fear in their eyes, and then by the time they make it down, it's like I wrote them a check for a million dollars.”During a competition in February, Bloch overheard some of his students discussing the issue of men competing in women’s sports. The coach joined the conversation and acknowledged that biological differences exist between men and women, and that generally males do have a competitive advantage against females, given the physiological differences between the sexes.The next day, the schools superintendent of Windsor Central Supervisory Union called Bloch into her office and terminated him for the comments he made the day prior. “I was just shocked that I could be fired for literally speaking biological fact,” Bloch says. Bloch and Alliance Defending Freedom attorney Mathew Hoffmann join “The Daily Signal Podcast” to discuss his legal case. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

TOP NEWS | On today’s Daily Signal Top News, we break down: Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., is elected House speaker. Israel reportedly delays its ground invasion of Gaza at the United States' request A committee votes to move forward the nomination of Jack Lew, President Biden's pick for ambassador to Israel. Relevant LinksListen to other podcasts from The Daily Signal: https://www.dailysignal.com/podcasts/Get daily conservative news you can trust from our Morning Bell newsletter: DailySignal.com/morningbellsubscription Listen to more Heritage podcasts: https://www.heritage.org/podcastsSign up for The Agenda newsletter — the lowdown on top issues conservatives need to know about each week: https://www.heritage.org/agenda Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There are growing concerns over who is crossing America’s border with Mexico in light of the war between Hamas and Israel. “This is absolutely a concern,” Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham says of the threat of terrorists taking advantage of the lack of security along America’s southern border. “We are seeing over 200 people on the terrorist Most Wanted List that we have caught alone this year,” according to Buckingham, adding that “we are exceeding six year cumulative records for people coming from countries that sponsor terrorism. This has always been our concern from day one. It is why you need a secure border.”Buckingham’s joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to discuss the security concerns at the border following a memo from Customs and Border Protection’s San Diego Field Office warning of Hamas, Hezbollah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, or the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine attempting to cross the border. The San Diego unit “assesses that individuals inspired by, or reacting to, the current Israel-Hamas conflict may attempt travel to or from the area of hostilities in the Middle East via circuitous transit across the southwest border,” according to the memo, which was first reported Monday by the Daily Caller News Foundation.“Foreign fighters motivated by ideology or mercenary soldiers of fortune may attempt to obfuscate travel to or from the U.S. to or from countries in the Middle East through Mexico,” that CBP memo says.  In addition to discussing the threat an open border poses to the nation, Buckingham explains why President Joe Biden is constructing a 17-mile section of border wall in South Texas. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

TOP NEWS | On today’s Daily Signal Top News, we break down: Congressman Tom Emmer of Minnesota won the House speaker nomination and then dropped out of the race only a few hours later.  Former Trump Attorney Jenna Ellis pleads guilty to charges in the Georgia election interference case. Hamas releases two elderly women on health grounds.  Secretary of State Antony Blinken sends a clear message to Iran.  Relevant LinksListen to other podcasts from The Daily Signal: https://www.dailysignal.com/podcasts/Get daily conservative news you can trust from our Morning Bell newsletter: DailySignal.com/morningbellsubscription Listen to more Heritage podcasts: https://www.heritage.org/podcastsSign up for The Agenda newsletter — the lowdown on top issues conservatives need to know about each week: https://www.heritage.org/agenda Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

West Virginia is feeling the worst effects of illicit fentanyl flowing across America’s southern border, according to state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey. Fentanyl is “ravaging our state,” Morrisey says, noting that is “in part because West Virginia for many decades really has had the highest drug-overdose death rate in the nation.” And now, the Mountain State has “the highest fentanyl death rate in America.”Working to secure the border will save lives in West Virginia, he says. Morrisey joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to discuss the Biden administration’s failure to secure America’s border and the growing concerns over border security given the war between Israel and Hamas.Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

TOP NEWS | On today’s Daily Signal Top News, we break down:There are now nine GOP members running for House speaker. The Biden administration proposes a $105 billion spending package with aid for Ukraine and Israel. Israel’s ground offensive has appeared imminent, but may be delayed. The Southern Poverty Law Center’s labor union takes a public stance on Israel’s war with Hamas.Over 3.2 million illegal aliens were encountered on America’s border in fiscal year 2023. Relevant Linkshttps://www.dailysignal.com/2023/10/23/splc-labor-union-condemns-beginnings-genocide-gaza-makes-no-mention-israeli-victims/https://www.dailysignal.com/2023/10/21/hold-biden-admin-reports-over-3-2-million-illegal-aliens-on-americas-borders-in-1-year/ Listen to other podcasts from The Daily Signal: https://www.dailysignal.com/podcasts/Get daily conservative news you can trust from our Morning Bell newsletter: DailySignal.com/morningbellsubscriptionListen to more Heritage podcasts: https://www.heritage.org/podcastsSign up for The Agenda newsletter — the lowdown on top issues conservatives need to know about each week: https://www.heritage.org/agenda Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices