Nanny State
Virginia's Awful Alcohol Laws Could Finally Get Fixed, Thanks to COVID and Gov. Youngkin
Government-run booze stores in Virginia may have met their match.
New York's Liquor Store Lobby Fights Against To-Go Drink Sales by Bars, Restaurants
Making booze to-go rules permanent is the right policy choice, no matter what entrenched interests claim.
Maggy Krell Repackages Her Bogus Backpage Prosecution Into a Book
The pimping charges Krell helped bring against Backpage's CEO and founders were twice thrown out of court.
A Drive-Thru Window Saved His Business, but Now He's Being Forced To Shut It Down
Zoning officials concede Robert Balitierrez's drive-thru window isn't causing any problems. But they say it's a code violation and has to close anyway.
A Fresh New Year Means Fresh New Restrictions on Gas-Powered Leaf Blowers
From California to Washington, D.C., new restrictions on gas-powered landscaping equipment are blanketing the nation.
'Should Police Arrest Sex Workers for Standing Around?' No, of Course Not.
Plus: Censorship in New York, how zoning laws are creating a housing crisis, and more...
California Distillers Get a New Year's Eve Reprieve From Ban on Shipping Booze Direct to Customers
Distillers have been granted emergency regulatory relief—for now.
California Distillers Are About To Lose the Right To Ship Booze Directly to Consumers
Breweries and wineries can still do it, though.
A New Study Finds That Smokers With No Plans To Quit Are Much More Likely To Stop Smoking If They Vape Every Day
The findings reinforce the case for nicotine vaping products as a harm-reducing alternative to cigarettes.
Christmas Travel Rebounds Despite Official Handwringing About Omicron
Plus: Swearing increased during the pandemic, progressives want to see the Build Back Better agenda enacted by executive fiat, and more...
The Biden Administration Crushes America's Brief Experiment in Showerhead Freedom
The Department of Energy's new energy efficiency rule drags us back to the dark days of 2013, when showers were allowed to emit no more than 2.5 gallons of water a minute.
Supreme Court Denies Breeze Smoke Stay Application
The justices show little interest in vaping regulation on the shadow docket, but may yet review the FDA's behavior in the regular course.
Senate Democrats Nix a Regressive, Unhealthy Vaping Tax Endorsed by the House
The perverse provision would have discouraged smokers from switching to a far less hazardous source of nicotine.
Don't Crash Nashville's Boozy Party Bus Culture
No, we don't need more anti-alcohol laws—no matter how rowdy the bachelorette parties get.
Politicians Are Still Stuck on Prohibition
Nearly 90 years after the 21st Amendment ended America's failed experiment with banning alcohol, our leaders are still trying to tell us what to do.
Vaping Regulation Threatens a Lifesaving Smoking Alternative
Policy makers are acting as if saving the lives of smokers via harm-reducing alternatives counts for nothing.
How COVID-19 Changed Alcohol Forever
At least 20 states will permanently allow to-go cocktails, and more may be coming.
Justice Kavanaugh Asks FDA to Respond to Breeze Smoke Emergency Stay Application
Vaping regulation gets some attention on the Shadow Docket
Vaping in the Shadow Docket
An electronic cigarette manufacturer seeks a stay of FDA action from the Supreme Court.
Tax Buried in the "Build Back Better" Bill Is Likely to Increase Smoking Rates
Whatever else the BBB bill will do, this provision is bad for public health and could increase smoking's death toll.
To Fight Climate Change, Los Angeles Bans Restaurants From Giving Out Unsolicited Ketchup Packets
Businesses that give customers condiments without them first asking for them could receive fines totaling $300.
Divided Sixth Circuit Refuses to Stay FDA's Denial of Vaping Product Application
In rejecting Breeze Smoke's application for a stay of the FDA's rejection of their product applications, the Sixth Circuit disagrees with the Fifth Circuit.
Your Next Car May Refuse To Start if It Thinks You've Had a Drink
Get ready to pay for new nanny-state technology and for bypassing the unwelcome intervention.
A Federal Vaping Tax Is Bad Policy and Bad Politics
The proposed vaping tax has caused a third Democrat to join Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema in opposing the bill.
Democrats Hike Taxes on Vaping, but Not Tobacco, in Latest Version of 'Build Back Better' Bill
Plus: America's mayors want to be paid in bitcoin, Democrats want to subsidize local journalists, and more...
Stop The Steel: Biden Is Replacing Trump's Tariffs With Import Quotas
Biden will allow 3.3 million metric tons of European-made steel to be imported annually without tariffs. After that, Trump's 25 percent tariffs will remain in force.
Biden's New Spending Framework Promises To Do Everything but Still Cost Nothing. That Doesn't Make Sense.
Plus: Facebook rebrands, McDonald's hikes menu prices, and more...
If Less Vaping Means More Smoking, That Won't Be a Public Health Victory
Cigarette sales rose last year for the first time in two decades, while a survey of high school seniors found they were vaping less but smoking more.
Fifth Circuit Rebukes FDA for Regulatory "Switcheroo" in Denying Vaping Product Applications
Yesterday's decision eviscerated the Food and Drug Administration for its arbitrary and capricious handling of vaping product applications
Indiana Woman Must Shut Down Business After County Officials Determine Her Farm Isn't Zoned for Commercial Goat Yoga or Goat Snuggling
Jordan Stevens' application to legalize her Happy Goat Lucky Yoga business was denied by Hamilton County's Board of Zoning Appeals last month.
Why Do Democrats Want To Create More Eric Garners?
Higher cigarette taxes will fuel greater black-market activity and more confrontations with the police.
Democrats Still Want to Spend Trillions. But They Don't Want To Raise Taxes To Do It.
Plus: In-N-Out fights San Francisco's vaccine mandate, the Vienna Tourism Board gets an OnlyFans, apes protest the DEA, and more...
Barely Legal Strippers Now Illegal in Texas
Under S.B. 315, it is a misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail, to employ 18- to 20-year-olds at any sexually oriented business.
To Save Bars and Restaurants, California Extends Relaxed Booze Rules
Newsom makes the smart move by preserving liberalized alcohol policies.
Federal Judges Are Increasingly Rebelling Against 'Overly Severe' Penalties for Nonviolent Sex Offenders
People convicted of possessing child pornography receive long sentences, but new data suggest they are rarely arrested for contact offenses after their release.
FDA Approves an E-Cigarette for the First Time but Still Seems Bent on Banning the Flavors Former Smokers Overwhelmingly Prefer
If teenagers like an e-liquid flavor, the agency seems to think, adults should not be allowed to buy it.
Congress Raised the Debt Ceiling Again Without Doing Anything To Fix the $28 Trillion National Debt
Plus: Why "reforming" Section 230 makes little sense, the FDA finally admits vaping is safer than smoking, the U.S. will reopen its land borders with Canada and Mexico, and more...
Craft Alcohol Makers Thrive as Government Launches Antitrust Investigation
The Prohibition-era three-tier system is causing consolidation, not the market.
Government Keeps Trying To Censor This Brewery. The Owner Isn't Having It.
"Do you really want to live in a country where government bureaucrats, based on whim and personal preference, can censor whatever they don't like?"
Are These Wyoming Library Books Obscene?
Plus: Most Republicans oppose fetal heartbeat laws, FDA authorizes rapid at-home COVID-19 tests, and more...
The Collapsing Federal Prostitution Case Against Backpage.com
Federal Judge Susan Brnovich was recently forced to declare a mistrial, which was a bad sign for the prosecution.
The FDA Is Determined To Ignore the Decline in Underage Vaping Because It Weakens the Case for New Restrictions
The agency seems inclined to ban the vaping products that former smokers overwhelmingly prefer because teenagers also like them.
This Anti-Vaping Congressman Insists 'There's Simply No Evidence' That E-Cigarettes Help Smokers Quit
Although Raja Krishnamoorthi says "adults can do what they want," he is determined not to let them.
When Forced To Choose, Some New Mexico Gas Station Liquor Stores Will Now Just Sell Liquor
A paternalistic new law is having unintended consequences.