Stephen Dinan
Articles by Stephen Dinan
Facebook under fire as prosecutors, Congress confirm investigations
The Federal Trade Commission, a key congressional committee and state prosecutors each announced inquiries Monday into Facebook's privacy practices, leaving the internet giant scrambling to contain a growing scandal over how it treats its users. Published March 26, 2018
Sex trafficking bill shuts down online communities
President Trump hasn't even put his signature to the bill Congress approved last week to fight sex trafficking, but its bite is already being felt in the online communities it was aimed at, with Craigslist and other major forums nixing their "personals" sections where people trolled for relationships, sex and other connections. Published March 25, 2018
Trump reinstates broad ban on transgender troops
President Trump moved late Friday to exclude most transgender people from signing up for the U.S. military, after his defense and homeland security chiefs said they were worried about the armed forces' ability to handle the different challenges the troops would bring. Published March 23, 2018
Trump to Hispanics: ‘Republicans are on your side’
President Trump told Hispanic voters Friday that he and his party are "on your side" and complained that Democrats were the roadblock to granting illegal immigrant "Dreamers" a more permanent protection here in the U.S. Published March 23, 2018
Donald Trump threatens veto of $1.3 trillion spending bill
President Trump threatened to veto the $1.3 trillion omnibus spending bill Friday, saying it didn't do enough on immigration -- and raising the specter of another government shutdown. Published March 23, 2018
Spending bill prompts confusion, claims of victory from all sides
Democratic leaders looked at the new spending bill Thursday and crowed, saying they managed to block nearly all of President Trump's immigration plans. Conservatives agreed, saying the bill betrayed the president's border security promises. Published March 22, 2018
Pelosi: GOP sped $1.3 trillion bill through to hide Democrats’ wins
GOP leaders broke their own rules and sped a vote on the $1.3 trillion spending bill Thursday because they wanted to hide all the wins Democrats managed to score, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said. Published March 22, 2018
Congress passes $1.3 trillion spending bill
The House approved a $1.3 trillion spending bill Thursday to fund the government for the rest of fiscal year 2018 and the Senate followed suit early Friday morning, beating the shutdown deadline and leaving Republicans and Democrats to fight over credit and blame. Published March 22, 2018
Trump got ‘his priorities’ in spending bill, White House says
President Trump complained about the "waste" in the new spending bill, but his team said Thursday the $1.3 trillion measure is actually a significant win for his agenda. Published March 22, 2018
Steny Hoyer: ‘I have not read the bill’
Anger over the $1.3 trillion spending bill boiled over on the House floor Thursday with lawmakers admitting they had no chance to read the 2,232-page bill they're being asked to accept. Published March 22, 2018
Border Patrol agents want technology, not wall: Dem study
Border Patrol leaders and line agents say publicly that more fencing will help them control the U.S.-Mexico line -- but a new Democratic report Thursday says what they're really asking for behind closed doors is more personnel and technology. Published March 22, 2018
Rodney Frelinghuysen, GOP chairman: No waste in $1.3 trillion spending bill
House Republicans' spending chief told his colleagues Wednesday that there is no waste in the $1.3 trillion spending bill lawmakers are rushing through Congress this week. Published March 22, 2018
Spending bill forces Homeland Security to cut detention beds for illegal immigrants
The massive new spending bill released Wednesday will force Homeland Security to cut the number of detention beds it has available to hold illegal immigrants for the rest of this year. Published March 21, 2018
ACLU: Shield illegal immigrants from deportation by not enforcing low-level crimes
Civil rights groups said Wednesday that sanctuary city policies aren't enough to thwart President Trump and called on state and local governments to stop enforcing what they deemed low-level crimes in order to keep immigrants off the Trump administration's radar altogether. Published March 21, 2018
Senate clears bill to punish websites for sex-trafficking ads
Brushing aside warnings about censoring the internet, Republican and Democratic senators linked arms and voted Wednesday to impose new rules on online forums, pushing them to do more to police their postings in hopes of stopping an explosion of sex trafficking, particularly of children. Published March 21, 2018
Trump’s immigration initiatives ignored in $1.3 trillion spending bill
Congressional leaders on Wednesday reached agreement on a $1.3 trillion plan to fund the government for the rest of the fiscal year, pouring new money into gun background checks and anti-opioid efforts but limiting President Trump's calls for investment in stiffer immigration enforcement. Published March 21, 2018
Paul Ryan uses defense spending increase in spending bill to appease conservatives
Conservative Republicans rebelled Tuesday against a $1.3 trillion spending bill, saying their party's leaders not only accepted budget-busting funding increases but appear to be caving on all the important policy issues they'd hoped to attach to the massive legislation. Published March 20, 2018
Illegal immigrants alerted of raids by Libby Schaaf, Oakland mayor, committed new crimes: ICE chief
Thomas Homan, deputy director at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, blamed California's new sanctuary laws with creating a culture of leniency that emboldened Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf to issue her public warning that ICE officers were operating in the bay area. Published March 20, 2018
Senate defends U.S. help to Saudi Arabia in Yemen civil war
The Senate shot down an attempt Tuesday to force the U.S. to halt its support for one of the sides in Yemen's ongoing civil war, giving President Trump a free hand to continue aiding a Saudi-led coalition in the fight. Published March 20, 2018
GOP leaders: Do it for the troops on spending bill
Republican leaders told balky conservatives Tuesday to drop their complaints and approve a budget-busting spending bill in order in order to get the Pentagon more money and end what they have deemed a "readiness crisis" in the military. Published March 20, 2018
