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Stephen Dinan

Stephen Dinan

Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.

Articles by Stephen Dinan

FILE - In this Nov. 25, 2015 file photo, Transportation Security Administration agents check travelers identifications at a security check point area in Terminal 3 at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. Fliers who don't have the latest driver's licenses will have a two-year reprieve before their IDs are rejected at airport security checkpoints. Many travelers had been worried that the Transportation Security Administration would penalize them because of a federal law requiring the more-stringent IDs at the start of this year. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)

TSA seizes record number of firearms in 2015

TSA screeners seized more than 2,600 firearms from carry-on luggage in 2015, the airport security agency said Thursday, acknowledging the dubious new record as it announced its year-end totals. Published January 21, 2016

"This is the way the system gets eroded. This is where public confidence is being destroyed. This is how we're sending a message to the world that you can get away with it," said Sen. Jeff Sessions, Alabama Republican and chairman of the immigration subcommittee, which held a hearing exploring the new numbers, released late Tuesday by Homeland Security. (Associated Press)

Illegal immigrants who overstay visas rarely investigated

The federal government doesn't investigate 99 percent of illegal immigrants who entered the country legally but overstayed their visas, Homeland Security officials told the Senate on Wednesday, exposing what critics said was a giant loophole in immigration enforcement and national security. Published January 20, 2016

"Women, children and families fleeing persecution are not the enemy," said Minority Leader Harry Reid, the Nevada Democrat who led the opposition. "We should be focusing all our effort on defeating the real enemy." (Associated Press)

Democrats filibuster to defend Obama’s Syrian refugees

Brushing aside new fears of terrorists exploiting the refugee program, Senate Democrats on Wednesday successfully defended President Obama's plans to accept 10,000 Syrian refugees this year, saying the U.S. cannot turn its back on its obligation to help the needy. Published January 20, 2016

In this May 6, 2015, photo, U.S. military personnel walk near Afghanistan's new Defense Ministry building, in Kabul, Afghanistan. In Kabul, they call it the "mini Pentagon," the new headquarters for Afghanistan's Ministry of Defense — a gleaming, white marble building in the center of the capital built with U.S. funds and due to be handed over to the Afghan government this month. (Associated Press) **FILE**

Pentagon wasted millions trying to rebuild Afghanistan: Internal report

The Defense Department poured hundreds of millions of dollars into boondoggle development programs in Afghanistan without caring how much they would cost, a government watchdog said Wednesday in a damning report that portrays a culture of carelessness at the top levels of the Pentagon. Published January 20, 2016

This photo taken June 24, 2015, shows a Border Patrol agent looking for other agents escorting six undocumented immigrants that were apprehended in the Animas mountains in New Mexico's boot heel. (Roberto E. Rosales/The Albuquerque Journal via AP)

Visa overstays swell ranks of illegals as 500,000 broke the law in 2015

More than 500,000 visitors overstayed their visas in fiscal year 2015, the Homeland Security Department said in a report released Tuesday night that signals the problems of illegal immigration extend well beyond the land borders and include the millions of people who enter by air or sea. Published January 19, 2016

President Barack Obama stands with House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wis. in Emancipation Hall on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2015, during an event to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the 13th amendment that abolished slavery. (Associated Press) **FILE**

Federal deficit to soar in 2016 after Ryan-Obama tax deal

The federal budget deficit will soar this year, the Congressional Budget Office reported Tuesday, after President Obama and Congress gave up on austerity late last year, embracing spending hikes and massive new tax cuts that have left the government awash in red ink. Published January 19, 2016

President Obama's backers had eagerly awaited the Supreme Court's decision, and like the White House they expressed confidence they will prevail at the top bench. (Associated Press)

Supreme Court to hear Obama amnesty case

The Supreme Court will rule on whether President Obama has the power to grant a deportation amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants without needing the approval of Congress, the justices announced Tuesday, setting up what could become the biggest showdown over executive powers so far this century. Published January 19, 2016

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at the South Carolina Tea Party Convention, Saturday, Jan. 16, 2016, at the Springmaid Beach Resort in Myrtle Beach, S.C.(AP Photo/Willis Glassgow)

Britain begins debate on banning Donald Trump

Members of the British parliament called Donald Trump everything from a buffoon to a race-baiting terrorist enabler Monday -- but stopped short of endorsing a ban on allowing him to enter the United Kingdom, saying they didn't want to turn him into a political martyr. Published January 18, 2016

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernard Sanders gestures toward Hillary Clinton during the Democratic presidential debate Sunday at the Gaillard Center in Charleston, S.C. (Associated Press)

Hillary Clinton defends Obamacare; Bernie Sanders says it must go further

Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton vowed Sunday to defend Obamacare from Republicans' efforts to repeal it, and from fellow candidate Sen. Bernard Sanders' plans to replace it with a socialized medicine plan that would put the government in control of all health spending. Published January 17, 2016

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., talks with Sen. Jack Reid, D- R.I., before President Barack Obama delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2016. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Bernie Sanders keeps lawsuit against DNC alive

Sen. Bernard Sanders told a federal court Friday he does not intend to pursue his lawsuit against the Democratic National Committee over his access to voter data files -- but he kept the case open anyway, just in case the DNC backslides. Published January 15, 2016

In this Aug. 5, 2015, file photo, billionaire climate activist Tom Steyer, right, speaks during a news conference with consumer advocate Jamie Court, left, president of Consumer Watchdog in Santa Monica, Calif. (AP Photo/Nick Ut, File) ** FILE **

Hispanics recruit liberal billionaire Tom Steyer as major backer

Billionaire businessman Tom Steyer has joined the Latino Victory Fund as an honorary co-chairman, the group announced Friday, marrying one of the liberal world's most generous donors with the effort to sway elections through Hispanic recruitment. Published January 15, 2016

Planned Parenthood Federation of America President Cecile Richards is sworn in on Capitol Hill prior to testifying before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on Planned Parenthood's Taxpayer Funding. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

Planned Parenthood suing Center for Medical Progress over fetal tissue videos

Planned Parenthood filed a federal lawsuit Thursday against the group whose undercover videos dented the abortion provider's image and threatened its public funding, saying the Center for Medical Progress lied its way into secret meetings to record conversations with clinic officials. Published January 14, 2016

Donald Trump (Associated Press/File)

Democrats to make Senate vote on Trump agenda

President Obama's agenda has stalled on Capitol Hill, but GOP presidential hopeful Donald Trump's plans are likely to get voted on, courtesy of Senate Democrats. Published January 14, 2016

"The American people deserve better. We must do more to ensure the IRS treats all Americans fairly, holds employees responsible for these abuses accountable and implements procedures to prevent this abuse from ever happening again," said Rep. Peter J. Roskam, an Illinois Republican who helped lead one of the investigations into the IRS targeting. (Associated Press)

IRS lets individual employees decide what’s ‘fair’ in audits

The IRS leaves it up to individual employees to decide what's "fair" in audits, meaning the tax agency sometimes uses arbitrary criteria in deciding whom to review, the government's chief watchdog said Wednesday in a report Republicans seized on as proof that unfair targeting could still be going on. Published January 13, 2016