Stephen Dinan
Articles by Stephen Dinan
Ted Cruz, Jeff Sessions identify 113 radicalized terrorists in U.S.
Sens. Ted Cruz and Jeff Sessions said Monday the number of people implicated in radical Islamic terrorist plots in the U.S. has jumped to 113, and they said it's yet another reason to impose tighter immigration controls. Published January 11, 2016
Obama’s last State of the Union will lay out path for his legacy
With little chance of getting what he wants from Congress this year, President Obama plans to use his final State of the Union address Tuesday to try to set the agenda for his successor, insisting that if he can't win now, he will demand that voters keep it in mind as they select the next president. Published January 10, 2016
Senate sluggish despite bipartisan deals, Washington Times Legislative Futility Index finds
Congress began to pull out of the legislative doldrums last year but still has a long way to go before it returns to full health and the kind of freewheeling legislative action of previous decades, according to The Washington Times Legislative Futility Index, which found that despite some big bipartisan deals, the Senate remains a major stumbling block to passing bills. Published January 10, 2016
El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala violence surges, threatening new refugee flood
El Salvador and Honduras are locked in an unholy race for the world's highest homicide rate, with surging crime and drug violence across the region threatening to trigger an even larger surge of migrants seeking to get into the United States. Published January 10, 2016
2015 sets new record for terror plots in U.S.
Last year saw the most terrorist attacks and plots in the U.S. since Sept. 11, 2001, according to the Heritage Foundation's tally, which was released Friday just as the Obama administration announced a series of new terror-related arrests and indictments. Published January 8, 2016
Democrats to demand new amnesty from Obama for Central Americans
Congressional Democrats are circulating a petition pressing President Obama to extend a new temporary amnesty to potentially millions of illegal immigrants from Central America, saying the violence in their home countries makes it too dangerous to continue deporting anyone to the region. Published January 8, 2016
Homeland Security deports more than half of illegal immigrants caught in weekend raids
Homeland Security said Thursday night that it has already deported 77 of the 121 illegal immigrants it rounded up over the weekend as it tries to enforce the laws against Central Americans who jumped the border in 2014 and are flouting judges' orders that they be kicked out. Published January 7, 2016
House set to vote for North Korea, Iran sanctions
House Republicans said they'll vote next week to slap new sanctions on North Korea and Iran to punish the rogue nations for continuing to develop their weapons programs, as they try to force President Obama to drop his more accommodating stance toward the two enemy nations. Published January 7, 2016
Iraqi refugees arrested on terrorism charges
Authorities arrested two Iraqi refugees on terrorism-related charges Thursday, in a move that undercuts President Obama's plans to bring 10,000 Syrian refugees to the U.S. this year. Published January 7, 2016
Keystone pipeline lawsuit threatens Obama’s Trans-Pacific Partnership
This week's Keystone pipeline lawsuit may deliver the death blow to a seemingly unrelated Asian trade deal, with environmentalists and labor unions saying a Canadian company shouldn't be allowed to use international trade agreements to force changes in U.S. energy and environmental policy. Published January 7, 2016
Bernie Sanders demands halt to deportations to Central America
Seeking to put distance between himself and President Obama, Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Bernard Sanders fired off a letter Thursday demanding the administration halt its new round of raids designed to find and deport illegal immigrants who are ignoring judges' orders that they leave the country. Published January 7, 2016
State Department misled on Hillary Clinton emails, investigation concludes
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's top aides knew about her secret email account but allowed the department to mislead the public about its existence, an inspector general said in a report Thursday that found widespread problems with transparency during Mrs. Clinton's tenure. Published January 7, 2016
Obama immigration raids a potential ‘disaster’ for Hillary Clinton, Democrats
President Obama's new series of raids designed to arrest and deport illegal immigrant Central Americans could end up being a "disaster" for Democrats in the presidential election, pushing Hispanic voters to stay home rather than turn out to vote, activists said Wednesday. Published January 6, 2016
Gary Johnson announces bid for president
Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson, who washed out of the 2012 GOP presidential primary then ran as a Libertarian, capturing 1 percent of the vote in the general election, said Wednesday he'll try again. Published January 6, 2016
Nikki Haley tabbed by GOP for response to Obama SOTU address
Republican leaders tapped South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley to deliver their official response to President Obama's State of the Union address next week, giving the rising political star her biggest platform yet. Published January 5, 2016
DHS says sweep of illegals has begun
Moving to belatedly counter a new surge of illegal border crossings, Homeland Security has launched a new effort to try to kick out new arrivals, Secretary Jeh Johnson said Monday, defending a series of raids over the weekend that have enraged immigrant-rights activists. Published January 4, 2016
New ‘secret’ message among Hillary Clinton’s emails as classification rate spikes again
The State Department has decided that yet another of former Secretary Hillary Clinton's emails contains "secret" information, and has classified hundreds more at a lower level of secrecy -- part of Thursday afternoon's release of more than 3,000 messages from her unique email arrangement. Published December 31, 2015
State Dept. breaks judge’s deadline on Clinton emails
The State Department broke a judge's order on the number of former Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton's emails it was supposed to release Thursday, blaming the holiday season for throwing it off track. Published December 31, 2015
Obama sets record for new rules in 2015
The administration issued a record amount of heft in the federal rule book in 2015 as President Obama's team, carrying out his orders to work around Congress, pushed his expansive government agenda on environmental, labor and Wall Street policy. Published December 30, 2015
Agents nab Pakistanis with terrorist connections crossing U.S. border
When the U.S. Border Patrol nabbed two Pakistani men with ties to terrorism at the U.S.-Mexico border in September, it marked just the latest instance of illegal immigrants from so-called "special interest countries" using the southern border as a point of entry into the country. Published December 30, 2015
