Stephen Dinan
Articles by Stephen Dinan
Trump to inherit slowing economy, rising unemployment from Biden
President Biden will turn over a slowing economy and a tepidly rising unemployment rate to President-elect Donald Trump, the Congressional Budget Office said Wednesday, describing the headwinds the new administration will face. Published December 18, 2024
Paul blocks bill to expand authority over drones; predicts state, local abuses of rights
An effort to push through new authority to detect and interdict drones was blocked in the Senate Wednesday after Sen. Rand Paul said it's too soon to rush a solution that could end up trampling on Americans' rights. Published December 18, 2024
Trump’s border czar says any illegal immigrant can be deported: ‘We’ll eventually get to you’
Criminals will be the first targets for President Trump's "mass" deportations, but Homeland Security will eventually get to rank-and-file illegal immigrants, according to incoming border czar Tom Homan. Published December 18, 2024
Congress wants states to have new counter-drone powers amid New Jersey sightings
Members of Congress are rushing to give states permission to detect drones, responding to the mysterious drone sightings that have captivated New Jersey and surrounding states. Published December 17, 2024
Can Donald Trump sue his way to media accountability?
President-elect Donald Trump has sued The Des Moines Register for its disastrously wrong preelection polling, marking his latest move in a crusade to demand accountability for the media's 2024 election snafus. Published December 17, 2024
Final verdict: Feds say New Jersey drones are mix of police, hobbyists and commercial UAVs
Federal authorities on Monday delivered their most thorough verdict yet about the drone sightings in New Jersey in recent weeks, saying some are law enforcement, some are commercial flights, some are hobbyists and many are actually airplanes, helicopters or even stars mistaken for drones. Published December 16, 2024
Drone concerns spread beyond New Jersey; Trump: ‘Something strange is going on’
Worry over drones is spreading from New Jersey across the Atlantic seaboard, with leaders in other states also demanding that the federal government figure out what's going on in the skies. Published December 16, 2024
Trump starts the firing even before his term begins
President-elect Donald Trump's iconoclastic approach to nominations isn't just the people he's picking -- it's the people he's looking to fire. Published December 16, 2024
FBI deploy new tech to try to figure out drones
FBI and Homeland Security authorities are now using infrared cameras to try to figure out what's going on with the drones spotted flying over New Jersey and other parts of the Atlantic seaboard, according to a report Monday. Published December 16, 2024
Judges defy Trump by revoking retirements, blocking him from naming replacements
The anti-Trump resistance is spreading to the federal courts, where three judges have now rescinded their retirement decisions in moves that will block President Trump from picking their replacements. Published December 15, 2024
Appeals court judge rescinds retirement after Trump’s election victory
A federal appeals court judge has rescinded his decision to retire, becoming the third judge to decide not to give President-elect Donald Trump a chance to fill his seat. Published December 14, 2024
New Jersey rejects Biden’s airplane explanation for drone sightings
The Biden administration's claim that the drones over New Jersey are mostly regular aircraft isn't sitting well with the state's residents or politicians, who say it's a demeaning explanation, given what people have seen with their own eyes. Published December 13, 2024
Feds say New Jersey drones are actually airplanes
Two federal agencies said Thursday that most of the drone sightings reported in New Jersey in recent weeks are actually manned aircraft that people on the ground are mistaking for mysterious unmanned aerial vehicles. Published December 12, 2024
Informants stormed U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6; no evidence of undercover agents
The FBI had more than two dozen informants in Washington surrounding the chaos of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, and four of them entered the building as part of the protests, an inspector general said. Published December 12, 2024
Biden’s supercharged IRS nets $1.3 billion more from wealthy taxpayers
The IRS on Thursday said it has sweated an additional $1.3 billion from wealthy tax cheats, thanks to enhanced reviews and audits paid for by the budget-climate law President Biden signed two years ago. Published December 12, 2024
Feds spent $500,000 to promote atheism in Britain
The State Department sent about $500,000 in taxpayer money to a British-based humanist outfit that promoted atheism in Nepal and another that helped pregnant migrants to the U.S. obtain abortions, according to a new congressional report. Published December 12, 2024
Van Drew doubles down on drone claims, says it could be Iran or China
Rep. Jeff Van Drew told the Pentagon on Thursday to put up or shut up after a military spokeswoman dismissed his claim that the drones swarming over New Jersey are Iranian in origin. Published December 12, 2024
Trump rings in NYSE after Time Person of the Year distinction
President-elect Donald Trump rang the famous bell at the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday, basking in the glow of his pending inauguration and status as Time magazine's Person of the Year. Published December 12, 2024
Trump vows pardons for Jan. 6 defendants ‘in the first hour’; named Time’s Person of the Year
President-elect Donald Trump, in an interview published Thursday, said he will pardon people who took part in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol immediately upon taking office and offered new details about his deportation plans, saying he will use the military "to the maximum level of what the law allows." Published December 12, 2024
Trump to name Kari Lake to lead housecleaning at VOA
President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday named Kari Lake to take over as director of Voice of America. Published December 11, 2024
