Stephen Dinan
Articles by Stephen Dinan
Obama EPA rule blocked, criticized as fed power grab over state waters
President Obama's push to extend the EPA's regulatory hand to ditches and small streams to enforce clean water rules was blocked Thursday by a federal judge, who said the administration had overstepped its bounds in trying yet another end run around Congress. Published August 27, 2015
Solyndra lied to government to secure Obama stimulus cash, IG report finds
Solyndra, the solar panel manufacturer that took more than $500 million from President Obama's stimulus then went bust, sticking taxpayers for the loss, lied to federal officials to secure the loan, the Energy Department's inspector general said in a report released Wednesday. Published August 26, 2015
Solyndra misled government to get $535M solar project loan: report
California-based solar company Solyndra provided false information and misleading reports to the federal government to secure an ill-fated $535 million loan for a solar project, according to the Department of Energy's inspector general. Published August 26, 2015
2016 presidential field full of marijuana users: report
The 2016 presidential field could be the most doped-up in history. Published August 26, 2015
Budget deficit smallest of Obama presidency, but economy still sluggish: CBO
The economy is sluggish but growing and inflation remains low, painting a decidedly mixed picture for the federal government, the Congressional Budget Office reported Tuesday, saying the fiscal situation is improving this year but will snap back by 2018 to swelling deficits and unsustainable debt. Published August 25, 2015
IRS finds yet another Lois Lerner email account
Lois Lerner had yet another personal email account used to conduct some IRS business, the tax agency confirmed in a new court filing late Monday that further complicates the administration's efforts to be transparent about Ms. Lerner's actions during the tea party targeting scandal. Published August 24, 2015
Is Joe Biden running for president?
Speculation over a possible presidential bid by Vice President Joseph R. Biden kicked into high gear Monday after he met over the weekend with Democratic kingmaker Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and the White House seemed to give him a public nudge of sorts, saying he's ready for the top job. Published August 24, 2015
Twitter cancels Politwoops, warehouse of politicians’ gaffes
Twitter has done a huge favor for bungling politicians worldwide after the social media site canceled Politwoops, a series of dozens of accounts that preserved deleted posts the pols would have preferred the public not see. Published August 24, 2015
Illegal immigrants with children released quickly under federal judge’s ruling
Immigrant rights advocates are cheering a federal judge's ruling that says illegal immigrant families fleeing violence in Central America must be processed quickly and released into the U.S., though the court order leaves room for many of them to be detained. Published August 23, 2015
Judge orders illegal immigrant families quickly released
The Obama administration must begin releasing illegal immigrants mothers and children by October, a federal judge ordered late Friday in a ruling that punctures the last remaining get-tough part of President Obama's immigration policy and, the administration believes, sets the stage for a new surge of illegal immigration. Published August 22, 2015
Mexico condemns attack on immigrant attributed to Trump rhetoric
Mexico waded into the American political debate over immigration Friday with a plea to tone down the rhetoric after an older Mexican man was beaten in Boston earlier this week and one of the suspects made comments praising GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump's call to get tough on illegal immigrants. Published August 21, 2015
Donald Trump pushes birthright citizenship to forefront of political debate
Birthright citizenship, an issue long kicked about in Republican circles, has leaped to the forefront of the political debate, with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump leading the charge and drawing fierce fire from critics who say he and his fellow candidates are messing with a fundamental principle of American history. Published August 20, 2015
Court says Hillary Clinton emails broke ‘government policy’
A federal judge said Thursday that former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's unique email arrangement violated government policy and prodded the department to talk with the FBI to determine what documents can be recovered from the computer server and flash drives used to store her emails. Published August 20, 2015
Congressional Democrats probe group that revealed Planned Parenthood videos
Congressional Democrats have opened their own investigation into the Planned Parenthood videos -- but into the group that took the footage in which officials haggle over the prices of organs and discuss keeping a baby alive so his brain can be harvested. Published August 20, 2015
Taxpayer money funds faulty radios for police, firefighters: Audit
Homeland Security still allows local police and fire departments to spend billions of dollars on communications equipment that isn't "interoperable," meaning agencies can't easily communicate with each other, hampering their response in emergencies, the department's inspector general said. Published August 20, 2015
Common Core education standards divide Republican presidential candidates
The Common Core education standards continue to cleave the Republican presidential field, with two of the contenders defending them Wednesday as successful ways to raise students' achievement, but others who have now abandoned their support, insisting the standards are a symptom of dangerous federal overreach. Published August 19, 2015
Federal patent employee skipped 18 weeks of work
A federal patent examiner skipped out on more than 18 weeks of work last year, bilking the government out of more than $25,000 in salary, the Commerce Department's inspector general said in a report Wednesday that concluded it's too far easy to cheat the patent office. Published August 19, 2015
State Department destroyed Hillary Clinton aides’ BlackBerrys
The State Department likely destroyed the BlackBerry devices issued to two top aides of Hillary Rodham Clinton and never issued Mrs. Clinton a device at all, officials told a federal court Wednesday in a filing that raises still more security questions about the former secretary's email practices. Published August 19, 2015
John Kasich: GOP made mistake in proposing to ‘kill’ Education Department
Ohio Gov. John Kasich said Wednesday he and fellow Republicans made a "mistake" in the 1990s when they tried to eliminate the federal Department of Education, saying independent voters heard that and concluded Republicans were anti-education. Published August 19, 2015
Chuck Grassley probes bias on Hillary Clinton email screening team
A top Republican senator demanded Wednesday that the State Department probe fears that staffers biased toward former Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton are part of the process reviewing her emails, and may be shielding some of her documents to protect her from public embarrassment. Published August 19, 2015
