Stephen Dinan
Articles by Stephen Dinan
Joplin wasted millions in tornado assistance: Audit
Joplin, the Missouri city devastated by a tornado in 2011, wasted a lot of taxpayers' money in the rush to rebuild, including doling out sweetheart contracts to politically connected firms that never did any work or that ended up bilking taxpayers, and hiding their decisions behind closed doors, breaking sunshine laws, a state auditor concluded Tuesday. Published August 19, 2015
Donald Trump gets his news from Drudge Report
Donald Trump gets his news from the Drudge Report, he revealed in a new interview with the Hollywood Reporter, calling website founder Matt Drudge "amazing." Published August 19, 2015
Illegal immigrant Dreamers who refused to return 3-year amnesties won’t be deported
The government has revoked the amnesties of 22 illegal immigrants who refuse to return their three-year work permits, but Homeland Security officials said they won't be deported because their offenses aren't serious enough to merit being kicked out. Published August 18, 2015
Homeland Security: New amnesty for Dreamers who defied program being considered
The Department of Homeland Security said Tuesday it is considering re-approving amnesties for 10 illegal immigrant "Dreamers" who had them revoked after they defied the government and refused to return them in July. Published August 18, 2015
Carly Fiorina bumps Chris Christie from ‘top tier’ candidates; Donald Trump maintains lead
Breathless speculation of a shake-up has given way to the reality that next GOP debate will feature much the same lineup as the first: nine of the same top 10 will make the main stage, with Carly Fiorina bumping one of the sitting governors from the last spot. Published August 18, 2015
Chuck Grassley prods Hillary Clinton’s lawyer for answers on email storage
A top Republican senator is demanding to know Clinton lawyer David E. Kendall's security clearance level and what other precautions he took after it became clear he had classified information from former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in his possession for months. Published August 17, 2015
New Hillary Clinton email count: 305 documents referred with potentially classified information
More than 300 of former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's emails -- or 5.1 percent of those processed so far -- have been flagged for potential secret information, the State Department reported to a federal court Monday as the political furor continued to grow for the Democratic presidential candidate and her aides. Published August 17, 2015
Donald Trump immigration plan wins praise from GOP hardliners
Donald Trump's immigration plan has won widespread backing from conservatives in the hours since he announced it, sparked stern condemnation from immigrant-rights activists -- and instantly reshaped a policy debate that's raged for more than a decade. Published August 17, 2015
Border braces as number of illegals swells
The number of illegal immigrant mothers and children jumping the Southwest border swelled in July, according to new Border Patrol statistics that suggest last year's surge could be repeating. Published August 17, 2015
Donald Trump’s immigration plan calls for border wall funded by illegals’ U.S. wages
GOP presidential hopeful Donald Trump proposed a broad crackdown on illegal immigrants Sunday, including tripling the number of deportation officers and building a border wall, as new numbers show illegal crossings on the Southwest border are beginning to swell again. Published August 16, 2015
Hillary Clinton aides had other unreported email accounts: State Dept.
Huma Abedin and Cheryl Mills, former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's top aides, used personal email accounts to conduct government business in addition to a State Department email and an account on the controversial server Mrs. Clinton kept at her New York home, the State Department confirmed to a federal court Friday. Published August 14, 2015
Robert W. Goodlatte: ‘How many Americans must die at the hands of unlawful criminal immigrants?’
The top House Republican on immigration matters blasted the Obama administration Friday as more reports surfaced of crimes committed by illegal immigrants, insisting more attention be paid to rounding them up. Published August 14, 2015
State Department employee sentenced for selling visas at up to $70K
A State Department employee who sold U.S. visas on the black market in Vietnam for up to $70,000 a pop was sentenced Friday to 64 months in prison, after a scam authorities said allows hundreds of travelers who had previously been denied entry to sneak into the U.S. Published August 14, 2015
Appeals court rejects Arpaio challenge to Obama deportation amnesty
Sheriff Joe Arpaio can't sue the Obama administration to stop the president's deportation amnesty, a federal appeals court ruled Friday in a decision saying it was too tenuous to try to argue that the amnesty will entice other illegal immigrants to try to make the crossing. Published August 14, 2015
EPA denies Navajo pressure to waive rights to future payment claims in Animas River disaster
EPA administrator Gina McCarthy moved to mend fences Thursday with Navajo Nation as the agency denied accusations that it tried to force Indians to waive their rights to future claims stemming from the Gold King Mine blowout. Published August 13, 2015
EPA denies cheating Navajo on Gold King Mine spill, says future claims will be allowed
The EPA said Thursday it is not trying to force Indians to waive their rights to future claims stemming from the agency's Gold King Mine disaster, saying the warnings from Navajo tribal leaders are "inaccurate." Published August 13, 2015
Feinstein defends Hillary Clinton on classified emails
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Senate intelligence committee, rose to the defense of former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, saying Thursday there is no evidence she herself sent classified information and that the emails now under scrutiny were not marked classified at the time she sent them. Published August 13, 2015
Judge orders Hillary Clinton to preserve all records; she misses deadline to certify compliance
A federal judge ordered the State Department on Thursday to work with the FBI to try to get access to the 32,000 emails former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said were personal and that she didn't return to the government, as the courts get more deeply involved in her email practices. Published August 13, 2015
IRS cuts cyber-hack victims a break
At least some good news for the millions who have had their personal information stolen in cyberattacks -- the IRS said Thursday that the free credit monitoring the government and companies are offering victims doesn't count as taxable income. Published August 13, 2015
Obama amnesty chaotic, but no intent to flout judge, IG audit says
Immigration officials didn't intend to flout a federal judge when they broke his order halting President Obama's new amnesty, but the agency's process is so gummed up that it doesn't even know how many erroneous three-year amnesties it issued, an inspector general said in a new report Thursday. Published August 13, 2015
