Stephen Dinan

Obama’s Gitmo plan takes another hit

The Senate Armed Services Committee dealt a big setback to President Obama's plans to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay when lawmakers stripped funding for a new prison in Illinois to hold the detainees. Published May 28, 2010

Senate says no to 6,000 border troops

Democrats managed to block deployment of the National Guard to the Mexico border, but the proposal still garnered a majority, showing widespread support for strong border security and underscoring why Obama will struggle to win an immigration-legalization bill. Published May 27, 2010

Senate vote shows border security is winning issue

The Senate on Thursday blocked a move to deploy 6,000 National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border, but the proposal still drew majority support, showing strong backing for border security in the first key test vote on immigration in months. Published May 27, 2010

NASA accused of ‘Climategate’ stalling

The man battling NASA for access to incriminating e-mails says the agency is withholding documents and that NASA may be trying to stall long enough to avoid hurting an upcoming Senate debate on global warming. Published May 26, 2010

U.S. debt flirts with unlucky number

News reports have jumped the gun in declaring it, lawmakers and staffers on Capitol Hill are awaiting it with a morbid glee, and some congressional aides suspect the government's slow-walking it. Published May 26, 2010

Obama to send troops to U.S.-Mexico border

The White House will send up to 1,200 National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border and will ask Congress for $500 million to boost border security, officials said Tuesday, as President Obama tried to take control of the border security debate just as the Senate was about to take up a much bigger deployment. Published May 25, 2010

China stance on immigrants cited as U.S. returns fossils

A top member of the House immigration subcommittee on Tuesday blasted the U.S. government for agreeing to return ancient Chinese fossils smuggled here illegally, even as the communist country flouts international conventions by refusing to take back tens of thousands of illegal immigrants. Published May 25, 2010

CBO says stimulus kept unemployment rate lower

The stimulus law was responsible for funding between 1.2 million and 2.8 million jobs in the first quarter of this year and kept the unemployment rate lower than it would otherwise have been, the Congressional Budget Office said in a new analysis Tuesday. Published May 25, 2010

Obama to send troops to U.S.-Mexican border

The White House will send up to 1,200 National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border and will ask Congress for $500 million to boost border security, officials said Tuesday. Published May 25, 2010

Obama asks Hill for line-item veto he once opposed

When President George W. Bush called for a kind of line-item veto four years ago, the top Senate Democrat said it was like getting a "bad sore throat," and the No. 2 House Democrat called it "a sham." Published May 25, 2010

Obama asks Hill for line-item veto he once opposed

When President George W. Bush called for a kind of line-item veto four years ago, the top Senate Democrat said it was like getting a "bad sore throat," and the No. 2 House Democrat called it "a sham." Published May 24, 2010

Obama seeks modified line-item veto to cut pork

With fear of a Greece-style debt collapse roiling a Congress already balking at new spending, the White House on Monday offered its own solution -- a modified line-item veto. Published May 24, 2010

Obama seeks modified line-item veto

With fear of a Greece-style debt collapse roiling a Congress already balking at new spending, the White House on Monday offered its own solution -- a modified line-item veto. Published May 24, 2010

Scientists defend global warming work

Six months after "climategate" called into question the science underpinning claims of global warming, the National Academy of Sciences said Wednesday the science is sound, human-caused warming is already occurring, and the U.S. must take urgent action. Published May 20, 2010

Scientists defend research on global warming

Six months after "climategate" called into question the science underpinning claims of global warming, the National Academy of Sciences said Wednesday the science is sound, human-caused warming is already occurring, and the U.S. must take urgent action. Published May 19, 2010

Primary voters buck establishment

The Washington order suffered big losses Tuesday, with establishment-backed candidates losing or facing a fight for their political survival in all three marquee Senate primaries on both the Republican and Democratic sides. Published May 19, 2010

Ariz. official dares L.A. to stage boycott

The spat over Arizona's new immigration law expanded Tuesday as a state official dared Los Angeles to follow through on its new boycott by agreeing to give up the 25 percent of electricity the city gets from Arizona sources. Published May 19, 2010

Primary voters buck establishment

The Washington order suffered big losses Tuesday, with establishment-backed candidates losing or facing a fight for their political survival in all three marquee Senate primaries on both the Republican and Democratic sides. Published May 18, 2010

Official dares L.A. to go through with boycott

The spat over Arizona's new immigration law expanded Tuesday as a state official dared Los Angeles to follow through on its new boycott by agreeing to give up the 25 percent of electricity the city gets from Arizona sources. Published May 18, 2010

Arizona dares L.A. to carry out boycott

The spat over Arizona's new immigration expanded Tuesday as a state official dared the city of Los Angeles to follow through on its new boycott by agreeing to give up the 25 percent of electricity that city gets from Arizona sources. Published May 18, 2010