Stephen Dinan
Articles by Stephen Dinan
Fed employee fraudster who stole $650,000 blames pandemic stress
A woman who used her job at the State Department to steal more than $650,000 in government money pleaded with a judge for leniency, blaming pandemic stress for a crippling gambling addiction she said she had to fuel with taxpayers' cash. Published September 12, 2025
ICE tops 300,000 deportations for first time in more than a decade
ICE has now tallied more than 300,000 deportations for the fiscal year, marking the first time in more than a decade that the deportation agency has topped that milestone. Published September 12, 2025
Appeals court allows Trump to halt Medicaid money for Planned Parenthood
A federal appeals court gave the Trump administration permission to block Planned Parenthood from receiving Medicaid money, ruling Thursday that a lower court's blockade was premature. Published September 11, 2025
Filipino citizen charged with illegally voting in U.S. elections
Federal prosecutors announced charges Thursday against a citizen of the Philippines they said illegally registered and voted in Pennsylvania in the 2020 presidential election. Published September 11, 2025
Judge rules Trump overstepped in requiring new immigration checks for federal services
A federal judge has blocked President Trump's attempt to impose new immigration-status checks for a host of government benefit programs, saying the administration wrongly rushed its reinterpretation of law into effect. Published September 10, 2025
9/11 was 24 years ago and the U.S. is still at war
The U.S. hasn't had troops in Afghanistan for four years, yet nearly a quarter century after al Qaeda's Sept. 11 sneak attack on America, Congress' authorization for the president to conduct a retaliatory global war on terrorism remains in full force. Published September 10, 2025
Conservative activist Charlie Kirk killed by gunman at college event
Conservative activist and Trump supporter Charlie Kirk was shot to death Wednesday while holding an event at Utah Valley University. Published September 10, 2025
Appeals court restores Copyright Office chief, says Trump’s firing attempt was illegal
A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that President Trump's move to fire the head of the U.S. Copyright Office likely stretched beyond the law, and it ordered Shira Perlmutter restored to her duties while the case develops further. Published September 10, 2025
Trump administration appeals ruling that allows Lisa Cook to stay on Federal Reserve’s board
The Trump administration on Wednesday appealed a federal judge's ruling that Federal Reserve Board member Lisa Cook can remain in her position during the legal fight over President Trump's attempt to fire her. Published September 10, 2025
‘Not the typical case’: Newsom’s attempt to end Trump troop deployment turned away by judge
A federal judge put a temporary kibosh on California Gov. Gavin Newsom's attempt to shut down President Trump's troop deployment to Los Angeles. Published September 9, 2025
Supreme Court gives Trump breathing room on halting foreign assistance spending
The Supreme Court gave a brief reprieve Tuesday to President Trump in his battle to refuse to spend $4 billion in foreign assistance money. Published September 9, 2025
Man charged with writing ‘How to Kill a Federal Judge’ manifesto
Prosecutors announced charges Tuesday against a Minnesota man they say wrote a how-to manifesto urging Americans to try to kill federal judges. Published September 9, 2025
Not a victimless crime: Angel Families reshape the narrative about illegal immigration
Mary Ann Mendoza went to bed on Mother's Day in 2014 not knowing her nightmare was about to begin. Published September 9, 2025
North Carolina reaches agreement with Justice Dept. to clean up its voter rolls
Election officials in North Carolina have reached a consent decree with the federal Justice Department committing the state to clean up its voter rolls by requiring everyone on the list to provide a driver's license or Social Security number. Published September 9, 2025
DHS says immigration enforcement agents aren’t ‘raiding’ schools, arrests will be ‘extremely rare’
The Department of Homeland Security said Tuesday that immigration agents will enter schools to make arrests in only "extremely rare" circumstances and not to target children, as the department sought to push back on a rash of news reports suggesting some kids are avoiding their classrooms. Published September 9, 2025
ICE announces new ‘Operation Midway Blitz’ to arrest illegal immigrants in Chicago area
ICE swarmed deportation officers to Illinois on Monday, kicking off a massive operation to arrest unauthorized immigrants whom the agency said had been protected by the state's sanctuary laws. Published September 8, 2025
Supreme Court OKs Trump’s L.A. immigration sweeps, says ethnicity ‘relevant factor’
The Supreme Court rode to the rescue of President Trump's immigration crackdown on Monday, giving a green light to the kind of aggressive tactics ICE used in its "mass deportation" arrests in Los Angeles earlier this year. Published September 8, 2025
Supreme Court sides with Trump in firing of FTC commissioner
The Supreme Court on Monday allowed President Trump to carry out his firing of a Federal Trade Commission board member -- for now. Published September 8, 2025
Trump asks Supreme Court to let him block $4 billion in foreign aid before deadline
The Trump administration rushed to the Supreme Court on Monday to ask the justices to step in and shut down billions of dollars in foreign assistance that a lower judge has ordered the government to pay. Published September 8, 2025
Judge shoots down Northern Virginia schools’ lawsuit to keep transgender bathrooms
A federal judge on Friday rejected lawsuits by Fairfax County and Arlington County school boards over their transgender bathroom use policies, saying their challenge to losing federal grant money belongs in claims court instead. Published September 6, 2025
