Stephen Dinan

White House puts best face on role in Afghanistan chaos, shifts blame to Trump

The White House on Thursday mounted a vehement defense of President Biden's decision-making in Afghanistan, seeking to put a shine on the calamitous withdrawal as the Pentagon and State Department sent classified reports to Congress detailing the failures.

April 6, 2023

IRS reveals plans to spend $80 billion in new cash

The IRS released a 10-year plan Thursday outlining how it plans to spend the $80 billion in new money Democrats pumped into the tax agency as part of last year's climate change budget law, promising the cash will help go after high-dollar tax cheats and fix the agency's abysmal customer service.

April 6, 2023

Rep. Ryan Zinke: U.S.-Taiwan meeting explored defense cooperation, Chinese chokehold on minerals

U.S. lawmakers emerged from their meeting Wednesday with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen determined to figure out why the U.S. has yet to deliver key weapons systems to Taiwan, according to one of the participants.

April 5, 2023

Afghan evacuees spewed racism, sexism at U.S. aid workers, audit finds

Afghan evacuees subjected U.S. refugee workers to racism and sexism because they were "unaccustomed to the norms of U.S. society" and the ad hoc nature of the 2021 airlift left the government with too little time to blunt their racism through a full orientation, according to an inspector general's report.

April 5, 2023

Feds indict Frederick County sheriff on gun charges

Federal prosecutors announced charges Wednesday against Sheriff Charles Jenkins in Frederick County, Maryland, accusing him of helping a firearms dealer to illegally acquire automatic weapons.

April 5, 2023

Feds to pay $144.5 million for role in Texas church shooting

The federal government has agreed to pay victims of a 2017 church shooting in Texas $144.5 million to compensate them for the Air Force's failure to flag the shooter as someone who shouldn't be able to buy a gun.

April 5, 2023

Using facial recognition for unemployment benefits discriminates against minorities, audit finds

After pushing unemployment agencies to crack down on fraud, the Labor Department's inspector general now says the method states turned to - facial recognition - ends up discriminating against minorities.

April 4, 2023

Ted Cruz: Democrats see Mayorkas as scapegoat, will be gone within 6 months

Sen. Ted Cruz said Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas won't last six months in his job after Democrats have decided to blame him for the chaos at the border.

April 4, 2023

College student charged with threatening to kill member of Congress for ‘coming for the gays’

A New Hampshire college student appeared in court Monday on charges of threatening to kill a member of Congress after authorities say he made a drunken phone call warning he would retaliate against the lawmaker for "coming for the gays."

April 3, 2023

IRS shut down employees’ suggestion box after deciding it cost too much

IRS leaders say they care about staffers' feedback, but the tax agency axed its employee suggestion program in 2021 and has yet to come up with a replacement, according to an inspector general's report Monday.

April 3, 2023

Trump indictment follows Democratic playbook, says former House GOP Majority Leader Tom DeLay

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who has indicted former President Donald Trump, is following a well-trod Democratic playbook.

April 3, 2023

Migrants now allowed to select gender preference without proof under new DHS guidance

Homeland Security's legal immigration agency will now allow applicants to select a gender of their choice without having to provide supporting documentation that matches.

April 1, 2023

More than 1,000 illegal immigrants rushed border in El Paso, officials say

More than a thousand illegal immigrants rushed the border in El Paso, Texas, on Wednesday and into Thursday, officials said, blaming what they called "false information" fed by smugglers.

March 31, 2023

Countdown to cuts: Social Security has enough money in trust fund for only 10 more years

The Social Security Administration said Friday that its main trust fund will run out of money in 2033, leaving the program with no reserves and forcing an immediate 23% cut in benefits unless Congress acts to shore up the program before then.

March 31, 2023

Weaponization hearing finds at least 20 White House employees involved in tech censorship

Louisiana's attorney general called Thursday for federal employees to be fired, lose their retirement benefits and face civil lawsuits if they are found to have pressured tech companies to censor opposing viewpoints.

March 30, 2023

NIH spent billions on overseas animal testing but didn’t police anti-cruelty standards

The National Institutes of Health sent $2.2 billion to labs outside the U.S. to conduct animal testing over the last decade but didn't follow up to make sure they were complying with American standards on preventing cruelty, according to a new audit Thursday.

March 30, 2023

GOP lawmakers say China must be punished over soaring illegal immigrants

Republican House members prodded the Biden administration Thursday to slap sanctions on China for refusing to cooperate in taking back its illegal immigrants, saying the U.S. should start refusing to dole out visas to would-be Chinese migrants.

March 30, 2023

Inspector general dings DHS over money spent on migrant welcome program

Homeland Security misspent money on its program to pay local nonprofits to welcome illegal immigrants caught and released into the country, according to an inspector general's report that dinged the department for failing to oversee how the money was spent.

March 30, 2023

AG Garland tells Congress he needs controversial spying power to keep China in check

Attorney General Merrick Garland made an impassioned plea Wednesday for Congress to renew a controversial government spying authority, warning that if the "Section 702" powers go away the U.S. will suffer in its ability to keep track of China's efforts to undermine the country.

March 29, 2023

Agents’ busy weekend: 6 miles of border, nearly 300 illegal immigrants, 35 different nationalities

Border Patrol agents in the Imperial Beach region of California reported a hectic night last weekend, nabbing 290 illegal immigrants over a 13-hour stretch.

March 29, 2023