Stephen Dinan

Hegseth’s new testosterone standard for troops could undercut military’s transgender ban, judge says

A federal judge suggested Wednesday that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's new policy requiring troops to meet testosterone levels -- and delivering testosterone replacement therapy -- could undercut the rationale behind the department's restrictions on trans troops.

July 22, 2026

Smithsonian museum director on hot seat over display of ‘crotch harness’

The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History comes with a parental advisory warning, the museum's director told Congress on Wednesday, as she spent a second day struggling to defend a sexually charged exhibit that showed what one congresswoman called a "crotch harness."

July 22, 2026

Court overturns ruling that freed pro-Palestinian protester from immigration detention

A federal appeals court overturned a lower court ruling on Tuesday that had ordered a Palestinian immigrant released from immigration detention, saying the district court didn't have the authority to intervene.

July 21, 2026

Gov. Abbott announces Texas crackdown on ‘birth tourism’

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced his own crackdown Tuesday to try to block migrants who game the immigration system by having babies on U.S. soil, earning automatic citizenship for those children.

July 21, 2026

New Jersey finds 6,600 noncitizens registered to vote and hundreds voting

Thousands of noncitizens were added to New Jersey's voting rolls, and hundreds of them even cast ballots in the state's elections, Gov. Mikie Sherrill acknowledged Tuesday.

July 21, 2026

Republicans accuse Smithsonian of sexualizing kids with ‘woke’ bondage and fetishist exhibits

Sex-laced bondage and transgender imagery in exhibits at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History are sexualizing and traumatizing kids, Republicans charged Tuesday, telling the museum's director that she's using her post to elevate "woke" ideology over American greatness.

July 21, 2026

Woman tried to free migrant from ICE custody with tequila bribe: DOJ

A woman tried to bribe an official at an ICE detention center to release a migrant, offering gifts of money and tequila to try to spring the person free, federal prosecutors say.

July 21, 2026

Supreme Court term saw more ideological divides; Justice Jackson furthest to the left

The number of 6-3 ideologically split decisions at the Supreme Court rose this term with rulings on transgender athletes, the Voting Rights Act, campaign finance and several immigration decisions all being won by the conservative majority, according to a prominent court scholar.

July 20, 2026

Alligator Alcatraz shut down, state official says, after funding solves ICE’s detention site issues

Alligator Alcatraz is now gone, and all that's left is empty tarmac, Florida officials told a federal judge, saying the last immigration detainees left in mid-June and all operations have ceased at the detention center the state built in the Everglades.

July 20, 2026

Republicans flood Congress with bills to confront Supreme Court on birthright citizenship

The Supreme Court may have crushed President Trump's plans to restrict birthright citizenship, but congressional Republicans are seeking legislative alternatives that could restrict it in certain cases.

July 20, 2026

Minnesota’s sanctuary policies survive DOJ challenge

A federal judge tossed out the Trump administration's challenge to Minnesota's sanctuary laws, ruling Monday that the state has the right to make decisions about how to use its resources, including the ability to decline to help the feds on illegal immigration.

July 20, 2026

Supreme Court to decide if Alaska man’s $95,000 fine for a six-pack of Budweiser was fair

Alaska doesn't mess around when it comes to illegal alcohol, authorizing severe penalties for anyone who allows it to be brought into communities where it's banned.

July 20, 2026

DHS threatens ‘prison time’ for states that don’t cooperate on Trump’s election goals

States that work with President Trump to clean up their voter rolls can get more taxpayer money to help do it, but those that refuse could face fines and penalties and, if they ignore evidence of noncitizens on their lists, the administration is threatening "prison time" for their leaders.

July 17, 2026

More than 190,000 noncitizens may be on California’s voter rolls, DHS says

The Department of Homeland Security is releasing more data behind President Trump's claims of voter rolls littered with noncitizens, saying its own review found more than 190,000 suspect names in California and 35,000 in New Jersey.

July 17, 2026

Appeals court sides with Hegseth over The New York Times in Pentagon access battle

The Pentagon is allowed to require journalists to have a government-provided escort to enter the building, a federal appeals court has ruled, delivering a blow to The New York Times.

July 17, 2026

Trump administration sues to stop Maryland from giving in-state tuition to illegal immigrants

The Department of Justice has sued to end Maryland's law that allows illegal immigrants to get in-state tuition rates.

July 17, 2026

NBC shirks Trump speech

While other networks covered President Trump's speech Thursday night, NBC stuck with its usual programming.

July 16, 2026

Trump declassifies evidence he says exposes ‘shocking vulnerabilities’ in election system

China has scooped up America's voter lists, U.S. states' voter rolls are filled with noncitizens who have managed to register, and Venezuela has tried to develop methods to alter electronic voting machines, President Trump said Thursday in a primetime speech to alert the country to what he called "shocking" vulnerabilities.

July 16, 2026

Homeland Security places limits on how long foreign students can stay in U.S.

Foreigners who come to the U.S. to study will generally be limited to four years of legal status, the Department of Homeland Security announced Thursday.

July 16, 2026

New DHS rule will penalize immigrants who use welfare

The Department of Homeland Security announced Thursday that it has made it easier for officers to block green-card applications from immigrants who claimed welfare, revoking a Biden-era rule that officials said was too lenient and had "straitjacketed" the department.

July 16, 2026