Stephen Dinan

Hillary Clinton email classification rate rises

The classification rate for former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's government emails rose again Monday, as the department released more than 5,000 additional messages and deemed at least 6 percent of them to contain information that had to be kept from the public.

November 30, 2015

Congress sets Jan. 12 date for Obama’s State of the Union

President Obama will deliver his State of the Union address to Congress on Jan. 12, marking an early start to what's expected to be a year more dominated by politics than accomplishments.

November 30, 2015

New Senate waste-watchers fill up ‘Federal Fumbles’

The dating habits of America's seniors might be of interest to online matchmakers and certain pharmaceutical companies, but Sen. James Lankford wants to know why the federal government felt it needed to get involved — to the tune of nearly $375,000 — to conduct its own study.

November 30, 2015

COP 21 climate deal hinges on cash payouts to developing countries

Ugandan Foreign Minister Sam Kutesa was explicit earlier this year when asked what it would take for developing countries to sign up for the emerging U.S.-led climate deal: "Money."

November 29, 2015

NSA to end phone-snooping, but asks for three-month extension to keep records

The intelligence community was scheduled to stop collecting Americans' phone metadata Sunday -- but still wants three more months to continue looking through the billions of phone call records it already has, as it tries to see whether its replacement snooping program is working.

November 27, 2015

Visa waivers get bipartisan support in effort to toughen laws

Visa waivers are the next likely target for a Congress trying to prevent terrorists from entering the U.S. — and a surprising bipartisan consensus is developing about the need to tighten the laws.

November 26, 2015

GOP sees ‘hypocrisy’ as Obama goes after states on refugees but not sanctuary cities

Republicans accused President Obama this week of "hypocrisy" after his administration sent threatening letters to states warning they could lose federal funding if they don't cooperate with his plan to resettle 10,000 refugees this fiscal year.

November 26, 2015

Obama uses Thanksgiving address to scold Americans over Syrian refugees

Dubbing the Pilgrims the country's first refugees, President Obama used his weekly radio address Thursday to chide his fellow Americans for their reluctance to accept Syrian refugees and to insist that the U.S. has a duty to accept them and other immigrants.

November 26, 2015

Google deems Bernie Sanders’ economic plan a ‘phishing scam’

Democratic presidential hopeful Bernard Sanders' economic plan triggered Gmail's "phishing scam" antenna, with the mail system saying the senator's liberal campaign promises -- including lower prescription drug prices and free college for all -- sound like frauds.

November 25, 2015

Obama administration released illegal immigrant children to criminals’ homes

The Obama administration released thousands of illegal immigrant children to sponsors with criminal records, including arrests on charges of child molestation, human trafficking and homicide, a top senator charged Tuesday.

November 24, 2015

IRS audits target wealthy taxpayers as agency seeks best return on investment

Tea party targeting may be out, but wealth targeting is still very much in vogue at the IRS, where auditors target the wealthy and those with high incomes at much higher rates than other taxpayers.

November 23, 2015

Illegal immigrant children, non-Mexicans surge across U.S. Southwest border at record rate

The Southwest border has broken open in recent weeks, with non-Mexicans -- and illegal immigrant children in particular -- crossing at a record rate in October, according to Border Patrol statistics that suggest the administration's victory lap earlier this year was premature.

November 22, 2015

Obama administration asks Supreme Court to approve executive amnesty

The Justice Department asked the Supreme Court to reinstate President Obama's deportation amnesty Friday, filing papers appealing a federal appeals court's decision blocking the amnesty exactly a year after the program was first announced.

November 20, 2015

Obama actions shield most illegal immigrants from deportation even as court stalls amnesty

President Obama's marquee deportation amnesty has been stalled by the courts, but the rest of his executive actions on immigration, announced exactly a year ago, are moving forward -- including his move protecting more than 80 percent of illegal immigrants from any danger of deportation.

November 19, 2015

House defies Obama, votes to ‘pause’ Syrian refugees

Distrust with President Obama's approach to terrorism boiled over Thursday as a bipartisan House voted overwhelmingly to "pause" his plans to resettle 10,000 Syrian refugees in the U.S. this year.

November 19, 2015

Obama’s Syria refugee push at odds with security-first stance on Bush Dubai Ports deal

President Obama's rising indignation at opponents of his open-door Syrian refugee policy is all the more striking because a decade ago he was one of those opponents, chastising then-President George W. Bush for trying to speed through a deal to transfer operations of major U.S. ports to a company from a predominantly Muslim country.

November 18, 2015

Obama admin vows to veto Syrian refugee bill

The White House vowed Wednesday to veto the bill to pause Syrian refugees, saying that stiff requirements that the FBI and Homeland Security certify each refugee are "untenable."

November 18, 2015

Honduras stops Syrians with fake passports headed for U.S.: report

Police in Honduras have detained five Syrians they said were trying to reach the U.S. using stolen Greek passports, Reuters reported Wednesday in another development likely to hurt President Obama's efforts to welcome Syrian refugees.

November 18, 2015

Chicago council votes to welcome Syrian refugees

Chicago's city council voted Wednesday to welcome Syrian refugees to their city, passing a resolution that, while nonbinding, is meant to push back against the growing number of governors who have said they'll try to refuse resettlement.

November 18, 2015

House introduces bill to ‘pause’ Syrian refugees

Homeland Security, the FBI and the intelligence community would have to sign off on every Syrian refugee President Obama wants to bring to the U.S. under a bill House Republicans introduced Wednesday and are speeding toward a vote later this week.

November 18, 2015