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Articles by Stephen Dinan

Jennifer Deasy shoots a pistol at the target range at Niagara Gun Range in North Tonawanda, N.Y., Thursday June 26, 2008. Americans can keep guns at home for self-defense, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday in the justices' first-ever pronouncement on the meaning of gun rights under the Second Amendment. (AP Photo/David Duprey)

Support for gun rights at highest point in two decades

Support for gun rights is higher than it's been in decades, according to the latest data from the Pew Research Center that signals a stunning turnaround in how Americans feel about the issue just two years after the Newtown school shooting.

December 10, 2014
In front of a sign that says "Gracias," meaning thank you in Spanish, President Barack Obama receives a hug from the owners of "La Hacienda" restaurant, Lilia Yepez, left, and Carlos Yepez, before ordering food to go from the Mexican restaurant in Nashville, Tenn., Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2014. Earlier in the afternoon in Nashville the president spoke about his executive actions on immigration. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Obama’s amnesty earns Hispanics’ approval, support

Even as his support stagnates among others, President Obama saw a huge leap — 12 percentage points — in his approval rating among Hispanics after he announced his deportation amnesty last month, according to Gallup.

December 10, 2014
"This short-term funding resolution will keep the lights on in government and maintain current operations for a few days so Congress can complete and pass an agreement," said Rep. Harold Rogers, Kentucky Republican and chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. (Associated Press)

Spending bill punishes IRS, includes money for Ebola, illegal-immigrant children

Congressional negotiators released the massive 1,600-page, $1.1 trillion spending bill late Tuesday and begged colleagues to vote for it as lawmakers rush to finish business and flee Washington before Christmas. The bill works out to nearly $700 million per page in spending, and covers almost all of the government's basic operations for the rest of the fiscal year, which lasts through September.

December 9, 2014
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the California Democrat and intelligence committee chairwoman who led the investigation, said there was evidence that the CIA subjected more persons to waterboarding than just the three that the CIA has acknowledged — though the evidence for that was inconclusive. (Associated Press) ** FILE **

‘Torture report’ reveals CIA deception, extreme interrogation tactics

After five years of investigations, 6.3 million pages of documents and one constitutional crisis over CIA snooping on Senate computers, Senate Democrats' "torture report" revealed striking new details of the extent of interrogation techniques used by the CIA, but even the 525-page summary of a 6,700-page report, complete with 38,000 footnotes, was unlikely to be the last word.

December 9, 2014

Obama administration asks for expansive war against Islamic State

Secretary of State John F. Kerry told Congress Tuesday that President Obama wants expansive war powers to pursue the Islamic State terrorists wherever and however he deems necessary, stunning lawmakers by requesting a war authorization that would even allow the Pentagon to commit American combat troops to the fight.

December 9, 2014
Sen. John McCain, Arizona Republican, said it was necessary to send a signal to the unaccompanied minors preparing for another run at the U.S.-Mexico border this year that they will be sent back rather than released into the U.S., as all of the children from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador were last year. (Associated Press)

John McCain defends CIA torture report

Many Republicans are furious at Tuesday's release of the so-called "torture report," but Sen. John McCain, who himself spent years confined as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, defended the exhaustive look at the CIA's behavior post-Sept. 11, saying Americans must "know what was done in their name."

December 9, 2014
Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper (Associated Press)

Obama renews NSA snooping for 90 more days

President Obama has renewed the NSA's phone-snooping program for another three months, with the administration saying Monday that it's too important to let it expire right now, defying members of Congress who said it was time to ax the controversial program.

December 8, 2014
The states challenging President Obama's deportation amnesty have already won the first round in court after the case landed in the lap of Judge Andrew S. Hanen, a Bush appointee who issued a scorching rebuke to the Department of Homeland Security last year, accusing it of refusing to follow border security laws. (Associated Press)

Obama amnesty in jeopardy with Bush judicial appointee hearing states’ challenge

The states challenging President Obama's deportation amnesty have already won the first round in court after the case landed in the lap of Judge Andrew S. Hanen, a Bush appointee who issued a scorching rebuke to the Department of Homeland Security last year, accusing it of refusing to follow border security laws.

December 7, 2014
President Barack Obama speaks from behind protective glass during the National Christmas Tree lighting ceremony at the Ellipse near the White House in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2014. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Obama faces deadline on halting NSA snooping

President Obama has a Friday deadline to decide whether to halt his NSA phone-snooping program or to keep it going, and after Congress failed to stop it last month some lawmakers now say the White House should pull the plug on its own.

December 5, 2014
House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio meets with reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2014. Just days before government funding expires, House Republican leaders are trying to strike a balance between the conservatives determined to stop President Barack Obama’s immigration order and other lawmakers just as determined to avoid another politically damaging shutdown. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Boehner defends amnesty strategy, Obama vows veto

House Speaker John A. Boehner said Congress's hand is weak when it comes to trying to stop President Obama's executive actions on immigration, but said Thursday he and his GOP colleagues will try anyway — though he refused to say whether he would use the power of the purse to its fullest extent.

December 4, 2014
President Obama tries to quiet one of three hecklers as he addresses the crowd after meeting with community leaders about the executive actions he is taking to fix the immigration system Tuesday, Nov. 25, in Chicago. (Associated Press)

DHS already hiring 1,000 employees to carry out Obama amnesty

Department of Homeland Security officials wasted little time in ramping up for President Obama's amnesty, posting 1,000 job openings the day after his announcement and announcing it already has space for hundreds of employees at a new location in Arlington, Virginia — an indication that it had laid its plans well before Mr. Obama's announcement.

December 3, 2014