Stephen Dinan

Ralph Northam, Dick Saslaw thwart Virginia liberals agenda

Sen. Richard L. Saslaw, a Democrat from Fairfax County, has been waiting 26 years for his party to regain unified control of state government in Virginia.

January 8, 2020

Heraclio Osorio-Arellanes gets life sentence in Brian Terry ‘Fast and Furious’ killing

A man convicted of shooting a U.S. Border Patrol agent nine years ago in a case that exposed a botched federal gun operation known as "Fast and Furious" was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison.

January 8, 2020

Eileen Filler-Corn sworn in as first female House speaker in Virginia’s 400-year history

Virginia swore in its first woman speaker of the House of Delegates Wednesday, kicking off a state General Assembly session for the history books.

January 8, 2020

Justice Department says Equal Rights Amendment is dead; Virginia ratification can’t revive it

The Equal Rights Amendment has been dead for more than four decades, the Justice Department ruled Wednesday, and neither ratification by Virginia nor an effort to revive it by Congress can bring it back to life.

January 8, 2020

DHS announces pilot program to take DNA samples from people arrested at border

The Department of Homeland Security announced a new pilot program to begin taking DNA cheek swabs from people arrested by Border Patrol agents in Detroit and by officers at on border crossing in Texas, covering everyone including migrants and U.S. citizens.

January 7, 2020

Illegal immigrants rescued after getting stuck on Trump’s wall

The Border Patrol had to ride to the rescue of three migrants Sunday after they got stuck on top of President Trump's border wall in San Diego.

January 7, 2020

Nancy Pelosi effort to limit Trump moves on Iran likely to be thwarted

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's new effort to rein in President Trump on Iran is likely to end in defeat — just as Congress's past attempts to constrain Mr. Trump on Yemen and to block President Obama on Libya and Syria were also doomed.

January 6, 2020

Governors buck Trump on denying refugees

America's governors have overwhelmingly refused President Trump's offer to exercise a veto over new refugees being sent to their states, in what activists say is a stunning and heartening affirmation of the Statue of Liberty.

January 6, 2020

Activists accuse Boston schools of aiding ICE deportations

Boston's public schools have for years been indirectly providing information to ICE on unruly illegal immigrant students, resulting in at least one of them getting deported, civil rights groups claimed Monday.

January 6, 2020

Nancy Pelosi: War Powers Resolution vote to limit Iran retaliation set

House Democrats will hold a vote this week to try to block President Trump from escalating the conflict with Iran, using the War Powers Resolution to impose a time limit on his military action.

January 5, 2020

Donald Trump gives Congress justification for missile strike, shields document from public view

President Trump officially notified Congress on Saturday of the drone missile strike that killed a top Iranian general in Iraq, in a move that checks off a key legal box but left Democrats with even more questions about the president's motives.

January 4, 2020

DHS issues terror bulletin amid Iran tension, warning of lone wolf terrorism, cyberattacks

Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf issued a new terrorism threat assessment bulletin on Iran on Saturday, saying there is still no specific credible threat but warning Americans to step up their vigilance.

January 4, 2020

DHS: No credible threat from Iran to U.S. homeland

Homeland Security said Friday there is as yet no real threat to the U.S. from Iran after this week's American drone strike took out the Islamic Republic's top general.

January 3, 2020

ICE nabs illegal immigrant released by New York town despite hit-and-run homicide case

ICE officials said Friday they swooped in to arrest an illegal immigrant accused of a hit-and-run Christmas Eve traffic death after local New York officials released him without bail.

January 3, 2020

‘Remain in Mexico’ policy expands after surge in Arizona

The Department of Homeland Security on Thursday expanded President Trump's "Remain in Mexico" policy in an attempt to push back a surge in illegal immigration in southern Arizona.

January 3, 2020

Founding fathers never discussed wall of separation between church and state

School civics classes teach that the Constitution guarantees the right to remain silent, freedom of speech, equal protection under the law, and a wall of separation between church and state.

January 2, 2020

2020 census questions unnerve Americans

The groans must have been audible at the Census Bureau two years ago when then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions, testifying to Congress, told Americans they could skip any questions they don't like.

January 1, 2020

St. Francis of Assisi a guide for revival in modern church

Twelfth century Italy faced many of the same tendencies and upheavals as modern day America.

December 30, 2019

Losing our Religion: America becoming ‘pagan’ as Christianity cedes to culture

The Rev. Stephen M. Koeth, a Catholic priest and Ph.D. history candidate at Columbia University, was teaching a class one of Martin Luther King Jr.'s sermons that mentioned the road to Jericho. He found it striking that none of the students got the reference to the road, which is where the parable of the Good Samaritan takes place.

December 30, 2019

Baby names avoid politicians over partisan division

For much of the last century, politics was as important a factor in shaping new Americans' identities.

December 26, 2019