Stephen Dinan

Taxpayer-funded Biden road signs don’t violate Hatch Act

President Biden's self-promoting road signs bragging that he secured taxpayer money for infrastructure projects don't cross the line into illegal campaign activity, the government's chief Hatch Act watchdog has concluded.

September 5, 2024

Navy secretary slapped with Hatch Act violation for urging Biden’s reelection

Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro got too political earlier this year when he used a trip to Britain to urge the reelection of President Biden and to denigrate former President Donald Trump -- and ended up violating the Hatch Act, the government's Office of Special Counsel has concluded.

September 5, 2024

Russians accused of interfering in politics; disinformation sows U.S. discord

The Biden administration accused Russia on Wednesday of a wide-ranging and sophisticated effort to disrupt U.S. politics with misinformation crafted in Moscow and injected into the American discourse through unwitting American social media "influencers."

September 4, 2024

Texas attorney general sues to stop mass voter registration mailings

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Bexar County on Wednesday to stop officials' plans to mass-mail voter registration forms to residents, saying they could end up in the hands of illegal immigrants and others ineligible to vote.

September 4, 2024

Biden’s tax threshold adds marriage penalty; couples at higher risk for federal audits

President Biden introduced a "potential marriage penalty" into the tax system when he ordered the IRS to conduct more audits of higher-income Americans, the agency's inspector general said.

September 3, 2024

Taxpayers foot bill for Mayorkas’ generosity; employees given $2.6 billion in extra vacation time

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has given so much extra time off to department employees that one of his agencies has had to create an internal system to help employees keep track of it.

September 2, 2024

Feds violate OSHA standards at thousands of government properties

The Environmental Protection Agency, which polices chemical contaminants, has been subjecting employees at its Chicago offices to water contaminated with metal and Legionella, the bacteria that causes the deadly Legionnaires' disease.

August 29, 2024

FBI continues to mishandle child sex-crime allegations, inspector general finds

Years after its damning failure to investigate former U.S. Olympic doctor and serial sex predator Larry Nassar, the FBI still isn't handling child sex crime reports properly, an inspector general said Thursday.

August 29, 2024

Feds charge two foreign men for swatting Marjorie Taylor Greene, scores of other officials

Federal authorities unveiled charges Wednesday against two foreigners they say were responsible for a flood of dangerous "swatting" incidents against senior administration officials and members of Congress, including one that matches the Christmas Day attack on Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.

August 28, 2024

Afghan evacuees strive to navigate U.S. culture after 3 years; aid groups help ease settlement

The Afghan evacuee experiment is still very real -- both for the evacuees and the communities that welcome them. More are still trickling in, though it's a fraction of the rushed days of late 2021, when they arrived by the tens of thousands, hastily whisked out of Kabul, sent to U.S. military bases and then released into communities to try to find their way.

August 28, 2024

Harris seems to stand on same side of wall as Trump; voters wonder whether she’s flipped on border

A report Tuesday that Vice President Kamala Harris had flip-flopped on her support for former President Donald Trump's border wall reverberated around Washington, leaving Americans to wonder how real it is.

August 27, 2024

Biden blasts judge who stopped his amnesty for illegal immigrant spouses

President Biden lashed out at a federal judge Tuesday after the court in Texas stopped a new program designed to help illegal immigrants married to U.S. citizens.

August 27, 2024

Judge puts Biden’s illegal immigrant spouse ‘parole’ program on hold

A federal judge issued an order Monday halting President Biden's new deportation amnesty for illegal-immigrant spouses of U.S. citizens, saying it makes sense to keep the program on ice until courts can decide whether it is legal.

August 26, 2024

Barni, a German shorthaired pointer, wins TSA’s ‘cutest canine’ of 2024

A 5-year-old explosives detection dog who works at San Francisco International Airport has won the Transportation Security Administration's "cutest canine" distinction.

August 26, 2024

DHS seeking quick restart of fraud-filled ‘parole’ program for migrants, calls for volunteers

Homeland Security's citizenship agency has put out a call for volunteers who can help process applications for a fraud-plagued program that allows unauthorized migrants from some Latin American nations to skip the border and fly directly into the U.S.

August 25, 2024

Texas sues to stop new Biden amnesty for migrant spouses

Texas led a coalition of Republican-led states Friday in suing to stop President Biden's new "parole" program for illegal immigrant spouses married to U.S. citizens, saying that it is unconstitutional and the administration cut too many corners in rushing it to fruition.

August 23, 2024

Border Patrol agent accused of making women expose themselves as part of immigration ‘search’

A Border Patrol agent has been charged in federal court with civil rights crimes after prosecutors say he forced three women to expose their breasts to him as part of a search as they entered the U.S.

August 23, 2024

Shooting victims use Democratic convention to call for new gun controls

A second grade teacher at Sandy Hook Elementary described to the Democratic National Convention on Thursday the horror of hearing 154 gunshots, mowing down 20 first graders, as she sang and read to her class to try to drown out the terror.

August 22, 2024

Democrats promise joy, spew vitriol at Trump

Democrats taking the stage of their national convention this week have labeled former President Donald Trump "dangerous," a "clear and present danger" and a "direct threat to democracy."

August 22, 2024

Supreme Court revives part of Arizona’s voter law requiring proof of citizenship

The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed Arizona to partially enforce laws requiring proof of citizenship before residents can register to vote.

August 22, 2024