Stephen Dinan

Justice Dept. creates new process to restore gun rights of some felons

Committing a serious crime shouldn't mean you automatically lose your gun rights for life, Attorney General Todd Blanche said Monday as he finalized a new process to let convicts apply to have their Second Amendment rights restored.

August 17, 2026

DHS halts border wall construction in Big Bend National Park after public outcry

The Department of Homeland Security's border agency chief said Monday that he is pausing all border wall construction in Big Bend National Park in Texas and he will personally visit the site to figure out next steps.

August 17, 2026

Inspector general to probe DOJ over allegation department knowingly allowed fentanyl trafficking

The Justice Department's inspector general announced a new probe Monday to investigate allegations that DOJ knowingly allowed fentanyl to be bought and sold, as agents tried to bring a lengthy trafficking case to a close.

August 17, 2026

Feds accuse hospitals of pushing bogus gender-transition treatments to make money

A new Department of Health and Human Services report charges that hospitals pushed unnecessary gender transitions on vulnerable children because they saw dollar signs.

August 16, 2026

Justice Dept. says U.S. troops can arrest illegal immigrants beyond military property near border

The Justice Department has issued a new opinion deciding that military personnel can arrest some illegal immigrants without running afoul of the Posse Comitatus Act.

August 14, 2026

Man accused of voting twice in 2024 election — both by mail

Federal prosecutors charged a man with voting twice in the 2024 presidential election, casting ballots in Pennsylvania and Alaska through the mail.

August 14, 2026

Massachusetts mayor charged with stealing pandemic money

The FBI arrested the mayor of Lawrence, Massachusetts, charging him with stealing pandemic assistance money and siphoning it to his political campaign account.

August 14, 2026

Trump asks Supreme Court to approve his White House ballroom project

President Trump went to the Supreme Court on Friday to ask permission to keep building his grand plans for a ballroom at the White House, telling the justices the project is "vitally required by national security."

August 14, 2026

Los Angeles agrees to speed issuing concealed-carry permits for gun owners; deal settles fed lawsuit

Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna has agreed to speed up issuing concealed-carry permits, in a deal struck with the Trump Justice Department that commits the county to making an initial decision within 90 days.

August 13, 2026

Transportation Dept. imposes English requirement on railway engineers, conductors

Fresh off its effort to remove people who struggle with English from jobs in commercial driving, the Trump administration is now moving to boot them off the rails, too.

August 13, 2026

State Department cancels DEI diplomacy; ‘White Fragility,’ BLM lessons expunged from training

Diversity training had infected the State Department to the point that a full day of training for foreign service officers was dedicated to DEI, employees were told to mitigate their "unconscious bias," and diplomats were urged to discuss DEI and "allyship" as part of their talks with foreign governments, the Trump administration revealed Thursday.

August 13, 2026

Court says mail ballots are ‘prone to fraud,’ backs Texas crackdown law

A federal appeals court upheld a Texas law requiring voters to provide an identification number before casting ballots by mail, plus scolded voting rights activists and a lower court for their efforts to undermine the state's statute.

August 13, 2026

Supreme Court doesn’t act in time to stop execution of ‘vicious’ dog

A last-ditch appeal to the Supreme Court wasn't enough to stave off the euthanization of Bruce, a 3-year-old dog that a California county deemed too "vicious" after multiple biting incidents.

August 13, 2026

ICE aims to buy shock gloves for agents, deportation officers

ICE is seeking to buy electrified gloves for its agents and officers to use for "distraction and de-escalation" of situations.

August 12, 2026

Former Southern Poverty Law Center official arrested in federal fraud case

Federal authorities arrested the former chief financial officer at the Southern Poverty Law Center on Wednesday, accusing her of signing off on fraudulent bank payments that have put the storied civil rights organization in the Justice Department's crosshairs.

August 12, 2026

Feds bust massive Chinese fraud ring that arranged 1,000 bogus marriages

Federal prosecutors said Wednesday they disrupted one of the biggest marriage fraud rings in U.S. history that orchestrated more than a thousand bogus unions over a decade in the hopes of getting green cards.

August 12, 2026

Court orders do-over on Biden’s gas stove rule

A federal appeals court on Tuesday ordered the Energy Department to take a do-over on President Biden's attempt to regulate gas stoves, saying the government botched the rollout by using an abbreviated process that only applies to uncontroversial policies.

August 11, 2026

Appeals court revives DHS’ speedy deportation powers against Biden’s paroled migrants

A federal appeals court on Tuesday breathed new life into the Department of Homeland Security's plans to use a speedy deportation power on migrants who were paroled into the U.S., potentially giving the Trump administration a new tool to boot hundreds of thousands who were admitted by President Biden.

August 11, 2026

Immigration groups ask judge to block Trump’s new birthright citizenship order

Immigrant rights advocates rushed to a federal court Tuesday to ask the judge to shut down President Trump's latest attempt to restrict birthright citizenship, saying the Supreme Court has already settled the issue and the White House lost.

August 11, 2026

Fauci’s phone messages showed concern about pregnant women miscarrying after COVID vaccine

Dr. Anthony Fauci privately acknowledged a potential risk of miscarriage if pregnant women took a COVID vaccine in the first trimester, even as he and the rest of the federal government were urging them to get the shots, according to messages from his phone.

August 11, 2026