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CNN – US Politics

At donor retreat, Haley avoids talking about Trump and her political future

By Daniel Strauss and Kylie Atwood, CNN (CNN) — More than two months after ending her presidential bid, Nikki Haley did not directly address the topic of Donald Trump or her political future during a two-day gathering of some of her key donors in Charleston, South Carolina, this week. Instead, the former South Carolina governor and her top political aides answered questions about policy from

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House passes Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill

By Clare Foran, Gregory Wallace, Tami Luhby and Haley Talbot, CNN (CNN) — The House has passed a major federal aviation bill that aims to improve aviation safety, enhance protections for passengers and airline workers and invest in airport and air travel infrastructure nationwide. The bill renewing the Federal Aviation Administration’s authority for five years will next head to President Joe

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Menendez defense lawyer denies bribery scheme and says gold bars found at senator’s home belonged to his wife

By Holmes Lybrand, Sabrina Souza and Gregory Krieg, CNN (CNN) — Sen. Bob Menendez’s lawyer launched his defense Wednesday in a Manhattan courtroom, insisting that the New Jersey Democrat never engaged in the international bribery scheme described by federal prosecutors and asserting that there were “innocent explanations” for the tangle of alleged crimes that has

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US intelligence sees Russia step up disinformation campaign against Ukraine’s Zelensky

By Alex Marquardt, CNN (CNN) — Russia has stepped up its disinformation efforts to discredit Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky and raise questions about his legitimacy in recent months, US intelligence agencies have observed. A recently downgraded intelligence assessment shared with CNN says that Russia has seized on various recent events to fuel criticism about Zelensky’s abilities and place as Ukraine’s leader, a

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Opinion: Why Biden’s eager to debate Trump

CNN Opinion by Julian Zelizer, CNN (CNN) — President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have both accepted an invitation from CNN to debate on June 27, nearly four years since they last clashed onstage. Biden, who was first to accept the invitation Wednesday morning, posted on X: “I’ve received and accepted an invitation from @CNN for a

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Exclusive: US intelligence spotted Chinese, Iranian deepfakes in 2020 aimed at influencing US voters

By Zachary Cohen, Sean Lyngaas and Evan Perez, CNN (CNN) — Operatives working for the Chinese and Iranian governments prepared fake, AI-generated content as part of a campaign to influence US voters in the closing weeks of the 2020 election campaign, current and former US officials briefed on the intelligence told CNN. The Chinese and Iranian operatives never

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Alsobrooks wins Maryland Democratic Senate nod, defeating a record-breaking self-funder

By Simone Pathe, CNN (CNN) — Angela Alsobrooks won Maryland’s Democratic nomination for US Senate, advancing her potentially history-making candidacy to the competitive general election with implications for control of the chamber next year. The Prince George’s County executive’s victory is a stunning defeat of three-term Rep. David Trone, who loaned his campaign at least $61.77 million, breaking the

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New Mississippi law requires people at public schools to use facilities corresponding to their gender assigned at birth

By Maxime Tamsett, CNN (CNN) — A new law in Mississippi requires individuals to use restrooms and housing at public education institutions that correspond to their gender assigned at birth. Republican Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves announced in an X post Monday that he has signed the legislation. People will only be allowed to use housing or bathrooms based on their “sex ‘determined solely by a birth,’ without regard to the fluidity

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Justice Department asks federal judge to start former Trump adviser Steve Bannon’s prison sentence

By Casey Gannon and Tierney Sneed, CNN (CNN) — Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon should begin serving a four-month prison sentence now that a federal appeals court has upheld his contempt-of-Congress conviction, the Justice Department told a federal judge Tuesday. US District Judge Carl Nichols, who presided over Bannon’s trial, had paused Bannon’s sentence while

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Biden increases tariffs on $18 billion in Chinese imports in a new warning to Beijing

By Kayla Tausche, CNN Washington (CNN) — President Joe Biden is increasing tariffs on $18 billion in Chinese imports across a handful of sectors deemed strategic to national security – an attempt to cripple Beijing’s development of critical technologies and instead prioritize US production. The increases will apply to imported steel and aluminum, legacy semiconductors,

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A ‘mean-spirited’ Texas map goes before a conservative appeals court that could make it a new standard

By Tierney Sneed, CNN (CNN) — Conservative judges on the federal appeals court that oversees a large swath of the South questioned a longstanding legal mandate in the circuit that allows multiple minority groups to join together to seek representation under the Voting Rights Act. Judge Edith Jones of the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals said that

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Louisiana bill would classify abortion drugs as controlled dangerous substances

By Dianne Gallagher, Shawn Nottingham and John Bonifield, CNN (CNN) — A Louisiana bill would classify the abortion-inducing drugs misoprostol and mifeprostone as Schedule IV controlled dangerous substances in the state, placing them in the same category as highly regulated drugs such as narcotics and depressants. The amendment that would classify the drugs as Schedule IV substances

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South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem banned from visiting land of two additional Tribes

By Meron Moges-Gerbi and Daniel Strauss, CNN (CNN) — Two more Indigenous Tribes have banned Gov. Kristi Noem from entering their Tribal land adjacent to South Dakota, marking the latest escalation in an ongoing clash between Noem and Tribal leaders over the governor’s previous remarks about Native communities. The Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate Tribe voted to bar Noem from their land on Wednesday, and two days

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Harris reflects on breaking down barriers: Sometimes ‘you need to kick that f***ing door down’ to accomplish your dreams

By Donald Judd and Michael Williams, CNN Washington (CNN) — Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday reflected on her experiences as a barrier-breaking public figure, telling a crowd in blunt terms that sometimes they need to take it upon themselves strive for their own opportunities and successes – even if others may doubt them. “We

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Voters suing over Louisiana’s proposed congressional districts call map ‘morally repugnant’

By John Fritze, CNN (CNN) — A group of mostly White voters that is challenging Louisiana’s proposed congressional districts called the map “morally repugnant” in a filing with the Supreme Court on Monday. The high court is considering an emergency appeal over a map drawn by state lawmakers that includes a second majority-Black district in

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Here are all the bad things witnesses have said about Michael Cohen, Trump’s former fixer who is set to testify Monday

By Jeremy Herb, Kara Scannell and Lauren del Valle, CNN (CNN) — Nobody has anything nice to say about Michael Cohen. Donald Trump’s former fixer and lawyer is expected to take the stand Monday as the key witness in the Manhattan district attorney’s case against the former president, prepared to give testimony connecting to Trump the $130,000

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Sen. Bob Menendez declines to say whether he’ll resign should forthcoming trial result in conviction

By Morgan Rimmer and Michelle Shen, CNN (CNN) — Sen. Bob Menendez declined to say whether he’ll resign should his forthcoming federal corruption trial result in a conviction. The New Jersey Democrat told CNN’s Manu Raju on Capitol Hill last week, “I am looking forward to proving my innocence,” when asked repeatedly whether he would resign

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Paul Manafort backs away from supporting role with Republican National Convention following media scrutiny

By Alayna Treene, CNN (CNN) — Paul Manafort, former President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign chairman whom he later pardoned, is backing away from a role with the Republican National Convention following media scrutiny and questions over his involvement in the planning process, according to two sources familiar with the matter. Manafort had been in discussions with Trump’s team to help with the convention

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Biden calls Trump ‘unhinged’ and says ‘something snapped’ in former president after he lost 2020 election

By Samantha Waldenberg, CNN (CNN) — President Joe Biden on Saturday called Donald Trump “clearly unhinged” and claimed that “something snapped” in the former president after he lost the 2020 election. “It’s clear that … when he lost in 2020, something snapped in him,” Biden told supporters in Seattle at a private fundraiser Saturday, according

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New York Times: Trump could owe more than $100 million in taxes as a result of IRS inquiry

By Eric Bradner, CNN (CNN) — Former President Donald Trump could owe more than $100 million in taxes as a result of a yearslong Internal Revenue Service inquiry into claims of huge losses on his Chicago skyscraper, The New York Times and ProPublica reported Saturday. The news organizations reported Trump claimed massive financial losses twice — first

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In Maryland’s Democratic Senate primary, a high-stakes clash between a history-making pick and a candidate with deep pockets

By Simone Pathe, CNN Silver Spring, Maryland (CNN) — The farmers market in this suburb of Washington, DC, was a ripe crowd for Angela Alsobrooks, who’s locked in an increasingly contentious Senate Democratic primary on Tuesday. “I would really like to see a Black woman in the Senate. It’s about time,” 68-year-old Kathy Pruitt of

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Trump has spent most of his court-free days without public campaign events

By Daniel Dale and Kristen Holmes, CNN Washington (CNN) — Former President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed that his criminal trial in Manhattan has prevented him from campaigning in key swing states. “I should be right now in Pennsylvania, in Florida, in many other states, North Carolina, Georgia – campaigning,” Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential

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Biden administration moves to terminate agreement governing conditions for migrant children in US custody

By Priscilla Alvarez, CNN (CNN) — The Biden administration moved Friday to terminate a decades-old agreement that governs conditions for migrant children in government custody, according to a court filing, which argues that the settlement was meant to be temporary. The 1997 Flores settlement, as the agreement is known, requires the government to release children from government custody

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Justice Clarence Thomas decries Washington as ‘hideous’ and pushes back on ‘nastiness’ of critics

By John Fritze, CNN (CNN) — Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas repeatedly pushed back on his critics during remarks Friday at a judicial conference in Alabama, lamenting what he described as the “nastiness” and “lies” directed at him and calling Washington a “hideous place.” Asked whether his jurisprudence required a degree of courage, Thomas said he

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US announces $400 million military aid package for Ukraine

CNN By Haley Britzky, CNN (CNN) — The US announced on Friday a new $400 million military aid package to Ukraine. The package includes weapons Ukraine has been asking for, including Patriot missile system munitions, High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMAR) systems and ammunition, Stinger anti-air missiles, 155mm artillery rounds, Bradley Fighting Vehicles, and Mine

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Brett Kavanaugh speaks about presidential power, his Taylor Swift fandom and an expensive trip to see Caitlin Clark

By Joan Biskupic, CNN Senior Supreme Court Analyst (CNN) — Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh told an Austin judicial conference on Friday that his experience in the George W. Bush administration has made him more skeptical of presidential assertions of regulatory power. His comments on the issue (he also discussed Taylor Swift and Caitlin Clark) were

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Biden admin says it’s ‘reasonable to assess’ Israel used American weapons in ways ‘inconsistent’ with international law

By Jennifer Hansler and Kylie Atwood, CNN (CNN) — The Biden administration said Friday that it is “reasonable to assess” that US weapons have been used by Israeli forces in Gaza in ways that are “inconsistent” with international humanitarian law but stopped short of officially saying Israel violated the law. The report which was drafted by the State

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Biden signs one-week FAA extension via autopen

By Arlette Saenz and Clare Foran, CNN Washington (CNN) — President Joe Biden on Friday signed a one-week extension for federal aviation programs ahead of a key deadline after the Senate passed the measure Thursday night, the White House announced. The president, who is currently traveling in San Francisco, signed the Federal Aviation Administration funding

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Biden administration set to revamp Trump’s tariff program after multi-year review, sources say

By Kayla Tausche, CNN Washington (CNN) — The Biden administration is set to unveil a sweeping restructuring of former President Donald Trump’s trademark tariffs on Chinese imports, according to sources familiar with the matter. The announcement, expected as early as next week, would see tariffs dialed up significantly in some industries seen as strategic to

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Louisiana urges Supreme Court to quickly resolve congressional map fight in emergency request

By John Fritze, CNN (CNN) — Louisiana officials asked the Supreme Court on Friday to intervene in the ongoing legal fight over the state’s congressional districts, urging the high court to quickly resolve a dispute that has essentially left the state without a viable map for this year’s election. The emergency appeal came days after civil rights

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Appeals court upholds Steve Bannon’s contempt-of-Congress conviction for defying Jan. 6 subpoena

By Tierney Sneed and Holmes Lybrand, CNN (CNN) — A federal appeals court on Friday upheld the contempt-of-Congress conviction of Steve Bannon, the ex-adviser to former President Donald Trump who was found guilty after failing to comply with a subpoena from the House January 6 committee. Bannon’s conviction — and now, the DC Circuit’s affirmation

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Two former associates of Rep. Henry Cuellar agree to plea deal related to bribery case

By Hannah Rabinowitz, CNN (CNN) — Rep. Henry Cuellar’s former campaign manager and another political operative have agreed to plead guilty to federal crimes and are cooperating with the Justice Department’s prosecution of the Texas Democrat, according to court documents unsealed Wednesday. Mina Colin Strother, Cuellar’s former campaign manager and former chief of staff, and Florencio “Lencho” Rendon, a political consultant and businessman from

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FBI watching if US support for Ukraine will spur Russian risk taking in 2024 election

By Sean Lyngaas, CNN (CNN) — US intelligence officials are watching closely to see if the United States’ support for Ukraine will lead the Russian government to take more risks in potentially interfering in the 2024 presidential election, a senior FBI official told reporters Thursday. FBI officials are concerned that the war in Ukraine – and President Joe Biden’s reliable

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