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Epstein survivors push Comer to investigate potential leads from DOJ’s files in private meeting

By Jake Tapper, Annie Grayer, CNN (CNN) — In a private meeting last week, a group of survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse and family members of the late Virginia Giuffre pointed House Oversight Chair James Comer to allegations from the Justice Department’s Epstein files to further investigate, arguing that acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s suggestion

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Dana White called a UFC fighter’s Michelle Obama insult ‘nonsense.’ The White House isn’t commenting on it

By Kit Maher, Jake Tapper, Alejandra Jaramillo, CNN (CNN) — Less than 24 hours after a UFC fighter used a highly publicized White House match to lob a false insult at former first lady Michelle Obama, Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO and President Dana White called it “nasty and false,” dismissing it as “nonsense.” The White

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President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron shake hands during a joint press conference in Biarritz

‘An awkward family gathering’: Trump and G7 leaders convene in France amid geopolitical divergences

By Kevin Liptak, Alayna Treene, CNN Geneva, Switzerland (CNN) — For weeks, President Donald Trump and his advisers have looked ahead warily to this week’s Group of Seven summit in France. Overseeing a Middle East war stuck in a dangerous limbo between ceasefire and full-blown conflict, Trump risked arriving to the lakeside resort of Évian-les-Bains

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Sen. Mitch McConnell

McConnell hospitalized and ‘receiving excellent care,’ spokesperson says

By Manu Raju, Michael Williams, CNN (CNN) — Sen. Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, was admitted to the hospital Sunday morning, according to his spokesperson. “Senator McConnell was admitted to the hospital this morning. He is receiving excellent care,” spokesperson David Popp said. The statement did not address the cause of McConnell’s hospitalization or his

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Melinda French Gates has ‘visceral reaction’ recalling ‘abhorrent’ Epstein in new interview

By Annie Grayer, CNN (CNN) — Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates are again reckoning with the Microsoft co-founder’s past ties to Jeffrey Epstein, with Gates testifying this week to Congress about their past interactions and his ex-wife newly opening up about her “visceral reaction” to the late convicted sex offender. In an interview with

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Exclusive: Iran sealed uranium cache and placed mines amid fears of US operation to seize material

By Katie Bo Lillis, Davis Winkie, Zachary Cohen, Natasha Bertrand, CNN (CNN) — In recent weeks, Iran has dramatically escalated efforts to seal off its cache of near bomb-grade uranium, deliberately collapsing tunnels and booby-trapping entrances with explosive mines, according to five sources familiar with US intelligence. Getting to the roughly half-a-ton of highly-enriched uranium

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U.S. President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington

Judge says she doesn’t believe ‘anti-weaponization’ fund is dead; extends order blocking it

By Katelyn Polantz, Devan Cole, CNN (CNN) — A federal judge on Friday said she doesn’t believe President Donald Trump’s plan for a $1.776 billion “anti-weaponization fund” is fully dead, and issued an order indefinitely blocking the proposal. Judge Leonie Brinkema in the Eastern District of Virginia said she has decided to block the fund

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First lady Melania Trump is seen during an event at the US Treasury Department on June 11

The president’s Trump Accounts didn’t initially plan for foster kids — until the first lady’s office stepped in

By Betsy Klein, CNN (CNN) — After President Donald Trump unveiled his signature Trump Accounts earlier this year, child welfare advocates realized it would be challenging, if not impossible, for one eligible group of children to access the IRA-style savings accounts. The accounts must be opened by an “authorized individual,” who is most typically a

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Democrats ask Goldman Sachs CEO why he’s keeping lawyer who said she’d resign over ties to Epstein

By Andrew Kaczynski, Em Steck, CNN (CNN) — Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon is facing new scrutiny from congressional Democrats over his reported effort to retain the bank’s top lawyer months after she said she would resign over revelations about her ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. In a letter sent Wednesday, Sen. Elizabeth

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Preparations continue for the Ultimate Fighting Championship Freedom 250 event on the White House South Lawn on June 9 in Washington

Inside the ‘highly complex’ preparations for Trump’s UFC fight: $60M for staging, 494 port-a-potties and other logistics

CNN By Betsy Klein, CNN (CNN) — Building a televised sporting event accommodating more than 100,000 people without any existing arena infrastructure is a massive production. Doing so at the White House adds significant logistical complications. Court documents submitted by the Trump administration on Wednesday show the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) events scheduled this week

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At least six states are bowing out of Trump’s ‘Great American State Fair’

By Piper Hudspeth Blackburn, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump has billed the “Great American State Fair” as a patriotic World’s Fair featuring pavilions created by every US state and territory – but several US states will not participate. Officials from Oregon, Washington, Massachusetts, Illinois, North Carolina and Connecticut told CNN they declined an invitation

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FBI seizes over a dozen websites it says were used by Chinese agents to recruit US officials

By Holmes Lybrand, CNN (CNN) — Federal authorities have seized over a dozen websites they say were used by suspected Chinese agents to recruit former and current American officials with security clearances. According to the FBI’s affidavit for the seizures, several unnamed people used the websites as a front for fake “consulting companies to recruit

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Inside the ‘highly complex’ preparations for Trump’s UFC fight: $60M for staging, 494 port-a-potties and other logistics

By Betsy Klein, CNN (CNN) — Building a televised sporting event accommodating more than 100,000 people without any existing arena infrastructure is a massive production. Doing so at the White House adds significant logistical complications. Court documents submitted by the Trump administration on Wednesday show the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) events scheduled this week and

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Bill Gates tells Congress Jeffrey Epstein tried to use information about his infidelities to get close to him

By Annie Grayer, MJ Lee, Andrew Kaczynski, CNN (CNN) — Billionaire Bill Gates told members of the House Oversight Committee that he had no knowledge of Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes and that Epstein attempted to use information about his personal life — including that he had been unfaithful in his marriage — to pressure him, according

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Vice President JD Vance suggested last summer that former Fox News host Tucker Carlson should interview Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell to clear the president’s name

Vance suggested Tucker Carlson interview Ghislaine Maxwell amid Epstein fallout, new book reveals

By Kaanita Iyer, CNN (CNN) — Vice President JD Vance suggested last summer that former Fox News host Tucker Carlson should interview Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell to clear the president’s name, a new book reveals. The suggestion from the vice president came during a Situation Room meeting of top administration officials on July 17,

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Postal Service won’t deliver mail ballots for states that don’t hand over voter lists, under plan for Trump directive

By Tierney Sneed, Jeremy Herb, Gabe Cohen, CNN (CNN) — State election officials could soon face a stark choice: Hand over voter lists to the Trump administration or risk losing Postal Service delivery for mail-in ballots. That dilemma stems from newly proposed USPS rules that seek to comply with an executive order President Donald Trump

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Graham Platner tears into Republicans after clinching Susan Collins matchup in Maine, and other primary night takeaways

By Eric Bradner, CNN (CNN) — Graham Platner was all but certain to win Maine’s Democratic Senate primary on Tuesday. But the swirl of controversies over Platner’s past personal behavior had raised a slew of questions about the outcome: Would there be a significant number of protest votes lodged for Gov. Janet Mills, whose name

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Trump indicates to Speaker Johnson he won’t back down on Pulte despite fight over key surveillance authority

By Kristen Holmes, Sarah Ferris, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump indicated to House Speaker Mike Johnson during a meeting Tuesday that he wouldn’t back down on his decision to elevate Bill Pulte to acting director of national intelligence, despite threats from Democrats to let a key surveillance power lapse over the appointment, two sources

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Republican Steve Hilton will face Democrat Xavier Becerra in California governor’s race, CNN projects

By Kaanita Iyer, Arit John, CNN (CNN) — Republican Steve Hilton will advance to the November election in California’s gubernatorial race, CNN’s Decision Desk projects. Hilton, a former Fox News host who has President Donald Trump’s endorsement, will face former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, a Democrat. Hilton and Becerra were among a

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Grand juror called DOJ’s controversial Chicago protest indictment ‘a crock’ before it was approved, transcript shows

By Katelyn Polantz, CNN (CNN) — Some grand jurors in Chicago told the Justice Department in October they were skeptical of a proposed indictment of six Democratic politicians and activists who had protested outside a federal immigration detention center outside Chicago, according to newly released transcripts of the October grand jury sessions. “Do you have

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Southern Poverty Law Center chair put on defensive during heated congressional hearing: ‘We don’t fund hate groups’

By Holmes Lybrand, CNN (CNN) — The Southern Poverty Law Center’s interim president and CEO faced tough questions from Republican lawmakers during a hearing Tuesday over the organization’s former program of running informants in racist groups. The hearing comes as the group faces criminal charges over the program, including allegations that it misused donor money

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Summer Brondstetter

These teens are vying to win Trump’s civics contest. Some have mixed feelings about patriotism and the president

By Piper Hudspeth Blackburn, Sunlen Serfaty, CNN (CNN) — Earlier this year, Ishant Jawali, a 16-year-old from Raleigh, North Carolina, was scrolling on Instagram when he stumbled upon a little-known way to win money for college: The Trump administration was putting on a national civics contest for America’s 250th birthday. He signed up, becoming one

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A first test for Platner and other key races to watch in Tuesday’s primaries in Maine and beyond

By Terence Burlij, Eric Bradner, CNN (CNN) — Primaries in four states on Tuesday will offer clues about how much tolerance voters have for candidates embroiled in controversies, while testing President Donald Trump’s sway in a crowded Republican primary and setting up a key race for governor in one of the country’s premier presidential battleground

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Vance recommends DOJ criminal investigation into Tim Walz and Minnesota AG over state’s fraud scandal

By Kit Maher, CNN (CNN) — Vice President JD Vance, who leads the White House anti-fraud task force, has referred allegations of complicity surrounding fraud in Minnesota, including against Democratic Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison, to the Department of Justice for criminal investigation. The criminal referral stems from a House Oversight Committee

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This 2014 photo shows a person from Nicaragua receiving assistance in applying for United States citizenship in Miami.

Justice Department moves to strip citizenship from 17 people in unprecedented denaturalization push

By Priscilla Alvarez, CNN (CNN) — The Justice Department announced Monday that it will move to revoke citizenship from 17 people nationwide, marking the latest move in the Trump administration’s unprecedented push to target naturalized citizens. Since President Donald Trump returned to office, his administration has doubled down on its denaturalization campaign, targeting foreign-born American

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Assistant US Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli attends a news conference to discuss fraud prevention on January 9

DOJ debunks social media claim of discrepancy in LA mayor vote count while Trump sows doubt in California’s elections

By Kaanita Iyer, CNN (CNN) — A Los Angeles-based Justice Department official late Friday debunked a baseless claim of a discrepancy in the vote count of the city’s mayoral race that has circulated on social media. The claim, which has been pushed by several right-wing figures on X, including billionaire Elon Musk, alleges a vote-count

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Trump’s proposed 250-foot ‘triumphal arch’ likely poses no risk to aviation, FAA says

By Aleena Fayaz, CNN (CNN) — The Federal Aviation Administration on Friday said President Donald Trump’s proposed 250-foot “triumphal arch” less than two miles from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport would likely pose no risks to air travel but recommended red obstruction lights be added. The FAA released a feasibility study concluding that the arch

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Democrat Xavier Becerra will advance to November election in California governor’s race, CNN projects

By Arit John, CNN (CNN) — Former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, a Democrat, will advance to the November election in California’s governor’s race, CNN’s Decision Desk projects. It’s not yet clear who he’ll face. Becerra’s advancement guarantees a Democrat will be in the general election after some feared that their wide field

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DOJ sends prosecutor to observe LA ballot counting amid Trump’s baseless ‘cheating’ claims

By Tierney Sneed, Ethan Cohen, CNN (CNN) — The Justice Department sent one of its attorneys to observe ballot processing in Los Angeles Friday morning, the county’s elections office told CNN, after President Donald Trump claimed earlier this week the US Attorney’s office there was investigating the vote counting. A spokesperson for the county registrar-recorder

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Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche arrives for a closed-door meeting with Republican senators who are expected to abandon a proposal for $1 billion in security money for the White House complex and President Donald Trump's ballroom after it has failed to win enough party support

Trump administration puts in writing to courts that the $1.8B ‘anti-weaponization’ fund is dead

By Devan Cole, Kaanita Iyer, CNN (CNN) — The Justice Department told two federal judges on Friday that cases challenging President Donald Trump’s “anti-weaponization fund” are moot because the administration has abandoned the program. The filings represent the first time the Trump administration has said in writing that it was no longer pursuing the fund,

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Federal judge strikes down Trump admin limits on asylum and immigration applications

By Priscilla Alvarez, CNN (CNN) — A federal judge struck down a series of Trump administration policies targeting asylum seekers and immigrants seeking benefits in a scathing court ruling Friday. Last year, the administration indefinitely suspended asylum adjudications and froze immigration applications for people who fell under the travel ban, among other measures, leaving millions

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