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Biden administration sanctions what it says is a timeshare fraud network run by Mexican drug cartel

By Sam Fossum, CNN The Biden administration has sanctioned eight Mexican companies it says are involved in a timeshare fraud scheme benefiting the Jalisco cartel, a notorious drug organization that the US government says traffics a “significant proportion” of the illegal fentanyl and other drugs that enter the US. According to the US Treasury, who

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Dueling CPAC and Club for Growth events highlight divide within GOP ahead of 2024

By Kate Sullivan, Veronica Stracqualursi and Kristen Holmes, CNN Two dueling high-profile Republican gatherings this week — one featuring former President Donald Trump and the other Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — showcase the deepening divide within the GOP as it barrels toward its 2024 nominating process. Trump is scheduled to headline the Conservative Political Action

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‘Have not heard of him’: George Santos has a new campaign treasurer but questions persist

By Fredreka Schouten, Gregory Krieg and Kara Scannell, CNN More than a week after embattled Rep. George Santos named his new campaign treasurer, questions persist over the identity of the person who has filled that role and the campaign’s filings with federal regulators. Andrew Olson, listed as treasurer of Santos’ federal political committees on February

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White House releases ambitious cyber strategy calling for more regulation of vulnerable sectors

By Sean Lyngaas, CNN The White House on Thursday released an ambitious national cybersecurity strategy that calls for new federal regulation of vulnerable critical infrastructure firms and for software makers to be held liable when their products leave gaping holes for hackers to exploit. The strategy — shaped by major hacking incidents that threatened key

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Biden administration approves potential sale of missiles for F-16s to Taiwan

By Michael Callahan, Brad Lendon and Eric Cheung, CNN The Biden administration has approved an estimated $619 million potential arms sale to Taiwan, including hundreds of missiles for F-16 fighter jets, in a move that will likely further inflame already heightened tensions between Washington and Beijing. The administration formally notified Congress on Wednesday of the

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Biden says he’s ‘not confident of the outcome of the decision yet’ on student loans

By Phil Mattingly and Allie Malloy, CNN President Joe Biden on Wednesday raised clear concern that the Supreme Court may decide to strike down his student debt cancellation program, one day after several conservative justices expressed skepticism about the administration’s authority. “I’m confident we’re on the right side of the law,” Biden told CNN when

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Takeaways from Attorney General Merrick Garland’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

By Devan Cole, Hannah Rabinowitz and Tierney Sneed, CNN Attorney General Merrick Garland appeared before a Senate committee on Wednesday, where he faced a colorful array of questions on everything from the federal investigation into Hunter Biden to the sale of deadly drugs, Taylor Swift tickets and FBI investigations. Garland’s nearly four-hour-long hearing before the

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Senate votes to overturn Biden administration retirement investment rule Republicans decry as ‘woke’

By Ali Zaslav, Clare Foran and Ted Barrett, CNN The Senate passed a politically charged resolution on Wednesday to overturn a Biden administration retirement investment rule that allows managers of retirement funds to consider the impact of climate change and other environmental, social and governance factors when picking investments. Republicans complain the rule is “woke”

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Fact check: Marjorie Taylor Greene falsely claims Biden administration is responsible for Michigan brothers’ fentanyl deaths during Trump administration

By Daniel Dale, CNN Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia falsely claimed Tuesday that the Biden administration is responsible for the fentanyl deaths of two young men who actually died during the Trump administration — and her congressional spokesperson profanely dismissed questions about the false claim as irrelevant. Michigan mother and conservative activist Rebecca

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Fact check: Marjorie Taylor Greene falsely claims Biden administration is responsible for Michigan brothers’ fentanyl deaths during Trump administration

By Daniel Dale, CNN Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia falsely claimed Tuesday that the Biden administration is responsible for the fentanyl deaths of two young men who actually died during the Trump administration — and her congressional spokesperson profanely dismissed questions about the false claim as irrelevant. Michigan mother and conservative activist Rebecca

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US imposes sanctions on three companies and two individuals for ‘illicitly’ generating income for North Korea

By Jennifer Hansler, CNN The US Treasury Department on Wednesday imposed sanctions on three companies and two individuals for “illicitly” generating income for the North Korean government. The sanctions come after months of internationally condemned missile launches by Pyongyang — the most recent of which took place last month. North Korea’s “unlawful weapons of mass

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Takeaways from Attorney General Merrick Garland’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

By Devan Cole, Hannah Rabinowitz and Tierney Sneed, CNN Attorney General Merrick Garland appeared before a Senate committee on Wednesday, where he faced a colorful array of questions on everything from the federal investigation into Hunter Biden to the sale of deadly drugs, Taylor Swift tickets and FBI investigations. Garland’s nearly four-hour-long hearing before the

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Takeaways from the long-awaited confirmation hearing for Biden’s FAA nominee

By Maegan Vazquez and Gregory Wallace, CNN President Joe Biden’s embattled pick to lead the Federal Aviation Administration participated in his confirmation hearing before Congress on Wednesday amid a series of challenges for the agency. Phil Washington, whose nomination was first announced by Biden nearly eight months ago, appeared before the Senate Committee on Commerce,

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Biden says he’s ‘not confident of the outcome of the decision yet’ on student loans

By Phil Mattingly and Allie Malloy, CNN President Joe Biden on Wednesday raised clear concern that the Supreme Court may decide to strike down his student debt cancellation program, one day after several conservative justices expressed skepticism about the administration’s authority. “I’m confident we’re on the right side of the law,” Biden told CNN when

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San Francisco supervisors vote to allow non-profits to operate supervised drug injection sites

By Taylor Romine, CNN The San Francisco Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved legislation allowing non-profits to open and operate overdose prevention sites with private funding, Mayor London Breed announced in a news release. Ordinances require two rounds of voting: a first read and final passage. Jeff Cretan, a spokesman for the mayor’s office,

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Biden administration tells student loan forgiveness applicants it is ‘confident’ in face of Supreme Court skepticism

By Phil Mattingly, Allie Malloy and MJ Lee, CNN The Biden administration is projecting confidence about the fate of President Joe Biden’s student loan cancellation program in a message to applicants, even in the face of skepticism from conservative Supreme Court justices in Tuesday’s high-stakes oral arguments. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in an email

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Mississippi enacts ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors

By Devan Cole, CNN Transgender minors in Mississippi can no longer receive gender-affirming care in the state after its Republican governor signed a bill Tuesday that prohibits health care professionals from providing both hormone treatments and surgical procedures. Gov. Tate Reeves’ approval of HB 1125 comes as Republican-led states around the country are pushing an

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Top US Defense official says Iran could produce ‘one bomb’s worth of fissile material’ in ‘about 12 days’

By Jennifer Hansler, CNN Iran could now produce “one bomb’s worth of fissile material” in “about 12 days,” a top US Defense Department official said Tuesday. Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl offered one of the most striking US government assessments to date of Iran’s “breakout time” as efforts to try to restore

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Takeaways from the Supreme Court oral arguments in cases challenging Biden’s student debt relief plan

By Tierney Sneed and Devan Cole, CNN The Supreme Court on Tuesday heard oral arguments in two challenges to President Joe Biden’s student debt relief plan, with several conservative justices appearing skeptical of the government’s authority to discharge millions of dollars in federally held loans. If the conservatives do ultimately rule in favor of the

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Takeaways from the Supreme Court oral arguments in cases challenging Biden’s student debt relief plan

By Tierney Sneed and Devan Cole, CNN The Supreme Court on Tuesday heard oral arguments in two challenges to President Joe Biden’s student debt relief plan, with several conservative justices appearing skeptical of the government’s authority to discharge millions of dollars in federally held loans. If the conservatives do ultimately rule in favor of the

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What to watch for as the Supreme Court hears oral arguments on Biden’s student loan debt relief plan

By Ariane de Vogue, CNN Supreme Court Reporter The Supreme Court on Tuesday will take up two challenges to President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness program — an initiative aimed at providing targeted debt relief to millions of student-loan borrowers — that has so far been stalled by legal challenges. Republican-led states and conservatives challenging

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Biden administration launches new semiconductor push amid ‘very heated global competition with China’

By MJ Lee and Jeremy Diamond, CNN Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo is launching the Biden administration’s high-priority effort to out-compete China in a key sector: Semiconductor chips. And amid tensions with China marked by the dramatic downing of a spy balloon and new warnings that Beijing is considering providing lethal aid to Russia, Raimondo’s sales

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Ransomware attack on US Marshals Service affects ‘law enforcement sensitive information’

By Sean Lyngaas and Holmes Lybrand, CNN A ransomware attack on the US Marshals Service has affected a computer system containing “law enforcement sensitive information,” including personal information belonging to targets of investigations, a US Marshals Service spokesperson said Monday evening. “The affected system contains law enforcement sensitive information, including returns from legal process, administrative

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Assessment Covid-19 leaked from Chinese lab is a minority view within US intel community, sources say

By Jeremy Herb, Natasha Bertrand, Zachary Cohen and Pamela Brown, CNN The Department of Energy’s low-confidence assessment that Covid-19 most likely originated from a laboratory leak in China is still a minority view within the intelligence community, three sources familiar with the intelligence community’s findings tell CNN. While the FBI has also assessed — with

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Top US cyber official warns software firms aren’t doing enough to stop damage from hackers from China and elsewhere

By Sean Lyngaas, CNN Chinese hackers are too frequently going “unidentified and undeterred,” and software companies aren’t doing enough to secure their products from cyber-attacks that “can do real damage” to US interests through the loss of trade secrets, a top US cyber official said Monday. “The risk introduced to all of us by unsafe

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Biden administration tells student loan forgiveness applicants it is ‘confident’ in face of Supreme Court skepticism

By Phil Mattingly, Allie Malloy and MJ Lee, CNN The Biden administration is projecting confidence about the fate of President Joe Biden’s student loan cancellation program in a message to applicants, even in the face of skepticism from conservative Supreme Court justices in Tuesday’s high-stakes oral arguments. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in an email

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Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan goes before the Supreme Court Tuesday. Here’s what borrowers need to know

By Katie Lobosco, CNN Millions of student loan borrowers could see up to $20,000 of their debt canceled depending on the outcome of Tuesday’s US Supreme Court hearing on President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness program. How and when the justices rule will also determine when payments on federal student loans will resume after a

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US Energy Department assesses Covid-19 likely resulted from lab leak, furthering US intel divide over virus origin

By Jeremy Herb and Natasha Bertrand, CNN The US Department of Energy has assessed that the Covid-19 pandemic most likely came from a laboratory leak in China, according to a newly updated classified intelligence report. Two sources said that the Department of Energy assessed in the intelligence report that it had “low confidence” the Covid-19

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RNC chair says requiring loyalty pledge for participation in GOP presidential debates is a ‘no-brainer’

By Paul LeBlanc and Andrew Millman, CNN Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said Sunday that she expects 2024 GOP presidential contenders will have to sign a pledge to back the party’s ultimate nominee in order to participate in primary debates. “We haven’t put the criteria out, but I expect a pledge will be part

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Ron DeSantis wanted to send weapons to Ukraine when he was a congressman — as a presidential hopeful he questions US involvement

By Em Steck, Andrew Kaczynski and Olivia Alafriz, CNN Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis once strongly supported arming Ukraine to fight Russia, urging then-President Barack Obama to do so as a deterrent to Russian aggression in Eastern Europe — a position at odds with his statements this week questioning the United States’ involvement in the conflict.

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First on CNN: Federal teams providing flyers to East Palestine families and conducting health surveys following toxic train wreck

By Sam Fossum, CNN Federal teams are going door-to-door to check in with residents of East Palestine, Ohio, and conducting health surveys as part of the federal government’s response to the toxic train derailment that has fueled anxiety about the safety of the air and water in the town, according to a White House official.

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Biden administration moves to establish ‘guardrails’ for telehealth prescriptions

By Andrew Millman, CNN The Biden administration has proposed new rules that will require patients to have an in-person medical evaluation before being prescribed most prescription medications by their doctors, with limited exceptions, according to a statement released on Friday. Under the new rule proposals from the Drug Enforcement Agency, patients would still be able

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Rep. Scott Perry was ‘persistent’ in contacting executive branch around 2020 election, court documents reveal

By Katelyn Polantz, CNN Reporter, Crime and Justice The seized cell phone of Rep. Scott Perry contained 930 records where the Pennsylvania Republican often tried to cajole executive branch officials around the 2020 presidential election, according to newly released court papers in the fight over his cell phone data. “Rep. Perry’s communications with Executive Branch

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Pentagon’s suicide prevention committee recommends age limit and waiting period for on-base gun purchases

By Oren Liebermann and Haley Britzky, CNN A suicide prevention committee that was established by the Pentagon last year is recommending instituting a waiting period for gun purchases on bases and raising the minimum age for buying firearms in an attempt to reduce the number of suicides among service members. The Suicide Prevention and Response

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Fulton County judge who oversaw special grand jury in Trump probe says jurors are free to discuss final report

By Sara Murray and Jason Morris, CNN The judge who oversaw a special grand jury investigating efforts by former President Donald Trump and his allies to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia says he instructed jurors they were prevented from discussing deliberations but did not face restrictions in talking about the panel’s final report. “The

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McCarthy and Jeffries creating bipartisan task force to determine process to boot members off committees

By Annie Grayer, Melanie Zanona and Sydney Kashiwagi, CNN House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries are creating a bipartisan task force to determine a process to boot members off committees going forward, a source familiar told CNN. McCarthy is taking the lead in creating it and Jeffries has agreed to name

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