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Democrats are far more motivated than Republicans for next year’s midterms, CNN poll finds

By Jennifer Agiesta, CNN (CNN) — Democrats are far more energized than Republicans about participating in next year’s midterms, but deeply negative perceptions of the Democratic Party and its officeholders raise questions about the party’s ability to capitalize on that energy. Overall, 72% of Democrats and Democratic-aligned registered voters say they are extremely motivated to

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State Department firings will hit Trump admin’s ability to tackle its own priorities, sources say

By Jennifer Hansler, Kylie Atwood and Annie Grayer, CNN (CNN) — The mass firing of State Department employees could significantly impact the Trump administration’s ability to address the priorities it has said it values, multiple former and current department officials told CNN. Scores of personnel focused on issues the administration has said are no longer

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Trump says it’s ‘highly unlikely’ he’ll fire Powell after suggesting otherwise in meeting with lawmakers

By Kristen Holmes, Kevin Liptak, Phil Mattingly and Dana Bash, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump said Wednesday it’s “highly unlikely” that he’ll fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell after signaling otherwise a day earlier in a private meeting with lawmakers. The mixed messages come as the administration has sought to build maximum pressure on

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Democrats with 2028 ambitions are amassing cash, as are vulnerable House Republicans, FEC reports show

By Fredreka Schouten, David Wright and Alex Leeds Matthews, CNN (CNN) — The most vulnerable House Republicans on the ballot next year are building significant stores of cash as they prepare to defend the GOP’s slender majority in Congress. And years before the first presidential primary votes are cast, some potential White House contenders are

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Trump lashes out at ‘weaklings’ who believe Epstein ‘bullsh*t’ amid building GOP pressure to release documents

By Kevin Liptak and Sarah Ferris, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump is accusing some of his onetime supporters of being “weaklings” who are falling prey to Democratic “bullshit” about the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein — concluding that he no longer wants their support. The message was the clearest sign yet of the cracks

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Adelita Grijalva wins Democratic primary in Arizona to replace her father in US House, CNN projects

By CNN Staff (CNN) — Adelita Grijalva will win Tuesday’s special Democratic primary in Arizona’s 7th congressional district, CNN projects. Grijalva, a former county supervisor, is the daughter of the late Democratic Rep. Raul Grijalva, who represented the district for two decades before his death in March. She’ll be favored to win the Sept. 23

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Homeland Security agent says he was told not to inform Rümeysa Öztürk her visa was revoked when she was arrested

By Holmes Lybrand, CNN (CNN) — Federal investigators normally tasked with uncovering narcotic and financial crimes were told to prioritize the arrest of a university student with no criminal record, and not tell her that her visa was revoked, a Homeland Security Investigation agent testified Tuesday, a marked shift for the agency under President Donald

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House Speaker Johnson joins growing number of Republicans pressing Trump administration for more transparency on Epstein case

By Hannah Rabinowitz, Donald Judd, Paula Reid and Sarah Ferris, CNN (CNN) — Some of President Donald Trump’s most loyal allies in Congress aren’t satisfied by his decision to not release additional files from the Jeffrey Epstein case, and it’s threatening to deepen the MAGA divide he now faces from his base. Privately, Trump’s White

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Waltz defends use of Signal as he says he can make ‘UN great again’ if confirmed to ambassador role

By Jennifer Hansler, CNN (CNN) — Former national security adviser Mike Waltz defended his use of the messaging app Signal during a Tuesday confirmation hearing where lawmakers largely avoided the topic. The “Signalgate” scandal, in which top Trump administration officials discussed sensitive details of a US military strike in a chat to which Waltz had

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More than 75 former judges urge Senate committee to reject Trump judicial nominee Emil Bove

By Piper Hudspeth Blackburn and Jamie Gangel, CNN (CNN) — More than 75 former federal and state judges on Tuesday called on the Senate Judiciary Committee to reject the nomination of Emil Bove, President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney, to a prestigious appeals court judgeship. “Mr. Bove’s egregious record of mistreating law enforcement officers, abusing

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Trump admin asks appeals court to pause order requiring officials to stop immigration arrests without probable cause

By Devan Cole, CNN (CNN) — The Trump administration on Monday asked a federal appeals court to pause a sweeping order from a California judge that required officials to stop making immigration arrests without probable cause in the southern part of the state. The ruling issued Friday by US District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong ordered

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Seniors get a tax break in Trump’s megabill, but many will still pay taxes on Social Security benefits. Here’s the real deal

By Tami Luhby, CNN (CNN) — Senior citizens are getting a tax break in President Donald Trump’s sweeping tax and spending cuts package, but it’s not the one the president promised on the campaign trail last year. Congressional Republicans could not eliminate taxes on Social Security benefits in their megabill because it would not have

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US Institute of Peace employees experience another round of mass firings following court ruling

By Shania Shelton, CNN (CNN) — Employees at the United States Institute of Peace were terminated for a second time by the Trump administration, after a federal court ruling last month paved the way, according to multiple fired employees. Liz Callihan, a now-former employee, said Department of Government Efficiency personnel installed at USIP notified the

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DHS Secretary Noem vows to ramp up deportations with funding boost from Trump’s domestic policy law

By Kaanita Iyer, CNN (CNN) — Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Saturday vowed her department will strengthen its efforts to crack down on immigration, thanks to a funding boost from President Donald Trump’s domestic policy bill, which he signed into law last week. “Now that the president’s reconciliation bill, the ‘big, beautiful bill,’ has

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Trump says he’s considering revoking Rosie O’Donnell’s citizenship, reigniting decades-long feud

By Donald Judd, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump reignited a decades-long feud with comedian Rosie O’Donnell Saturday, taking to his Truth Social platform to write he was considering revoking her citizenship. “Because of the fact that Rosie O’Donnell is not in the best interests of our Great Country, I am giving serious consideration to

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Columbia University on the cusp of a deal with Trump administration, paying millions to unlock federal funding

By Betsy Klein, CNN (CNN) — Columbia University is on the verge of striking an agreement with the Trump administration following months of negotiation to restore federal funding to the school, according to two sources familiar with the deal. Columbia is expected to pay a multimillion-dollar settlement to victims of alleged civil rights violations, implement changes

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Judge orders Trump administration to stop immigration arrests without probable cause in Southern California

By Kaanita Iyer, CNN (CNN) — A federal judge on Friday found that the Department of Homeland Security has been making stops and arrests in Los Angeles immigration raids without probable cause and ordered the department to stop detaining individuals based solely on race, spoken language or occupation. US District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong, an

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Deputy FBI Director Bongino has told people he is considering resigning amid Epstein files fallout, sources say

By Kristen Holmes, Kaitlan Collins, Hannah Rabinowitz and Evan Perez, CNN (CNN) — Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino has told people he is considering resigning amid a major clash between the FBI and Justice Department over the continued fallout from the release of the Jeffrey Epstein memo, sources familiar with the matter told CNN. This

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Court rules former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had authority to throw out plea deals for 9/11 alleged conspirators

By Haley Britzky, CNN (CNN) — A federal appeals court determined that former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin “indisputably” had the authority to cancel plea agreements made last year with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two other defendants accused of plotting the 9/11 terror attack. The decision overturns a ruling by a military judge last year that

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Pence says isolationists losing sway with Trump as he praises moves on Ukraine, Iran

By Eric Bradner, CNN (CNN) — Former Vice President Mike Pence says he thinks isolationists “may have lost some of their footing” in President Donald Trump’s administration, as he praised Trump’s tougher talk toward Russia’s Vladimir Putin and his decision to bomb Iranian nuclear facilities. Pence, since his split with Trump after the 2020 election,

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Documents back up DOJ whistleblower’s claim that top official intended to ignore court orders, top Judiciary Democrat says

By Katelyn Polantz and Annie Grayer, CNN (CNN) — The top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee has obtained documentation backing up a former federal prosecutor’s claim that Emil Bove – a top Justice Department official – crudely told others in the department to ignore court orders before a controversial immigration enforcement situation in March.

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Student loan servicer pauses payment counts tracking in a move experts say could cause confusion

By Shania Shelton, CNN (CNN) — Students logging into their student loan servicer accounts may not be able to see their progress in loan forgiveness payments after the Department of Education stalled payment counts. One of the largest student loan servicers began notifying borrowers that it is temporarily removing the ability to track loan forgiveness

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Federal judge issues new nationwide block against Trump’s order seeking to end birthright citizenship

By Devan Cole and John Fritze, CNN Concord, New Hampshire (CNN) — A federal judge agreed Thursday to issue a new nationwide block against President Donald Trump’s executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship. The ruling from US District Judge Joseph Laplante is significant because the Supreme Court last month curbed the power of lower

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Trump names Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy as interim head of NASA

By Samantha Waldenberg and Kristen Holmes, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he is directing Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to be the interim NASA administrator. “Sean is doing a TREMENDOUS job in handling our Country’s Transportation Affairs, including creating a state-of-the-art Air Traffic Control systems, while at the same time rebuilding our

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Rubio relayed Trump’s ‘disappointment and frustration’ during meeting with Russia’s Lavrov

By Kylie Atwood and Jennifer Hansler, CNN (CNN) — Secretary of State Marco Rubio relayed President Donald Trump’s “disappointment and frustration” during a “frank conversation” with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Malaysia on Thursday but new ideas to drive an end to the conflict were also discussed, the top US diplomat told reporters. The

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What to know about the Jeffrey Epstein saga

By Hannah Rabinowitz, CNN (CNN) — Since Donald Trump returned to the White House, his Justice Department has promised, reneged, and then promised again to deliver new and potentially explosive evidence on the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged underworld of pedophilia. The flip-flopped strategy has his allies and his detractors desperate for new

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Biden’s physician refuses to answer questions from Republicans in House probe of former president’s mental fitness

By Annie Grayer, CNN (CNN) — Joe Biden’s White House physician on Wednesday declined to answer questions during a closed-door deposition with the House Oversight Committee, invoking his Fifth Amendment right as the Republican-led panel pushes forward in its probe of the former president’s mental fitness and decline. While Dr. Kevin O’Connor appeared on Capitol

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Pro-Israel website was used to find names of student protesters to investigate, senior ICE official says

By Holmes Lybrand, CNN (CNN) — “Most” of the names of student protesters Immigration and Customs Enforcement was asked to investigate earlier this year were plucked from a pro-Israel website that aims to blacklist pro-Palestinian students and academics, an agency official told a federal court Wednesday. The testimony from Peter Hatch, a senior official in

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Trump administration sues California over law allowing transgender students to play on sports teams of their choice

By Hannah Rabinowitz, CNN (CNN) — The Trump administration filed another lawsuit Wednesday challenging state policies that allow transgender students to play on sports teams of their choice – this time against California. The lawsuit against the state board of education and the state’s governing body for school sports, alleges that a state law violates

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