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Vance says Trump administration ‘screwed up’ communications around Epstein files

By Alejandra Jaramillo, CNN (CNN) — Vice President JD Vance said the Trump administration “absolutely screwed up the comms” around the Jeffrey Epstein files and should have released everything immediately, while insisting the administration was not trying to conceal information. “I say this with all candor, like we absolutely screwed up the comms of the

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​​Over 100 House Democrats vote to block billions of dollars in military aid to Israel, reflecting growing schism in party

By Annie Grayer, CNN (CNN) — More than 100 House Democrats voted to block billions of dollars in military aid to Israel — an ultimately unsuccessful effort that highlighted the growing division in their party on the issue. On Wednesday 103 Democrats voted in support of an amendment to block aid that had been proposed

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Vance: Reaction to false Michelle Obama insult at White House UFC fight was ‘totally disproportionate’

By Alejandra Jaramillo, CNN (CNN) — Vice President JD Vance said in a podcast episode that aired Wednesday that the backlash to a UFC fighter’s false and offensive remark about former first lady Michelle Obama was “totally disproportionate” to the comment itself. Speaking on “The Joe Rogan Experience” in an episode that taped Tuesday, Vance

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Exclusive: Officials asked to turn over phones at the White House as Wiles, Patel lead intensifying leak probe

By Kristen Holmes, Holmes Lybrand, Hannah Rabinowitz, CNN (CNN) — Chief of staff Susie Wiles, President Donald Trump’s closest aide, and FBI Director Kash Patel helped personally orchestrate a sprawling investigation last week at the White House aimed at determining who in the government leaked information about the security deficiencies of a Qatari-gifted airplane meant

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Former Obama White House attorney says ‘it was a mistake’ to deal with Epstein and she regrets it

By Annie Grayer, Andrew Kaczynski, Em Steck, CNN (CNN) — Former Obama White House counsel Kathy Ruemmler said she regrets interacting with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and believes now it was a mistake, according to opening remarks she delivered to House committee investigators as part of a closed-door interview. “If I knew

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Sen. Lindsey Graham during a Senate budget committee hearing on April 16.

Trump says FBI is ‘wasting their time’ if they’re pursuing conspiracy theories in Graham death investigation

CNN, CLEVELAND CLINIC By Betsy Klein, Holmes Lybrand, Manu Raju, Alison Main, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump downplayed the idea Tuesday that Sen. Lindsey Graham’s death was a result of any nefarious activity, saying the FBI is “wasting their time” if they’re pursuing conspiracy theories about the matter. According to four law enforcement sources

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Trump says FBI is ‘wasting their time’ if they’re pursuing conspiracy theories in Graham death investigation

By Betsy Klein, Holmes Lybrand, Manu Raju, Alison Main, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump downplayed the idea Tuesday that Sen. Lindsey Graham’s death was a result of any nefarious activity, saying the FBI is “wasting their time” if they’re pursuing conspiracy theories about the matter. According to four law enforcement sources who spoke with

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Justices Kagan and Barrett discuss security, emergency docket and ethics in rare appearance before Congress

By John Fritze, Devan Cole, Holmes Lybrand, CNN (CNN) — Justice Amy Coney Barrett delivered an unusually personal plea for additional security funding for the Supreme Court on Tuesday, using a pair of rare hearings before Congress to address for the first time personal threats that have been directed against her and her family. Barrett,

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Judge: Trump sought to ‘manipulate the judicial process’ with his IRS lawsuit and attempted $1.8B fund

By Tierney Sneed, Holmes Lybrand, CNN (CNN) — A federal judge on Monday said a controversial lawsuit brought by President Donald Trump against the IRS sought to “manipulate the judicial process” and that he acted in bad faith in bringing it. US District Judge Kathleen Williams is ordering sanctions for the attorneys involved in the

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Sen. Lindsey Graham stands with his sister Darline Graham Nordone after formally announcing his campaign for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination in Central

South Carolina governor selects Darline Graham Nordone, Lindsey Graham’s sister, to finish his Senate term

By Eric Bradner, Kevin Liptak, CNN (CNN) — South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster announced the appointment of Sen. Lindsey Graham’s sister, Darline Graham Nordone, to serve in the longtime Republican lawmaker’s seat after he suddenly died over the weekend. “Lindsey has always been there for me, and now I will be there for him,” Nordone

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US Senator Lindsey Graham exits after attending a weekly policy lunch on Capitol Hill on May 19.

Lindsey Graham’s death will shake the Senate, and the November election. Here’s what comes next

By Ethan Cohen, Alison Main, Lauren Fox, CNN (CNN) — The sudden death of influential Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina will have implications for legislative business in the Senate — where Republicans’ slim margin is already under stress with the absence of Sen. Mitch McConnell after he was hospitalized— and the November election.

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Iran war heats up while US weapon stocks remain depleted, risking military’s ability to fight future wars

By Davis Winkie, CNN (CNN) — Key US weapons stockpiles remain significantly depleted and will come under even more intense pressure if strikes against Iran continue at the current rate, as President Donald Trump reiterated Friday that the ceasefire in the conflict is “over.” The situation with armaments could impact the American military’s ability to

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It was supposed to be Trump’s big legislative achievement. It could be a weapon for Democrats to win in the midterms

By David Wright, Tami Luhby, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump marked the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding on July Fourth with a speech touting a roaring stock market, urging election reforms, and hailing military interventions in Venezuela and Iran. But another anniversary went conspicuously unmarked: the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill

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Trump administration subpoenas New York Times journalists who reported security concerns around new Air Force One

By Karina Tsui, Brian Stelter, Kaitlan Collins, Kevin Liptak, CNN (CNN) — Four New York Times journalists who reported on security concerns surrounding a Qatari-gifted jet serving as the new Air Force One have been subpoenaed by the Justice Department, the news outlet reported early Saturday. The journalists –– Julian E. Barnes, Eric Lipton, Tyler

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Israel shared intel on Iranian hardliners’ desire to target Trump, sources say, as Netanyahu looks to influence course of war

By Zachary Cohen, Tal Shalev, CNN (CNN) — The Israeli intelligence shared with the Trump administration of Iranian threats to assassinate President Donald Trump reflected a desire among elements of Tehran’s hardline leadership to target the American leader, according to an Israeli source and a US official, rather than a specific, detailed plan to carry

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Republican gubernatorial candidate Victor Marx answers questions from reporters at Spruce Mountain Ranch in Larkspur

Victor Marx, a self-described ‘high-risk humanitarian,’ will win GOP nomination for Colorado governor, CNN projects

By David Wright, Kaanita Iyer, CNN (CNN) — Marine veteran Victor Marx, whose wild claims – including saying he was forced to kill a man at age 7 – have drawn widespread attention and significant skepticism, will win the Republican nomination for governor in Colorado, CNN’s Decision Desk projects. Marx, a ministry leader and martial

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New Mexico attorney general says DOJ is withholding ‘critical’ information related to Epstein’s Zorro Ranch

By Kaanita Iyer, CNN (CNN) — New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez is accusing the US Justice Department of withholding access to unredacted files related to late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, arguing that the lack of cooperation is preventing the state from bringing justice to survivors. “Every day that the USDOJ withholds these records,

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Security concerns prompted Trump to depart Turkey on older plane while sending Qatari-donated jet ahead, officials say

By Kristen Holmes, Kevin Liptak, Holmes Lybrand, Alayna Treene, Betsy Klein, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump’s decision to depart Turkey on an older plane while sending his new, Qatari-gifted jet ahead to England was driven at least in part by security concerns around the escalating conflict in Iran, according to four US officials. Two

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Three more people charged with damaging Reflecting Pool after Trump’s multimillion-dollar restoration

By Aleena Fayaz, CNN (CNN) — Three more people have been criminally charged with destruction of property at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. Officers say they detained Cameron Thiers, Sophie Dennison-Gibby and Justin Carreno one Saturday afternoon in June and described in court documents witnessing them peeling and removing pieces of blue paint from the

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Reflecting Pool being drained – again – as Trump administration tries once more to fix landmark

By Sunlen Serfaty, CNN (CNN) — Crews began draining the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on Sunday, according to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, for the second time in three months. In an interview released Tuesday with Katie Miller, a conservative podcaster and wife of President Trump’s deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, Burgum said they started

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Trump admin shared confidential information on Iranian asylum seekers as it worked to deport them, lawsuit alleges

By Jennifer Hansler, CNN (CNN) — A newly filed lawsuit alleges that the Trump administration shared confidential information with Tehran about Iranian asylum seekers as it worked to deport them from the United States, putting them at risk of “persecution, torture, and death following their arrival in Iran.” According to the lawsuit, filed Tuesday in

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Georgia general election 2020 ballots are loaded by the FBI onto trucks at the Fulton County Election HUB

Justice Department warns state election officials of criminal charges as administration’s probe faces loss

By Tierney Sneed, Katelyn Polantz, Hannah Rabinowitz, Jason Morris, CNN (CNN) — A federal judge blocked a grand jury subpoena for information about 2020 election workers in Georgia, a rebuff to the Justice Department’s investigation into how the election was handled in the Atlanta area. The loss for the Justice Department comes as it has

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CNN's Dana Bash interviews Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday.

Exclusive: Netanyahu tells CNN he opposes US sale of F-35 jets to Turkey as he downplays divisions with Trump

CNN By Adam Cancryn, Tal Shalev, Oren Liebermann, CNN (CNN) — Just hours after President Donald Trump said he’s considering selling F-35 stealth fighter jets to Turkey, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke against the potential move, even as he downplayed divisions between the two world leaders. In an interview with CNN, Netanyahu warned that

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Abdul El-Sayed

‘We do need to defund the police’: 2020 interviews undermine Abdul El-Sayed’s claim he never advocated for unpopular movement

By Andrew Kaczynski, Em Steck, CNN (CNN) — Michigan Democratic Senate front-runner Abdul El-Sayed has faced criticism for previous comments he made about defunding the police. In recent interviews, El-Sayed has insisted he “never, never called for defunding” the police. Last week in an interview with CNN’s Kasie Hunt, he said he deleted old tweets

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CNN's Dana Bash interviews Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday.

Exclusive: Netanyahu tells CNN he opposes US sale of F-35 jets to Turkey as he downplays divisions with Trump

By Adam Cancryn, Tal Shalev, Oren Liebermann, CNN (CNN) — Just hours after President Donald Trump said he’s considering selling F-35 stealth fighter jets to Turkey, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke against the potential move, even as he downplayed divisions between the two world leaders. In an interview with CNN, Netanyahu warned that the

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ICE officers warned a New York man after he sent a critical email to the agency’s chief. Now he’s suing

By Michael Williams, CNN (CNN) — Two days after Alex Pretti was shot and killed by federal officers during the January immigration enforcement surge in Minneapolis, David Streever was distraught. So he fired off a three-paragraph emailed rebuke to one of the officials overseeing that operation. Five months later, that email earned Streever a knock

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