Politics

By Jennifer Hansler, CNN US Secretary of State Antony Blinken publicly revealed for the first time Thursday that the United States has put forward a “serious proposal” to secure wrongfully detained Paul Whelan’s release from Russia. US officials have long stressed their commitment to bringing home Whelan, who has been detained in Russia since 2018,

By Shawna Mizelle, CNN House Republicans have introduced a bill aimed at increasing so-called parental rights in the classroom, continuing to emphasize an issue that has emerged as a central party platform. Among other things, H.R. 5, also known as the “Parents Bill of Rights Act,” would amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of

By Ted Barrett, Lauren Fox, Phil Mattingly and Clare Foran, CNN President Joe Biden surprised Democratic senators Thursday when he told them that he won’t veto GOP-led legislation to rescind a controversial Washington, DC, crime law, a move that comes as Democrats are divided over the contentious issue and Republicans are aggressively accusing them of

By Tierney Sneed, CNN The Justice Department on Thursday urged an appeals court to reject sweeping claims of presidential immunity put forward by former President Donald Trump in the civil litigation surrounding the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the US Capitol. The department told the appeals court — which is considering several private lawsuits brought

By Michelle Watson, Karl de Vries and Hannah Rabinowitz, CNN A Michigan man allegedly threatened on social media to kill Jewish members of the Michigan government, the FBI said, and state Attorney General Dana Nessel says she was among those targeted. The incident adds to recent concerns about threats against public officials as well as

By Daniel Dale, CNN A viral video of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky takes his remarks out of context to wrongly make it sound like he demanded that Americans send their sons and daughters to fight in the war in Ukraine. The out-of-context 19-second video has been viewed millions of times on Twitter. It features a

By Jennifer Hansler and Kylie Atwood, CNN US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Thursday for the first time since the war in Ukraine began more than a year ago. The brief contact on the sidelines of the G20 Foreign Ministers meeting in New Delhi marks a significant

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

By Shawna Mizelle and Dave Alsup, CNN Republican Gov. Bill Lee signed a bill into law Thursday afternoon that will restrict public drag show performances in Tennessee, making his state the first to do so this year. The state Senate passed the bill earlier Thursday along party lines to limit “adult cabaret performances” on public

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

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

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

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

By Zachary Cohen, Oren Liebermann and Natasha Bertrand, CNN Two US Air Force commanders and four of their subordinates at a key nuclear base in North Dakota were relieved of duty this week after their units failed an inspection designed to ensure that the nuclear weapons stockpile is safe and secure at all times, two

By Kylie Atwood and Jennifer Hansler, CNN The US intelligence community cannot link any cases of the mysterious ailment known as “Havana Syndrome” to a foreign adversary, ruling it unlikely that the unexplained illness was the result of a targeted campaign by an enemy of the US, according to a US intelligence assessment published on

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

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

By Betsy Klein and Manu Raju, CNN A bipartisan group of senators is introducing a new bill aimed at shoring up rail safety in the aftermath of the toxic Norfolk Southern train derailment disaster in East Palestine, Ohio. The introduction of the legislation on Wednesday comes ahead of a critical hearing set for next week

By Priscilla Alvarez, CNN Facing a surge of migrants at the US-Mexico border and on the heels of a crisis, White House and Department of Homeland Security officials began discussing more restrictive policies that would keep migrants from coming to the US. It was the summer of 2021, just months after a surge of unaccompanied

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

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,

By Joan Biskupic, CNN Senior Supreme Court Analyst Chief Justice John Roberts pounded away on the price tag — “about half a trillion dollars” — for the Biden administration’s student loan forgiveness program during oral arguments Tuesday. But as he repeatedly cited the big cost, he reinforced a broader, more familiar point that could further

By Tami Luhby, CNN Putting food on the table will be a lot harder for millions of Americans starting in March. Food stamp recipients will each receive about $90 a month less in benefits, on average, as a pandemic hunger relief program comes to an end nationwide three years after Congress approved it. Every household

By Veronica Stracqualursi, CNN A federal appeals court on Tuesday dismissed a case brought by two Democratic states that sought to have the US archivist publish and certify the Equal Rights Amendment as part of the Constitution. The decision deals another blow to advocates’ legal efforts to get the amendment, which they say would ban

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

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

By Lauren Fox and Manu Raju, CNN Multiple Democrats are undecided about how they will vote on a measure that would overturn a rewriting of Washington, DC’s criminal code, which critics have argued is soft on violent criminals. The measure is expected to come up for a vote by next week and only needs a

By Manu Raju, Phil Mattingly, Kevin Liptak and Maegan Vazquez, CNN President Joe Biden will nominate Julie Su to serve as labor secretary, the White House confirmed on Tuesday, which would make her the first Asian American to serve in a secretary-level role in Biden’s Cabinet. Su, who has served as the deputy labor secretary

By Haley Britzky, CNN The head of the US government watchdog for the war in Afghanistan said Tuesday that while there are a number of things the US could learn from the nearly 20-year conflict in Afghanistan and apply to the war in Ukraine, he’s not optimistic that officials will actually do so. “I’m not

By Eric Bradner and Omar Jimenez, CNN Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, after years of battles with teachers’ and police unions, is seeking to survive the first round of voting Tuesday in her bid for a second term. Lightfoot is facing eight challengers in the race. Since no candidate is expected to top the 50% necessary

By Chandelis Duster, CNN The US Department of Agriculture’s Equity Commission on Tuesday presented more than 30 recommendations it hopes will extend opportunities to communities of color and help resolve longstanding discriminatory practices across the agency, according to a copy of the interim report first obtained by CNN. In particular, the report calls for greater

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

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

By Jack Forrest, CNN The White House has directed federal agencies that they have 30 days to remove TikTok from all government-issued devices. Shalanda Young, director of the Office of Management and Budget, wrote in guidance issued Monday that all executive agencies, and those they contract with, must delete any application from TikTok or its

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

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

By Steve Contorno and Kit Maher, CNN Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis‘ new book, “The Courage to Be Free,” leans into the culture wars that established him as one of the early Republican favorites for the GOP nomination for the presidency. While more sparse on biographical details than most political memoirs, the 256-page book offers some

By Elise Hammond, CNN Millions of Americans have student loan debt, amassing to more than $1.6 trillion by the end of last year, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. It’s the result of a decades-long explosion in borrowing coupled with soaring education costs. The Federal Reserve data shows people under the age

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

By Jennifer Hansler and Jeremy Herb, CNN US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns said Monday that China will have to “be more honest about what happened three years ago in Wuhan with the origin of the Covid-19 crisis” if the US and China are going to be able to work together. Burns added that the

By Steve Contorno and Kit Maher, CNN Appearing at the doorstep of Walt Disney World, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill Monday that gives him new power over Disney, effectively punishing the entertainment giant for speaking out against the Republican’s political agenda. The new law amounts to a state takeover of the Reedy Creek

By Joan Biskupic, CNN Senior Supreme Court Analyst The Supreme Court announced on Monday that it will hear a new case testing constraints on the power of US regulators to delve into American businesses and individual lives. The justices agreed to a Biden administration request to take up the case involving the Consumer Financial Protection

By David Wright, CNN Michigan Rep. Elissa Slotkin is entering the race to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow, with a campaign launch video on her YouTube page and a US Senate campaign website up. The announcement makes Slotkin the first Democrat to officially declare a bid in what is likely to be among the

By Elizabeth Stuart and Arlette Saenz, CNN First lady Jill Biden did not hesitate when asked if there was any chance her husband would not run for reelection in 2024. “Not in my book,” she told CNN in an interview Saturday during a five-day trip that saw her visit Namibia and Kenya. “I’m all for

By Melanie Zanona The House Democrats’ campaign arm is launching a new effort to link vulnerable New York Republicans to Rep. George Santos, with Democrats betting that the freshman congressman will be a major liability for the GOP in key swing districts next year. Beginning on Monday, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is rolling out

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

By Alayna Treene and Lauren Fox, CNN A series of House Republican committees are plotting to launch investigations into the toxic train disaster in East Palestine, Ohio, multiple committee aides told CNN. GOP lawmakers are vowing to use their oversight power to dig into what they describe as the Biden administration’s flawed response to the

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

By Dana Bash and Abbie Sharpe, CNN A cocktail party on Capitol Hill is often hardly notable. But at one recent soiree, the clinking of glasses had a different ring. Members of both parties joined together to kick off a renewed effort to solve a uniquely American problem: no universal paid family and medical leave.