Politics

By Tami Luhby, CNN (CNN) — The Social Security Administration’s acting inspector general has opened a review of the agency’s call center wait times and its ability to deliver services to Americans. The investigation was requested by Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who has repeatedly voiced concerns about the agency’s performance after a Department

By David Wright, CNN (CNN) — America’s aging power grid has faced strain for years, exacerbated by severe weather events, an explosion of data centers and the demand created by artificial intelligence. Now, electricity is emerging as a top issue on the campaign trail. Campaigns in this fall’s races for New Jersey and Virginia governors,

By Ellis Kim, CNN (CNN) — The national political furor around the Jeffrey Epstein case files has escalated in recent days, even as President Donald Trump has sought to dismiss the calls for more transparency as a “Democrat hoax.” On Capitol Hill, the effort to pry loose more records from the Justice Department’s Epstein case

By Joan Biskupic, CNN Chief Supreme Court Analyst (CNN) — As she launched her media tour to promote a new memoir on Thursday night, Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett rejected the notion that the country could be on the brink of a constitutional crisis. “I think the Constitution is alive and well,” Barrett told journalist

By Kylie Atwood, CNN (CNN) — The United States and Ecuador are in the final stages of establishing an agreement that would allow the US to send asylum seekers to the country, a senior State Department official said on Thursday. “It is not 100% finished,” the official said, adding that the so-called safe third country

By Rashard Rose, CNN (CNN) — Two Venezuelan military aircraft flew near a US Navy vessel in international waters on Thursday, in a move the US Department of Defense called “highly provocative.” “Today, two Maduro regime military aircraft flew near a U.S. Navy vessel in international waters. This highly provocative move was designed to interfere

By Arlette Saenz, CNN (CNN) — Joe Biden recently underwent Mohs surgery, a procedure used to remove skin cancer lesions, a spokesperson for Biden said Thursday, just a few months after the former president, 82, was diagnosed with prostate cancer. The spokesperson did not detail when the surgery took place, but the news came as

By Hannah Rabinowitz, CNN Tampa, Florida (CNN) — As the federal government continues its crackdown on illegal immigration, the Justice Department announced Thursday that it would surge resources to the US-Canada border to combat an uptick in human smuggling operations in the north. The surge will include sending agents from the joint DOJ and Department

By Kaanita Iyer, CNN (CNN) — The Justice Department filed a lawsuit Thursday against Boston’s Democratic Mayor Michelle Wu over the city’s so-called sanctuary policy, which limits cooperation with federal immigration efforts. The lawsuit, which also targets the city’s police department and its commissioner, alleges that Boston’s policy is illegal because “cities cannot obstruct the

By Adam Cancryn, CNN (CNN) — Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s tumultuous tenure atop the US Health and Human Services Department is starting to wear on some prominent Republicans. But so far, President Donald Trump is not one of them. He said at a White House event Thursday that he didn’t watch the hearing, but added:

By Kristen Holmes, Gloria Pazmino, Alayna Treene, CNN (CNN) — New York City Mayor Eric Adams is putting up a fight, at least for now, denying that he is planning to exit the race for mayor to take a job in the Trump administration even as conversations are said to be continuing about possible roles

By Samantha Waldenberg, Haley Britzky, Alejandra Jaramillo, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump signed an executive order Friday to rebrand the Pentagon as the “Department of War,” telling reporters in the Oval Office it was a more “appropriate” name given the state of the world. “I think it’s a much more appropriate name, especially in

By John Fritze, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump’s administration asked the Supreme Court on Thursday to allow him to fire a member of the Federal Trade Commission in an emergency appeal that could further erode the autonomy of independent federal agencies. At the center of the latest legal battle over Trump’s ability to control

By John Fritze, CNN Memphis (CNN) — Justice Brett Kavanaugh appeared eager Thursday to squelch growing tension within the federal judiciary, praising a meeting of judges for their work on the “front lines of American justice” and defending the high court’s opaque emergency decisions as a product of compromise. “Keep doing what you’re doing,” Kavanaugh

By Fredreka Schouten, CNN (CNN) — The Republican-controlled Missouri legislature began redrawing its congressional map Thursday to target one Democratic-held seat in the US House, responding to demands by President Donald Trump and his allies to help the GOP eke out more seats in next year’s midterm elections. Lawmakers in the Missouri House are holding

By Alayna Treene, Joseph Ataman, CNN (CNN) — US President Donald Trump told a meeting of world leaders Thursday that Europe must stop purchasing Russian oil and put economic pressure on China to try to bring about an end to the war in Ukraine, a White House official told CNN, as the administration seemed to

By Betsy Klein, CNN (CNN) — First lady Melania Trump made rare public remarks on Thursday, calling on private and public sector leaders to prepare children for the growth of artificial intelligence, at a Thursday event at the White House. “The robots are here. Our future is no longer science fiction,” Trump said as she

By Evan Perez, Hannah Rabinowitz, CNN (CNN) — In the wake of the Minneapolis Catholic church shooting, senior Justice Department officials are weighing proposals to limit transgender people’s right to possess firearms, according to two officials familiar with the internal discussions. The talks, described as preliminary in nature, appear to build on an idea that

By Jennifer Hansler, Kylie Atwood, CNN (CNN) — The US State Department is designating two Ecuadorian criminal groups as foreign terrorist organizations, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced in the country’s capital, Quito, on Thursday, where he made the case that it could now carry out lethal operations against those gangs with the help of

By Katelyn Polantz, CNN (CNN) — The FBI’s search of former Donald Trump national security adviser John Bolton’s home last month was part of a criminal investigation into the unauthorized removal and retention of classified records and the improper gathering, transmitting or losing of national defense information, according to paperwork the Justice Department made public

By Gabe Cohen, CNN (CNN) — Washington, DC, officials are suing the Trump administration, accusing the president of violating the Constitution and federal law by sending thousands of National Guard troops into the city without consent from local leaders. The lawsuit, filed Thursday by DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb, claims the troops – many from

By Molly Reinmann, Annette Choi, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump’s administration has taken aim at a series of elite colleges and universities during his second term, marking a key effort to exert control over higher education — and one that has required targeted schools to respond accordingly. While the schools targeted with canceled federal

By Holmes Lybrand, CNN (CNN) — The man accused of ruthlessly killing two Israeli embassy employees in Washington, DC, earlier this year, chanting pro-Palestine slogans during his arrest, pleaded not guilty on Thursday to the nine charges against him, some of which could carry the death penalty. The federal indictment against Elias Rodriguez, who prosecutors

By Betsy Klein, CNN (CNN) — The Trump administration has said it plans to “immediately appeal” a judge’s ruling restoring more than $2 billion in federal research funding for Harvard University, signaling that the White House will aggressively continue its efforts to take on elite higher education. While a federal judge offered Harvard, the only

By Isabelle Khurshudyan, Nicky Robertson, Haley Britzky, Jeff Zeleny, CNN (CNN) — With each phone call home, the troops describe a mission unlike any other. One soldier from Tennessee told his father that from 4 p.m. to 4 a.m. every day, his only task is to walk around Chinatown. Another service member from Mississippi told

By Samantha Waldenberg, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump will host tech leaders for a dinner in the State Dining Room, after inclement weather forced him to scrap plans to hold it in the Rose Garden, a White House official said. The event would have been the first to be held in the newly renovated

By John Fritze, Elisabeth Buchwald, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday urged the Supreme Court to step into the fray over his emergency tariffs, putting the centerpiece of his economic agenda in the hands of the justices who have mostly backed his sweeping view of executive power, according to a copy of the

By Hannah Rabinowitz, Devon M. Sayers, CNN Angola, Louisiana (CNN) — The Trump administration is opening a new detention camp within a notorious state prison in Louisiana to house undocumented migrants accused of committing crimes, officials announced Wednesday. The new detention center, called “Camp 57,” will be at the country’s largest maximum-security prison, the Louisiana

By Daniel Dale, CNN (CNN) — On Monday in Washington, DC, a man was shot dead. Two women were injured in a separate shooting. People reported dozens of other crimes to the police. The next day, in both public remarks and an interview, President Donald Trump claimed that Washington now has “no crime.” He said

By Devan Cole, CNN (CNN) — A series of recent adverse court rulings have provided major impediments to some of President Donald Trump’s policies and executive actions, underscoring the federal judiciary’s increasingly lonely role in serving as a pause on the president’s effort to dramatically reshape the country. The courts have long been a key

By Gloria Pazmino, CNN (CNN) — New York City Mayor Eric Adams forcefully denied rumors that he will abandon his reelection campaign if the Trump administration offers him a job. According to two sources familiar with the conversations, aides to President Donald Trump have floated the idea of offering Adams a job in the administration

By Annie Grayer, CNN (CNN) — A bipartisan group of House lawmakers introduced legislation on Wednesday to ban stock trading for members of Congress as pressure has escalated for elected officials to weed out corruption and restore public trust in Congress. House and Senate lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have long traded stocks

By Betsy Klein, Devan Cole, CNN (CNN) — A federal judge on Wednesday gave Harvard University a landmark victory in its fight against the Trump administration, siding with the Ivy League school in its effort to restore more than $2 billion in federal funding for research frozen by the White House. The decision from US

By Jennifer Hansler, Kylie Atwood, CNN (CNN) — The deadly US military strike on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean Tuesday marked a significant and escalatory shift in the Trump administration’s fight against drug trafficking, as Secretary of State Marco Rubio signaled there would be more destruction moving forward. Rubio on Wednesday argued that

By Katie Bo Lillis, CNN (CNN) — When Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, and Kim Jong Un all appeared together on a Beijing red carpet on Wednesday, it made for a powerful visual of unity against the West — but one that analysts say fell short of proving what Xi boasted was China’s “unstoppable” rise as

By Betsy Klein, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump said Wednesday he’ll soon speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as momentum toward ending Russia’s war in Ukraine has largely stalled and left the White House frustrated. “I’m having a conversation with him very shortly, and I’ll know pretty much what we’re going to be doing.

By Shania Shelton, Gabe Cohen, CNN (CNN) — Washington, DC, doesn’t need a “federal emergency,” Mayor Muriel Bowser said Wednesday, adding her new executive order is meant to be a pathway out of the federal takeover that is set to end this month. The Democratic mayor clarified that her order this week, which requires the

By Sarah Ferris, Annie Grayer, Manu Raju, CNN (CNN) — A bipartisan group of lawmakers stood outside the US Capitol on Wednesday alongside nearly a dozen women who said they’d been abused by the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein with a poignant message: This is not a hoax. That included a direct plea from

By Kara Scannell, CNN (CNN) — The New York attorney general’s office filed civil charges against far-right anti-immigration activist Peter Brimelow and his wife for allegedly misusing more than $2 million in assets, including a West Virginia castle, from a charitable foundation they run. Brimelow founded VDARE, whose website has been a platform for white

By Eric Bradner, Morgan Rimmer, CNN (CNN) — New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker announced his engagement to girlfriend Alexis Lewis this week, telling reporters he’d surprised her with a proposal in Hawaii. Booker, 56, sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020 — and his record-setting, 25-hour Senate speech warning that the “country is in crisis”

CNN Editorial Research (CNN) — Here’s a look at the life of US Representative John Lewis (D-Ga.), a civil rights leader. Personal Birth date: February 21, 1940 Death date: July 17, 2020 Birth place: Troy, Alabama Birth name: John Robert Lewis Father: Eddie Lewis, sharecropper Mother: Willie Mae (Carter) Lewis Marriage: Lillian Miles Lewis (December

By Sarah Ferris, Annie Grayer, Manu Raju, CNN (CNN) — On his first full day back in Washington, House Speaker Mike Johnson sat for hours in a closed-door interview with six women who say they were abused by the late Jeffrey Epstein. Johnson’s presence in the room on the first day of a frenetically busy

By Devan Cole, CNN (CNN) — A divided federal appeals court on Tuesday said President Donald Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act to rapidly deport alleged Venezuelan gang members is unlawful and blocked its use in several southern states, issuing another blow to Trump’s invocation of the 18th century law. The 5th US Circuit

By Haley Britzky, CNN (CNN) — National Guard troops deployed in Washington, DC, as part of President Donald Trump’s anti-crime initiative are expected to have their military orders extended through December, a senior official familiar with the planning told CNN. The extension, which has not been finalized, is intended to ensure continuity of benefits for

By Eric Bradner, CNN (CNN) — Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker has been eager to push back against President Donald Trump, and now the moment that could catapult him into the national limelight — with near-term consequences for his state and long-term implications for his political future — has come. Pritzker said at a news conference

CNN By Jade Walker, CNN President Donald Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act to quickly deport alleged Venezuelan gang members was unlawful, a federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday. The court also shot down Trump’s claim that there was a “predatory incursion” by members of the gang Tren de Aragua in the US, which

By Tami Luhby, CNN (CNN) — It’s no surprise that restaurant servers, manicurists, rideshare drivers and dogwalkers are among the workers who won’t have to pay federal tax on their tip income for the next four years, according to a preliminary list released by the Treasury Department. But so are social media influencers, podcasters and

By Alison Main, Manu Raju, Annie Grayer, Sarah Ferris, and Ellis Kim, CNN (CNN) — The House Oversight Committee on Tuesday released tens of thousands of Jeffrey Epstein-related files it had received from the Justice Department, as the controversy surrounding the case intensified with lawmakers’ return to Washington. While more than 30,000 pages were made

By Adam Cancryn, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump dismissed a viral video of what appears to be a black bag being tossed out of a White House as an AI-generated fake, adding that it’s “a little bit scary” how realistic such videos can be. “That’s probably AI-generated,” Trump said on Tuesday. “It’s got to

By Jennifer Hansler, CNN (CNN) — The United States conducted a deadly military strike against an alleged drug boat tied to the cartel Tren de Aragua, President Donald Trump said Tuesday. The US president said 11 people were killed in the strike in “international waters.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the “lethal strike” as

By Adam Cancryn, Kristen Holmes, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump was back in public Tuesday to announce a new location for US Space Command headquarters — and prove that rumors of his demise have been greatly exaggerated. Trump held court in the Oval Office this afternoon, breaking a weeklong absence from the spotlight that

By Associated Press (CNN) — The Trump administration was handed a win by a federal appeals court on Tuesday in its effort to freeze billions of dollars and terminate contracts for nonprofits to run a “green bank” aimed at financing climate-friendly projects. The head of the Environmental Protection Agency had blasted the Biden-era program as

By Haley Britzky, CNN (CNN) — Frustration is boiling over among some members of the military community who are unhappy with the Pentagon’s process for reinstating service members discharged under the Biden administration for failing to be vaccinated for Covid-19, saying the process is too slow and the criteria for who can rejoin too narrow.

By Steve Contorno, CNN (CNN) — California’s redistricting battle has now reached the airwaves, unleashing an advertising blitz that is expected to grow only more urgent – and staggeringly costly – in the post-Labor Day sprint to the November special election. On Tuesday, groups on both sides of the fight in California launched their first

CNN By Devan Cole, CNN (CNN) — A federal judge ruled Tuesday that President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated federal law by using the US military to help carry out law enforcement activities in and around Los Angeles this summer. US District Judge Charles Breyer concluded that Trump’s use of thousands of

By Devan Cole, CNN (CNN) — A federal judge ruled Tuesday that President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated federal law by using the US military to help carry out law enforcement activities in and around Los Angeles this summer. US District Judge Charles Breyer concluded that Trump’s use of thousands of federalized

By Gloria Pazmino, CNN (CNN) — Labor Day marks the traditional start of the sprint to Election Day. This fall’s marquee event: the contest to become New York City’s next mayor. Zohran Mamdani is vying to finish the job after his shocking victory in June’s Democratic primary. Mayor Eric Adams and former New York Gov.

By Tami Luhby, CNN (CNN) — Many Americans who work overtime will get a break on their taxes for the next few years — but it may not be as hefty as they think. Congressional Republicans sought to fulfill President Donald Trump’s “no tax on overtime” campaign promise in their One Big, Beautiful Bill, which

By Sarah Ferris, Alison Main, CNN (CNN) — Congress is bracing for a politically bruising fall as lawmakers return to Washington on Tuesday, with massive fights upcoming on government funding, the Jeffrey Epstein files and President Donald Trump’s policing push. After a summer of simmering tensions on Trump’s nationwide deportations, National Guard deployment in Washington,

By Joan Biskupic, CNN Chief Supreme Court Analyst (CNN) — Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett in a new memoir defends her vote reversing a half century of national abortion rights, declaring that Roe v. Wade usurped the will of the American people and “came at a cost.” “(T)he Court’s role is to respect the choices

By Piper Hudspeth Blackburn, CNN (CNN) — Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler, the dean of the New York congressional delegation, has decided not to run for reelection next year, his office told CNN on Monday. Nadler, 78, told the New York Times in an interview published Monday he was convinced it was time for generational change

By Adam Cancryn, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump on Monday appeared to raise fresh questions about the Covid-19 vaccines that were first developed on his watch, saying his top public health agency is being “ripped apart” by debate over the success of the shots. While noting that he’s seen “great numbers and results” from

By Kit Maher, Piper Hudspeth Blackburn, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump announced on Monday that he will award former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor. The announcement comes after Giuliani, who is also Trump’s former personal attorney, was involved in a car accident in

CNN By Jade Walker, CNN President Donald Trump announced on Monday that he plans to award the Presidential Medal of Freedom — the highest civilian honor — to his former personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani. Giuliani was hospitalized over the weekend after sustaining several injuries in a car accident. Here’s what else you need to know

By Shania Shelton, CNN (CNN) — Officials in Chicago are bracing for a major federal immigration enforcement operation that could begin as soon as this week, with the city’s mayor signing an order over the weekend aimed at resisting the Trump administration’s planned crackdown. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said Sunday such a move would be

By Fredreka Schouten, CNN (CNN) — The Trump administration has stepped up efforts to obtain personal information about tens of millions of voters across the country, including seeking sensitive data such as partial Social Security numbers. The push, overseen by the Department of Justice, comes as President Donald Trump asserts a larger federal role in

By Terence Burlij, CNN (CNN) — Elections this November will serve as a measure of the mood of voters 10 months into President Donald Trump’s second term as both parties prepare for next year’s crucial midterm contests. The electoral tests of partisan enthusiasm come as both parties face challenges: Democrats find themselves balancing frustration with

CNN By Jennifer Hansler, CNN (CNN) — The US State Department has instructed its diplomats to refuse most visas for Palestinian passport holders, whether they live in the West Bank, Gaza, or overseas, according to a cable seen by CNN. The internal message, dated August 18 and signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, told

By Jennifer Hansler, CNN (CNN) — The US State Department has instructed its diplomats to refuse most visas for Palestinian passport holders, whether they live in the West Bank, Gaza, or overseas, according to a cable seen by CNN. The internal message, dated August 18 and signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, told all

By Piper Hudspeth Blackburn, Kit Maher, CNN (CNN) — Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani was injured in a car accident in New Hampshire over the weekend but is recovering, his head of security and the New Hampshire State Police said Sunday. Giuliani’s vehicle was struck from behind at “high speed” on Saturday evening,

By Alison Main, CNN (CNN) — Former CNN correspondent Charles Bierbauer has died, his family announced on Sunday. He was 83 years old. Bierbauer retired from CNN in 2001 after two decades covering news in Washington, DC, and around the world. He joined CNN in 1981 to cover the Pentagon as a defense correspondent. He

By Priscilla Alvarez, Angelica Franganillo Diaz, Betsy Klein, CNN (CNN) — A federal judge on Sunday afternoon temporarily blocked the removals of unaccompanied Guatemalan minors in US custody as the government was in the process of repatriating some of them in the early morning hours. A notice sent to attorneys about the removals prompted an

By Adam Cancryn, Sarah Ferris, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump is preparing to effectively dare Democrats to shut down the government in a matter of weeks, taking a hard line against any major concessions ahead of negotiations over a must-pass funding bill. The White House plans to reject any Democratic demands that key health

WBBM, CNN By Whitney Wild and Piper Hudspeth Blackburn, CNN (CNN) — Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson signed an executive order Saturday laying out initial plans for how the city will try to resist President Donald Trump’s planned immigration crackdown in the coming days. The mayor’s order provides guidance and directives to the city’s agencies and

By Associated Press Washington (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency on Friday fired at least eight employees who signed a letter criticizing the agency’s leadership under Administrator Lee Zeldin and President Donald Trump. “Following a thorough internal investigation, EPA supervisors made decisions on an individualized basis,” an EPA spokeswoman said Friday in a statement. The

By Betsy Klein, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump is just fine, he said in a message to followers Sunday afternoon as he returned to the White House from a day at his Virginia golf club. “NEVER FELT BETTER IN MY LIFE,” he wrote on Truth Social — a nod to the swirl of weekend

By Whitney Wild and Piper Hudspeth Blackburn, CNN (CNN) — Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson signed an executive order Saturday laying out initial plans for how the city will try to resist President Donald Trump’s planned immigration crackdown in the coming days. The mayor’s order provides guidance and directives to the city’s agencies and law enforcement

By Gloria Pazmino, CNN New York (CNN) — Months before winning New York City’s Democratic primary for mayor, Zohran Mamdani sat inside a Pakistani restaurant in Queens with around two dozen off-duty police officers. The officers were familiar with the 33-year-old assemblyman’s past calls to defund America’s largest police force and social media posts in

By Dan Berman, CNN (CNN) — A federal judge on Friday blocked a Trump administration effort that aims to speed deportations of migrants detained in the interior of the United States, slamming it as a violation of due process. Unlike migrants detained at or near the border, who have previously been subject to expedited removal,

By Tami Luhby, CNN (CNN) — Days after filing a whistleblower complaint claiming that the Department of Government Efficiency put Americans’ Social Security data at risk, the agency’s chief data officer “involuntarily” resigned. Charles Borges, who served in the post at the Social Security Administration since late January, wrote in his resignation letter that agency

By Gabe Cohen, CNN (CNN) — Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has fired two dozen Federal Emergency Management Agency IT employees, including top leaders, for allegedly neglecting security protocols and compromising sensitive data. A DHS press release Friday claims a routine cybersecurity review uncovered major vulnerabilities that allowed a “threat actor” to breach FEMA’s network.

By Alayna Treene, CNN (CNN) — Two weeks after his high-stakes summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, President Donald Trump is growing increasingly frustrated with the lack of tangible progress he’s made to end the war in Ukraine and is contemplating how involved he should be personally in brokering a meeting between Kremlin and Ukrainian

By Fredreka Schouten, CNN (CNN) — Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe on Friday announced a special session to draw new congressional maps – becoming the latest governor of a Republican-run state to accede to President Donald Trump’ s demands to undertake mid-decade redistricting. Kehoe ordered lawmakers to return to the state capitol next week to take

By Adam Cancryn, CNN (CNN) — In the weeks before they moved to oust Dr. Susan Monarez as head of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, top US Department of Health and Human Services officials repeatedly pressed her in meetings to commit to signing off on potential new vaccine restrictions, two people familiar