Politics

By Alayna Treene, Kevin Liptak, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump, facing a red line of his own making in Iran, increasingly believes he must take decisive action against the regime amid a violent and deadly crackdown on protesters, according to officials familiar with the matter. Top Trump administration officials met Tuesday to further refine

By Veronica Stracqualursi, Annie Grayer, CNN (CNN) — Contempt proceedings will officially move forward against both Clintons on Capitol Hill after Hillary Clinton failed to appear for a deposition in the House Oversight Committee’s Jeffrey Epstein probe. Republican Chairman James Comer said Wednesday that the panel will meet in a week to consider contempt of

By John Fritze, CNN (CNN) — The Supreme Court on Wednesday backed a Republican congressman from Illinois who is challenging a state law that allows mail ballots to be received after Election Day, a decision that may make it easier for other candidates to challenge voting laws – even if they ultimately win their election. The

By Kit Maher, Ivana Kottasová, Jennifer Hansler, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump said Wednesday that “anything less” than US control of Greenland is “unacceptable,” arguing the United States needs the territory for national security purposes, which could in turn strengthen NATO. “NATO becomes far more formidable and effective with Greenland in the hands of

By Tami Luhby, CNN (CNN) — With affordability at the top of his domestic agenda for 2026, President Donald Trump unveiled in rapid succession last week a series of proposals aimed at making Americans’ cost of living less, well, costly. He focused on two major burdens — housing and credit card debt. Trump has been

By Marshall Cohen, Fredreka Schouten, CNN (CNN) — Former election clerk Tina Peters’ prison sentence has long been a rallying cry for President Donald Trump and other 2020 election deniers. Her lawyers returned to court Wednesday to appeal her conviction as Colorado’s Democratic governor has signaled a new openness to letting her out of prison

By Tierney Sneed, CNN (CNN) — The Trump administration’s sweeping legal effort to obtain Americans’ sensitive data from states’ voter rolls is now almost entirely reliant upon the Civil Rights Act – a Jim Crow-era law passed to protect Black voters from disenfranchisement – a notable shift in how the administration is pressing its demands.

By Joan Biskupic, CNN Chief Supreme Court Analyst (CNN) — During a marathon Supreme Court session Tuesday over whether states may ban transgender women from participating in women and girls’ sports, some justices were already focused on what may lie around the corner in the controversial area of trans rights. The majority appeared poised to uphold

By Adam Cancryn, Kristen Holmes, CNN (CNN) — White House officials are heaping blame on DC US Attorney Jeanine Pirro over her office’s criminal investigation into Fed Chair Jerome Powell, faulting her for blindsiding them with an inquiry that has forced the administration into a dayslong damage control campaign, four people familiar with the matter

By Natasha Bertrand, Haley Britzky, CNN (CNN) — The Pentagon is working to surge dozens of military lawyers to Minneapolis to assist in federal prosecutions amid an immigration enforcement crackdown there, according to two officials familiar with the matter and a written request that has circulated inside the Defense Department. The emailed request, reviewed by

By Jennifer Hansler, CNN (CNN) — The interim Venezuelan government has freed at least four Americans who were imprisoned in Venezuela, a source familiar with the matter told CNN on Tuesday. It marks the first known release of American detainees since the ouster of Nicolás Maduro and comes as the interim Venezuelan government, led by

By Evan Perez, Hannah Rabinowitz, CNN (CNN) — The Trump administration’s efforts to investigate Renee Good and others around her, and not the ICE officer who shot her in Minneapolis, is wreaking havoc on the US attorney’s office in Minnesota, which is leading the probe. At least half a dozen federal prosecutors in Minnesota resigned

By Samantha Waldenberg, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump flipped off an autoworker as he toured a Michigan Ford plant in an incident caught on video Tuesday, and the White House defended the action as an “appropriate” response to someone screaming at the commander-in-chief. “A lunatic was wildly screaming expletives in a complete fit of

By Daniel Dale, CNN (CNN) — Inflation hasn’t “stopped.” Consumer prices are up during this presidential term, not “down.” Grocery prices are rising, not starting to fall “rapidly.” US businesses and consumers, not China, pay US tariffs on Chinese imports. It’s impossible to reduce prescription drug prices by “thousands” of percentage points, since this would

By Sean Lyngaas, CNN (CNN) — Elon Musk’s SpaceX is now providing free internet access via its Starlink satellite service to users in Iran as the country’s regime continues its bloody crackdown on anti-government protests, according to a tech expert in touch with Iranian Starlink users. Starlink accounts in Iran that were previously inactive now

By Haley Britzky, Natasha Bertrand, Zachary Cohen, Jennifer Hansler, CNN (CNN) — The aircraft used in the US military’s first strike on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean, a strike which has drawn intense scrutiny and resulted in numerous Congressional briefings, was painted as a civilian aircraft and was part of a closely guarded

By John Fritze, Devan Cole, CNN (CNN) — The Supreme Court’s conservative majority indicated Tuesday it is likely to side with two states that have enacted bans on transgender athletes playing on girls’ sports teams, delving into a divisive culture war dispute that could have implications far beyond sports. For over three hours, the justices

By Katelyn Polantz, CNN (CNN) — The Justice Department is still struggling to process the massive trove of Epstein files and is prodding hundreds of lawyers reviewing pages to work faster, according to a recent email from DOJ leadership and court filings over the past few days. “It is a grind,” the head of the

By Natasha Bertrand, Zachary Cohen, CNN (CNN) — A new classified legal opinion produced by the Justice Department argues that President Donald Trump was not limited by domestic law when approving the US operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro because of his constitutional authority as commander-in-chief and that he is not constrained by international

By Katelyn Polantz, CNN (CNN) — The Justice Department is escalating its standoff with judges in the Eastern District of Virginia with a new filing defending Lindsey Halligan, President Donald Trump’s choice to lead the prosecutors’ office whose work in the cases against James Comey and Letitia James has been nullified. The filing accuses federal

By Sarah Ferris, Lauren Fox, Manu Raju, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump is working to tighten his grip on his party this week as he faces an unusual threat from Congress: an embarrassing rebuke of his military actions overseas. On the cusp of a key Senate vote that would rein in Trump from further

CNN By Annie Grayer, CNN (CNN) — Bill and Hillary Clinton refused to testify on Capitol Hill Tuesday in the House Oversight Committee’s Jeffrey Epstein probe despite lawmakers’ threat to hold them in contempt. “You will say it is not our decision to make. But we have made it. Now you have to make yours,”

By Kaanita Iyer, CNN (CNN) — The Trump administration does not know the whereabouts of 137 Venezuelans it unlawfully deported last year, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, adding that attempting to offer them due process would impact US foreign policy interests in the country. “Given the passage of time, the U.S. government does not

By Katie Bo Lillis, Natasha Bertrand, Priscilla Alvarez, Jim Sciutto, Zachary Cohen, CNN (CNN) — The Defense Department has spent more than a year testing a device purchased in an undercover operation that some investigators think could be the cause of a series of mysterious ailments impacting US spies, diplomats and troops that are colloquially

By Ellis Kim, Piper Hudspeth Blackburn, CNN (CNN) — Jack Smith, the former special counsel who led two failed prosecutions of President Donald Trump, will testify publicly before the House Judiciary Committee on January 22, the panel announced Monday. Smith, who investigated Trump for his role in the effort to subvert the 2020 presidential election

CNN By Kristen Holmes, CNN (CNN) — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has told people that he is unhappy with the decision to criminally investigate Fed Chair Jerome Powell, a source with knowledge of the matter told CNN. Bessent has expressed concern that the decision will negatively impact the markets. He has warned President Donald Trump

By Adam Cancryn, Tami Luhby, CNN (CNN) — The Trump administration has finalized a deal with drugmaker AbbVie to cut the cost of certain medicines, marking the latest pact as part of its “Most Favored Nation” pricing initiative. The deal comes days after the administration inked a deal with Johnson & Johnson, which was announced

By Kylie Atwood, Jennifer Hansler, CNN (CNN) — The Trump administration is under pressure to step up its efforts to support internet freedom in Iran after it cut funding backing that work last year, as widespread technology blackouts have hampered the efforts of anti-government protesters facing violent crackdowns through Iran. Experts say the days-long digital

By Kristen Holmes, CNN (CNN) — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has told people that he is unhappy with the decision to criminally investigate Fed Chair Jerome Powell, a source with knowledge of the matter told CNN. Bessent has expressed concern that the decision will negatively impact the markets. He has warned President Donald Trump in