Politics

By Jennifer Hansler, CNN (CNN) — US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday downplayed the planned withdrawal of 5,000 US troops from Germany and said President Donald Trump has not made a decision on removing more service members from Europe amid growing cracks in the transatlantic relationship. Speaking in Rome after meetings with top

By Devan Cole, Patrick Svitek, Sarah Ferris, CNN (CNN) — The Virginia Supreme Court voided Democrats’ attempt to redraw the state’s US House map in an April referendum, a devastating blow to the Democratic Party’s efforts in the national redistricting battle launched by President Donald Trump ahead of this fall’s midterms. Hours after the court’s

By Adam Cancryn, CNN (CNN) — Senior Trump aides will host anti-abortion activists for a meeting at the White House on Friday, in an effort to temper growing intra-party criticism over the administration’s priorities, a person familiar with the matter told CNN. Anti-abortion activists have expressed deep frustration over a stalled effort to limit access

By Kaanita Iyer, CNN (CNN) — The legal team of the man accused of opening fire at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner last month has asked the court to disqualify top Department of Justice officials from being involved in his case, arguing there is a conflict of interest because they were present during the incident.

By Kaanita Iyer, Michael Williams, Marshall Cohen, CNN (CNN) — The Pentagon on Friday released what it says are “never-before-seen files” on UFOs after President Donald Trump directed the agency to do so earlier this year. The batch of files outlines various investigations of reported sightings of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena that span decades. “The American

By Edward-Isaac Dovere, CNN Sacramento, California (CNN) — California Democratic leaders have shifted their strategy to prevent their party from being locked out of the governor’s race: Instead of thinking about consolidating the field, they have turned to behind-the-scenes operations and political spending aimed at tamping down Republicans and building up Democratic turnout. That is

By Evan Perez, Hannah Rabinowitz, CNN (CNN) — Jason Reding Quiñones, the top federal prosecutor in Florida’s southern district, arrived in Washington, DC, last month for a meeting with top Justice Department officials as White House pressure continued to build over bringing criminal charges against one of President Donald Trump’s top political foes. For months,

By Zachary Cohen, Billy Stockwell, CNN (CNN) — US forces targeted Iranian military facilities responsible for launching a series of “unprovoked” missile, drone and small boat attacks against American warships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, US Central Command said on Thursday. “U.S. forces intercepted unprovoked Iranian attacks and responded with self-defense strikes as US Navy

By Wesley Bruer, Holmes Lybrand, CNN (CNN) — During the initial hearing in the Justice Department’s fraud case against the Southern Poverty Law Center, an attorney for the civil rights group said he believes a second indictment might be coming in the case. The attorney, Abbe Lowell, told a federal judge in Alabama that a

By Devan Cole, CNN (CNN) — A federal appeals court appeared ready Thursday to reject Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s effort to punish Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly over his call to US service members to refuse illegal orders. A majority of judges on a three-member panel at the DC US Circuit Court of Appeals spent more

By Holmes Lybrand, CNN (CNN) — The Trump administration has classified left-wing networks like Antifa among “three major types of terror groups” the US faces, according to a counter-terrorism plan released Thursday. “In addition to cartels and Islamist terror groups,” the plan says, “our national (counter terrorism) activities will also prioritize the rapid identification and

By Aileen Graef, CNN (CNN) — White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Thursday announced the birth of her daughter Viviana, saying she is “perfect and healthy.” “On May 1st, Viviana aka ‘Vivi’ joined our family, and our hearts instantly exploded with love,” Leavitt said in a post on Instagram. “She is perfect and healthy,

By Adam Cancryn, Sarah Owermohle, CNN (CNN) — When President Donald Trump needed a new pick for surgeon general last May, he turned to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for advice. “Bobby really thought she was great,” Trump told reporters the day after choosing Casey Means, a close Kennedy ally and

By Sean Lyngaas, CNN (CNN) — The Iran war has seen the US military use AI more than any conflict before, drawing on vast amounts of data — from satellites, signals intelligence and elsewhere — piped into software programs made by contractors like Palantir. AI tools like Anthropic’s Claude have sifted through the data far

By John Fritze, CNN Hershey, Pennsylvania (CNN) — Chief Justice John Roberts on Wednesday lamented what he framed as a widespread misunderstanding of the Supreme Court’s work, pushing back on criticism that many of the court’s highest-profile cases wind up with conservative outcomes. “People think we’re making policy decisions,” Roberts told a conference of attorneys

By Piper Hudspeth Blackburn, CNN (CNN) — Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is no longer in the ICU but will remain in the hospital for “some time” as he recovers from pneumonia, his spokesperson said Wednesday. “The mayor and his family appreciate the outpouring of love and prayers sent his way,” spokesperson Ted

CNN By Katelyn Polantz, Aleena Fayaz, Dan Berman, CNN (CNN) — A federal judge unsealed a purported suicide note from Jeffrey Epstein on Wednesday. The unverified and undated document was placed on the court docket in the case of a former cellmate of the late convicted sex offender who said he had found the note.

By Tierney Sneed (CNN) — A federal judge said Wednesday he would not order the Justice Department to return ballots from the 2020 presidential election it seized from Fulton County, Georgia, rejecting a request by county officials. Judge JP Boulee said the county had not met the high legal bar that would allow him to

By Holmes Lybrand, Sunlen Serfaty, CNN (CNN) — FBI agents executed a search warrant Wednesday morning on Virginia state Sen. L. Louise Lucas’ personal office, a marijuana shop she co-owns and other locations, according to a source familiar with the probe and news footage of the law enforcement actions. Lucas, a heavy hitter for Democrats

By Kaanita Iyer, CNN (CNN) — A man who allegedly fired at Secret Service agents near the Washington Monument earlier this week has been charged in connection with the shooting. The man, Michael Marx, faces three charges, according to the criminal complaint, including assaulting officers with a dangerous weapon, using or discharging a firearm during

By Christopher Lamb, Jennifer Hansler, CNN (CNN) — US Secretary of State Marco Rubio held a meeting with Pope Leo XIV on Thursday where the two discussed the issues of disagreement, including the Iran war, that have contributed to a historic period of tension between Washington and the Vatican. Prior to the meeting, Rubio had

By Annie Grayer, CNN (CNN) — Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick was grilled by congressional investigators Wednesday about his ties to Jeffrey Epstein following revelations that his contact with the late convicted sex offender extended years beyond what he initially claimed. Lutnick is the highest-ranking Trump administration official prominently named in the Epstein files — outside

By Daniel Dale, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump keeps touting a poll that was discussed on CNN in March. On Tuesday, though, Trump wrongly described that poll in three different ways. Trump has repeatedly mentioned a March 18 television segment featuring CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten, who explained that an NBC News poll