By Sean Lyngaas, CNN When US intelligence and national security officials gathered at a classified facility in April to speak with election officials around the country, there was no burning new intelligence to share about cyber threats to American democracy. The briefing covered Russia’s war on Ukraine and foreign and domestic sources of disinformation about
Continue Reading By Andrew Kaczynski and Em Steck, CNN New York Republican congressional candidate Carl Paladino told a radio host in late 2016 that Black Americans were kept “dumb and hungry” so they could be conditioned to only vote for the Democratic Party, saying, “You can’t teach them differently.” Paladino, then a Buffalo school board member, was
Continue Reading By Phil Mattingly, CNN Three months into US-led sanctions designed to crush Russia’s economy for its war in Ukraine, Russia has appeared surprisingly resilient. The ruble has rebounded and is now worth more than before the invasion. The Kremlin’s coffers are overflowing from record oil and gas sales. Even McDonald’s has reopened in Russia, rebranded
Continue Reading By Ella Nilsen and Kate Sullivan, CNN President Joe Biden on Friday convened a meeting of more than 20 of the world’s largest economies to discuss steps to curb methane emissions to address the climate crisis as well as efforts to stabilize global energy markets amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. At the US-hosted Major Economies
Continue Reading By Joan Biskupic, CNN legal analyst & Supreme Court biographer Supreme Court justices were divided over 2020 election issues and ultimately declined to accept any of Donald Trump’s baseless claims, but one justice stood out for emphasizing ballot fraud in sympathy with those who refused to accept the results: Clarence Thomas. The presidential election controversy
Continue Reading By Jeremy Herb, Marshall Cohen and Zachary Cohen, CNN The House select committee investigating the Capitol insurrection on Thursday detailed how former President Donald Trump tried to pressure his vice president to join in his scheme to overturn the presidential election — and how Mike Pence’s refusal put his life in danger as rioters called
Continue Reading By Shawna Mizelle and Tierney Sneed, CNN House January 6 committee Chair Bennie Thompson on Thursday said the panel investigating the US Capitol attack has sent a letter to Virginia “Ginni” Thomas asking her to speak with them about her role in the effort to overturn the 2020 electoral results. Thomas, a conservative activist and
Continue Reading By Devan Cole, CNN President Joe Biden on Thursday signed a bill that extends security protections to Supreme Court justices’ immediate family members. The bill — the Supreme Court Police Parity Act of 2022 — was passed by the House earlier this week and the Senate passed the measure last month. It allows the families
Continue Reading By Clare Foran and Jeremy Herb, CNN The House select committee investigating the deadly January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol by a pro-Trump mob presented a series of significant revelations during a hearing on Thursday about conservative Trump attorney John Eastman. The revelations provide new insight into Eastman’s role as a central figure
Continue Reading By Priscilla Alvarez, CNN An unofficial challenge coin depicting the infamous image of an agent on horseback confronting a Haitian migrant is being investigated by US Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Professional Responsibility, according to agency spokesperson Luis Miranda. The coin, which was on sale on eBay, is inscribed with phrases, like “You will
Continue Reading By Kevin Liptak and Maegan Vazquez, CNN President Joe Biden said Americans are “down” after years of pandemic-era disruptions, telling the Associated Press in an interview on Thursday that mental health struggles are on the rise. “People are really, really down,” Biden said in the interview, which the news service said lasted 30 minutes. “They’re
Continue Reading By Lauren Fox and Ted Barrett, CNN Sen. Rand Paul refused to speak Thursday with a federal judge whose son was shot by a man who ambushed their New Jersey home almost two years. US District Judge Esther Salas, whose 20-year-old son, Daniel, was killed in the attack, carried out by a disgruntled attorney who
Continue Reading By Ariane de Vogue, CNN Supreme Court Reporter As the Supreme Court prepares for the end of the most tumultuous term in decades, and the justices race to issue opinions on highly divisive issues, Justice Sonia Sotomayor appeared before a liberal audience in Washington on Thursday and discussed her relationship with her ideological opposite: Justice
Continue Reading By Maegan Vazquez and Sam Fossum, CNN President Joe Biden on Thursday signed the Ocean Shipping Reform Act into law, celebrating a bipartisan win aimed at boosting the supply chain amid sky-high inflation and fears of a recession. The President also attacked “foreign owned” shipping companies, saying, “They raked in the profits and the costs
Continue Reading By Shawna Mizelle and Tierney Sneed, CNN House January 6 committee Chair Bennie Thompson on Thursday said the panel investigating the US Capitol attack has sent a letter to Virginia “Ginni” Thomas asking her to speak with them about her role in the effort to overturn the 2020 electoral results. Thomas, a conservative activist and
Continue Reading By Tierney Sneed The drip-drip-drip of revelations concerning Supreme Court spouse Virginia “Ginni” Thomas’ support of former President Donald Trump’s election reversal gambits have created an unrelenting ethics scandal around the court. Thomas, a political activist, has long advocated for conservative causes that touch on cases before the court on which her husband, Justice Clarence
Continue Reading By Kara Scannell Disgraced attorney Michael Avenatti pleaded guilty Thursday to embezzling millions of dollars from four of his clients, taking another step closer toward resolving a flurry of federal charges against him. Avenatti pleaded guilty in Santa Ana, California, to four counts of wire fraud for each client he stole from and one count
Continue Reading By Whitney Wild, CNN Leading police organizations and leaders are increasingly calling for action on gun policy in the wake of several recent mass shootings, which is notable advocacy from a wider community that has often been split on how to respond to gun violence. The calls for action range from more incremental steps, such
Continue Reading By Steve Contorno, CNN Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday defended his state’s decision not to preorder Covid-19 vaccines for children under 5 years old ahead of federal vaccine regulators’ long-awaited, expected authorization. “There’s not going to be any state programs that are going to be trying to, you know, get Covid jabs to infants
Continue Reading The House select committee investigating the Capitol insurrection on Thursday detailed how former President Donald Trump tried to pressure his vice president to join in his scheme to overturn the presidential election — and how Pence’s refusal put his life in danger as rioters called for Pence’s hanging on January 6, 2021.
Continue Reading