National Politics

By Tierney Sneed and Katelyn Polantz, CNN (CNN) — Special counsel Jack Smith’s report on his election subversion and January 6, 2021, investigation of Donald Trump can be made public, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday, while leaving in place a lower judge’s three-day hold that could give Trump time to ask the Supreme Court

By CNN staff (CNN) — The US Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that President-elect Donald Trump can be sentenced Friday in his New York hush money case. The order states: The application for stay presented to Justice Sotomayor and by her referred to the Court is denied for, inter alia, the following reasons. First, the

By John Fritze, CNN (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump can be sentenced Friday in his New York hush money case, the Supreme Court said in a 5-4 ruling. The high court on Thursday rejected Trump’s emergency request to delay the proceeding, setting the stage for him to be sentenced just days before he is inaugurated

By Oren Liebermann and Natasha Bertrand, CNN (CNN) — NATO has taken over air defenses in Poland from the US just days before the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, according to a NATO spokesman, with questions looming about the incoming administration’s approach to the alliance and to Ukraine. NATO assumed command and control from the

By Kit Maher, Steve Contorno and Aaron Pellish, CNN (CNN) — JD Vance will resign his Senate seat effective Thursday at midnight, a Vance spokesperson told CNN, days ahead of assuming the vice presidency. The first-term senator has to resign from his seat before he and President-elect Donald Trump are sworn into office on January

By Clare Foran, Lauren Fox and Ted Barrett, CNN Washington (CNN) — A significant number of Senate Democrats voted with Republicans on Thursday to advance a GOP-led bill to require the detention of undocumented migrants charged with certain crimes – a key step that puts the legislation on the verge of passage. The bill steadily

By John Fritze and Devan Cole, CNN Washington (CNN) — The only branch of the federal government without a social media presence will weigh the fate of one of the nation’s most popular video-sharing apps on Friday, delving into a viral fight over whether TikTok’s ties to China threaten national security. The Supreme Court will

By Clare Foran and Haley Talbot, CNN (CNN) — The House passed a bill on Thursday to sanction International Criminal Court officials – in response to the court issuing an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The ICC’s targeting of Netanyahu has sparked backlash from Republicans and Democrats in Congress. The GOP-led Senate

By Associated Press (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump has raised more than $170 million for his upcoming inauguration, a record amount as tech executives and big donors have eagerly written large checks to help bankroll the ceremony. The private donations collected thus far were confirmed by a person with firsthand knowledge of the fundraising who

By Daniel Dale, CNN Washington (CNN) — Another natural disaster, another series of false claims from President-elect Donald Trump. For years, Trump has littered his statements on California wildfires and other disasters with inaccurate assertions. He did it again on Wednesday as wildfires raged in Los Angeles County. Here is a fact check. FEMA funding

By Nicki Brown, Jeremy Herb, Kara Scannell, Lauren del Valle and John Fritze, CNN (CNN) — New York’s highest court on Thursday rejected President-elect Donald Trump’s bid to postpone his sentencing in the hush money case, leaving the US Supreme Court as his last chance to delay Friday’s scheduled hearing. Trump appealed to both the

By Tami Luhby, CNN (CNN) — Elon Musk has walked back his previous claim that he could cut at least $2 trillion from the federal budget, saying Wednesday that half that amount would be “an epic outcome.” Musk, who has been tasked by President-elect Donald Trump to co-lead the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or

By Katelyn Polantz, CNN (CNN) — Attorney General Merrick Garland told Congress he plans to make special counsel Jack Smith’s report on the cases against Donald Trump available to committee leaders and, ultimately, the public, once courts allow, marking the formal end of Smith’s office. Garland noted he believes even the part of the report

By Alex Marquardt, CNN (CNN) — The Biden administration has announced the final tranche of military aid it will send to Ukraine, amounting to about $500 million. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was expected to detail the figure at the last meeting of the US-led Ukraine Defense Contact Group at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. The

By Edward-Isaac Dovere, CNN (CNN) — Not a lot of men get to see what their own funerals are going to look like. Even fewer get to speak at them. For all the valedictory moments that Joe Biden and his staff lined up for his quiet final weeks in the White House – ceremonies awarding

By Donald Judd and MJ Lee, CNN (CNN) — President Joe Biden will no longer travel to Italy this week as scheduled, the White House announced late Wednesday, canceling the trip in the final days of his presidency to monitor raging wildfires across the Los Angeles area. “After returning this evening from Los Angeles, where

By Marshall Cohen, CNN (CNN) — The disgraced former FBI informant who falsely accused President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden of taking a $10 million bribe from Ukraine was sentenced Wednesday to six years in federal prison, according to court records. The ex-informant, Alexander Smirnov, who is a dual US-Israeli citizen, has been

By John Fritze, CNN (CNN) — Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito said he spoke with President-elect Donald Trump by phone this week in support of a former law clerk who is seeking a job in the incoming administration – but the justice said he did not discuss Trump’s pending effort to delay his sentencing. “William

By Marshall Cohen and Daniel Dale, CNN (CNN) — President Joe Biden recently made several false and inaccurate claims to defend his controversial decision to pardon his son, Hunter Biden. In a wide-ranging interview with USA Today, the president also made a false claim about inflation. A full transcript of the interview was released Wednesday.