National Politics

By Tami Luhby, CNN (CNN) — Some Medicare enrollees may soon be able to access super-popular drugs for obesity under a voluntary model program, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced Tuesday. Eligible beneficiaries will have to pay only $50 a month. Medicare is currently banned by law from covering medications for weight loss,

By Katelyn Polantz, CNN (CNN) — The Justice Department’s leadership asked career prosecutors in Florida to volunteer over the “next several days” to help redact the Epstein files, in the latest Trump administration push toward releasing the hundreds of thousands of photos, internal memos and other evidence around the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

By Jennifer Hansler, CNN (CNN) — The US State Department on Tuesday imposed visa sanctions on a former top European Union official and employees of organizations that combat disinformation for alleged censorship – sharply ratcheting up the Trump administration’s fight against European regulations that have impacted digital platforms, far-right politicians and Trump allies, including Elon

CNN By Tricia Escobedo, Andrew Torgan, CNN Three inmates, all accused of violent crimes, are back in custody after escaping from an Atlanta-area jail. It’s still unclear exactly how they got out, but police say their recorded jailhouse phone calls reveal how they plotted their escape. Here’s what else you need to know to get

Associated Press (CNN) — Wyoming’s lone U.S. representative is running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Cynthia Lummis, who isn’t seeking re-election. Rep. Harriet Hageman, a Republican, on Tuesday became first to announce for Senate in Wyoming after Lummis, also a Republican, said Friday she isn’t seeking a second term. “I will always

By Katelyn Polantz, Tierney Sneed, CNN (CNN) — Former CIA director John Brennan is accusing the Justice Department of “irregular activity,” including possible judge shopping and improper leaks to the media, in a letter from his defense attorney that also disclosed Brennan is the target of a grand jury investigation launched out of Florida. The

By Donald Judd, CNN (CNN) — Former Republican Sen. Ben Sasse announced Tuesday that he’s been diagnosed with “metastasized, stage 4 pancreatic cancer, and am gonna die.” “Advanced pancreatic is nasty stuff; it’s a death sentence. But I already had a death sentence before last week too — we all do,” Sasse, 53, wrote on

By Brian Todd, CNN (CNN) — Some staff at the Department of Veterans Affairs are finding little to be merry about after the agency said it would eliminate tens of thousands of open, unfilled positions across the country as it looks to streamline its staffing. Three sources familiar with the decisions told CNN that leadership

By Tierney Sneed, CNN (CNN) — A new lawsuit filed in Washington, DC’s federal court Monday challenges the Kennedy Center board of trustees’ move to add President Donald Trump’s name to the cultural institution. Rep. Joyce Beatty, an Ohio Democrat and an ex-officio trustee of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, is

By Clay Voytek, CNN (CNN) — The US military conducted a strike against a “low-profile vessel” allegedly trafficking drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Monday, killing one person, according to US Southern Command. “On Dec. 22, at the direction of @SecWar Pete Hegseth, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal kinetic strike on

By Kevin Liptak, Donald Judd, CNN West Palm Beach, Florida (CNN) — President Donald Trump said Monday the US remains in active pursuit of an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, more than 24 hours after the chase began, while repeating his threats against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. “It’s moving along and we’ll end

By Kevin Liptak, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump bemoaned Monday the potential reputational damage inflicted on people who appear in photos released as part of the Jeffrey Epstein files, which he insisted were only made public because of an effort to distract from his accomplishments. The comments mark the first time Trump has addressed

CNN By Tricia Escobedo, Andrew Torgan, CNN A “60 Minutes” story that was shelved at the last minute, sparking accusations of political interference, has reached a worldwide audience — thanks to some eagle-eyed Canadian viewers with access to a streaming platform. Here’s what else you need to know to get up to speed and on

By Katelyn Polantz, Marshall Cohen, CNN (CNN) — The Justice Department’s release of the Epstein files — mandated by Congress to be completed last week — is still a work in progress. Thousands of files still aren’t public. The redactions are extensive, at times going beyond what was called for in the law passed by

CNN By Kevin Liptak, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump unveiled a new “Trump class” of Navy battleships Monday, describing them as a superior war fighting vessel to replace an “old and tired and obsolete” US fleet. “They’ll help maintain American military supremacy, revive the American ship building industry, and inspire fear in America’s enemies

By Devan Cole, Angelica Franganillo Diaz, CNN (CNN) — An apparently frustrated federal judge pressed the Trump administration Monday to share what it was going to do next in the fast-moving saga over Kilmar Abrego Garcia days after she found he was being unlawfully held in immigration custody. During an hour-long hearing that at times

By CNN’s Logan Schiciano (CNN) — Betty Reid Soskin, who was the National Park Service’s oldest active ranger when she retired at age 100, has died. She was 104. She passed away “peacefully” at her home in Richmond, California on Sunday, according to a statement from her family. “Thank you for your service, Ranger Betty,”

By Michael Williams, CNN (CNN) — The Justice Department’s release of thousands of documents and pictures related to investigations into Jeffrey Epstein on Friday was highly anticipated and provided a glimpse into the life of the late sex offender and his associations with some of the richest and most powerful people in the world. But