Politics

By Zachary B. Wolf, CNN Republicans and Democrats in Washington are gearing up for their occasional fight over raising the US debt limit. Also known as the “debt ceiling,” it’s exactly what it sounds like — the maximum that the federal government is allowed to borrow. Why is there a maximum? Because Congress set one

By Dan Merica, CNN Photographs by Damon Casarez for CNN The changing climate is everywhere Gustavo Carranza looks when he walks through his undulating citrus farm here in this tiny town in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. The summer temperatures are consistently higher than they used to be. The smoke from nearby wildfires fills

By Kevin Liptak, Jeff Zeleny and Phil Mattingly, CNN A politically weakened President Joe Biden, hoping to spark a turnaround with a renewed focus on his domestic agenda after a month marred by a spike in Covid-19 cases and a messy withdrawal from Afghanistan, found on Friday the pivot could be easier said than done.

By Alexandra Meeks, CNN Two of California Gov. Gavin Newsom‘s four children have tested positive for Covid-19, his office said in a statement Friday. “Yesterday, two of the Governor’s children tested positive for Covid-19,” said spokesperson Erin Mellon. “The family is following all COVID protocols.” The Democratic governor, his wife and their two other children

By Kevin Liptak, CNN American and Australian officials have been in highly secret talks for months over a plan to share technology for nuclear-powered submarines, a process that was hatched more than a year ago and accelerated after President Biden took office in January. Officials familiar with the matter said the discussions were kept exceedingly

By Sean Lyngaas, CNN The Biden administration is planning to impose new sanctions to disrupt the source of revenue of ransomware groups that have extorted major US firms of millions of dollars, a US official and a private cybersecurity expert briefed on the matter told CNN. As soon as next week, the Treasury Department plans

By Jim Acosta, Kylie Atwood and Maegan Vazquez, CNN The French government has immediately recalled its ambassadors to the US and Australia for consultation in response to America’s recently announced national security partnership with the United Kingdom and Australia. Philippe Étienne, the French ambassador to the US, confirmed the news when reached for comment. In

By Katie Bo Williams, CNN A deputy to then-President Donald Trump’s acting secretary of defense held a call with his Chinese counterpart two days before the now-controversial call by Gen. Mark Milley, undercutting criticism that the Joint Chiefs chairman was out of line. According to two sources familiar with the matter, in a previously scheduled

By Lauren Dezenski, CNN This week, California Gov. Gavin Newsom held on to his job in a recall election, which President Joe Biden touted as a victory for strict Covid-19 mitigation efforts, including vaccine mandates. Meanwhile, a shaken US Capitol braced for an upcoming rally in support of those jailed in the January 6 insurrection.

By Tierney Sneed, Dianne Gallagher and Rachel Janfaza, CNN A North Carolina state court panel on Friday blocked a voter identification law, citing discrimination against Black voters. The law, known as SB 824, was passed in 2018 after Republicans lost their supermajority in the legislature but before the new legislature took over. It was already

By Liz Stark, CNN Interior Secretary Deb Haaland announced her plans Friday to return the Bureau of Land Management national headquarters to Washington, DC, after it had been relocated under the Trump administration. The headquarters of the BLM — which is part of the Interior Department and controls 245 million acres of federal lands —

By Priscilla Alvarez and Geneva Sands, CNN The Biden administration on Friday appealed a federal judge’s ruling to block border authorities from expelling migrant families with children under a public health order linked to the coronavirus pandemic. On Thursday, Judge Emmet Sullivan of the District of Columbia District Court acknowledged that his ruling would force

By Clare Foran and Alex Rogers, CNN GOP Rep. Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio announced on Thursday that he will not seek reelection, becoming the first of the 10 House Republicans who had voted in January to impeach then-President Donald Trump to decide to retire. Trump has targeted the Republicans, trying to purge them from the

By Tierney Sneed Attorney General Merrick Garland is facing more pressure to reconsider the Justice Department’s decision not to bring any prosecutions related to the FBI’s mishandling of the Larry Nassar investigation, with Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley calling Friday for a federal prosecutor or special counsel to further investigate the matter. Grassley is the top

By Sam Fossum and Kevin Liptak, CNN President Joe Biden on Friday signed an executive order adding measles to the list of quarantinable diseases roughly one week after several Afghan refugees who had recently arrived in the US tested positive for the disease, which led to a pause in flights of US-bound refugees. Flights of