Politics

By Phil Mattingly, Adam Cancryn, Sarah Ferris, CNN (CNN) — A memo from the White House budget office telling federal agencies to prepare plans for mass firings should the government shut down signaled a dramatic escalation in a funding staredown with fewer potential off-ramps as next week’s deadline nears. But it also provided the first

By Kaanita Iyer, Piper Hudspeth Blackburn, CNN (CNN) — James Comey, the former FBI director who was indicted Thursday, has had a longstanding feud with President Donald Trump that dates back to his abrupt firing during the early months of Trump’s first term. Comey has been indicted with obstruction of a congressional proceeding and giving

By Hannah Rabinowitz, Aileen Graef, Dan Berman, CNN (CNN) — James Comey’s son-in-law, Troy A. Edwards, Jr., resigned Thursday night from his position as a senior national security prosecutor shortly after the former FBI director was indicted. In a one-sentence letter to US Attorney Lindsey Halligan obtained by CNN, Edwards wrote: “To uphold my oath

CNN, POOL, SEE PREFONTS By Katelyn Polantz, CNN (CNN) — Get ready for a 2016 redux. The indictment of former FBI Director James Comey made public on Thursday is likely to put on display, yet again, the blockbuster political discourse around the FBI investigations in 2016 that affected the presidential election. Central to the case:

By Brian Todd, CNN (CNN) — Hundreds of current and former VA doctors, nurses and other caregivers have issued a warning to the Department of Veterans Affairs about the negative impacts of the agency’s recent staffing cuts and other policy changes. In a mass letter sent Wednesday to VA Secretary Doug Collins, the agency’s inspector

By Katelyn Polantz, CNN (CNN) — Get ready for a 2016 redux. The indictment of former FBI Director James Comey made public on Thursday is likely to put on display, yet again, the blockbuster political discourse around the FBI investigations in 2016 that affected the presidential election. Central to the case: Leaks to media outlets

By Aditi Sangal, Helen Regan, Billy Stockwell, CNN (CNN) — US President Donald Trump said Thursday that he will not allow Israel to annex the occupied West Bank, drawing a rare red line over Israel’s actions in the Palestinian territory. Trump’s comments came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in New York for the

CNN By Alexandra Banner, CNN A fossil unearthed in China is raising new questions about human evolution. Scientists say this 1-million-year-old skull could suggest that humans are much older than previously thought. Here’s what else you need to know to get up to speed and on with your day. 1️⃣ James Comey Former FBI Director

By Arlette Saenz, David Wright, CNN (CNN) — Top Democrats in Washington are calling for investigations after a branch of the National Archives released New Jersey Rep. Mikie Sherill’s unredacted military record, including her Social Security number, to an individual who filed a Freedom of Information Act request. Scott Levins, the director of the National

CNN By Hannah Rabinowitz, Evan Perez, Aileen Graef, Katelyn Polantz, Kaitlan Collins, Kristen Holmes, CNN (CNN) — Former FBI Director James Comey has been indicted by a federal grand jury, an extraordinary escalation in President Donald Trump’s effort to prosecute his political enemies. Comey, a longtime adversary of the president, is now the first senior

By Adam Cancryn, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump on Thursday sought to ramp up investigations of unnamed groups his administration suspects of supporting political violence, signing a presidential memorandum that critics worry will be used to target his political enemies. The directive aims to intensify efforts across the government to identify organizations backing what

By Sean Lyngaas, CNN (CNN) — US cyber officials issued an “emergency directive” Thursday ordering federal agencies to defend their networks against an “advanced” group of hackers that have breached at least one agency in an apparent espionage campaign. Government officials have not commented on who is behind the hacks, but private experts say they

By Alayna Treene, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump on Thursday signed a presidential memorandum seeking to reinstate the death penalty in Washington, DC, as Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the Justice Department will be seeking capital punishment across the country. “The death penalty in Washington,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “You kill

By Jennifer Hansler, CNN (CNN) — A top Trump administration official on Thursday called for changes to long-standing international asylum policies – a move that comes amid a sweeping US shift that has upended and restricted immigration policies at home. In remarks on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, Deputy Secretary of State Chris

By Haley Britzky, Zachary Cohen, CNN (CNN) — Hundreds of US generals and admirals around the globe have been called to Virginia for a meeting with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth next Tuesday, several US officials told CNN, though the reason for the meeting is unclear. The meeting is expected to be held at the military

By Daniel Dale, CNN (CNN) — Vice President JD Vance tried Wednesday to rewrite the history of what happened before ABC suspended late-night host Jimmy Kimmel last week, saying a commissioner on the Federal Communications Commission merely made “a joke on social media” on the subject of Kimmel. In reality, the chair of the FCC,

By Katelyn Polantz, Hannah Rabinowitz, CNN (CNN) — Senior Justice Department leaders are advocating for a charge against President Donald Trump’s former adviser-turned-critic John Bolton this week, according to two sources familiar with the investigation. Currently, the prosecutors think they could bring a stronger case by the end of the year against Bolton over the