CNN – US Politics

By Gregory Wallace, CNN The Transportation Security Administration will extend its US federal transportation mask mandate through January 18, the agency confirmed late Tuesday afternoon. The mandate was set to expire on September 13. TSA said the purpose of the mask directive is “to minimize the spread of Covid-19 on public transportation,” and the extension

By Maegan Vazquez, Ellie Kaufman and Mike Conte, CNN White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Tuesday said the Taliban have committed to providing a “safe passage” for civilians looking to flee Afghanistan as he defended the US’ chaotic withdrawal from the two-decade conflict. Sullivan said the military is in discussions with the Taliban

By Paul P. Murphy and Fredreka Schouten, CNN Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold on Tuesday took the extraordinary step of appointing a new official to supervise elections in rural Mesa County, where federal and local authorities are investigating a security breach that included the leak of voting system passwords. Soon after, however, the county’s

By Alex Rogers, CNN Former Nevada state Attorney General Adam Laxalt launched his campaign for US Senate on Tuesday, comparing his campaign against Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto to the Star Wars’ battles between the Rebels and the Empire. After images of his three children watching the movies, dressing up in costumes and playing with

By Lauren Fox, Clare Foran, Annie Grayer and Ryan Nobles, CNN House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is signaling that she won’t be backed into a corner next week by moderates in her caucus who are refusing to back a budget agreement unless the speaker first allows a vote on the bipartisan infrastructure bill. It’s the first

By Kate Sullivan, CNN The Biden administration on Tuesday is shipping the first of the 500 million Covid-19 doses that President Joe Biden pledged to share with countries around the world at the Group of Seven summit earlier this year. The US is sending 488,370 doses of Pfizer to Rwanda through the global vaccination program

By Oren Liebermann and Ellie Kaufman, CNN An incoherent strategy to rebuild Afghanistan, flush with resources but lacking cohesive leadership and a well-defined mission, doomed the 20-year US reconstruction effort that saw American taxpayers pour $145 billion into projects that were often unsustainable, corrupt, and forced through on unrealistic timelines. The conclusions from the latest

By Marshall Cohen and Hannah Rabinowitz Boyd Camper was set to join the ranks of those pleading guilty in the January 6 insurrection when the federal judge overseeing the case abruptly postponed the plea hearing over questions about whether Camper really believed he did anything wrong. “Then this plea doesn’t go forward,” Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly

By Natasha Bertrand, Kylie Atwood, Oren Liebermann and Nicole Gaouette, CNN Factions within the Biden administration are embroiled in a blame game over why the US government didn’t act sooner to withdraw American citizens and Afghans who helped the US over two decades of war, leading to a rushed and dangerous evacuation. Military officials have

By Kaitlan Collins, CNN Top health officials in the Biden administration are coalescing around an agreement that most Americans should get Covid booster shots eight months after becoming fully vaccinated, two sources familiar with the discussions tell CNN. The plan, which is still being developed, would involve administering third shots beginning in mid- to late

By Geneva Sands, CNN The Biden administration asked federal employees from US Citizenship and Immigration Services to volunteer for assignments to support the relocation of Afghans who helped the United States, according to a notification sent to part of the workforce Monday and viewed by CNN. “As you may know, country conditions in Afghanistan are

By Kevin Liptak, Jeff Zeleny and Kaitlan Collins, CNN By the time images of desperate Afghans clinging to American warplanes began emerging from Kabul on Monday morning, President Joe Biden had conceded to aides he had little choice but to interrupt his stay at Camp David to return to the White House. He had been

By Jennifer Hansler, Kylie Atwood, Mike Conte and Priscilla Alvarez, CNN Now that the Taliban are in control of Kabul, Ismail is afraid to leave his house. “I’m under the threat,” he told CNN on Monday, “I’m like a prisoner.” Ismail — whose last name is being withheld to protect his safety — is one

By Rebekah Riess, CNN No foul play is suspected in the death of an 82nd Airborne Division paratrooper who was found unresponsive in his barracks room at Fort Bragg and pronounced dead on Friday, 82nd Airborne Division public affairs officer Maj. Russell Gordon said Wednesday. Pfc. Mikel Rubino, 29, was declared dead by emergency medical