By Chris Cillizza, CNN Editor-at-large On Tuesday, Elmo — yes, the perennially joyful red Muppet who loves, literally, everyone — got vaccinated against Covid-19. “Elmo got the COVID vaccine today, just like Elmo’s mommy and daddy!” tweeted the puppet. “Elmo’s daddy had a lot of questions, but Elmo’s doctor said the vaccine would help keep
Continue Reading By Ariane de Vogue, CNN Supreme Court Reporter Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson joined the Supreme Court on Thursday, making history as the first female African-American justice and beginning what could be a decades-long tenure. But as she starts her job, the court is in turmoil. The country is reeling from the aftereffects of the most
Continue Reading By Mark Morales, Devan Cole and Lauren del Valle, CNN Lev Parnas, a former associate of Rudy Giuliani, was sentenced Wednesday to 20 months in prison in connection with to convictions on campaign finance, wire fraud and false statements. Parnas was convicted last fall on six counts related to “influence buying” campaign finance schemes. Jurors
Continue Reading By Ariane de Vogue and Tierney Sneed, CNN The US Supreme Court said in a 5-4 ruling Wednesday that state agencies are not immune from private lawsuits under a federal law meant to protect employment rights of returning veterans. The ruling will strengthen work protections for thousands of state-employed veterans returning to work after service
Continue Reading By Ariane de Vogue, CNN Supreme Court Reporter Justice Stephen Breyer has notified the White House that his retirement will be effective Thursday, June 30, at noon ET. In a letter to President Joe Biden, Breyer said it had been his “great honor” to participate as a judge in the “effort to maintain our Constitution
Continue Reading By Alex Rogers and Sara Murray, CNN John Wood, a former senior investigator for the House select committee investigating the January 6 attack on the US Capitol, launched on Wednesday a Senate campaign in Missouri as an independent, calling for a “commonsense alternative” to the field of Republican and Democratic candidates. “Missouri voters deserve better
Continue Reading By Noah Gray and Zachary Cohen, CNN Then-President Donald Trump angrily demanded to go to the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, and berated his protective detail when he didn’t get his way, according to two Secret Service sources who say they heard about the incident from multiple agents, including the driver of the presidential
Continue Reading By Ariane de Vogue and Tierney Sneed, CNN The US Supreme Court said in a 5-4 ruling Wednesday that state agencies are not immune from private lawsuits under a federal law meant to protect employment rights of returning veterans. The ruling will strengthen work protections for thousands of state-employed veterans returning to work after service
Continue Reading By Kevin Liptak, Niamh Kennedy and Sharon Braithwaite, CNN NATO formalized its invitation to Sweden and Finland to join its alliance Wednesday, a historic expansion of the defense bloc that directly undercuts Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aims as his war in Ukraine grinds ahead. The group collectively decided to approve countries’ applications to join after
Continue Reading By Catherine E. Shoichet and Priscilla Alvarez, CNN After authorities found dozens of migrants dead inside a semi-truck in Texas, US officials swiftly placed the blame on ruthless smugglers. Politicians seized on the moment to point fingers over border policies. And immigrant rights advocates warned the deaths are the latest example of a tragic trend
Continue Reading By Tami Luhby, CNN Though a growing number of companies are offering to help workers travel to states where abortion is legal, it remains uncertain whether employers and insurers will have to pull back on providing abortion coverage to residents of states where the procedure is or will soon be banned. Now that the Supreme
Continue Reading By Kevin Liptak, Niamh Kennedy and Sharon Braithwaite, CNN NATO formalized its invitation to Sweden and Finland to join its alliance Wednesday, a historic expansion of the defense bloc that directly undercuts Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aims as his war in Ukraine grinds ahead. The group collectively decided to approve countries’ applications to join after
Continue Reading By Eric Bradner, CNN Republican primary voters in Colorado resoundingly rejected Donald Trump’s brand of politics Tuesday, choosing more moderate nominees for key offices over a group of candidates that had embraced the former President’s lies about election fraud. In Illinois, however, GOP voters sided with Trump, choosing the conservative state senator he had endorsed
Continue Reading By Katelyn Polantz, CNN Reporter, Crime and Justice Right-wing attorney John Eastman has dropped his challenge to the House’s pursuit of his call log data, according to a new federal court filing. The House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, US Capitol attack had subpoenaed Verizon for three months of records related to Eastman’s
Continue Reading By Ariane de Vogue and Zachary Cohen, CNN A lawyer for Virginia “Ginni” Thomas said in a letter to the January 6, 2021, House select committee on Tuesday that he “does not believe there is currently a sufficient basis to speak with” the conservative activist. “I am asking the Committee to provide a better justification
Continue Reading By Gregory Krieg, CNN On the same day a former aide to President Donald Trump’s chief of staff testified about how Trump had wanted to join the throngs of his supporters at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, Republicans in Colorado on Tuesday rejected three election deniers running for statewide office. Mesa County Clerk
Continue Reading By Marshall Cohen, CNN A federal judge on Tuesday rejected an attempt by a New Mexico county commissioner to shut down state proceedings against him that seek to remove him from office because of his conviction for trespassing on US Capitol grounds on January 6, 2021. Couy Griffin, an Otero County commissioner and a prominent
Continue Reading By Kevin Liptak, CNN President Joe Biden was meeting royalty in Spain on Tuesday when word arrived that an audacious plan he had hatched six months earlier was in the final stages of completion. The leaders of Finland and Sweden were meeting across town in a conference room with the leader of Turkey, who for
Continue Reading By Jake Tapper and Annie Grayer, CNN Cassidy Hutchinson, an aide to former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, released a new statement Wednesday provided exclusively to CNN standing by her blockbuster testimony delivered in a hearing with the House select committee investigating January 6, in light of some pushback on her testimony.
Continue Reading By Marshall Cohen, Zachary Cohen and Alex Rogers, CNN The House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, Capitol Hill insurrection reconvened Tuesday for a hastily scheduled hearing, featuring blockbuster testimony from Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson. Hutchinson has cooperated extensively with the investigation, having sat for four closed-door depositions. She revealed how then-President
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