National Politics

By Ariane de Vogue, CNN Supreme Court Reporter A controversial Texas law that bars abortions at six weeks went into effect early Wednesday morning after the Supreme Court and a federal appeals court failed to rule on pending emergency requests brought by abortion providers. The lack of judicial intervention means that the law — which

By Paul LeBlanc, CNN White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Tuesday praised the Afghan interpreter in hiding who helped rescue then-Sen. Joe Biden during a 2008 rescue mission as she reaffirmed the US’ commitment to helping Afghan allies. “Our message to him is: Thank you for fighting by our side for the last 20

By Ryan Nobles and Annie Grayer, CNN House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday issued a veiled threat to companies that cooperate with the House select committee investigating the deadly January 6 riot at the US Capitol, warning that “a Republican majority will not forget.” “If these companies comply with the Democrat order to turn

By Kristen Holmes, CNN As coronavirus cases rise across the South, state health officials, hospital consultants and oxygen suppliers continue to sound alarms over a potential shortage of medical grade oxygen to treat Covid-19 patients in the region. The Biden administration is working with and remains in close contact with oxygen suppliers and home health

By Daniel Dale, CNN Numerous Republicans, including Sen. Ted Cruz and Rep. Dan Crenshaw of Texas, promoted a false claim on Monday and Tuesday that the Taliban had just executed a man by hanging him from a helicopter. Cruz and Crenshaw, among other conservatives, shared a video that had been tweeted by a self-described “comedian”

By Paula Reid and Tierney Sneed, CNN The Justice Department on Tuesday unveiled a grand jury indictment against a Florida man for his alleged role in a scheme to defraud the family of Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz out of $25 million. Stephen Alford, 62, of Fort Walton Beach, faces charges including wire fraud, according

By Veronica Stracqualursi, CNN A colorful cast of more than 40 candidates from all political persuasions are vying to replace Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom in California’s recall election, but only a handful have managed to break through the pack. The candidates have two weeks left to convince voters to boot Newsom out of office and

By Manu Raju, Melanie Zanona and Jeremy Herb, CNN House and Senate Democrats are watching President Joe Biden’s handling of the withdrawal from Afghanistan with unease, distancing themselves with some Americans left behind in the war-torn country and as Republicans plot to make the issue a major focus heading into the 2022 midterms. In the

By Holmes Lybrand, CNN As the war in Afghanistan came to a stark end Monday, the Biden administration now faces questions over the level of risk the US and other Western countries face with the Taliban taking control of the country. During a briefing Monday, press secretary Jen Psaki inaccurately claimed the US has no

By Eric Bradner and Dianne Gallagher, CNN Texas lawmakers gave final approval Tuesday to a bill that would impose new restrictions on voting, sending it to the desk of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott — who said in a statement he will sign it into law. Abbott’s signature would add Texas — where Republicans are seeking

By Paul LeBlanc, Alex Marquardt and Josh Replogle, CNN When Mohammed Iqbal Selanee and Josh Rodriguez hugged in Washington, DC, this week, it was an embrace years in the making. As an interpreter for US forces in Afghanistan, Selanee worked alongside Rodriguez when he was deployed to Kunar Province, helping countless US soldiers work with

By Maeve Reston, CNN Larry Elder, the leading GOP candidate vying to replace California Gov. Gavin Newsom, said he doesn’t think it’s necessary for young people to get vaccinated against Covid-19 or for children to wear masks at school, and he vowed to repeal any mask or vaccine mandates for California’s state workers if he

By Katie Lobosco, CNN Social Security will have to cut benefits by 2034 if Congress does nothing to address the program’s long-term funding shortfall, according to an annual report released Tuesday by the Social Security and Medicare trustees. That’s one year earlier than reported last year. By that time, the combined trust funds for Social

By Clare Foran and Ali Zaslav, CNN The Senate on Tuesday approved a bill that would provide temporary assistance to American citizens who have returned from Afghanistan. The bill would set aside up to $10 million for each fiscal year during fiscal years 2021 and 2022 to provide emergency repatriation assistance to affected individuals. Vice

By Barbara Starr and Brianna Keilar, CNN The US military negotiated a secret arrangement with the Taliban that resulted in members of the militant group escorting clusters of Americans to the gates of the Kabul airport as they sought to escape Afghanistan, two defense officials told CNN. One of the officials also revealed that US