National Politics

By Kate Sullivan, CNN Pop sensation Olivia Rodrigo visited the White House on Wednesday to meet with President Joe Biden and his chief Covid-19 medical adviser, Dr. Anthony Fauci, to record videos to encourage young people to get vaccinated against the novel coronavirus. “I am beyond honored and humbled to be here today to help

By Jennifer Hansler, CNN One hundred and thirty-five years after the Statue of Liberty was formally unveiled in New York Harbor, her “little sister” has taken up residence in front of the French ambassador’s home in Washington, DC. The miniature Lady Liberty was officially inaugurated in a ceremony with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken

By Jennifer Hansler, CNN The Biden administration is launching “Operation Allies Refuge,” an effort to relocate thousands of Afghans who helped the United States throughout its nearly two-decade military campaign in Afghanistan. Flights for Afghan special immigrant visa (SIV) applicants “who are already in the pipeline will begin in the last week of July,” according

By Barbara Starr and Oren Liebermann, CNN In one of the most aggressive military efforts to combat rising Covid-19 infections, the commanding general of the Army base at Fort Rucker, Alabama, issued new orders Tuesday that for the first time will compel servicemembers to show proof of vaccination to their leaders. In a video posted

By Tami Luhby, CNN Congressional Democrats plan to use their multi-trillion-dollar spending proposal to achieve their longstanding goals of broadening Medicare benefits for seniors. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said late Tuesday the Budget Committee’s $3.5 trillion plan would include a historic expansion of Medicare to cover hearing, dental and vision care for the first

By Veronica Stracqualursi, CNN Civil rights attorney Lee Merritt announced Tuesday that he’s running as Democrat for Texas attorney general, joining a competitive state race to take on Republican incumbent Ken Paxton. Merritt has become nationally known over the past few years for representing several families of Black men and women who have died at

By Harmeet Kaur, CNN President Joe Biden took office vowing to chart a different course on immigration than his predecessor. He repealed Donald Trump’s travel ban on predominantly Muslim countries, halted construction on the border wall and proposed a path to citizenship for the nation’s 11 million undocumented immigrants. He ended the Trump-era program that

By Liz Stark, CNN President Joe Biden is facing a border crisis without a confirmed border commissioner, spending fights without an official budget director and a pandemic without a confirmed Food and Drug Administration commissioner. Nearly halfway through his first year in office, Biden has sent more nominations to the Senate and has had more

By Kylie Atwood, CNN Former President George W. Bush on Wednesday called the US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan a mistake and predicted that the consequences, especially for Afghan women and girls, will be “unbelievably bad.” “You know, I think it is,” Bush told German news outlet Deutsche Welle when asked if the withdrawal is a

By Arlette Saenz, John Harwood and Kate Sullivan, CNN President Joe Biden returned to Capitol Hill Wednesday to meet with Senate Democrats during their luncheon as he makes the case for both the bipartisan infrastructure proposal and a more sweeping package that can be pursued through reconciliation. “Is this my homecoming?” Biden joked as he

By Tami Luhby, CNN Tens of millions of families have been sent the first payment of the expanded child tax credit, the Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department said Wednesday night. The beefed-up credit will provide them with extra funds each month through the end of 2021 along with a tax break next year.

By Melanie Zanona and Alex Rogers, CNN Rep. Liz Cheney has a strong admonition for House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy: any Republican still challenging the legitimacy of the 2020 election results or whitewashing the January 6 insurrection is not fit to serve on the select committee investigating it. “It’s very important that we have members

By Kylie Atwood, CNN The Biden administration is examining the possibility of setting up an emergency hotline with the Chinese government similar to the so-called “red phone” established between the US and the Soviet Union during the Cold War, which allowed for direct communication with the Kremlin as a way to avert nuclear war. While

By Rachel Janfaza, CNN Young voters and voting rights activists in Texas are protesting potential restrictive new voting laws in the state. Topping their list of concerns, activists say, is a proposal that would stop expansive practices such as drive-through voting and 24-hour voting, which advocates say made it easier for young voters and voters

By Priscilla Alvarez, CNN The Biden administration faces the possibility of another immigration headache, as it weighs whether to more widely reopen US borders in the near future — just days from the current travel restrictions expiring. An increase in migrants crossing the US-Mexico border became a political liability earlier this year, overwhelming border facilities

By Alex Rogers and Manu Raju, CNN The National Republican Congressional Committee announced Wednesday that it had raised $45.4 million in the second quarter of 2021, the most it has ever raised in three months of a non-election year, as Republicans seek to take over the House in 2022. Democrats are protecting what is effectively

By Ryan Nobles and Lauren Fox, CNN Senate Democrats on the Budget Committee announced late Tuesday they struck an agreement on a $3.5 trillion budget resolution that includes spending for President Joe Biden‘s sweeping social agenda — and would be a first step toward unlocking their ability to pass their own infrastructure bill later this

By Devan Cole, CNN A group of abortion rights organizations and providers filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday seeking to block enforcement of a recently passed Texas law that would allow private citizens to sue individuals thought to have assisted in violating the state’s so-called heartbeat ban. The suit — brought by the Center for Reproductive