National Politics

By Oren Liebermann, CNN The US was monitoring Iranian ship movements in the Middle East as Tehran quietly replaced a spy ship in the Red Sea that was damaged in an April attack, two US officials told CNN amid escalating regional tension with Iran and an ongoing maritime shadow conflict between Israel and Iran. Iran

By Jennifer Hansler and Ellie Kaufman, CNN A US Defense Department expert team concluded that the drone behind the deadly attack on the Mercer Street commercial vessel was produced in Iran, US Central Command said in a statement Friday. The assault on the Mercer Street, which left two crewmembers dead, has ratcheted up tensions in

By Natasha Bertrand and Nicole Gaouette, CNN Biden administration officials are becoming increasingly pessimistic about reviving the Iran nuclear deal as the country’s new hardline president takes office and its nuclear program continues to accelerate, national security and intelligence officials familiar with the negotiations told CNN. The deal’s original signatories known as the P5+1 —

By Ryan Nobles, Zachary Cohen, Whitney Wild and Annie Grayer, CNN For the 535 members of Congress, the haunting memories of the violence and chaos from January 6 don’t go away as they leave Washington, DC. The ongoing threat remains top of mind for many lawmakers ahead of the August recess when Republicans and Democrats

By Manu Raju and Alex Rogers, CNN Sen. Rob Portman, the longtime Washington veteran and savvy deal-cutter, is on the cusp of achieving a major bipartisan achievement that would amount to a capstone of his three decades of public service: The Senate’s passage of a roughly $1 trillion package to rebuild the nation’s infrastructure. But

By Lauren del Valle and Veronica Stracqualursi, CNN New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s legal team on Friday attacked the state attorney general’s report that found he sexually harassed 11 women, after one of those women, who is a staff member for Cuomo, recently filed a criminal complaint against the embattled Democrat with the Albany Sheriff’s

By Paul P. Murphy, CNN The Lanz family tells CNN that their son Austin Lanz, the man authorities say killed a Pentagon Police officer on Tuesday morning, had “many mental health challenges.” “We are devastated by the loss of our son, Austin, and of officer George Gonzalez,” the family said in a statement provided to

By Kate Sullivan, CNN President Joe Biden on Friday touted the country’s economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic after the US added 943,000 jobs in July and the unemployment rate fell to 5.4%, but said more work needs to be done to vaccinate the rest of the country amid the Delta variant surge. “My message

By Ariane de Vogue, CNN Supreme Court Reporter A lawyer representing Indiana University students asked the Supreme Court Friday to block the school’s vaccine mandate that is set to take effect this fall while the appeals process plays out. The filing marks the first time the justices have been asked to weigh in on the

By Ariane de Vogue, CNN Supreme Court Reporter Justice Department lawyers defended the Biden administration’s most recent eviction moratorium Friday, telling a federal judge that because of the “deteriorating public health situation” related to the Delta variant, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention determined that it needed “a new invocation” of its responsibility

By Tara Subramaniam, CNN As the US economy gradually recovers from the coronavirus pandemic, prices are rising across the board with inflation exceeding the Federal Reserve’s 2% target and reaching a 13-year high in June. Republicans have turned that jump in inflation into a political talking point, trying to place the blame on President Joe

By Melanie Zanona, CNN For House Republicans, their path back to power could rest on the backs of GOP women. After a historic number of Republican women were elected to the House in 2020 — including in some of the most competitive races in the country — the party sees a recipe for electoral success

By Kevin Liptak, CNN Even President Joe Biden did not sound particularly confident his administration’s new freeze on evictions would hold up in court when he explained the move in the East Room this week. Instead, he said the new ban, even if challenged, would at least “give some additional time” for billions in unspent

By Eric Bradner, CNN Pennsylvania Rep. Conor Lamb entered next year’s Senate race on Friday as one of the most important and closely-watched Democratic primary contests of 2022 takes shape. With control of a Senate split between 50 Democrats and 50 Republicans hanging in the balance and history suggesting that the GOP enters 2022 with

By Shawna Mizelle, CNN President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965 into law on August 6, 1965. The legislation served to protect and enforce the 14th and 15th Amendments of the Constitution. It was enacted in response to voter suppression in the 1960s by state governments, local governments and law enforcement,