National Politics

By Hannah Rabinowitz, CNN Two US nationals were arrested in Kansas City on Thursday for allegedly sending US aviation technology to Russia, the Justice Department announced. Cyril Gregory Buyanovsky, 59, and Douglas Robertson, 55, are facing several charges, including exporting controlled goods without a license, falsifying and failing to file electronic export information, and smuggling

By Barbie Nadeau, Lindsay Isaac, Jennifer Hansler and Sydney Kashiwagi, CNN US diplomat Cindy McCain, the widow of the late Arizona Sen. John McCain, was appointed Thursday to head the United Nations’ World Food Programme. McCain, currently the US ambassador to the UN Agencies in Rome, will succeed the organization’s current executive director, David Beasley,

By Ariane de Vogue and Devan Cole, CNN The US Supreme Court on Thursday asked parties involved in a major voting rights case out of North Carolina to file additional briefs to address new developments that occurred in the state after the justices heard oral arguments in the dispute last year. The request comes as

By Jennifer Hansler, CNN US Secretary of State Antony Blinken publicly revealed for the first time Thursday that the United States has put forward a “serious proposal” to secure wrongfully detained Paul Whelan’s release from Russia. US officials have long stressed their commitment to bringing home Whelan, who has been detained in Russia since 2018,

By Shawna Mizelle, CNN House Republicans have introduced a bill aimed at increasing so-called parental rights in the classroom, continuing to emphasize an issue that has emerged as a central party platform. Among other things, H.R. 5, also known as the “Parents Bill of Rights Act,” would amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of

By Gregory Krieg, Clare Foran and Fredreka Schouten, CNN The House Ethics Committee announced Thursday it is officially moving forward with a probe into embattled Rep. George Santos as the New York Republican faces mounting legal issues and calls to resign for extensively lying about his resume and biography. The Ethics Committee said in a

By Ted Barrett, Lauren Fox, Phil Mattingly and Clare Foran, CNN President Joe Biden surprised Democratic senators Thursday when he told them that he won’t veto GOP-led legislation to rescind a controversial Washington, DC, crime law, a move that comes as Democrats are divided over the contentious issue and Republicans are aggressively accusing them of

By Tierney Sneed, CNN The Justice Department on Thursday urged an appeals court to reject sweeping claims of presidential immunity put forward by former President Donald Trump in the civil litigation surrounding the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the US Capitol. The department told the appeals court — which is considering several private lawsuits brought

By Steve Contorno, CNN Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday distanced himself from his past support for privatizing Social Security and raising the retirement age as potential future political foes seize on his previous ideas for the popular retirement program. “We’re not going to mess with Social Security as Republicans,” DeSantis told Fox News. “I

By Ella Nilsen, CNN With just days to go until the Biden administration is set to a release a decision on the first major oil drilling project of its tenure, the White House has indicated it may reduce the scope of the controversial project that has drawn fierce criticism from climate advocates. The Willow Project,

By Sam Fossum, CNN The Biden administration has sanctioned eight Mexican companies it says are involved in a timeshare fraud scheme benefiting the Jalisco cartel, a notorious drug organization that the US government says traffics a “significant proportion” of the illegal fentanyl and other drugs that enter the US. According to the US Treasury, who

By Arlette Saenz First lady Dr. Jill Biden offered a window into her marriage with President Joe Biden, telling CNN in an interview that she maintains a “good balance” in the types of insight and advice she offers her husband. “Certainly I tell him stories, and I have things that I’ve seen and things that

By Michelle Watson, Karl de Vries and Hannah Rabinowitz, CNN A Michigan man allegedly threatened on social media to kill Jewish members of the Michigan government, the FBI said, and state Attorney General Dana Nessel says she was among those targeted. The incident adds to recent concerns about threats against public officials as well as

By Daniel Dale, CNN A viral video of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky takes his remarks out of context to wrongly make it sound like he demanded that Americans send their sons and daughters to fight in the war in Ukraine. The out-of-context 19-second video has been viewed millions of times on Twitter. It features a

By Jennifer Hansler and Kylie Atwood, CNN US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Thursday for the first time since the war in Ukraine began more than a year ago. The brief contact on the sidelines of the G20 Foreign Ministers meeting in New Delhi marks a significant

By Kate Sullivan, Veronica Stracqualursi and Kristen Holmes, CNN Two dueling high-profile Republican gatherings this week — one featuring former President Donald Trump and the other Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — showcase the deepening divide within the GOP as it barrels toward its 2024 nominating process. Trump is scheduled to headline the Conservative Political Action

By Shawna Mizelle and Dave Alsup, CNN Republican Gov. Bill Lee signed a bill into law Thursday afternoon that will restrict public drag show performances in Tennessee, making his state the first to do so this year. The state Senate passed the bill earlier Thursday along party lines to limit “adult cabaret performances” on public