National Politics

By Jack Forrest, CNN (CNN) — Two former high-ranking Syrian intelligence officials have been charged with war crimes for allegedly torturing Americans and other civilians who were deemed enemies by the Syrian government and held in a military prison, the Department of Justice said Monday. US prosecutors say the two officials in former President Bashar

By Clare Foran, Manu Raju and Lauren Fox, CNN (CNN) — Top GOP senators on Monday signaled support for Donald Trump’s plan to oust the current FBI director in favor of firebrand loyalist Kash Patel, while keeping the door open for Pete Hegseth, who faces a slate of misconduct allegations, as the president-elect’s pick to

By Natasha Bertrand and Haley Britzky, CNN (CNN) — The US military is again pausing flights of it troubled V-22 Osprey fleet “to determine if any additional safety measures are necessary,” a Navy spokesperson said Monday. “Today, Naval Air Forces directed an operational pause for all U.S. Navy CMV-22B Ospreys following a recommendation from Naval

By John Fritze, CNN (CNN) — The Supreme Court on Monday declined to decide whether three elite Boston public schools violated the Constitution with a zip-code based admissions policy intended to ensure racial diversity. The appeal landed at the high court more than a year after a landmark 6-3 ruling ended affirmative action at universities

By John Fritze, CNN (CNN) — The Supreme Court declined Monday to hear an appeal from a group of parents who say their Wisconsin school district is hiding transgender support plans involving their children. Three conservatives said they would have heard the case: Justices Brett Kavanaugh, Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas. While the Supreme Court

By Colin McCullough, CNN (CNN) — Lara Trump said Sunday that she is stepping down as co-chair of the Republican National Committee. “The job I came to do is now complete and I intend to formally step down from the RNC at our next meeting,” Trump said in a post on X. Trump, the daughter-in-law

By Evan Perez, Zachary Cohen and Holmes Lybrand, CNN (CNN) — Years before he was Donald Trump’s pick to lead the FBI, Kash Patel was a midlevel Justice Department lawyer who once drew the ire of a Texas judge who described Patel as being precisely the kind of federal bureaucrat he has vowed to weed

CNN By Aaron Pellish, CNN (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump in a television interview that aired Sunday previewed a sweeping agenda for his first days in office, outlining how his administration will prioritize deporting migrants with criminal records, vowing to pursue pardons for January 6 defendants on his first day, and raising the possibility that

By Betsy Klein, Aileen Graef, Kayla Tausche, Jack Forrest and Isabelle D’Antonio, CNN (CNN) — President Joe Biden on Sunday called the extraordinary fall of the Assad regime in Syria “a moment of risk” and “historic opportunity” while offering a blueprint for how the US plans to support the region. Speaking at the White House

By Daniel Dale, CNN Washington (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump repeated numerous false claims during an interview that aired Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” – including his old lie that the US is the world’s only country with birthright citizenship. Trump reiterated his intention to try to end birthright citizenship, in which, under the

By Aaron Pellish, CNN (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump in a television interview that aired Sunday previewed a sweeping agenda for his first days in office, outlining how his administration will prioritize deporting migrants with criminal records, vowing to pursue pardons for January 6 defendants on his first day, and raising the possibility that former

By Manu Raju, Sarah Ferris and Lauren Fox, CNN (CNN) — For more on the GOP agenda in the new Congress, watch CNN’s “Inside Politics Sunday with Manu Raju” this Sunday at 8 a.m. ET and 11 a.m ET. Republicans from Capitol Hill to the White House are battling internally over the basic tenets of

CNN By Alex Marquardt, Katie Bo Lillis and Natasha Bertrand, CNN (CNN) — Biden administration officials, watching the remarkable speed of the Syrian rebel advance, increasingly see the possibility of the regime of Bashar al-Assad falling within days, five US officials told CNN. If the American analysis proves true, it would represent a spectacularly fast

By Oren Liebermann, CNN Simi Valley, California (CNN) — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Saturday announced a $1 billion military aid package for Ukraine as he forcefully argued for US leadership around the world. “The troubles of our times will only grow worse without strong and steady American leadership,” Austin said in his fourth consecutive

CNN By Natasha Bertrand and Haley Britzky, CNN Washington (CNN) — “Get Pete Hegseth on the phone!” It was March 2018, and then-President Donald Trump was meeting with his Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary, Dr. David Shulkin, about how to reform veteran health care. But it was Hegseth, then a Fox News personality, whose opinion

By Alex Marquardt, Katie Bo Lillis and Natasha Bertrand, CNN (CNN) — Biden administration officials, watching the remarkable speed of the Syrian rebel advance, increasingly see the possibility of the regime of Bashar al-Assad falling within days, five US officials told CNN. If the American analysis proves true, it would represent a spectacularly fast fall

By Natasha Bertrand and Haley Britzky, CNN Washington (CNN) — “Get Pete Hegseth on the phone!” It was March 2018, and then-President Donald Trump was meeting with his Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary, Dr. David Shulkin, about how to reform veteran health care. But it was Hegseth, then a Fox News personality, whose opinion Trump

By Gregory Krieg, Kristen Holmes and Alayna Treene, CNN (CNN) — The Notre Dame Cathedral provided the luminous backdrop for President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the geopolitical stage Saturday, when French officials put an ornate line under the five-year project to restore the soaring landmark with a reopening ceremony featuring dozens of world leaders. Trump,

By Evan Perez and Holmes Lybrand, CNN (CNN) — While President-elect Donald Trump’s controversial pick for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, is beginning the process to undergo an FBI background check, the intensive review may not provide the answers that either Democrats or Republicans are seeking. That’s because a nominee doesn’t “pass” a background check, and