Politics

By Kit Maher, Kevin Liptak, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump said Tuesday he was ordering a “total and complete blockade” of sanctioned oil tankers coming to and leaving from Venezuela, ratcheting up pressure against leader Nicolás Maduro’s regime and suggesting an economic motive to the US’ military campaign in the region. Punctuating the words

By Kit Maher, Kristen Holmes, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order Thursday that would reschedule marijuana to a lower drug classification — a move that would ease federal restrictions, though it would not mean full legalization, according to a source familiar with the planning and a senior White

By Aleena Fayaz, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed a proclamation expanding the list of countries with full or partial travel restrictions to 39, increasing from the previous list of 19 countries, according to the White House. The proclamation adds seven new countries to the full travel ban list: Laos, Sierra Leone,

By Priscilla Alvarez, Jennifer Hansler, Nimi Princewill, CNN (CNN) — The South African government briefly held, then released, two US government employees on assignment in South Africa as part of the Trump administration’s bid to admit Afrikaners to the United States, according to multiple sources familiar with the situation. The incident appeared to mark an

By Haley Britzky, CNN (CNN) — The Pentagon has launched a new “official Command” phase of its investigation into whether Sen. Mark Kelly will be punished for his involvement in a video that reminded members of the military they have a duty to refuse illegal orders, with a decision likely to be made in about

By Devan Cole, Betsy Klein, CNN (CNN) — A federal judge indicated Tuesday that he won’t order President Donald Trump to immediately stop work on the massive new White House ballroom. But US District Judge Richard Leon left open the possibility that he could intervene in the high-stakes legal fight over the project at a

By Adam Cancryn, CNN (CNN) — Vice President JD Vance on Tuesday sought to rally gloomy Pennsylvania voters behind the Trump administration’s economic agenda, alleviate their cost-of living concerns — and accomplish it all more efficiently than President Donald Trump had done a week before. Returning to the swing state just days after Trump delivered

By Annie Grayer, CNN (CNN) — The House Judiciary Committee is demanding interviews with four current and former Department of Justice officials who were involved in subpoenaing phone records for several members of Congress around the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack, the day before Republicans interview former special counsel Jack Smith. The interview requests to

By Haley Britzky, Alison Main, Manu Raju, Morgan Rimmer, CNN (CNN) — The Pentagon will not release to the public the full video of the US military’s strike on an alleged drug boat on September 2, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said. The attack, which included a follow-up strike that killed two crew members who

By Alejandra Jaramillo, Alayna Treene, CNN (CNN) — The president’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., is engaged to Palm Beach socialite Bettina Anderson, a spokesperson for Trump Jr. confirmed to CNN. President Donald Trump announced the engagement on Monday night at a White House holiday party. The announcement brought fresh attention to a relationship that

By Kevin Liptak, Alejandra Jaramillo, Kristen Holmes, CNN (CNN) — The White House chief of staff, Susie Wiles, delivered a series of unusually candid and at times unflattering assessments of President Donald Trump, his second-term agenda and some of his closest allies in a series of wide-ranging interviews with Vanity Fair published Tuesday. Across more

By Adam Cancryn, Alayna Treene, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump bragged to Pennsylvanians last week that he’d delivered an “unbelievable” economy. Now, it’s up to Vice President JD Vance to explain why they’re not yet feeling the benefits. Vance will return to the swing state on Tuesday to tout Trump’s economic agenda, marking the

CNN By Piper Hudspeth Blackburn, CNN (CNN) — The US military conducted strikes against three alleged drug-trafficking boats in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Monday, killing 8 people, according to US Southern Command. “On Dec. 15, at the direction of @SecWar Pete Hegseth, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted lethal kinetic strikes on three vessels

By Steve Contorno, Elle Reeve, Kristen Holmes, CNN (CNN) — Erika Kirk, the widow of slain conservative influencer Charlie Kirk, met Monday with podcaster Candace Owens amid an intensifying public feud over Owens’ promotion of conspiracy theories surrounding Kirk’s death. Both women described the meeting as “productive” in social media posts Monday night. Owens wrote

CNN By Piper Hudspeth Blackburn, CNN (CNN) — Retiring Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene announced on Monday her engagement to Brian Glenn, a pro-Trump pundit who works for the far-right news network Real America’s Voice. “Happily ever after!!!” Greene posted on X. Glenn, who is chief White House correspondent for the MAGA-aligned network, also shared

By Piper Hudspeth Blackburn, CNN (CNN) — The US military conducted strikes against three alleged drug-trafficking boats in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Monday, killing 8 people, according to US Southern Command. “On Dec. 15, at the direction of @SecWar Pete Hegseth, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted lethal kinetic strikes on three vessels operated

By Piper Hudspeth Blackburn, CNN (CNN) — Retiring Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene announced on Monday her engagement to Brian Glenn, a pro-Trump pundit who works for the far-right news network Real America’s Voice. “Happily ever after!!!” Greene posted on X. Glenn, who is chief White House correspondent for the MAGA-aligned network, also shared the