Politics

By Donald Judd, CNN Woodside, California (CNN) — US President Joe Biden said Wednesday he still believes Chinese President Xi Jinping is a dictator, even as the two leaders made progress in their relationship during a meeting outside San Francisco. “Well, look, he’s a dictator in the sense that he is a guy who runs

By Marshall Cohen, CNN (CNN) — Closing arguments wrapped up Wednesday in Donald Trump’s disqualification trial in Colorado, paving the way for a state judge to decide by the end of this week whether the former president is barred from office under the 14th Amendment’s “insurrectionist ban.” Colorado District Judge Sarah Wallace is expected to

By Lauren Fox and Annie Grayer, CNN The new speaker may have averted a government shutdown this week, but the major showdown over spending has merely been punted till January. Now, Speaker Mike Johnson has just two months to forge consensus within his fractious conference over a series of spending bills that don’t have the

By Jack Forrest, CNN (CNN) — Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia on Wednesday wouldn’t rule out a departure from the Democratic Party, saying he’s never considered himself “a Washington Democrat” as he weighs a potential presidential run. “I’ve never considered myself a Washington Democrat. I’ve been a very independent person,” Manchin told CNN’s Kaitlan

By Kristen Holmes and Alayna Treene, CNN (CNN) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is expected to endorse Donald Trump on Sunday, during an anticipated visit from the former president to the border city of McAllen, two sources familiar with the matter told CNN. The endorsement would be a major boon to the Trump campaign, especially

By Marshall Cohen and Devan Cole, CNN (CNN) — Fulton County prosecutors asked a judge Wednesday to jail Harrison Floyd, who is charged in the 2020 election subversion case in Georgia, because of his alleged “effort to intimidate codefendants and witnesses,” according to court filings. This is the first time Fulton County District Attorney Fani

By Manu Raju and Sam Fossum, CNN GOP Rep. Michael Guest, the chairman of the House Ethics Committee, told CNN that there would not be a recommendation on whether to expel Rep. George Santos from the House in the panel’s long-awaited report on his conduct. The decision to avoid an explicit recommendation could make it

By Katelyn Polantz, CNN (CNN) — Rudy Giuliani plans to testify in his own defense at an upcoming civil trial over how much he must pay two women he defamed in Georgia while spreading disinformation about the 2020 election. Giuliani’s disclosure that he planned to take the stand in the Washington, DC, courtroom at the

By Nick Valencia, Jason Morris and Marshall Cohen, CNN (CNN) — Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee said Wednesday that he plans to bar the public release of “sensitive” evidence in the Georgia election subversion case against former President Donald Trump and over a dozen others after key video evidence was leaked earlier this week.

By Jennifer Hansler, CNN (CNN) — The US government’s humanitarian agency will resume food assistance to Ethiopia next month after suspending it earlier this year, the agency’s spokesperson announced Tuesday. In June, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) suspended the aid nationwide after determining “that a widespread and coordinated campaign is diverting food assistance from the

By Alison Main, CNN (CNN) — New Hampshire will hold its “first-in-the-nation” presidential primary on January 23 next year, putting the state at odds with national Democrats and President Joe Biden, who will not be on the primary ballot. New Hampshire Secretary of State David Scanlan made the announcement Wednesday at the statehouse in Concord. “We

By David Wright and Kristen Holmes, CNN (CNN) — Eugene Vindman, the twin brother of retired US Army Col. Alexander Vindman – one of the high-profile witnesses during former President Donald Trump’s first impeachment – is set to announce plans to run for Congress, according to a source familiar with his plans. Vindman will be

By Haley Britzky, CNN (CNN) — A US warship shot down a drone that is believed to have originated from Yemen in the Red Sea on Wednesday, according to two US officials. The USS Thomas Hudner, an Arleigh Burke class guided missile destroyer, engaged a drone that originated from Yemen on Wednesday and was heading

By Clare Foran, Morgan Rimmer, Ted Barrett and Kristin Wilson, CNN The Senate on Wednesday passed a stopgap bill to keep the government open, averting a shutdown for now while setting up a contentious fight over funding in the new year. The bill was approved by the House on Tuesday and will now be sent

By Devan Cole, CNN (CNN) — President Joe Biden’s latest slate of judicial nominations includes a New York-based litigator who would be the first Muslim American to serve on any federal appeals court, the White House announced Wednesday. The nomination of Adeel Mangi to the US Third Circuit Court of Appeals underscores Biden’s stated goal

By Kara Scannell and Devan Cole, CNN (CNN) — Hunter Biden is asking a federal judge for permission to subpoena former President Donald Trump, former Attorney General Bill Barr and other Justice Department officials in his criminal gun case. “Mr. Biden seeks specific information from three former DOJ officials and the former President that goes

By Rosa Flores and Sara Weisfeldt, CNN (CNN) — Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is expected to sign a bill that would make it a new state crime for entering Texas illegally and gives local law enforcement the power to arrest and order migrants to leave the United States, an extraordinary step in the hard-fought

By Gregory Krieg, CNN (CNN) — New Jersey first lady Tammy Murphy announced Wednesday she was entering her state’s Democratic Senate primary, kicking off what could be a fierce intraparty contest against indicted incumbent Bob Menendez, who has yet to say whether he’s running for reelection, and progressive Rep. Andy Kim, with the potential for other

CNN, WSB By Jeff Zeleny, CNN Atlanta (CNN) — As Kerry Singleton looks ahead to the next presidential election, he’s thinking back to the excitement he felt when President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris visited the historic grounds of Clark Atlanta University and Morehouse College. “I remember the energy that was here on