Politics

By Shania Shelton The Michigan state Senate on Wednesday voted to repeal the state’s 1931 abortion ban as well as its sentencing guidelines. The bills were passed 20-18, along party lines in the Democratic-controlled Senate after passing the House last week and were sent to Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for her signature. Democrats control the

By Oren Liebermann, CNN The US transferred an alleged al Qaeda bomb maker from Guantanamo Bay to Saudi Arabia, the Defense Department announced Wednesday, part of the Biden administration’s ongoing efforts to close the prison facility. Ghassan Al Sharbi, a 48-year-old Saudi native who has been held in detention at Guantanamo Bay for 20 years,

By Jamie Gangel, Gregory Krieg and Elizabeth Stuart, CNN The Republican political strategist who accused conservative leader Matt Schlapp, the influential chairman of the American Conservative Union, of sexual assault is revealing his identity after a judge ruled Wednesday that he cannot move forward with his lawsuit anonymously. Carlton Huffman, 39, was working for Herschel

By Jennifer Hansler, CNN US Marine Corps Sergeant Tyler Vargas-Andrews can remember in specific detail the moment that a suicide bomber attacked Kabul airport’s Abbey Gate in August 2021 amid the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan. “A flash and a massive wave of pressure. I’m thrown 4 feet onto the ground but instantly knew what had

By Shawna Mizelle, CNN Georgia’s Republican-led state legislature is considering a set of bills that would establish a commission with the power to remove prosecutors and district attorneys from their posts. Republicans, including Gov. Brian Kemp, say additional oversight is necessary to prevent “soft on crime” prosecutors from endangering Georgians. But Democrats are taking note

By Holmes Lybrand A former Republican congressional candidate pleaded guilty Wednesday to accepting a campaign contribution that violated campaign finance law. Lynda Bennett — who was backed by then-President Donald Trump and his chief of staff Mark Meadows in her 2020 run for Meadows’ former House seat in North Carolina — pleaded guilty to one

By Sydney Kashiwagi, CNN Arkansas Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed a bill into law this week that rolls back a number of child labor protections across the state, including a measure that had required employers to obtain work certificates for children under the age of 16. “The Governor believes protecting kids is most important,

By Haley Britzky, CNN Senior US generals issued stark warnings to lawmakers about what they described as an “aggressive” expansion of Chinese influence in South America and the Caribbean encroaching on American interests in the region. “The [People’s Republic of China] has the capability and intent to eschew international norms, advance its brand of authoritarianism,

By Lauren Fox, CNN The Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday voted to advance the embattled nomination of Eric Garcetti to be ambassador to India. The vote was 13-8, primarily along party lines. Two Republicans Sens. Todd Young of Indiana and Bill Hagerty of Tennessee voted with Democrats to support the nominee. The next step

By Hannah Rabinowitz, Devan Cole and Evan Perez, CNN The Louisville Metro Police Department routinely uses excessive force and practices “an aggressive style of policing” against Black people, the Justice Department said Wednesday after an investigation launched following the botched raid that killed Breonna Taylor. The scathing assessment paints a shocking portrait of racist and

By Ella Nilsen, CNN The Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday proposed a new rule for regulating wastewater from coal-fired power plants that are stronger than previous rules in the Obama and Trump administrations. “Coal-fired power plants discharge wastewater that can contain toxic metals and other pollutants that contaminate our vital water sources,” EPA Administrator Michael