Politics

CNN By Alexandra Banner, CNN A fossil unearthed in China is raising new questions about human evolution. Scientists say this 1-million-year-old skull could suggest that humans are much older than previously thought. Here’s what else you need to know to get up to speed and on with your day. 1️⃣ James Comey Former FBI Director

By Arlette Saenz, David Wright, CNN (CNN) — Top Democrats in Washington are calling for investigations after a branch of the National Archives released New Jersey Rep. Mikie Sherill’s unredacted military record, including her Social Security number, to an individual who filed a Freedom of Information Act request. Scott Levins, the director of the National

CNN By Hannah Rabinowitz, Evan Perez, Aileen Graef, Katelyn Polantz, Kaitlan Collins, Kristen Holmes, CNN (CNN) — Former FBI Director James Comey has been indicted by a federal grand jury, an extraordinary escalation in President Donald Trump’s effort to prosecute his political enemies. Comey, a longtime adversary of the president, is now the first senior

By Adam Cancryn, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump on Thursday sought to ramp up investigations of unnamed groups his administration suspects of supporting political violence, signing a presidential memorandum that critics worry will be used to target his political enemies. The directive aims to intensify efforts across the government to identify organizations backing what

By Sean Lyngaas, CNN (CNN) — US cyber officials issued an “emergency directive” Thursday ordering federal agencies to defend their networks against an “advanced” group of hackers that have breached at least one agency in an apparent espionage campaign. Government officials have not commented on who is behind the hacks, but private experts say they

By Alayna Treene, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump on Thursday signed a presidential memorandum seeking to reinstate the death penalty in Washington, DC, as Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the Justice Department will be seeking capital punishment across the country. “The death penalty in Washington,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “You kill

By Jennifer Hansler, CNN (CNN) — A top Trump administration official on Thursday called for changes to long-standing international asylum policies – a move that comes amid a sweeping US shift that has upended and restricted immigration policies at home. In remarks on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, Deputy Secretary of State Chris

By Haley Britzky, Zachary Cohen, CNN (CNN) — Hundreds of US generals and admirals around the globe have been called to Virginia for a meeting with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth next Tuesday, several US officials told CNN, though the reason for the meeting is unclear. The meeting is expected to be held at the military

By Daniel Dale, CNN (CNN) — Vice President JD Vance tried Wednesday to rewrite the history of what happened before ABC suspended late-night host Jimmy Kimmel last week, saying a commissioner on the Federal Communications Commission merely made “a joke on social media” on the subject of Kimmel. In reality, the chair of the FCC,

By Katelyn Polantz, Hannah Rabinowitz, CNN (CNN) — Senior Justice Department leaders are advocating for a charge against President Donald Trump’s former adviser-turned-critic John Bolton this week, according to two sources familiar with the investigation. Currently, the prosecutors think they could bring a stronger case by the end of the year against Bolton over the

By Hannah Rabinowitz, Evan Perez, Aileen Graef, Katelyn Polantz, Kaitlan Collins, Kristen Holmes, CNN (CNN) — Former FBI Director James Comey has been indicted by a federal grand jury, an extraordinary escalation in President Donald Trump’s effort to prosecute his political enemies. Comey, a longtime adversary of the president, is now the first senior government

By Arlette Saenz, David Wright, CNN (CNN) — Former President Barack Obama on Wednesday said the Trump administration engaged in “violence against the truth” with its announcements this week linking autism and Tylenol. “We have the spectacle of my successor in the Oval Office making broad claims around certain drugs and autism that have been

By MJ Lee, Andrew Seger, CNN (CNN) — Food insecurity remains at elevated levels for Washington, DC-area residents in 2025 and the percentage of people experiencing the most severe level of food insecurity has risen, exacerbated in recent months by the Trump administration’s cuts to federal jobs and funding, according to the Capital Area Food

By David Wright, CNN (CNN) — On the precipice of retirement, Mitch McConnell has become a pariah among the Republicans trying to succeed him. The top three Republicans running in Kentucky’s Senate primary started in state politics interning for McConnell. Two of them once referred to him as a mentor. Now, they are racing to

By Veronica Stracqualursi, CNN (CNN) — Charlie Kirk’s organization, Turning Point USA, continued its national tour of college campuses on Wednesday evening, stopping at Virginia Tech ahead of a pivotal election for the state. The “American Comeback Tour” event – headlined by conservative media pundit Megyn Kelly and Virginia Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin – celebrated

By Natasha Bertrand, Kylie Atwood, CNN (CNN) — NATO allies are divided over whether the alliance should make it a policy to shoot down Russian jets that violate NATO’s airspace, with some countries including the US, Poland and Baltic nations signaling that future violations should be met with force, while others, including Germany, urge more

By Adam Cancryn, Tami Luhby, CNN (CNN) — The White House budget office is telling federal agencies to prepare plans for mass firings in the event of a government shutdown – an apparent threat by the Trump administration amid a standoff with congressional Democrats over federal funding. The directive, outlined in an Office of Management

By Annie Grayer, Sarah Ferris, Manu Raju, CNN (CNN) — Top congressional Republicans and White House allies are working behind the scenes to prevent a politically charged floor vote to release the government’s Jeffrey Epstein case files next month, according to multiple sources familiar with the discussions. The intensifying effort to halt that floor vote