National Politics

By Casey Gannon, CNN (CNN) — Former special counsel Jack Smith did not invoke his Fifth Amendment rights during eight hours of testimony Wednesday behind closed doors to the House Judiciary Committee, the panel’s chairman said. “He did not take the Fifth like some of his deputies did,” Jim Jordan, an Ohio Republican, said on

By Annie Grayer, CNN (CNN) — Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released photos from Jeffrey Epstein’s estate Thursday — the latest in a series of intermittent disclosures that have fueled significant political intrigue in recent weeks about who may have been associated with the convicted sex offender. The more than 60 images, released without

By Jennifer Hansler, CNN (CNN) — The United States sanctioned two more judges from the International Criminal Court (ICC) – the latest step in the Trump administration’s campaign to punish those involved with efforts to investigate Israel’s conduct in the war in Gaza. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday said he was imposing sanctions

By Kaanita Iyer, Katelyn Polantz, Devan Cole, CNN (CNN) — The Justice Department tried to add a third felony charge related to mortgage fraud against Letitia James when attempting to reindict the New York attorney general last week, according to court documents. The attempted third criminal count, which was first reported by Politico, would have

By Tami Luhby, CNN (CNN) — The cavalry didn’t come to save the Affordable Care Act’s enhanced premium subsidies, which ended when 2025 did. And while the House is expected to vote in January on a Democratic proposal to extend them for three years, the effort faces significant hurdles in the Senate. This means that

By Priscilla Alvarez, Pete Muntean, CNN (CNN) — The Department of Homeland Security’s newest airplane has a very familiar, very Trumpian look. Photos captured over the weekend at Reagan National Airport outside Washington, DC, show the department’s newly acquired Boeing 737 adorned with a design akin to President Donald Trump’s proposed paint scheme for a new

By John King, CNN Mount Juliet, Tennessee (CNN) — Megan Schwalm is full of energy. She sees the excitement and ambition of every member of the coffee group she started three years ago. Yet she is often afraid to trust what she sees and feels — afraid she will be let down again. “It’s a

By Betsy Klein, CNN (CNN) — In President Donald Trump’s telling, a land strike on Venezuela could come “soon.” He’s been saying that since mid-September. In that time, he’s publicly hinted or outright promised US military action on land at least 17 times, according to a CNN analysis of his appearances. The president’s rhetorical threat

By Kaanita Iyer, Matt Stiles, CNN (CNN) — Within weeks of retaking the White House, President Donald Trump boasted that he had “brought free speech back to America.” But since then, he has tested the limits of the First Amendment time and again, stoking alarm among civil rights experts and his critics. The First Amendment

By Kit Maher, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he would be issuing checks to members of the United States military for $1,776 – in honor of the country’s founding – calling the payment the “Warrior Dividend.” “1,450,000 military service members will receive a special, we call, warrior dividend before Christmas. A

By Daniel Dale, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump made a series of false claims during his prime-time address from the White House on Wednesday night, most of which have been debunked before. Here is a fact check of some of his assertions. Inflation and the economy Inflation under Trump: Near the end of the

By Piper Hudspeth Blackburn, CNN (CNN) — The US military conducted a strike against another alleged drug-trafficking boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Wednesday, killing 4 people, according to US Southern Command. “On Dec. 17, at the direction of @SecWar Pete Hegseth, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a

By Ellis Kim, CNN (CNN) — The House on Wednesday voted to pass a bill that could imprison health care providers for providing gender-affirming care for minors. The bill — titled the “Protect Children’s Innocence Act” and sponsored by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia — would make it a class C felony to treat

By Sarah Ferris, Tami Luhby, Ellis Kim, CNN (CNN) — House Republicans on Wednesday approved a narrow package designed to lower health care costs for some Americans in the coming years – marking a win for leadership even as some of their own members complain it falls woefully short of tackling rising prices in 2026.

By Tierney Sneed, CNN (CNN) — Ghislaine Maxwell, the former girlfriend of Jeffrey Epstein, is making another effort at overturning her conviction for child sex trafficking and other crimes, with new court filings Wednesday claiming evidence has emerged showing that she did not receive a fair trial. Maxwell’s latest maneuver faces extremely long odds and

By Pete Muntean, Katelyn Polantz, CNN (CNN) — The US government now admits failures by the pilots of an Army Black Hawk helicopter and a controller in the Reagan National Airport tower during the January 29 midair collision over the Potomac River that killed 67 people. The new admission is part of court documents filed