National Politics

By Kristen Holmes and Eric Bradner, CNN Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday visited the site of a train derailment, criticizing President Joe Biden’s administration’s handling of the railway disaster that spewed toxic chemicals in East Palestine, Ohio, 19 days earlier. His trip to one of the most conservative regions of the deep-red state came

By Oren Liebermann, CNN A US strike in Somalia killed seven al-Shabaab fighters on Tuesday, US Africa Command said in a statement. The strike was carried out at the request of the Somali government and was a “collective self-defense strike,” AFRICOM said. The strike was carried out approximately 320 miles northeast of Mogadishu. “Given the

By Maegan Vazquez, Pete Muntean and Aileen Graef, CNN A fiery train wreck that released toxic materials in an Ohio town is raising new questions in the halls of the nation’s capital over the regulation of the rail industry and if stricter measures could have prevented the disaster. News of the East Palestine, Ohio, derailment

By Katelyn Polantz, Kara Scannell and Paula Reid, CNN A law firm that represented former Donald Trump strategist Steve Bannon during his fight against a subpoena from the House January 6 committee and other cases is suing Bannon for nearly $500,000 in unpaid legal bills. The lawsuit states that Davidoff Hutcher & Citron LLP worked

By Haley Britzky, CNN The US Defense Department has released a selfie taken in the cockpit of a U-2 spy plane, as an airman flew above the Chinese surveillance balloon that was shot down by the US military earlier this month. The selfie, taken by the pilot of the U-2, shows the shadow of the

By Hannah Rabinowitz, Holmes Lybrand and Katelyn Polantz, CNN Lawyers for a Proud Boys member on trial for seditious conspiracy related to his alleged role in the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol are taking steps to subpoena former President Donald Trump to testify as a witness for the defense. It’s a longshot

By Sam Fossum, CNN The Biden administration on Wednesday sanctioned a network of Sinaloa Cartel members and associated entities for their involvement in the illegal and deadly fentanyl and methamphetamine trade, providing chemicals to “super labs” that produce illicit drugs for the cartel once run by the notorious drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmán. In

By Pete Muntean, MJ Lee and Maegan Vazquez, CNN Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg will visit the site of the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, on Thursday. The secretary has come under intense pressure from East Palestine residents and other critics to visit the town in the wake of the February 3 derailment of a

By Tami Luhby, CNN The US will likely start to default on its obligations over the summer or in the early fall if Congress doesn’t address the debt ceiling before then, according to a new analysis released Wednesday. The timing should become clearer after the 2022 tax revenues come in this spring. The new projection

By Ella Nilsen, CNN The Biden administration on Wednesday announced the first-ever US offshore wind energy lease sale for the waters in the Gulf of Mexico, an area long dominated by oil and gas production. The White House and US Department of Interior said they are proposing to open up more than 300,000 acres of

By Steve Contorno, CNN As Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis intensifies his preparation for a White House bid, several of the wealthiest and most prolific Republican donors are already giving him a major financial boost. Trader and investor Jeffrey Yass donated $2.5 million to DeSantis’ state political committee on February 7, according to online records maintained

By Kevin Liptak, CNN President Joe Biden barely slept as he rolled in the dark toward Kyiv earlier this week, sitting awake as his curtained-off train car crossed into the warzone that has come to shape so much of his presidency. Biden departed Europe three days later having loudly recommitted to backing Ukraine as it