Politics

By Majlie de Puy Kamp, Casey Tolan, Yahya Abou-Ghazala and Kyung Lah, CNN Pineville, Kentucky (CNN) — When the coal mines closed in Bell County, Kentucky, a community that once powered the nation was left forgotten, with few well-paying jobs or prospects. Many of its residents now live in poverty among empty storefronts and the

By Sean Lyngaas, CNN Washington (CNN) — President Joe Biden on Thursday will sign an executive order that is his final stab at shoring up America’s cyber defenses after a damaging string of cyberattacks on federal networks that US officials have blamed on Chinese and Russian operatives. The directive is the product of a monthslong

By Fredreka Schouten, CNN (CNN) — Wealthy hedge fund executive Scott Bessent – whose confirmation hearing for treasury secretary is slated for Thursday – has hundreds of millions of dollars in assets and owns property from North Dakota to the Bahamas. President-elect Donald Trump’s choice as the No. 2 official at the Pentagon, billionaire Steve

CNN By Arlette Saenz, CNN Washington (CNN) — First lady Jill Biden expressed her disappointment with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in a new interview with The Washington Post, providing rare public comments about the fractured relationship between her husband, Joe Biden, and Pelosi following the president’s departure from the 2024 race. “We were friends

CNN By Alexandra Banner, CNN (CNN) — Unwanted spam calls are rampant nowadays — and some world leaders even struggle to escape them. Thailand’s prime minister said she received a spam call from an AI system, demanding money in the voice of another famous head of government. Here’s what else you need to know to

By Kevin Liptak, Jack Forrest, Aditi Sangal and Elise Hammond, CNN (CNN) — After four years in the White House – and a half-century in Washington – President Joe Biden has said farewell. Sitting behind the Resolute Desk on Wednesday evening, the one-term Democratic leader used a 19-minute address to frame his four-year presidency on

By Annie Grayer, Kit Maher and Manu Raju, CNN (CNN) — House Speaker Mike Johnson has removed Republican Rep. Mike Turner as chair of the House Intelligence Committee for the 119th Congress. While the speaker has the authority to appoint members of the committee, the move marks a significant change among the leadership of a

CNN By Kevin Liptak, Michael Williams, Nikki Carvajal, Alayna Treene and Arlette Saenz, CNN Washington (CNN) — When Qatar’s prime minister emerged Wednesday to declare — at long last — that a ceasefire-for-hostage deal had been struck in Gaza, representatives for two American administrations were on hand in Doha to bask in the victory. The

By Kevin Liptak, Michael Williams, Nikki Carvajal, Alayna Treene and Arlette Saenz, CNN Washington (CNN) — When Qatar’s prime minister emerged Wednesday to declare — at long last — that a ceasefire-for-hostage deal had been struck in Gaza, representatives for two American administrations were on hand in Doha to bask in the victory. The cooperation

By Rene Marsh, Daniel Strauss and Alayna Treene, CNN (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump has privately encouraged Vivek Ramaswamy to consider an appointment to the US Senate seat recently vacated by Vice President-elect JD Vance if offered the position by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, according to a source familiar with the discussions. Ramaswamy, a former

By John Fritze and Devan Cole, CNN (CNN) — A majority of the Supreme Court signaled Wednesday that Texas may be permitted to require some form of age verification for pornographic sites, but left open the possibility that deeper First Amendment questions may not be resolved immediately. After two hours of oral argument, the court’s

CNN By Jeremy Herb, CNN (CNN) — Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominees for key roles in the intelligence, foreign policy and law enforcement agencies all pledged to keep politics out of their offices amid concerns from Democrats that the president-elect will carry out his vows to go after his political enemies once in office. Trump’s nominee

By Jeremy Herb, CNN (CNN) — Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominees for key roles in the intelligence, foreign policy and law enforcement agencies all pledged to keep politics out of their offices amid concerns from Democrats that the president-elect will carry out his vows to go after his political enemies once in office. Trump’s nominee for

By Jennifer Agiesta, CNN (CNN) — President Joe Biden will leave office with his approval rating remaining at the lowest level of his term and his favorability rating close to his personal low, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS. Americans broadly view Biden’s four years in office more as a failure than

By Arlette Saenz, CNN Washington (CNN) — First lady Jill Biden expressed her disappointment with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in a new interview with The Washington Post, providing rare public comments about the fractured relationship between her husband, Joe Biden, and Pelosi following the president’s departure from the 2024 race. “We were friends for

By Natasha Bertrand, CNN Washington (CNN) — The secrecy surrounding Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s hospitalizations in late 2023 and early 2024 “increased unnecessarily” the risks to US national security, the Pentagon’s inspector general concluded in a report released on Wednesday. The nearly year-long review — which the IG says examined more than 56 million

By Eric Bradner, CNN (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump’s picks for attorney general, secretary of state and several other key Cabinet posts are set to appear in front of Senate committees Wednesday for high-stakes confirmation hearings. The hearings, five days before Trump takes office, come as the Republican-led Senate appears to be largely falling in