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CNN By Jennifer Hansler, CNN (CNN) — For Paul Whelan, returning to life in the United States after more than half a decade of Russian imprisonment has been “interesting” – and not without its challenges. “You’re literally starting over,” he told CNN ahead of the one-year anniversary of the sweeping US-Russia prisoner exchange deal that

By Alayna Treene, Paula Reid, Michael Williams, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump has begged his base to stop thinking about Jeffrey Epstein. But 25 days after his Justice Department declared it had nothing more to say on the convicted sex offender, the drumbeat for action continues. Some officials acknowledge, at least privately, that the

CNN By Alayna Treene, Paula Reid, Michael Williams, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump has begged his base to stop thinking about Jeffrey Epstein. But 25 days after his Justice Department declared it had nothing more to say on the convicted sex offender, the drumbeat for action continues. Some officials acknowledge, at least privately, that

By Devan Cole, CNN (CNN) — A coalition of Democratic state attorneys general sued the Trump administration on Friday over President Donald Trump’s effort to use the Department of Justice to go after medical professionals who provide gender identity care to trans youth and 18-year-olds. The complaint filed at a federal court in Boston argues

By Alejandra Jaramillo, Kevin Liptak, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump issued a rare threat of nuclear escalation on Friday, saying he had ordered two nuclear submarines to be strategically positioned near Russia in response to what he said were aggressive remarks by Dmitry Medvedev, the the country’s former president and current deputy chairman of

By Kaitlan Collins, Hannah Rabinowitz, CNN (CNN) — Jeffrey Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, who had been serving a 20-year prison sentence in Florida, has been moved to a lower-security federal prison camp in Texas. “We can confirm, Ghislaine Maxwell is in the custody of the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) at the Federal Prison Camp (FPC)

By Michael Williams, CNN (CNN) — The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History last month removed a board that referenced President Donald Trump’s two impeachments from an exhibit on the American presidency. In a statement to CNN on Thursday, The Smithsonian Institution said the decision, which was first reported by The Washington Post, was made

By Lauren Chadwick, Hanna Park, CNN (CNN) — Former Vice President Kamala Harris said she would not run for public office because the system is “broken,” as she reflected on her decision not to pursue a gubernatorial run in California and spoke about what she views as “capitulation” by those tasked with guarding democracy during

By Betul Tuncer, Eric Bradner, CNN (CNN) — Republican Rep. Bryan Steil faced a rowdy crowd at a town hall-style event in Wisconsin on Thursday, with attendees angrily confronting him over a wide range of topics, including tariffs, President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful Bill,” the war in Gaza and immigration policy. Audience members frequently interrupted

By Fredreka Schouten, CNN (CNN) — Billionaire Elon Musk donated a total of $15 million in June to super PACs favoring President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans ahead of next year’s midterm elections, new campaign finance reports show. The donations of $5 million each to MAGA Inc., the Senate Leadership Fund and the Congressional Leadership

By Natasha Bertrand, CNN (CNN) — Army Secretary Dan Driscoll on Wednesday ordered the US Military Academy at West Point to rescind an offer of employment to a former top national security official who served under President Joe Biden, announcing the move in a post on X — the latest example of the Pentagon’s political

By Tami Luhby, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump is ratcheting up the pressure on major drugmakers to bring their US prices in line with the far lower ones available to patients in other countries — though industry experts don’t expect the pharmaceutical companies to acquiesce. Trump sent letters to 17 major pharmaceutical company CEOs

By Kevin Liptak, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump said his foreign envoy Steve Witkoff will travel to Russia in the coming days as the president calls for an end to the conflict in Ukraine. Trump revealed Witkoff’s previously unknown travel plans during an event at the White House Thursday afternoon, where he also said

By Kevin Liptak, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump has been envisioning a new ballroom on the White House campus for a decade and a half. His dream is about to become a reality. Construction will begin in September on a $200 million, 90,000-square-foot ballroom, his press secretary announced Thursday, fulfilling a 15-year ambition by

By Nicky Robertson, Morgan Rimmer, CNN (CNN) — Republican Sen. Josh Hawley on Thursday dismissed a dustup with President Donald Trump over a stock trading bill to a misunderstanding, saying he’d spoken with the president in the hours after he dressed him down as a “second-tier senator” and the pair had a good conversation. Trump

By John Fritze, CNN Kansas City, Missouri (CNN) — Justice Brett Kavanaugh on Thursday defended the way the Supreme Court is handling the flood of emergency cases that has reached its docket during President Donald Trump’s administration, pushing back on mounting criticism that the court is often resolving those disputes with little to no explanation.

By Betsy Klein, CNN (CNN) — A senior Trump administration official stated Thursday that President Donald Trump is not currently considering clemency for Jeffrey Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell after the president has repeatedly left the door open on the matter in recent weeks. “No leniency is being given or discussed. That’s just false. The President

By Eva McKend, CNN (CNN) — Former Vice President Kamala Harris will release a book in September about her historic campaign for president. “What the world saw on the campaign trail was only a part of the story,” Harris wrote in a social media post about the book’s release. The book — called “107 Days”

CNN By Lauren Fox, Katelyn Polantz, Sarah Ferris, CNN (CNN) — Senate Democrats are using an arcane procedural tool to try to force the Department of Justice to release additional files from the Jeffrey Epstein case – the latest gambit to keep the issue front-and-center as lawmakers prepare for their month-long August recess. In a

By Kylie Atwood, Zachary Cohen, CNN (CNN) — The Trump administration is targeting Iran’s oil sales by sanctioning a vast shipping empire that is run by the son of a top political adviser to the country’s Supreme Leader, ramping up pressure on Iran following the US strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites last month. “Today, Treasury

By Nicky Robertson, CNN (CNN) — Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley voted with Democrats Wednesday to advance his bill to ban US lawmakers from stock trading, over the opposition of other Republicans on the panel and drawing the ire of President Donald Trump. The question of whether lawmakers should be allowed to trade stocks has

By Betsy Klein and Ethan Schenker, CNN (CNN) — The Trump administration has reached a multimillion-dollar agreement with Brown University to restore federal funding – its second major deal with an elite university after last week’s $221 million settlement with Columbia University. In return for Brown agreeing to several measures aimed at dismantling certain diversity,

By Alayna Treene, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump is quietly discussing plans to host the 2026 G20 summit, a forum of the world’s largest economies, at his Doral golf club in the Miami area, a White House official told CNN. The idea has been discussed for weeks, the official said. CNN previously spotted an

By Angelica Franganillo Diaz (CNN) — Twelve Democratic members of Congress have filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, accusing it of unlawfully obstructing their efforts to visit federal immigration detention centers. The complaint, filed Wednesday in Washington, DC, argues that a new Department of Homeland Security policy that requires seven days’ notice and limits

CNN By Edward-Isaac Dovere, Eva McKend, David Wright, CNN (CNN) — Former Vice President Kamala Harris announced Wednesday that she would not run for governor of California in 2026, ending questions about her interest in the role but raising new ones about the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee’s plans for the future. “For now, my leadership

By Adam Cancryn, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday made a fresh push to improve Americans’ access to their own medical records, tasking dozens of major health and technology companies with solving an issue that has long bedeviled the federal government. The plan centers on a pledge that more than 60 companies have

By Katelyn Polantz, Annie Grayer, CNN (CNN) — Emil Bove, a top Justice Department official who also defended Donald Trump in his criminal indictments, has been confirmed to a lifetime appointment as a federal appellate judge, despite accusations from a handful of whistleblowers accusing him of improperly overseeing cases for the administration. Bove’s nomination to

By CNN’s Betul Tuncer (CNN) — A town hall hosted by Democratic Rep. Bill Foster of Illinois on Tuesday was repeatedly interrupted by audience members shouting about the ongoing war in Gaza. The town hall comes as House members have returned to their districts for a weekslong district work period. The war in Gaza and

By Hannah Rabinowitz, David Goldman, CNN (CNN) — The Justice Department has fired two senior antitrust attorneys who disagreed with the handling of a merger between two powerhouse companies, two sources told CNN. The Monday firings came after weeks of tension between the officials, Roger Alford and Bill Rinner, and Assistant Attorney General Gail Slater,

By Tami Luhby, CNN (CNN) — Senior citizens soon won’t be able to simply call the Social Security Administration to change their address or check the status of their benefit claim. Instead, they will have to first verify their identity online or go to a field office if they are unable to do so. In