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By Piper Hudspeth Blackburn, CNN (CNN) — The Trump administration has signaled to the Smithsonian Institution that the White House could withhold federal funding from the museum organization if it does not comply with the administration’s unprecedented, sweeping review. In a Thursday letter to Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch III, White House officials said funds are

By Steve Contorno, CNN Phoenix (CNN) — This weekend’s gathering of young Republicans and conservative influencers in the Arizona desert offered a glimpse into the divisions already fraying President Donald Trump’s coalition even before its lame-duck leader is out of the picture. Enter Vice President JD Vance, a figure many in the movement view as

By Kevin Liptak, CNN (CNN) — The US is pursuing a vessel in international waters near Venezuela on Sunday after attempting to intercept it, a US official said, as President Donald Trump’s administration tightens its crackdown on the country’s oil industry. The tanker, called Bella 1, was sailing toward Venezuela to pick up oil. It

CNN By Kevin Liptak, CNN (CNN) — Personnel from the United States boarded and seized a vessel off the coast of Venezuela on Saturday, according to a US official familiar with the matter, as the Trump administration ramps up pressure on Caracas. It was the second known instance of the US interdicting a vessel near

CNN By Steve Contorno, Jeff Simon, CNN Phoenix (CNN) — At 23, Caleb Gasca has checked off several traditional markers of adulthood. He graduated college, found a job in a construction office and got married. But living with his wife’s parents in San Bernardino County, California, he still feels as though his life has yet

By MJ Lee, Devan Cole, CNN (CNN) — The Justice Department’s partial release of its files related to Jeffrey Epstein on Friday marked a moment of triumph for Epstein survivor Maria Farmer and her sister Annie, who have said for years that Maria had filed one of the first complaints against Epstein in the 1990s.

CNN By Zachary Cohen, Haley Britzky, CNN (CNN) — The US struck multiple targets in Syria on Friday that the US military tied to ISIS as retaliation for the recent attack that killed two American service members there, according to two US officials. “I am hereby announcing that the United States is inflicting very serious

By Tami Luhby, Adam Cancryn, Meg Tirrell, CNN (CNN) — In his latest effort to lower drug costs, President Donald Trump unveiled Friday “Most Favored Nation” pricing deals with nine more pharmaceutical companies. The president also announced he would call a meeting next week or early January with health insurers to push them to lower

By John Fritze, CNN (CNN) — The Supreme Court on Friday sided against the Trump administration, keeping alive a federal lawsuit from immigration judges who are attempting to challenge a policy that limits their ability to speak publicly. “At this stage,” the court said in a brief order, “the government has not demonstrated that it

By Kaanita Iyer, Priscilla Alvarez, CNN (CNN) — The Department of Homeland Security announced its intention to pause a visa program intended to admit certain individuals to the United States, though it’s unclear whether it’s been suspended entirely. The move comes after the suspect in the Brown University shooting was identified as a green-card holder

By Annie Grayer, MJ Lee, CNN (CNN) — A number of Jeffrey Epstein survivors voiced their concern in a private meeting with female Democratic lawmakers earlier this week about the intermittent disclosure of Epstein-related documents and photos by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee, sharing that the selective publication of materials was distressing, four sources

By Piper Hudspeth Blackburn, CNN (CNN) — The US military conducted strikes against two alleged drug-trafficking boats in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Thursday, killing 5 people, according to US Southern Command. At least 104 people have now been killed in US strikes on alleged drug boats, and Thursday’s attack marks the third this week.

By Edward-Isaac Dovere, Gloria Pazmino, CNN New York (CNN) — With under two weeks to go before he’s sworn in, New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani has not announced many hires for his administration. One of the few that he has announced was forced to almost immediately resign Thursday after her past antisemitic tweets came

By Betsy Klein, CNN (CNN) — The board of trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts voted Thursday to rename the facility after both the former president and President Donald Trump. “The Kennedy Center Board of Trustees voted unanimously today to name the institution The Donald J. Trump and The John

By Katelyn Polantz, Evan Perez, CNN (CNN) — Frustration is mounting inside the Justice Department as it races to redact thousands of pages of files related to Jeffrey Epstein before they must be released Friday, multiple sources familiar with the process told CNN. A substantial number of redactions are needed, one of the sources said,

By Haley Britzky, CNN (CNN) — The one-time bonuses President Donald Trump said Wednesday will be paid out to over a million US service members will be pulled from funds already approved by Congress to cover housing and other household costs for troops as part of a military stipend program. President Trump announced the $1,776

By Tierney Sneed, CNN (CNN) — A federal judge ruled Thursday that two entities that implement policy and conduct administrative tasks for the judicial branch are not required under a transparency law to turn over their communications to a private legal group aligned with President Donald Trump. The opinion by Judge Trevor McFadden came in

By Kit Maher, Steve Contorno, Sarah Owermohle, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday to expedite the reclassification of marijuana – an effort to increase research on its medical use but not fully legalize it. “This reclassification order will make it far easier to conduct marijuana-related medical research, allowing us to

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 five photographs, released without additional context

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, 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 added to the allegations

By Tami Luhby, CNN (CNN) — The cavalry is not coming to save the Affordable Care Act’s enhanced premium subsidies before they lapse at year’s end. 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

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

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 Holmes Lybrand, Evan Perez, Kristen Holmes, CNN (CNN) — Deputy FBI director Dan Bongino is stepping down soon from the job after eight months marked by clashes with his boss, Attorney General Pamela Bondi, and fighting off the conspiracies he once fueled. President Donald Trump told reporters Wednesday that he thought Bongino wanted to

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 Angélica Franganillo Díaz, CNN (CNN) — A federal judge on Wednesday temporarily blocked US Immigration and Customs Enforcement from enforcing new rules limiting congressional oversight visits, finding that Democratic lawmakers are likely to succeed in their claim that the policy violates federal law governing congressional access to detention facilities. Judge Jia M. Cobb granted

CNN By Sarah Ferris, Manu Raju, CNN (CNN) — A bloc of House GOP centrists just made the ultimate hardball play against Speaker Mike Johnson — agreeing to help Democrats effectively seize control of the Republican agenda by forcing a vote on their own bill on the looming Obamacare subsidies cliff. The stunning blow to