By Sean Lyngaas, CNN (CNN) — Since early December, the US Coast Guard and other military branches have boarded and taken control of five oil ships that had previously been sanctioned. They were all either accused of being in the process of transporting Venezuelan oil or on their way to take on oil that has

By John Fritze, Devan Cole, CNN (CNN) — Becky Pepper-Jackson, the high school sophomore at the center of the Supreme Court appeal on transgender sports, flashes a grin when asked to describe the basic technique of the shot put, one of her favorite track and field events. “It’s just throwing something that’s heavy,” the 15-year-old

By Eric Bradner, Michael Williams, CNN (CNN) — In every city where President Donald Trump’s immigration agents have arrived in force, they’ve been trailed by people who seek to monitor or protest their activities, often in close quarters. At times, those two groups have collided with tragic results — including an Immigration and Customs Enforcement

By Aleena Fayaz, Haley Britzky, CNN (CNN) — The US carried out large-scale strikes against ISIS targets in Syria on Saturday tied to an ongoing retaliatory campaign dubbed “Operation Hawkeye Strike.” “Today, at approximately 12:30 p.m. Eastern Time, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces, alongside partner forces, conducted large-scale strikes against multiple ISIS targets across Syria,”

By Sophie Tanno, Samantha Waldenberg, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump continued his threats towards Greenland on Friday, as he insisted that if the United States did not act Russia or China could occupy it in the future. Trump said that if he is unable to make a deal to acquire the territory “the easy

By Tami Luhby, CNN (CNN) — A 42-minute video from a conservative content creator in Minnesota has provided the Trump administration with yet another opportunity to argue that federal safety net programs are plagued by widespread fraud. Though investigations have yet to show that child care centers in the state were committing fraud to obtain

By Aleena Fayaz, CNN (CNN) — The Washington National Opera on Friday announced it is parting ways with the Kennedy Center after more than a decade with the arts institution. “Today, the Washington National Opera announced its decision to seek an amicable early termination of its affiliation agreement with the Kennedy Center and resume operations

By Adam Cancryn, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump on Friday tried to sell Big Oil executives on the promise of an expansive new drilling campaign in Venezuela. But at least for now, the industry isn’t buying it. Trump and his top aides emerged from a lengthy White House meeting without any major commitments from

By Evan Perez, CNN (CNN) — FBI Director Kash Patel has named Christopher Raia, a seasoned career agent, to replace Dan Bongino as deputy director, according to people briefed on the matter. Raia is a respected agent with 22 years’ experience, and his appointment restores the decades-long tradition of having a career agent serve in

By Annie Grayer, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump faced Republican defections on a series of split votes this week, but his willingness to call out members of his own party convinced some wavering lawmakers to stay in line. On Thursday, Trump was quick to say five Republican senators should not be reelected to Congress

By Holmes Lybrand, CNN (CNN) — The Virginia man accused of planting two bombs in Washington, DC, five years ago pleaded not guilty Friday to federal charges of transporting and attempting to use explosives. The DC federal court arraignment for the man, Brian J. Cole Jr., took place over a month after Cole was initially

By Jennifer Hansler, Stefano Pozzebon, Kylie Atwood, CNN (CNN) — A US State Department team traveled to Venezuela on Friday for the first time since the ouster of Nicolas Maduro, according to a US official. The visit comes as the US looks to reopen its embassy in Caracas and underscores the administration’s desire to re-establish

By Sean Lyngaas, CNN (CNN) — The US has seized another sanctioned oil tanker in the Caribbean Sea, US Southern Command said on Friday. US troops, in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security, “launched from the USS Gerald R. Ford and apprehended Motor/Tanker Olina in the Caribbean Sea without incident,” the command said in

By Jack Guy, Kaanita Iyer, CNN (CNN) — President Donald Trump said early Friday that he had cancelled a “previously expected” second wave of attacks on Venezuela due to the country’s cooperation with the United States. It comes nearly a week after he ordered a military operation to oust Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who is

By Terence Burlij, CNN Washington (CNN) — This year’s midterms will not only shape the final two years of Donald Trump’s presidency; they’ll determine what politics after Trump might start to look like. A series of races that starts with primaries on March 3 will either preserve Republican majorities in Congress, helping Trump to push

By Hannah Rabinowitz, Evan Perez, Kristen Holmes, CNN (CNN) — Mutual distrust between federal and state authorities derailed plans for a joint FBI and state criminal investigation into Wednesday’s shooting of a Minneapolis woman by an ICE officer, leading to the highly unusual move by the Justice Department to block state investigators from participating in

By Tami Luhby, CNN (CNN) — A federal judge on Friday temporarily paused the Trump administration’s freeze of $10 billion in social assistance and child care funding in five Democrat-led states in the wake of a widespread probe into alleged federal funding fraud in Minnesota. Judge Arun Subramanian of New York’s Southern District granted the

By Kylie Atwood, Natasha Bertrand, CNN (CNN) — The top Washington-based diplomats for Greenland and Denmark met with White House officials at the National Security Council on Thursday as Greenland continues to publicly and privately insist it is not for sale. Denmark’s Ambassador Jesper Møller Sørensen and Greenland’s head of representation to the US Jacob

CNN By Kylie Atwood, Natasha Bertrand, CNN (CNN) — The top Washington-based diplomats for Greenland and Denmark met with White House officials at the National Security Council on Thursday as Greenland continues to publicly and privately insist it is not for sale. Denmark’s Ambassador Jesper Møller Sørensen and Greenland’s head of representation to the US

By Adam Cancryn, David Goldman, CNN (CNN) — Top energy executives are weighing telling President Donald Trump that the industry can increase Venezuela’s oil output by hundreds of thousands of barrels per day over the coming months, people familiar with the preparations for Friday’s White House meeting told CNN. The pledge would be aimed at

By Devan Cole, CNN (CNN) — Vice President JD Vance’s claim Thursday that an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer who fatally shot Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis is “protected by absolute immunity” drew immediate pushback from experts who said the legal landscape around a potential prosecution is far more complicated. Speaking at the White House,

By Manu Raju, Sarah Ferris, CNN (CNN) — Congress’ most liberal Democrats are pushing for an all-out fight to rein in President Donald Trump’s hardline immigration policy after this week’s deadly shooting by an ICE officer in Minnesota — even if it means risking another government shutdown. But those progressives are running into resistance from

By Betsy Klein, CNN (CNN) — A “grand stair” and new spaces for utilities, food service and deliveries are among the newly disclosed details for President Donald Trump’s sprawling East Wing expansion presented to a commission with oversight of the building plans on Thursday. For the first time, a proposal for the addition of a

By Arit John, CNN (CNN) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom used his final State of the State address Thursday to frame his state as a “beacon” of democracy and innovation, seeking to draw a sharp contrast with what he called the “carnival of chaos” in Washington under President Donald Trump. “In California, we’re not silent.