National Politics

New mask guidance from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week has divided experts and fueled a new debate about the best way to steer Americans out of the pandemic. The guidance boils down to this: Fully vaccinated people can now unmask at small outdoor gatherings, or when dining outside with friends

Congressional Democrats are not waiting around for President Joe Biden to propose big changes they want to see in the nation’s health care system, including reducing drug prices and expanding Medicare. Committee chairs in both chambers are working on aggressive steps to broaden benefits and government involvement in health care. The push has won the

Weeks before Elizabeth Warren launched her first senatorial campaign, she made a call to a woman she said was a longtime Democratic activist in Massachusetts. She recalls telling the woman she was going to run for Senate. “Martha lost,” Warren says the woman responded, according to her new memoir. The woman was referencing Martha Coakley,

As the US began turning over military bases to the Afghan security forces Saturday, the top US general warned of the potential for “bad possible outcomes” in Afghanistan, while adding that “the intent of many of the parties is still to have a negotiated settlement.” Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley pointed to an Afghan

Republicans Susan Wright and Jake Ellzey will advance to a runoff in the special election for Texas’ 6th Congressional District. CNN projected Wright would take the first spot in the runoff, but Ellzey and Democrat Jana Lynne Sanchez had been locked in a tight race for second. Sanchez conceded the race on Sunday, thanking volunteers,

Cindy McCain said Sunday that if her late husband, Arizona Sen. John McCain, were alive, he would be watching the US’ approach to withdrawing troops from Afghanistan and warned that America’s longest war will have been “for nothing” if it’s not done correctly. “I’ve often thought what John would say right now, what he would

White House officials on Sunday denied Iranian state media reports that the US has reached an agreement with Iran to lift economic sanctions against the country, saying that there is still much to be negotiated over the coming weeks. US and Iranian officials held talks in Vienna last month aimed at bringing the United States

Sen. Susan Collins said Sunday that she was “appalled” to see fellow Republican Sen. Mitt Romney was booed by members of his state party for his votes to convict Donald Trump during the former President’s impeachment trials, arguing that “just one person” does not lead the GOP. “Mitt Romney is an outstanding senator who serves

Here’s a look at the life of former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. Personal Birth date: May 15, 1937 Birth place: Prague, Czechoslovakia Birth name: Marie Jana Korbelova Father: Josef Korbel, diplomat Mother: Mandula Korbel Marriage: Joseph Albright (1959-1983, divorced) Children: Katharine, 1967; Anne and Alice (twins), 1961 Education: Wellesley College, B.A., 1959; Columbia

Things have been quieter around here in presidential-fact-check land. Not because President Joe Biden is accurate all the time. He certainly isn’t. But through his first 100 days in the Oval Office, Biden has given us intermittent false claims rather than the staggering avalanche of daily wrongness we faced from his predecessor. By CNN’s rough

Letters signed by President Joe Biden have begun to go out notifying beneficiaries of their direct payments under the administration’s Covid relief package, CNN has learned. The letters were sent out this past week, a White House official tells CNN, to notify recipients who received direct payments under the American Rescue Plan last month. “My

The Biden administration disclosed Trump-era rules on Friday regulating the use of deadly force against terrorism suspects abroad, releasing them with several redacted lines to the American Civil Liberties Union and the New York Times as part of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit after the Trump administration refused to make them public. The rules,

The Treasury Department’s special inspector general for pandemic recovery is warning of “reduced oversight” of two Covid relief programs given billions to distribute, as it says its jurisdiction has been hampered and claims “things are not working well.” In a quarterly report to Congress released Friday, Brian Miller, the special inspector general, said his office

The FBI in late 2019 knew Rudy Giuliani was the target of a Russian influence operation intended to damage now-President Joe Biden in the 2020 election by spreading falsehoods, but never directly warned him about the concern despite earlier reporting suggesting Giuliani had been briefed, according to reporting from The Washington Post that was corrected

The Biden administration will maintain the National Space Council and Vice President Kamala Harris will chair it, according to senior administration officials, adding another item to the vice president’s portfolio. Harris confirmed her new role on Saturday, writing in a tweet, “As I’ve said before: In America, when we shoot for the moon, we plant