By Jennifer Hansler, CNN (CNN) — The State Department has informally notified Congress that it intends to sell $8 billion in arms to Israel, a US official and another source familiar with the matter told CNN. The State Department sent the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Senate Foreign Relations Committee the informal notification of the
Continue ReadingBy Steve Contorno, Annie Grayer, Sarah Ferris, Manu Raju and Lauren Fox, CNN (CNN) — With two Republican lawmakers standing between Mike Johnson and the speaker’s gavel, President-elect Donald Trump picked up the phone. From the golf course Friday afternoon, he spoke to Reps. Ralph Norman of South Carolina and Keith Self of Texas and
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CNN By Steve Contorno, Annie Grayer, Sarah Ferris, Manu Raju and Lauren Fox, CNN (CNN) — With two Republican lawmakers standing between Mike Johnson and the speaker’s gavel, President-elect Donald Trump picked up the phone. From the golf course Friday afternoon, he spoke to Reps. Ralph Norman of South Carolina and Keith Self of Texas
Continue ReadingBy Oren Liebermann, Haley Britzky and Donald Judd, CNN (CNN) — President Joe Biden awarded the Medal of Honor – the nation’s highest military award for valor – to seven US Army soldiers in a White House ceremony Friday, marking the last time he would preside over such an occasion as commander in chief. “These
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CNN By Kara Scannell, Paula Reid and Tierney Sneed, CNN (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump will face no legal penalties for his conviction in the hush money case, a New York judge ruled Friday. Judge Juan Merchan, however, upheld Trump’s conviction in the case, rejecting the president-elect’s effort to throw out the jury’s verdict because
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CNN By Kara Scannell, Paula Reid and Tierney Sneed, CNN (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump will face no legal penalties for his conviction in the hush money case, a New York judge ruled Friday. Judge Juan Merchan, however, upheld Trump’s conviction in the case, rejecting the president-elect’s effort to throw out the jury’s verdict because
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By Kara Scannell, Paula Reid and Tierney Sneed, CNN (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump will face no legal penalties for his conviction in the hush money case, a New York judge ruled Friday. Judge Juan Merchan, however, upheld Trump’s conviction in the case, rejecting the president-elect’s effort to throw out the jury’s verdict because of
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By Kit Maher, CNN (CNN) — With the start of the 119th Congress on Friday, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott has become the longest-serving Black US senator. Scott will also serve as the first Black chairman of a Senate standing committee, leading the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, where he previously served as the
Continue ReadingBy Clare Foran, Ethan Cohen and Haley Talbot, CNN (CNN) — The 119th Congress will begin on Friday, ushering in a new era of Republican control in Washington that will start with a high-stakes leadership fight to pick the next House speaker. Mike Johnson is vying to retain the gavel and has President-elect Donald Trump’s
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By Evan Perez and Holmes Lybrand, CNN (CNN) — After four unsuccessful years trying to identify the person who placed two viable pipe bombs near the Republican and Democratic National Committee headquarters, the FBI is hoping that allegiances have changed and someone is ready to talk. Despite well-publicized photos of a suspect wearing a hoodie
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CNN Analysis by Stephen Collinson, CNN (CNN) — House speaker elections on Friday are less about Mike Johnson and more about Donald Trump. Johnson’s frantic fight to hold onto his job was still a cliffhanger heading into a fateful day for Republicans. But the president-elect has even more on the line – nothing less than
Continue ReadingBy Clare Foran, Annette Choi and Haley Talbot, CNN Washington (CNN) — Speaker Mike Johnson’s historically narrow majority just shrunk even further, creating a major challenge for congressional Republicans as they seek to enact President Donald Trump’s agenda. At the start of the 119th Congress, Johnson was already facing the narrowest House majority in nearly
Continue ReadingBy Sarah Ferris and Alayna Treene, CNN (CNN) — House Speaker Mike Johnson’s allies are leaning into a key argument in a bid to avoid a chaotic floor fight over the gavel on Friday: A vote against Johnson could delay the finalization of Donald Trump’s White House win. A day before the speaker’s election, Johnson,
Continue ReadingBy Kaanita Iyer, CNN (CNN) — January 1 not only ushered in 2025 but a slew of new laws. In 2024, states tackled issues ranging from abortion rights to gender-affirming care for minors, advancing legislation to take effect the following year. Starting Wednesday, Americans in nearly two dozen states will also see a hike in
Continue ReadingBy Simone Pathe, Renée Rigdon and Arit John, CNN (CNN) — The new year brings a mixed picture for women’s political representation – the highest glass ceiling in American politics remains intact, but female governors and state legislators are setting new records. The number of women in Congress is decreasing but not by much. Overall,
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By Holmes Lybrand, CNN (CNN) — Prosecutors are fighting to keep a Virginia man behind bars after they say investigators found what could be the largest number of “finished explosive devices” in FBI history at his 20-acre home near Norfolk. The man, Brad Spafford, was arrested earlier this month on one charge of possessing an
Continue ReadingBy John Fritze, CNN (CNN) — Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts slammed what he described as “dangerous” talk by some officials about ignoring federal court rulings, using an annual report weeks before President-elect Donald Trump takes office to stress the importance of an independent judiciary. Officials “from across the political spectrum have raised the
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CNN By Lauren Fox, Clare Foran, Sarah Ferris and Haley Talbot, CNN Washington (CNN) — House Speaker Mike Johnson faces a tough fight to retain the gavel even after an endorsement from Donald Trump, a test of the president-elect’s influence over his party amid the limits of an extraordinarily narrow majority. Trump’s endorsement could help
Continue ReadingBy Tami Luhby, CNN (CNN) — Medicare beneficiaries who take a lot of pricey medications will get a big break in 2025. That’s when the $2,000 annual cap on out-of-pocket costs for drugs bought at the pharmacy or through mail order takes effect. The limit is one of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act’s most consequential
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CNN By Kara Scannell, CNN (CNN) — A federal appeals court upheld the jury’s verdict finding Donald Trump sexually abused writer E. Jean Carroll and denied his request for a new trial. Trump challenged the $5 million civil verdict alleging the trial judge made numerous errors, including allowing testimony of two other women who claimed
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