CNN Politics

Defeated Arizona Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake has filed suit in Arizona Superior Court challenging the certification of the state's election.

Read CNN's White House Security Breaches Fast Facts to learn more about intrusions on White House grounds.

Read CNN's Fast Facts about Mike Pompeo and learn about the former US secretary of state and director of the CIA.

A federal judge declined to hold former President Donald Trump in contempt of court in a closed-door hearing on Friday, two sources familiar with the matter told CNN.

Russia refused to release Paul Whelan alongside Brittney Griner unless a former colonel from Russia's domestic spy organization currently in German custody was also released as part of any prisoner swap, US officials told CNN, even as the US offered up the names of several other Russian prisoners in US custody that they would be willing to trade.

The Justice Department is still demanding the Trump team designate a custodian of records to attest that all documents marked classified have been returned to the government, a source familiar with the matter tells CNN.

Big Oil companies have engaged in a "long-running greenwashing campaign" while raking in "record profits at the expense of American consumers," the House Oversight committee has found after a months-long investigation.

The Biden administration believes the Russian government will continue to engage on detainee issues, including freeing American Paul Whelan, following the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner because "they have things they want in this world," a senior administration official tells CNN.

Brittney Griner, a two-time Olympic basketball gold medalist and WNBA star, has spent her entire WNBA career with the Phoenix Mercury and won the league's championship in 2014. She was named to the WNBA All-Star team six times. During Griner's collegiate career at Baylor University, she became one of the first women basketball players to consistently dunk in the college game, and she helped the team beat Notre Dame to become the NCAA women's national champions in 2012.

As a right-wing faction threatens to tank his speakership ambitions, House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy delivered a promise: "I'll never leave," making clear he has no plans to drop out of the race even if the fight goes to many ballots on the floor.

President Joe Biden's student loan forgiveness program remains blocked by federal courts for now. But for some borrowers, the yearslong federal pandemic pause on payments delivers an even bigger benefit.

Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema is leaving the Democratic Party and registering as a political independent, she told CNN's Jake Tapper in an exclusive TV interview.

Americans' views of the state of the nation have bounced back slightly since earlier this year, a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS finds, but public perception of the economy remains grim. Nearly half of Americans say they're financially worse off than they were a year ago, the survey finds, with more than 90% expressing concerns about the cost of living and the majority cutting expenses in response. Only 35% of US adults say that things are going well in the country today, with 65% saying things are going badly. That, however, marks a modest improvement from surveys this summer and fall, when fewer than 3 in 10 said things were going well. The share who now say things are going very badly is 19%, down from 34% in CNN's polling this summer and 26% in October. The positive shift in mood is most evident among Democrats, 58% of whom now say things are going well, up from 47% in October.

President Joe Biden had already personally informed Cherelle Griner that her wife was being released from Russian detention when aides arrived with more news: Brittney Griner was now securely out of Russia -- and on the telephone.

Swapping an American jailed for a minor drugs offense in Russia for one of the world's most notorious arms traffickers known as "The Merchant of Death" might seem like a lopsided deal that could fuel dangerous national security precedents.

As a repeal of the US military's Covid-19 vaccine mandate took a step closer to becoming law on Thursday, military officials and experts are warning it's a change that could have adverse ripple-effects on military readiness and the ability of service members to deploy around the world.

The House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, insurrection is considering criminal referrals for at least four individuals in addition to former President Donald Trump, multiple sources told CNN.

The Biden administration awarded $36 billion Thursday to prevent cuts to the pensions of roughly 357,000 union workers and retirees. It's the largest federal award of its kind, according to the White House.

WNBA star Brittney Griner on Thursday was freed from Russian detention after a prisoner exchange for convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout.

The Justice Department is asking a federal judge to hold Donald Trump in contempt of court for failing to comply with a subpoena issued this summer ordering the former president to turn over records marked classified, two sources familiar with the matter told CNN.