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The Trump administration’s effort to build a national citizen database is running into roadblocks in court and alarming some election officials on both sides of the aisle. But what is this data for? And how could it be used? We hear from one election official about why he’s pushing back, and look at how election integrity concerns are playing out in other parts of the country.  For more: Trump is...

The firing of the US Army chief of staff and two other generals is just the latest personnel shakeup under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. But why do this during wartime? We examine whether disagreements between Hegseth and Army Secretary Dan Driscoll are behind the move, and how Hegseth’s ongoing fixation on so-called “culture wars” and loyalty could impact service members.  For more: Trump and H...

Amid a stalled Surgeon General nomination, a federal court ruling striking down vaccine overhauls (at least for now), and anger from ‘Make America Healthy Again’ activists, some are wondering whether Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has lost his grip on the movement that helped propel President Donald Trump back to the White House. We hear from one activist outraged by an...

A crew of four astronauts are preparing for a historic mission that will take them around the far side of the moon and back, the furthest human space travel in more than 50 years. Like any space mission, the run-up has been filled with delays and safety concerns, but experts say this mission is a key part of an ambitious plan from the Trump administration to establish a lunar colony and eventually...

A California jury found Meta and YouTube liable on all counts in a case that accused the tech giants of intentionally addicting a young woman and injuring her mental health. Experts say the landmark decision could open the door to a flood of other litigation that could reshape how these companies operate. But will anything actually change? We also hear from one of the hundreds of other plaintiffs...

The war with Iran has sent shockwaves through the global oil markets and jacked up gas prices in the US. But it has also caused a surge in fertilizer prices, which is straining US farmers who were already dealing with the impact of President Donald Trump’s tariffs. We hear from one Iowa soybean and corn farmer who says his industry is suffering from the Trump administration’s self-inflicted wounds...

Prediction markets are opening new doors to bet on pretty much anything - even outcomes during war. But things can get pretty heated when money is on the line, and now at least one state is stepping in to accuse a major prediction market of running an illegal gambling operation. WIRED’s Kate Knibbs talks about the “casino-ification” of everything and what this could mean for the future of politics...

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has not been shy about how his Christian faith has shaped him. However, some activists fear his views could be encroaching on the secular military in unprecedented ways and influencing how commanders are framing the war in Iran. We explore a controversial pastor connected to Hegseth who is leading a growing movement rooted in Christian nationalism and the idea that w...

Last year, Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency took a chainsaw to the federal government, slashing jobs and cutting programs in the name of eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse. While it did not reduce spending, current and former government officials tell CNN that some of the cuts are hampering government readiness amid the Iran war. Now, the government is looking to ramp up hiring aga...

The war in Iran has effectively shut down the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for transporting roughly 20% of the world’s oil. As a result, ships are stuck and gas prices are climbing in the US. We look at the Trump administration’s possible solutions, and the key psychological benchmark that could push their political problem to a breaking point.  For more: The grim choice facing the Trump admin...

Anger directed at OpenAI is spreading after it struck a deal with the Pentagon to use its AI models in classified systems, just hours after its rival, Anthropic, refused. OpenAI said it had shared Anthropic’s concerns about mass surveillance and autonomous weapons, so why did they sign? And what does this mean for other companies looking to do business with the Trump administration?  For more: Som...

As Iran continues to retaliate against the US and Israel, civilians in major Gulf countries are caught in the crossfire. Will these nations be forced to respond? And do they have the military firepower needed to keep up? We break down what we can learn from the military operations thus far and look at how an Iranian power vacuum could complicate the endgame.  For more: The rationale for striking I...

After months of planning, the US and Israel struck Iran as part of a massive operation aimed at unseating the hardline Iranian regime. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in the strikes, according to Israeli sources. Iran has retaliated, hitting US military bases and major population centers across the region. So how long will the conflict last? And is regime change even feasible? We...

The killing of Mexican cartel boss Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes shocked the country and set off cartel violence in the streets, trapping American tourists in the process. However, experts say the operation could say even more about President Donald Trump’s war on drugs than Mexico’s.  For more: The death of ‘El Mencho’ exposed the reach of Mexico’s cartel crisis. Will US tourists stay aw...

Victims of Jeffrey Epstein say the historic arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the brother of King Charles III, is a step in the right direction. But high-profile figures in the US still have not faced similar consequences, weeks after the Justice Department released more than 3 million documents related to the late financier and convicted sex offender. We hear from a group of survivors who say...

A raft of resignations from some of Silicon Valley’s top AI companies came with some dire warnings about user safety and potential impacts on the American workforce. Are these concerns worth paying attention to, or overhyped? We hear from one former safety researcher who says companies are not fully grappling with the implications of advertising within chatbots.  For more: AI researchers are sound...

"I am trying every breath that I have so that I can get you what you need." Those words from ICE attorney Julie Le to a federal judge earlier this month underscores the toll the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement crackdown in Minneapolis is taking on the Justice Department. But what happens now that the surge is winding down? And will any new prosecutors want to sign up for this work? ...

At the Winter Olympics in Italy, American athletes are speaking out, Vice President JD Vance was booed, and some locals are protesting against ICE. Some are asking if the US has achieved “villain” status. Experts say moments like these underscore the loss of American standing on the world stage under President Donald Trump. But is this a brand problem, or something deeper?  For more: Trump’s growi...

Critics fear ICE is using a growing slate of facial recognition and surveillance tools to track not only undocumented immigrants, but also protesters opposing operations in Minneapolis and beyond. So with Democrats and Republicans at odds over changes to ICE ahead of a looming deadline to fund the Department of Homeland Security, what data is being collected and what does it mean for the average A...

Officials in Georgia are sounding the alarm after the FBI searched an elections office in Fulton County last week in connection with alleged voter fraud in the 2020 election. Now, as President Donald Trump calls on Republicans to “nationalize the voting,” some state officials across the country are wondering if they will be able to run their midterm elections without interference from Washington....

TikTok was on the verge of being banned in the US as President Donald Trump took office last year. Now, its US operations are in the hands of new owners after a deal backed by the Trump administration. Since those owners took control, some users on the left claim they’ve been having trouble posting about sensitive topics like ICE or Jeffrey Epstein. So is this a tech hiccup, or a possible sign of ...

We know the Trump administration is extremely online. But experts have started to notice that some of the memes and videos posted by official government accounts have a distinct far-right flavor that draw disturbing parallels with white supremacist and neo-Nazi propaganda. Is this a mistake? Trolling? Or something darker? We hear from an expert who says white nationalist groups are getting the mes...

The White House says President Donald Trump is going to travel the country starting this week, selling his economic accomplishments ahead of the midterms. But after calling affordability a Democrat-led ‘hoax,’ will anyone buy it? We break down three recent Trump administration proposals about housing, health care, and credit cards and examine whether they could actually bring down prices.  For mor...

Minneapolis remains on edge two weeks after an ICE agent shot and killed Renee Nicole Good. As the Department of Justice opens criminal investigations into local and state officials and vows to press charges against protesters who disrupted a church service on Sunday, some activists are wondering if it's safe to continue speaking out. We hear from one of them and get an explainer on the legal issu...

President Trump has not backed down on his threats to take control of Greenland, potentially by military force. Danish officials have also not backed down on their insistence that their territory is not for sale. So where does this go from here? How could things play out if Trump does follow through? And how do Greenlanders feel about being caught in the middle? CNN went to the island to find out....