The Lead with Jake Tapper
CNN's lead DC anchor and chief Washington correspondent, Jake Tapper, hosts this two-hour long weekday afternoon program, with headlines from around the country and the world, the top stories in national and international news, politics, health, money, the environment, sports and popular culture. The Lead also concentrates on bringing stories that aren't found on front pages—buried leads—to the forefront.
CNN Obtains Jane Doe’s 2024 Statement to Cornell Police
CNN has now obtained the six page signed statement from the woman known publicly as Jane Doe laying out exactly what she told university police back in 2024. Plus, new fallout over AI models going rogue.
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Trump: A.I. Industry Will “Self-Police” as Rogue Agents Persist
How text messages about a basketball game lead to an embarrassing moment from one senator on Capitol Hill as he tried to accuse former special counsel Jack Smith of perjury. Plus, President Trump met this afternoon at the White House with top leaders of the artificial intelligence industry.
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Woman Sues Cornell and Chi Phi Fraternity Over Alleged Gang Rape
36 days left until the midterm elections. A look at what CNN is learning about Trump’s aggressive campaign strategy as more candidates appear to be slipping away from the president’s support. Plus, an explosive lawsuit against Cornell University that could potentially soon lead to criminal charges.
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RNC Trains New “Special Monitors” to Scrutinize Voting Machines
With just 39 days until midterm Election Day, a new ruling from the Supreme Court allows the Trump administration expanded access to review who is and who is not eligible to vote. Plus, did anything substantial come from the three day visit from Chinese leader Xi Jinping?
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CNN, MS NOW, Politico Back at WH as Media Ban Lawsuit Proceeds
Press access at the White House is tested after a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to temporarily reinstate press badges for the news outlets. A judge lays out next steps.
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Judge in WH Press Ban Case: Will Respond “As Soon As I Can”
A judge’s ruling could come at any moment after a hearing this afternoon over the White House’s media ban against CNN, Politico, and MS NOW. Plus, Chinese leader Xi Jinping just landed in Washington and CNN breaks down what’s at stake in his upcoming talks with Trump.
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CNN Poll: Support for Trump’s Foreign Policy Falls to New Low
Kamala Harris is back on the campaign trail in Michigan. Can she help Democrat Abdul El-Sayed in the race for Senate? Plus, one of Trump’s former foreign policy advisers joins to discuss Trump’s speech today at the United Nations.
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Trump & NYC Mayor Mamdani Speak About Their Meeting
The Trump administration is facing a new lawsuit after the president bans CNN and other media outlets from the White House. Plus, no flights in or out at some of the busiest airports in the country. How a construction mishap is to blame.
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Trump Says He’s Banning CNN, Politico, MS NOW from the WH
President Trump this afternoon in a social media post announced that he is going to ban CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House as “a result of their constant ‘reporting’ FAKE NEWS!”
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Trump Seen with “Kennedy Center Demolished” Poster
Does the president really think the Kennedy Center needs to be demolished if his name is not put on the building? Plus, OpenAI revealed six new instances of its bots going rogue.
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Trump Drags Down GOP with 48 Days to Go Until Midterms
President Trump is on his way to a campaign rally on the heels of some bad economic news. Today, the Federal Reserve ignored Trump’s demands and raised interest rates for the first time in years. Plus, mounting pressure on singer Ed Sheeran after he kicked one performer off his tour and the other opening acts quit in solidarity.
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Senators Question Patel on Midterms, FBI’s 2020 Election Probe
President Trump called into a Kennedy Center board meeting and yelled about his name not appearing on the side of the building. Plus, Attorney General Todd Blanche said the Justice Department will comply with the Supreme Court’s ruling to block President Trump’s effort to restrict mail-in voting.
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Trump Dismisses AI Concerns as a “Hoax”
President Trump dismissed all the artificial intelligence doomsday warnings even though many of the warnings are coming from folks inside the AI industry themselves.
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25 Years After 9/11: The Cost of Leaders’ Decisions
25 years after the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001, a nation remembers. Plus, the Supreme Court is reconsidering President Trump’s order to restrict voting by mail.
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Anthropic Issues Report on Blocking “Threat Actors” Using Claude
$5,000 for every adult who is an American citizen if Republicans keep the House and the Senate is President Trump’s latest promise. Plus, one day after apocalyptic warnings about artificial intelligence, a new word from Anthropic.
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Ex-Anthropic Employee: A.I. Could “Kill Us All” by End of Decade
Stark warnings from experts at AI companies about how the technology might kill us all. Plus, as the Republican midterm convention begins, oil prices top $100 a barrel, diesel hits a record, and regular gas had its biggest jump in months.
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Justice Dept Issues Subpoenas for Nevada Voter Data
56 days out from the midterm elections, what will the courts decide? Trump wants to dictate the voting process but it’s not just voting by mail at issue. Plus, President Trump has a new spin on his claims about 9/11.
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NTSB: Plane Hit Van Carrying 7 People After Leaving Runway
At least five people are dead after an Amazon cargo aircraft overran the runway during a landing at Miami International Airport on Sunday afternoon, striking multiple vehicles and sending a thick black plume of smoke into the air as it caught fire.
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Clancy Defense Attorney: Jurors Robbed by “Lone Holdout”
Another dramatic day in court ends with a mistrial in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial. So, will the Massachusetts woman face another trial over allegations of killing her three children?
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Clancy Defense Atty: One Juror “Refuses to Listen to the Law”
The judge has ordered the jury in the Lindsay Clancy trial back to court tomorrow for a seventh day of deliberations. At one point, Clancy’s defense abruptly pushed back revealing it is a single juror who is keeping the jury from a unanimous decision.
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Lindsay Clancy Jury Remains Deadlocked
After five days there is still no verdict in the Lindsay Clancy trial as the judge pushes the jury for a unanimous decision. Plus, 62 days before the midterms and some campaign ads feature a Republican not on the ballot, Donald Trump.
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DHS Plans to Launch Voter Fraud Investigation Surge
A whistleblower has quite the warning about mail-in voting. Plus, a brand new round of strikes in Iran. Also, the jury is deadlocked in the trial of Lindsay Clancy.
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Two Dead, 15 Others May Be Missing in Grand Canyon Flash Flood
The rush is on to find hundreds of missing people believed to be trapped in tunnels after Nepal’s catastrophic flooding last week. Plus, flash flooding at the Grand Canyon killed two people with a dozen others still missing.
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570+ Dead, 2,500 Missing in Nepal-China Flood
Town after town buried in thick mud in Nepal and the formation of a second lake is raising fears of more flooding. Plus, President Trump with a new proposition for US ranchers. Can he win back farmers who criticized his plan to import foreign beef?
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Trump Signs Order Renaming Lake Ontario “Lake America”
President Trump claims Canada is ripping off the United States. So, on top of the tariffs Trump is formally changing the name of Lake Ontario. Plus, CNN is in Nepal where crews are searching for those missing after catastrophic flooding.
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Unstoppable Floodwaters in Nepal & China Kill more than 150 People
A massive wall of water swept through valleys and towns along the Nepal and China border with deadly consequences. An urgent search is now underway for those killed, injured, or still missing after the torrent of flash floods and mudslides tore through the region.
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Country Music Legend Dolly Parton Dies at 80
Legendary country music artist and philanthropist, Dolly Parton, died today at the age of 80. CNN looks back on her life and legacy.
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Supreme Court Backs Trump’s Order to Curb Mail Ballots
The US Supreme Court just granted President Trump’s request for permission to implement his executive order overhauling and restricting mail-in ballot systems. However, additional legal challenges could stand in the way of this plan before the November midterm elections.
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The Atlantic: NPS Changed the Way it Prioritizes Projects to Expedite Trump’s Requests
President Trump reacts to the ruling from the Supreme Court that the White House ballroom construction can go on, for now at least. So, how is President Trump getting so many expensive projects approved so fast?
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Michael Cohen Interviews Trump Years After Dramatic Falling-Out
What President Trump told his former fixer, Michael Cohen, on his radio show today. Cohen joins to discuss. Plus, a look at why so many women are rallying around Lindsay Clancy, a Massachusetts mom on trial for killing her three young kids.
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Study: New Treatment Cuts Recurrence Speed of Melanoma
On the heels of consequential primary race results, some of the big winners join the program. Plus, President Trump says that North Korea has 57 powerful nuclear weapons. Also, an experimental vaccine shows promising results for patients with melanoma.
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Republicans Confront Growing Midterm Peril as Iran War Drags On
172 days in and still no clear path out of the war with Iran. Plus, Minnesota Democratic Attorney General Keith Ellison joins to discuss why he’s suing Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott.
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Trump Says North Korea’s Kim Jong Un Responded to Call for Talks
President Trump’s deadline to make a deal with Iran has come and gone. All he has to show for it is $4 gas, a tax on the Strait of Hormuz, and US troops on record setting deployment. Plus, President Trump says he recently communicated with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un as the president announces he is scaling back military exercises with close ally South Korea.
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Special Bonus - Introducing: Civilian or Spy
When a Russian-born American citizen named Ilya Beloozerov is gunned down by the FBI in 2024, the authorities refuse to say why they’d killed him. CNN’s Isabelle Chapman embarks on a sprawling investigation that takes her from the Mississippi parking lot where he died to Washington, D.C. to unravel the mystery: Why did Ilya abruptly leave his family and his job and head for the border with laptops and cash? Why is there still no official explanation of his death? And maybe most importantly: Was Ilya a spy?
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Wife of U.S. Service Member Aboard USS Lincoln Speaks Out
Luigi Mangione plead guilty to stalking charges in federal court and admitted to shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Plus, new comments from Trump about the impact of the Iran war on your wallet.
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Sailor Went Overboard amid Reports of Poor Ship Conditions
A growing call for answers and remedies for the toll of the Iran war on United States service members. Multiple reports detail worsening mental health and living conditions for the sailors aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln.
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Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt Leaving White House
A huge win for the Democratic establishment in Wisconsin as they defeat a democratic socialist candidate in the governor’s race by just a few thousand votes. Plus, the Trump administration is planning to spend up to $20 million on electrical shock gloves for ICE agents.
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Darline Graham Fights for Her Brother’s Seat in SC Senate Primary
Voters in six states pick their candidates tonight in races that could help determine the future of the Democratic Party. CNN brings you all the latest from South Carolina, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Connecticut, Vermont and Alabama.
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Executive Order on Childhood Vaccines
President Trump announced major changes to childhood vaccination, including how many immunizations are recommended for a child’s earliest years. Plus, the desperate search for survivors after a devastating earthquake struck the nation of Colombia.
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Sources: Trump’s Top General Looking for a U.S. Off-Ramp from Conflict
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Dan Caine has privately made clear to other top Trump advisers that the US needs to find an off-ramp from the war with Iran, according to sources. Plus, Todd Blanche could be confirmed for the next attorney general after securing enough Republican support for a Senate confirmation.
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