Today's Inside Politics begins with in-depth analysis of President's Biden's just-concluded speech about the US economy. It was advertised by his advisers as being focused on his plan to fight inflation. But while Biden did speak about inflation, he spent a significant amount of time attacking Republicans. Also on today's show: New details on the tragic saga of corrections officer Vicky White ... Donald Trump and Kevin McCarthy share a stage. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy...
May 10, 2022•20 min
The world worried Monday's Victory Day in Russia would bring dramatic action from Vladimir Putin. Instead, it came and went without any public change in posture from the Russian president. He again called his Ukraine invasion preemptive. He again painted NATO and Ukraine as the aggressors. And he repeated a lie by linking the invasion to the fight against the Nazis. We explore what clues, if any, Putin's speech may have provided on the direction of the war. Also in today's show: more stunning re...
May 09, 2022•39 min
A leaked draft Supreme Court decision is poised to reshuffle American politics and life. If the court overturns Roe v. Wade, abortions will be immediately banned in about half the country. Democrats are searching for ways to protect abortion access but it's unclear that there's anything they can do. The Senate is set to vote to protect abortion rights on Wednesday but it's expected to fail. Plus, why Vladimir Putin could escalate the war in Ukraine as Russia commemorates "Victory Day." And forme...
May 08, 2022•42 min
Today's show begins with new proof the US economy is strong and stable. The latest jobs report out this morning shows 428,000 jobs were added in April while the unemployment rate held steady at 3.6%. Plus, average hourly wages are up 5.5% from one year ago. But inflation remains a giant election year cloud over President Biden and his party. Also in today's episode: Another desperate attempt to get people out of Mariupol ... Donald Trump says Republicans will stay home in November if his candida...
May 06, 2022•39 min
After weeks of heavy, bloody battles, Russian forces have breached Mariupol's final stronghold. Artillery strikes continue to pound the Azovstal steel plant, each hit bringing it closer and closer to Russian capture. But CNN's Scott McLean reports there may be some good news. Also in this episode: While some Democrats believe abortion rights will become this year's driving issue in the midterms, others say the economy is almost always issue #1. And on that front, the President is in a heap of tr...
May 05, 2022•39 min
Voters in Ohio send a clear election night message by picking Trump candidates up and down the ballot, showing the former President is still the GOP's dominant force. Plus, a big day in the inflation fight. And, the latest on the war in Ukraine. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices...
May 04, 2022•39 min
The Supreme Court confirms the document leaked last night is authentic but is careful to note no decision is final until it's officially issued. But the 98 pages written by Justice Alito clearly lay out how the Conservative majority plans to overturn 50 years of legal precedent. He says the Constitution makes no reference to abortion and no such right is implicitly protected by any Constitutional provision. The news prompts an enormous and visceral reaction outside the court. President Biden say...
May 03, 2022•39 min
Ukrainians are finally finding a way out of that steel plant in Mariupol. One of the evacuees described the situation as "two months of darkness. We did not see any sunlight." The trek out of captivity comes after another turbulent, restless night. A Ukrainian commander inside says constant shelling resumed the instant evacuations were done for the day. Meanwhile, Nancy Pelosi is in Poland following her surprise a visit to Kyiv, where she met with Ukraine's president. When she returns to the US,...
May 02, 2022•39 min
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi led a congressional delegation to Ukraine, recommitting U.S. support amid intense fighting in the east. Pelosi is the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit Ukraine and to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky since the war began. Plus, why some Democrats are urging President Biden to get more aggressive with the GOP ahead of November's midterm elections. But will he really do it? And May will be a pivotal month for Donald Trump's endorsement strategy. Is his influenc...
May 01, 2022•41 min
Soldiers and civilians are surrounded in Mariupol's final stronghold. Today, a renewed effort to get people out of the steel plant. But that effort was blocked by Russians overnight. It's produced few Russian land gains but plenty of mounting destruction. It remains literally a life or death waiting game. A field commander worries they cannot survive another direct hit. Today's episode with a live report from the battlefield from CNN's Scott Mcclain. To learn more about how CNN protects listener...
Apr 29, 2022•39 min
"The cost of this fight is not cheap. But caving to aggression is going to be more costly if we allow it to happen. As long as the assaults continue, we're going to continue to supply military assistance." That's what President Biden said today when he asked Congress for $33 billion in additional new funding for Ukraine. He also directly responded to the Russian regime, saying that the Kremlin is desperate and the invasion an abject failure. CNN's Kaitlan Collins begins our coverage from the Whi...
Apr 28, 2022•39 min
Trevor Reed, the former US Marine held in Russia since 2019, is headed back to his family. The Biden White House announced a deal today to secure Reed's release in a prisoner swap. He's been held in Russia for 985 days after being arrested and sentenced to prison for nine years there. His family on CNN earlier today called his release an answer to their prayers. Our coverage begins with their emotional reaction to the joyous news. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn....
Apr 27, 2022•39 min
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin highlights new commitments from Germany, Canada, and others to get heavier weaponry to Ukraine, and makes clear a significant American strategy shift. The goal, he says, is to make sure Vladimir Putin not only loses in Ukraine, but that his military is significantly degraded in the process. Austin is in Germany, as is CNN's Oren Liebermann, who begins today's coverage. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more abo...
Apr 26, 2022•39 min
CNN has exclusively obtained over 2,000 text messages sent and received by former Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows between Election Day 2020 and President Biden's inauguration on January 20th, 2021. The messages give an extraordinary glimpse at how Meadows was doing Trump's bidding in how they were trying to overturn the election when they knew that there was no widespread election fraud. In this episode we dig into the texts, most of which have never been seen before. Also in today's show: We ...
Apr 25, 2022•39 min
Russian forces are focused on capturing the east and eliminating the last pocket of resistance in Mariupol. Meanwhile, President Volodymyr Zelensky says Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin are expected to visit Kyiv. They'd be the highest-ranking U.S. officials to step foot in Ukraine since the war began. Plus, Kevin McCarthy is caught on tape suggesting former President Trump resign after the January 6 insurrection. Will it hurt McCarthy’s House Speaker ambition...
Apr 24, 2022•41 min
A top Russian commander makes it clear that full control of Ukraine's south -- a 600-mile swath of strategic land along Ukraine's southern coast -- is also part of the Kremlin's invasion plan. Mariupol is one of those port cities on Putin's list, and new images show Russian tanks rolling through. The Kremlin says the city is captured but there are still Ukrainian fighters at a waterfront steel plant, and there are civilians taking shelter there, too. Mariupol's mayor says they are running out of...
Apr 22, 2022•39 min
President Biden unveils another big package of heavy weaponry for Ukraine, saying the west will not yield and that Vladimir Putin will never succeed in his quest to conquer his neighbor. This comes just hours after the Russian President claimed victory in the strategic Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, telling his defense chief there's no need to storm a steel plant that's home to the last Ukrainian holdouts. However, Biden countered, "It's questionable whether he does control Mariupol. There is ...
Apr 21, 2022•39 min
As Mariupol's mayor urges residents to leave the besieged port city, a Ukrainian marine commander there makes a dire -- and perhaps final -- plea: "We might have only a few days or even hours left. The enemy's units are ten times larger than ours. We appeal to the world leaders to help us." Meanwhile, US defense officials watching the battlefield see no major Russian territorial gains in the Donbas region to Ukraine's east. Today's show opens with a live report from CNN's Matt Rivers on the grou...
Apr 20, 2022•39 min
President Zelensky says the battle for Donbas is now in full force, and he vows Ukrainians will repel Russia's advancing army. The Kremlin says the goal is to "fully liberate" what Moscow calls two new independent republics in eastern Ukraine. One is in Luhansk, where a top Ukrainian official is pleading with anyone left to "evacuate now," saying residents of the fallen town of Kreminna are now hostages. A top adviser to Zelensky tells CNN, "Not a single place, a town, a city or a village is saf...
Apr 19, 2022•39 min
The western city of Lviv, a place that's been relatively safe since Putin's invasion began February 24, has been hit by multiple Russian missile strikes. At least seven people were killed and 11 hurt, including a child. In eastern Ukraine, Kreminna in the Luhansk region is now in Russian hands. A Ukrainian official says Russian forces opened fire on a car filled with civilians trying to escape the town, killing four people. A top official is pleading with residents in Luhansk to leave now saying...
Apr 18, 2022•39 min
Russia is calling for the remaining troops in Mariupol to surrender after weeks of shelling have decimated the eastern city. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says tens of thousands have died in the siege. As Russian troops regroup ahead of their expected focus on the east, $800 million worth of U.S. heavy weapons and artillery are arriving to boost the Ukrainian military. Plus, President Biden tries to sell his plans to fight inflation. Are voters listening? And why some close advisors to ...
Apr 17, 2022•40 min
Today's show features a new and exclusive CNN interview with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who tells CNN's Jake Tapper the world should prepare for Vladimir Putin to use chemical or, yes, even nuclear weapons. Plus, the US Secretary of State is telling European allies he believes Russia's invasion may last the rest of the year. And, important battlefield developments today, as Russia retaliates against the sinking of its warship by hitting a military facility on the outskirts of Kyiv. ...
Apr 15, 2022•39 min
This is day 50 of Vladimir Putin's invasion, and the Russian military is poised to open a new chapter of this war. The west warns of a major Russian offensive on the Donbas region as soon as the next couple of days. The US is now promising to deliver heavier and deadlier weaponry. Overnight Ukraine said it put a major military win on the scoreboard, striking Russia's premier warship with a cruise missile, resulting in major damage. We start our coverage on the front lines in Ukraine with CNN's M...
Apr 14, 2022•39 min
Police say Frank James, a 62-year-old black man, is the shooter who turned the 36th Street subway station in Brooklyn, NY into a trauma ward. Investigators determined James bought the gun recovered at the scene, and an intensive hunt to capture him is underway. CNN's Jason Carroll kicks off our extensive coverage live from the scene. Also in today's show: The latest from Ukraine, and some fascinating new details at Donald Trump's "big lie" campaign, including an inside look at his failed effort ...
Apr 13, 2022•39 min
What's expected to be a massive Russian assault on the Donbas region has begun. Shelling overnight in Kharkiv left scorched buildings, debris spilling out from shattered windows, and at least 11 dead. Satellite images tell us Vladimir Putin has assembled an eight-mile long convoy of Russian tanks and artillery outside the city. Meanwhile, today marked an invasion first: Austria's chancellor met with Putin, the first western leader to get an in-person audience with the Russian leader since forces...
Apr 11, 2022•39 min
As Russian troops refocus their efforts on eastern Ukraine, Vladimir Putin has named Alexander Dvornikov as the overall commander of the invasion. Dvornikov had previously led Russia's brutal attacks in Syria, which means the already bloody war could become even more vicious Plus, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is poised to join a Supreme Court that could overturn decades of precedent from abortion to affirmative action. And how Dr. Mehmet Oz nabbed former President Trump's endorsement in a key Sen...
Apr 10, 2022•42 min
The death toll continues to grow after Russia bombed a rail station in Kramatorsk. At least 50 are dead and another 98 injured. Ukraine's foreign minister says the Russian military knew this station was jam packed with thousands, following local government advice to evacuate. The Russians chose to attack anyway. In Kharkiv, Putin’s forces attacked a bread factory. And there's intense worry today by the Ukrainian military that Russia is near finished with preparations for a “breakthrough attempt”...
Apr 08, 2022•26 min
In the 233-year history of the Supreme Court, a black woman has never held the title of Justice. That will change this afternoon when the Senate votes to confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson. The math is a done deal now that three Senate Republicans say they’ll vote yes. Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer calls it a “joyous day.” An Inside Politics panel discusses this important first in US history. Plus, the very latest on Ukraine from our CNN reporters on the ground. To learn more about how CNN pro...
Apr 07, 2022•39 min
The US unveils new sanctions targeting the Russian elite including Vladimir Putin's two adult children. Today, though, more proof Putin is undeterred. A flurry of new Russian military assaults and haunting words from the most besieged city. Mariupol's mayor says the scale of death rivals Nazi concentration camps and calls it the new Auschwitz. Officials say Moscow's military is using mobile crematoriums to dispose of bodies. Today's show begins Zaporizhzhia with CNN's Ivan Watson. To learn more ...
Apr 06, 2022•38 min
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky makes perhaps his most powerful speech yet, addressing the United Nations security council and accusing Russia -- one of the council's permanent members -- of war crimes. He also compares Russia to a "terrorist organization." CNN's Phil Black begins our coverage from Lviv. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices...
Apr 05, 2022•39 min
