President Donald Trump says the country is back on track and the economy is roaring. Democrats disagree, saying affordability is worsening.
Plus, the Justice Department is backing away from its effort to indict six Democratic lawmakers over a video urging troops to refuse unlawful orders.
And investigators now say the key DNA evidence found in Nancy Guthrie’s home may not yield a usable profile. This comes as the Guthrie family increases the reward to $1 million.
These stories and more highlight your Unbiased Updates for Wednesday, February 25, 2026.
Trump touts economy, defends tariffs in longest SOTU address in history
From the economy and immigration to Iran and even Olympic champions, President Donald Trump’s record-breaking State of the Union carried one unmistakable message: America is on top.
“Our country is winning again. In fact, we’re winning so much that we really don’t know what to do about it,” Trump said. “People are asking me please, please, please, Mr. President, we’re winning too much. We can’t take it anymore. We’re not used to winning in our country until you came along, we’re just always losing, but now we’re winning too much.”
He touted what he described as strong markets and lower prices, and blamed Democrats for lingering problems.
He also defended his global tariff strategy and lamented last week’s Supreme Court decision striking down those levies.
“I used these tariffs, took in hundreds of billions of dollars to make great deals for our country, both economically and on a national security basis. Everything was working well; countries that were ripping us off for decades are now paying us hundreds of billions of dollars,” Trump said. “And then just four days ago, an unfortunate ruling from the United States Supreme Court, it just came down. It came down. Very unfortunate ruling.”
On foreign policy, Trump again singled out Iran, warning Tehran it won’t be allowed to develop nuclear weapons and saying diplomacy is his preference.
“My preference. My preference is to solve this problem through diplomacy,” Trump said. “But one thing is certain, I will never allow the world’s number one sponsor of terror, which they are by far, to have a nuclear weapon. Can’t let that happen.”
The address also featured ceremonial moments, with Trump awarding medals of honor.
CONGRATULATIONS to the U.S. Men’s and Women’s Gold Medal-Winning Hockey Teams!
Under @POTUS, America is WINNING LIKE NEVER BEFORE
For glory. For love of country. pic.twitter.com/bhMg8f3qwj
— Office of the DNI (@ODNIgov) February 25, 2026
He also announced that he plans to give the Presidential Medal of Freedom to U.S. men’s Olympic hockey goalie Connor Hellebuyck for his role in the team’s gold-medal win.
The nearly two-hour address was the longest in State of the Union history.
Al Green ejected as Democrats disrupt State of the Union address
The State of the Union address turned tense, and at times chaotic, as Democrats protested Trump’s remarks on immigration and alleged fraud.
Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, was ejected for the second straight year after holding a sign that read, “Black people aren’t apes.”
Green said the message responded to a video Trump posted earlier this month that depicted former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as apes.
As Trump continued speaking, several Democrats shouted back. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., yelled, “You should be ashamed!” Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., shouted, “Liar!”
Later, Omar and Tlaib accused the president of “killing Americans” before leaving the chamber.
Other Democrats wore pins reading “stand with survivors / release the files,” spotlighting the Epstein files issue during the address.
In the official Democratic response, Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger argued Americans “did not hear the truth” and blamed the president’s trade policies for higher costs.
“Since this president took office last year, his reckless trade policies have forced American families to pay more than $1,700 each in tariff costs,” said Spanberger. “And even though the Supreme Court struck these tariffs down four days ago, the damage to us, the American people, has already been done.”
She also criticized the administration’s immigration enforcement, accusing the president of sending what she called “poorly trained federal agents” into American cities.
Pirro abandons bid to indict six Democrats after grand jury rejection: Reports
A case that could have put six Democratic lawmakers in legal jeopardy is now effectively dead in Washington.
NBC News was first to report that U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro’s office has stopped pursuing charges against six Democratic members of Congress over a social media video.
In that video, the lawmakers, all with military or intelligence backgrounds, urged service members to refuse unlawful orders.
Pirro’s office sought to indict them under a federal statute on insubordination. But earlier this month, a federal grand jury in Washington unanimously rejected the attempt. It was an unusual setback for prosecutors.
Trump had called the lawmakers’ actions “sedition at the highest level” in a Truth Social post, and suggested their conduct could be punishable by death.
Legal experts and Democrats criticized the investigation as a political attack on protected speech. The lawmakers have said they will not be intimidated.
While another federal district could theoretically revisit the case, there are no public indications that it will happen.
Pirro’s office declined to comment.
Pentagon demands access to Antrhopic’s AI model
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has set a deadline for Anthropic’s CEO to provide full access to the company’s AI model, Claude. The demand follows the Defense Department’s use of Claude in the raid in Venezuela that led to the capture of President Nicolás Maduro.
Anthropic has asked the Pentagon to agree to guardrails — limits that would prevent the AI from being used for mass surveillance of Americans.
Defense officials said that spying on Americans is illegal.
During a meeting Tuesday, Hegseth told Anthropic’s CEO that he will not allow a private company to dictate how the Pentagon makes operational decisions or to block specific uses.
Axios reported that Hegseth is considering invoking the Defense Production Act to force access, giving the company until Friday to agree voluntarily.
DNA found in Guthrie search may not yield suspect profile match: Report
DNA found inside Nancy Guthrie’s Tucson, Arizona, residence might not be enough to produce a usable profile, according to a new CBS News report.
Sources close to the investigation describe the sample as “low-level,” meaning there may not be enough material to generate a clean match in federal or private DNA databases.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department said its contracted lab is still analyzing the evidence and has not reached a final conclusion. Investigators are also using genetic genealogy, the same technique used in high-profile cases such as the Golden State Killer, to search public DNA databases for potential relatives of an unknown suspect.
So far, there have been no arrests, and police have not yet named a suspect.
As the case enters its fourth week, the Guthrie family has dramatically increased the pressure. Savannah Guthrie, host of “The Today Show,” announced that her family is offering a private reward of up to $1 million for information leading to the location of her mother.
“We need to know where she is. We need her to come home. For that reason, we are offering a family reward of up to one million dollars for any information that leads us to her recovery,” Savannah Guthrie said.
The FBI is separately offering a $100,000 reward and urging anyone with firsthand knowledge to call the tip line. Sheriff Chris Nanos has cleared Nancy Guthrie’s children and their spouses as possible suspects. Investigators continue to process evidence, review surveillance and follow up on tips.
As of Wednesday morning, the case remains open — and the family says they will not stop searching. Nancy Guthrie has now been missing for the entire month of February.
NASA pulls Artemis II rocket due to helium issue, March launch scrapped
NASA’s Artemis II moon mission experienced another delay. The scheduled March launch, which was to send three Americans and one Canadian on a lunar flyby, has been canceled.
NASA said engineers discovered insufficient helium flow to the rocket’s upper stage, prompting the agency to roll back the space launch system (SLS) from the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman wrote on X: “We will begin preparations for rollback, and this will take the March launch window out of consideration.”
He added that disappointment is felt “most by the team at NASA.”
Last month, a February launch attempt was scrubbed due to a fuel leak. Just days ago, officials expressed optimism after a successful fueling test.
Now that the rollback is underway, the earliest possible launch opportunity appears to shift to April, assuming repairs proceed as planned.
Artemis II is the first crewed mission in NASA’s program to return astronauts to the moon since the Apollo era.
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