February 24, 2026
Anniversary and Entry
Good morning, everyone!
A programming note: Everything Briefing will be out tomorrow and will return on Thursday as I tend to a few personal matters.
And if you missed it, be sure to check out the latest edition of Last Week in History:
Today, we will look at President Donald Trumpās State of the Union address, the four-year anniversary of the war in Ukraine, and a series of historical entries.
Letās get to it.
United States
-President Donald Trump will deliver a State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress tonight at 9:00 PM EST.
The address comes just days after the Supreme Court issued a ruling invalidating most of his sweeping tariffs which served as his central economic policy tool.
At the same time as the address, a group of congressional Democrats are expected to hold a rally in Washington as counterprogramming.
Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger will give the official Democratic response, with California Senator Alex Padilla to give a Spanish-language rebuttal.
Ahead of the speech, Democratic leaders have sought to rein in expected disruptions, according to Axios.
Last year, Texas Congressman Al Green was removed from the House chamber and later censured after repeatedly shouting during the beginning of Trumpās remarks to lawmakers.
-The U.S. womenās hockey team declined Trumpās invitation to attend the State of the Union.
-Colorado Congresswoman Lauren Boebert became the first Republican lawmaker to call for the resignation of Texas Congressman Tony Gonzales, who is under fire for an alleged affair he had with a member of his staff.
The staffer, Regina Santos-Aviles, later committed suicide.
When asked about the news yesterday, House Speaker Mike Johnson said the āinvestigation should play out.ā
Amid the controversy, Gonzales is facing a strong primary challenger ahead of next weekās election.
Currently, Republicans hold a slim majority in the House, with 218 seats to the Democratsā 214, with three vacant seats. If Gonzales were to depart the chamber, Republicans would lose their absolute majority, although they would continue to hold more seats.
-Ahead of this fallās midterm elections, Democratic candidates are out-raising their Republican opponents in the most competitive districts for control of the House, according to a new Reuters analysis.
Meanwhile, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), the main fundraising organ for House Democrats, raised $10 million in the fourth quarter, outpacing its Republican counterpart, the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), which raised $9.1 million.
Altogether, the DCCC has $51.5 million on hand, while the NRCC has $52.5 million.
Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel is expected to join Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for a fundraiser in California next month.
-Heavy snowfall rocked the Northeast yesterday.
-On this day in 1803, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling in Marbury v. Madison, declaring an act of Congress unconstitutional.
The landmark ruling established the doctrine of judicial review and affirmed the Courtās role as the final interpreter of the Constitution.
Specifically, the Court ruled that Section 13 of the Judiciary Act of 1789 was unconstitutional as it improperly expanded the scope of the Supreme Courtās original jurisdiction.
In 1868, the House of Representatives voted to impeach President Andrew Johnson, making him the first president to be impeached by the chamber.
Lawmakers approved 11 articles of impeachment, stemming from Johnsonās firing of Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, which violated the Tenure of Office Act.
He was acquitted by the Senate by just one vote that May.
In 1976, Jimmy Carter won the New Hampshire Democratic presidential primary, helping catapult him to the Democratic nomination that year.
In 2015, President Barack Obama vetoed a bill authorizing the construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline, citing environmental concerns.
The proposed 1,200-mile expansion would have transported up to 830,000 barrels of crude oil per day from Alberta, Canada, to the U.S. Gulf Coast.
Other Links:
House Democrats bringing Jeffrey Epstein survivors to Trumpās State of the Union speech - NBC
ICE officer training is ādeficientā and ābroken,ā former agency lawyer tells congressional forum - CNN
Noem restricts disaster aid over shutdown that targets ICE - Politico
Republicans eye opening for DHS deal this week as Democrats double down - The Hill
Trump threatens higher tariffs on countries that āplay gamesā - CNN
FedEx sues for refund of Trump tariffs, days after Supreme Court ruling - CNBC
Senate Democrats push for Trump tariff rebates - Politico
Jeanine Pirroās office shelves pursuit of Democrats over social video, sources say - NBC
FBI director invites fresh scrutiny over travels with appearance at US menās hockey team celebration - AP
Judge Aileen Cannon bars the release of special counsel report on Trumpās handling of classified documents - CNN
As conservatives accuse Newsom of bigotry, California governorās office slams āMAGA-manufactured outrageā - CBS
Kentucky Supreme Court strikes down charter schools law - The Hill
Walz appoints Shireen Gandhi to lead embattled Department of Human Services - Minnesota Star Tribune
Africa
-President Trumpās new ambassador to South Africa, conservative activist Leo Brent Bozell III, presented his credentials to the government in Johannesburg on Monday.
Bozellās arrival in the country comes amid strained ties between the two countries, as Trump has accused the South African government of allowing a genocide of Afrikaner farmers, a claim it denies.
Over the weekend, Anderson Cooper of 60 Minutes reported on the issue.
View it here:
-Chad shuttered its border with Sudan after clashes between their militaries left five Chadian soldiers dead.
-A Tunisian court ordered the release of Ahmed Souab, a prominent critic of strongman President Kais Saied.
-Mozambique is set to receive $6 billion from the World Bank over the next five years as the countryās public finances are under strain.
-On this day in 1999, President Bill Clinton hosted Ghanaian President Jerry John Rawlings in Washington for a state visit.
Other Links:
Attackers kill at least 50, abduct women and children in Nigeriaās Zamfara state - Reuters
Supporters of jailed Ugandan opposition figure pray for him after president tries to stop it - AP
Trade and hope return to Uvira after DRC-Burundi border reopens - Africa News
More Ghanaians are wearing a cultural outfit after their president was mocked - AP
Ecowas proposes major marine protection zone - Semafor
Americas and the Caribbean
-Leaders from the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) will gather for a summit meeting today on the island federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis.
The bloc was founded in 1973 and seeks to foster economic and political cooperation across the region. It has fifteen full member states and 5 associate members.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is slated to attend the gathering.
-Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will embark on a three-nation trip later this week, where he will travel to India, Australia, and Japan.
The travel comes as Ottawa seeks to balance its relationship with the United States, which has been rattled since President Trumpās return to office last year.
-European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said yesterday that she would call for the 27-member bloc to lift its sanctions on Venezuelaās interim president, Delcy RodrĆguez, after lawmakers in the South American country approved legislation granting amnesty to certain political prisoners.
-On a visit to India, Brazilian President Luiz InĆ”cio Lula da Silva said, āI want to tell U.S. President Donald Trump that we don't want a new Cold War.ā
Trump is slated to host Lula at the White House next month.
-On this day in 2017, Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski became the first leader from Latin America to meet with President Trump since he took office the previous month.
Other Links:
Canada prepares aid package for Cuba as it faces fuel shortages worsened by US oil embargo - AP
Supreme Court Considers Fate of Docks and Other Assets Seized by Cuba in 1960 - The New York Times
Security forces keep up fight with cartel gunmen a day after the Mexican military killed a drug lord - AP
US tourists stuck in Mexican beach town after drug lordās killing sparks wave of violence - CNN
US ambassador defends travel bans on 3 Chilean officials as a āsovereign decisionā - AP
US says it struck vessel in Caribbean, killing three men - Reuters
Asia/Indo-Pacific
-North Koreaās ruling Workersā Party reelected Kim Jong Un as general secretary for another five-year term on Sunday, a predetermined move in a country without dissent.
The move came as top party officials met in Pyongyang for the Ninth Congress of the Workers' Party, which takes place every five years.
Earlier this month, Kim designated his 13-year-old daughter as his successor, according to South Koreaās spy agency.
Kim, believed to be 42 years old, took power following the death of his father, Kim Jong Il, in 2011, who had taken power after his own father died in 1994. Altogether, the Kim family has ruled the Northeast Asian nation with an iron fist since 1948.
Separately, Kimās influential and outspoken sister, Kim Yo Jong, was elevated to a ministerial role at the gathering.
-Prosecutors at the International Criminal Court in The Hague alleged yesterday former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was āpivotalā in the murder of thousands of people during his time in office as part of his war against drugs.
Duterte is currently facing charges of crimes against humanity by the war-crimes court.
-The Trump Organization has signed a deal to build its first tower in Australia.
-On this day in 1972, President Richard Nixon toured the Great Wall of China as part of his landmark visit to the Peopleās Republic of China.
Other Links:
China assessing US Supreme Court tariff ruling; says āfighting is harmfulā - Reuters
U.S. sheds light on its allegation of Chinese nuclear test and urges nations to push for disarmament - NBC
Japan mines Pacific Ocean mud for rare earths to counter Chinaās chokehold - Financial Times
Russia says no peace dialogue ongoing with Japan over territorial dispute - The Japan Times
A Hong Kong court dismisses appeals of activists in a key national security case - AP
Australia backs removing Andrew from royal line of succession - BBC
Europe
-Today marks four years since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. At that time, Russian forces sought to quickly advance on the capital, Kyiv, and topple President Volodymyr Zelenskyyās government.
Instead, Ukrainian forces pushed back, bolstered by U.S. and Western military aid.
In recent months, persistent Russian targeting of Ukrainian energy infrastructure has left thousands without heat and electricity.
Officials from the two countries have held several rounds of U.S.-mediated negotiations, but have not agreed to a long-term settlement despite pressure from President Trump to do so.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a Washington-based think tank, estimates that as many as 1.8 million soldiers have been killed, wounded, or gone missing on both sides.
Specifically, the think tank estimates that Russia has suffered 1.2 million casualties, including up to 325,000 troop deaths. Meanwhile, it estimates that Ukraine has suffered 500,000 to 600,000 casualties.
Earlier this month, Zelenskyy said 55,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed since the beginning of the war.
The United Nations estimates that 14,999 civilians, including 763 children, have been killed, although it says that number is likely an underestimate.
Russia currently controls approximately 19.4% of Ukraineās internationally recognized territory as the war now enters its fifth year.
See a full breakdown of the numbers here.
-The European Union failed to adopt a new sanctions package against Russia due to objections by Hungary.
Separately, Hungary vetoed a measure that would have granted a loan to Ukraine.
-The EU postponed ratification of a trade deal with the United States, calling the U.S. commitments under the agreement āso uncertainā after the Supreme Court invalidated most of Trumpās global tariffs.
-France said it would limit U.S. Ambassador Charles Kushnerās access to the French government, saying he failed to appear after being formally summoned over comments made by Trump administration officials regarding the killing of a far-right activist.
Kushner is the father of Jared Kushner, President Trumpās son-in-law.
-On this day in 1990, President George H. W. Bush hosted West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl at Camp David to discuss the reunification of Germany following the collapse of the Berlin Wall.
At the gathering, the two leaders agreed that a unified Germany should remain a full NATO member to ensure stability in Europe.
Following Bushās death in 2018, longtime German Chancellor Angela Merkel called Bush one of the āfathers of German unification.ā
Other Links:
British government considers removing former Prince Andrew from the royal line of succession - NBC
U.K. Police Arrest Ex-Ambassador to U.S. Amid Epstein Accusations - The New York Times
Slovakia halts emergency power supply to Ukraine as oil transit row deepens - Euronews
Ex-UK Prime Minister Johnson calls on allies to send noncombat troops to Ukraine ahead of ceasefire - AP
Far-right files no-confidence motion against French PM over new energy law - Reuters
Middle East
-President Trump pushed back on reports that Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine has advised him against taking military action against Iran in a social media post as tensions between the two countries continue to mount.
The post comes just ahead of a third round of talks between U.S. and Iranian officials slated for Thursday in Geneva, Switzerland, as Washington ramps up pressure on the country to agree to a deal to limit its nuclear program.
In recent months, Trump has deployed what he has called an āarmadaā to the region as part of the pressure campaign. The military buildup is the largest since the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Ahead of the negotiations, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi said in an interview over the weekend that there is a āgood chanceā the two sides will agree to a diplomatic solution.
-Students in Tehran held staged anti-government protests yesterday.
-Gulf nations are backing Kuwait in its renewed border dispute with Iraq.
-On this day in 2001, former President George H. W. Bush visited Kuwait to celebrate the countryās 10th Liberation Day and 40th anniversary of its independence.
Ten years earlier, Bush led a 42-nation coalition to oust Iraqi forces from Kuwait following its invasion of the country.
Other Links:
Iran Could Direct Proxies to Attack U.S. Targets Abroad, Officials Warn - The New York Times
Israeli settlers torch and deface a West Bank mosque during Ramadan - AP
US military moves forces and equipment out of northeast Syria base - AP
Islamic State kills four security personnel in Syria, state news agency says - Reuters
Iraq says Ankara agrees to take back Turkish citizens among IS detainees moved from Syria - Reuters
Thatās all for today. See you on Thursday.
Apologies for not getting to this nws until today. Great stuff, Jason. I had no idea that we are bullying Chile over a tele-cable to China. I also appreciate the story about *Ghana becoming a 'fugu' state. Lastly, thank you for the warm kudos extended to President G.H.W. Bush. Funny, the three Presidents I respect the most in my long life -- Presidents Ford, Carter, and H.W. Bush -- served no more than four years.
Iām back again and catching up. At what age do preschoolers stop catching everything so grandparents can stay home and read something besides Paw Patrol? Getting to read your updates is such a relief!