The Headlines - Key Moments From Trump’s State of the Union, and a $1 Million Reward in the Guthrie Case

Episode Date: February 25, 2026

Plus, how kids are getting around phone-free classroom rules.  Here’s what we’re covering: 6 Takeaways From Trump’s State of the Union, by Tyler Pager and Luke Broadwater U.K. Police Release Ex-Ambassador to U.S. After Arrest Amid Epstein Accusations, by Lizzie Dearden and Stephen Castle These Ukrainians Don’t Want to Be Traded to Russia for Peace, by Andrew E. Kramer Savannah Guthrie Offers $1 Million for Tip Leading to Mother’s Return, by Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs A Blow to the Phone-Free Classroom, by Madison Malone Kircher and Callie Holtermann Tune in every weekday morning, and tell us what you think at: [e-mail]. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

From the New York Times, it's the headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford. Today's Wednesday, February 25th. Here's what we're covering. Mr. Speaker, the president of the United States. President Trump delivered the longest state of the union address in American history last night, describing the country as safe and booming under his leadership. Today, our border is secure.

Our spirit is restored. Inflation is plummeting. Incomes are rising fast. It clocked in at one hour and 47 minutes. Our country is winning again. In fact, we're winning so much that we really don't know what to do about it. Throughout the night, Trump leaned heavily into theatrics, a callback to his reality TV roots. Alejandra, I'm pleased to inform you that not only has your uncle been released, but he is here tonight.

He staged a reunion between a woman and her uncle, a former prisoner. under Nicholas Maduro's regime in Venezuela. He surprised a National Guard member who was shot in D.C. last year with a purple heart. And he had the men's Olympic hockey team emerged from the balcony above him, declaring he was giving the goalie the Presidential Medal of Freedom. What a special job you did,

what special champions you are. Thank you very much. Policy-wise, Trump mostly focused on the economy and immigration. Those used to be winning topics for him, but polls show most Americans now disapprove by a wide margin of how he's handling them. 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. It took the president about 90 minutes into the speech to get to Iran, the topic much of the world was eager to hear about,

since he has threatened military strikes there. Trump only spent about three minutes talking about it, though, and moved on with little explanation of why he's ordered the largest build-up of U.S. military firepower in the Middle East since the invasion of Iraq. Overall, the speech came at a critical moment for Trump. His popularity is the lowest it's been

since he retook office, and nationwide, his party is bracing for potentially significant losses in the upcoming midterms, which could make it harder for Trump to enact his agenda. Facing that possibility, Trump took multiple opportunities, throughout the night to attack Democrats, calling them crazy and anti-American, and accusing them of prioritizing undocumented immigrants over U.S. citizens.

Is the president working for you? Meanwhile, after Trump's speech, Is the president working to make life more affordable for you and your family? The governor of Virginia, Abigail Spanberger, gave the Democratic Party's rebuttal. He's enriching himself. His family, his friends, the scale of the corruption is unprecedented. Spanberger argued that Trump has hurt the economy, sowed chaos with his policies, and personally benefited from his presidency.

It was a preview of the messaging Democrats' hope will resonate with voters this fall. This week, there's been a fresh series of resignations and allegations stemming from the Epstein files. Since the latest batch of documents was released by the Justice Department last month, the web of prominent people connected to the convicted sex offender has come into clearer view, and a number of them are facing new consequences. In the UK, one of the country's best-known political figures, Peter Mandelson, was arrested on suspicion that he shared government information with Epstein. Mandelson was fired from his role as ambassador to the U.S. last year, when the depth of his friendship with Epstein became public. But scrutiny of him has been growing,

since the latest files appear to show that he passed along potentially confidential government documents. Mandelson has not yet been charged with a crime and has been released on bail. He previously said that the Epstein files don't show any wrongdoing on his part. At the same time, in the U.S., the high-profile health influencer, Peter Attia, has resigned from his position as a contributor to CBS News. He's also stepped down from a top job at a protein bar. company. The files showed that Atia and Epstein started meeting up and writing to each other years after Epstein pleaded guilty to prostitution charges involving a minor. In one note,

Attea said he wished he could tell more people about what he called Epstein's outrageous life. And he also begged Epstein to follow his medical recommendations so that he could, quote, keep up with the 23-year-old beauties. In a social media post earlier this month, Attea said he was ashamed of that correspondence and did not know about Epstein's trafficking and abuse of women or underage girls. And at Columbia University, the Nobel Prize-winning co-director of a flagship scientific institute announced yesterday that he's resigning. Richard Axel is not accused of any wrongdoing, but the files document his years-long connection with Epstein, including the fact that he was a frequent guest at Epstein's Manhattan home. and that he was a middleman between Epstein and Colombia's admissions and fundraising staff. It's just one example in the files of how Epstein tied himself to some of the country's most prestigious universities and celebrated academics.

Four years ago this week, Russian troops, planes and tanks crossed the border into Ukraine, kicking off a full-scale invasion. These troops you can see over here, they are Russian airborne forces. Now, after years of brutal fighting, the two sides are effectively deadlocked on the battlefield and in ongoing peace talks. In the negotiations, brokered by the Trump administration, Ukraine is basically being offered a trade. Peace, in exchange for letting Russia keep the 20% of Ukrainian territory that it's managed to seize.

Russia is also demanding the entirety of the Donetsk region, some of which it hasn't taken control of yet. While some Ukrainians, worn down by near-daily attacks, are open to that kind of deal, it's much more complicated for the people who live in the region in question. My colleagues recently traveled there to talk to the residents who are caught in the middle. Much of Donetsk has been destroyed, but they say the city of Sloviansk, just miles from the front lines, is kind of an eerie oasis. Even with a constant soundtrack of distant explosions, a bowling alley is still open for business,

and there are bustling coffee shops and Pilates classes. The Times spoke with one woman who opened a hair salon there two years ago. It's her dream business, but she said if Ukraine agrees to turn over control of her city to Russia, then she will leave. It's an agonizing choice after sticking it out through years of war. Another resident told the Times, She and the other people still living there feel powerless, and that all they can do is, quote, hope we will not be given to Russia.

Hi there. I'm coming on to say it is day 24 since our mom was taken in the dark of night from her bed. In a new video, Savannah Guthrie, one of the hosts of the Today Show, announced that her family is offering up to $1 million, for information that leads to the return of her mother, Nancy, who was abducted from her home outside Tucson. If you've been waiting and you haven't been sure, let this be your sign. To please come forward, tell what you know, and help us bring our beloved mom home. In the weeks since Nancy Guthrie went missing, authorities say that hundreds of investigators from the local sheriff's department and the FBI have been assigned to the case,

and they've been sifting through tens of thousands of tips. But so far, there has been no breakthrough. And in the video, Guthrie acknowledged that her mother, who's 84 years old, may no longer be alive. The Guthrie's new million-dollar offer is in addition to two other $100,000 rewards, one from the FBI and another from an Arizona-based crime hotline. In the video, posted yesterday, Guthrie said her family is also donating $500,000 to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and that they hope the intense focus on their case might also bring more attention to other missing people who don't have a celebrity connection. And finally.

School just started and the worst thing possible just happened. I got a Yonder pouch. It basically locks your phone in with a magnet. Across the country, more than 30 states require school districts to ban or restrict students' access to their cell phones. And the company, Yonder, has billed itself as a solution. Yonder makes those little pouches that you may have been asked to tuck your phone into at a concert or a show or a classroom. The pitch goes that once it's in there, the pouch blocks phone signals, and it can't be unlocked without a special device. According to the company, three million students use the pouches daily.

And according to a database that tracks local government spending, Yonder made at least $19 million in sales to schools last year alone. But... What's up, guys? Today, I'm going to show you guys how to open up a locks yonder pouch. It turns out those pouches are no match for kids. At first, I tried banging it. And that didn't work, so I banged it hard. Some students say they found that if you whack the pouches against a hard surface at just the right angle, they spring open.

Some of them are even craftier. They don't put their phones into the pouches at all. They just tuck a decoy device in, or even a heavy rock. And then there's the kids who figured out. you could potentially buy a magnet off Amazon to unlock them. Given the reality that kids just will figure out a solution, some educators told the times they opt for a more lo-fi approach, like just making everyone leave their phone at the front of the class.

Those are the headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford. We'll be back tomorrow.