Janine Herbst

The Louvre Museum in Paris has a new boss, art historian Christophe Larrabeau.

He's a veteran museum director who's taking over after the previous director quit in the wake of the brazen daylight heist of the French crown jewels last October, along with the deteriorating state of the museum.

Mortgage rates dropped sharply last week, hitting their lowest level in almost four years.

The Mortgage Bankers Association says the average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate loan has fallen to 6.09 percent.

Refinance applications rose 4 percent last week from the week before, as the rates drop.

I'm Janine Herbst, NPR News in Washington.

Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janine Herbst.

President Trump celebrated economic progress in his State of the Union speech last night, but as NPR's Scott Horsley reports, many aren't buying his sales pitch.

Virginia's Governor Abigail Spanberger delivered the Democratic response, offering a sharply different take on the health of the country's economy from President Trump's.

Spanberger says American families are struggling under his policies.

And in a speech from historic colonial Williamsburg, Virginia, she says Trump is pitting Americans against each other, and she also attacked immigration officer tactics calling Trump reckless.

Paramount is raising its offer for Warner Brothers Discovery, which rejected a rival bid from Netflix.

NPR's David Fokenflik has more.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is meeting Chinese leaders, pressing for fairer trade rules and more help in ending the war in Ukraine.

Merz says global crises, including the war in Ukraine, can't be settled without Beijing.

European governments say China hasn't pushed Russia hard enough to end its war, but Beijing says it's staying impartial in the conflict.

You're listening to NPR News from Washington.

A Senate committee will consider President Trump's nominee to lead the Bureau of Land Management this morning.

The Mountain West News Bureau's Hannah Merzbach reports some veterans want senators to vote no on the nomination of Steve Pierce.

In the Northeast, people are still digging out from the massive winter storm that dumped up to two feet of snow in places.