NPR News: 02-23-2026 2PM EST
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What is the significance of the State of the Union address?
This week on Up First, the State of the Union address is a civic ritual and a political event. We'll be watching to see how a president with low approval ratings handles the moment. We are also watching the United States confrontation with Iran. Listen each morning for overnight developments. Up First on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.
Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh.
How is the winter storm affecting travel in the northeastern U.S.?
A powerful winter storm is disrupting travel across the northeastern U.S. NPR's Joel Rose reports airlines have canceled or delayed more than 7,000 flights in and out of the country.
Heavy snow and strong winds made for a big mess at airports around New York City, Philadelphia, and Boston. Airlines canceled thousands of flights in or out of U.S. airports, according to the aviation analytics company Sirium, and hundreds of other flights were delayed. New York City, New Jersey, and Rhode Island issued travel bans encouraging non-essential vehicles to stay off the roads. The National Weather Service called travel conditions extremely treacherous and nearly impossible in some places, with more than two feet of snow reported in parts of Long Island and southern New England. Joel Rose, NPR News, Washington.
On the eve of his State of the Union address, President Trump has met with families whose loved ones were victims of violence committed by perpetrators in the U.S. illegally. He called today Angel Family Day. And on this occasion, President Trump reiterated the unsubstantiated claim that he was cheated out of a 2020 election win.
If that election wasn't rigged, every single one of the people in this room right now would not be here. You'd be home with your son, daughter, family.
The State Department is urging U.S. citizens in parts of Mexico to shelter in place after the killing of a powerful drug lord led to violence across the country. And Pierre Zeta-Peralta reports a death Sunday of the head of the Jalisco New Generation Syndicate is a major blow to cartels in Mexico.
Experts I've spoken to basically say, look, beheading these organizations will not stop the flow of drugs up north, and it won't stop these organizations from moving forward. And in fact, what they warn is that what usually happens here is there's a power vacuum, and that power vacuum is filled by more violence.
NPR's Zeta Peralta. The U.S. is pulling non-essential diplomats and their families out of Lebanon. NPR's Michelle Kellerman has details.
In an emailed statement, a State Department official calls the move temporary. The embassy remains open, but non-essential personnel and family members have been ordered to leave Lebanon. The State Department says it continuously assesses the security environment and determined that it is, quote, prudent to reduce the U.S. footprint in Lebanon. President Trump has been warning Iran that, in his words, really bad things will happen if Iran doesn't make a nuclear deal with him, even though last year he said the U.S. obliterated Iran's nuclear program. Iran has threatened to strike U.S. bases in the region if it's attacked once again. Michelle Kellerman, NPR News, the State Department.
British police have arrested former ambassador to the U.S., Peter Mandelson, days after former Prince Andrew was arrested. Both are suspected of passing confidential information to the late convicted sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein. This is NPR News. Nick Reiner is pleaded not guilty at his arraignment today to charges he murdered his parents, Hollywood director Rob Reiner and his wife Michelle Reiner. Investigators say they were fatally stabbed last December. A federal judge is granting President Trump's request to permanently block a report from being released about his handling of large amounts of classified information. The case involves former special counsel Jack Smith's investigation of Trump's possession of documents at his Florida estate and resulting criminal charges.
The administration says it is preparing to offer more than 2 million acres of public land to the state of Alaska. But some residents say they're concerned the move by the Department of Interior could lead to exploitation, as Shelby Herbert with Alaska Public Media tells us.
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