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The NewsWorthy
State of the Union Preview, Stock Market Slide & BAFTAs Backlash - Tuesday, February 24, 2026
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Today is Tuesday, February 24th. We'll tell you what to expect from President Trump's State of the Union address tonight and what a former ICE instructor is saying about new training standards. Also, new progress in Mexico's efforts to handle cartel violence that shut down cities and stranded American tourists. Plus, another high profile arrest in response to the Epstein Files, an awards show under fire for what was and wasn't edited out of its broadcast. And it might feel like winter, but spring training is underway in Major League Baseball. Those stories and even more news coming up. Welcome to the Newsworthy. All the day's news in less than 15 minutes. I'm Erica Mandy. Thanks so much for being here. Let's do this. President Trump is gearing up for the first State of the Union address of his second term. He's set to speak in front of a joint session of Congress tonight. Of course, this is when the president outlines how the country is doing and what he wants Congress to focus on. Next reports say he'll focus on the economy and unveil new measures meant to lower costs. The president is also expected to talk about what he sees as progress on border security, efforts to crack down on crime and more. As usual, lawmakers will try to draw attention to certain issues by inviting special guests this year. Confirmed guests include law enforcement officers, company executives and YouTuber Nick Shirley, who says he exposed fraud in Minnesota. Democrats have also invited multiple women who survived abuse by Jeffrey Epstein. Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger will deliver the official Democratic response. President Trump's State of the Union address starts at 9pm Eastern. It will be broadcast on all major television networks and online. A lawyer who used to train ICE officers testified about the training program being drastically cut back, leaving new recruits unprepared. Ryan Schwenk was an instructor at the ICE Academy in Georgia until he resigned last week. And at a hearing yesterday, Schwenk told lawmakers essential parts of the training program were cut, for example, classes about firearm safety, lawful arrests, proper detention and limits to officers authority. He also said ICE has stopped failing trainees on practical exams as it struggles to hire enough of them. He explained how in final training exercises, some recruits made glaring mistakes, like accidentally drawing firearms on each other, pulling guns on detainees without justification, and pepper spraying bystanders without cause. But Schwank said no matter how badly a cadet does, they still graduate. And he gave lawmakers copies of internal ICE documents that reportedly back up his statements. Ice has hired 12,000 new ICE officers and agents in the past year, more than double the total number of ICE agents previously and the Homeland Security Department has acknowledged the agency streamlined training just to cut redundancy. Then in a response yesterday, DHS clarified further, saying ICE recruits are actually doing more on the job training now than they used to, getting more of their experience in the field instead of the classroom. As we've told you, funding for the Homeland Security Department has lapsed and many Democrats are refusing to approve more funding until there are several new restrictions on immigration agents, including some restrictions the GOP has called unreasonable. But DHS workers faced their first round of missed paychecks this Friday, and some Republicans say that could be a pressure point that could help force a compromise. Stay tuned. Thousands of Mexican soldiers have now been deployed all around Mexico to tame unrest. Remember, violence erupted after the death of a powerful drug lord known as El Mencho. He was the country's most wanted man, and the cartel he ran is one of Mexico's most feared criminal organizations. Since the violence erupted, dozens of soldiers have died. Even more were killed in the original raid that captured El Mencho. The Mexican government now says it was able to track him down through a romantic partner who was meeting him at a hideout. It also got help from American CIA intelligence. In the end, Almento was fatally injured in a shootout. As news of his death spread, members of his cartel started launching attacks across many Mexican towns and cities. The criminal organization is known for trafficking fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine into the US and for staging attacks against Mexican government officials. And now in the U.S. homeland Security officials are watching for a response from the cartel's American based networks. But for now, officials say there's no indication of an imminent threat to the U.S. meanwhile, the U.S. government had warned U.S. citizens to shelter in place in many parts of Mexico, including tourist hotspots like Cancun, Cozumel, and Puerto VALLARTA. So the U.S. state Department's crisis hotline fielded hundreds of calls, mostly about flight cancellations. But as of this morning, airlines are resuming flights and reports say order seems to largely be restored. Yet another high profile public figure has been arrested in the UK over his ties to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. This time it was the former British ambassador to the U.S. peter Mandelson, who has long been one of Britain's best known political figures. Mandelson was fired from his prestigious diplomatic post back in September, when the depth of his friendship with Epstein first started to become clear. Then he resigned from his position in Parliament earlier this month. Now, just like with the former prince, Andrew Mandelson is accused of passing confidential government information to Epstein. Both arrests were for misconduct in public office, which if found guilty, can be punishable by up to life in prison. So far, neither has been formally charged with a crime as police continue to gather evidence. Also, neither has publicly commented, though in the past they have always said they never committed any crimes. To be continued A major winter storm ended up dropping nearly 3ft of snow in parts of the Northeast. It was the strongest blizzard in a decade. All in all, parts of New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode island and Massachusetts all got more than 2ft of snow. The country's highest snow total was reported in Providence, Rhode Island. That got nearly 38 inches, making it the city's biggest snowstorm on record. About 1 in 5 US flights was canceled yesterday and thousands have already been canceled for today. Roads, schools and businesses are also closed. Hundreds of thousands of customers are also without power this morning and it could take days before it's restored. The weather across the east coast is expected to be cold and blistery, but dry today. Then another storm system could bring more snow to the region later this week. More news ahead in just a moment, but first thanks to our sponsor Haya Health. I know it can be upsetting as a parent to see how our children are flooded with products that prioritize candy like appeal over actual nutrition. But Haya took the opposite Zero sugar, zero gummy junk, just clean nutrition. And yet kids actually love their children's vitamins. At least I can say that for sure about my kid. It's one of the few things my son has consistently enjoyed taking for over two years now. In fact, he takes Haya's children's vitamin and probiotic and he still runs to the pantry with excitement daily. And I love that Haya worked alongside pediatricians and nutrition scientists and listen parents, if getting your kids to eat vegetables feels like an impossible daily battle, Haya's New Kids Daily Greens plus Superfoods is a game changer. It's basically chocolate milk stuffed with veggies. It's a greens powder that's packed with over 55 whole food sourced ingredients. Just mix one scoop with milk or any non dairy beverage and watch them actually enjoy something that's secretly fueling their growing bodies. We've worked out a special deal with Haya for their best selling children's vitamin receive 50% off your first order. To claim this deal you must go to Hiyahealth.com newsworthy this deal is not available on their regular website, so go to Hiya. H-E-A-L-T-.com newsworthy and get your kids the full body nourishment they need to grow into healthy adults. Now back to the news. The stock market saw a big drop in the first trading session since President Trump announced new tariffs. Remember, in his effort to replace the import taxes struck down by the Supreme Court, Trump announced a new 15% tariff on almost all imported goods and the Dow Jones industrial average responded by falling 820 points. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq both declined by at least 1%. But tariffs likely weren't the only factor. Reports say investors have also been nervous about advances in artificial intelligence and the pull they could have on company profits. So cryptocurrency prices dropped while the price of gold jumped to its highest level in three weeks. And a sign investors are looking to more secure assets in an age of uncertainty. Internal investigators at the cryptocurrency exchange Binance reportedly made some concerning discoveries in new reports out this week. News outlets like the New York Times and Wall Street Journal cite sources and company documents from last year that get into all of it. They apparently found $1.7 billion had moved through Binance to a network funding Iranian backed terror groups. The records also show those investigators reported the transactions to top executives and within weeks they were fired or suspended. Binance cited issues like violations of company protocol related to handling client data. Remember, Binance and its founder pleaded guilty three years ago to violating U.S. sanctions by letting customers from Iran use the platform. This time, a Binance representative says the company didn't do anything wrong, that the accounts linked to the $1.7 billion in Iranian transactions were removed and that authorities were notified. The White House also responded to reports saying the prosecution against Binance three years ago was part of a war on cryptocurrency by the Biden administration. President Trump pardoned Binance's founder last year. The FCC is now asking broadcasters to run more patriotic pro America content. It's a voluntary effort announced by FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, and he suggested ideas, for example, beginning the broadcast day with the Star Spangled Banner or Pledge of Allegiance. Another idea daily American history segments or news featuring local historic sites. He says all of this could support the White House's plans to celebrate the nation's 250th anniversary and coming up this summer. But it comes as critics have raised concerns about the FCC's involvement in media content, which they say can step on First Amendment freedoms. To that end, the FCC's lone Democratic commissioner criticized Carr's suggestions, saying that if broadcasters really want to celebrate 250 years of America. They can do so by defending their rights and refusing government interference. Again, though it's not mandatory, the FCC is asking broadcasters to voluntarily indicate they're committed to the Pledge America campaign. It's not clear if any have already done so. There is new controversy surrounding the BAFTA Film Awards, also known as the British Oscars. During the show, there were some obscene outbursts from a Tourette syndrome activist who was the inspiration for an executive producer of a movie called I Swear. One moment in particular that's garnered a lot of attention came when he shouted the N word as the actors Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo presented an award. It was heard on the telecast that made it to air on Sunday. The awards show host later apologized to the audience and explained that Tourette Syndrome is a disability and the tics are involuntary. But now there's backlash, mostly directed at the BBC for not editing out the slur before the ceremony aired since it was on a two hour delay, and especially because other portions of the awards were edited out, like when one presenter said Free Palestine. The BBC put out a statement to apologize and said the offensive language would be removed from the online and streaming version of the show. The Tourette syndrome activist also put out his own statement confirming he left the ceremony early because he realized his tics were causing distress for others. And he said he will continue to try to teach empathy, kindness and understanding, saying he is, quote, deeply mortified if anyone considers my involuntary tics to be intentional or to carry any meaning. Bafta says audience members and guests who were actually at the ceremony were told of his attendance and potential tics ahead of time, but it still apologized for putting guests in a difficult situation. The Major League Baseball season is just around the corner. In fact, spring training games are already underway. And yes, this is earlier than usual. The schedule got moved up because of the World Baseball Classic happening next month. So spring training kicked off last week. The MLB is using this time to fully implement the Automated Ball Strike Challenge, AKA the Robot Umpires, as well as new rules for base coaches and TV broadcasts. All of the spring training games are available to watch on MLB Network. Opening day is coming up on March 26th. That's it for the main news today. So now it's time for Trivia Tuesday, when we ask a different trivia question every week. But first, this episode is brought to you by Rosetta Stone. I love travel. And when I got to travel internationally last year, it was so special to get to experience a different culture and explore a place that I've never been but I also kept thinking about what it might be like if I had actually learned the language. It would have helped me feel more confident to explore, more connected to the people who lived there. And just generally I would have felt a little less like a tourist. That's where Rosetta Stone comes in. Rosetta Stone has been the trusted leader in language learning for more than three decades. Their immersive, intuitive method helps you truly pick up the new language naturally. No memorizing random vocabulary lists. No feeling lost. Now I'm super interested in learning a new language for future travel and to show my son it's never too late to try something new. And thanks to Rosetta Stone's on the Go learning, I could access lessons from my desktop or mobile app whether I have just five minutes or a full hour. So don't wait. Unlock your language learning potential. Now the newsworthy listeners can grab Rosetta Stone's lifetime membership for 50% off. That's unlimited access to 25 language courses for life. Visit rosettastone.comnewsworthy to get started and claim your 50% off today. Go to rosettastone.comnewsworthy and start learning today. Okay, now back to Trivia Tuesday, and today's trivia question is what kitchen utensil was considered sinful in the Middle Ages? Listen again next Tuesday for the answer and explanation. As for last week's trivia question, where is the oldest city in the U.S. the answer is St. Augustine, Florida. It was founded in 1565, more than 200 years before the U.S. was an official country and of course, long after indigenous peoples had lived in the area for centuries. It was established by a Spanish explorer who came ashore on the feast day of St. Augustine, and the land has been continuously occupied ever since its European founding. It quickly became a melting pot of cultures, with Spanish, indigenous, African and other European influences shaping its identity. Flash forward more than five centuries and these days it's one of the Sunshine State's top tourist destinations, and its Spanish origins are still pretty obvious. It's the only place in the US With a Spanish street grid. Those streets are narrow, cobbled and usually busy with beachgoers and history buffs alike. Thanks so much for joining us to get caught up on the news today, we'll be back tomorrow with the latest news. Until then, have a great day.