Today’s Headlines: The State of the Union ran a record-breaking 1 hour and 47 minutes, topping Donald Trump’s own mark from last year. He opened with the men’s Olympic hockey team, then rolled through familiar theatrics. Trump announced Vice President James Donald Bowman will lead a new “war on fraud,” said he’ll continue tariffs despite the Supreme Court’s ruling against them, teased a tax cut plan designed to bypass Congress, and gave a noncommittal “we’ll see” on war with Iran if nuclear talks fail. Dozens of Democrats skipped the address. Those who attended brought guests including Americans affected by ICE enforcement and survivors connected to Jeffrey Epstein, turning the gallery into its own counterprogramming. Speaking of Jeffrey Epstein, NPR reported the Justice Department appears to have withheld dozens of pages from its Epstein file release, including documents referencing past allegations involving Trump. The gaps were identified through FBI logs and serial numbers. In Norway, former Prime Minister Thorbjørn Jagland — an Epstein associate — was hospitalized after an apparent suicide attempt days after police opened a corruption probe into his ties to Epstein. In other news, U.S. Ambassador to France Charles Kushner was briefly sidelined diplomatically after failing to appear at the French Foreign Ministry over a U.S. statement criticizing political violence in Lyon. He later smoothed things over with a phone call. Marking four years since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán pledged to block $105 billion in EU aid to Ukraine, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested Hungary could receive relief from certain U.S. sanctions. The Wall Street Journal reports the administration is considering requiring banks to collect and verify customers’ citizenship status — a shift from current anti–money laundering rules. As if it wasn’t chaotic enough, we’ve been blessed by 2 whistleblowers. A former ICE instructor told Congress the agency has cut constitutional and firearms training, and separate reporting alleges FBI response delays to a December mass shooting were tied to Kash Patel’s jet use. And in Texas, Rep. Tony Gonzales is facing calls to resign following reports of an alleged affair with a staffer who later died by suicide. Resources/Articles mentioned in this episode: Axios: House Republican joins Democrats in SOTU Epstein protests NPR: Justice Department withheld and removed some Epstein files related to Trump The Statesman: Former Norwegian PM Thorbjorn Jagland hospitalised after ‘suicide attempt’ amid Epstein-linked corruption probe AP News: US ambassador to France defuses spat with Paris over US remarks WaPo: Hungary blocks Europe’s aid for Ukraine on war’s fourth anniversary WSJ: Trump Administration Considers Requiring Banks to Collect Citizenship Information MS Now: ICE whistleblower comes forward to testify before Congress Express News: Tony Gonzales had affair with aide who set herself on fire, ex-staffer says Subscribe to the Betches News Room and join the Morning Announcements group chat. Go to: ⁠⁠⁠betchesnews.substack.com Morning Announcements is produced by Sami Sage and edited by Grace Hernandez-Johnson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices