Jeffrey Epstein; State of the Union; El Mencho : NPR
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Today’s best stories
Millions of pages of Epstein files made publicBut an NPR investigation reveals a gap: The Justice Department has deleted or withheld dozens of pages related to allegations of sexual abuse by President Trump decades ago. The Justice Department declined to publicly answer NPR’s questions about these specific files, what they contain and why they are not being released.
An NPR investigation finds that the Justice Department suppressed or withheld Epstein files related to sexual abuse accusations that mentioned President Trump.
Department of Justice and Getty Images/Collage by Danielle A. Scruggs/NPR
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Department of Justice and Getty Images/Collage by Danielle A. Scruggs/NPR
- 🎧 NPR’s Stephen Fowler reports First that an NPR review of records found an FBI email from last July listing various claims and advice received about Trump. One report accused Trump of sexually abusing a minor around 1983, when Jeffrey Epstein also allegedly assaulted her. A local office investigated the report, and records show the FBI interviewed the accuser four times. Only one of the accuser’s interviews has been made public, but it does not mention Trump. According to the DOJ’s tracking system, the Justice Department has not made public at least 50 pages of the records. The White House and the Trump administration have consistently said nothing in the documents incriminates the president.
Chaos erupts after Mexican army kills man known as El Menchothe most powerful drug lord in the country. Today, cities across the country are slowly returning to normal. Businesses are expected to reopen today and schools in Jalisco state will reopen tomorrow. But big questions remain about the impact of El Mencho’s death on Mexico’s fight against organized crime.
- 🎧 NPR’s Eyder Peralta says the scene in Jalisco’s capital, Guadalajara, is strange and resembles the COVID lockdown. The streets are empty and some streets have vehicles burned in the medians following the violence that erupted after the drug lord’s death. Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum has repeatedly said she does not want to start a new war against organized crime because it usually leads to bloodshed. Instead, she says the way to solve the problem is to address root causes such as education and employment. Trump is pressuring Mexico to take a more direct fight against the cartels and has threatened to take unilateral military action to address them.
Trump will take center stage tonight to address a joint session of Congress for the first State of the Union address of his second term. The prime-time speech gives the president a chance to tout his agenda and shape his party’s message ahead of this year’s midterm elections. Trump is scheduled to begin speaking at 9 p.m. ET. If history is any indication, you should prepare yourself for a long night. Here’s what else you need to know before tonight’s speech.
New federal class action lawsuit alleges federal agents retaliate unconstitutionally against observers recording immigration checks. The nonprofit Protect Democracy and the law firms Dunn Isaacson Rhee and Drummond Woodsum filed the suit, alleging that federal agents collected information on the observers and labeled them “domestic terrorists” after telling them they would be added to a “watch list.” After the lawsuit was filed yesterday, the Department of Homeland Security told NPR that it does not have a database on domestic terrorists. DHS has also said it respects the U.S. Constitution in its law enforcement methods.
Look at this
Newsom in conversation with NPR host Ailsa Chang.
Bronson Arcuri/NPR
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Bronson Arcuri/NPR
From the biggest names in their fields to experts on the most pressing topics of our time, NPR presents the stories that matter through our in-depth interviews. Immerse yourself in these conversations on your favorite NPR platforms, including the NPR app and NPR.org.
California Governor Gavin Newsom spent his final year in office traveling the United States and rallying voters for the midterm elections. Newsom, who has not ruled out a run for president in 2028, actively challenges Trump, often mocking the president’s aggressive style on social media. “I’m putting a mirror in front of President Trump, fighting fire with fire, and punching a bully in the mouth,” he told NPR. Simultaneously, Newsom also hired major right-wing figures like Steve Bannon and Ben Shapiro, drawing criticism from his own party. The governor recently spoke with All things considered before the release of his memoirs, Young man in a hurry. He discussed how his struggles with dyslexia have shaped his life, his strategy for confronting Trump, and how the Democratic Party should address this political moment.
Read more about Newsom’s conversation with NPR’s Ailsa Chang or watch the interview. You can also view the conversation on NPR’s YouTube page, Consider this and the NPR app.
Behind the story
Local residents inspect damaged cars at the site of a Russian attack in Odessa, February 13, 2026, amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Oleksandr Gimanov/AFP via Getty Images
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Oleksandr Gimanov/AFP via Getty Images
Four years ago, Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. NPR Ukraine Correspondent Joanna Kakissis and correspondent in Russia Charles Maynes think about what it means to report on war and the harmful consequences for locals.
We have documented Russia’s large-scale war against Ukraine from the beginning: its appalling human cost, the thousands of missing Ukrainian children, the exhausted front-line cities, how this war has changed modern warfare and geopolitics, as well as Ukrainian and Russian society. An invasion that the Kremlin – and many in the West – predicted would end with Ukraine’s capitulation within days has now lasted four years, with huge losses on both sides, according to British and American sources.
Ukrainians are exhausted. They have adapted their lives to constant Russian drone and missile attacks, and the unrest and grief of defending the country in a long war. Many shudder when they are praised for their resilience, as if, they say, there was another choice. “We paid too high a price to give up,” said Olha Chupikova, from Kherson, a town on the southern front line. His son, a soldier, was killed in action last year. Volodymyr Mykolayenko, a former mayor of Kherson who returned last fall after years in Russian captivity, is skeptical that the Trump administration-sponsored talks will actually end the war. “We saw America as a defender of democracy,” he says. “Now they have chosen [Russian President Vladimir] Putin as their friend.”
Whatever Trump’s diplomatic goal, it wasn’t enough to convince Putin to end his assault. Russian hopes that Trump could bring peace faded when Putin rejected even the most generous terms proposed. Despite the Kremlin’s claims to the contrary, Western sanctions are having harmful consequences on the economy. In the past, state repression directly targeted the political opposition. Today, even the invasion’s most ardent supporters are being targeted. Government restrictions are now increasingly extending into the digital and cultural space – with bans on films, music and social media affecting almost everyone. Open criticism of the war was criminalized very early on. Yet there is a growing sense that in the midst of a conflict with no end in sight, the need for state control is also endless.
3 things to know before you leave
LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 22: John Davidson attends the EE BAFTA Film Awards 2026 at the Royal Festival Hall on February 22, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Dominic Lipinski/Getty Images)
Dominic Lipinski/Getty Images/Getty Images Europe
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Dominic Lipinski/Getty Images/Getty Images Europe
- The British Academy of Film and Television Arts Awards (BAFTA) yesterday apologized after the BBC broadcast a delayed broadcast of the ceremony in which a man with Tourette’s syndrome shouted a racist slur.
- Scientists have discovered a new species of large, horned, fish-eating Spinosaurus dinosaur – the first in over a century. The dinosaur species dates back to the Jurassic period, more than 140 million years ago.
- As the war in Ukraine enters its fifth year, NPR’s Far-Flung Postcards takes you to kyiv, where candles are the last option during wartime power outages.
This newsletter was published by Suzanne Nuyen.
