In today’s newsletter: Trump’s State of the Union tackled the economy and immigration as his approval ratings on both issues fall. The president’s surgeon general choice faces a tough Senate hearing today amid claims she’s not qualified. And NBC News visits tunnels under Gaza which Israel says need to be destroyed before the enclave can be rebuilt.
Here’s what to know today.
Trump touts a ‘roaring economy’ in his State of Union as Americans continue to struggle
President Donald Trump gave the first State of the Union address of his second term and it was the longest in history, clocking in at one hour and 47 minutes.
Trump said the economy is “roaring like never before, and our enemies are scared.” He also touted policies like unilateral tariffs on foreign goods and his 2025 tax cuts.
However, Americans have repeatedly told pollsters that they are not satisfied with the economy 13 months into his second presidency — nor do most approve of his handling of another pillar of his agenda: immigration enforcement.
Texas Rep. Al Green was ejected early into the speech while holding a sign that said “Black people aren’t apes.”
Trump sparred with Democrats, during remarks about immigration and allegations of fraud. He declared that his opponents should be “ashamed.”
“You should be ashamed!” Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., shouted back at Trump.
The president avoided a confrontation with the four Supreme Court judges in attendance, days after he publicly rebuked them for ruling that most of his tariffs were unlawful.
Trump also made a series of false or exaggerated claims as he touted his administration’s work on the economy, crime, immigration and more. Here’s what the president got right and wrong in his address.
Here’s three main takeaways you need to know.
More politics news:
- The Trump administration is suing New Jersey over an order that prohibits federal immigration agents from making arrests in non-public areas of state property.
- A spate of new research challenges the Health and Human Services secretary’s claims about vaccines, Tylenol and antidepressants.
- Trump ignited a culture war amongst U.S. hockey gold medal winners after the women’s team declined an invitation to attend yesterday’s address.
- A federal judge blocked the Justice Department from reviewing a Washington Post reporter’s seized data.
Trump’s surgeon general pick to participate in long-awaited Senate hearing
Dr. Casey Means will appear before the Senate to discuss her highly scrutinized nomination for surgeon general this morning.
The popular wellness influencer was a campaign adviser during Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s presidential bid and an architect of his “Make America Healthy Again” agenda.
Trump tapped her for the role in May after withdrawing his previous choice, former Fox News medical contributor Dr. Janette Nesheiwat.
If confirmed, Means would be an outlier among surgeons general: She does not hold an active medical license — her license lapsed in January 2024 — and she did not complete her medical residency. She graduated from Stanford University School of Medicine but left a surgical residency program at Oregon Health and Science University in 2018, months before she was due to complete it.
Many medical professionals have questioned whether Means is qualified to become America’s top doctor, with the authority to issue health warnings and advisories for the entire country.
She could face tough questions from Democratic members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee about her alignment with Kennedy, the secretary of health and human services and a long-time anti-vaccine activist.
Kennedy is already facing scrutiny after firing top health officials and overhauling the childhood vaccine schedule.
More about today’s Senate hearing here.
Inside the Gaza tunnels that Israel says must be destroyed before reconstruction can begin
Underneath the Shujaiya neighborhood in Gaza City, mattresses once used by Hamas fighters remain on the floor of a dormitory built in a tunnel by the militant group.
The Israeli military says this was one of a honeycomb of tunnels underneath the enclave, all of which will need to be destroyed before reconstruction can begin.
NBC News accompanied the Israel Defense Forces into Gaza, under conditions that prevented the use of images of most military personnel for what the IDF says are operational security reasons.
Crossing into the enclave, the perfectly paved streets and green farmland in Israel’s border region disappear, replaced by destruction and dirt roads as you enter northern Gaza, where the tunnel we entered was located.
Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, a spokesperson for the IDF, said there could be anywhere between 300 and 600 miles of tunnels, but he said it was hard to say because Israeli forces were still uncovering them.
“The more you search, the more you find things you didn’t know about,” he said, adding that his forces were “finding the tunnels and dismantling them” as part of President Donald Trump’s peace plan.
Reconstruction could not begin until they had been destroyed, he said.
Read more of our on-the-ground reporting.
Read All About It
- “TODAY” co-anchor Savannah Guthrie’s family is offering a reward of up to $1 million for the recovery of her 84-year-old mother Nancy.
- Warner Bros. Discovery says Paramount’s revised bid for the entire company, including its cable networks, could be better than Netflix’s offer.
- Tourette’s activist John Davidson says he felt a “wave of shame” following his tic during the BAFTAs.
- The head of France’s Louvre Museum has resigned four months after a brazen daylight heist, in which thieves took jewels worth approximately $102 million.
- Fears of AI being too good at certain tasks have roiled some corners of Wall Street, potentially causing permanent disruption in software-heavy industries.
Staff Pick: They watched ‘Heated Rivalry.’ Then they hit the ice.
Over the last few months, I’ve spent way too much time researching the various cultural effects of “Heated Rivalry,” the new hit show about a steamy romance between rival hockey players.
Maybe the most entertaining effect is that people are changing their workout routines to build glutes like Connor Storrie’s. But the most heartwarming story I’ve found is that LGBTQ hockey leagues across the country have seen interest spike since the show aired.
People like Theo Tran, 18, are learning to skate and joining leagues like Chicago Pride Hockey, which have been creating space on the ice for LGBTQ players for decades.
I also learned that the celebration of queer hockey players comes at a difficult moment for the sport. The NHL has never had an active player who is publicly out as LGBTQ. USA Hockey also recently banned transgender players from playing on sex-segregated teams.
LGBTQ hockey players hope the public obsession with “Heated Rivalry” will bring more people into their fight to improve the sport they love.
– Jo Yurcaba, enterprise reporter
NBC Select: Online Shopping, Simplified
Talking Shop is an NBC Select series where the team talks to interesting people about their most interesting buys. Editors recently spoke with Dancing with the Stars judge Derek Hough about the products he’s bringing with him on his upcoming coast-to-coast tour. Plus, the NBC Select team hunted down the best label makers on the market.
Sign up to The Selection newsletter for hands-on product reviews, expert shopping tips and a look at the best deals and sales each week.
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