AP News in Brief at 6:04 p.m. EST

The Republican hopes he can convince increasingly wary Americans that his policies have improved their lives while ensuring that the U.S. economy is stronger than many believe — and that they should vote for more of the same in November.

The balancing act of celebrating his whirlwind first year back in the White House while making a convincing case for his party in midterm races in which he personally won't be on the ballot is a tall order for any president. But it could prove especially delicate for Trump, given how happy he is to veer off script and ignore carefully crafted messaging.

A main theme will be that the country is booming with a rise in domestic manufacturing and new jobs, despite many Americans not feeling that way. “It’s going to be a long speech because we have so much to talk about," said Trump, who promised a heavy dose of talk about the economy.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump will argue that Republicans are best suited to continue tackling the public's concerns about the cost of living.

5 questions heading into Trump's State of the Union address

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says he has a lot to talk about tonight.

He's returning to Congress to deliver a State of the Union address at a consequential moment in his presidency, with his approval ratings near an all-time low and restive supporters waiting for him to deliver more tangibly on their struggles with the cost of living.

On top of that, the Supreme Court just declared illegal the tariffs that have been central to his second term. And the foreign policy challenges he promised to fix easily now don't look so simple with another potential military strike against Iran looming.

The narrow Republican majority in Congress that has done little to counter Trump's expansive vision of power is at risk of falling away after this year's midterm elections, when their respective self interests may collide.

Here are some questions we're thinking about heading into the speech.

Savannah Guthrie says her family is offering a $1 million reward for her mother's return

“Today” show host Savannah Guthrie said her family is now offering a $1 million reward for information leading to the recovery of her mother, Nancy Guthrie, who went missing from her Arizona home more than three weeks ago.

Savannah Guthrie said Tuesday that her family is still holding out for a miracle and hopes her mother will be found alive, but she also acknowledged that they realize it might be too late.

“She may already be gone,” Savannah Guthrie said in an Instagram post. “She may already have gone home to the Lord that she loves and is dancing in heaven.”

Nancy Guthrie, 84, was last seen at her home just outside Tucson, Arizona, on Jan. 31 and was reported missing the next day. Authorities believe she was kidnapped, and the FBI released surveillance videos of a masked man who was outside Guthrie’s front door on the night she vanished.

Drops of her blood were found on the front porch, but authorities haven’t publicly revealed much evidence. Since the first days of her disappearance, authorities have expressed concern about Nancy Guthrie’s health because she needs vital daily medicine.

House rejects bill requiring aircraft locator systems to prevent midair collisions like last year's

The House failed to approve a bill Tuesday that was crafted after last year’s tragic midair collision near Washington, D.C., to require all aircraft flying around busy airports to have key locator systems to prevent such crashes. The collision of an airliner and an Army helicopter killed 67 people in January 2025.

The National Transportation Safety Board has been recommending such Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast systems to be installed since 2008. The bill that already passed the Senate would have required aircraft to be equipped with a system that can receive data about the locations of other aircraft. The complementary ADS-B Out system that broadcasts an aircraft’s location is already required.

The families of the victims who died when an American Airlines jet collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter strongly supported the measure, and a number of them watched the vote from the House gallery. But the Airlines for American trade group, the military and the major general aviation groups that represent business jets and small plane owners backed a competing and more comprehensive House bill that was just introduced last week.

Tim Lilley, whose son Sam was the first officer on the airliner, said he’s really disappointed, but he and the other families will continue to press for meaningful reforms. And he hopes that will happen before the next tragedy.

“We’re going to end up back here having the same conversation because of another midair (collision) is what’s going to happen. Hopefully — fingers crossed — that doesn’t,” Lilley said.

Northeast US digs out from brutal snowstorm that disrupted flights and canceled school

NEW YORK (AP) — Millions across the northeastern United States on Tuesday contended with treks to school and work as they dug out from a major — and in some areas record-breaking — storm that blanketed the region with snow, canceled flights, disrupted transit and downed power lines.

Even as the snow moved north Tuesday, giving way to sunshine in parts of the region, the National Weather Service warned another storm originating in the Great Lakes was right around the corner, though it's not forecast to be nearly as severe.

Many large school districts remained closed, including in Boston and Hartford, Connecticut. But in New York City, more than 900,000 students in the nation’s largest public school system had a regular day, Mayor Zohran Mamdani declared, inviting kids to pelt him with snowballs over his decision.

Many students and their caregivers seemed open to taking the mayor up on that idea, as they scrambled over mountainous snow banks and dodged salt spreaders during the morning drop-off.

“We’re walking on thin ice here. One more day would’ve been fine,” said Danielle Obloj, the parent of a Brooklyn fifth grader. “They should never have let these kids come back to school.”

Warner Bros gets a higher offer from Paramount in heated fight for the storied Hollywood studio

NEW YORK (AP) — Warner Bros. Discovery said that Paramount has raised the price of its takeover offer to $31 per share, potentially setting the stage for a fresh bidding war with Netflix over the future of the Hollywood giant.

The company previously offered $30 per share when it first went directly to Warner stakeholders with its all-cash, hostile bid in December — just days after Warner struck a deal to sell its studio and streaming business to Netflix for $27.75 per share.

Beyond upping its proposed purchase price, Warner said Tuesday afternoon that Paramount had increased its regulatory termination fee to $7 billion. Paramount also agreed to move up a previously-promised “ticking fee.” The company previously said it would pay 25 cents per share for every quarter the deal drags on past the end of the year. Now it's agreed to pay that amount if the deal doesn’t go through by the end of September, Warner said.

After briefly reopening talks with Paramount, Warner earlier confirmed that it had received a revised offer and was reviewing it. When announcing the increased price, Warner said that Paramount's revised proposal “could reasonably be expected to lead to” a superior offer as defined under its current agreement with Netflix — but the company's board has still not actually determined whether Paramount's offer is better than Netflix's.

A Netflix spokesperson declined to comment when reached Tuesday afternoon.

Louvre Museum director resigns in the wake of October's brazen French crown jewels heist

PARIS (AP) — The Louvre Museum's director resigned Tuesday after months of pressure following the October theft of the French crown jewels, as the world's most visited museum faced widening scrutiny over security failures, labor unrest and a suspected ticket fraud scheme.

Laurence des Cars quit after a punishing year for the former royal palace — the high-profile jewels heist from the Apollo Gallery, a mid-February burst pipe near the “Mona Lisa,” water leaks damaging priceless books, staff walkouts and a wildcat strike over overcrowding and understaffing.

The landmark has faced a narrative of an institution spiraling out of control.

And that pressure deepened in recent weeks when French authorities revealed a suspected decadelong ticket fraud operation linked to the museum that investigators say may have cost the Louvre 10 million euros ($11.8 million).

President Emmanuel Macron accepted des Cars’ resignation as “an act of responsibility” at a moment when the Louvre needs “calm” and new momentum for security upgrades, modernization and other major projects, according to a statement from his office.

Zelenskyy says Putin has 'not broken' Ukrainians as he marks 4 years since Russia's all-out invasion

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declared Tuesday that Russia has not “broken Ukrainians” nor triumphed in its war, four years after an invasion that has severely tested the resolve of Kyiv and its allies and fueled European fears about the scale of Moscow’s ambitions.

In a show of support, more than a dozen senior European officials headed to the Ukrainian capital to mark the grim anniversary of the conflict, which has killed tens of thousands of people, upended life for millions of Ukrainians, and created instability far beyond its borders.

Zelenskyy said his country has withstood the onslaught by Russia’s bigger and better equipped army, which over the past year of fighting captured just 0.79% of Ukraine’s territory, according to the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank. Russia now holds nearly 20% of Ukraine.

“Looking back at the beginning of the invasion and reflecting on today, we have every right to say: We have defended our independence, we have not lost our statehood,” Zelenskyy said on social media, adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin has “not achieved his goals.”

“He has not broken Ukrainians; he has not won this war,” Zelenskyy said.

Cartel violence fuels doubts about FIFA World Cup games in Mexico

GUADALAJARA, Mexico (AP) — Hugo Alejandro Pérez was in his house a few miles from the Mexican stadium that is slated to host FIFA World Cup games when gunfire and explosions erupted just outside his door.

The 53-year-old restaurant owner was already skeptical about his city, Guadalajara, hosting the international sporting event.

He saw a government that failed to fix basic things, like water service to his home, along with cartel violence in the surrounding state of Jalisco and shook his head. The surge of bloodshed this week following the Mexican military's killing of the country’s most powerful cartel boss offered more confirmation of his doubts.

“I don’t think they should host the World Cup here,” Peréz said. “We have so many problems, and they want to invest in the World Cup? With all the violence, it’s not a good idea.”

Peréz joined other people Tuesday in questioning Guadalajara's capacity to be a host city for the summer soccer competition, even as the Mexican government vowed that the international event — hosted jointly by Mexico, the United States and Canada — will not be affected.

Hegseth warns Anthropic to let the military use the company’s AI tech as it sees fit, AP sources say

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave Anthropic's CEO a Friday deadline to open the company's artificial intelligence technology for unrestricted military use or risk losing its government contract, according to a person familiar with their meeting Tuesday.

Anthropic makes the chatbot Claude and is the last of its peers to not supply its technology to a new U.S. military internal network. CEO Dario Amodei repeatedly has made clear his ethical concerns about unchecked government use of AI, including the dangers of fully autonomous armed drones and of AI-assisted mass surveillance that could track dissent.

Defense officials warned they could designate Anthropic a supply chain risk or use the Defense Production Act to essentially give the military more authority to use its products even if it doesn’t approve of how they are used, according to the person familiar with the meeting and a senior Pentagon official, who both were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The development, which was reported earlier by Axios, underscores the debate over AI's role in national security and concerns about how the technology could be used in high-stakes situations involving lethal force, sensitive information or government surveillance. It also comes as Hegseth has vowed to root out what he calls a “woke culture” in the armed forces.

“A powerful AI looking across billions of conversations from millions of people could gauge public sentiment, detect pockets of disloyalty forming, and stamp them out before they grow,” Amodei wrote in an essay last month.