AP-The Morning Wire

"US women's hockey team declines Trump's State of Union invitation."

Views expressed in this World and US news summary are those of the reporters and correspondents.  Accessed on 24 February 2026, 1457 UTC.

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By Mark Garrison February 24, 2026

In the news today: U.S. Olympic gold medalists decline to appear at Trump’s State of the Union address; a medical influencer resigns from CBS News following Epstein revelations; and how a meeting with his lover led to the killing of cartel leader “El Mencho.” Also, berries are giving new hope to a very unusual parrot species. Monday’s Morning Wire included a broken link to a video about New York City’s weather-related travel ban. Here’s the latest on the storm. Team United States players celebrate after beating Canada 2-1 in overtime in the women's ice hockey gold medal game at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Thursday. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) POLITICS US women’s hockey team declines invitation from Trump to attend State of Union address The U.S. women’s hockey gold medal-winning team has politely declined an invitation from President Donald Trump to attend his State of the Union address on Tuesday. Read more.

What to know: Logistics played a role in the decision, as many of the women players were not scheduled to arrive in North America until Monday evening. The men’s team flew by charter to Miami earlier Monday. The women took a commercial flight and were scheduled to land in Atlanta. Trump also invited the U.S. men’s gold medal-winning team. When extending the invitation to them on Sunday night, Trump said, “I must tell you, we’re going to have to bring the women’s team, you do know that.” Trump joked that if he did not also invite the women’s team, “I do believe I probably would be impeached.” The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the status of both teams.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ FACT FOCUS: A look at Trump’s false and misleading claims ahead of the State of the Union ICE officer training is ‘deficient’ and ‘broken,’ former agency lawyer tells congressional forum ‘Abolish ICE’ gets most votes in Chicago snowplow-naming contest; ‘Stephen Coldbert’ also a winner Witness who saw friend fatally shot by immigration agent in Texas last year dies in car accident RFK Jr. fought pesticides for years. Now he’s backing their production Hegseth and Anthropic CEO set to meet as debate intensifies over the military’s use of AI US military strikes alleged drug boat in Caribbean Sea, killing 3 Utah judge is set to rule on disqualifying prosecutors in the Charlie Kirk case Education Department hands off more of its responsibilities to other US agencies France ups the ante in beef with US ambassador, says ministers will no longer meet him US sheds light on its allegation of Chinese nuclear test and urges nations to push for disarmament Isaac Hayes estate settles lawsuit accusing Trump of unauthorized song use US NEWS Medical influencer Dr. Peter Attia resigns post at CBS News after name included in multiple Epstein files Attia, a medical influencer whose emails with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were revealed in the latest Justice Department release of files, has resigned from a post with CBS News. Read more.

Why this matters: Attia was one of a group of people named last month by CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss as a contributor to network programming. He was the subject of a “60 Minutes” profile last October. But shortly after the appointment, Attia’s name surfaced in hundreds of Epstein documents. While Attia said he was guilty of no wrongdoing and did not attend any of Epstein’s sex parties, he admitted in an apology earlier this month that some of his emails were “embarrassing, tasteless and indefensible.” Despite some public pressure, CBS News did not cut ties with Attia after the documents surfaced. Instead, Attia resigned from the network on his own, according to published reports confirmed by CBS News on Monday.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ WATCH: Former UK ambassador to US Peter Mandelson released on bail after arrest in Epstein probe WORLD NEWS How a romantic partner led forces to cartel leader ‘El Mencho’ Surveillance of a romantic partner helped put the Mexican armed forces on the trail of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, who was captured and killed Sunday, Mexican authorities said Monday. Read more.

Why this matters: Both Mexico and the United States had spent years tracking the notorious leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, who faced numerous outstanding arrest warrants for organized crime and drug trafficking in both countries. This time, however, the intelligence efforts proved successful. Mexican Defense Secretary Gen. Ricardo Trevilla noted that military investigators identified and began following a trusted associate of one of Oseguera Cervantes’ romantic partners. This individual escorted the woman to Tapalpa, Jalisco, on Friday for a meeting with the drug lord. The military official explained that the exact location was confirmed by “very important additional information” provided by U.S. intelligence. Once the woman left after spending the night with “El Mencho,” special forces finalized their plans, having confirmed he was staying in the area with a security detail.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ The criminal ascent of Mexico’s most powerful drug lord Mexican cartel clashes fuel worries in lead up to FIFA World Cup ADVERTISEMENT IN OTHER NEWS READ Four years: Portraits of Ukrainians on the anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion  Kidnapping case: Volunteers scour the desert for Nancy Guthrie despite authorities urging them to stop Australia: Sweeping public inquiry probes antisemitism after Bondi Beach killings WNBA champion: Kara Braxton dies at 43 after car crash Boxing: Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao agree to a rematch Today in History: In 1988, the Supreme Court unanimously overturned a $200,000 award that the Rev. Jerry Falwell had won against Hustler magazine and its publisher, Larry Flynt WATCH Escaping conflict: She woke up to ‘We’re at war’ in Ukraine. Now Mariia Vainshtein is a New York City tennis champion Snow day: Otters up early to enjoy winter weather  Messy fight: Greeks throw flour at each other to mark the end of carnival A CHANGE OF PACE In this photo provided by the Dept. of Conservation, New Zealand, Kakapo, Kohengi sits with her three eggs, on Anchor Island, Pukenui, New Zealand, Feb. 3, 2026. (Andrew Digby/Dept. of Conservation, New Zealand via AP) A bumper berry harvest has New Zealand’s weird flightless parrot in a rare mood for romance The world’s only flightless parrot species was once thought to be doomed by design. The kakapo is too heavy, too slow and, frankly, too delicious to survive around predators, and takes a shamelessly relaxed approach to reproduction. But this year, with a bumper crop of the strange parrot’s favorite berries prompting a rare enthusiasm for mating, those working to save the birds hope for a record number of chicks in February, which would move the kakapo closer to defying what was not long ago believed to be certain extinction.

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