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Trump faces a skeptical public and myriad challenges ahead of State of the Union address

PUBLISHED Feb 23, 2026, 6:47 PM ET / By Adam Cancryn

President Donald Trump leaves an event at the White House on Monday.

Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters

President Donald Trump on Tuesday night will get his highest-profile opportunity to convince skeptical Americans that his policies are working — and that a promised economic golden age is right around the corner.

But ahead of a State of the Union address meant to mark the unofficial start of the midterm campaign, even Trump seemed unconvinced he had a shot at changing many minds.

“If I came up with a cure for cancer, they would say he should have done it years ago,” he complained during a White House event Monday. “There is not a thing I can do where these people are going to give me credit.”

The primetime address comes amid a particularly troublesome stretch for the president, who faces an array of challenges at home and pressing questions abroad. In polling, Trump is as unpopular as ever, battered by Americans’ anxiety over the cost of living and dissatisfaction with his approach to addressing it. His 36% approval rating is down from 48% last February, according to a CNN poll released Monday that showed his lowest-ever approval rating with independents — just 26%.

The administration is struggling to build public awareness of its key accomplishments or momentum in Congress for its future ambitions. At the same time, Trump, who has proclaimed himself the “peace president,” is mulling yet more strikes on a foreign nation. Then there is the administration’s messy handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files, the partial government shutdown, backlash over a Minnesota immigration crackdown that led to the fatal shootings of two US citizens, and — in a poorly timed twist for Trump — the Supreme Court’s ruling invaliding the tariffs at the center of the White House’s economic agenda.

Those headwinds have formed an ominous backdrop for a speech that Trump’s allies and advisers hope he’ll use to rally Americans behind an optimistic vision for the country — yet that they worry will get bogged down in the president’s brand of score settling and grievance.

“Trump has but one note, which is rage,” said Matthew Bartlett, a GOP strategist and first-term Trump official. “I’m not sure that’s somehow going to change, or that he’ll find some sort of pitch-perfect tone for the American worker.”

Touting the ‘big, beautiful bill’

Ahead of Tuesday’s address, White House aides have focused on a more nuanced midterm pitch that balances touting Trump’s first-year accomplishments with previewing an aggressive agenda still to come. They’ve concluded the president’s political challenges are primarily a messaging problem, people familiar with the internal discussions said, making the State of the Union one of several key opportunities to shift Americans’ mood on his agenda and the economy overall.

“If there’s not a sense we’re making people feel better about the economy, making their lives more affordable, we’re not going to win,” said one of the people.

Trump’s speech is expected to focus heavily on highlighting the economy’s overall strength, while making the case that Americans will eventually see it reflected in their bank accounts as the administration’s policies take effect.

White House officials are relying in particular on tax provisions that Republicans passed as part of last year’s “big, beautiful bill” that they’ve predicted will result in people getting larger-than-anticipated tax refunds this year.

Trump is also likely to boast about policies he’s proud of, such as the elimination of certain taxes on tips and overtime, and the investment commitments made by various corporations and countries since he took office.

And despite the GOP’s slim margins in Congress, Trump is expected to press lawmakers to take up legislation addressing major affordability areas such as health care and housing. The president has already called for codifying drug price agreements his administration negotiated with more than a dozen pharmaceutical companies, and for passing a more sweeping health care bill centered on redirecting certain Obamacare subsidies to individual enrollees.

Those initiatives, like his populist push to bar big institutional investors from the housing market, have received a muted response on Capitol Hill. But Trump advisers have stressed the need to offer a substantial vision that shows Americans the administration is still working to alleviate their biggest concerns — and one that can be compared directly with the agenda Democrats are fleshing out.

Messaging hurdles

But even as Trump has worked closely with aides to refine his rhetoric in recent weeks, he’s continued to show flashes of frustration with his grim political situation.

At an event in Georgia last week meant to test-drive his message on crucial affordability issues, Trump ticked off a list of accomplishments he argued were already benefiting the area’s businesses and residents. Then, he veered sharply off message.

“What word have you not heard over the last two weeks? Affordability,” he said. “Because I’ve won. I’ve won affordability.”

Trump more recently spent the last few days publicly fuming over the Supreme Court’s verdict on his tariff powers, leveling attacks on both the decision and the six justices who supported it, including two he appointed.

In a flurry of social media posts, he has vowed to reconstitute a trade regime that’s potentially harsher than before, despite warnings within his own party it would push up prices and fuel even greater economic uncertainty.

“Any Country that wants to ‘play games’ with the ridiculous supreme court decision, especially those that have ‘Ripped Off’ the U.S.A. for years, and even decades, will be met with a much higher Tariff, and worse, than that which they just recently agreed to,” Trump wrote in a Monday post.

Contrast with Democrats

Despite Trump’s sustained polling declines, his advisers have been buoyed by Democrats’ inability to rebuild their brand, arguing they may need only to effectively portray the midterms as a choice between the two competing visions.

Trump is likely to lean into that contrast between the two parties on Tuesday on a range of issues, talking up his push for a voter ID measure that he’s claimed has broad public support, touting progress on crime and the southern border, and portraying his various foreign entanglements as part of a push to reestablish American dominance around the world. After overseeing the ouster of Venezuela’s president last month, Trump will travel to the Capitol this week amid deliberations over attacking Iran.

On Monday, Trump indicated that lengthy agenda could take a while to get through.

“We have the greatest economy we’ve ever had. We have the most activity we’ve ever had,” he said. “It’s going to be a long speech, because we have so much to talk about.”

Yet for the sizable proportion of voters still unconvinced about the greatness of the economy Trump is eager to celebrate, a chief worry remains how long they’ll stay tuned in.

Despite the spectacle surrounding the State of the Union, it rarely makes a lasting dent in the nation’s broader political dynamics, Bartlett said, or in the president’s own trajectory.

“Second-term presidents historically lose credibility,” he said. “And they never get it back.”

涉爱泼斯坦案 英国前驻美大使被捕

2026年2月24日 07:56 / 联合早报

英国警方以涉嫌“公职人员行为不当”，逮捕牵涉美国已故性犯罪者爱泼斯坦案的英国前驻美国大使曼德尔森。

彭博社报道，英国警方星期一（2月23日）确认当天在伦敦卡姆登区一处住所逮捕一名72岁男子，将男子带往伦敦一所警察局接受讯问。

警方说，为避免影响调查公正性和完整性，现阶段无法透露更多详情。

警方声明没有公布男子姓名，但在现场蹲守的英国媒体记者拍摄到曼德尔森被捕。

曼德尔森的律师拒绝回应置评请求。

美国司法部1月末公布恋童癖金融家爱泼斯坦案相关300余万份档案。据称档案中的大量电邮显示曼德尔森在担任英国政府大臣期间，曾向爱泼斯坦泄露可能涉及市场敏感的信息。2月3日，英国警方对曼德尔森展开刑事调查，并搜查了与曼德尔森有关的两处房产。

英国首相斯塔默5日说，他先前轻信曼德尔森的“谎言”并任命他为驻美大使，就此向爱泼斯坦案受害者道歉。因曼德尔森事件引发舆论风波，斯塔默身边三名要员相继离职。

英国国王查尔斯三世的弟弟安德鲁2月19日也因涉嫌“公职人员不当行为”被警方逮捕，并在被捕约11小时获释，但继续接受调查。

同样卷入爱泼斯坦丑闻的安德鲁去年10月被查尔斯三世剥夺尊号、头衔、荣誉，并于今年2月搬离居住超过20年的王室住所，但目前他仍列王位继承顺位第八位。

英国广播公司（BBC）等多家英国媒体近日报道，英国政府考虑推动立法，取消安德鲁的王位继承权。

Kouri Richins, Utah mom who wrote book about grief, fatally poisoned husband to get his money, prosecutors say

February 23, 2026 / 2:04 PM EST / CBS/AP

Prosecutors portrayed a Utah mother and children’s book author as a money-hungry killer Monday on the first day of a murder trial in her husband’s death, while her defense team urged jurors not to make judgments before hearing her side.

Kouri Richins, 35, faces a slew of felony charges for allegedly killing her husband, Eric Richins, with fentanyl in March 2022 at their home just outside the ski town of Park City. She has vehemently denied the allegations.

Prosecutors say she slipped five times the lethal dose of the synthetic opioid into a Moscow mule cocktail that he drank. She is also accused of trying to poison him a month earlier on Valentine’s Day with a fentanyl-laced sandwich that made him break out in hives and black out, according to court documents.

After Eric Richins death, Kouri Richins self-published a children’s book about grief to help her young sons and other kids cope with the loss of a parent.

As arguments in the case got underway on Monday, Richins sat next to her defense team, taking notes on a legal pad and wearing a black blazer and white blouse.

Kouri Richins, a Utah mother accused of fatally poisoning her husband, looks on during her murder trial at the Summit County Courthouse in Park City, Utah, Monday, Feb. 23, 2026. Spenser Heaps / AP

Summit County prosecutor Brad Bloodworth told jurors that Richins was $4.5 million in debt and falsely believed that if her husband died, she would inherit his estate worth more than $4 million. Prosecutors have argued she was planning a future with another man she was seeing on the side.

“The evidence will prove that Kouri Richins murdered Eric for his money and to get a fresh start at life,” Bloodworth said. “More than anything, she wanted his money to perpetuate her facade of privilege, affluence and success.”

Almost $2 million in life insurance policies

Defense attorney Kathryn Nester started her opening statement by playing the recording of Richins’ 911 call from the night of her husband’s death. Richins was sobbing hysterically on the call and seemed barely able to answer the dispatcher’s questions.

“Those were the sounds of a wife becoming a widow,” Nester said.

Richins was heard crying and saying she didn’t know what happened and did not know how to do CPR, but was willing to try, CBS affiliate KUTV reported.

Eric Richins had Lyme disease and was addicted to painkillers, Nester said. She suggested he may have overdosed.

The couple had gone through a tough year, the attorney said, and both had contemplated divorce, but they went to marriage counseling and decided to stay together. She said they were happy and celebrating closing on a property deal the night of his death.

The trial is slated to run through March 26. A few dozen people hoping to watch camped outside the courthouse in lawn chairs starting at 4 a.m., four and a half hours before the trial began.

Among the witnesses who will likely be called to testify are a housekeeper who claims to have sold fentanyl to Richins on three occasions and the man with whom Richins was allegedly having an affair.

Richins faces nearly three dozen counts, including aggravated murder, attempted murder, forgery, mortgage fraud and insurance fraud. The murder charge alone carries a sentence of 25 years to life in prison.

In the months before her arrest in May 2023, Richins self-published the illustrated children’s book “Are You with Me?” about a father with angel wings watching over his young son after passing away. The book could play a key role for prosecutors in framing Eric Richins’ death as a calculated killing with an elaborate cover-up attempt. Bloodworth told jurors Monday about how Richins promoted it on local TV and radio stations.

Years before her husband’s death, Richins opened numerous life insurance policies on Eric Richins without his knowledge, with benefits totaling nearly $2 million, prosecutors alleged. Court documents also indicate she had a negative bank account balance, owed lenders more than $1.8 million and was being sued by a creditor.

Bloodworth showed the jury a series of text messages between Kouri Richins and Robert Josh Grossman, the man with whom she was having an affair. She texted Grossman about her dream of leaving her husband, gaining millions in the divorce and one day marrying Grossman.

Bloodworth also showed screenshots of Richins’ internet search history, which included “women Utah prison,” “luxury prisons for the rich America,” and “Can cops force you to do a lie detector test?”

Empty pill bottles and marijuana gummies

The state’s key witness, housekeeper Carmen Lauber, had told detectives she sold Richins up to 90 blue-green fentanyl pills that she acquired from a dealer. Lauber is not charged in connection with the case, and detectives have said she was granted immunity.

Defense attorneys argued Monday that Lauber did not actually give Richins fentanyl and was motivated to lie for legal protection. None was ever found in Richins’ house, and the housekeeper’s dealer has said he was in jail and detoxing from drug use when he told detectives in 2023 that he sold fentanyl to Lauber. He later said in a sworn affidavit that he sold her only the opioid OxyContin.

Nester showed jurors photos of an empty pill bottle sitting on Eric’s nightstand the night of his death and bags of marijuana gummies he was known to use regularly. She said he was dependent on painkillers and had asked his wife to procure opioids for him.

Richins’ mother, Lisa Darden, told “48 Hours” that she is “a hundred percent” certain her daughter will be found innocent.

“For anybody who knows Kouri just knows … She could not have done this. … She’d never do this,” Darden said.

High-profile case

Richins’ attorneys tried to get the trial moved out of her community, arguing that she could not get a fair trial where the vast majority of potential jurors knew about the case, but the judge denied a change of venue. CBS News legal contributor Caroline Polisi said she wasn’t surprised by the decision and said that while “this is a sensationalized case” with “national attention,” prosecutors should be able to assemble an impartial jury.

KUTV reported that potential jurors were asked to respond to a 23-page questionnaire containing 99 questions, including inquiries about where they get their news, what TV they watch, and what organizations they support. Nathan Evershed, a former prosecutor who is not affiliated with the case, said the document is “about as long as I’ve ever seen.”

“When they started getting into opinions about the case, when they started getting into backgrounds of connections with victim rights organizations, social media accounts, these things, you can see they’re really trying to get granular on this,” Evershed told KUTV. “Tell us about what you listen to. Tell us about social media. Tell us about very specific opinions on very specific things.”

Did you earn tips last year? See how much this new tax break could save you.

February 23, 2026 / 12:49 PM EST / CBS News

Locksmiths, tattoo artists and pedicab drivers are among those who could benefit from a new deduction this tax season that lowers the burden on workers who received tips as part of their income last year.

Eliminating taxes on tips, accomplished through the 2025 passage of the “big, beautiful bill,” allows eligible workers to deduct up to $25,000 in tips from their federal taxable income. Deductions reduce a filer’s taxable income, so the new tax break will benefit workers in industries where tipping is common.

The Tax Policy Center, a nonpartisan joint venture of the Urban Institute and Brookings Institution, estimates that those who claim the deduction will receive an average tax cut of around $1,400.

Andrew Lautz, director of tax policy for the Bipartisan Policy Center, a nonpartisan think tank, told CBS News that some tipped workers could get an even larger tax cut depending on their income.

“If someone is claiming the maximum tip deduction and they are in the top tax bracket that is eligible for that maximum tax deduction, which is the 24% bracket, they’re going to see a tax cut of up to $6,000,” he said.

Nearly a month into tax season, Americans are receiving higher refund checks compared with last year. Early data from the IRS shows the average tax refund is nearly 14.2% higher than in 2025.

Who is eligible to deduct tips from their taxes?

Workers can claim the “no tax on tips” deduction regardless of whether they claim the standard deduction or itemize.

Taxpayers with a modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) of $150,000 ($300,000 for joint filers) can claim the full deduction — up to $25,000 each year for tax years 2025 through 2028. (Your MAGI is your adjusted gross income plus tax-exempt income.)

For single filers who earn more than $150,000 and $300,000 for joint filers, the deduction phases out by 10 cents for every dollar they make over those thresholds.

The tax deduction is also limited to specific industries where tipping is common. That list (outlined in the Federal Register) includes nearly 70 different eligible occupations. The IRS says that in order to claim the deduction, a taxpayer must work in one of the occupations on the list and receive what it refers to as “qualified tips.”

Simply, qualified tips are those that customers voluntarily offer to workers. Automatic service charges, which restaurants sometimes impose on large parties, do not qualify, according to that definition.

Tips must also be paid in cash or another medium that can be exchanged for cash, such as a check. That means digital assets, like cryptocurrency, would not qualify for the new deduction. Taxpayers can visit the IRS’s website for the agency’s complete definition of “qualified tips.”

The new deduction only affects federal income taxes on tipped income. As TurboTax notes in an online explainer, “Tips are still subject to payroll taxes and may also be taxed at the state or local level.”

How do I know the amount of “qualified tips” I received?

According to the IRS, workers can see the “qualified tips” paid to them in 2025 on a Form W-2, Form 1099-NEC, Form 1099-MISC, Form 1099-K or Form 4137.

How do I claim the tips deduction?

Workers must fill out and submit a new IRS form introduced this tax season called the Schedule 1-A. Filers can also use a Schedule 1-A to claim several other new tax deductions this year for auto loan interest, overtime pay and for Americans age 65 and older.

How many people will benefit from the deduction?

The Internal Revenue Service says in an online notice that the new deduction will benefit most taxpayers who earn tips, including veterans and people working in lower-wage jobs. Around 6 million workers report tipped wages, according to the agency.

However, some experts say the tax deduction will only help a narrow slice of tipped workers. That’s in part because many lower-paid workers who get tips and claim the standard deduction already do not owe federal income taxes.

“If you’re a very low-wage earner, you’re probably not going to benefit, certainly not substantially, from this deduction,” he told CBS News.

High earners who get tips may also not benefit if their income exceeds a certain amount. The benefit fully phases out for single filers who earn more than $400,000 and for people filing jointly who earn above $550,000, according to Congress.gov.

According to the Tax Policy Center, roughly 3% of taxpayers are expected to claim the tips deduction this year.

Trump halts Angel families speech to check on woman in audience

President spoke with Patty Morin about upcoming eye surgery he funded

By Ashley Carnahan
Fox News

Published February 23, 2026 2:36pm EST

President Donald Trump briefly paused an Angel Families Remembrance Ceremony at the White House on Monday to speak with Patty Morin, the mother of Rachel Morin, asking about her health and an upcoming surgery for her eyes.

“I gave her money to get her eyes fixed. A lot of money to get her eyes fixed. That doctor ripped me off. But that’s OK,” Trump joked.

Morin said her surgery was scheduled for Wednesday after being delayed. “It was postponed because they said the grief caused me to have a heart attack,” she said.

Her daughter, Rachel, was brutally raped and murdered by Salvadoran national Victor Martinez-Hernandez in August 2023. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in the summer of 2025.

A picture of Patty Morin (left) and her daughter Rachel Morin (right) who was killed by a Salvadoran national in August 2023.(Dillon Mullan/Baltimore Sun/Tribune News Service via Getty Images | Fox News / Hannity)

“You’re going to have 20/20 vision. You know she’s almost blind. Cataracts. She’s almost blind,” Trump said. “He’s an expensive doctor. Top of the line, right? But you know what? You’re going to have 20/20 vision.”

During the ceremony in the East Room of the White House, Trump honored families who have lost loved ones to crimes committed by illegal immigrants.

“Throughout this hall, I am joined by heartbroken Americans who have lost parents, siblings, children, grandchildren, and treasured loved ones to the scourge of illegal immigration, let in by the past administration,” the president said.

RACHEL MORIN’S MOTHER EXPLAINS PAINSTAKING PROCESS OF WRITING STATEMENT TO READ AT KILLER’S SENTENCING

President Donald Trump speaks during an event proclaiming “Angel Family Day” in the East Room of the White House on Feb. 23, 2026, in Washington.(Evan Vucci/AP)

“Under the Trump administration, their suffering is forgotten no longer,” he told attendees.

Laken Riley’s mother, Allyson Phillips, spoke at the event remembering her daughter, the 22-year-old nursing student who was killed by Venezuelan national José Ibarra while jogging on the University of Georgia campus in February 2024.

Several other family members also spoke during the ceremony, sharing personal stories about their loved ones.

GRIEVING FATHER SAYS DAUGHTER’S DEATH BY ILLEGAL ALIEN SHOWS COST OF SANCTUARY POLICIES

Allyson Phillips, the mother of Laken Riley, speaks as President Donald Trump listens during an event proclaiming “Angel Family Day” in the East Room of the White House on Feb. 23, 2026.(Alex Brandon/AP)

Steve Ronnebeck, whose 21-year-old son Grant was shot and killed by an illegal immigrant in Arizona, said the deaths were “preventable” and urged stronger enforcement of immigration laws.

“They could have been stopped. We could have done so much more,” Ronnebeck said.

Steve Ronnebeck, father of Grant Ronnebeck, speaks next to President Donald Trump during an event proclaiming “Angel Family Day” in the East Room of the White House on Feb. 23, 2026(Evan Vucci/AP)

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At the conclusion of the event, Trump signed a proclamation designating Feb. 22 as “National Angel Family Day.”

“We stand with the Angel Families, many of whom continue to be left without justice,” the White House said in a statement. “And we recommit to carrying out the largest mass-deportation effort in our Nation’s history, getting the worst of the worst out of our country, and putting a stop to the violence targeting the brave men and women of law enforcement.”

Ashley Carnahan is a writer at Fox News Digital.

Dow slides nearly 800 points as AI and tariff risks rattle investors

February 23, 2026 / 1:54 PM EST / CBS News

Stocks slid on Monday as jittery investors digested President Trump’s plan to raise global tariffs to 15% and amid renewed concerns about the impact of artificial intelligence apps on the technology industry.

The Dow Jones slid 794 points, or 1.6%, as of 12:35 p.m. EDT. The S&P 500 fell 78 points, or 1.1%, while the Nasdaq dropped 1.3%.

Gold, regarded as a safe haven in periods of market turbulence, rose 2.9% to $5,230, according to FactSet.

Wall Street analyst Adam Crisafulli, head of Vital Knowledge, pointed to concerns about the AI impact on the software sector and other industries as the main reason stocks were slumping in morning trade.

AI — which until recently had propelled the stock market to a succession of record highs — is “increasingly a net negative for the equity market,” he told investors in a research note.

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The Free Press:[Are We at an AI Precipice?]

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Tariffs “aren’t helping”

Mr. Trump’s move to immediately hike tariffs after the Supreme Court on Friday struck down his administration’s emergency tariffs also injected fresh uncertainty into financial markets, analysts noted. Mr. Trump initially said he would impose a 10% global tariff, but on Saturday upped that levy to 15%.

“Stocks got a boost Friday from the Supreme Court’s tariff ruling, but it quickly became clear that the decision was simply going to open a new chapter in the trade saga — not end it,” according to Chris Larkin, managing director of trading and investing at E-Trade from Morgan Stanley.

Despite today’s drop, Wall Street’s response was far milder than in April 2025, when stocks nosedived after Mr. Trump announced a sweeping set of reciprocal tariffs and a baseline 10% tariff on U.S. trading partners.

“Tariffs really aren’t driving the Mon[day] price action, but the enormous uncertainty and confusion associated with the SCOTUS decision and Trump’s subsequent actions and threats (including several social media posts) certainly aren’t helping equity sentiment,” Crisafulli said.

The U.S. dollar’s value edged only a bit lower against other currencies on Monday, while bitcoin briefly fell below $65,000 but remained above its low point reached earlier this month. Gold continued to rise thanks to its reputation as something safer to own during uncertain times.

Most of the president’s previous levies hinged on a law called the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA. Mr. Trump is now turning to Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 to implement his next round of global tariffs, which are scheduled to take effect starting Feb. 24.

While the new round of tariffs may introduce more uncertainty, they are unlikely to have a meaningful impact on economic activity, Angelo Kourkafas, a senior global investment strategist at financial firm Edward Jones, said in an email note.

“We advise investors not to overreact to headlines…” he said.

Edited by Alain Sherter

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/how-the-supreme-courts-tariff-decision-impact-global-economy/

Lindsey Vonn says surgery saved her leg from amputation after Olympics crash

Updated on: February 23, 2026 / 11:27 AM EST / CBS News

American skierLindsey Vonn, who crashed seconds into her downhill race at the 2026 Winter Olympics, said on Monday that surgery saved her leg from amputation and that she is finally out of the hospital as she continues to recover.

“I’m finally well enough to move to a hotel. It’s not home yet, but it’s a huge step!” she posted on Instagram.

In a video message describing her injuries, Vonn credited her surgeon, Dr. Tom Hackett, for saving her leg from being amputated and said he performed a fasciectomy — a surgery that “filleted” her leg open.

Vonn said she had a complex tibia fracture and other fractures, and that “everything was in pieces.” She also had compartment syndrome, which the Cleveland Clinicdescribes as a painful buildup of pressure around muscles that can lead to permanent damage.

She also said she broke her right ankle, had a blood transfusion and was in a wheelchair.

“It has been quite the journey and by far the most extreme and painful and challenging injury I’ve ever faced in my entire life, times 100,” she said.

She said she has spent nearly two weeks lying in a hospital and was “almost completely immobile.”

“Now I will focus on rehab and progressing from a wheelchair to crutches in a few weeks,” she wrote. “It will take around a year for all of the bones to heal and then I will decide if I want to take out all the metal or not, and then go back into surgery and finally fix my ACL.”

U.S. skier Lindsey Vonn lies in a hospital bed after surgery for a broken leg following her crash at the Winter Olympics in Italy, in this picture obtained from social media on Feb. 11, 2026. @lindseyvonn via Instagram/via REUTERS

The 41-year-old American, who lives in Colorado,decided to compete in the Olympics despite rupturing her left ACL in a prior crash during a World Cup event in the Swiss Alps. She lost control in her Olympic race after appearing to clip a flag marking the side of the course, flew sideways through the air, and hit her head on the ground. She was responsive but did not get up. Medical personnel put her on a stretcher and airlifted her from the course.

She said she has no regrets and that she’d “rather go down swinging than not try at all.”

Haley Ott contributed to this report.

A Utah mom accused of poisoning her husband is on trial for murder. Here’s what to know.

Updated on: February 23, 2026 / 1:49 PM EST / CBS News

Opening statements begin Monday in the trial of Kouri Richins, the Utah mother accused of killing her husband before publishing a children’s book about grief in the wake of his death.

Richins, 35, is charged with multiple felonies for allegedly poisoning her late husband, Eric Richins, in March 2022. She has been accused of spiking his drink with a deadly dose of fentanyl at their home near Park City, placing nearly five times what would be considered a lethal amount of the opioid into a Moscow Mule cocktail that she mixed and proceeded to serve to him.

In addition to counts of aggravated murder and attempted aggravated murder, Richins faces charges for mortgage fraud and forgery. She has pleaded not guilty to all counts. If convicted of murder, she could be sentenced to life in prison.

Richins’ trial is taking place in Summit County, Utah, and is expected to last until the end of March. Here’s what to know about the case.

Alleged poisoning

In the early morning hours of March 4, 2022, the Summit County Sheriff’s Office received a call from Richins, who reported that her husband was not breathing, according to a search warrant affidavit. She told detectives that she had fallen asleep with the couple’s children in the room beside the one she shared with her husband, where he had gone to bed, and noticed only when she lay down next to him at around 3 a.m. that he was “cold,” the document said.

Although Richins told law enforcement that she attempted to perform CPR on her husband, the fire and medical personnel who responded to the scene said it appeared she had not given CPR based on the state of his body.

A toxicology report conducted after Eric Richins’ death showed that an enormous dose of fentanyl killed him. His friends and family, including his wife, later told detectives that he had no history of drug use. Kouri Richins told investigators that they had celebratory drinks that night to mark the sale of a property.

During the investigation into his death, Eric Richins’ family members said that they suspected his wife was involved and recalled him advising them while he was alive that, if something happened to him, she was to blame. Eric Richins’ sister told investigators that he had believed his wife tried to kill him during a trip to Greece several years earlier, apparently by serving him a drink that made him sick. Shortly before his death, on Valentine’s Day 2022, Eric Richins broke out in hives and had trouble breathing after eating a sandwich that his wife had brought to him, according to court filings.

Kouri Richins’ attorneys have challenged the claim that she laced her husband’s Moscow Mule with fentanyl, telling CBS affiliate KUTV that the prosecution has not officially documented that theory.

Fraud, forgery

Court filings show that Eric Richins was considering divorcing his wife when he was killed. Prosecutors have said Kouri Richins, meanwhile, was under significant financial pressure from her real estate company and was also the beneficiary of multiple life insurance policies on her husband, even though he had tried to remove her from both his life insurance and will not long before he died.

Although she claimed that the pair were celebrating a real estate purchase the night of her husband’s death, family members later told detectives that the couple had argued about whether or not to finalize the deal on a $2 million mansion that she wanted to “flip.” Kouri allegedly signed to close on the property the day after Eric died.

Children’s book

Kouri Richins authored a children’s picture book called “Are you with me?” within a year of her husband’s death. While promoting the book, which focused on coping mechanisms to deal with the death of a loved one, Richins appeared on a local television station in Utah and explained how difficult it was for her and her three sons to lose their husband and father unexpectedly.

Richins was arrested in May 2023 and has been denied bail multiple times.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

FIRST ON FOX:The family of a slain Louisiana police officer will have the chance to see President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday night after being invited by House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.

The top congressional leader is bringing the mother and fiancée of Marc Tyler Brock to Trump’s primetime address, Fox News Digital learned on Monday.

“It is my profound honor to host Shirley Brock-Dennis and Kambreigh Smith — the respective mother and fiancée of Vivian Police Officer Marc Brock — as my guests for the State of the Union address. In November, Officer Brock was tragically killed in the line of duty,” Johnson told Fox News Digital.

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House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, left, and President Donald Trump shake hands during an Invest America roundtable in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, District of Columbia, on June 9, 2025.(Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The speaker called Brock “an extraordinary young man who touched countless lives through his service and volunteer activities,” and said his death is a “somber reminder” of the risks that law enforcement officers take every day.

“I am grateful that Shirley and Kambreigh will join us and help share Officer Brock’s story with the nation,” Johnson said.

Brock, 25, was killed late last year while attempting to serve an arrest warrant against a man who at the time was charged with cyberstalking in Vivian, La., according to local outlet KLFY.

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The mother and fiancée of slain Louisiana Police Officer Marc Brock are invited to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union.(Courtesy of Shirley Brock-Dennis)

Vivian is located in Louisiana’s 4th congressional district, which Johnson represents.

JOHNSON PRAISES TRUMP’S ‘BOLD ACTION’ IN FORMAL STATE OF THE UNION INVITATION LETTER TO CONGRESS

The House speaker will be front-and-center when millions of Americans tune in to Trump’s State of the Union speech, his second address to a joint session of Congress since returning to the White House last year.

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He and the vice president will both be sitting behind Trump as he speaks to Americans and assembled officials about what he has done so far and what he has left to do in his final term.

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President Donald Trump delivers his joint address to Congress at the U.S. Capitol on March 4, 2025.(Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Brock was part of a six-person team serving a warrant in November 2025 when he was shot through a closed door and was later declared dead at the hospital.

He was described as a “hero” by Vivian Police Chief Ryan Nelson in comments to KSLA News.

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The man who killed him was charged with first-degree murder earlier this month.

Johnson himself has ties to public safety officers, his late father having been a firefighter in Shreveport, La.

Nick Reiner pleads not guilty in the killing of his parents Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner

Updated on: February 23, 2026 / 2:11 PM EST / CBS News

Nick Reiner pleaded not guilty in Los Angeles on Monday in the killing of his parents, Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner.

Nick Reiner, 32, was charged with two counts of murder in the first degree in the fatal stabbings at the couple’s home in LA’s Brentwood neighborhood in December. His public defender, Kimberly Greene, entered the not guilty plea on her client’s behalf.

Reiner sat in court behind his attorney in a glass-enclosed custody area. His head was shaved and he wore brown jail clothes.

Reiner spoke briefly during the arraignment, saying “yes” when Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Theresa McGonigle asked him to acknowledge waiving a speedy preliminary hearing in his case, as requested by his attorney. During a preliminary hearing, prosecutors present the main evidence supporting the charges and a judge decides if it’s enough for the case to move forward.

McGonigle scheduled Reiner’s next hearing for April 29 and ordered that he continue to be held without bail.

If convicted, Reiner could face the death penalty or a life sentence without the possibility of parole. Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said after Monday’s hearing that prosecutors were going through a process to determine whether to seek the death penalty.

“We take the process in which we determine whether or not the death penalty should be sought extremely seriously, and it goes through a very rigorous process,” Hochman said outside the courthouse. “We will be looking at all aggravating and mitigating circumstances.”

Nick Reiner appears with Deputy Public Defender Kimberly Greene during his arraignment in Los Angeles County Superior Court on February 23, 2026. Chris Torres-Pool / Getty Images

Hochman said Reiner’s attorney has been invited to present arguments for prosecutors to consider.

The case was proceeding on track, Hochman said. He said most of the evidence has been provided to Reiner’s attorney and that prosecutors were waiting for the coroner’s report.

Reiner is being represented by Greene after his defense attorney, Alan Jackson, unexpectedly withdrew from the case at what was supposed to be Reiner’s arraignment in January. Last year, Jackson successfully defended Karen Read against murder and manslaughter charges in the high-profile Massachusetts case over the death of her boyfriend, a Boston police officer.

In the Reiner case, Jackson told reporters outside the courthouse he had to step aside due to “circumstances beyond our control, but more importantly, circumstances beyond Nick’s control.”

Jackson didn’t elaborate on the reason, saying he was legally and ethically prohibited from doing so, but he said that Reiner wasn’t guilty of murder “pursuant to the law in California.” Hochman expressed confidence that a jury would convict Reiner.

Rob Reiner, 78, and Michele Singer Reiner, 70, died from “multiple sharp force injuries,” according to the LA County Medical Examiner.

Nick Reiner, the third of Rob Reiner’s four children, was arrested in the wake of his parents’ deaths, which sent shockwaves through Hollywood. Rob Reiner starred in the 1970s TV series “All in the Family” and went on to direct such hit movies as “This Is Spinal Tap,” “The Princess Bride” and “When Harry Met Sally.”

Emily Mae Czachor contributed to this report.