SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – The U.S. and South Korean militaries said on Wednesday they will conduct their annual springtime exercises next month to bolster their countries’ combined defense capabilities against a backdrop of a deepening diplomatic freeze with nuclear-armed North Korea.

WASHINGTON (AP) – A helicopter pilot wounded in the raid that captured then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro received the Congressional Medal of Honor during President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address Tuesday evening.

Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad:

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts and Nevis (AP) – Secretary of State Marco Rubio has flown into the Caribbean country of St. Kitts and Nevis for talks Wednesday with regional leaders who, like others around the world, are unsettled and uncertain about Trump administration policies.

WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump declared during a marathon State of the Union on Tuesday that “we’re winning so much” – insisting he’d sparked an economic boom at home and imposed a new world order abroad in hopes it can counter his sliding approval ratings.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) – Iran pushed back Wednesday against U.S. President Donald Trump’s pressure tactics ahead of critical talks in Geneva over Tehran’s nuclear program, alternating between calling his remarks “big lies” and saying negotiations may yield an agreement through “honorable diplomacy.”

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) – A Ukrainian delegation will meet with U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoys in the run-up to another round of trilateral talks with Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address, delivered on Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026, as transcribed by The Associated Press: Speaker Johnson, Vice President Vance, first lady of the United States, second lady of the United States, members of Congress and my fellow Americans, our nation is back: Bigger, better, richer and stronger than ever before.