Bill O'Reilly here. You are listening to the O'Reilly Update. Coming up next, the news with Mike Slater. Thank you, Bill. It is Tuesday, February 24th, 2026. Here's what's happening today in America. SEALs help Major Blizzard State of the Union tonight and trying to jam them in. It's all coming up. Then Bill's going to be here with your message of the day. But first, we now know more about how the leader of Mexico's biggest drug cartel, Jalisco New Generation Cartel, Almencho is the leader, how he was killed by Mexican service members. It turns out these Mexican service members were advised by our Navy SEALs. This is according to Breitbart.com. Breitbart, Texas was able to confirm with high-level members of the U.S. intelligence community that Navy SEAL instructors traveled to Mexico earlier this month for a series of trainings aimed at targeting and apprehending top-level cartel figures. They first arrived on February 15th on a U.S. air transport with their own equipment and weapons for the training seminars. Sources also told Breitbart, Texas, that as soon as the top-level Mexican Army team was turned over to the U.S. Navy SEAL instructors, they sequestered their phones and all communication devices to prevent any potential leaking of information. After El Mencho was killed, violence erupted all over the country. The president of Mexico said that Monday there was greater calm, but that's relative. Major blizzard in the Northeast. Record snowfall causing over half a million power outages. Thousands of flights canceled. In Rhode Island, two days of snow, 33 inches. Beat the record by five inches. 14 inches in Philadelphia, 22 in LaGuardia, 20 inches in Central Park. The last time it snowed in New York City, Mom Donnie ordered all the kids to do remote learning at home. That was a disaster. So yesterday was the first real snow day where the kids could play in the snow. It was actually the first snow day in seven years in New York City. State of the Union is tonight. The last time the president gave a State of the Union was in 2025, and the Democrats made fools of themselves. Congressman Al Green heckled the president, pointing his cane at him. He was ejected. Well, the Dems are worried about more embarrassing behavior. The House Minority Leader Jeffries urged his members to challenge the president during the address, but to do so discreetly. Team USA women hockey has declined the invitation by the president to be at the State of the Union They said due to the timing and previously scheduled academic and professional commitments following the games the athletes are unable to participate But the men want to go Speaker Johnson, though, is trying to figure out how to fit them in to the jammed chambers. Johnson said they're figuring out the logistics, and they're trying to work out logistics to see if there's some way that perhaps we can get them into the gallery and the doors wave and receive the applause that they are due. We'll see how the president can fit them in tonight. 9 o'clock Eastern. Bill O'Reilly has your message of the day. Next. Time now for the O'Reilly Update message of the day. On this Tuesday, most everybody I know was uplifted by the U.S. hockey team's Olympic gold medal run. Not only was the team skilled on the ice, but it conducted itself with dignity and patriotism after the win. To be sure, there will be Americans who raise the nationalism topic to counter the victory. These are people who don't much like the USA, believing we are not a noble country. Unfortunately, there are millions of these folks. Nationalism is defined as an ideology emphasizing intense loyalty to one's nation. And it can be both positive as well as negative. We all know what happened after the National Socialist Party took over in Germany. The Nazis sold the lethal master race concept, and many Germans bought it. However, pride in America is a very positive attribute, and the hockey team displayed it. No Colin Kaepernick or Stevan Diggs in sight. The American values of hard work, teamwork, perseverance made the difference. That is worthy of celebration. Finally, I wasn't happy that Canada lost. Those guys played great. I want detente between the two governments. Canada should be our closest ally. So a tip of the hat to both teams. They made us proud. All Americans should understand that. I'm Bill O'Reilly. I approve the message by writing it. You can reach me, Bill at BillOReilly.com, Bill at BillOReilly.com, name in town if you wish to opine. Now let's go to the mail. Richard I suppose the court in the tariff decision Trump could literally claim threat to national security on every executive order he signs He can do that And he done it a lot President Trump But most of the national security stuff, it's true, like the Mexican stuff. Okay. But you're right, Richard, in Supreme Court, noticed the pattern behavior, said, we're going to blunt it. That's what happened. Susan, concierge member. Susan has direct access to me. Does the United States have to refund the money? Supreme Court didn't mention that, so I do not believe anybody's going to get any refunds. Could be wrong, but probably not. Grace, concierge member. Thank you, Grace and Susan. How do the cities and states spend more money than they take in? Like San Diego is way over budget because it's not against the law for municipalities to spend more money than they have. You have to pass a separate law, balanced budget. None of these places do that. Steve Hill, Memphis, Tennessee. Can you explain the SAVE Act? The Constitution grants full authority over elections to the states. Wouldn't any law Congress passed be unconstitutional? No. Now, Steve, there is a law that says you cannot vote in a federal election if you're not an American citizen. That's a law, okay? That doesn't impugn on the way states hold their elections when you can vote, when you mail in, stuff like that. But Congress can pass a law and say you've got to show ID. That's the way it's broken down. States adjudicate the election, but the feds have the power to regulate. Feds could pass a law saying, you don't have to be an American citizen of vote. They'll never do that, but they could. In a moment, something you might not know. Now the O'Reilly update brings you something you might not know. 35 years ago today, the armed forces of the United States launched a land invasion of Iraq. The mission would go down as one of the most successful military campaigns in history. Here is the story of Desert Storm. August 1990 Iraq invaded Kuwait an oil country and strategic ally of the USA Three months later the United Nations passed a resolution authorizing the use of force to repel Saddam Hussein and Iraqi troops. The heinous dictator Saddam ignored the warning. He said, quote, American society cannot accept 10,000 dead in one battle. They will not attack. Saddam was wrong. On January 16th, American and British forces launched a six-week air campaign. More than 100,000 tons of bombs were dropped on targets in and around Baghdad. On February 24th, a massive ground offensive began. Saddam's forces were rapidly overwhelmed. They ran. In less than 24 hours, the Iraqi army was totally defeated. Four days later, Kuwait was liberated. President George Bush the Elder declared a ceasefire on February 28th. Iraq promised to comply with all future UN resolutions. But Saddam retained his power. The Pentagon, believing any attempt to remove him, would start a catastrophic civil war. And that is exactly what happened 12 years later under Bush the Younger. In total, 150 U.S. soldiers and roughly 50,000 Iraqi troops were killed in Desert Storm. And here's something else you might not know. The operation was not only the most successful campaign in history, toppling an army in less than 100 hours. It was also the largest global coalition ever assembled. Countries from every continent took place in the mission. Back in a moment. Thank you for listening to the O'Reilly Update. I am Bill O'Reilly. For more news and honest analysis, please go to BillOReilly.com. No spin, just facts, and always looking out for you.
