U.S. President Donald Trump sought to reset the tone of his second term on Tuesday, delivering a record-breaking 108-minute address to a joint session of Congress in which he hailed what he called a “turnaround for the ages.”

The primetime speech — the longest presidential address to Congress on record — surpassed Trump’s own 100-minute speech last year. Before 2025, the previous modern record was held by Bill Clinton, whose speeches ran 89 minutes in 2000 and 85 minutes in 1995.

Trump was greeted with repeated standing ovations from Republican lawmakers, while many Democrats remained seated in protest. Some Democratic members boycotted the address altogether, underscoring the deep political divisions that continue to define Washington.

Opening with an optimistic tone, Trump declared that the United States was “bigger, better, richer and stronger than ever before,” crediting his administration with delivering dramatic economic and political change in just one year.

“Tonight, after just one year, I can say with dignity and pride that we have achieved a transformation like no one has ever seen before,” Trump said.

The 79-year-old president is facing mounting political pressure ahead of November’s midterm elections, with opinion polls showing weak approval ratings and raising concerns within the Republican Party about potentially losing control of Congress.

Foreign policy focus

On foreign policy, Trump addressed tensions in the Middle East as U.S. naval and air forces deploy to the region. He claimed Iran was pursuing missiles capable of reaching U.S. territory and reiterated that Tehran would never be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon.

“They are again pursuing their sinister nuclear ambitions,” Trump said, while adding that his “preference” remained a diplomatic solution and that negotiations were ongoing.

He also pointed to developments in Latin America, saying Venezuela had resumed oil shipments to the United States and celebrating the killing of a Mexican drug cartel leader.

Awards and patriotic appeal

Seeking to strike a unifying tone, Trump invited members of the U.S. Olympic ice hockey team — fresh off a gold medal victory — to join him on the House floor, drawing chants of “USA” from Republican lawmakers. He awarded the team’s goalie the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

He also presented Medals of Honor to a wounded helicopter pilot involved in a January operation in Venezuela and to a 100-year-old Korean War veteran.

Sharp attacks and voting battle

Midway through the speech, Trump shifted to sharper rhetoric, accusing Democrats of “destroying our country” and renewing his claims that U.S. elections are plagued by widespread fraud. He urged Congress to pass legislation imposing stricter voter identification requirements.

Opponents argue that additional ID rules could disenfranchise large numbers of eligible voters. The debate over voting laws is expected to intensify as Republicans work to defend their narrow majority in the House of Representatives and potentially the Senate.

Recent national polling has placed Trump’s approval rating below 40 percent, with particularly weak support on inflation and the economy — key issues likely to dominate the midterm campaign.

The president also addressed the Supreme Court’s recent decision striking down his administration’s use of certain trade tariffs. While he briefly greeted several justices in attendance, he described the ruling as “very unfortunate.”

Trump’s speech comes amid a turbulent political period marked by legal battles, controversy over immigration enforcement actions, and renewed scrutiny surrounding the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.

With midterm elections looming, the record-length address appeared designed to energize supporters and reframe his presidency at a critical political moment.

Human rights are under assault worldwide, the United Nations chief warned on Monday, citing widespread abuses of international law and devastating civilian suffering in conflicts in Sudan, Gaza and Ukraine, Reuters reported.

“The rule of law is being outmuscled by the rule of force,” said U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres, speaking at the opening of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

“Around the world, human rights are being pushed back deliberately, strategically, and sometimes proudly,” Guterres said.

The U.N. human rights chief has said his office is in “survival mode” due to funding cuts that have come alongside pressure on U.N. experts and U.S. disengagement.

The U.S., the U.N.’s top donor, has paid just $160 million of the more than $4 billion it owes to the global body, a U.N. spokesperson said last week.

“Humanitarian needs are exploding while funding collapses,” Guterres said.

The U.N. human rights chief, Volker Turk, told the Council that the world faces the most intense competition for power and resources since World War Two, amid widespread rights violations.

He joined Guterres in urging an end to abuses in conflicts in Sudan, Gaza, Myanmar and Ukraine.

One diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said that despite backing from some member states to strengthen and support the human rights system, funding remained a challenge, read the report.

The U.N. says funding shortages have prevented two investigations launched in 2025 – an inquiry into potential war crimes in Democratic Republic of Congo and a investigation into abuses in Afghanistan – from becoming operational.

Guterres also said blatant violations of international law in the occupied Palestinian territories threatened the viability of a Palestinian state.

“The two-State solution is being stripped away in broad daylight. The international community cannot allow it to happen,” he said.

This month Israel’s cabinet approved the latest measures to tighten Israel’s control over the occupied West Bank and make it easier for settlers to buy land, a move Palestinians called a “de-facto annexation”.

Most nations have long backed the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel as the best way to resolve the generations-old conflict and see the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967, as the largest part of that future state.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is facing an election later this year, deems the establishment of any Palestinian state a security threat.

One of Mexico’s most notorious drug lords, Nemesio Oseguera, or “El Mencho,” was killed in a military raid on Sunday, sparking widespread retaliatory violence.

President Claudia Sheinbaum has been under mounting pressure from Washington to intensify her offensive against drug cartels blamed for producing and smuggling drugs, particularly the synthetic opioid fentanyl, across the border to the U.S., Reuters reported.

Oseguera, 60, the mastermind of the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) died in custody after being injured in a military operation by Mexican special forces in the town of Tapalpa on Mexico’s Pacific coast in Jalisco state, according to Mexico’s defense ministry.

His corpse arrived in Mexico City on Sunday afternoon in a heavily guarded convoy of National Guard troops.

Reuters had reported on Sunday that a new U.S.-military-led task force played a role in the raid led and carried out by Mexican forces. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt later posted on social media that the United States provided intelligence support.

Leavitt added that the Trump administration “commends and thanks the Mexican military for their cooperation and successful execution of this operation.”

After reports of El Mencho’s death, cartel henchmen blockaded highways with burning cars and torched businesses in more than a half a dozen states, paralyzing parts of the country. No civilian deaths have been reported.

In Jalisco’s popular beach resort of Puerto Vallarta, frightened tourists on social media described a “war zone” as plumes of dark smoke rose into the sky from around the bay. Air Canada (AC.TO), United Airlines, Aeromexico and American Airlines suspended flights in the area.

FORMER COP TO CARTEL KINGPIN

Oseguera, a former police officer, founded and oversaw the rapid rise of the CJNG, named for the western state of Jalisco that is home to one of Mexico’s biggest cities, Guadalajara.

In recent years, CJNG has expanded into one of Mexico’s most powerful cartels, known for violent tactics including forced labor and forced recruitment.

Under El Mencho’s leadership, CJNG also became a highly diversified criminal enterprise, expanding from drug trafficking to fuel theft, extortion, human smuggling, and complex financial frauds. The cartel pioneered use of drones in attacks against civilians in remote regions of western Mexico as part of its rapid territorial expansion.

Sunday’s raid was one of Mexico’s highest profile blows against drug gangs responsible for smuggling billions of dollars of drugs – including fentanyl – into the U.S. In recent years, the leaders of the rival Sinaloa Cartel – Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman and Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada- were captured alive. Both are now in U.S. prisons.

President Donald Trump’s administration lauded El Mencho’s killing, but domestic violence it triggered highlighted the political balancing act Sheinbaum must strike as her government escalates its cartel offensive.

On Sunday, Sheinbaum stressed that activities in most areas of the country were proceeding as usual. Schools in various states across Mexico protectively canceled classes for Monday, according to announcements by state-level education departments.

Security experts were watching whether the raid and death of the cartel boss will fracture CJNG leadership and trigger bloody infighting.

“There will definitely be skirmishes between the various factions, and these spasms of violence could last for years,” said Carlos Olivo, a former U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration assistant special agent in charge and an expert in CJNG.

KILLING WINS US PRAISE

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, previously ambassador to Mexico, said Oseguera’s killing was a “great development” for the U.S. and Mexico, as well as the rest of Latin America.

In January after the U.S. capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Trump said “the cartels are running Mexico,” and warned “we are going to start now hitting land with regard to the cartels.”

Sheinbaum said she would strengthen efforts to cooperate with the U.S. to fight cartels., but vowed to uphold Mexico’s sovereignty and warned against any unilateral military action by the U.S. in Mexico.

Sheinbaum in a social media post on Sunday said security officials would provide information on the operation.