Trump news at a glance: Trump creates distance, but no apology, after promoting racist video of Obamas

Neither of the top two Republicans in Congress, Thune and Mike Johnson, the House speaker, offered comment, prompting Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader, to post on X: “Racist. Vile. Abhorrent. This is dangerous and degrades our country – where are Senate Republicans?

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Trump says he’ll free funds for New York if Penn Station is renamed after him

Donald Trump has told the Senate’s top Democrat, Chuck Schumer, that he will unfreeze funds for major infrastructure projects in New York City if he supports renaming Dulles international airport and Penn Station after him.

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Iran says ‘good start’ made in talks with US over nuclear programme

Indirect talks between Iran and the US on the future of Iran’s nuclear programme ended on Friday with a broad agreement to maintain a diplomatic path, possibly with further talks in the coming days, according to statements from Iran and the Omani hosts.

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Pardoned January 6 rioter pleads guilty to threatening Hakeem Jeffries

A rioter who was pardoned by Donald Trump for the felony he was convicted of in the storming of the US Capitol on 6 January 2021 has pleaded guilty to a harassment charge over threats to kill the House minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries.

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Dow Jones hits 50,000 milestone amid tech gains and hopes of lower rates

The Dow Jones industrial average crossed 50,000 for the first time, as ballooning tech valuations, robust corporate earnings and hopes of lower interest rates drive it to new highs. Donald Trump has repeatedly hailed the record stock market highs, and tried to claim the market climb as evidence of the success of US tariffs – his central economic policy – which have soared to their highest effective level since 1935 on his watch.

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What else happened today:

• Over two days of questioning during his Senate confirmation hearings last year, Robert F Kennedy Jr repeated the same answer. He said the closely scrutinized trip he took to Samoa in 2019, which came ahead of a devastating measles outbreak, had “nothing to do with vaccines”. Documents obtained by the Guardian and the Associated Press undermine that testimony.

• The search for Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of NBC’s Today show anchor Savannah Guthrie entered its sixth day on Friday in Arizona, as authorities said they believe she is still alive.

• The US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has said the Pentagon is ending all military training, fellowships and certificate programs with Harvard University, marking the Trump administration’s latest escalation against the Ivy League school.

• This weekend, tens of thousands of people will make their way to the Bay Area city of Santa Clara, ready to celebrate a weekend at the Super Bowl. Beneath the jubilant mood, some residents and officials have been grappling with the possibility of ICE enforcement operations during the game, and taking steps to prepare.

• The far-right influencer and US Senate candidate Jake Lang has been arrested after recording himself damaging an anti-ICE sculpture at Minnesota’s capitol amid the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency’s crackdown there.

• The outcome of a special Democratic primary to fill a US House of Representatives seat representing northern New Jersey was on a knife-edge on Friday, after a progressive challenger took a surprise lead over a former Democratic congressman who initially appeared to have won the nomination.