WATCH: Biden will deliver his first #SOTU address, set against the turmoil of Russia invading Ukraine, surging inflation, deadlock over his domestic legislative agenda, and lingering effects of the pandemic bloom.bg/3psKLC8twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1…
Biden will announce that U.S. airspace is being closed to Russian airlines in his #SOTU address, according to two people familiar with the government’s decision trib.al/xb4Foxn
Ukraine Ambassador Oksana Markarova will join first lady Jill Biden, offering a high-profile display of solidarity bloom.bg/3psKLC8
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo isn’t at the Capitol for Biden’s #SOTU, taking the role known as designated survivor bloom.bg/3psKLC8
Speaker Pelosi welcomes Biden into the House chamber: "I have the high privilege and the distinct honor of presenting to you the President of the United States" bloom.bg/3psKLC8
"Last year COVID-19 kept us apart. This year we are finally together again," Biden starts his speech to applause, with a theme of unity bloom.bg/3psKLC8
In his opening sentences, Biden criticizes Putin's invasion of Ukraine, saying the Russian president "miscalculated" bloom.bg/3psKLC8
Biden praises the Ukrainian resistance, calling them a "wall of strength [that Putin] never imagined" bloom.bg/3psKLC8
Biden reiterates his commitment to NATO: "I have made crystal clear the United States and our Allies will defend every inch of territory of NATO countries with the full force of our collective power" bloom.bg/3psKLC8
"Let us continue to draw inspiration from the iron will of the Ukrainian people," Biden says.
"Putin may circle Kyiv with tanks, but he will never gain the hearts and souls of the Ukrainian people" bloom.bg/3psKLC8
Biden: "When the history of this era is written Putin’s war on Ukraine will have left Russia weaker and the rest of the world stronger" bloom.bg/3psKLC8
Biden is met with boos and cheers as he references Trump tax breaks before touting his own agenda: "The American Rescue Plan helped working people—and left no one behind" bloom.bg/3psKLC8
Biden brings his focus back to China and his plans to "transform America" and put the country "on a path to win the economic competition of the 21st Century that we face with the rest of the world" bloom.bg/3psKLC8
Biden's #SOTU plans by the numbers bloom.bg/3psKLC8
➡️ Building national network of 500,000 electric vehicle charging stations
➡️ Fixing over 65,000 miles of highway and 1,500 bridges in disrepair
Biden said that his top priority will be controlling inflation, which has surged to the fastest in four decades, undermining support for the administration despite a rapid economic recovery trib.al/4XckGdy
Biden pledges to cut the cost of child care.
"Many families pay up to $14,000 a year for child care per child," Biden says, before sharing his own experience raising children as a single father for 5 years, with "lots of help" bloom.bg/3psKLC8
Biden says his plan will cut the cost in half of childcare for most families and help parents, including millions of women, who left the workforce during the pandemic bloom.bg/3psKLC8
Biden sought to rebrand his spending package, formerly known as “Build Back Better,” into a proposal he’s calling “Building a Better America” bloom.bg/3psKLC8
"One way to fight inflation is to drive down wages and make Americans poorer," Biden says. "I have a better plan to fight inflation" bloom.bg/3psKLC8
"While you're at it, confirm my nominees for the Federal Reserve," Biden tells Congress, saying it will help battle inflation bloom.bg/3psKLC8
Biden's #SOTU plans by the numbers bloom.bg/3psKLC8
➡️ "Nobody earning less than $400,000 a year will pay an additional penny in new taxes. Nobody."
➡️ A 15% minimum tax rate for corporations
➡️ More than 130 countries agree to a global minimum tax rate
Biden says Covid-19 should no longer control Americans' lives.
"I know some are talking about 'living with COVID-19,'" Biden says. His response ⬇️ bloom.bg/3psKLC8
Biden weighs in on the work from home debate: "It’s time for Americans to get back to work and fill our great downtowns again. People working from home can feel safe to begin to return to offices" bloom.bg/3psKLC8
Biden addresses the Senate to pass key legislation from his agenda: "Pass the Freedom to Vote Act. Pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. And while you’re at it, pass the Disclose Act so Americans can know who is funding our elections" bloom.bg/3psKLC8
Biden thanks retiring Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer and discusses his nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson bloom.bg/3psKLC8
Biden is met with "Build the wall" chants after touching on his immigration policy: "If we are to advance liberty and justice, we need to secure the Border and fix the immigration system" bloom.bg/3psKLC8
In light of new restrictive anti-abortion laws in states and an upcoming Supreme Court debate, Biden reaffirms his support for Roe v. Wade and the woman's right to choose, as well as better maternal health care in America bloom.bg/3psKLC8
Biden pushes Congress to protect LGBTQ Americans: "Let’s finally get the bipartisan Equality Act to my desk. The onslaught of state laws targeting transgender Americans and their families is wrong" bloom.bg/3psKLC8
"While it often appears that we never agree, that isn’t true," Biden says, furthering his idea of unity.
"I signed 80 bipartisan bills into law last year" bloom.bg/3psKLC8
Biden cites the bipartisan Violence Against Women Act bill.
"It is important for us to show the nation that we can come together and do big things" bloom.bg/3psKLC8
Another high profile #SOTU guest is Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen.
Biden says social media platforms must be held "accountable for the national experiment they’re conducting on our children for profit" bloom.bg/3psKLC8
Biden ends on a note of strength and optimism for the future of America.
"We are stronger today than we were a year ago. And we will be stronger a year from now than we are today" bloom.bg/3psKLC8
Reynolds says Biden's #SOTU speech doesn't reflect America in reality: "His actions over the past few months don't match the rhetoric" bloom.bg/3psKLC8
The past year has shown Americans "what conservative leadership looks like," Reynolds says in her #SOTU rebuttal bloom.bg/3psKLC8
"Republicans may not have the White House" but are doing what they can to "fill the leadership vacuum," Reynolds says in her #SOTU rebuttal bloom.bg/3psKLC8
THREAD) 1. This is the moment when Japan started releasing treated nuclear water from its Fukushima plant into the Pacific Ocean.
The plan, part of the clean up of the worst atomic accident since Chernobyl, faces a persistent backlash despite reassurances trib.al/HwwSGL6
2) Some 1.3 million metric tons of wastewater — enough to fill about 500 Olympic-size swimming pools — will be discharged slowly over about the next 30 years.
👇A visual guide on how Japan is making the water safe enough to flush into the sea trib.al/77DowLx
3) Japan says that the water release is necessary, as storage tanks are forecast to hit capacity early next year.
Bloomberg energy reporter @SStapczynski says that such practice is "common within the nuclear industry and can be done safely" trib.al/ZypYNGL
🇨🇳THREAD: 1) Investors hailed 2023 as the year China's economy — unshackled from the world’s strictest Covid controls — would roar back.
They're still waiting https://t.co/eSOEuoJYWDtrib.al/X4xL8Hl
2) China is facing many problems: sluggish consumer spending, a crisis-ridden property market, record youth unemployment and towering local government debt.
And that's bad news for the world, impacting everything from commodity prices to equity markets trib.al/X4xL8Hl
3) More Chinese are seeing their incomes dropping and expect housing prices to fall in the coming three months, a worrying sign for the struggling economy trib.al/P59Ks5X
DEVELOPING: Putin has denounced a rebellion by forces loyal to the powerful head of the Wagner mercenary group Yevgeny Prigozhin as “treason” and threatened “harsh” punishment.
Follow this thread for the latest as the feud erupts into revolt
In a sudden and dramatic escalation of the feud between Prigozhin and Russia’s defense establishment, Wagner allegedly took over military offices in Rostov-on-Don, where the defense ministry’s southern military district headquarters are located https://t.co/Tparln0P1Rtrib.al/PYkx78w
Putin threatened the group with “harsh” consequences.
The unfolding events are the biggest sign of revolt against Putin since he started a war against Ukraine, and arguably the biggest challenge to his decades-long leadership. @RosMathieson has more
THREAD: 1) Nvidia has become the poster child for how to make money in AI — and its CEO just unveiled more AI products after a $184 billion rally.
Here's what's new about the world’s most valuable chipmaker ⬇ trib.al/hn3OWSH
2) Nvidia’s new lineup includes an AI supercomputer platform, which aims to help tech companies create successors to ChatGPT, CEO Jensen Huang said at the Computex show in Taiwan
3) Nvidia is also looking to change how people interact with video games.
A service called Nvidia ACE for Games will use AI to enliven background characters and give them more personality trib.al/hn3OWSH
🧵 Counting is underway in Turkey's runoff election, with President Erdogan taking an early lead against challenger Kilicdaroglu.
🇹🇷 Follow this thread for #TurkeyElections updates and market reactions
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's longest-serving leader, is ahead with 56.4% of the votes with nearly half of all ballot boxes counted, according to state-run news agency Anadolu.