 |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| Hello, OnPolitics readers. |
| It's State of the Union Tuesday. Here are five things to watch for when President Joe Biden addresses the nation tonight: |
| Biden's first State of the Union happens to coincide with the Russia-Ukraine war. The president is expected to talk about the series of economic sanctions the White House has leveled against Russia and its leader, President Vladimir Putin, in response to the conflict. Biden will also have a chance to promote his administration's renewed ties with European allies and their coordinated war response. The president will discuss a return to normalcy as the country enters a new phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Mask mandates on the House floor were lifted in time for the address. The economy has been gripped by historically high inflation over the past year, raising the costs of goods and services. Biden will seek to reassure Americans about efforts to reverse inflation. Biden will have the chance to urge lawmakers in the chamber to ramp up negotiations over his Build Back Better infrastructure package. The plan has currently stalled in Congress. The president will urge senators to quickly confirm his historic Supreme Court nominee, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman nominated to the court. |
| It's Amy and Chelsey with today's top stories out of Washington. |
10 primary elections to watch out for |
| Primary election season officially started Tuesday as voters in Texas headed to the polls. The state held its Democratic primary elections, but twice as many states will hold Republican primaries in the coming months. |
| Aside from the face-off between incumbent Democrat Rep. Henry Cuellar and immigration attorney Jessica Cisneros in Texas, Democratic primaries will also be held in Georgia, where incumbent Rep. Lucy McBath, GA-06, is running against Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux, GA-07, and in Illinois, where Rep. Marie Newman, Il-03, will run again in the sixth district where most of her constituency ended up after some voting districts were redrawn. |
| Key GOP primaries are scheduled for West Virginia, South Carolina, Illinois, Michigan, Wyoming and New Hampshire. |
| Democrats currently hold the majority in the House of Representatives, with 222 seats to Republicans' 211. |
Real quick: stories you'll want to read |
| • | Pushing more equity for Black farmers: Members of a new equity commission advising the U.S. Department of Agriculture said they want to make sure the USDA does a better job providing resources to Black farmers and other minority communities following decades of racial discrimination. | | • | What does freedom of speech look like in Russia?: Russia's invasion of Ukraine sparked protests around the globe, including in Russia. But unlike in other countries, thousands of Russians have been plucked from the street by police. | | • | Antilynching Act named for Emmett Till: The House voted 422-3 to approve the Emmett Till Antilynching Act, which would allow crimes to be prosecuted as a lynching if someone is killed or injured in the commission of a hate crime, on Monday. | | • | Ukrainian-born U.S. congresswoman speaks out: As Ukraine fights an ongoing Russian invasion led by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Rep. Victoria Spatz of Indiana feels a grave sense of responsibility to act, both as a member of Congress and as a Ukrainian American. | |
Russian convoy stalling outside of Kyiv: Latest updates on Ukraine |
| A massive, 40-mile convoy of Russian tanks and vehicles appeared to bog down on its push toward the capital of Kyiv on Tuesday while residential areas of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, were being pounded by Russian shells. |
| The Russian military advance drew to within 15 miles of Kyiv's center amid signs that troops are running out of gas and food, a senior U.S. Defense Department official said Tuesday. Russia has committed about 80% of the combat force President Vladimir Putin deployed to invade Ukraine, the official said. |
| Ukrainian resistance is continuing, and it has helped stymie the advance, according to the official who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence findings. It is also possible the Russians are pausing to regroup and reassess their attack, the official said. |
| Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he spoke with President Joe Biden on Tuesday concerning Russian sanctions and defense assistance to Ukraine. The White House confirmed that they spoke for more than 30 minutes. |
| "We must stop the aggressor as soon as possible," Zelenskyy tweeted. "Thank you for your support!" |
| Unexpected unity: In just a matter of days, Russian President Vladimir Putin sure has changed a lot of peoples' minds – against himself and Russia. The result is an aggressive western European unity not seen since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 – plus Cold War-style threats of violence, including nuclear threats from an increasingly cornered Putin. |
| USA TODAY's Fact Check team is actively working to debunk misinformation around the Ukraine-Russia crisis. Click here for a round-up of some of the biggest claims. — Amy and Chelsey |
| |
| |
| |
| |
No comments:
Post a Comment