What to expect from Biden’s State of the Union address

Biden delivers his second State of the Union address to a divided Congress; The earthquake death toll grows in Turkey and Syria.

Tonight's Sentences was written by Jariel Arvin.

Biden's address will push for optimism and unity

Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

• Tuesday, President Joe Biden will make a case for American optimism and unity during his second State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress. [Associated Press / Zeke Miller and Seung Min Kim]
• It will be Biden’s first address to a divided Congress as lawmakers face a looming deadline to raise the debt ceiling. [ABC News / Allison Pecorin]
• Biden will try to highlight achievements on clean energy and infrastructure while speaking to concerns about the economy, which polling shows most people have. [Guardian / Lauren Gambino and Joan E Greve]
• Guests include Tyre Nichols’s parents and Brandon Tsay, who prevented a second mass shooting in Monterey Park, California. Biden plans to discuss police reform and rising extremist violence. [Politico / Kelly Hooper]
• The president will also present an updated agenda, urging both parties to support veterans’ care and the fights to end cancer and the opioid epidemic. [Axios / Hans Nichols]

The deadly earthquakes in Turkey and Syria

• Tuesday, emergency workers in Turkey and Syria worked through freezing temperatures to pull survivors from the rubble of a powerful earthquake that has killed over 7,000 people. [Vox / Jen Kirby]
• A 7.8 magnitude earthquake destroyed thousands of buildings in both countries early Monday. Relief agencies emphasized the need for aid in northwestern Syria, where millions already faced a humanitarian crisis. [CNN]
• Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared a three-month state of emergency to provide relief to the worst affected regions. [BBC]
• Thousands of rescuers have reached the impacted area but collapsed roads have hampered some humanitarian efforts. [NPR / Rob Schmitz and Ruth Sherlock]

📍 If you read just one story

Vox’s Umair Irfan explains eight things to know about seismic events. [Vox / Umair Irfan]

Google on Monday unveiled its chatbot Bard, expected to become a challenger to Microsoft’s ChatGPT in the coming weeks. [Vox / Shirin Ghaffary]

• New York is paying for migrants bused to the city to travel to the Canadian border. [BBC / Jason Armesto]
• The US Navy released photos from the wreckage of the suspected Chinese spy balloon that the US shot down off the South Carolina coast. [CNBC / Dan Mangan and Chelsey Cox]
• A federal judge suggested the abortion ban violates the 13th Amendment right against involuntary servitude in what Vox’s Ian Millhiser argues is a thoughtful trolling of the Supreme Court. [Vox / Ian Millhiser]

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“The core message is: We have to make more progress, but people should feel optimism."

[Brian Deese, director of the National Economic Council, on Biden’s address / AP]

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