Vox Sentences - What's the state of the union?

Biden delivers the State of the Union amid major challenges at home and abroad; Russia steps up its assault of Ukraine’s urban centers.

Tonight's Sentences was written by Jariel Arvin.

Biden delivers his first State of the Union address

 Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

• President Joe Biden will deliver his first State of the Union address Tuesday as the US faces persistent inflation, an ongoing coronavirus pandemic, and potential economic fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. [NPR / Domenico Montanaro]
• Bide is also facing intense public dissatisfaction: 55 percent of Americans disapprove his job performance, and just 37 approve, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll taken at the end of February. [Washington Post]
• Biden’s primetime speech was originally set to focus on domestic challenges, but he is now expected to tout his administration’s efforts to rally the world in defense of Ukraine and the costs imposed on Russian President Vladimir Putin for violating international norms. [NYT / Michael D. Shear]
• Biden will also address inflation by emphasizing how certain parts of his stalled Build Back Better Plan — like extending the child tax credit, lowering health care costs, and enacting climate proposals — can bring relief to American families. Given GOP and moderate Democratic Senate opposition to that package, however, it’s not clear there’s a viable path for its passage. [AP / Zeke Miller and Colleen Long]
• Progressive “Squad” member Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) will deliver a response she says supports Biden on behalf of the Working Families Party, while Rep. Colin Allred (D-TX) will give the Congressional Black Caucus’s response. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) will respond for the GOP. [Guardian / Martin Pengelly]

Russia escalates aggression against Ukraine

• Russia urged Ukrainians in urban centers to flee their homes on Tuesday as the Kremlin intensified its assault on cities throughout the country. [Reuters / Aleksandar Vasovic]
• Missiles rained down on the central square in Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, on Tuesday. In another attack, the main TV tower in the capital city of Kyiv was hit, killing at least five, according to Ukrainian authorities. Experts worry the escalation could mean Russia is changing to more indiscriminate, deadly tactics. [AP]
• According to the UN, more than 600,000 Ukrainians have fled the Russian invasion so far, with the majority heading west to Poland. The European Union estimates 4 million people could try leaving the country. [BBC]
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky discussed Russia’s attacks on civilian areas and “continued backing for Ukraine as it defends itself against Russian aggression” during a phone call with President Biden on Tuesday. [White House]
• Meanwhile, satellite images taken on Sunday and Monday show a 40-mile convoy of Russian tanks heading toward Kyiv, raising fears of a siege or full assault. British Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab said Tuesday the UK would do “everything it can” to prevent the fall of the city. [CNBC / Holly Ellyatt]

An enormous cargo ship that caught fire last month while carrying 4,000 luxury cars — including Porsches and Bentleys — sank off the Portuguese Azores archipelago on Tuesday. [NYT /Azi Paybarah and Maria Cramer]

• New Orleans will celebrate its first full-dress Mardi Gras since 2020 with parades across the city and masks only required indoors. [AP / Rebecca Santana and Janet McConnaughey]
• A US delegation has arrived in Taiwan to show support after the country increased its alert level over fears China could attack while the West is occupied with Ukraine. [Reuters / Ben Blanchard and Yew Lun Tian]
• In a nearly unanimous vote, the US House of Representatives passed an anti-lynching bill on Monday. Just three Republicans, Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Chip Roy of Texas, and Andrew Clyde of Georgia voted against the legislation. [Business Insider / Bryan Metzger]

“He’s going to make clear that one of the best ways to lower costs over the long run is to increase the productive capacity of our economy, to make more things in America, with more American workers contributing and earning a good living.”

[White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Biden’s State of the Union address]

It depends a lot on where they get their news. [Spotify]

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