State of the Union:Â In his State of the Union address last night, President Biden emphasized a bipartisan theme, calling on Republicans to work with him and raise the debt ceiling, eliminate loopholes in the tax code that favor the rich and provide increased training to police. He was heckled by a few right-wing extremist Republicans, led by Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. When Biden pointed out that some Republicans have called for cutting Social Security and Medicare, Taylor Green shouted that Biden was was a liar. Biden told her to look up the facts. He them maneuvered the Republicans into joining with the Democrats in standing up and applauding in a pledge to never cut Social Security and Medicare. Biden called upon Congress to finish the jobs it had started in areas such as cutting heath care costs and expanding educational opportunities and put back a ban on assault rifles that at one time had been in place. Biden pledged to veto any nationwide ban on abortion that might be passed by Congress.
Romney-Santos encounter:Â Republican Sen. Mitt Romney and Republican Rep. George Santos had a run-in on the floor of the House before the State of the Union address began. Santos was standing next to the center aisle trying to position himself so he could shake Biden’s hand and get in the picture when the president walked in. Romney told Santos he had no businesses being there and, in fact, shouldn’t even be in Congress.
Earthquake victims:Â The death toll in the earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria has climbed past 11,000. Turkish dictator Erdogan visited an encampment of people made homeless by the earthquake and pledged that his government would give each family about $530 dollars in aid. Two search teams from the U.S. have joined the ongoing effort to pull survivors from the rubble of the thousands of buildings that collapsed.
Zelenskyy in London:Â Ukrainian President Zelenskyy went to London today to meet with British leaders. Zelenskyy is pushing for more aid against the Russians. Britain agreed to train Ukrainian pilots on flying jet planes used by the NATO allies. Ukraine is hoping to get some of the fighter jets.
CVS deal:Â CVS Health will acquire Oak Street Health in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $10.6 billion. Oak Street Health employs approximately 600 primary care providers and has 169 medical centers across 21 states.
Balloon was part of spy program:Â U.S. intelligence sources say the Chinese spy balloon that was shot down was being used in a program that has sent spy balloons over five continents. FBI investigators in Quantico, Virginia, are examining remnants of the balloon and the equipment that was on board that were recovered by the Navy from the ocean after the Chinese balloon was shot down by the U.S. military.
Cover photo by Mike Mozart / Flickr Creative Commons
