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Biden addresses the nation

Abbey Monsour ,  Julius Lasin   | Paste BN

President Joe Biden delivered his first State of the Union address. Russia's massive convoy of tanks and vehicles appears to stall. And the invasion of Ukraine is bringing a unity to Europe that hasn't been seen in decades.

👋 It's Abbey and Julius with the news you need to know Thursday. 

But first, several cute friends! 🐱🐶 Brighten up your day by checking out these pictures of adorable dogs and cats. 

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President Biden delivers first State of the Union address

President Joe Biden delivered his first State of the Union address to a nation eager to move on from the deadly coronavirus pandemic but worrying over inflation and conflict with Russia. The president kicked off his speech strongly condemning Russia for its "unprovoked" invasion of Ukraine, including closing off U.S. airspace to Russian planes. Biden asked Republicans to stop using the COVID pandemic as a "partisan dividing line" – and to lower the temperature on a whole host of important issues, calling for bringing COVID-19-related shutdowns of schools and businesses to an end as the country moves into a new phase of living with the pandemic. Read the latest updates here.

  • Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, who took office in 2017 as the first female governor of Iowa, delivered the GOP rebuttal to the State of the Union. During the pandemic, she made a name for herself by bucking the policies Biden’s administration has championed, while her state has maintained a death rate slightly below the national average.
  • Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib, the first Muslim woman to serve in the Michigan Legislature, spoke on behalf of the independent Working Families Party. The Working Families Party is a left-leaning political party independent of the main parties. The party has supported challengers to incumbent Democrats and has endorsed Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass, and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. 

Russia's 40-mile convoy slows; 11 people killed in rocket strike in Ukraine

A 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 pounded by Russian shells. The Russian military advance drew 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. Although Ukrainian resistance has helped stymie the advance, it is possible Russia is pausing to regroup and reassess, according to the official.

In Kharkiv, at least 11 people were killed and 35 wounded in a rocket strike, Interior Ministry adviser Anton Herashchenko said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he believes Russian shelling of civilian areas is an attempt to pressure Ukraine to make concessions. No deal can be reached “when one side is hitting another with rocket artillery,” he said.

What everyone's talking about

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Russian invasion of Ukraine builds unexpected European unity vs. Putin

In a matter of days, Russian President Vladimir Putin has changed a lot of people's minds – against himself and Russia. Germany shattered decades of pacifism. Sweden and Switzerland abandoned their notions of neutrality by acting in concert to punish Putin for his invasion of Ukraine. The result is an aggressive Western European unity not seen since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Though U.S. and EU officials applaud such solidarity in the face of Russian aggression, a more muscular and unified Europe brings risks of expanded violence – including nuclear threats from Putin as he is cut off from the global economy. 

How New England caught the COVID-19 deaths much of the country missed

Experts suggest COVID-19 deaths in the USA have been undercounted by more than 100,000. An analysis shows how New England emerged as a positive anomaly in reporting accuracy, catching many of the deaths other states missed. Across the region, excess deaths during the pandemic are almost completely accounted for by official COVID-19 deaths, according to our analysis of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention mortality data and expected death models developed by demographers at Boston University. In other parts of the country, these deaths were missed or certified incorrectly as other causes. The difference between New England and many other parts of the country is that spikes in deaths during the pandemic align with COVID-19 death totals. 

Real quick

Happy Fastnacht Day! What to know about the doughnut-eating day

March 1 marks Mardi Gras, National Pancake Day and in Pennsylvania, it's also Fastnacht Day or Fat Tuesday. The tradition of making these often doughy delights on what's also known as Shrove Tuesday began with the need to use up all the sugar, butter, lard and sometimes mashed potatoes in the house before the start of Lent. The result: an often yeast-raised potato pastry that is deep-fried like a doughnut. In many cultures worldwide, this holiday became a day to overindulge. Case in point: In Iceland, they refer to it as "Bursting Day."

A break from the news 

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