Gun laws in the US: Why Congress won't act on legislation anytime ...

Washington (CNN) Tuesday's shooting at a Texas elementary school, which has left at least 19 children and two adults dead , marked another instance of a uniquely American tragedy.

The shooting is the latest entry in the long history of gun violence in the United States. Before Tuesday, there had been at least 39 shootings in K-12 schools, colleges and universities in 2022, resulting in at least 10 deaths and 51 injuries.

While proposals to overhaul gun laws -- such a ban on assault-style weapons or high-capacity magazines -- face steep odds at the federal level, there are some areas of bipartisan agreement. Whether that's enough to break congressional gridlock is yet to be seen.

Here's what to know about what is being considered in Congress and where it stands.

Closing loopholes

A House-passed bill, HR 1446 , backed by Democratic Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, would close what's known as the "Charleston loophole," which allows some licensed gun sales to go through before a required background check is done.

Specifically, the legislation would increase the amount of time, from three business days to a minimum of 10 business days, that a federal firearms licensee must wait to receive a completed background check prior to transferring a firearm to an unlicensed person.

Using that loophole, a White gunman was able to legally purchase a firearm to kill nine people at a historically Black church in Charleston, South Carolina, in 2015.

Senate Democrats took steps Tuesday night to place the bill, called the Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2021 , onto the legislative calendar so it can be voted on.

It's unclear when the Senate will vote on the measure, but it needs 60 votes in the chamber to overcome a filibuster, and it's clear the legislation does not have that support (at least not right now) -- nor does it have full Democratic backing to gut the Senate rule altogether.

It's unclear when Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer will try to force a procedural vote to break a filibuster. Unless there's an agreement from all 100 senators, the earliest he could set up the procedural vote would be Saturday, according to a Democratic aide.

But senators were expected to leave for next week's Memorial Day recess on Thursday afternoon. So they may wait until after the recess to take that procedural vote, even though leaving town amid the Texas tragedy would be bad optics.

The aide said Schumer has not indicated when he may try to force the vote yet.

Still, Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, who has pushed for gun safety legislation since the Sandy Hook shooting in his state nearly 10 years ago, told reporters Tuesday there should be a vote even if it is doomed to fail.

"I think we need to hold every member of Congress accountable and vote so that the public knows where every one of us stand," he said. Asked about the potential for bipartisan agreement, he added, "I think there may well be areas of agreement. I have come close to agreement with a number of my colleagues on a red flag statute."

'Red flag' legislation

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said Wednesday he'll put a gun safety bill known as the Federal Extreme Risk Protection Order Act to a vote in the House during the first week of June.

"Congress must do more to #EndGunViolence. During the first week of the June work period, I will bring @RepLucyMcBath's bill to the Floor to establish a national 'Red Flag' law to prevent those who pose a threat to themselves or others from being able to legally possess a firearm," he tweeted

The legislation, which is sponsored by Democratic Rep. Lucy McBath of Georgia, who lost her son to a shooting a decade ago, would "allow family members and law enforcement to obtain an extreme risk protection order to temporarily remove access to firearms for those who are deemed a danger to themselves or to others by a federal court."

Red flag laws tend to be supported by those favoring more gun safety measures, arguing that the policies can prohibit mass shootings from happening in the first place.

But critics say they infringe on due process by letting a judge make an initial decision -- even if temporary -- without hearing from the accused, and by allowing the judge to curtail someone's Second Amendment right to bear arms without the respondent ever having been convicted of a crime or been adjudged mentally ill.

While the legislation will likely find support in the House, it would face steep odds in the Senate.

Even bills with bipartisan support can't pass the Senate

Another bill, HR 8 , the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2021, would expand background checks for all firearm sales or transfers in the country. Currently, background checks are not required for gun sales and transfers by unlicensed and private sellers.

The legislation has bipartisan support, passing the House last year in a 227-203 vote. Eight Republicans supported the bill and one Democrat voted against it.

Asked Tuesday about this broader House-passed background checks measure , Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia referenced his own, narrower effort in the Senate, saying, "If you can't pass Manchin-Toomey, how are you going to get enough votes for anything?"

In 2013, Manchin and Republican Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania pushed a compromise bill that would have required background checks on all commercial sales of guns (including private sales at gun shows and all internet sales), but would have allowed for individuals to sell their firearms to family, friends and other acquaintances without background checks.

This failed under Senate filibuster rules, even though it had majority support. The vote was 54-46, with four Republicans joining most Democrats in support. Then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid cast a "no" vote to secure the ability to bring the measure up again. Four other Democrats voted against the bill.

Manchin has continued to push versions of that legislation in more recent years.

Republicans will argue that background checks chip away at gun rights and, ultimately, will take away guns. "You see Democrats and a lot of folks in the media whose immediate solution is to try to restrict the constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens," Sen. Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, told reporters Tuesday

The GOP will also argue that the bills would not stop every shooting. This is true. The specifics of each shooting are different. We still don't know if any of this legislation would have stopped Tuesday's shooter, identified by Texas officials as Salvador Ramos.

For now, every state has variations on the rules . Most action on gun regulation is happening at the state level because Washington is frozen on the issue, as it is on so many others.

The filibuster, again

Democrats argue that this intransigence means Senate rules must change. There are a lot of subjects on which Republicans will block Democrats -- limiting gun rights, expanding voting rights, addressing climate change, rolling back tax cuts and more. Calls to end the filibuster will continue to grow.

Until every Democrat agrees, it's not possible to end the filibuster. Manchin supports gun control measures like the one he sponsored. But he's more committed to maintaining Senate rules, which currently require 60 votes to move forward on legislation.

"The filibuster is the only thing that prevents us from total insanity," Manchin said Tuesday.

Other Democrats, such as Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, also support maintaining the filibuster. It would require a simple majority to create a new precedent under Senate rules.

Notably, after Sinema tweeted that she was "horrified and heartbroken" by Tuesday's shooting, Rep. Ruben Gallego, a likely primary challenger in 2024, criticized her for supporting the filibuster. "Please just stop.. unless you are willing to break the filibuster to actually pass sensible gun control measures you might as well just say 'thoughts and prayers,'" he tweeted

But for now, either Democrats must all agree to end the filibuster or Republicans must begin to support gun control measures in larger numbers. Until then, there will be no new federal gun laws.

Biden calls for lawmakers to have a backbone

President Joe Biden addressed the shooting in emotional remarks from the White House Tuesday evening, saying, "I had hoped when I became President, I would not have to do this again."

Turning to the issue of gun control legislation, Biden implored lawmakers to "turn this pain into action" as he ticked through some of the mass shootings since the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook, when he was vice president.

"Why do we keep letting this happen? Where in God's name is our backbone to have the courage to deal with and stand up to the lobbies?" he said.

"Our hearts keep getting broken. ... Every time a tragedy like this happens, our hearts break and our broken hearts are nothing compared to the broken hearts of those families. And, yet, it keeps happening," she said.

Still, familiar political postures emerged throughout the day.

GOP Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina warned Democrats against having a "reflexive reaction," saying he is confident in the coming days it will be learned that there were "signs" the 18-year-old shooter was "at risk."

"It's horrible. And you know what we need to avoid is the reflexive reaction we have to say this could all be solved by not having guns in anyone's hands. We can always talk about reasonable measures, but we also have to talk about better situational awareness," Tillis told CNN.

This story has been updated with additional information Wednesday.

Voter photo ID bill passes legislature, head to Gov. Andy Beshear

An amended bill requiring voters to present photo identification to vote is heading to the governor's desk for his signature or veto.

Kentucky voters are currently required to present identification to vote unless they are recognized by a poll worker, but Senate Bill 2, passed by both chambers of the legislature, would require government-issued identification with the voter's photograph.

The bill's Republican backers say the measure is needed to prevent in-person voter fraud and ensure public confidence in elections, though Democratic opponents countered it would create an unnecessary barrier to voting, noting there have been zero confirmed incidents of voter impersonation in Kentucky.

Both chambers passed different versions of the bill earlier in the session by a nearly party-line vote, with a conference committee creating a new version of the bill Thursday before the House and Senate passed it that evening.

A copy of the amended bill passed by both chambers had not been publicly posted by Thursday evening.

If Gov. Andy Beshear signs the bill into law, voters would be required to have a photo ID by this November's general election.

Looking back:Amended Kentucky bill to require photo voter ID would go into effect this year

Beshear previously said he would not support any bill that makes it more difficult for Kentuckians to vote but was waiting to see what version of the bill passed. Even if he vetoes the bill, it likely would be overridden by the Republican-dominated General Assembly.

Noting that Kentucky's primary election already has been pushed back to June over concerns about the coronavirus, the ACLU of Kentucky issued a statement condemning the passage of SB 2 as further endangering the same populations most vulnerable to the pandemic.

"Thousands of people who do not meet the newly mandated identification requirements will have to choose between exposing themselves to COVID-19 to obtain identification, or being forced to sit on the sidelines on Election Day," stated Corey Shapiro, the legal director for ACLU-KY.

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Also:Beshear rips into Senate budget proposal as Kentucky lawmakers hit pause on session

"It is unconscionable for politicians to move this legislation at a time when Kentuckians are not allowed in the Capitol and are losing their jobs, their small businesses, access to childcare and more."

The ACLU of Kentucky previously indicated it may file a lawsuit to block the enforcement of the law unless it delayed implementation until after this year's general election.

Reach reporter Joe Sonka at jsonka@courierjournal.com or 502-582-4472 and follow him on Twitter at @joesonka. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courierjournal.com/subscribe.

JCPS tax increase likely on November ballot after Louisville petition

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A petition to put a tax increase for local schools on the November ballot has enough valid signatures to force a vote, officials said Monday.

Jefferson County Clerk Bobbie Holsclaw said her office confirmed the petition received 38,507 valid signatures, nearly 3,000 more than needed to place it on the ballot.

Even with sufficient signatures, the effort's future is not yet certain. Jefferson County Public Schools has 10 days to appeal.

"We will be reviewing their findings," JCPS spokeswoman Renee Murphy said.

A group of teachers and community members that has been calling petition signees to verify signatures are finding several petitioners who say they didn't sign the petition and want their names removed.

Emilie McKiernan Blanton, a JCPS teacher and leader in the local teachers union, estimated that about one-fifth of people who have been reached by phone have asked for their signatures to be withdrawn.

The effort is not officially tied to the union, she said. Murphy said the district did not organize the coalition, either, but was aware of the effort.

Top headlines:Beshear recommends virtual learning for schools until Sept. 28

Theresa Camoriano, an Anchorage resident and Louisville Tea Party leader who spearheaded the petition, said several people who signed the petition have reported receiving calls asking them to confirm their signatures.

Camoriano did not provide further details regarding the phone calls she said began last week.

"There is no legitimate reason for teachers to be making these calls. We are telling people that they have no obligation to answer any questions these people may ask," Camoriano said.

But Blanton said the petition had "no safeguards to assure that no one else entered your name without your knowledge and consent."

The only way to confirm signatures is to call and ask, she said.

The months leading to the November election are guaranteed to feature a public battle between those in favor of the tax increase and those against it. JCPS already signed a $575,000 contract with a Danville-based public relations firm to pitch the increase to voters.

The petition against the tax increase was created in May, soon after JCPS board members, in a 5-2 vote, approved a 7-cent property tax increase. The hike represents roughly an extra $70 a year for a $100,000 home.

Under state law, Kentucky school boards can raise property taxes enough to boost revenue by 4% without being subject to a recall. The JCPS proposal would raise district revenue past that cap.

JCPS board approves tax increase:Here's what leaders say it would fund

The group behind the petition, dubbed "No JCPS Tax Hike," said in July that it had turned in 40,320 signatures.

But a review of the more than 1,100-page petition, obtained by The Courier Journal under the state's open records law, showed that staff from the county clerk's office were discarding up to a dozen signatures per page.

A review of the petition signatures turned up the names of several current and past Republican lawmakers, including ex-state Rep. Phil Moffett and current state House members Kevin Bratcher and Jerry Miller.

Bratcher told The Courier Journal that he has "a great deal of respect" for JCPS Superintendent Marty Pollio but that asking for a tax hike during a pandemic that has caused widespread unemployment was "tone deaf."

"I just think it's a horrible time to be trying to raise taxes," Bratcher said.

Rhonda Palazzo, a Republican who is vying to unseat U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth in November's election, also confirmed that she signed the petition.

At least one JCPS board member — Linda Duncan — signed as well. Duncan, along with Chris Brady, voted against the tax increase in May, citing the economic impact of COVID-19.

As a result of the COVID-19 crisis, JCPS estimates it will lose about $23 million locally from a drop in occupational tax revenue.

But Pollio and other district leaders said helping children during the pandemic and economic downturn was necessary now more than ever.

"I know it's a difficult time, and I know this is a challenge," Pollio said in May. "But I don't believe our district can wait."

Pollio:JCPS has completed its corrective action goals to potentially avoid takeover

The current JCPS property tax rate, 73.6 cents for $100 of assessed value, is among the lowest in the area.

An increase to 80.6 cents would bring it closer to peer districts, including Fayette County Public Schools, that serve large groups of disadvantaged students living in poverty.

JCPS officials have said the new revenue would largely go to building and renovating schools, and to providing more supports for the district's most disadvantaged students.

The district has also pointed to its proposal for a new student assignment model that would allow West End students to go to a school closer to home.

To make that possible, JCPS said it would need millions to both build new schools in the West End and provide resources for the students who attend them.

Camoriano and other tax hike opponents argued that JCPS should better manage its existing funds and not raise taxes during a pandemic.

JCPS, the state's largest school district, has a roughly $1.65 billion budget.

In the petition period, libertarian advocacy groups, including the Bluegrass Institute and Americans for Prosperity, supported the effort.

Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams, who lives in Jefferson County, also encouraged voters to sign the petition.

"Democracy wins again," Adams tweeted from his personal account after news broke that the petition received enough signatures.

Support for the petition even came from one of the most vocal pro-public school groups, Dear JCPS, which said the district needs more time to figure out budget priorities in the wake of the pandemic and racial justice protests.

The group turned in 32 signatures that weren't counted because they didn't come from the official petition committee tied to the No JCPS Tax Hike group, the county clerk said.

See also:Here's how JCPS families can request a Chromebook and Wi-Fi hot spot

Reach Billy Kobin at bkobin@courierjournal.com. Reach Olivia Krauth at okrauth@courierjournal.com, 502-582-4471 or on Twitter at @oliviakrauth.

Breonna Taylor protests: NFAC plans to hold armed march in ...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A Black militia is planning to hold an armed march in Louisville on Saturday to demand justice for Breonna Taylor, according to a video from the leader of the group.

John Fitzgerald "Jay" Johnson, the self-proclaimed grand master and founder of the NFAC, which stands for the Not F***ing Around Coalition, said in a video posted on Sunday that those wishing to march must come in a specific uniform: black boots, black pants, black button-down shirt and black mask. He added that members must come with several types of guns.

"Understand the seriousness of this situation," said Johnson, who goes by the name The Real Grandmaster Jay. "Breonna Taylor was murdered in her home. ... We gotta go in on this one."

FLASH SALE:Click here to get unlimited digital access at $39 for one year. Offer limited to new subscribers.

In a video published Monday, Johnson said that the group will meet at noon Saturday at Central High School, 1130 W. Chestnut St. But on Tuesday afternoon, Louisville Metro Police spokeswoman Jessie Halladay said the NFAC will change locations so that it is not on school property.

Unlawful possession of a weapon on school property is a felony in Kentucky. Halladay said she did not have any additional information to share about the rally location.

Johnson met electronically with Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron and Louisville Metro Council President David James on Monday, according to James, who added that he organized the meeting.

Cameron is investigating the killing of Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman who was unarmed in her South End apartment when Louisville police fatally shot her March 13. Cameron spokeswoman Elizabeth Kuhn confirmed the phone call took place.

"The conversation was productive," Kuhn wrote in an email. "Attorney General Cameron discussed his continued commitment to moving forward with our office’s independent and thorough investigation into the death of Ms. Taylor."

The militia made waves July 4 when roughly 1,000 members of the group marched in Stone Mountain, Georgia, where there is a mountainside carving of three Confederate leaders: Robert E. Lee, Jefferson Davis and Stonewall Jackson. Authorities said the event was peaceful, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, but the group's presence caused a stir on social media.

Protesters have taken to the streets of Louisville for 55 days to demand justice for Taylor, who was shot as police served a "no-knock" search warrant as a part of a narcotics investigation. No drugs were found in the apartment.

Court records show that police obtained a warrant with a no-knock provision for Taylor's apartment signed by Circuit Judge Mary Shaw. Even so, officials have said that plainclothes officers knocked and announced their presence before breaking in Taylor’s door with a battering ram.

Taylor's boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, who was also in the apartment, fired one shot in response, hitting Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly in the thigh. Mattingly and Officers Brett Hankison and Myles Cosgrove returned fire, striking Taylor five times.

She died in her hallway.

FACT CHECK: Debunking 7 widely shared rumors in the Breonna Taylor police shooting

More:Breonna Taylor was briefly alive after police shot her. But no one tried to treat her

Like many of the protesters, Johnson, the leader of the NFAC, is demanding that the three officers involved in the shooting be fired by Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer and criminally charged by Cameron. One of the officers in the shooting, Hankison, was fired last month and is in the process of appealing the termination.

In a call last week organized by local activist Lebron Seay, Johnson told David James, D-6th District, and Louisville Chief of Community Building Vincent James that 5,000 to 6,000 people from his group will hold an armed march in Louisville if there is not progress made in Taylor's case.

"I would be so remiss not to tell you that there are a lot of people nationwide that are ready to descend on your city to extract justice if you cannot give us some type of guarantee that something is coming soon," Johnson said.

David James said during the call that the investigation has taken so long due to Fischer's "piss-poor leadership," as the city did not turn over the police's investigative to Attorney General Cameron until a few weeks ago.

In an interview with The Courier Journal, David James said he had not spoken with Johnson before and joined the call to "help answer any questions" and to make sure Johnson "was aware of whatever the facts were."

David James also said that the "lack of transparency" of Fischer's administration has led to a distortion of facts and that he was asked to join the call after the Louisville mayor refused to do so.

Jean Porter, a spokeswoman for Fischer, told The Courier Journal on Tuesday that the mayor was not invited to the call with Johnson.

Opinion:Kentucky AG Daniel Cameron can't submit to outside pressure in Taylor case

David James said he is "not a big fan of people carrying weapons while they're protesting or marching through the city, no matter who they are." However, he added that the group consists of "law-abiding citizens following the rules and laws of the state of Kentucky" and that they have the right to protest.

The Metro Council president added that he is more worried about people reacting to the NFAC and that there may "be one person that does one stupid thing, and then we have a problem."

Louisville Metro Police spokesman Dwight Mitchell said the department is aware of Johnson's video announcing the NFAC's intentions to come to Louisville and the department has attempted to reach out to the group's organizers "to understand what their plans are."

"We have had several protests posted over the past several weeks, some of which have occurred and some which have not," Mitchell said. "We will take the appropriate steps to prepare for whatever may occur."

Mitchell declined to comment further on whether the department has successfully reached Johnson and what steps the department is taking to ensure the march is safe.

According to Porter, Louisville police have been in contact with Johnson about tentative plans for the march and "their shared goal for a peaceful event."

When asked during a Tuesday press briefing if the state would send police to the armed march in Louisville, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said his administration has not received a request to get involved.

"Any time a request comes in, we'll have to look at the danger that's out there for life and safety of folks," Behsear said. "But at the time, we have not received any official request for assistance."

Contact Ben Tobin at bjtobin@gannett.com and 502-377-5675 or follow on Twitter @TobinBen. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: subscribe.courier-journal.com.

Mitch McConnell wants to end beefed-up unemployment benefits

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell is being accused by Democrats at home and across the country of turning his back on Kentucky at a critical time after he reportedly vowed to put a stop to enhanced unemployment benefits.

McConnell made clear during a conference call with House GOP members on Wednesday how the $600 weekly boost — which was provided to help those who lost their jobs because of the coronavirus — "will not be in the next bill" out of Washington.

A source familiar with the conversation on Thursday told The Courier Journal that McConnell said the Senate was, "going to have to clean up the Democrats' crazy policy that is paying people more to remain unemployed than they would earn if they went back to work."

This statement comes as 47,000 Kentuckians filed initial unemployment claims as of May 16, and more than 246,000 Kentuckians are asking for continued assistance as parts of the state economy begin to reopen.

Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden, the ranking Democrat on the finance committee, told The Courier-Journal in an interview Thursday the numbers he's seen show COVID-19 has hit Kentucky with a "wrecking ball" economically.

"Mitch McConnell's comments indicate he either doesn't care or doesn't understand that unemployment insurance doesn't just protect families who've had misfortune, it's a lifeline for communities," he said.

Wyden said those benefits are more than just wage replacement but also inject demand into the market as a way to stabilize the economy. He is pushing for a bill that would link unemployment benefits to economic conditions and continue the extra $600 until a state's unemployment rate falls below 11%.

Read more:Coronavirus pandemic pushes Mitch McConnell and other Senate candidates to change tactics

Kentucky has seen nearly 800,000 people apply for unemployment benefits since mid-March, when the coronavirus first put a choke hold on the U.S. economy. Since then, the state's jobless rate has surged to a little more than 15% in April.

The Kentucky Democratic Party also pounced on McConnell's hardening position in the context of those statistics, saying it comes as the GOP leader is holding up additional financial aid for states and local governments withstanding massive budget deficits because of the contagion.

“This is what happens when you surround yourself with expensive D.C. consultants who don’t care about Kentucky," Democratic Party spokeswoman Marisa McNee said.

"First, Mitch wanted to let states go bankrupt, leading to layoffs for first responders and public health officials," she added. "Now, he wants to cut unemployment benefits for Kentuckians who are out of work through no fault of their own. Kentucky deserves better.”

Related:More than 40,000 people filed for unemployment last week in Kentucky

McConnell said during a Thursday interview with Fox News that continuing unemployment insurance is important amid the coronavirus crisis but emphasized the extra $600 benefits will end in July.

"We think that in order to create jobs, we need to incentivize people to go back to work, not encourage them to stay home," he said.

Unemployment insurance typically covers up to 45% of lost wages, but Congress took an extraordinary and bipartisan step with the CARES Act to provide 100% of lost wages for many Americans.

The thinking at the time was this was needed in order to keep people safe from the coronavirus while also stabilizing the economy, but McConnell's comments indicate how conservatives are beginning to thaw on the idea.

McConnell's office pointed to an ABC News story on Thursday about how some employers are having a hard time competing with the boosted benefits.

In it, ABC draws attention to a study showing roughly 40% of workers made less in their jobs than they would on the new unemployment, according to national data gathered by Noah Williams at the Center for Research On the Wisconsin Economy.

McConnell has reportedly told President Donald Trump any new legislation must create incentives for people to get back to work. He said previously he wants see how the previous COVID-19 relief bills, which total about $3 trillion, play out before the Senate moves on any new proposals.

Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, said earlier this week how his administration believes it has enough money in its Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund to last through the spring and at least part of the summer.

Kentucky took out a $972 million loan to cover unemployment benefits when it zeroed out its trust fund during the Great Recession of 2008-09. The state finished repaying the federal government in 2015.

But with nearly two in five Kentucky workers out of a job, the governor said he expects the state will have to take out a loan unless the federal government provides more direct assistance.

Asked Thursday if he's worried that unemployment benefits outpacing private sector wages will dampen the reopening, Beshear said he thinks plenty of people are ready to get back to work.

"I'm not for cutting the benefits they are getting at this time," he said.

McConnell has conceded, according to other reports about Wednesday's conference call, how further aid may be necessary in the coming weeks but that it must be more short-term relief.

House Democrats passed the HEROES Act last week with a $3 trillion price tag, but McConnell reportedly told the GOP House members the bill will have to go through serious changes in the Republican-controlled Senate before being considered.

Reach Phillip M. Bailey at pbailey@courier-journal.com or 502-582-4475. Follow him on Twitter at @phillipmbailey.

Breonna Taylor protest: Kentucky High School Teacher of the Year ...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The 2020 Kentucky High School Teacher of the Year was arrested this weekend protesting the death of Breonna Taylor in downtown Louisville.

Matt Kaufmann, who teaches in Jefferson County Public Schools, was booked Sunday night on an unspecified misdemeanor charge, according to the Department of Corrections booking log.

An arrest citation was not immediately available.

"(Kaufmann) was arrested this evening for protesting and standing up for #BreonnaTaylor and for Black Lives in Louisville," local activist Hannah Drake wrote on Facebook.

"No way he was not peaceful," she said. "He is physically okay but a little roughed up."

More:Beshear announces investigation into LMPD, National Guard fatally shooting man on Broadway

Police arrested at least 40 people during Sunday's protests demanding justice after the police shooting that left 26-year-old Taylor, an unarmed black woman, dead in March.

"JCPS supports the right of our employees to peacefully protest," Renee Murphy, a spokeswoman for JCPS, said.

Kaufmann was named Kentucky's top high school teacher last spring for his work teaching English at Marion C. Moore High School.

"Matt exemplifies inclusivity," his then principal, Rob Fulk, said at the time. "I have witnessed firsthand the exceptional environment he creates among his students, one that promotes a strong sense of social justice, togetherness, and uniqueness."

An outspoken advocate for public education, Kaufmann also ran for state Senate in 2018. He lost in the primary.

This story may be updated.

Reach Olivia Krauth at okrauth@courierjournal.com or 502-582-4471, and on Twitter at @oliviakrauth. Support strong local journalism by subscribing: courier-journal.com/subscribe.

Guns, marijuana and more: Delaware legislators have a full slate

Gun control and school safety bills.

Two proposed amendments to the state constitution.

A complete overhaul of Delaware's criminal code. A slew of election reforms. A minimum wage hike and the creation of a legal marijuana industry.

Those are just a few of the hotly contested measures lawmakers are expected to tackle in the remaining weeks of the 149th General Assembly.

But with only 13 work days left, it is unlikely every bill still on the table will get a final vote.

That means the race is on to see who can get their measure through both the Senate and the House before the final gavel strikes during the early morning hours on July 1.

"It always happens around this time and this year is no different," said House Speaker Pete Schwartzkopf, D-Rehoboth Beach. "And, yes, there is always a chance some of these bills might not get a vote."

The good news is Delaware has a $430 million surplus this year. That means lawmakers are less likely to use what little time is left battling over spending cuts and tax hikes — the same brinksmanship that pushed last year's legislative calendar past June 30 for the first time in decades.

The expectation is that will open up room for debate over many of the bills left on the agenda.

Much of that legislation is currently awaiting action in the Senate, where Democrats' one-vote majority has contributed to what some view as a legislative bottleneck.

Senate President David McBride, D-Hawk's Nest, does not see it that way.

"I think we're working right along," he said. "I don't see why we can't get most of these bills done. The agendas might get longer and ladies and gentlemen might have to stay longer. But in my mind, this is not unusual."

The stakes are high for lawmakers to clear the final hurdle. Any bills that do not reach Gov. John Carney before the final gavel strikes will need to start the legislative process all over again next year.

Regardless of whether they pass or fail, several of the bills will end up driving public debate as the end of the legislative cycle gives way to the start of election season and finger-pointing over what lawmakers were able to accomplish.

A fierce gun battle

The dominant issue in the Delaware General Assembly this year unquestionably has been gun control.

In the wake of mass shootings at a Las Vegas concert and a Parkland, Florida high school, Democrats rolled out a string of proposals aimed at limiting the public's access to firearms, including an assault weapons ban sought by Gov. John Carney but intensely opposed by Second Amendment advocates.

Republicans have pushed measures that would fund or require more school security enhancements.

So far, neither side has gained much ground.

Legislation that would allow police to temporarily seize firearms from someone a mental health professional deems a danger to themselves and others won bipartisan support and was signed into law by the governor. A bill strengthening a rarely imposed sentence for straw purchases also cleared the General Assembly.

But the proposed assault weapons ban has languished in committee for months. It is unclear at this point whether it has the votes to reach the Senate floor. Even if it does, wavering by a few key senators means it might never reach the House.

The Senate also has yet to take final action on measures that would raise the legal age at which someone can buy a rifle, outlaw devices that allow semi-automatic weapons to fire at a faster rate, and increase the penalties for failing to adequately store firearms.

A bill to ban high-capacity magazines and another that would allow family members and police to recommend someone's firearms be seized temporarily are waiting to clear both chambers of the Legislature.

School safety bills have not fared any better.

Legislation that would require all 189 public and charter schools in Delaware to be outfitted with panic buttons has yet to be called up for a vote. Neither has a bill that would provide $50,000 grants to school districts for safety and security enhancements.

Sen. David Lawson, R-Marydel, last week unveiled a new proposal that would set aside $65 million of this year's surplus for school safety projects — funding that only could be unlocked by schools that agree to hire and arm at least two security guards.

That measure likely will be dead on arrival due to its massive cost and number of logistical issues that several lawmakers say it fails to consider.

DELAWARE GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Delaware lawmakers eye bonuses for state workers, other spending

Budget deficit, then surplus: Delaware should consider plan to stop the crises

A bill introduced by Rep. Earl Jaques, D-Glasgow, might have a better chance of success. It would require all future school construction and major renovation projects to include security features such as bulletproof glass, secured vestibules and lockable classroom doors. That legislation has passed the House and is awaiting a final vote in the Senate.

Big changes, big votes

There are at least three proposals the General Assembly could consider in June that would have major impacts on state government.

Two would amend the state constitution while the third would make sweeping changes to Delaware's criminal code.

Each would require a supermajority to pass. And one has yet to be introduced.

A panel of economists and elected officials formally unveiled a long-awaited proposal this month that seeks to rein in Delaware's sometimes boom-and-bust budget process by fundamentally changing how the state allocates its surpluses.

Their "budget smoothing" plan would limit annual spending growth to a floating cap based on certain economic factors. Any revenue beyond that would be split evenly between funding one-time projects and a reserve account that could be tapped to fill future budget gaps.

The panel also recommended a series of tax reforms aimed at moving Delaware toward more stable revenue sources, largely by eliminating itemized deductions and consolidating myriad senior citizen tax discounts into a single, means-tested tax break.

Gov. John Carney and Republican state Treasurer Ken Simpler say the plan would help fix the state's structural deficit issues.

But getting there would involve amending the state constitution — a process that requires a two-thirds vote in consecutive General Assemblies. A bill to get that process rolling has yet to be introduced, although that could happen soon.

Meanwhile, a proposed equal rights amendment that cleared the House in March is currently on life support in the Senate, where the measure failed, 11-9, earlier this month. The bill seeks to make men and women equal in the eyes of the law.

A procedural ploy by Sen. Margaret Rose Henry, D-Wilmington, means the bill could be called up for a revote. Legislators say they are working behind the scenes to address Republican concerns that the measure could have unintended consequences ranging from co-ed prisons to mandatory state funding for abortions.

It's unclear whether those efforts will convince three Republicans to switch their votes to provide the supermajority needed for passage.

Several efforts to pass ERA have failed since the 1980s. Supporters and opponents will likely find out next week if 2018 marks the latest defeat.

A multiyear effort to revise the rules that define crime and measure punishment in Delaware also is facing a steep climb.

Proponents of the reform effort argue the state's criminal code has become a bloated mess rife with redundancy, contradiction and inconsistency. They want to streamline the rules that cover more than 200 felonies and misdemeanors into a document that is clear and accessible to police, the courts and the public.

Retiring Attorney General Matt Denn has been steadfast in his opposition, however.

Senate Minority Whip Greg Lavelle, a key supporter of the effort, recently called for the General Assembly to hit the brakes on two bills — totaling 282 pages — that would enact the new version and amend other sections of the code. Each would require a two-thirds vote.

"I strongly believe that the Delaware General Assembly should wait to allow the Attorney General's office to fully review and comment on these final bills before we act on them," the Sharpley Republican said. "Rushing this bill through without careful scrutiny with just four weeks of session remaining would be a significant mistake."

Money bills left to tally

Just because the Joint Finance Committee is hashing out a tentative spending plan for next year does not mean the rest of the General Assembly will not get a say in how that money is spent.

While the budget-writing panel is penciling in some added expenses, several of the programs that proposal would fund have yet to be approved by the full Legislature.

That includes a bill to provide $20 million a year in tax relief to Delaware's three casinos. The deal cleared the Senate in April and awaits final action in the House where Schwartzkopf is in no hurry to bring it up for a vote.

The speaker has been outspoken in his opposition to that tax cut, saying he would prefer something far less costly to the state.

He also noted that a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that will bring full sports betting to Delaware could cause lawmakers to hesitate when it comes to granting a casino tax break.

"That's a game changer for that bill," he said. "I think there are some folks [in the Senate] who would like to have their vote back now that sports betting is legal."

Schwartzkopf, meanwhile, is championing a tax cut for first-time homebuyers that would excuse them from their half of a 1-percentage point increase in the state's real estate transfer tax that was imposed last year when the Legislature was facing a $400 million shortfall.

That measure was passed by the House and is awaiting action in the Senate.

Other tax bills on the table include competing legislation — one sponsored by Republicans and the other by Democrats — that both seek to impose a tax on prescription opioids. Proponents say the levy would force drug manufacturers and distributors to pay for addiction treatment in Delaware.

More than a dozen states have introduced similar bills but only New York has approved such a measure, leaving many unanswered questions that may not be settled in time for the local bill to pass this year.

Lawmakers are expected to give New Castle County and possibly a few municipalities the authority to impose a local lodging tax for the first time — measures vehemently opposed by the state hotel industry.

Then there are a few spending bills that would provide new benefits for state employees, who are also slated to get raises and bonuses next year.

Carney opened this year's legislative calendar by offering his full support to a bill introduced by Rep. Debra Heffernan, D-Bellefonte, that would grant workers employed by the state for at least a year 12 weeks of paid parental leave.

That bill has yet to be called up for a vote in the House. A fiscal note that put the price tag at $2.5 million a year is no longer attached to the legislation. And Rep. Ruth Briggs King, R-Georgetown, recently introduced an amendment that would cut the length of paid leave down to six weeks.

Carney also championed a bill that would create a student-loan forgiveness program for educators at high-needs schools and those who teach high-demand subject areas. The 250 educators accepted into the program would be eligible for loan repayments of up to $10,000 over five years.

That legislation has remained in the House Appropriations Committee for over a month.

Waiting in the wings

Legislation still pending before the General Assembly includes bills that could impact everything from the affordability of conception to the final days of life.

State Sen. Bryan Townsend, D-Newark, has introduced several health care-related bills this year, including a measure that would require Delaware insurers to cover a range of fertility care services, such as in vitro fertilization.

Supporters of the bill say the out-of-pocket costs for those treatments can be crippling, while opponents warn that requiring insurers to cover the procedures could raise premium costs for all residents. The measure unanimously passed the Senate in March and now awaits action in the House.

Rep. Paul Baumbach, D-Newark, has a highly-controversial bill focused on the other end of Delaware residents' life spectrum that would allow doctors to help terminally ill people end their own lives. Vehemently opposed by anti-abortion groups, the measure was introduced and moved out of committee in 2017 but has yet to come up for a vote on the House floor.

Sen. Robert Marshall, D-Wilmington, also is hoping to get a vote on his latest effort to increase the minimum wage in Delaware. A bill that would hike the state's base wage $2 over four years to $10.25 an hour in 2021 is awaiting a vote in the Senate, where similar legislation failed by a single vote in March.

Several Democrats, meanwhile, are hoping to advance a series of election reform bills in the final days of the legislative calendar.

They include a bill that would allow voters to register on Election Day, cast ballots in person up to 10 days before the election, open polls for school board elections two hours earlier and move statewide primaries to coincide with the presidential primary in April.

Meanwhile, Rep. Helene Keeley and Sen. Margaret Rose Henry, both Wilmington Democrats, are still holding out hope of advancing legislation that would make Delaware the ninth state to legalize recreational marijuana.

Legislation they introduced last year would allow people 21 and older to purchase up to an ounce of marijuana from dozens of stores authorized to sell the drug. The legislation also would authorize the creation of an entire marijuana industry, including cultivation facilities, testing companies and manufacturing businesses.

That bill failed to come up for a final vote in 2017, leading to the creation of a task force that released a lengthy report under rather inauspicious circumstances in March.

Since then, Keeley has been using the panel's recommendations to craft a new version of the bill that she plans to introduce next week.

But it also will require a two-thirds majority in both chambers to reach the governor's desk. Carney also has said repeatedly that he does not support the legislation at this time.

Dozens of other bills also are waiting in the wings with just a few weeks left in the legislative session, leaving many to wonder how much the General Assembly will be able to act on.

"We always get a lot of requests to move bills after the May break so I would say the volume is pretty normal right now," Schwartzkopf said. "But my hope is we might be able to finish up not too long after midnight on June 30."

McBride agreed the list of pending legislation is long but manageable.

"It's always a dance," he said of the final month. "But one thing is certain and that's that there will be a soft landing sometime in the early morning of July 1. My job now is to get us there."

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Contact reporter Scott Goss at (302) 324-2281, sgoss@delawareonline.com or on Twitter @ScottGossDel.

State of the Union: Biden slams Russia for 'unprovoked' invasion

President Joe Biden fulfilled a constitutional request when he delivered a State of the Union address – his first – to Congress on Tuesday.

The president kicked off his speech strongly condemning Russia for its "unprovoked" invasion of Ukraine, including closing off U.S. airspace to Russia planes.

Domestically, he hailed a new phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, urging Americans to see the virus, and not each other, as the enemy.

And he also addressed inflation, with price jumps hitting 40-year highs recently pressuring American families and making it harder to afford everything from rent to food to schooling.

Here's what else you need to know, along with some history on the speech.

Live updates:660K people have fled Ukraine as Russia resumes attacks on crowded cities

Historic moment:For first time in history, two women sat behind president at State of the Union

What does the progressive response to the State of the Union mean?

Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., called for student loan debt forgiveness and passage of the Build Back Better Act and voting rights legislation during her Working Families Party's response to President Joe Biden's first State of the Union address Tuesday.

"The majority of the Build Back Better agenda is stalled Mr. President. Our work is unfinished. We are ready to jumpstart our work again," Tlaib, a Democrat, said on behalf of the independent political party.

Tlaib also touted the passage of the bipartisan infrastructure bill during her address but said her fellow Democrats need to do more work.

– Mabinty Quarshie

Read the whole story here:What does the progressive response to President Biden's State of the Union address mean?

Republican rebuttal: GOP deploys campaign-style attacks on Biden's State of the Union speech

Republicans used President Joe Biden's State of the Union address to launch campaign-style attacks Tuesday on what many GOP members see as the congressional elections' top issue: Biden himself.

"Weakness on the world stage has a cost and the president's approach to foreign policy has consistently been too little too late," said Gov. Kim Reynolds, R-Iowa., in the Republican Party's formal response to the State of the Union.

Reynolds accused Biden of bringing the nation back to the late 1970s and early 1980s, a time when "runaway inflation was hammering families, a violent crime wave was crashing on our cities, and the Soviet army was trying to redraw the world map."

-- David Jackson

Read the whole story here:Republican rebuttal: GOP deploys campaign-style attacks on Biden's State of the Union speech

What Biden said about Ukraine, COVID, the economy in his first State of the Union: full transcript

President Joe Biden gave his first State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday. The roughly hour-long speech started a little after 9 p.m.

Biden spoke about several of his administration's domestic priorities such as voting rights, combatting rising inflation, the electrification of the transportation system to fight climate change and other challenges facing the nation.

He also addressed Russia's ongoing invasion into Ukraine.

Here's a transcript of Biden's speech.

More:What Biden said about Ukraine, COVID, the economy in his first State of the Union: full transcript

Analysis: Biden seeks his footing as his agenda and the landscape are transformed

Everything has changed.

For President Joe Biden, his State of the Union address Tuesday night was dominated by issues he had scarcely mentioned in his first speech to a joint session of Congress a year ago – issues of inflation at home and Russian aggression abroad, on which his presidency will now be judged.

Speaking at length and at times with emotion, the president described Moscow's invasion of Ukraine as a historic challenge to European stability and security that demanded a strong and united response. Even as Biden climbed to the dais in the House of Representatives, Kyiv was bracing for an all-out Russian assault that could lead to the occupation of the capital and the overthrow of the nation's democratically elected government.

Read the whole story here:A world of change: Biden seeks his footing as his agenda and the landscape are transformed

Who heckled Biden?

A notable moment in the State of the Union came when Biden talked about talked about the flag-draped coffins of fallen service members, including his son, Beau, who died in 2015 of brain cancer at age 46.

As Biden spoke about Beau, people inside the House chambers reported someone shouting, “You put them in there, 13 of them." After the comment was made, attendees in the chambers began to boo and groan at the comment, as Biden paused for a brief moment and continued his address.

Boebert later confirmed on Twitter she in fact made the comment, in reference to the 13 U.S. soldiers who were killed in a suicide bombing attack at Kabul's Hamid Karzai International Airport in August as the Taliban took over Afghanistan and Afghans attempted to flee the country.

--Jordan Mendoza

Biden touts Justice Breyer, Ketanji Brown Jackson

In one of the more touching moments of Biden’s remarks Tuesday, the president briefly recognized Associate Justice Stephen Breyer, who announced he will step down from the Supreme Court after nearly three decades.

Breyer, holding his hands over his heart and, at one point, his face, appeared to be embarrassed by the attention. Breyer, who will retire in June, approached Biden after the address and the two spoke for several minutes and shared a laugh.

“Thank you for your service,” Biden said to Breyer during the speech. “Thank you. Thank you.”

Biden nominated U.S. Circuit Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson for Breyer’s seat on Friday, and the Miami native, who has served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit since June, has started to meet with members of the Senate who will vote on her confirmation later spring.

The president described Jackson as a “consensus builder” but made no mention, as he has in other venues, of what makes Jackson a historic candidate: She would be the first Black woman ever to serve on the nation’s highest court.

At 51, Jackson could serve on the Supreme Court for decades. Democrats are seeking to confirm Jackson by early April.

-- John Fritze

Who is Joshua Davis? Here's more about the 13-year-old who stole the show at State of the Union

Of all the guests invited to President Joe Biden's first State of the Union address, one of the few mentioned was 13-year-old Joshua Davis. Davis, who is from Midlothian, Virginia, was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when he was just 11 months old, according to the White House.

At the age of four, Davis began advocating for the Virginia General Assembly to make "school safer for kids with Type 1 diabetes."

Earlier this month, the seventh-grader at Swift Creek Middle School introduced President Biden at an event on prescription drug costs at a community college in Virginia.

--Jordan Mendoza

Biden's report on the State of the Union: Strong

The president struck an optimistic tone in his concluding remarks, praising American values and calling the moment a "test of resolve and conscience, of history itself."

"It is in this moment that our character is formed. Our purpose is found. Our future is forged," he said. "We will meet this test."

Biden acknowledged while the country has faced a challenging period, he is "more optimistic about America today than I have been my whole life."

The president waited until the end of his speech, which lasted more than an hour, to deliver his report on the state of the union: "strong."

"Because you, the American people, are strong," he said as the crowd erupted in cheers. "We are stronger today than we were a year ago. And we will be stronger a year from now than we are today."

-- Courtney Subramanian

Biden says Americans can order more COVID tests from the government starting next week

Americans will be able to order more free coronavirus tests from the government starting next week, President Joe Biden announced during Tuesday's State of the Union address.

"Even if you already ordered free tests, tonight, I am announcing that you can order more from covidtests.gov starting next week," Biden said, adding the government has made hundreds of millions of tests available for free.

Americans were able to start ordering the free tests from the Covidtests.gov website on Jan. 18.

-- Kelly Tyko

Read the rest here:Biden says Americans can order more COVID tests from the government starting next week

Biden vows to address soldiers’ exposure to ‘burn pits’

Biden announced that his administration is expanding eligibility to veterans suffering from respiratory cancers and promised to examine the issue of troops’ exposure to “burn pits.”

Burn pits are used to incinerate jet fuel, medical materials and other wastes of war. Many soldiers who breathe smoke from them develop headaches, numbness, dizziness and even cancer, Biden said.

“I know,” he said. “One of those soldiers was my son Major Beau Biden.”

Beau Biden died in 2015 of brain cancer at age 46.

“We don’t know for sure if a burn pit was the cause of his brain cancer or the diseases of so many of our troops,” Biden said. “But I’m committed to finding out everything we can.”

-– Michael Collins

Biden: ‘Let's end cancer as we know it’

Biden highlighted his announcement last month to relaunch the Cancer Moonshot, an issue close to the president’s heart after his son, Beau, died of brain cancer.

“Let's end cancer as we know it,” he said.

Biden noted that the fight to end cancer is personal for him and First Lady Jill Biden, as well as Vice President Kamala Harris, whose mother died of colon cancer.

“So many of you lost someone you love: Husband wife, son, daughter, mom, dad,” Biden added.

-- Rebecca Morin

Lawmakers react in the chamber following speech

Following the speech, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., walked towards the front of the chamber to take a photo of Vice President Harris and Speaker Nancy Pelosi. "Most powerful ladies in the world," Gillibrand shouted as she took the picture.

Biden was swarmed by lawmakers as he exited the chamber. Rep. Adam Schiff shook his hand, and Biden placed his hand on Schiff's shoulder. Others took selfies and photos with the president in the background as he spoke to members on his way to the exit.

-- Dylan Wells

Making history:For first time, two women sat behind president at State of the Union

Biden slams social media for effects on children

Biden connected young people’s mental health to social media platforms, saying they must be held accountable for what he called a “national experiment” being conducted on children for profit.

Under the American Rescue Plan, the Biden administration funneled millions into schools to hire teachers and help students make up for lost learning during the coronavirus pandemic.

“Children were also struggling before the pandemic,” he said “Bullying, violence, trauma, and the harms of social media.”

“It’s time to strengthen privacy protections, ban targeted advertising to children, demand tech companies stop collecting personal data on our children,” he said.

Proposals mentioned by the president include strengthening privacy protections, banning targeted advertising to children and stopping the collection of personal data on children.

Biden also acknowledged Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen in the chamber and thanked her for her courage.

— Phillip M. Bailey, Chelsey Cox

Big tech:Did Facebook ignore warnings that Instagram is unhealthy for kids? States are investigating

Biden: We can secure the border and fix the immigration system

Biden renewed calls for immigration reform while also bolstering security at the U.S. southern border, remarks that drew chants of "build the wall," from Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo.

"And if we are to advance liberty and justice, we need to secure the border and fix the immigration system," Biden said. "We can do both."

The president said the U.S. implemented new technology to better detect drug smuggling, set up joint patrols with Mexico and Guatemala to catch human traffickers and is supporting partners in South and Central America to host more refugees and secure their own borders.

Biden also called for obtaining legal status for so-called Dreamers, or undocumented immigrations who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children, as well as those who have temporary status, farm workers and essential workers.

"It’s not only the right thing to do—it’s the economically smart thing to do," he added.

-- Courtney Subramnaian

Biden calls for ‘proven measures’ to reduce gun violence

Biden vowed to cut down on gun trafficking and called on Congress to pass what he called “proven measures” to reduce gun violence.

Specifically, he urged lawmakers to pass universal background checks, ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines and repeal liability shield that mean gun makers can’t be sued.

“These laws don’t infringe on the Second Amendment,” he said. “They save lives.”

–- Michael Collins

Biden: Nominee Jackson a ‘consensus builder’

Between the crisis in Ukraine, soaring inflation and a stalled domestic agenda, Biden doesn’t have a lot of good news to tout at his State of the Union address this year.

One exception: His recently announced historic nominee to the Supreme Court, U.S. Circuit Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson.

Biden called Jackson “one of our nation’s top legal minds” and a “consensus builder.” Jackson would be the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court.

The president tried to signal bipartisan support for Jackson as she begins meeting with senators ahead of a confirmation hearing this spring.

“Since she’s been nominated, she’s received a broad range of support -- from the Fraternal Order of Police to former judges appointed by Democrats and Republicans,” Biden said.

Senate Democrats hope to confirm Jackson to the high court by early April.

-- John Fritze

Biden: Right to vote ‘under assault’

Biden called on Congress to pass voting rights legislation, saying that the right to vote is “under assault.”

"The most fundamental right in America is the right to vote – and to have it counted,” Biden said. “And it’s under assault.”

He added that he would like to see Congress pass the Freedom to Vote Act and John Lewis Act.

-- Rebecca Morin

American Rescue Plan essential to keep neighborhoods safe, Biden says

President Biden touted his American Rescue Plan as an asset to community safety.

The plan, which was approved by Democrats in Congress last March, provides $350 billion in direct aid to cities, states and counties that can be used to hire more police and invest in proven strategies like community violence interruption.

“We should all agree, the answer is not to defund the police, it’s to fund the police,” Biden said to cheers and applause.

-- Chelsey Cox

More:President Joe Biden's COVID stimulus bill explained in 6 charts

COVID-19 reset

Biden reflected on how COVID-19 has challenged the country since 2020, but that with roughly three-fourths of Americans fully vaccinated, and hospitalizations down by 77%, “most Americans can removed their masks, return to work, stay in the classroom and move forward safely.”

The president touched on how that has been the result of free vaccines, treatments, tests and masks. But Biden noted how this is a pivotal moment for Americans to stay focused in the face of the contagion’s possible resurgence.

“Let’s use this moment to reset,” he said. “Let’s stop looking at COVID-19 as a partisan dividing line and see it for what it is: A God-awful disease.”

Biden noted how many lives have been lost, and that Americans cannot let the contagion divide them further.

“We can’t change how divided we’ve been,” he said. “But we can change how we move forward—on COVID-19 and other issues we must face together.”

— Phillip M. Bailey

Tracking COVID-19 vaccine distribution by state:How many people have been vaccinated in the US?

Biden: End the 'partisan dividing line'

In his speech, 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.

"Let’s stop seeing each other as enemies," the president said, "and start seeing each other for who we really are: Fellow Americans."

-- David Jackson

Biden: Bring an end to shutdowns of schools and businesses

The president called 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.

"It’s time for Americans to get back to work and fill our great downtowns again. People working from home can feel safe to begin to return to the office," he said. "Our schools are open. Let’s keep it that way. Our kids need to be in school."

Biden also noted that with 75% of adult Americans fully vaccinated and hospitalizations down by 77%, most Americans can remove their mask as they return to classrooms and offices.

He told the mostly maskless crowd that continuing his administration COVID-19 response efforts would cost more money and he intended to send Congress a request for more funds.

-- Courtney Subramanian

Biden outlines plans to lower deficit

The president urged lawmakers to confirm his nominees to head the Federal Reserve, calling it crucial to his plan to fight inflation.

Biden said his plan is designed to “monitor and lower costs” and “give families a fair shot” while also lowering the deficit.

“The previous administration not only ballooned the deficit, it undermined the watchdogs of those pandemic relief funds,” Biden said, and added that his administration reprioritized going after criminals who commit pandemic relief-related fraud.

Biden also stated that he is the only president to have cut the deficit by more than $1 trillion dollars in a single year and vowed to even the economic playing field for Americans.

“Capitalism without competition is not capitalism. Capitalism without competition is exploitation,” Biden said.

-- Chelsey Cox

Biden on COVID: ‘We’re moving forward’

Biden said the United States has made progress to move past COVID-19, noting the updated mask guidelines issued by the CDC last week.

“Because of the progress we’ve made, because of your resilience and the tools we have, tonight I can say we are moving forward safely, back to more normal routines,” he said. “We’ve reached a new moment in the fight against COVID-19."

“COVID-19 need no longer control our lives,” he added.

-- Rebecca Morin

Biden vows to crack down on price gouging

Biden announced a crackdown on companies that practice price gouging.

During the coronavirus pandemic, foreign-owned companies raised prices by as much as 1,000% and made record profits, he said.

"I’m a capitalist,” he said. “But capitalism without competition isn’t capitalism. It’s exploitation – and it drives up prices.”

– Michael Collins

‘Secret ballot’ on taxes?

Biden challenged Congress to adopt his plan at reforming the tax code, promising that under his plan no one earning less than $400,000 a year would “pay an additional penny in new taxes.”

“I may be wrong but my guess is if we took a secret ballot on this floor that we’d all agree that the president tax system ain’t fair,” Biden said. “We have to fix it.”

The president’s remarks received a more lukewarm response, especially from congressional Republicans, who have resisted his idea.

But Biden’s pitch to the American people argued that his tax plan would grow the economy and doesn’t “punish anyone” but rather seeks to even the playing field by ensuring U.S. companies and its wealthiest individuals to “start paying their fair share.”

“Just last year, 55 Fortune 500 corporations earned $40 billion in profits and paid zero dollars in federal income tax,” Biden said. “That’s simply not fair. That’s why I’ve proposed a 15% minimum tax rate for corporations.”

-- Phillip M. Bailey

Some Republicans take notes, joke to colleagues during Biden's speech

Some Republican Senators appear to be taking notes on Biden's remarks, including Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., and Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La.

Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., turned to Scott and Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., and moved his hand up and down, appearing to point out Democrats standing up and down in applause, garnering laughter from his colleagues.

-- Dylan Wells

Biden calls for reviving plan for child care and universal pre-kindergarten

The president reiterated his longstanding call to cut the cost of child care for parents, pointing out that most American families pay up to $14,000 a year for child care per child. A recent report by Child Care Aware of America found the price of child care has exceeded the annual inflation rate by 4 percent in 2020.

"Middle-class and working families shouldn’t have to pay more than 7% of their income for care of young children," he said.

Biden's child care plan is part of his Build Back Better bill that was effectively killed after Sen. Joe Manchin announced late last year he wouldn't vote to pass it. The president also called for reviving plans to cut the cost of home and long-term care and creating a plan for universal pre-kindergarten for every 3- and 4-year-old.

-- Courtney Subramanian

Biden pushes for climate investments as part of his inflation pitch

Biden called for several climate investments that he said will save families money as part of his efforts aimed at tackling rising inflation.

That included investment tax credits for Americans to weatherize their homes, doubling clean energy production and lowering the price of electric vehicles.

-- Joey Garrison

More:UN panel's grim climate change report: 'Parts of the planet will become uninhabitable'

Biden touts ‘revitalization’ of American manufacturing

Biden praised what he said is the revitalization of the American manufacturing and said he agreed with Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown that it’s time to bury the “Rust Belt” label.

Companies are choosing to build new factories in the United States when just a few years ago they would have built them overseas, he said.

Ford is investing $11 billion to build electric vehicles, creating 11,000 jobs across the country, he said. GM is making the largest investment in its history – $7 billion to build electric vehicles, creating 4,000 jobs in Michigan.

Biden said the revitalization is being driven by people like Joseph “JoJo” Burgess, a Pennsylvania steelworker who was seated in the first lady’s viewing box.

– Michael Collins

Biden called on lowering the cost of drug prices, such as insulin.

The president shouted out Joshua Davis, a 13-year-old with diabetes, who attended the address.

“For Joshua & the 200,000 other young people with Type 1 diabetes, let’s cap the cost of insulin at $35 a month so everyone can afford it,” Biden said.

He added that he spoke with Joshua’s mom about how hard it's been to afford the drug.

“Imagine what it's like to look at your child who needs insulin to stay healthy and have no idea how in God's name you're going to be able to pay for it,” Biden said.

-- Rebecca Morin

'It is legal extortion':Diabetics pay steep price for insulin as rebates drive up costs

Biden aims for investment in Intel, competitiveness with China

Intel, the world's largest semiconductor manufacturer, recently unveiled plans to build a $20 billion complex outside of Columbus, Ohio, a move Biden hailed as a major sign of progress in his administration's work to boost U.S. production of the critical microchips at a time of rising competition with China.

“That's why it's so important to pass the bipartisan (Innovation and Competition Act) in Congress that will make record investments in emerging technologies and American manufacturing,” Biden said. The president also acknowledged Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, who was invited to the speech.

-- Chelsey Cox

Biden: We can cut inflation by making more things in the U.S.

Biden said one way to reduce inflation – one of his biggest political problems – is to make more products in the United States, reducing rely on blocked supply chains.

"Instead of relying on foreign supply chains, let’s make it in America,": he said.

The president was not very specific about how to do that; Republicans say his proposed environment regulations will choke industry.

– David Jackson

Biden touts ‘infrastructure decade’

Shifting from Ukraine, Biden touted his American Rescue Plan legislation and infrastructure law, the latter of which he got support from Republicans to pass in the evenly divided Senate.

“I want to thank members of both parties who helped make it happen,” Biden said. “We’re done talking about infrastructure week. We’re talking about the infrastructure decade.”

He pointed to broadband expansion, roadway and bridge repairs and lead pipe replacement among the projects that will be funded.

-- Joey Garrison

Biden says Putin ‘will never gain the hearts’ of Ukrainians

Biden said that Democracies are “rising to the moment” as Russia continues its invasion of Ukraine.

"Putin may be able to circle Kyiv with tanks, but he will never gain the hearts and souls of the Ukrainian people,” he said. "He will never weaken the resolve of the free world."

-- Rebecca Morin

Biden: U.S. to release 30 million barrels from Strategic Petroleum Reserve

Biden said the U.S. is working with 30 countries to release 60 million barrels of oil from reserves around world to ease the impact of the war in Ukraine on energy markets.

The U.S. is leading the effort by releasing 30 million barrels from its own Strategic Petroleum Reserve, he said.

“These steps will help blunt gas prices here at home,” he said.

– Michael Collins

Standing ovation for Biden’s vow to defend NATO countries

Despite Russia’s devastating attack on Ukraine, President Biden reiterated support in the form of economic sanctions, not the deployment of U.S. troops, to the vulnerable area.

“We have mobilized American ground forces, air squadron, ship deployments to protect NATO countries including Poland, Romania, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. And as I’ve made crystal clear, the United States and our allies will defend every inch of territory that is NATO territory with the full force of our collective power,” Biden said.

His remarks received a standing ovation from lawmakers in the chamber.

-- Chelsey Cox

What is NATO?:Military alliance in spotlight as Russia tries to forbid Ukraine membership

Biden: Sanctions are strangling Putin's Russia

Biden outlined a strict set of sanctions meant to choke the Russian economy in retribution for Putin’s invasion.

“Tonight I say to the Russian oligarchs and corrupt leaders who have bilked billions of dollars off this violent regime no more,” he said.

The president, who praised Ukraine’s resolve on the battlefield, said the Justice Department is assembling a dedicated task force to go after the crimes of Russian’s wealthiest people. He pledged that the U.S., along with European allies, will look seize Russian yachts, luxury apartments and private jets.

“We are coming for your ill-begotten gains,” Biden said.

America has seen immediate dividends with its economic sanctions and $1 billion in aid to Ukraine, according to the president, who said that along with closing U.S. air space to all Russian flights the Ruble has lost 30% of its value; its stock has dipped by 40% and trading with the foreign country has been halted.

-- Phillip M. Bailey

More:Biden threatens devastating sanctions if Russia invades Ukraine. Here's what that might look like.

Biden says 'no more' to Russian oligarchs, announces closure of US airspace to Russian aircraft

Biden said the U.S. and western allies are enforcing "powerful economic sanctions," including cutting off Russia's largest banks from international financial systems, preventing Russia's central bank from shoring up the Russian ruble and "making Putin's $260 billion war fund worthless."

He announced the U.S. is closing off airspace to all Russian flights, joining a growing number of countries around the world that have made similar moves in recent days.

The president also said coordinated sanctions are "choking off Russia's access to technology" that will weaken its military and undermine its economic strength.

U.S. and European sanctions also target Putin and his inner circle as well as Russian oligarchs.

"Tonight I say to the Russian oligarchs and corrupt leaders who have bilked billions of dollars off this violent regime: no more," he said. "We are joining with our European allies to find and seize your yachts your luxury apartments your private jets. We are coming for your ill-begotten gains."

-- Courtney Subramanian

Zelenskyy government:What happens if Kyiv falls? What would a government in exile look like?

Putin more ‘isolated from the world’ than ever, Biden says

Biden hailed the united response of the U.S. and western allies against Russia President Vladimir Putin as Russia continues its war in Ukraine.

Biden called the attack “premeditated and totally unprovoked,” adding that Putin thought he could divide the world.

“But Putin was wrong. We are ready. We are united,” Biden said. “Now that he’s acted, the free world is holding him accountable.”

“Putin is now isolated from the world more than he has ever been,” he said.

-- Joey Garrison

More:Poor planning, low troop morale and a fierce Ukrainian resistance. Why Russia is getting bogged down

Biden says Ukraine “inspires the world”

Biden said during his speech that the Ukrainian people are inspiring the world as they face Russia’s attacks.

“(Putin) thought he could roll into Ukraine and the world would roll over. Instead he met a wall of strength he never imagined,” Biden said.

“He met the Ukrainian people,” Biden continued. “From President Zelenskyy to every Ukrainian, their fearlessness, their courage, their determination, inspires the world.”

-- Rebecca Morin

More:Why is the White House releasing US intelligence on Putin's moves in Ukraine? Behind the unusual strategy

Biden arrives at House chamber

Biden was introduced in the House chamber at 9:05 p.m. and walked into the room to a loud chorus of cheers.

Biden shook hands of several lawmakers seated along the aisle and chatted briefly with a few of them as he made his way to the rostrum, where he will deliver his remarks.

– Michael Collins

Jill Biden, Cabinet members have arrived for SOTU

First Lady Jill Biden entered the House chamber with her guests for this evening's speech, including the Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.S.

The group stood and applauded as the president's cabinet entered the chamber next. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Marcia Fudge, a former member of the House, blew kisses as she walked down the aisle, before taking her place next to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. Fudge is sitting across the aisle from Supreme Court Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh.

-- Dylan Wells

Some lawmakers noticeably absent from State of the Union

As President Biden addressed lawmakers and the nation Tuesday, the absence of some who were invited to the speech did not go unnoticed.

Sen. Marco Rubio said during a February appearance on conservative news network Newsmax that he would not attend due to the COVID-19 testing mandate and that he would watch replays of the speech on television.

"I'm just tired of all that COVID theater crap,” Rubio said.

“Same,” Texas Republican Rep. Chip Roy tweeted Monday in response to a post about Rubio’s absence. “I will not attend.”

Four other Republican members of Congress, Mary Miller, R-Ill., Bob Good, R-Va., Matt Rosendale, R-MT and Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., told Newsmax Tuesday they would also skip the speech due to health safety precautions.

At least five Democratic lawmakers, Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., and Reps. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., Suzan DelBene, D-Wash. And Ted Deutch, D-Fla., tested positive for COVID-19 ahead of the address.

-- Chelsey Cox

Five Supreme Court justices show for speech

Biden is getting something for his State of the Union address that’s been hard to come by for much of his presidency: a majority of the Supreme Court.

Chief Justice John Roberts, joined by four associate justices, filed into the House chamber before the president's remarks Tuesday, the first time five members of the nine-member court have appeared for a presidential address to Congress since President Donald Trump’s remarks in 2017.

In addition to Roberts, Associate Justices Stephen Breyer -- set to retire in June -- Elena Kagan, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett are attending the address, taking their traditional front-row seats.

Biden has had a series of setbacks at the nation's highest court, where conservatives hold a 6-3 advantage. A majority of the justices sided against the administration’s COVID-19 eviction moratorium in August. Last month, the court blocked a requirement that large companies implement vaccine-or-testing mandates to fight the virus.

-- John Fritze

More:Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer to step down, giving Biden a chance to make his mark

Members sporting Ukraine flags and colors

There are signs of support for Ukraine in the House chamber.

Ukraine-born Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-IN 05) is wearing a yellow dress and blue blazer, the colors of Ukraine.

Some other members on the floor are holding small Ukrainian flags, including Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., the House GOP conference chair.

-- Dylan Wells

Biden leaves White House for Capitol

Biden pulled out of the White House in the presidential motorcade at 8:32 p.m. EST to make the short drive to the Capitol.

The president is expected to arrive in just a few minutes.

Pennsylvania Avenue between the White House and Capitol is lined with American and Ukrainian flags in a show of support for Ukrainians amid Russia’s brutal attack on Ukraine.

-- Joey Garrison

Designated Survivor State of the Union: Gina Raimondo

And the lucky Cabinet member is ... Gina Raimondo

The Commerce Secretary is being held back from the State of the Union in case disaster strikes the U.S. Capitol and she has to assume the presidency.

The concept of the "designated survivor" has fascinated entertainers for years.

Thriller writer Tom Clancy used an attack on the U.S. Capitol as a plot device in one of his Jack Ryan novels (Ryan became the president).

There was also a television show based on the idea. Its title: "Designated Survivor."

-- David Jackson

Members of Congress in the chamber ahead of SOTU

Members of Congress have begun to gather in the House chamber ahead of Biden’s remarks.

Many, but not all, are taking advantage of the new Congressional guidelines on mask usage, which no longer requires that they wear a mask in the chamber during the State of the Union.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi spoke with Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries of New York and Assistant Speaker Katherine Clark of Massachusetts, before walking across the House aisle to speak to Chair of the House Appropriations Committee Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut.

Members are assigned seats this evening, separated by one empty seat between, but ahead of the remarks most are gathered talking in small groups around the floor.

-- Dylan Wells

These are the Dems who will escort Biden at his State of the Union address

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi named seven Democratic members of the House to the Escort Committee for tonight’s State of the Union, who will help escort President Biden to the House chamber.

The members of leadership on the committee are Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland, Whip Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, Assistant Speaker Katherine Clark of Massachusetts and Chairman of the Democratic caucus Hakeem Jeffries of New York.

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Sean Patrick Maloney of New York, the head of the House Democrats campaign arm, will also serve on the committee, as will Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware.

Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur of Ohio is also part of the group. Kaptur is the co-founder and co-chair of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus.

-- Dylan Wells

More:Why is Russia invading Ukraine? Could it be the start of WWIII? Here's what we know

Biden will call on Congress for DOJ Task Force resources in SOTU

President Biden will use his State of the Union address to ask Congress for resources for the Justice Department’s COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to expand prosecutions of pandemic fraudsters, the White House announced.

Biden will also ask Congress for more serious penalties for criminals who commit fraud related to pandemic relief.

The DOJ has already prosecuted cases where PPP loans meant for small businesses undergoing difficulties due to the pandemic were fraudulently obtained and where unemployment insurance was stolen by identity thieves.

-- Chelsey Cox

More:Americans are at higher risk of Russian cyberattacks after Ukraine invasion: What you should do right now

These are the twelve Representatives with prime aisle seating at the SOTU

Six Democrats and six Republicans have the premium aisle seats that allow close proximity to President Biden as he enters the House chamber to deliver his remarks.

Democratic Reps. Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware, Hakeem Jeffries of New York, Marcy Kaptur of Ohio, Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, Benny Thompson of Mississippi and Mark Takano of California have the seats on the Democratic side.

GOP Reps. Frank Lucas of Oklahoma, Gary Palmer of Alabama, Kevin Brady of Texas, Patrick McHenry of North Carolina, Glenn Thompson of Pennsylvania, and Debbie Lesko of Arizona are the Republicans on the aisle.

-- Dylan Wells

Follow along:What Biden will say: excerpts from his first State of the Union address to Congress

Biden to issue executive order on identity theft in public benefits programs

Biden is set to speak on a new executive order targeting identity theft during the State of the Union.

The order, which will expand upon steps taken in 2021 to prevent and detect identity theft of public benefits and direct new actions to support fraud victims, will be announced in the coming weeks, according to The White House.

-- Chelsey Cox

Biden to announce new chief prosecutor to pandemic relief crimes

Biden will roll out new efforts to prevent identity theft and other pandemic-related fraud crimes during the State of the Union, according to the White House, including the addition of a chief prosecutor to the Justice Department’s COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force.

The COVID-19 task force was implemented by Attorney General Merrick Garland in May 2021 and has charged over 1,000 criminal cases and opened over 200 civil investigations across 1800 individuals and entities involving billions of dollars in suspected fraud.

The new chief prosecutor will help prosecute reports of identity theft involving public pandemic benefits from 2019 to 2020, as reported by the Federal Trade Commission.

--Chelsey Cox

Live updates:U.S. to ban Russian planes from American airspace; shells pound Ukrainian city of Kharkiv

Biden to say ‘defund the police’ is not the answer

Amid rising crime in cities across the nation, albeit from historical lows, President Joe Biden will tout his administration’s efforts to fund local police departments and to tackle gun control during Tuesday’s State of the Union, according to the White House.

Biden will highlight how he’s urged local and state governments to use American Rescue Plan funds to add police officers. He’s also expected to urge Congress to pass his $300 million budget request to more than double the size of the Department of Justice’s COPS community policing grant program.

Republicans have sought to tie Biden and other Democrats to the “defund the police” mantra on the left, even though Biden has repeatedly rejected that phrase.

“He'll make clear that the answer is not to defund the police, it’s to put more police – with better training and more accountability – out to take back our streets and make our neighborhoods safer,” a White House official said.

Although Republicans in the Senate have refused to pass sweeping gun reform measures, Biden will point to his administration's unilateral efforts. That includes creating five new Justice Department gun trafficking strike forces to target the illegal; an executive order aimed at “ghost guns,” and new ATF rules.

-- Joey Garrison

U.S. to close airspace to Russian planes

Biden will announce in his State of the Union address that the U.S. is closing its airspace to Russian planes in retaliation for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, three sources told USA TODAY.

The U.S. joins a growing list of countries that have announced plans to close their airspace to Russian aircraft in response to the invasion.

The E.U. banned all Russian aircraft from its airspace after several European countries including France, Italy and Denmark as well as Canada announced the move Sunday. Neutral Sweden and Austria also joined the international move to cut off Russian aircraft.

– Michael Collins and Courtney Subramanian

What time is the State of the Union address?

Biden will start speaking at 9 p.m. ET.

Talking points:From Ukraine to historic Supreme Court nominee: 5 things to watch for in Biden's State of the Union address

Where can I watch the SOTU?

It will be carried by all major TV news networks (CBS, NBC, ABC and PBS) and cable news networks including Fox News, Fox Business Network, CNN, MSNBC and C-SPAN.

NPR will also carry the address.

The speech will also be live-streamed by the White House and many organizations, including USA TODAY. Readers can follow live updates on the speech from USA TODAY.

– Chelsey Cox

First lady Jill Biden's State of the Union guest list

Per tradition, first lady Jill Biden will sit in the House gallery with a group of distinguished Americans to watch her husband deliver his State of the Union address.

In addition to Ukraine's ambassador to the United States, Mrs. Biden's guest list includes people who work in education, health care, technology, and a steelworkers union.

"The President and I are honored to welcome an extraordinary group of Americans and H.E. Oksana Markarova, Ambassador of Ukraine to the United States, to sit with me and @SecondGentleman for the State of the Union," Mrs, Biden tweeted.

The White House posted the full guest list.

-- David Jackson

GOP, Dems to wear Ukrainian colors

Brandishing Ukraine’s flag colors will be a bipartisan affair during Biden’s first State of the Union address, as several members from both parties plan to either wear ribbons or other clothing in the colors of the Ukrainian flag.

Republican Rep. Victoria Spartz, of Indiana, who was born in Ukraine, will wear a blue suit and yellow blazer to draw attention to the crisis. She took to Twitter ahead of the president’s remarks calling on the Biden administration to do more.

“Putin’s war is not a war but a genocide of the Ukrainian people who wanted to be free and with us,” Spartz said. “We cannot let him embarrass our great nation and slaughter these brave people under our watch."

Rep. Brett Guthrie, of Kentucky, showed off how dozens of members from both parties had gathered on the Capitol steps before the address with a flag merging the U.S. and Ukrainian colors.

“Today I joined my colleagues to show solidarity for the Ukrainian people,” Guthrie, a Republican, said. “Their bravery in the fight against Putin's unlawful and unprovoked invasion is inspiring. I support sending more aid to Ukraine and crushing Putin and his associates with a powerful arsenal of sanctions.”

The Democratic Women’s Caucus earlier Tuesday announced its members plan to “wear bright and colorful attire” in support Ukraine.

-- Phillip M. Bailey

SOTU comes as inflation soars

Biden delivers his State of the Union address at a time when inflation has soared to its highest level in four decades.

Consumer prices jumped 7.5% last month compared with 12 months earlier, the steepest year-over-year increase since February 1982, the Labor Department reported last month. The increase was driven by shortages of supplies and workers, heavy doses of federal aid, low interest rates and robust consumer spending, the department said.

The steady surge in prices has left many Americans less able to afford food, gas, rent, child care and other necessities.

-- Michael Collins, Associated Press

Explained:What is inflation and how does it affect you? Increase in prices for gas, food, energy raise concern

Congresswoman to pass out ribbons to show Ukraine solidarity

Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, will pass out blue and yellow ribbons to members of congress at Biden’s State of the Union to “wear tonight in solidarity with the people of Ukraine,” the Democratic Women’s Caucus said.

Kaptur is leader of the Ukraine Caucus.

In addition, some congresswomen were seen wearing blue and yellow, the color of Ukraine’s flag, in a photo posted by Michelle Moreno-Silva, communications director of the Democratic Women’s Caucus.

Moreno-Silva said members of the Democratic Women’s Caucus are planning to “wear bright and colorful attire to the State of the Union in celebration of the strength and diversity of the Caucus.”

The caucus first asked members to don white at the 2019 State of the Union in honor of the Women's Suffrage Movement that led to the ratification of the 19th amendment in 1920. The lawmakers wanted to acknowledge voters who gave Democrats a majority in the House that year.

The tradition continued in 2020 in protest "against President Trump's backwards agenda."

-- Rebecca Morin and Chelsey Cox

Biden to deliver speech as Russian convoy inches toward Kyiv

Biden's State of the Union speech comes on day six of Russian President Vladimir Putin's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, and the international crisis is expected to be a focal point of his speech.

A 40-mile convoy of Russian tanks and vehicles appeared to stall about 15 miles outside of Ukraine's capital city of Kyiv. Troops appeared to run out of gas and food, but it's also possible the Russians are pausing to regroup and reassess their attack, a senior U.S. Defense Department official told reporters earlier Tuesday.

Ukrainians are bracing for continued attacks after at least 11 people were killed and 35 others wounded in an apparent rocket strike in Kharkiv. Earlier, Russian strikes hit Kyiv's main broadcasting tower and the nearby Babi Yar Holocaust Memorial site, where Nazis killed thousands of Jews during World War II. Ukraine's foreign minister confirmed the attack.

Ahead of his remarks, Biden spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for more than 30 minutes. The president said he discussed continued U.S. support, including security assistance and humanitarian aid, and vowed to hold Russia accountable.

For more updates on the unfolding crisis in Ukraine, follow USA TODAY's live coverage here.

-- Courtney Subramanian

More:Satellite images show huge Russian convoys in Ukraine

What will Biden talk about?

Biden’s remarks to a joint session of Congress will give him a chance to trumpet his administration’s accomplishments during his first year in office and lay out policy goals for the coming year.

A prominent Democratic strategist urged Biden to use the opportunity to offer Americans hope for better days.

“What Americans want to hear is genuine understanding of what we have been through together and a clear path forward – less about Mr. Biden’s accomplishments than about the heroic, unsung sacrifices so many have made to see their families and communities through,” David Axelrod, who helped shape many of President Barack Obama’s addresses to Congress, wrote in an op-ed in The New York Times.

What else is bound to come up? Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will cast a long shadow over Biden’s State of the Union address. Biden will seek to reassure the country that it's entering a new phase in the fight against COVID-19. And the president wants Americans to know that he feels their pain when it comes to rising prices.

Read more here on expectations for the address.

– Michael Collins

Biden to address Russian invasion of Ukraine

Biden will address Russia’s invasion of Ukraine during his address, according to excerpts of his prepared remarks released by the White House.

“Throughout our history we’ve learned this lesson – when dictators do not pay a price for their aggression, they cause more chaos. They keep moving. And, the costs and threats to America and the world keep rising,” he is expected to say.

“That’s why the NATO Alliance was created to secure peace and stability in Europe after World War 2. The United States is a member along with 29 other nations.

“It matters. American diplomacy matters.

“Putin’s war was premeditated and unprovoked. He rejected efforts at diplomacy. He thought the West and NATO wouldn’t respond. And, he thought he could divide us here at home.

“Putin was wrong. We were ready,” he will say.

More:Russia has been accused of using 'vacuum bombs' in Ukraine. What are those?

Biden to talk about inflation and the US economy

Biden will also address inflation — an issue that is a top concern for the American people -- according to prepared remarks released by the White House.

“We have a choice. One way to fight inflation is to drive down wages and make Americans poorer. I have a better plan to fight inflation,” he is expected to say.

“Lower your costs, not your wages. Make more cars and semiconductors in America. More infrastructure and innovation in America. More goods moving faster and cheaper in America. More jobs where you can earn a good living in America. And, instead of relying on foreign supply chains – let’s make it in America.

“Economists call it “increasing the productive capacity of our economy.” I call it building a better America,” he will say.

“My plan to fight inflation will lower your costs and lower the deficit,” he is expected to say.

-- Rebecca Morin

Biden speech focus: The U.S. and Europe must be united against Russia

Previewing his State of the Union speech to a group of journalists, President Joe Biden said he will stress the importance of unity between the United States and Europe in confronting Russian President Vladimir Putin over his invasion of Ukraine.

In a lunch with television anchors and others, Biden said he would re-emphasize "my determination to see to it that the EU, NATO, all of our allies are on the same exact page in terms of sanctions against Russia and how we deal with the invasion – and it is an invasion – of Ukraine."

This from a tweet by CNN anchor Jake Tapper, who also reported that Biden declared global unity "the one thing that gives us power to impose severe consequences on Putin for what he’s done."

Presidents host these kinds of lunches with television anchors before every State of the Union address. The sessions are off the record, but White Houses often put a few comments on the record.

In this case, Biden wanted to make clear his message on Ukraine.

-- David Jackson

More:Americans are at higher risk of Russian cyberattacks after Ukraine invasion: What you should do right now

Biden will roll out mental health crisis strategies

Biden will outline his plan for tackling the mental health crisis during his first State of the Union.

The White House said Tuesday that Biden will call on Congress to pass legislation to support those policies that increase the capacity of the mental health system to provide care, make it easier for those who need care to get it and address the determinants of health.

Among the policies he will pitch, according to the White House:

A plan to spend $700 million on training, scholarship and loan repayment for those who pursue careers in mental health and substance abuse treatment in rural communities and other underserved areas.

A proposal that health plans cover "robust behavioral health services with an adequate network of providers, including three behavioral health visits each year without cost-sharing."

To address concerns about digital technology and social media damage to the mental health of young people, Biden wants to ban targeted advertising for children online and stop online algorithms from returning results that damage their mental well-being.

– Rick Rouan

Pelosi won’t be wearing a mask during State of the Union

As she sits behind President Joe Biden during his State of the Union address, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will be mask-less.

“I’m not going to be wearing a mask tonight,” Pelosi told MSNBC Tuesday. “If I had little children, or if I were around little grandchildren I would because some of them would not be vaccinated.”

Democratic House leadership lifted its mask mandate in the House in time for the president’s first State of the Union. It comes as the rate of positive COVID-19 test results dropped to 2.7% at the Capitol’s testing site, according to Politico, and as the District of Columbia dropped its indoor mask mandate as COVID-19 cases have plummeted in Washington.

The White House on Tuesday ended its mask requirement for vaccinated staff members. But White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Monday said she hadn’t spoken to Biden on whether he will wear a mask when he walks into the House Chamber.

“He will certainly not be wearing a mask when he's speaking,” Psaki said.

-- Joey Garrison

What was the shortest State of the Union? the longest?

Which presidents delivered the longest and the shortest State of the Unions? It depends on your measuring stick.

Based on word count, President George Washington’s delivered the shortest speech on record in 1790, before the annual message was even dubbed the State of the Union. Washington’s speech to a joint session of Congress measured in at 1,089 words, according to the Congressional Research Service.

Not every president has delivered an oral message, however. After President Thomas Jefferson eschewed a speech in favor of a written message to Congress in 1801, it took more than a century before President Woodrow Wilson revived the tradition of an in-person speech in 1913.

Dating back to 1964, the shortest oral delivery of a State of the Union was President Ronald Reagan’s 31-minute speech in 1986, according to The American Presidency Project at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The Congressional Research Service noted that speech still had a word count about three times as long as Washington’s inaugural annual message.

The longest written message to date belongs to President Jimmy Carter, who delivered a 33,667-word written State of the Union in 1981. In his final State of the Union in 2000, President Bill Clinton set the high watermark for an in-person speech at just under 90 minutes.

President Donald Trump’s 80-minute average is the longest of all presidents dating to 1964, according to the American Presidency Project.

– Rick Rouan

Why is this Biden’s first State of the Union?

The concept of an annual update from the president to members of Congress has existed as long as the presidency. President George Washington delivered the first of what was then called the “Annual Message” in 1790.

That is rooted in the constitutional requirement to provide an update “from time to time.” The speech was not formally named the State of the Union until 1947, according to the Congressional Research Service.

But recent tradition has been for presidents to not deliver a formal State of the Union in the year they were inaugurated but instead to simply speak before a joint session of Congress.

President Joe Biden did that in 2021, as the six presidents before him had done in their inauguration years. That means Biden’s 2022 address will be his first formal State of the Union.

– Rick Rouan

Judge Justin Walker, McConnell protege, confirmed to Court of ...

Louisville native Judge Justin Walker was confirmed Thursday by the U.S. Senate for a seat on what is considered the nation’s second-most powerful court.

The Senate voted 51-42 for the nomination to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

The vote continues Walker’s meteoric ascendancy in the federal court system. The former law professor at the University of Louisville is only 38 and was appointed to the federal district bench just last October.

But Walker, a graduate of St. Xavier High School and later Duke and Harvard Law School, had a power ally in Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a family friend and mentor.

The confirmation puts Walker in line for a future nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court by President Donald Trump, if he wins reelection, or a future Republican president. The appellate court in the nation’s capital has long been a springboard for future justices.

The confirmation vote went along party lines. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine was the only Republican to vote against Walker. Forty Democrats and one Independent voted against, while seven senators were absent.

Legal paper:Some U of L law professors have turned on Justin Walker

Walker will be the youngest judge on the court, according to Carl Tobias, a University of Richmond law professor who follows judicial nominations.

In a tweet, McConnell said, “We Kentuckians are sorry to lose Judge Justin Walker, but we’re very proud this brilliant and fair jurist will be serving our nation on the D.C. Circuit.”

The National Law Journal reported this month that five U of L law professors who supported Walker for U.S. District Court said he needed more seasoning before he was elevated to the higher court.

One of them, Sam Marcosson, also said Walker's order allowing to a church to hold drive-in services on Easter Sunday amid the coronavirus pandemic was “troubling” because it reached unnecessary legal conclusions and had a “tenor and a tone that I thought was over the top.” Walker wrote that Mayor Greg Fischer was trying to “criminalize Easter.”

Walker has no trial experience but had the conservative pedigree that McConnell has embraced in trying to remake the federal courts, which he has cited as his legacy.

Walker was a star in the Federalist Society and clerked for both Justice Anthony Kennedy and Judge Brett Kavanaugh when he was on the D.C. Circuit. Walker then campaigned for Kavanaugh’s nomination to the highest court when he came under fire over reports that he sexually assaulted Christine Blasey Ford when the two were in high school.

Walker gave 119 interviews to the news media and made several speeches paid for by the Federalist Society rebutting Kavanaugh critics, The New York Times has reported, and Kavanaugh attended Walker’s swearing-in ceremony last fall.

Read this:5 things to know about Walker and his backing by McConnell

Democratic opponents on the Senate Judiciary Committee portrayed Walker as a conservative ideologue and noted he said at the ceremony that “in Brett Kavanaugh’s America, we will not surrender while you wage war on our work, or our cause, or our hope, or our dream.”

Walker also said: “Although we are winning we have not won. Although we celebrate today, we cannot take for granted tomorrow — or we will lose our courts and our country to critics who call us terrifying and who describe us as deplorable.”

Democrats also said Walker had denounced the Affordable Care Act, but Walker testified he did so in his private capacity and would abide by the Supreme Court decision upholding it.

His confirmation came despite last-minute misgivings expressed by some of his former colleagues at U of L's Brandeis School of Law, who questioned his experience and judgment.

Walker was raised in Louisville by his mother, Deborah Walker, whom The Times said he once described as “a single working mom” who “made indescribable sacrifices to provide me, the first in my family to graduate from college, with the opportunities she didn’t have herself.”

But his maternal grandfather, Frank R. Metts, was a millionaire real estate developer and Kentucky Transportation Cabinet secretary under Gov. John Y. Brown Jr. Walker’s parents divorced in 1985, when he was 3.

Top headlines:Daniel Cameron won't put timetable on Breonna Taylor investigation

Walker grew up in a Democratic family but was a conservative from a young age. At 13, he wrote a letter to The Courier Journal praising the Christian Coalition and saying he had recently attended its convention.

He met McConnell when he was in high school, introduced by the husband of his grandmother after she she remarried.

In 2002, Walker interned in McConnell’s office, and after graduating from Duke two years later, he worked on the reelection campaign of President George W. Bush, and then served as a speechwriter for Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld.

Walker worked at a large D.C. law firm before and after his clerkships, then moved in 2015 to Louisville, where he practiced law on his own before joining the Louisville office of Dinsmore & Shohl last year.

At U of L, he co-directed the Ordered Liberty Program at Brandeis Law School — a fellowship devoted to the study of “federalism, separation of powers, originalism, natural rights, and the common good.”

Walker is married, and he and his wife, Anne, whom he met at Duke, have one daughter. They have run a nonprofit in Louisville called Global Game Changers for children from grades K-5 that tries to “transform student outcomes and empower them to overcome apathy and feel empathy,” according to its website.

Walker was well-liked at Brandeis Law School. Last July, 16 faculty and staff of various political persuasions signed a letter submitted to the Judiciary Committee endorsing his nomination for U.S. District Court.

Some professors independently supported his elevation to the appellate court, but there was no letter sent by the faculty.

More news:DACA recipients relieved SCOTUS denies Trump bid to end protections

Andrew Wolfson: 502-582-7189; awolfson@courier-journal.com; Twitter: @adwolfson. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/andreww.

Mitch McConnell campaign brags about access to Elaine Chao

U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell doesn't seem bothered by ethical questions about whether Kentucky has had too much access to Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao. In fact, his reelection campaign is trumpeting that news.

This week, McConnell's campaign promoted a Politico story about the higher number of meetings Kentucky officials had with Chao — his wife of more than 25 years — compared with representatives from other states, even though that disparity raises concerns.

"In all, 25 percent of Chao’s scheduled meetings with local officials from any state from January 2017 to March 2018 were with Kentuckians, who make up about only 1.3 percent of the U.S. population," Politico reported Monday.

The McConnell campaign was quick to share the story on Twitter — with apparent pride.

"Mitch McConnell is a Kentucky Asset," the Team Mitch account tweeted Monday, along with a link to Politico's reporting.

Previously:House panel investigates Elaine Chao over possible conflicts

U.S. Sen. Rand Paul's chief strategist, Doug Stafford, tweeted: "Where are my "Corrupt for Kentucky" shirts ..." on Tuesday after McConnell's campaign promoted the Politico story again by sharing a picture of the article and a graphic showing how Kentuckians got more meetings with Chao than other states' officials did.

He followed up with another tweet noting that he was "ribbing" the idea that anyone thinks helping Kentucky hurts McConnell's campaign.

McConnell, who's up for reelection next year, often highlights his use of his clout in Washington, D.C., to secure federal dollars to support his home state's needs.

For example: In an appearance Monday at the University of Kentucky, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said a landmark study UK is working on — with the help of an $87 million grant — to reduce deaths from opioid overdoses wouldn't be possible without funding McConnell shepherded through Congress.

McConnell's campaign manager, Kevin Golden, echoed that sentiment in a statement this week: "Senator McConnell's leadership position gives Kentucky a great advantage over wealthier states like New York or California and we encourage you to explore how his tremendous influence has helped in a number of other ways like expanding opportunity for Kentucky's hemp farmers or delivering the largest opioid grant in Bluegrass history."

Read this:In ad, McConnell says impeachment will fail 'with me as majority leader'

Federal ethics rules don't allow government officials to take actions that benefit themselves or close family members, Politico noted.

An ethics expert indicated Chao's marriage to the Senate majority leader makes this situation almost unprecedented, although she isn't necessarily breaking rules by disproportionately meeting with Kentucky officials.

The U.S. Department of Transportation has defended Chao. A spokesman said it's natural for her to meet with people from Kentucky since she herself is a Kentuckian.

In a different statement to The Courier Journal, a department spokesperson criticized Politico's story: "It’s based on a few outdated and incomplete calendars provided by dark money, partisan political groups," the statement reads. "The story also ignores the countless hours the Department puts in each day to revitalize American infrastructure ..."

This isn't the first time Chao's predilection for Kentucky has been scrutinized.

Over the summer, Politico reported the Transportation Department had designated Todd Inman, who hails from Owensboro, as a special liaison who advised local officials in Kentucky on grant applications, including one for a highway-improvement project in the Daviess County town that had been rejected in the past.

Critics: McConnell and Chao using a power (couple) play to help his reelection

Morgan Watkins: 502-582-4502; mwatkins@courierjournal.com; Twitter: @morganwatkins26. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/morganw.