Introduction
Sound: President Biden: “The state of the union is strong.”
Jonathan: President Biden delivered his annual address to Congress last night – the State of the Union. Angie is live in Washington with the details. Plus – this 9 year old just… graduated high school?
Those stories and more today on… Notice News.
Biden’s State of the Union
Jonathan: Hey guys and happy Wednesday, I’m Jonathan here at Notice HQ in Brooklyn. The big story is in Washington this morning, as President Biden gave his first State of the Union address to a divided Congress last night.
Our Washington correspondent Angie has the story.
Angie: Last night President Biden delivered his annual address to Congress – the State of the Union.
It’s an update the president is required to give Congress by Section 2, Article 3 of the Constitution.
During the 1800s, it was a lengthy written document, but in modern times, it’s evolved into a live-streamed, hour-long speech presidents use to rally support for their agenda.
On Biden’s agenda last night: the economy:
Sound: President Biden: “Two years ago our economy was reeling. As I stand here tonight, we have created a record 12 million new jobs – more jobs created in two years than any president has ever created in four years. Two years ago, COVID had shut down our businesses, closed our schools, and robbed us of so much.”
Angie: Raising taxes on corporations and the super wealthy:
Sound: President Biden: “They’re not just taking advantage of the tax code. They’re taking advantage of you, the American consumer.” 9:45
Angie: And bipartisanship – that is, working with Republicans to get things done:
Sound: President Biden: “To my Republican friends, if we could work together in the last Congress, there is no reason we can’t work together in this new Congress. The people sent us a clear message. Fighting for the sake of fighting, power for the sake of power, conflict for the sake of conflict, gets us nowhere.”
Angie: Unlike the first two years of his presidency, to get anything done, President Biden will need Republican support. That’s because Republicans took control of the House of Representatives in last year’s midterm elections, winning a small majority of seats in the chamber.
But Republicans aren’t eager to help the Democratic president score any victories before the 2024 election. At one point several Republicans could be heard shouting:
Sound: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene: “Liar!”
Angie: In the party’s official response to the president, the Republican governor of Arkansas said this:
Sound: Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders: “In the radical left’s America, Washington taxes you and lights your hard-earned money on fire. But you get crushed with high gas prices, empty grocery shelves, and our children are taught to hate one another on account of their race.”
Angie: The only thing clear after last night’s address? The next election may be over 600 days away, but the campaigning has only just begun.
Headlines
Jonathan: Here’s what else is making news right now.
The death toll from that massive earthquake in Turkey and Syria continues to rise. As of Monday evening, authorities say over 6 thousand people have perished.
Rescue workers from around the world have begun to arrive but are now facing bitterly cold weather there.
The U.S. government says the Chinese spy balloon it shot down off the coast of South Carolina this weekend was 200 feet tall. For comparison, that’s about the height of Cinderella’s castle at Walt Disney World.
And – think Harry Styles’ performance at the Grammys over the weekend seemed a little off?
Sound: [Harry singing and slipping]
Jonathan: Apparently that spinning platform they were dancing on was going the wrong direction. Harry and the dancers had to improvise at the very last moment on live television.
9-Year-Old Graduates High School
Jonathan: Some of you may be thinking about where you want to go to college, but can you imagine making that decision as a 9 year old? That’s what this kid is doing. This is 9 year old David Balogun from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, who just graduated from high school.
Sound: “They didn’t bog me down, they also advocated for me saying ‘he can do this, he can do that’”
Jonathan: David was able to graduate early by attending a remote charter school that adjusted his course load according to his abilities.
Sound: “he’s a 9 year old with a brain that just has the capacity to understand a lot of concepts that are beyond his years and sometimes beyond my understanding”
Jonathan: David was interviewed on CNN and had this to say about his accomplishment:
Sound: “Well, everybody is talking about how this is an incredible accomplishment and I was thinking ‘all i did was graduate.’ ‘You graduated at the age of 9.’ So what is the big deal?”
Jonathan: He loves science and computer programming and already has an idea of what he’d like to do professionally.
Sound: “I want to be an astrophysicist and I want to study black holes and supernova.”
Jonathan: David says he’s also interested in being an engineer, a nuclear chemist, a software developer, a rocket engineer, or a website designer. In the meantime, he and his family are still deciding where he’ll go to college.
Conclusion
Jonathan: That’s it for today but you can learn more about the president’s State of the Union address on our website, noticenews.com. I’ll be back tomorrow with more from us, Notice News.