Biden officials see next month's State of the Union address as a big, public reset moment — a chance to overcome or at least neutralize concerns about President Biden's age and vitality, Mike Allen and Alex Thompson report.

• Why it matters: Many top Democrats are convinced that if the election were today, Biden would lose a rematch with former President Trump. Biden's address on March 7 is his biggest chance to shift public perceptions.

👂 What we're hearing: Biden's SOTU address played well last year — he seemed agile and riffed about the GOP and Social Security. Officials close to him, needing a repeat triumph, will spend hours on everything from the text to his physical preparation to exploit the prime-time moment.

• "Everyone around him is well aware — well aware — of the need to jack this campaign up," a source close to Biden said. "The only way to deal with the negative aftershocks of the special counsel's report [slamming Biden's age] is for the president to be out there, to be visible — to be strong of presence and strong of voice."
• One bold move that Biden has considered, we're told, is an executive order that would dramatically stanch the record flow of migrants into the Southwest. This could even happen in the two weeks before the address, allowing Biden to say he took action while Republicans just talk.

🔎 Between the lines: Inside Biden's campaign, there's a belief that things are turning around — internal morale is up. But even some super-loyalists have lingering worries that it's all happening too slowly — and could be too late.

• Some valued campaign hands didn't like commuting to campaign HQ in Wilmington, Del. Now officials are being more flexible about allowing remote work. A small campaign office has opened near the White House.

Behind the scenes: A new window into the Biden campaign's flux comes from CNN, which reports that some leading Democrats fear the campaign "might be stumbling past a point of no return." They've been heartened by listening sessions by Vice President Kamala Harris, which they view as a "surprising and welcome change, after months of feeling sloughed off by the White House and Biden campaign headquarters."

• The outreach sessions included six Democratic governors who gathered around the dining room table of Harris' official residence two Saturdays ago. She's using the intelligence from the sessions to break through what she has called the "bubble" of Biden campaign thinking and to "push for changes in strategy and tactics that she hopes will put the ticket in better shape to win," CNN reported. Another Naval Observatory session featured Black men — a group Harris is working to energize.

🥊 Reality check: Mark Zandi and his fellow Moody's Analytics experts said in a paper last month that although a Biden-Trump rematch would be a nail-biter, they "feel confident" in their state-by-state model's prediction of a Biden win.

👓 What to watch: Biden's ownership of the national spotlight will be brief. Just five days after his speech, House Republicans will hold a hearing with special counsel Robert Hur.

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For many families, school pickup lines are replacing the yellow bus:

• A majority of U.S. students now arrive at school in private cars, Axios' Shauneen Miranda writes from a Washington Post analysis of U.S. government data.

What's happening: The trend accelerated during the pandemic, and is being fueled by a shortage of bus routes and drivers.

🧮 By the numbers: In 2022, 53% of U.S. K-12 students got dropped off or drove themselves in private cars while 33% took the bus, according to The Post's analysis of National Household Travel Survey data.

• Only 11% of students walked or biked to school — a proportion that has been falling for decades.

🚌 What's happening: In addition to the reduced availability of buses, remote work is another reason parents are more likely to drive their kids.

Reality check: Not all parents have that option. So bus cutbacks may be helping drive the rise in absenteeism since the pandemic.

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A record number of Americans will turn 65 this year — about 4.1 million — The Wall Street Journal reports from an analysis by Jason Fichtner, chief economist at the Bipartisan Policy Center.

• Why it matters: The surge of 65-year-old Baby Boomers (born 1946-1964) will continue through 2027. AARP calls it a "silver tsunami."

Reality check: "Today's 65-year-olds are redefining a milestone long associated with retirement parties and the end of productive years," The Journal notes.

• "They are wealthier and by many measures, healthier, and expected to live another 20 years." At least!

As you take a breath on the holiday, we wanted to share a few more samples of the stunning creations of OpenAI's Sora, which produces sophisticated videos from simple text prompts.

• The prompt for the video above: "Several giant wooly mammoths approach treading through a snowy meadow, their long wooly fur lightly blows in the wind as they walk, snow-covered trees and dramatic snow-capped mountains in the distance, mid-afternoon light with wispy clouds and a sun high in the distance creates a warm glow, the low camera view is stunning capturing the large furry mammal with beautiful photography, depth of field."

Between the lines: Because of the potential for mischief and deception, Sora (sky in Japanese) won't be widely available any time soon.

• It's open now to outside researchers ("red teamers") to assess risk. "We are also granting access to a number of visual artists, designers, and filmmakers to gain feedback on how to advance the model to be most helpful for creative professionals," OpenAI announced.

Prompt: "Animated scene features a close-up of a short fluffy monster kneeling beside a melting red candle. The art style is 3D and realistic, with a focus on lighting and texture. The mood of the painting is one of wonder and curiosity, as the monster gazes at the flame with wide eyes and open mouth. Its pose and expression convey a sense of innocence and playfulness, as if it is exploring the world around it for the first time. The use of warm colors and dramatic lighting further enhances the cozy atmosphere of the image."

Prompt: "A stylish woman walks down a Tokyo street filled with warm glowing neon and animated city signage. She wears a black leather jacket, a long red dress and black boots, and carries a black purse. She wears sunglasses and red lipstick. She walks confidently and casually. The street is damp and reflective, creating a mirror effect of the colorful lights. Many pedestrians walk about."

• Thanks to Axios' Brendan Lynch for these cool GIFs!

8-min YouTube of Sora videos — blew us away.

Nvidia, riding a demand surge for AI chips, is now America's third most valuable company.

• Why it matters: Nvidia overtook Amazon and Alphabet last week. The only companies worth more: Apple and Microsoft.

🧮 By the numbers: Between them, the AI-powered duo of Microsoft and Nvidia (the new Wintel) are worth $4.8 trillion — more than Amazon, Alphabet, and Meta combined, Axios' Felix Salmon points out.

• Go deeper: "How Nvidia Built a Competitive Moat Around AI Chips."

Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), who's on Donald Trump's short list for vice president, took his opposition to U.S. funding for Ukraine to the Munich Security Conference — "calling out the globalists to their face," as adviser Andy Surabian put it.

• "The problem in Ukraine … is that there's no clear endpoint," Vance said, adding that the U.S. doesn't make enough weapons to back wars in eastern Europe, the Middle East and "potentially a contingency in East Asia."

Keep reading.

Brittney Griner's No. 42 jersey was retired by Baylor, with the Bears legend and WNBA star attending a home game in Waco for the first time since her senior season 11 years ago.

• Griner, 33, was detained in Russia for 10 months in 2022 before being released in a prisoner swap.

Keep reading.

Last night's NBA All-Star game in Indianapolis shattered the record for most points scored in the game's 73-year history:

• The Eastern Conference beat the Western Conference 211-186 on Sunday night. The total of 397 points smashed the record of 374 set in 2017.

Why it matters: It was the first time in NBA history that a scoreboard hit 200, AP reports.

Between the lines: The NBA had wanted "a more competitive product on the court," and NBA commissioner Adam Silver's annoyance at the points-fest was clearly on display, per ESPN.

🖼️ The big picture: On Saturday, the WashPost posted the prescient headline, "Has the NBA's scoring boom gotten out of hand?"

• All-Star weekend's best moments.