The U.S. Navy on Tuesday released photos of crews recovering large pieces of the Chinese balloon shot down over the Atlantic Ocean on the weekend, offering the closest look yet at the high-altitude aircraft that has further strained relations between the two countries.
Why it matters: Previous photos offered only grainy depictions of the balloon, spotted high in the skies over the continental U.S. last week, leading to much speculation about its capabilities and purpose.
President Biden will update the “unity agenda” that he unveiled in last year’s State of the Union address and call on Congress to work with him on non-controversial issues, like fighting cancer and opioid addiction.
Why it matters: Biden is using Tuesday's State of the Union to try to convince the American public that the economy is working for them and that his White House is willing to work with Congress to find common ground.
2022 Senate almost-winner Mandela Barnes is launching a PAC to help candidates who are written off by institutional supporters, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: The Wisconsin Democrat, like Maryland's newly-elected Gov. Wes Moore, faced skepticism from some corners of the Democratic Party about his electability, as they both were competing for seats that had always been held by white lawmakers.
Ohio crews conducted the controlled release of toxic chemicals into the air on Monday from five train cars involved in a derailment in East Palestine.
The latest: "The controlled breach of several rail cars has been completed successfully under the supervision of experts and first responders," per a Monday night statement from Norfolk Southern Railroad, which was overseeing the release.
Team Biden is convinced that its State of the Union challenge tomorrow is as much about perception as reality.
Why it matters: Economic indicators are heading in the exact direction the White House predicted, but voters are deeply skeptical that the economy is working for them.
The Senate is getting an all-member classified briefing on Thursday in the wake of the surveillance balloon that traveled across part of the U.S., a spokesperson for Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) told Axios.
The big picture: Some lawmakers have been demanding more information related to the balloon and Republican lawmakers have criticized President Biden for not shooting it down sooner.
The Air Force general overseeing American air space admitted Monday that the military had failed to identify multiple Chinese surveillance balloons that flew over the U.S. in the past, calling it a "domain awareness gap."
The Department of Justice on Monday charged two people over an alleged plot to attack multiple energy facilities in the Baltimore, Maryland, area.
Driving the news: Sarah Beth Clendaniel of Catonsville, Maryland, and Brandon Clint Russell of Orlando, Florida, were arrested for conspiring to attack multiple electrical substations aiming to "completely destroy" Baltimore, the DOJ said in a press conference.
Red states are limiting Black history lessons in public schools at the same time scholars are producing groundbreaking new works around art, slavery, civil rights, and the Great Migration.
Why it matters: A work on Black history has won a National Book Award every year since 2018 as historians find more stories that challenge the popular U.S. narrative. That's sparking a backlash.
