SUCH A STATE: President Biden delivers his State of the Union address tonight to possibly the largest national audience he will have before the November election, an enormous opportunity to sell himself to unenthused voters.

  His biggest task will be to convince voters that the economy is not as bad as many of them think it is … and Donald Trump tells them it is. The stock market is at record highs and unemployment at record lows. But food and housing prices are gouging everyday Americans. The economy hits them every time they go to the grocery.

  The President can be expected to talk about raising corporate taxes and doing something to reduce the cost of housing. Biden’s State of the Union speech will “discuss the historic achievements he’s delivered for the American people and lay out his vision for the future,” the head of the president’s National Economic Council told reporters.

  The President is losing support over his support for Israel in its murderous Gaza war. Will Biden take a dramatic turn or stay with the program?

  Biden’s problem is that he’s a mediocre public speaker, at best. He doesn’t move a crowd. Donald Trump says he’ll be issuing live critiques on Truth Social while Biden speaks and no matter what he says, he’ll be quotable.

HALEY BOWS OUT: Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley dropped out of the race yesterday, wishing Donald Trump “well,” but not endorsing him for president. 

  While losing all but two primaries this season Haley still won significant percentages of the votes. She said, “It is now up to Donald Trump to earn the votes of those in our party and beyond it who did not support him, and I hope he does that.”

  Trump skipped the moment of grace and said about Haley, “Much of her money came from Radical Left Democrats, as did many of her voters, almost 50%, according to the polls.” 

  Setting herself apart from the isolationist wing of her party cutting off aid to embattled Ukraine, Hale said, “Standing by our allies in Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan is a moral imperative.” She added, “If we retreat further, there will be more war, not less.”

  In a confirmation that party is above all things with the Republicans, Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell endorsed Trump even though they have not spoken in three years since Trump racially insulted the senator’s wife.

  Following the January 6^th insurrection, McConnell condemned Trump, saying, “The mob was fed lies. They were provoked by the president and other powerful people.”

  Yesterday McConnell said, “It should come as no surprise that as nominee, he will have my support.”

DEAD SHOT: A new Mexico jury yesterday convicted Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the weapons handler on the set of the movie “Rust,” guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Gutierrez-Reed was found to have put live rounds in the revolver handled by actor Alec Baldwin.

  Gutierrez-Reed faces up to 18 months in prison and Baldwin still faces charges. 

  Live bullets are not supposed to be anywhere near a movie set. It is also the responsibility of the armorer … that was Gutierrez-Reed’s job … to ensure and verify that a gun is safe. But it has never been determined where the live rounds came from.

  Baldwin’s trial is set for July. He has said he did not pull the trigger, that there were not supposed to be any live rounds on set, and that he had been assured the gun was safe.

THE WAR ZONE: In the first fatal attack on shipping in the Red Sea, a Houthi militia missile killed two crew members on a commercial ship. At least six other crew members were reported injured.

  The ship, M/V True Confidence, a Liberian-owned bulk carrier, has been abandoned and coalition warships are assessing the situation. 

  The Houthi have been attacking shipping in support of the embattled Hamas militants in Gaza. A Houthi statement said they will not stop their attacks in the Red Sea until the Israeli “aggression stops and the siege on the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip is lifted.”

NEAR MISS: A Russian missile struck yesterday about a thousand yards from a convoy carrying Ukraine president Volodomyr Zelensky and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Five people were killed in the strike and more were wounded, according to a spokesperson for the Ukrainian Navy. 

  Reports say people in the convoy felt the impact and saw a “mushroom cloud” of smoke.

  Ukraine does not reveal its military losses, but they have reported what they say are Russian losses since the start of the war in 2022. 

  Here is some of it, unverified: The plus numbers were added after the report was compiled: Combatl losses of about 420,270 soldiers, 6,678 (+21) main battle tanks, 12,728 (+40) armored combat vehicles, 10,308 (+50) artillery systems, 1,008 (+1) multiple launch rocket systems, 701 (+1) air defense systems, 347 aircraft, 325  helicopters, and warships/cutters, 26 (+1).

THE SPIN RACK: Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips, the little-known Democratic candidate running against Joe Biden, dropped out of the presidential race. — Eight Philadelphia high school students ages 15 to 17 were shot at a public bus stop yesterday. One student shot several times was in critical condition. Police said that as a bus pulled up, three people got out of a parked car and opened fire, loosing at least 30 rounds.  — In response to increasing violence in the New York subways, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that hundreds of National Guard soldiers and State Police will patrol the platforms and spot check riders’ bags beginning this week. 

BELOW THE FOLD: Champagne is for drinking at the Oscars, not the carpet. After rolling out a champagne-colored carpet at the Oscars last year forcing the stars to walk a red carpet that was not red, the Academy of Motion Pictures has once again rolled out the red in preparation for Sunday’s Oscars.   

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