Biden begins State of the Union speech with Russia, inflation in focus

President Joe Biden has kicked off his first State of the Union speech, beginning an address that is expected to focus heavily on the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the president’s plan to fight inflation. Biden is expected to say that the U.S. will close its airspace to Russian airlines in a bid to further punish Russian President Vladimir Putin. And the president will describe a plan to make more products in the U.S. instead of relying on overseas supply chains. “Economists call it ‘increasing the productive capacity of our economy,'” he will say, according to excerpts released by the White House. “I call it building a better America.”

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