[music playing]
- Mr. speaker.
- Mr. vise president.
- Distinguished members of the United States Congress.
- Members of the Supreme Court.
- Distinguished guests.
- My fellow American--
- --I can report to you.
- --the State of the Union--
DONALD TRUMP: --is stronger than ever before.
- Think for a minute how-- - Far--
- --we have come--
- --in 200 years.
- We find ourselves challenged by new problems--
- --in this country-- - --at home--
BARACK OBAMA: --and abroad.
DONALD TRUMP: Our values are renewed.
- There is demanded of us--
- --vigilance--
- --determination--
- --and dedication.
- We must rise--
- --to make a nation-- - --better than--
- --any we have-- DONALD TRUMP: --ever known.
- For the road-- BARACK OBAMA: --has been--
- --long. - And the burden--
- --heavy-- - And the pace--
- Urgent. - This is not--
- --going to be-- - --easy.
- We have only-- - --begun.
- Let us have-- - --the will--
- --and the patience-- - --to do--
- --this job--
BARACK OBAMA: --together.
- We need many different kinds of strength--
BARACK OBAMA: Military-- - --economic--
- --political-- - --and moral.
- Nothing is-- - --impossible.
- No victory--
- --is beyond our reach.
- No glory--
- --will ever be too great.
- We
- --are Americans-- - --part of--
BARACK OBAMA: --something--
- --larger--
- --than ourselves. BARACK OBAMA: God bless--
- --you and-- - God--
- --bless-- - --the United States--
- --of America. [applause]
BARACK OBAMA: Thank you.
God bless you.
[audio logo]
CARL AZUZ: And some of the themes
you heard at that montage will likely be discussed tonight
when US President Joe Biden gives his first official
state of the Union address.
He gave this kind of speech last year in April
appearing in front of a joint session of Congress,
but it wasn't technically called the State of the Union
because it was his first such address after his election.
And traditionally, presidents aren't yet considered
authorities on the State of the Union
after just a couple of months in office.
The US Constitution does not say when a president has
to give this speech or even that a president
should give a speech.
Article 2, section 3 only says, quote,
"He shall from time to time give to the Congress information
of the State of the Union, and recommend
to their consideration such measures as he shall
judge necessary and expedient."
So the fact that a speech like this is given every year,
the fact that it's done in person, the fact
that it's televised and put online,
the fact that it's followed up by a response
from the opposing political party, all of these
are traditions associated with the State of the Union,
but they're not required by the constitution itself.
Still, the event is an extraordinary opportunity
for the president and the party in opposition
to lay out their visions for the country.
President Biden's speech on March 1
will be the first one held in March since 1934.
All the others have taken place in January or February.
There's a lot going on in the US and abroad
that will factor into tonight's speeches--
the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the president's Supreme Court
nominee, the problem of inflation,
the upcoming US midterm elections,
issues related to COVID-19.
You can expect all of this and more
when President Biden enters the House of Representatives at 9
o'clock PM Eastern and when Iowa governor, Kim Reynolds,
gives the Republican Party's response afterward.
[audio logo]
10 second trivia.
What is the currency of Russia?
Euro, Rial, Ruble, or Dinar?
[beep]
[audio logo]
The Ruble is the official currency of Russia and Belarus.
The Russian Ruble has crashed during the country's invasion
of neighboring Ukraine.
By that, we mean it lost 25% of its value on Monday.
And the Russian stock market was closed on Monday and Tuesday.
We've reported how the US is one of numerous countries
imposing sanctions on Russia.
It's an effort to hurt the nation's economy
and pressure it to withdraw from Ukraine.
Critics had said the sanctions were too little too late.
And President Biden acknowledged last week,
quote, "no one expected the sanctions to prevent anything
from happening," suggesting it'd take
time after Russia's invasion for sanctions to take effect.
But economic analysts say they're starting to bite now.
For years, Russia's governments been preparing
for something like this, saving up international currencies
and gold.
But some of those assets are in other countries, which aren't
giving Russia access to them.
This is part of an interruption in the flow of money to Russia,
hurting its ability to do business.
And one example of how that happens is through Swift.
[audio logo]
- It's like the pipework of international banking.
Founded in 1973 to replace the dated telex transfer system,
Swift handles the majority of international money transfers
and settlement of trades.
It's short for Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial
Telecommunications, and now connects over 11,000
financial institutions.
Removing Russia from Swift would make it extremely
difficult for financial institutions
to send money in or out of the country,
delivering a sudden shock to Russian companies
and their foreign customers.
Kicking Russia out of Swift was considered in 2014 in response
to the annexation of Crimea.
At the time, former Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin
estimated that the expulsion could shrink the country's
economy by 5%, and it's not just Russia that would be affected.
There's no globally accepted alternative to Swift,
so Russia's expulsion could potentially
hit everyone who has international business
dealings with the country.
After Russia, Germany and the US might have the most to lose.
The Carnegie Moscow Center says German and American
institutions are the most frequent users of Swift to
communicate with Russian banks.
[audio logo]
Next, today, the world's plastic pollution problem
is not a new subject for us.
Waste is growing in landfills and oceans worldwide.
What's also growing, though, are the number
of proposed solutions.
We couldn't find exact costs for the disposable plates
and bowls you're about to see.
Similar products run about $0.50 to $0.80
per plate while plastic form plates
cost around $0.30 a piece.
But the newer technology comes at a lower
cost for the environment.
[audio logo]
[music playing]
- In the South Indian city of Hyderabad,
employees at Bollant Industries are
making disposable products, like colorful plates
and sheets of cardboard.
Their materials, fallen leaves from areca, a palm
species, and recycled paper.
SRIKANTH BOLLA: I call myself a waste person
because I really love waste.
I want to recycle all the waste that I could in this world,
and be a hero, and be a symbol of the next generation.
- Srikanth Bolla is part of a small but growing field
of Indian entrepreneurs hoping to prove
that companies can help the environment and turn a profit.
His country is one of the world's top polluters.
India produces more than 15 million tons of plastic waste
every year according to the UN.
This summer, India is slated to ban most single use plastics,
which experts say will dramatically drive up
demand for eco-friendly products as well
as packaging in the country.
[non-english]
- Bollant Industries is also notable for the leader
at its helm.
Bolla was born blind to poor and illiterate parents
in a village in Andhra Pradesh.
SRIKANTH BOLLA: Growing up in India as a child
I had to overcome a lot of stigma,
barriers, and unacceptability in the society
as I was blind from birth.
My childhood was a very lonely.
Not that I was poor because I was
made separated by the world.
- He founded his company in 2012 with an aim
to employ as many people with disabilities as possible,
like Kavala Krishnaiah whose legs are not fully formed
due to polio.
His job is to make disposable plates
and bowls at Bollant's manufacturing unit.
SRIKANTH BOLLA: Our core vision is
to employ as many people as possible who are
at the margins of the society.
We want to empower this big stream of people
who are in many millions.
- The company currently employs around 400 people,
a quarter of whom have disabilities, Bolla says.
The MIT graduate says his products are currently
sold to around 200 small and medium
enterprises across India, such as restaurants.
SRIKANTH BOLLA: Sight is just for the eye
and not for the vision of the mind.
So if you have vision, sight cannot do anything.
If you have strong passion, willpower, and confidence
in your mind and soul, I'm sure you
physical disability can never stop
you from achieving success.
[music playing]
CARL AZUZ: Myles Harris is a news reporter in Ohio.
And his mom, Sandi, is super proud of him.
As Myles was setting up for an on camera segment
about a crime story, guess who stopped by.
MYLES HARRIS: This is my mom.
Hold on.
- Hi, baby.
CARL AZUZ: The person you hear laughing is his photographer,
DeAngelo Bird.
He didn't just record it.
He put it on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter.
And, now, Myles and his mom are both famous.
MYLES HARRIS: And that's just like a prime example of one
a mom being a mom but just trying
to get that front row seat to kind of see what I'm doing.
CARL AZUZ: I once heard the pun, if it's not one thing,
it's your mother.
And some do tend to off-spring into action
embarrassing their kids whenever they can.
And family matters.
There are always growing pains.
Myles might have been thinking, give me a break.
But it takes different strokes to keep
family ties regardless of whether there's a full house.
I'm Carl Azuz.
Rancho High School in North Las Vegas, Nevada,
gets today's shout out.
Thank you for your request on our YouTube channel.
And Thanks to all y'all for watching CNN.