The invitation list for President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address on Thursday speaks volumes about what Democrats and Republicans want to focus on as the 2024 election season heats up.
Biden and Democratic lawmakers have invited several health care providers and women whose lives have been impacted by stricter abortion laws in states with Republican-controlled legislatures following the landmark 2022 Supreme Court ruling that stripped away constitutional protections for abortion. First lady Jill Biden has also invited union leaders, a gun control advocate, and others that she and her husband have met as they traveled the country promoting his agenda.
Republican lawmakers are inviting guests who place heavy focus on the nation’s broken immigration system, an issue that voters say is a central concern ahead of the November election.
The guests invited to sit in the galleries for Biden’s speech also include at least a few people whom nearly everyone in hyper-partisan Washington should be able to cheer.
Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns was ruled out of the game at Indiana on Thursday because of what the team listed as left knee soreness.
The Athletic and ESPN reported that Towns has a torn meniscus and was mulling options for treatment. The Timberwolves declined to confirm the reports.
The ninth-year forward has helped the Western Conference-leading Timberwolves thrive this season, averaging 22.1 points and 8.4 rebounds per game while shooting a career-best 42.3% from 3-point range. Towns has missed only one previous game to injury this season, for left knee soreness on Dec. 23.
He showed no obvious signs of trouble in Minnesota’s most recent game on Monday against Portland, but he played only 21 minutes, his second-lowest total of the season.
The absence of Towns will put more scoring burden on All-Star Anthony Edwards and also elevate the role off the bench of Naz Reid, who is the primary backup to Towns and center Rudy Gobert.
The utility provider Xcel Energy said Thursday that its facilities appeared have played a role in igniting a massive wildfire in the Texas Panhandle that grew to the largest blaze in state history.
Texas officials have said they are still investigating the cause of the fire that has burned nearly 1,700 square miles (4,400 square kilometers) and destroyed hundreds of structures. The Minnesota-based company said in a statement that it disputes claims that “it acted negligently” in maintaining and operating infrastructure.
“Based on currently available information, Xcel Energy acknowledges that its facilities appear to have been involved in an ignition of the Smokehouse Creek fire,” the company said in a statement.
The fire was among a cluster of fires that ignited in the rural Panhandle last week and prompted evacuation orders in a handful of small communities.
Juan Del Valle can be reached at delv9625@stthomas.edu.