State of the Union: Biden rebukes Putin, offers 'unity agenda'

"We are stronger today than we were a year ago," the president said.

Last Updated: April 6, 2022, 10:13 AM EDT

President Joe Biden delivered his first State of the Union address as Russian strikes were killing civilians, forces were massing near Ukraine's capital Kyiv and Russian President Vladimir Putin showed no sign of backing down.

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Here is how the news is developing today. All times Eastern. Check back for updates.
Mar 01, 2022, 7:56 PM EST

For more live coverage

For more live coverage of the State of the Union, head to FiveThirtyEight, which is providing updates on Biden's address as well as the Texas primary election.

"Given the current state of affairs, both foreign and domestic, tonight is a big night for the president," writes FiveThirtyEight politics reporter Alex Samuels.

Mar 01, 2022, 7:54 PM EST

US to announce ban on Russian carriers from its airspace

Biden is expected to announce tonight that the U.S. will ban Russian carriers from its airspace, a person familiar with his remarks told ABC News.

Canada and the European Union have also issued similar bans following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

-ABC News' Ben Gittleson

Mar 01, 2022, 7:23 PM EST

GOP shares response ahead of Biden's remarks

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds is expected to hit Biden on inflation, foreign policy and school reopenings in the GOP response to tonight's State of the Union, according to an excerpt of her speech released by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

"Instead of moving America forward, it feels like President Biden and his party have sent us back in time to the late '70s and early '80s. When runaway inflation was hammering families, a violent crime wave was crashing on our cities, and the Soviet army was trying to redraw the world map," she said in the prepared remarks.

Keeping schools open "is only the start of the pro-parent, pro-family revolution that Republicans are leading in Iowa and states across this country," she said.

"Republicans believe that parents matter. It was true before the pandemic and has never been more important to say out loud: Parents Matter," she continued. "They have a right to know, and to have a say in, what their kids are being taught."

-ABC News' Lalee Ibssa

Mar 01, 2022, 7:17 PM EST

Biden to announce new 'test-to-treat' program for COVID-19 pills

The president will announce a new "test-to-treat program" for COVID-19 during his State of the Union address tonight, his chief of staff said during an interview on CNN.

"Because we're getting millions of these new Pfizer pills, we'll be able to test people in drugstores, and if they test positive, immediately give them medicine that prevents hospitalization, free of charge," Ron Klain said.

"And so we're taking the next steps to make sure that COVID does not control our lives, that we can get this country closer to being back to normal," he added.

Klain did not give any more details on how the program would work, such as if people would need a prescription.

The Biden administration has purchased 20 million doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 oral therapy, Paxlovid, although the pill is not expected to be widely available until later this spring. The current plan calls for gradually ramping up to 10 million doses by the end of June and another 10 million by the end of September.

-ABC News' Ben Gittleson and Anne Flaherty