💬 Quoted… “It doesn’t make the news, but in thousands of cities and towns the American people are writing the greatest comeback story never told.”

• President Biden delivered his third State of the Union address last night, in which he addressed a wide range of topics including public concern over his age and fitness to hold office for another four years. He also proposed raising the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%, highlighted recent positive US economic indicators, and asked lawmakers to back additional funding for Ukraine. In the GOP’s response address, Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL) criticized Biden’s foreign policy and his handling of immigration at the southern US border.

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🛒 Stat of the Day: If you’ve seen a recent spike in ads for mind-bogglingly cheap products, you’re not alone. Chinese e-commerce giant Temu spent nearly $2 billion on Facebook advertising in 2023, making it the platform’s top advertiser, per a new WSJ report. And it’s not just Facebook – Temu became one of Google’s top five advertisers by spending last year, in addition to booking four 30-second ads during last month’s Super Bowl. Overall, Temu’s increased marketing spend contributed to an average loss of $7 an order last year, according to a Goldman Sachs estimate.

🤔 Did You Know?... In George R. R. Martin’s book series A Song of Ice and Fire (aka the inspiration for Game of Thrones), there are more than 2,000 named characters and over 41,000 interactions between them.

📰 Worth a Read: How Hollywood Star Hedy Lamarr Invented the Tech Behind WiFi → (History)