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In a powerful State of the Union address last night, President Biden criticized former President Donald Trump, an electoral opponent he did not name, as a serious threat to democracy and world stability.

The speech to Congress also served as a campaign kick-off, as Biden used what was expected to be one of his largest television audiences this year to make the case that he was fit enough for another four years in office.

Biden, who often spoke in a raised voice, sparred with Republican hecklers and discussed his record and plans for the future, focusing on issues such as the economy; immigration; abortion; the cost of prescription drugs and housing; and the wars in Gaza and Ukraine. (Here’s a transcription.)

But the struggle for democracy was a recurring theme. Biden attacked Trump and talked about how his “predecessor” appeared to dangerously support President Vladimir Putin of Russia and, among other things, had lied that Biden had stolen the 2020 election.

“You can’t just love your country when you win,” Biden said.

The answer: Senator Katie Britt of Alabama provided the Republican response. Trump responded in real time to Biden’s speech on his social media site, claiming that “Putin only invaded Ukraine because he has no respect for Biden.”

The US military will build a floating pier off the coast of Gaza to transport hundreds of truckloads of aid to desperate civilians in the enclave, officials said yesterday.

Construction of the pier, which the White House said would be built with help from other countries in the region, could take several weeks and involve hundreds or thousands of U.S. troops on ships just offshore.

Much of the Gaza Strip is on the brink of famine, with the United Nations warning that more than 570,000 Gazans are facing famine, and that the amount of aid entering the enclave is far below levels before Hamas’s attack on Israel on 7 October.

The pier would not solve the central problem of aid distribution within Gaza, where heavy fighting and Israeli bombardments continue in the south, and lawlessness in the north has become so bad that aid groups have suspended operations there. Last week, when desperate Gazans surrounded an aid convoy in the north, more than a hundred people died, some shot by Israeli forces and some trampled.

Two years after their wartime alliance, the bond between the US and Ukraine appears to be crumbling.

The Pentagon is irritated because Ukraine often ignores its military advice. Ukraine is increasingly discouraged that US political paralysis has led to ammunition shortages on the front.

But neither the Americans nor the Ukrainians are on the way out: American intelligence and weapons remain crucial to the Ukrainian armed forces, and Ukraine is eroding the military of Russia, one of the US’s greatest enemies.

Related: Ukrainians have turned to crowdfunding, auctions and lotteries to support their military.

Sometimes caring for endangered species means finding a way to transport manatees over a thousand miles.

The manatees, three orphaned calves sent to the Cincinnati Zoo to grow up, were lifted with a winch, placed in padded containers and flown by cargo plane back to Florida, where they were released among other wild manatees.

SPORTS NEWS

The worst Premier League team ever?: What the numbers say about it Sheffield United.

A dip in form: What goes wrong for Carlos Alcaraz?

Formula 1 Academy returns: New driversmore F1 involvement and races on TV.

The Academy Awards, which start on Sunday evening in Los Angeles, are the biggest night in American film. For a preview, I spoke to Kyle Buchanan, who covers the film industry for The Times.

What should we know about the awards this year?

Kyle: The Oscars always dream of a situation where the biggest films of the year are also the most nominated, and this year they got their wish twice.

They’re pitting ‘Oppenheimer’ against ‘Barbie’, last year’s two huge blockbusters that were so big we came up with the ‘Barbenheimer’ portmanteau to honor them.

Is the industry as obsessed with that confrontation as the rest of us?

They are absolutely obsessed and encouraged by it. Those films brought many people back to the cinema. They reminded them why they care about movies.

So it’s all good to see the ultimate reward body showing so much interest in them too. There is a similarity in sensibilities between the populist bent of the multiplex audience and the sometimes more esoteric bent of the Academy.

I mean, you even had people like Hillary Clinton getting involved in the Barbie snaps. So suffice it to say, if ever people were going to tune in to the Oscars and feel personally involved, it seems to be this year.

Do you have any predictions for us?

You wouldn’t lose much if you voted for “Oppenheimer” almost across the board.

That said, the main race with the most drama is for Best Actress: Emma Stone from ‘Poor Things’ and Lily Gladstone from ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ have been strong all season, taking home major industry awards to win. That could absolutely go either way.

For more, read kyle’s predictions and deconstruct key scenes from all 10 best picture nominees.

That’s it for this week. Thanks for reading and see you Monday. – Than

PS During two months of covering South America, Annie Correal was thinking about audio while reporting.

You can reach Dan and the team at briefing@nytimes.com.

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