7. While the media reacts with glee over the Washington Post congratulating themselves for doing their job, the real story is far better

— In a Super Bowl spot that allowed the media to talk about themselves and cast themselves as victims, the Washington Post declared that “Democracy dies in the Darkness.” What most people watching this spot missed was the original spot was purchased for one of Jeff Bezo’s other companies, Blue Origin. Bezos decided to pull the plug on the spot for his spaceflight company, which his mistress helped shoot, and ran this self-aggrandizing tripe instead.

6. Wife of slain Birmingham police officer Sgt. Wytasha Carter will be attending the State of the Union as Rep. Terri Sewell’s (D-Birmingham) guest

— Sewell’s office announced that Tiphanie Carter will attend as President Donald Trump delivers the address to a joint session of Congress this evening. Carter was murdered by criminals who shot him in the head while he was investigating vehicle break-ins in downtown Birmingham. Other members of Congress are bringing illegal aliens, furloughed government employees and other members of the public to highlight issues they feel are important. President Trump’s invited guests include victims of illegal immigration, pardoned criminals and a kid bullied for being named Trump.

5. The Alabama Alliance for Infrastructure is using Ronald Reagan to lobby for more spending on roads and bridges

— In 1982, President Reagan lobbied for more spending to fix infrastructure by saying, “The bridges and highways we fail to repair today will have to be rebuilt tomorrow at many times the cost.” Using Reagan in a red state like Alabama to call for a higher gas tax is a unique approach. The organization running the ads is made up of various Chambers of Commerce, the Business Council of Alabama and other business groups. Other states have used this tactic.

4. The governor of Virginia, who admits to wearing blackface, doesn’t want to be seen as a “racist for life” by resigning

—Governor Ralph Northam (D-VA) insisted that he needs “more time” to decide whether he can cling to power after a disastrous week where he has found few allies and increasing calls to resign. In a “solemn” cabinet meeting that included his possible replacement, he told his staff that he would be branded a “racist for life” and that he needs to convince people that he is not in that photo. Reportedly, his own staff is finding that story hard to believe.

3. The potential next governor of Virginia, and the current lieutenant governor, is facing new scrutiny that the media may have actually handled correctly

— Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax has denied that he sexually assaulted a woman in 2014. The denial included a now rebuked assertion that the Washington Post found inconsistencies in the woman’s story. More interestingly, he says the allegations are being pushed to the media by Northam’s supporters. He said, “Does anybody think it’s any coincidence that on the eve of potentially my being elevated that that’s when this uncorroborated smear comes out?” If true, that would mean Virginia Democrats and the media knew about this allegation and said nothing which is a pretty stark contrast with how those two groups handled allegations against now-Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

2. Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL) touts up to $1 billion dollars in Alabama investment by the FBI

— Shelby was speaking at a Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce event where he spoke about the potential for 4,000 FBI jobs at the Redstone Arsenal facility. These jobs will have an impact on the state that is on par with the $1.6 billion dollar investment by Mazda-Toyota project. Shelby told the crowd that “Huntsville is on fire,” and added, “The whole area is on fire economically. You’re attracting everything here. You’ve got the brainpower here.”

1. It’s State of the Union day — no one knows which President Donald Trump will show up

— President Trump is going to deliver his State of the Union address tonight, which will be his third address to a joint session of Congress. But this time, his new number one foil, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, will be prominently seated behind him and next to Vice President Mike Pence. The potential of another government shutdown, border security and immigration are sure to be featured in the address. The president will call for bipartisan efforts on trade and prescription drugs, but the speech will almost assuredly touch on divisive issues like abortion and could potentially be used to announce a declaration of emergency on border security.