By Mike Allen (@mikeallen; mallen@politico.com) and Daniel Lippman (@dlippman; dlippman@politico.com)
Good Tuesday morning, and happy State of the Union! Join us on Politico at 9 tonight for live coverage, including our signature “What He Said/What He Meant,” anchored by senior policy reporter Darren Samuelsohn. Ben Schreckinger, our intrepid Trump-watcher, will size up the impact on the candidates. Katie Couric anchors live on Yahoo. Check out what NPR, and the cable and broadcast networks are up to, in listings below. (Plus a pic of ABC anchor David Muir brandishing a football on ESPN.)
--MEMO TO THE GOP CANDIDATES: Don’t forget to wish El Rushbo a happy 65th today.
BREAKING THROUGH -- “Obama struggling to get attention for the State of the Union: Amid a raucous presidential campaign and online distractions, the president and his team are working on creative ways to break through the cacophony,” by Politico’s Sarah Wheaton: “With no new policies or initiatives to announce, Obama’s effort to break through is even tougher. ... The White House promises Obama also will not spend too much time looking back at the past seven years or issue a list of demands for the next one. Instead, he’ll deliver a soaring speech about the nation’s future and talk about, as White House press secretary Josh Earnest put it, how decisions made today will impact the ‘next generation of Americans.’
“That thematic approach is ‘more farewell address than State of the Union address,’ said Georgia State University presidential historian Daniel P. Franklin. ... [A]ides are launching an unprecedented campaign for the attention of the next generation, the millennials. ... They are hosting a ‘West Wing’-inspired online Q-and-A session with more than 50 administration officials called ‘#BigBlockofCheeseDay.’ They’ll provide annotations of the speech on Genius, behind-the-scenes moments on SnapChat and Instagram, and on Friday, interviews of the president by YouTube stars Destin Sandlin, Ingrid Nilsen and sWooZie.
“Obama intends to offer a rebuttal of the ‘downer’ messages of the Republican field, arguing that America is great — again — after digging out of the worst recession in decades over the course of his seven years in office.” http://politi.co/1J0dQw5
--PETER BAKER, middle of N.Y. Times A1, “News Analysis: A Speech to Balance Terror and Reality”: “In a recent off-the-record meeting with columnists, [Obama] emphasized that ...ISIS ... did not threaten the United States in a fundamental way, according to people who were in the room. As a result, he said, the danger does not merit an all-out military response involving American ground troops.
“He would send significant ... forces to the Middle East ... only in the event of a terrorist attack in the United States so catastrophic that it all but paralyzed the country with fear. The president is more careful about expressing such an analysis in public, acutely aware that his past comments have made him look as if he was underestimating the threat.” http://nyti.ms/22WOXZ0
WHITE HOUSE JOINS SNAPCHAT – BuzzFeed’s Evan McMorris-Santoro: “Snapchat, theoretically the least permanent social media platform, won’t pose problems for White House archivists, an official [said]. ... ‘[W]e’ll be fully compliant with [Presidential Records Act] requirements, saving and preserving snaps for archives ... [S]tay tuned for the president’s participation down the line.’” http://bzfd.it/1OMM86r
--Blog post by Facebook alumnus Josh Miller, White House Director of Product Management for the Office of Digital Strategy, on the “WhiteHouse” Snapchat account: “[O]ur Official Story will take you behind the scenes of the White House’s State of the Union preparations, with footage and angles you won’t find anywhere else.” http://1.usa.gov/1neJA6V
--Per the Speaker’s office: “Speaker Ryan will be sitting behind the president ... We know many Americans watching won’t be familiar with him. ... As such, we’re adding fresh content to our website to introduce the speaker, including a get to know Paul Ryan video, and behind-the-scenes photos throughout the day on Instagram.” 39-sec. video http://bit.ly/1mT7gxQ
INSIDE THE WEST WING -- “Biden says Obama offered financial help amid son’s illness,” by CNN’s Kevin Liptak: “Describing in an interview with ... Gloria Borger one of his weekly lunches with Obama, Biden said he told the President he was worried about caring for Beau’s family without his son’s salary. ... ‘He said, “I’ll give you the money. Whatever you need, I’ll give you the money.’” http://cnn.it/22WHvgu
NEW ON THE TWITTERS: Ned Price @Price44, National Security Council spokesperson.
JOE SCARBOROUGH (celebrating The Tide’s 45-40 roll over Clemson in last night’s College Football Championship) on Politico, “Cosby era presents problems for candidate Clinton”: “The Age of Bubba has been swept into the dustbin of history by the ugly realities of the Cosby Era, where turning a blind eye to powerful politicians, perverted entertainers and predatory priests sexually abusing subordinates is no longer an option.” http://politi.co/1IZXt2O
** A message from the National Retail Federation: President and CEO Matthew Shay writes, “In the heat of political rhetoric, it is easy to forget that retail businesses and the people who work in them not only drive the nation’s economy, but also bring great passion and energy to what they do. Retail impacts everyone, everywhere, every single day.” Read more: http://bit.ly/1RH7lQ6 **
LATE-NIGHT BEST – JIMMY FALLON gives Trump a mock job interview for president: “Do you want to tell me a little about yourself?” Trump: “Well I’m an extraordinarily handsome person. I have a beautiful head of hair. I was always a good student and I always worked hard.” ... Jimmy: “What are your weaknesses?” Trump: “That I never forget. ... I’m too nice too long and when it becomes that someone takes advantage of a situation, I become too bad for too long. So I think I maybe have to have a little bit shorter memory, wouldn’t be so bad.” Jimmy: “Are you willing to relocate?” Trump: “I love the White House.” Jimmy: “Now Donald, this is a high profile position. Is media attention something you would be comfortable with?” Trump: “Not at all. I’d be very very uncomfortable with it.” 3-min. video http://bit.ly/1RIAcU5
WASHINGTON, INC. -- “Freedom Caucus eyes controversial former DeLay aide for top job,” by Jake Sherman, John Bresnahan and Lauren French: “The House Freedom Caucus is considering hiring Ed Buckham, a controversial former top aide to Tom DeLay and central figure in the Jack Abramoff scandal ... Buckham, DeLay’s former chief of staff, interviewed to be the conservative group’s executive director ... Buckham’s former lobbying firm, Alexander Strategies Group ... collapsed under the weight of a Justice Department probe into Jack Abramoff, a close confidant of DeLay and Buckham.” http://politi.co/1OnWlmo
-- “Jim Bognet Joins The Glover Park Group’s Strategic Communications Practice” as SVP – Forthcoming release: “Bognet ... has advised corporate clients on reputational issues and served in senior strategy and management roles during the last two presidential election cycles on the Romney and McCain campaigns. Bognet also served as Campaign Manager for large statewide campaigns, including a Senate Race in Texas and a primary for Governor of California.” http://politi.co/1SfgQrd
TAKING HIS TOYS -- “Rand Paul to Fox Business: I’m skipping your [undercard] debate” Thursday in North Charleston, S.C., after he and Fiorina bounced from main stage -- Dylan Byers and Teddy Schleifer: “‘I won’t participate in anything that’s not first tier because we have a first tier campaign,’ [Rand] told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer.’” http://cnn.it/1OYqFJI
--Fox Business announcement, with memo to Decision Desk http://fxn.ws/22WVrag
--Rand Paul fundraising email with subject line, “Are you kidding me?”: “I know the media and the Washington machine have been trying to block our message, but I didn’t think they’d go this far. ... We just learned ... we will not be allowed on the mainstage at Thursday’s debate. That’s because the media doesn’t care about the truth, they care about their own agenda. They want to decide the ‘tiers’ of this race and name the winners and losers. I will not stand for this.”
CHRISTIE’S ROMNEY PROBLEM – Boston Globe p. A1, below fold, “Christie’s record of switching positions gives fodder for foes,” by Matt Viser: “Like ... Romney ... Christie [is] a blue-state governor in a Republican presidential primary. In choosing to adjust to meet the expectations of a more conservative audience, at a time when polls say voters crave authenticity, he has opened himself to attacks [that] he lacks core convictions. ... Christie once supported national education standards, he’s now against them. After backing a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, now he’s opposed.” http://bit.ly/1ULmwqT
WHAT N.H. IS READING – Union Leader p. A1, above fold, “Primary War of Words: ABC decision to oust paper called offensive -- GOP debate: Union Leader has endorsed candidates, remained a co-sponsor in the past,” by Dan Tuohy: “New Hampshire Republican leaders say they are disappointed that ABC News has removed the Union Leader as a co-sponsor of the Feb. 6 GOP presidential debate. ... Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-NH, said, ‘The Union Leader has long been a vital part of our first-in-the-nation primary ... This is an offensive decision’ ...
“Robin V. Sproul, vice president of ABC News, informed Union Leader Executive Editor Trent Spiner and Publisher Joseph W. McQuaid Sunday that the newspaper would not be a co-sponsor. ... ‘We felt that the current war of words with Trump, coupled with the [Christie] endorsement already made, put us in a difficult position — there was just too much distraction from what we need to accomplish in the debate.’” http://bit.ly/1OMNTAB
--Union Leader p. A1, below ABC story, “Campaigning in NH, Trump has insults for all,” by Dan Tuohy in Windham: “issued put-downs for conservative Jeb Bush, liberal Bernie Sanders, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, former Gov. John H. Sununu, and Union Leader Publisher Joseph W. McQuaid, among others.” http://bit.ly/1KaHp9t
PIC DU JOUR -- @rebeccaballhaus: “Bush campaign going all in on the Jeb! logo at Iowa HQ.” With lots of exclamation points! http://bit.ly/1ZhCUkf
NEW RIGHT TO RISE ad, “Vane,” slams Rubio as a weather vane flipping in the wind: “Marco Rubio: He ran for Senate saying he opposed amnesty. Then he flipped, and worked with liberal Chuck Schumer to co-author the path-to-citizenship bill. He threatened to vote against it, and then voted for it … Marco Rubio, just another Washington politician you can’t trust. Jeb Bush! He’s a leader, so you always know where he stands.” http://bit.ly/1l25MPX
TRUMP SPOTTED in an early-state diner, a rare sight for him -- @realdonaldtrump: “#TrumpTrain - Red Arrow Diner, #Manchester, #NewHampshire”. http://bit.ly/1RyUAsH
CRUZ at MATALIN/CARVILLE home -- New Orleans Advocate’s Will Sentell: “The Republican’s swing through Louisiana included a private, $1,000 per person lunch at Mansurs on the Boulevard, the public rally at the Marriott Hotel and a $2,000 per person VIP reception in New Orleans on Monday at the home of former GOP operative Mary Matalin, who is married to Democratic strategist James Carville.” http://bit.ly/1OnVSkb
CARLY’s Glamour interview with S.E. Cupp for its February issue, hitting newsstands today: “Donald Trump is not a leader, and I do not think Donald Trump will be our nominee. If he were, Hillary Clinton would wipe the floor with him.” www.glamour.com
2016 PLAYERS -- “Two More Staffers Depart Carson Campaign,” by Kevin Cirilli: “Michael Zarlenga, the campaign’s general counsel, and Renee Burchard, its operations director, recently notified Carson they are departing the struggling campaign.” http://bloom.bg/1Rjlfth
BUSH ALUMNI – “Top staffer [Elise Jordan] leaves Rand Paul’s campaign,” by Alex Isenstadt: “Jordan, a former Bush White House and State Department aide who had been advising Paul on foreign policy, has left the campaign to take a job at NBC News and MSNBC as a political analyst. ... Jordan is the widow of Michael Hastings, the former ‘Rolling Stone’ reporter.” http://politi.co/1neDvYc
JANE MAYER SNEAK PEEK -- NYT A16, “Kochs’ Brothers Helped Build a Nazi Oil Refinery, Book Says,” by Nick Confessore: “Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right,” by Jane Mayer (out Jan. 19), "traces the rise of the modern conservative movement through the activism and money of a handful of rich donors ... The episode is not mentioned in an online history published by Koch Industries.” http://nyti.ms/1OMFGwv ... $22.30 on Amazon http://amzn.to/1RjoErU
STATE OF THE UNION anchors: CBS: Scott Pelley, Norah O’Donnell and John Dickerson ... ABC: George Stephanopoulos ... NBC: Lester Holt ... MSNBC: Rachel Maddow and Chris Matthews ... NPR: Audie Cornish ... CNN: Wolf Blitzer, Anderson Cooper and Jake Tapper lead coverage ... Fox News: Bret Baier ... Fox Broadcasting: Shepard Smith ... Fox Business: Neil Cavuto ... Bloomberg TV: Brendan Greeley anchors, with Al Hunt and Margaret Talev ... PBS: “NewsHour” moderators Gwen Ifill and Judy Woodruff, plus Mark Shields, David Brooks, Sen. John Thune, Michael Beschloss and Lara Brown, director of George Washington University’s Graduate School of Political Management.
DAVID MUIR anchors ABC’s “World News Tonight” from D.C., after taking a redeye from Arizona, where he anchored “World News” inside the College Football Playoff stadium, and joined hosts of ESPN “GameDay.” Pic of him clutching a football on the ESPN set, with ABC News colleagues Christine Romo and Drew Millhon http://bit.ly/1RIIwU6
FIRST LOOKS -- “Announcing the Launch of Carnegie India [this April]” – forthcoming release: “The center’s research and programmatic focus will include the political economy of reform in India, foreign and security policy, and the role of innovation and technology in India’s internal transformation and international relations.” http://ceip.org/1ZXMj2G
-- “Puerto Rico Economic Recovery Initiative Launches to Highlight Human Impact of Debt Crisis ... [and] Need For Congressional Action” – forthcoming release: “Javier Ortiz, a partner at Falcon Cyber Investments, will serve as Executive Director of the group.” http://politi.co/1TRtqL6 ... www.fixpuertorico.org
-- “Generation Opportunity Releases 2016 State of the Millennial Report”: “chronicles how the largest potential voting bloc in the country is facing enormous socioeconomic hurdles that have a growing number of them convinced the American Dream is dead.” http://bit.ly/1ndSEsy
VALLEY TALK -- “Will Running 1 Mile a Day With Zuckerberg Actually Make You Healthier?” by Outside Magazine’s Martin Fritz Huber: “To kick off the new year, the Facebook CEO started a public group called A Year of Running. In a post to his personal page that included a pic of him and a couple other Facebook execs plodding along, smartphones in hand, Zuckerberg challenged his 47 million followers to run 365 miles in 2016.” http://bit.ly/1Sfg9hL The Facebook group http://on.fb.me/22WNJNk
--“Snapchat’s Daily Mobile Video Views Said to Rival Facebook’s,” by Bloomberg’s Sarah Frier and Emily Chang: “Snapchat ... delivers more than 7 billion video clips each day ... That rivals the amount watched on Facebook Inc., which has 15 times as many users. ... Facebook, which has 1.55 billion users, had more than 8 billion daily video views in the third quarter ... Snapchat users have to click on a video to watch it, while Facebook autoplays clips in its news feed.” http://bloom.bg/1RjmYP9
MEDIAWATCH -- “New Republic Owner Chris Hughes Puts Magazine Up For Sale,” by WSJ’s Lukas I. Alpert: “Hughes ... admitted he had underestimated ‘the difficulty of transitioning an old and traditional institution into a digital media company in today’s quickly evolving climate. ... After investing a great deal of time, energy, and over $20 million, I have come to the conclusion that it is time for new leadership and vision at The New Republic,’ he wrote in a memo to staff.” http://on.wsj.com/1RjouRa His full memo, posted on Medium http://bit.ly/1neDRxY
--WSJ cybersecurity reporter Danny Yadron, a DC bureau alum, has started working as a technology reporter at The Guardian. “I write about things on the Internet, both cool and terrifying.”
--“Independent Journal Review has promoted Joe Perticone to Congressional Reporter - announcing in our typical Vine fashion.” http://bit.ly/1l25yrZ
SPORTS BLINK – L.A. Times 2-col. lead, “Consensus grows for 2 NFL teams in Inglewood Idea of moving Rams, Chargers to one venue gains momentum.” http://lat.ms/1TRIFU9
OUT AND ABOUT -- The D.C. launch event for Jay Newton Small’s new book, “Broad Influence: How Women Are Changing the Way America Works,” was held last night at Cafe Milano. Hosted by Juleanna Glover, Giovanna Gray Lockhart, Kathleen and Chris Matthews, Franco Nuschese, Heather Podesta, Michael Scherer, Kimball Stroud, and Brian Wolff. Pic of Nancy Pelosi and Jay at the party http://bit.ly/1SfqdY0 $19.58 on Amazon http://amzn.to/1NUgUu3
--SPOTTED: Leader Pelosi, Rep. Debbie Dingell, Stephanie Cutter, former Sen. Kay Hagan, Ilyse Hogue, Sam Feist, Polson Kanneth, Susan McCue, Lee Satterfield Steel, Susan Neely, Penny Lee, Pam Stevens, Missy Owens, Mark Paustenbach, Nick Massella, Kim Kingsley, Laurie Knight, Marissa Mitrovich, Tamara and Art Buchwald, Kiki and Tim Burger, Jonathan Capehart and Nick Schmit, Margaret Carlson, Steve Clemons, Betsy Fischer Martin, Edward Felsenthal, John Garcia and Margaret Talev, Ben and JoAnn Ginsberg, Becca Glover Watkins, Steve Holland, Terrell McSweeny, Rebecca Cooper, Erica Payne and Gene Haigh, Erik Smith and Edith Gregson, Jim Sciutto and Gloria Riviera, Kate Bennett.
ENGAGED -- “Jerry Hall, 59, and Rupert Murdoch, 84, announce their engagement in The Times [of London] after a whirlwind four month romance” – The Daily Mail’s Rebecca Davison and Tim Lamden: “Rupert ... announced the news on the Births, Marriages and Deaths page of the newspaper. The classified ad read: ‘Mr Rupert Murdoch, father of Prudence, Elisabeth, Lachlan, James, Grace and Chloe Murdoch, and Miss Jerry Hall, mother of Elizabeth, James, Georgia and Gabriel Jagger are delighted to announce their engagement.’ ... It’s marriage number four for Rupert and a first for Jerry. Her unofficial ceremony to Rolling Stone rocker Mick Jagger were declared invalid after they split in 1999.” http://dailym.ai/1mT9b5m
WELCOME TO THE WORLD – “Jason and Jessica Van Beek ... announce the birth of their daughter, Alexandria Reagan Van Beek. Allie was born at 9:32pm [Sunday], weighing 6 lbs 1 oz. She’s 19.5 inches tall. Allie’s dad is Deputy General Counsel for Chairman Thune on the Senate Commerce Committee staff. Mom and baby are doing great.” Pic http://bit.ly/1ZhBQg8
POOL REPORT FROM DALE BUMPERS’ FUNERAL: “D.C. was ably represented at the first United Methodist church by current Senators Reid, Durbin, and Donnelly and former senators David Pryor, Mark Pryor, Blanche Lincoln, Chris Dodd, Jim Sasser, Donald Riegle, and Tim Hutchinson and Jeff Bingaman. Speakers were legendary Arkansas newsman Ernie Dumas, David Pryor, and former president Bill Clinton. ... Clinton alternated between old war stories (the time he and Dale almost died getting to the Gillette coon supper) and evidence for his summations. ‘He always tried to raise people up, to make them bigger. He was a great senator, a great governor, the finest orator we ever saw.”
--SPOTTED: Former staffers from DC: Bill Massey, Melissa Skolfield, Rich Flick, Barbara Fleck, Chancy Lyford.
REMEMBERING DAVID BOWIE – The (London) Daily Telegraph, “How David Bowie turned his own death [of liver cancer, a friend says] into a piece of art after keeping terminal cancer a secret: ... died just two days after release of his album Blackstar, which he had planned as his own requiem,” by Gordon Rayner and Hannah Furness: “With showmanship bordering on the supernatural, Bowie released his final album, Blackstar, on Friday, laden with pointers to his demise, then fulfilled the prophesy of his lyrics by passing away just two days later. ... Bowie is understood to have died in New York, his adopted home city.” http://bit.ly/1mS9GfB
--N.Y. Times Quotation of the Day – James C. Nicola, artistic director of New York Theater Workshop, where Bowie musical “Lazarus” is playing, on the singer’s burst of creativity before his death. Bowie had told few people he had cancer: “What seemed not too long ago intriguingly complicated, ambiguous and opaque now seems pretty clear: a man who was yearning for immortality.”
REMEMBERING BILL LATOFF – Blair Holmes, on Instagram: “This morning I said goodbye to the one person who has been by my side every day of my life. ... One of the lasting memories I’ll have is him overhearing a woman who was forced to dine alone at the table next to us on Easter. As he had done countless times, he quietly asked that her check be added to ours contingent that she not know it was him who paid. She surely left the restaurant that day thinking she had a guardian angel looking after her to brighten her day. She did. This was Bill Latoff’s life in a nutshell. His 67 years were testimony to what people can accomplish if they're not afraid to try. ‘Carpe Diem,’ he always said to me. ‘Seize the day, my dear.’” http://bit.ly/1OMQieB
BIRTHDAYS: Theo Baker is 11 (hat tip: Mom and Dad, Susan and Peter) … Jeff Bezos is 52 ... Rush Limbaugh is 65 ... Christiane Amanpour is 58 ... Howard Stern is 62 ... Doug Thornell, managing director at SKDKnickerbocker and a diehard Redskins superfan (h/ts Anita and Hilary) ... Case Button, longtime HRC aide and speechwriter, dives deeper into his 30s out in Wyoming, where his wife reports on energy for NPR/PBS and he consults, writes, teaches and moonlights as a ski bum (h/t Nick Merrill) ... Sarah Karlin of Politico’s health team (h/t Joanne Kenen) ... Stephanie Rigizadeh of Hamilton Place Strategies (h/t Sabrina Siddiqui) … Kevin Curran, a Bush W.H. alum, now executive director of Maverick PAC and partner at Rock Creek Advisors, is 36 (h/t girlfriend Sarah Belknap, who recently joined Targeted Victory to manage their ad platform Targeted Engagement) ...
... Stephanie Taylor, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee … Chris Laible, producer at CBS News and a CNN and Fox alum ... AP’s Sam Hananel, covering the Supreme Court and legal affairs … A.J. Rice of Allen Media Strategies … Will Nelligan … Jamie Kamlet, director of advocacy and comms. at D.C.’s Academy of Hope, and older brother Ben (yes, born same day two years apart), producer at KickTV (h/t Lee Kamlet) ... George Tricker … author John Aloysius Farrell … Bush 43 alum Chris Marston ... journalist Sarah Kershaw … WTOP’s Debra Feinstein … Angela Foster Birdseye … Kate Noel …
... Lisa DePaulo … Julian Potter … Allison Cutler … Anne Mosle … Danny O’Brien, a Biden and Menendez alum now on GE’s global gov’t affairs team … Natalie Gregory ... Allison Cutter ... Tien Hunter (h/ts Teresa Vilmain) … Katherine MacGregor (Harriet Oleson on “Little House on the Prairie”) is 91 ... The Amazing Kreskin is 81 ... country singer William Lee Golden (The Oak Ridge Boys) is 77 ... Kirstie Alley is 65 ... legal affairs blogger Ann Althouse is 65 ... writer Walter Mosley is 64 ... country singer Ricky Van Shelton is 64 ... writer-producer-director John Lasseter is 59 ... Charlie Gillingham (Counting Crows) is 56 ... Basketball Hall of Famer Dominique Wilkins is 56 ... Raekwon (Wu Tang Clan) is 46 ... Melanie Chisholm (Sporty Spice) is 42 ... pop/soul singer Ella Henderson (“The X Factor”) is 20 (h/ts AP)
DESSERT – “Somebody Please Buy Me This Genius Alarm Clock Rug,” by BuzzFeed’s Alison Caporimo: “[M]eet Ruggie, an alarm clock rug that won’t stop beeping until you actually get out of bed. There’s a Kickstarter to fund the project, which has over 850 backers. If you pledge $82 or more, you can get your Ruggie by September of 2016. Ruggie’s alarm needs to sense your pressure for at least 3 seconds before it turns off.” http://bzfd.it/1OYqwWN Kickstarter http://kck.st/1RyV427
** A message from the National Retail Federation: Retailers care about jobs because the industry is the nation’s largest private sector employer and the leading creator of jobs. One in four American jobs – 42 million positions – are supported by retail. A third of Americans found their first jobs in retail and nearly two-thirds have worked in retail at some point in their lives, according to NRF research. As of December, retail employment in 2015 had increased by nearly 175,000 jobs over 2014.
Retail jobs are good jobs. Studies show that retail jobs pay wages competitive with similar positions in other industries, that most retail workers are happy in their jobs and that hiring managers throughout the economy value retail experience highly when evaluating job applicants. Unlike other industries that might be concentrated in a few specific locations, retail employees live and work in every city and town from Maine to Hawaii, and retailers are vital members of each community they serve. Learn more at nrf.com/SOTU. **
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