Politics

A two-day conference that gets under way Saturday, March 2, in Dallas is meant to help people become more articulate and tell a persuasive story in opposition to fracking, the natural gas drilling technique. The Frack Attack National Summit is organized by Earthworks, a Washington, D.C.-based environmental policy firm. Spokesman Alan Septoff said the conference is aimed at creating a unified message in opposition to fracking.

A University of Louisiana at Lafayette professor emerita of English has started an online petition to urge state lawmakers to restore funding to the state’s public universities. Ann Dobie has gathered nearly 2,000 signatures through her petition on the site signon.org. She hopes the petition is a wake-up call to lawmakers that higher education budget cuts have far reaching consequences.

Airs Tuesday, February 12 at 8 pm. President Obama will deliver his State of the Union address and  NPR News will offer live anchored special coverage starting at 8 pm CT. Our special coverage will be hosted by Melissa Block. She'll be joined in the studio by NPR National Political Correspondent Mara Liasson and Senior Washington Editor Ron Elving.