Morning Brief: Obama urges action on expansive agenda, DCS contradicts mail policy

Early voting begins for municipal elections—Nooga

Tennessee lawmakers critical of Barack Obama's State of the Union—Nooga

City Council approves water authority board—Nooga

City Council briefed on new traffic signals—Nooga

State authorizer gives charters way to bypass Nashville, Memphis boards—WPLN

Department of Children's Services contradicts mail policy—Tennessean

Tennessee is not alone in exploring export connections—Memphis Business Journal

House takes up parking lot guns bill on Wednesday—AP

Obama calls for "common sense" solutions—Politico

Obama urges action on expansive agenda—Wall Street Journal

Obama pledges push to lift economy for middle class—NY Times

Obama, in State of the Union, makes case that middle class is job one—Washington Post

Sen. Marco Rubio's response puts emphasis on helping the middle class—Wall Street Journal

President calls for $1.5 trillion deficit bargain—The Hill

President to halve Afghan force in next year—Wall Street Journal

Raising minimum wage would ease income gap but carries political risks—NY Times

Aggressive speech, even more aggressive message—Politico

In State of the Union, Obama fills out his progressive agenda—The Hill

Five takeaways from the State of the Union—Washington Post

Minority Leader Mitch McConnell: Sequester will happen—The Hill

Sequester looms, no deal in sight—Wall Street Journal