"On Tuesday, one Russian SU-27 fighter jet forced down a U.S. surveillance drone, leading it to crash into the Black Sea.

"This was the first highly consequential military encounter of the kind that could have resulted in a direct conflict between Russia and the U.S.

"Even if Moscow and Washington manage to avoid such a catastrophic clash, their proxy war over Ukraine, which is in its second year, will transform the world in the long term, nevertheless."

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"Congressional investigators have identified a labyrinth of at least a dozen bank accounts that were used to funnel money from foreign sources to Joe Biden's family and uncovered the first evidence that some funds went to benefit the future president, the chairman of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee has disclosed.

"'It's getting very close to Joe Biden,' Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) told Just the News.

"In a wide-ranging interview with the 'Just the News, No Noise' television show Wednesday night, Comer said his investigators were finally allowed to see Suspicious Activity Reports filed with the Treasury Department by banks flagging Biden family overseas business transactions dating back years.

"Whistleblowers have augmented those financial records with testimony, Comer revealed."

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"President Biden is facing strong pushback from Republicans challenging his claim that U.S. taxpayers won't foot the bill for rescuing wealthy investors who deposited their money in Silicon Valley Bank, which federal regulators now control.

"GOP senators argue the banks around the country that pay into the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), which will cover depositors' losses, are also U.S. taxpayers and that higher bank fees are likely to be passed down to consumers.

"They also have questions about the creation of a new lending facility the Federal Reserve announced on Sunday to provide other banks with liquidity if depositors begin to demand their money back en masse as they did at Silicon Valley Bank.

"The Fed's new Bank Term Funding Program will be backed up by $25 billion the Treasury Department will make available from the Exchange Stabilization Fund, which Congress relied on to keep financial markets from freezing at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic."

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"When Cincinnati firefighter Ed Wallace bought a high efficiency Whirlpool washing machine, he came to regret the decision almost immediately. The machine used less water -- not enough to clean Wallace's work clothes -- and his colleagues at the firehouse quickly took notice. 'I walked past my guys and they say, "Dude, you stink!"' Wallace said. 'I smelled myself, and yeah, that's me stinking.'

"Now, President Joe Biden is pushing regulations that could force Wallace's stinky situation upon millions of Americans.

"Biden's Energy Department last month proposed new efficiency standards for washing machines that would require new appliances to use considerably less water, all in an effort to 'confront the global climate crisis.' Those mandates would force manufacturers to reduce cleaning performance to ensure their machines comply, leading industry giants such as Whirlpool said in public comments on the rule. They'll also make the appliances more expensive and laundry day a headache -- each cycle will take longer, the detergent will cost more, and in the end, the clothes will be less clean, the manufacturers say.

"The proposed washing machine rule marks the latest example of the administration turning to consumer regulations to advance its climate change goals. Last month, the Energy Department published an analysis of its proposed cooking appliance efficiency regulations, which it found would effectively ban half of all gas stoves on the U.S. market from being sold. The department has also proposed new efficiency standards for refrigerators, which could come into effect in 2027. 'Collectively these energy efficiency actions ... support President Biden's ambitious clean energy agenda to combat the climate crisis,' the Energy Department said in February."

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"The federal government Sunday announced the failure of a second bank with deep ties to the tech industry -- as regulators rushed to try to stem the losses caused by last week's collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.

""Manhattan-based Signature Bank -- a key financial institution for the cryptocurrency industry -- was shut down over a 'similar systemic risk exception,' according to a joint statement from the heads of the US Treasury, Federal Reserve and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

"Silicon and Signature depositors will be made whole, but the banks' shareholders and unsecured debtors will not be protected, officials said.

"The Federal Reserve said it will create a new Bank Term Funding Program to offer depository institutions loans of up to one year, backed by US Treasury securities and other assets, to help the banks.

"The feds said the steps they are taking 'will ensure that the U.S. banking system continues to perform its vital roles of protecting deposits and providing access to credit to households and businesses in a manner that promotes strong and sustainable economic growth.' ...

"A banking source in San Francisco called the developments 'good for depositors, but it is more regulation -- and it moves us closer to nationalizing banking.'"

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"If you're running a business, you know that 2023 is a fight. Many small businesses are already seeing a drop-off in demand as the global economy slows.

"Inflation is, and will remain, persistently high. A tight labor market is making it hard to find good talent. Well, here's some more bad news: The federal government is going to throw another punch in this fight, and it's going to land right in your face.

"That's because there are a group of regulations that will appear in 2023 that will make it harder for small businesses to stay in business.

"Worker classifications are changing: As I've written previously here, a new worker classification rule is looming from the Department of Labor (DOL) that will have a significant impact on how businesses of all sizes determine whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor. The definition will include many factors, but the most important will be whether a worker is 'integral' to the business. This means that if an independent contractor is providing services that contribute to a company's making and delivering of products and services, that person may have to be classified as an employee, bringing the rights, benefits and additional taxes that come along with that classification. This rule will impact countless small and mid-sized businesses. ...

"Non-compete agreements are going away: Do your employment agreements have a clause that forbids an employee to work for a competitor within a certain geographical range if they leave your company? Although this practice has been abolished or curtailed in some states, others still allow the practice for non-hourly or highly-compensated employees. ...

"Businesses this year are getting pummeled by inflation, a looming recession, a tight labor market and much uncertainty. Do these additional regulatory punches help them grow, add jobs and invest? Or will it result in them cutting back on their number of employees and compensation? To ask is to answer."

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"The Federal Trade Commission's demand that Twitter reveal the names of journalists who were granted access to company records is being assailed as 'an outrageous attack on the First Amendments.'

"Matt Taibbi, the former Rolling Stone journalist, blasted his 'former colleagues in mainstream media' for failing to cover what is being billed as 'insane overreach' by FTC Chair Lina Khan.

"He wrote that the lack of media outrage was 'particularly infuriating' given that none of the journalists who published the 'Twitter Files' had 'asked for nor received access to private user data' whereas 'the Files themselves are full of instances of government agencies improperly asking for the same.'

"'Which journalists a company or its executives talks to is not remotely the government's business. This is an insane overreach,' according to Taibbi."

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"Attorney Gigi Sohn is withdrawing her nomination to the Federal Communications Commission, she announced Tuesday. ...

"Sohn made the announcement shortly after Democratic West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin came out against her nomination.

"'The FCC must remain above the toxic partisanship that Americans are sick and tired of, and Ms. Sohn has clearly shown she is not the person to do that. For those reasons, I cannot support her nomination to the FCC, and I urge the Biden Administration to put forth a nominee who can bring us together, not drive us apart,' Manchin said in a statement."

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"For years, the Department of Homeland Security has run a virtually unknown program gathering domestic intelligence, one of many revelations in a wide-ranging tranche of internal documents reviewed by POLITICO.

"Those documents also reveal that a significant number of employees in DHS's intelligence office have raised concerns that the work they are doing could be illegal.

"Under the domestic-intelligence program, officials are allowed to seek interviews with just about anyone in the United States. That includes people held in immigrant detention centers, local jails, and federal prison. DHS's intelligence professionals have to say they're conducting intelligence interviews, and they have to tell the people they seek to interview that their participation is voluntary. But the fact that they're allowed to go directly to incarcerated people -- circumventing their lawyers -- raises important civil liberties concerns, according to legal experts."

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"An old saying, attributed to Henry David Thoreau, maintains that you do not have to find a trout in your glass to know someone is watering down the milk. This week Americans found a veritable school of trout in their milk -- an unintentional demonstration by the Biden administration of why such a gathering of fish is often called a 'lie.'

"In the 17th release of the 'Twitter Files,' journalist Matt Taibbi disclosed that the U.S. government is funding a group that has supported the censorship of dissenting viewpoints on social media, including those of U.S. citizens. ...

"The latest Twitter Files release suggests the Biden administration may have seeded various groups to help it censor by surrogate. We still have no idea how extensive the federal funding and support for censorship has been. Right now, however, it is beginning to look like we have more trout than milk in our glasses."

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