Scott

Poland will send four Soviet-era Mig fighter jets to Ukraine - becoming the first Nato country to send planes since Russia invaded last year. Polish President Andrzej Duda said they would be sent in the coming days, with others handed over in the future. Though a welcome boost to Ukraine's air defence, the extra jets are not expected to be decisive in the war. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-64975770

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HOUSTON — Texas officials on Wednesday announced a state takeover of Houston’s nearly 200,000-student public school district, the eighth-largest in the country, acting on years of threats and angering Democrats who assailed the move as political. The announcement, made by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s education commissioner, amounts to one of the largest school takeovers ever in the U.S. It also deepens a high-stakes rift between Texas’ largest city, where Democrats wield control locally and state Republican leaders have sought increasing authority in the wake of election fumbles and pandemic restrictions. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/texas-announces-takeover-houstons-public-school-district-rcna75119

Switzerland’s central bank said Wednesday it was ready to provide financial support to Credit Suisse after shares in the country’s second biggest lender crashed as much as 30%. In a joint statement with the Swiss financial market regulator FINMA, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) said Credit Suisse (CS) met the “strict capital and liquidity requirements” imposed on banks of importance to the wider financial system. “If necessary, the SNB will provide CS with liquidity,” they said. https://edition.cnn.com/2023/03/15/investing/credit-suisse-shares-saudi-national-bank/index.html

The special prosecutor leading the "Rust" film-set shooting criminal case resigned on Tuesday, following complaints from Alec Baldwin's legal team that her appointment was "unconstitutional." In a statement, Andrea Reeb said that "after much reflection" she had made the "difficult decision to step down as special prosecutor in the 'Rust' case." Reeb was brought on as a special prosecutor in August, to help with charging decisions in the investigation into the 2021 fatal shooting on the "Rust" film set. https://www.yahoo.com/news/special-prosecutor-charge-alec-baldwins-153135073.html

The Environmental Protection Agency announced Wednesday it had finalized its so-called good-neighbor rule, which aims to cut down on harmful smog and nitrogen oxide pollution from coal-fired power plants and industrial facilities. The agency will require 23 states that are currently not meeting the requirements to adhere to the rule, which sets limits on air pollution from smog and ground-level ozone that wafts into other states. For instance, if one state generating ozone and smog through its coal-fired plants is sending ozone into another state, it could be in violation of the rule. https://edition.cnn.com/2023/03/15/politics/epa-good-neighbor-power-plant-pollution-rule-climate/index.html#:~:text=The good-neighbor rule is,natural gas-fired power plants.

From the first year I worked, I paid taxes. The taxes began only after the Work Permit was issued. Prior to getting the Work Permit, I didn't pay tax. At the end of the tax year, the staff prepared a document that we filled out and sent to the Revenue Department and every year there was a refund, issued by check from the Revenue Department. We were also issued with a small slip of paper that we were asked to keep in our passport. It gave information on the employee, tax paid, etc. It was to be used in the event any employee leaving the country had any trouble with immigration.

The usual criteria to be a refugee is that you face persecution. The country does not have to be at war. If you recall, according to Putin, he is not at war, he is involved in a special military operation.

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As the light faded and tens of thousands of protesters made their way back from the Knesset to Jerusalem’s train station last week, the mood was tired but determined. Israel’s newly re-elected prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is no stranger to demonstrations calling for him to resign. But the now two-month-old movement against his far-right coalition’s plans to overhaul the judicial system is not like those he has faced before – or like any in the country’s history. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/feb/18/israeli-spring-protests-netanyahu-leave-palestinian-citizens-in-the-cold

A Russian fighter jet forced down a US Air Force drone over the Black Sea on Tuesday after damaging the propeller of the American MQ-9 Reaper drone, according to the US Air Force. The Reaper drone and two SU-27 Flanker jets were operating over international waters over the Black Sea when one of the Russian jets intentionally flew in front of and dumped fuel in front of the unmanned drone, according to the official. One of the jets then damaged the propeller of the Reaper, which is mounted on the rear of the drone, the official said. https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/14/politics/russian-jet-us-drone-black-sea/index.html

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Former President Trump told reporters on Monday that "in many ways you can blame" former Vice President Mike Pence for the U.S. Capitol riot, per the Washington Post. The big picture: It's the latest in a long-running feud that began after Pence resisted pressure from Trump and certified the 2020 election results. Driving the news: Trump's latest comments were in response to Pence's remarks over the weekend that "history will hold" Trump "accountable" for the insurrection — marking the former vice president's sharpest rebuke yet on the matter. https://www.axios.com/2023/03/14/trump-pence-jan-6-riot-blame

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President Joe Biden spoke out Monday morning in an effort to reassure Americans there is no need for panic after federal agencies stepped in following the failures of two big banks over the weekend. "Americans can rest assured that our banking system is safe. Your deposits are safe. https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/biden-speaks-banking-crisis/story?id=97820883

LONDON — HSBC on Monday announced a deal to buy the U.K. subsidiary of collapsed U.S. tech startup lender Silicon Valley Bank, following all-night talks. HSBC confirmed that its U.K. ring-fenced subsidiary, HSBC UK Bank, had agreed to acquire SVB U.K. for £1 ($1.21). The assets and liabilities of SVB U.K.’s parent company are excluded from the transaction. The acquisition “strengthens our commercial banking franchise and enhances our ability to serve innovative and fast-growing firms, including in the technology and life-science sectors, in the U.K. and internationally,” said HSBC Group CEO Noel Quinn. https://www.cnbc.com/2023/03/13/hsbc-buys-silicon-valley-bank-uk-protecting-deposits-.html

Gary Lineker to return to Match of the Day as BBC's Tim Davie denies climbdown Gary Lineker will return to present Match of the Day after he was taken off air following an impartiality row after he criticised the government's new asylum policy. BBC director general Tim Davie said an independent review of BBC social media guidelines would be carried out - but denied the BBC had backed down. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said "it was right" the matter had been resolved. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-64936917

President Joe Biden's plan to wipe off or reduce student loan debt is backed by the majority of Americans, according to a poll conducted exclusively for Newsweek. Biden's debt forgiveness plan delivers on a campaign promise that would cancel $10,000 in federal student loan debt for those making less than $125,000 or households with less than $250,000 in income per year. Pell Grant recipients would get an additional $10,000 in debt forgiven. https://www.newsweek.com/joe-biden-student-loan-plan-huge-boost-poll-1787145

A lawsuit, recently filed in a Texas trial court, seeks to answer a question that has vexed lawyers, doctors, hospitals, and patients ever since the Supreme Court permitted the state to ban abortions: When can a Texas patient obtain an abortion in order to save their life or ward off serious health consequences? Texas is famously one of the most anti-abortion states in the country — you may remember the Supreme Court fight over the 2021 Texas law that sics litigious bounty hunters on abortion providers — but even in Texas, it is legal for doctors to perform an abortion when one is necessary to protect the health or life of a patient. Or, at least, it is supposed to be legal. https://www.vox.com/politics/2023/3/12/23631278/supreme-court-abortion-texas-medically-necessary-sepsis-zurawski

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Marine scientists are tracking a 5,000-mile-wide seaweed bloom that is so large, it can be seen from space. These sargassum blooms are nothing new, but scientists say this one could be the largest in history. At last check, it was heading toward Florida’s Gulf coast. The thick mat of algae drifts between the Atlantic coast of Africa and the Gulf of Mexico, providing habitat for marine life and absorbing carbon dioxide, but it can also wreak havoc when when it gets closer to shore. It blocks light from reaching coral and negatively impacts air and water quality as it decomposes. https://thehill.com/homenews/3896298-giant-seaweed-blob-twice-the-width-of-the-us-takes-aim-at-florida/

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Prosecutors on Sunday rejected the notion that newly public footage of Jacob Chansley — known as the QAnon Shaman — accompanied by police in the Capitol undercuts his criminal conduct on Jan. 6, 2021. In their first response since Fox News’ Tucker Carlson aired the footage — supplied to him by Speaker Kevin McCarthy — prosecutors indicated that Carlson aired footage only from a four-minute period toward the end of Chansley’s hourlong trip through the Capitol, omitting the most incriminating aspects of his conduct. “The televised footage shows Chansley’s movements only from approximately 2:56 p.m. to 3:00 p.m,” prosecutors said in a 10-page court filing connected to the seditious conspiracy trial of five Proud Boys leaders, including Dominic Pezzola, who used a riot shield to initiate the breach of the Capitol. https://www.politico.com/news/2023/03/12/qanon-shaman-jacob-chansley-footage-00086703