Top of the Fold

• February jobs numbers surged 678,000: Job growth across the nation accelerated in February as the country added 678,000 jobs. The Labor Department reported that the headline unemployment rate ticked down to 3.8%. However, wage growth remained stagnant, rising over January by just 0.03%, or roughly one cent per hour, coming in below an anticipated 0.5% growth. And the number of employed Americans is now approximately 1.14 million less than pre-COVID levels. The job growth is good news. The bad news is that inflation is still a major problem, with next week’s consumer price index expected to rise from January’s 7.5% to an anticipated 8%.

• Biden builds back Build Back Better: Joe Biden is rebranding his failed “Build Back Better” socialist spending bill as “Building a Better America.” Confirming that this is the same failed bill only under a new name, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki stated: “No one cares about the name. … They care about what’s in it and what it’s going to do.” In his abysmal State of the Union Address, the lowest-rated first SOTU in 30 years, Biden used the phrase “building a better America” to describe his plan, but said “we’ll go into more detail later.” So, will this rebranding work? Seeing as it contains basically the same socialist spending and climate agendas as the first, it appears unlikely, if Democrat Senator Joe Manchin’s response is a barometer. “They just can’t help themselves,” he lamented. “Nothing’s changed.” The main reason Manchin has become such a stick in the mud against Biden’s statist agenda is because it not only fails to address the spiking inflation but it actually makes inflation worse, no matter what name it’s given.

• Russia attacks Ukraine nuclear power plant: Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, Zaporizhzhia, was struck by Russian forces, raising global concerns of another potential Chernobyl-like nuclear disaster. The plant was struck by a Russian projectile on Thursday that set part of the facility on fire. The White House released a statement Thursday evening “urging Russia to cease its military activities in the area and allow firefighters and emergency responders to access the site.” Reports this morning indicate Ukrainian firefighters were able to successfully extinguish the fire. According to the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Mariano Grossi, there was no release of radiation and the reactors have not been compromised. But it seems the Russians have captured Zaporizhzhia, dealing a major blow to Ukraine.

• Pelosi wants to ban Russia oil and American oil exports: On Thursday, Nancy Pelosi responded to a question as to whether she agreed with growing bipartisan calls led by Republican lawmakers for the U.S. to ban the import of Russian oil. The U.S. imported roughly 670,000 barrels of oil and petroleum-based products from Russia every day in 2021, vastly more than before Joe Biden took the helm. “Ban it,” Pelosi responded. “Ban the oil coming from Russia.” However, Pelosi refused to call for Biden to open up U.S. access to oil resources that he has steadily worked to limit. As House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy observed: “Speaker Pelosi: Ban oil from Russia. Also Speaker Pelosi: Ban oil from America. Democrats aren’t trying to punish Russia OR help Americans. They actually want gas prices to be as high as possible so they can scam you with their radical Green New Deal.” Meanwhile, despite Biden telling reporters that “nothing is off the table” regarding banning Russian oil, the White House indicated that it would not be backing such a ban. Jen Psaki said doing so would simply reduce supply of global oil and in turn raise the price at the pump. Well, if Biden would reverse course on his anti-fossil fuel agenda, then that supply problem could be easily solved.

Headlines

• Ukraine military kills a top Russian general (Fox News)

• NATO rejects no-fly zone over Ukraine (Washington Examiner)

• Lindsey Graham calls for Vladimir Putin’s assassination (Washington Examiner)

• Russia losing information war at home, scrambles to reshape narrative (Fox News)

• Fear of martial law sparks Russian exodus (Axios)

• Russia’s credit rating is cut to junk (NPR)

• U.S. says Iran nuke deal close, but “difficult” hurdles remain (AFP)

• Science officially changing: Federal agencies dropping mask mandates (Hot Air)

• Vivek Murthy’s demand for data on COVID “misinformation” part of creepy crusade to suppress dissent (Reason)

• Florida legislature votes to ban abortions after 15 weeks; Ron DeSantis expected to approve (WPTV)

• Iowa passes law preventing biological boys from playing girls sports (PM)

• High Court reimposes Boston Marathon bomber’s death sentence (AP)

• Policy: For the sake of national security, we must reopen the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge (The Federalist)

• Satire: Florida legalizes stuffing kids who wear masks into lockers, giving them wedgies (Babylon Bee)

For more of today’s editors’ choice headlines, visit Headline Report.

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