Top of the Fold

• House bans Russian energy: In an overwhelmingly bipartisan decision, the House voted 414-17 on Wednesday to approve legislation that stops the import of Russian oil, natural gas, and coal. Following Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, the chorus of lawmakers on both sides of the aisle objecting to the U.S.‘s continued import of Russian energy has only gotten louder. Joe Biden initially rejected a ban on Russian oil, given that doing so would only add to the already spiking prices at the pump — prices spiking thanks to his anti-fossil fuel policies. However, facing growing pressure from Congress, Biden sought to stave off lawmakers by issuing an executive order banning the import of Russian energy. Biden doesn’t want to be bound by Congress, which is likely why some Democrats in the Senate appear to be balking at passing the Russian energy ban. The House’s legislation does require Congress to act within 90 days should it seek to block any Biden decision to ease up on sanctions in the future.

• Biden moves to join rather than regulate the cryptocurrency movement: Joe Biden issued an executive order on Wednesday directing federal government agencies to create reports on and recommend regulations for cryptocurrencies. Biden’s order, entitled “Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets,” also directs agencies to explore the possibility of creating a digital dollar and instructs the Justice Department to ascertain if new legislation would be required to implement it. Crypto advocates praised Biden’s action, seeing it as a move that further legitimizes the “innovation,” while crypto critics complained the order is a step backwards against needed regulation. As Lee Reiners, a crypto skeptic and executive director of Duke University School of Law’s Global Financial Markets Center, contends, “This is as close to an embrace of crypto as you could have hoped for from this Biden administration, if you’re pro-crypto.” The world’s biggest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, saw its price jump 9% following Biden’s EO.

• Disney objects to Florida’s Parental Rights in Education legislation, but remains mum on genocidal China: The execs at Disney recently expressed their opposition to Florida’s recently passed legislation that bans the teaching of gender identity ideology and sexual orientation in kindergarten through third grade. The Leftmedia and LGBTQ activists falsely branded the legislation as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, claiming that it prevents children from expressing their gender and/or “sexual identity.” In reality, the bill’s aim is to prevent the indoctrination and grooming of young children into a leftist gender ideology. Disney has become one of the biggest supporters of LGBTQ advocacy and is seeking to pressure Republican Governor Ron DeSantis into vetoing the legislation. DeSantis’s office acknowledged that he had been contacted by Disney but also made clear that the governor was not buying the false rhetoric surrounding the legislation. His spokeswoman stated, “The same Florida parents who take their families to Disney also support parental rights in education, because they do not want their young children exposed to inappropriate content about sex and gender theory at school.” Meanwhile, Disney shareholders have blasted the company for its hypocrisy for catering to China and refusing to challenge or even acknowledge the country’s ongoing atrocities committed against the Uyghurs.

Headlines

• Democrats remove COVID funding provision from omnibus bill after backlash (Daily Wire)

• Republicans preserve $1.9 billion in border wall cash (Washington Times)

• New York Times reporter comes clean, admits Leftmedia “were making too big a deal” about January 6 (PJ Media)

• Texas flagged 27,000 mail ballots for rejection in primary (AP)

• Harris County, Texas, election administrator “finds” 10,000 mail-in ballots days after the election (PJ Media)

• Nickel’s price surge could threaten automakers’ ambitious electric-vehicle plans (CNBC)

• Russia confirms use of thermobaric “vacuum bombs” in Ukraine (Fox News)

• DNI: China engaged in largest nuclear buildup in history, preparing ground to take Taiwan (Washington Times)

• Policy: Ukraine and the Great Energy Reset: If there were ever a time for energy realism, it is now (City Journal)

• Humor: Hillary vows to stop importing dossiers from Russia (Babylon Bee)

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

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