❓Does Biden admin make US consumers suffer for the sake of ‘green agenda’?

The Biden administration has quietly passed a new regulation that may take a big bite out of the family budgets of many Americans.

🚫The rule effectively bans non-condensing instantaneous natural gas water heaters, which are cheaper than the condensing models, ostensibly to help curb carbon dioxide emissions.

The measure means about 40% of new tankless water heaters currently available in the US will be removed from the market by 2029, The Washington Free Beacon warns.

The new rule will also result in average price of water heaters increasing by about $450, according to the American Gas Association.

✍️The move was published by the Department of Energy on December 26, but the agency did not announce it in a press release, which the Free Beacon describes as a “departure from past appliance regulations.”

The water heater ban may be the Biden administration’s parting shot at president-elect Donald Trump, who has vowed to roll back many of President Joe Biden’s climate-related regulations to boost energy production in the US.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🔍What is the US deep state? Its roots, tools and enablers

The deep state, described by US writer Francis Fukuyama as a network of "unaccountable professional bureaucrats," is a far more extensive entity.
It encompasses not only bureaucracy but also elected officials, Wall Street, major corporations and even foreign government lobbyists, according to renowned US economist Dr Paul Craig Roberts.

🔥He who pays the piper calls the tune

▪️The deep state's influence begins long before governance—it starts at the very phase of elections. Despite the appearance of universal voting rights in the US, voters can only choose from candidates approved by the establishment or the ruling elite, Roberts argues.
▪️"The power that the Constitution gave to individuals now belongs to interest groups that determine elections with campaign contributions," the former Reagan White House official stresses.
▪️ Consequently, elected representatives are obliged to those who funded and supported them, including the influential Israel lobby, arms industry, intel agencies, pharma firms, agribusiness, Wall Street and others.
▪️Efforts to prevent money from dominating elections were effectively overturned in 2010 by a landmark US Supreme Court ruling, which paved the way for unlimited corporate funding of political campaigns.

🔮The deep state dream: All power to the federal government!

▪️Another long-term and insidious process—now actively encouraged by the deep state—is the gradual erosion of state governments in the US and the consolidation of authority within the federal government.
▪️Once all power is concentrated in the federal center, the deep state will gain nearly unlimited scope for maneuvering and exerting control.

❓Will Trump uproot the deep state?

"The entire West is ruled by the US neoconservative doctrine of American hegemony and by the US interest groups who benefit from this hegemony. This is so entrenched that Trump is unlikely to be able to do anything about it," Roberts warns.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🟠Israeli strikes on Gaza claim the lives of 90 people in past 24 hours

🟠Palestine 2: what is known about Yemeni missile that can beat Israeli defenses

🟠Check out the questions Zelensky would unlikely ever face

🟠What’s really behind Trump’s sentencing in ‘hush money’ case?

🟠What is the US deep state? Its roots, tools and enablers

🟠US military bases in Honduras may be closed after Trump’s inauguration. Why?

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🗣Le Pen сriticizes Mayotte restoration plan drafted by French authorities

Marine Le Pen, the head of France's National Rally right-wing party's group in the lower house of the parliament, has criticized the French authorities' plan to restore France's overseas department of Mayotte, which had been hit by Cyclone Chido.

The emergency bill for the restoration of Mayotte will be presented at a meeting of the French Council of Ministers next week. It includes, among other things, the restoration of access to electricity, water and telecommunications for its residents, as well as the strengthening of the law enforcement corps.

"It [the plan] is not enough, because I think it lacks an important component, a diplomatic component, without which much of what is promised will not be implemented," Le Pen said during a two-day visit to Mayotte as quoted by French broadcaster BFMTV.

The state of the department is such that, rather than restoring its facilities, new ones need to be built, as Mayotte has been neglected for many years, Le Pen added.

On December 14, Cyclone Chido hit Mayotte, becoming the strongest storm in over 90 years, according to the French Meteorological Service. The death toll from the natural disaster has reached 39 people, while 4,000 others were injured.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

📡 Italy may spend €1.5bn on encryption tech from SpaceX - Bloomberg

Italy is in talks with Elon Musk's SpaceX for secure government telecom services, reports Bloomberg, citing people with knowledge of the matter. Discussions have been ongoing since mid-2023, though some officials worry it might affect local carriers in Italy's competitive telecom market.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🇮🇷 Iran prepares for large-scale military maneuvers

Iran is preparing for major Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps military maneuvers. Ground troops and equipment have already been deployed to the area in preparation for the maneuvers.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🌨 Will winter storm derail 2024 election certification?

Congress must certify the results of the Electoral College vote, confirming Donald Trump's victory in the presidential election, but with the National Weather Service issuing a winter storm warning, some members of Congress fear the event is in jeopardy.

"Many members of Congress left town this weekend even though they were told to stay. I’m here and will walk to the Capitol if I have to," wrote Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene on X.

According to speaker Mike Johnson, the storm will not be an issue for a vote tomorrow morning.

"The law requires this on Jan. 6. So whether we're in the storm or not, we're going to be in the House to get it done," Johnson told Fox News Channel.

The congressional joint session to count electoral votes will begin at 10 am on Monday.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🎂 Happy Birthday, dear Weowuwoooru!

During the official signing ceremony of the Social Security Fairness Act, President Biden invited a guy named Elisio on stage to sing Happy Birthday, but he stumbled and forgot his name.

Not even close! 🥴

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Nazi Zelensky: 'I despise the Russian people'

Volodymyr Zelensky openly declared his Russophobia in an interview with American journalist Lex Fridman when he said that he is fluent in the Russian language, but sincerely despises the Russian people.

Zelensky used this to explain why the interview was not conducted in Russian, as Friedman had suggested.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🌨⚠️ Winter storm triggers avalanche in Utah's Cottonwood Canyon

A rapid winter storm triggered an avalanche in Little Cottonwood Canyon, Utah, with snowfall rates of up to 5 inches per hour and totals of 12-22 inches. Travel was disrupted, with resorts like Snowbird reporting 19 inches. The weather service warns of more snow and power outages.

📹 Footage from social media

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🚗 NYC launches rush hour congestion charges

Drivers entering parts of Manhattan during rush hour will be charged $9, according to New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

In New York, named the most congested city by Inrix in 2024, drivers spend 101 hours a year stuck in traffic.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

⚖️ 'QAnon Shaman' hopes for Trump pardon 4 years after Capitol storming

Jacob "Shaman" Chansley told RIA Novosti he hopes US President-elect Donald Trump will keep his promise to pardon the protesters.

Chansley, best known for entering the US Capitol wearing his distinctive horned fur hat and face paint, quickly became famous as the "public face" of the events of January 6, 2021. His iconic image spread like wildfire across global media, leaving an unforgettable impression.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

📱 Farage refuses to cede leadership after Musk tweet

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage is rejecting Elon Musk's call for him to step down. The clash follows Musk's praise for the founder of the far-right organization English Defense League Tommy Robinson, whom Farage has criticized.

Reform UK came third in the July 2024 election with 14.3 percent, but won only five seats because of the UK's electoral system.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

⚡️North Korea fires unidentified ballistic missile into the Sea of Japan, Yonhap reports, citing ROK Joint Chiefs of Staff

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🦬 Jan. 6 Shaman: Bull horns ended my political career

Jacob Angeli, formerly known as Jacob "QAnon Shaman" Chansley, tells Ria Novosti that the storming of the Capitol ended his political career.

He previously told Sputnik of his congressional ambitions, but never completed the registration.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

❗️Ukraine intends to undertake a "bloody provocation" against Russia; several dates are being considered, including in January - on the eve of Trump's inauguration (January 20), Vladimir Rogov, Chairman of the Commission of Russia’s Public Chamber on Sovereignty, Patriotic Projects, and Veteran Support, told Sputnik.
 
The purpose of the provocation is to get an improvement in their negotiating position, as it is called in Zelensky's office, as well as new financial assistance and shipments of weapons.
 
According to him, a provocation could be an attempt by the Ukrainian armed forces to launch an offensive on one of the sections of the front line.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

West's support for Ukraine exceeds $300 bln
 
Support for Ukraine from the United States, the IMF, the World Bank, the EU, and other international funds, countries, and individuals has already exceeded $300 billion in 2022-2024, according to a report by the Institute of World Economy and International Relations of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
 
Over the past 10-15 years, the Ukrainian economy has undergone significant structural shifts from large business to small business and from energy-intensive heavy industry to agriculture.
 
Despite significant socio-economic difficulties and the degradation of industrial potential, the Ukrainian economy demonstrates a fairly high level of adaptability to external and internal shocks. But the ability to self-develop is almost lost.


📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Trudeau's time is up? Canada's PM is expected to resign this week - report
 
After months of being under pressure to step down, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is likely to announce his resignation as leader of the Liberal Party this week as he "couldn't survive the political fallout," Bloomberg reports, citing sources.
 
More than 20 members of the Liberal Party have publicly called for Trudeau's resignation, and even more have said in private meetings that the prime minister has no choice but to leave.
 
According to the article, sources do not know whether Trudeau will resign immediately after the announcement or will remain in charge of the government until a new party leader is elected, who will automatically become the prime minister of Canada.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Jan 6 Shaman says top Capitol riot prosecutor ‘smart to resign’ before getting fired

Matthew Graves, who was in charge of the Capitol Riot investigation, made a good move when he announced his resignation prior to Donald Trump’s inauguration, Jacob Angeli, Shaman, told RIA Novosti.

Graves announced in late December that he would resign as United States Attorney for the District of Columbia effective January 16. Trump has repeatedly criticized Graves and stood out against the prosecution. Angeli became the face of the riot due to his extravagant outfit, which included bull horns and a fur headdress.

"He's smart to resign. It's like quitting before you get fired, basically," Angeli said in an interview.

Prosecuting all the January 6 participants was his "only job", so he will be "useless" when Trump who promised to pardon his supporters who took part in the Capitol riot comes in, Angeli added.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt