1/ The Biden administration approved the Willow oil-drilling project in the Alaskan Arctic over the objections of nearby tribal communities, environmentalists, and Democrats, who warned that the development threatens the pristine wilderness and that the project’s greenhouse gas emissions contradict Biden’s vow to fight climate change. Last month, the Interior Department said it had “substantial concerns” about the Willow project, including its direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions and impact on wildlife. The Interior also estimated that the project would generate roughly 9.2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide a year – the equivalent to adding two million gas-powered cars to the roads. The U.S. currently emits about 5 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide annually. The decision allows ConocoPhillips to start developing three drilling sites within Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve. The project is expected to produce about 180,000 barrels of oil a day at its peak – equivalent to about 40% of Alaska’s current crude production. Separately, Biden made the entire U.S. Arctic Ocean indefinitely off limits to future oil and gas leasing, and limited drilling in more than 13 million acres in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, where ConocoPhillips’s 600 million-barrel Willow venture is planned. (Associated Press / Washington Post / New York Times / Wall Street Journal / NBC News / Bloomberg / CNN / CNBC / NPR / Politico)

2/ The Biden administration took emergency measures to ensure that all depositors of Silicon Valley Bank – which failed Friday – and Signature Bank – which failed Sunday – would be paid back in full. Following the second- and third-largest bank failures in history, the U.S. Treasury, the Federal Reserve, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. invoked a so-called systemic-risk exception to back deposits beyond the federally insured ceiling of $250,000 to prevent contagion at other small and regional banks. “Americans can rest assured that our banking system is safe. Your deposits are safe,” Biden said. “Let me also assure you we will not stop at this; we’ll do whatever is needed.” The Federal Reserve also set up an emergency lending program to ensure that other banks could meet the needs of depositors. Federal officials noted that the money being used to aid depositors will come from the Deposit Insurance Fund that banks – not taxpayers – pay into. The failure of Silicon Valley Bank – the nation’s 16th largest bank – occurred two days before the 15th anniversary of the Federal Reserve-backed rescue of Bear Stearns. (NBC News /