Hello and welcome to Background Briefing, available 24-7 at Background Briefing.org.

I'm Ian Masters, and today we'll examine a number of stories and issues in the news. We'll begin with the latest examples of Trump's fealty towards Putin,

who is providing Iran with targeting to kill Americans in the war underway,

which Trump and Whitkoff are denying,

along with having the US abstained from a recent overwhelming UN condemnation of Russia

on the fourth year anniversary

of its invasion of Ukraine.

Joining us to discuss the ties between Trump, Epstein and Putin is Senator Sheldon White House,

a Democrat representing Rhode Island.

He is the ranking member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee

and co-chair of the Caucus on International Nicotics Control and also serves as a senior

member of the Judiciary Committee, the Budget Committee and Finance Committee as well as

ranking member of the Helsinki Commission, formerly known as the Commission on Security

and Cooperation in Europe. He previously served as Rhode

Ireland's U.S. Attorney and State Attorney General before being elected to the Senate in 2006.

Senator White House recently made a speech to the Senate, Donald Trump, Jeffrey Epstein,

and Russia, widely seen on YouTube, which we have a link to at background briefing.org.

Then we'll look into Silicon Valley's tech industrial complex,

which the billionaire bros are determined to replace the military industrial complex with,

and speak with Jonathan Taplin,

an author and director emeritus of the USC Annenberg Innovation Lab,

who has produced music and film for Bob Dylan and the band,

...