Facing increased public scrutiny, Google and Facebook spent record amounts of money lobbying the US government on privacy and antitrust policies in 2018, with both companies topping previous highs, new data filings showed.

In quarterly filings to Congress disclosed on Tuesday, Google revealed that it dished out a company-record of $21.2 million on Washington lobbying last year, besting its previous record of $18.22 million from 2012. The search giant spent $18.04 million on lobbying in 2017.

Facebook disclosed a lobbying spend of $12.62 million, which was up from its previous high of $11.51 million in 2017, according to the Washington D.C.-based Center for Responsive Politics which tracks money in politics

https://www.rt.com/usa/449528-google-facebook-government-lobbying/

A Russian Sukhoi Su-27 fighter jet was deployed to intercept an unidentified aircraft moving towards the Russian border. The potential intruder turned out to be a Gulfstream jet collecting intelligence for the Swedish military.

The Swedish spy plane turned off its transponder while conducting a mission over the Baltic Sea, the Russian Defense Ministry reported on Thursday.

…video…

https://www.rt.com/news/449563-russian-interception-swedish-plane/

and good mourning to you