The Biden administration's efforts to turn up the regulatory heat on gas stoves are drawing bipartisan opposition from a pair of senators who have introduced a bill to block a ban on gas stoves.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., introduced the "Gas Stove Protection and Freedom Act" last week amid the Biden administration's discussions of proposed restrictions on gas stoves.

Shell reported a record-breaking year of profit, posting the highest annual earnings in the company’s 115-year history. 

"This was a truly stunning set of numbers from Shell, way ahead of what forecasts had penciled in and the highest profit in its entire history," said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

Europe's largest energy company reported 2022 adjusted earnings of $39.87 billion, a 109% increase from the prior year. The number broke the previous record of $31 billion set in 2008.

Gas stoves are found in around 40% of homes in the United States, and they've been getting a lot of attention lately. A recent interview with the commissioner of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) quickly became fodder for outrage, viral misinformation and political fundraising, after he proposed regulating the appliance. The proposal stems from a growing body of research suggesting gas stoves are unhealthy — especially for those with asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and children.

You might have thought the fierce public backlash that developed earlier in January when news broke of a planned effort by the federal Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) to regulate and eventually ban the use of gas stoves in the home broke in the media would have nixed that idea for now. But if you thought that, you would be wrong.

Consumer Product Safety Commissioner Richard Trumka Jr.’s threat of a federal ban on gas stoves this month has channeled the goals of left-wing billionaire think tanks that are making significant progress in pushing communities to eliminate fossil fuels.

Is Joe Biden coming for your gas stoves? It seems not, at least not yet—but the mixed messages coming out of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and a Biden-appointed commissioner have left people wondering.

Richard Trumka Jr., who was nominated by the president in 2021, was interviewed by Bloomberg on Monday, in a piece which said that "a ban on gas stoves is on the table amid rising concern about harmful indoor air pollutants".

Washington Governor Jay Inslee announced on Thursday that the state would join California in phasing out new gas and diesel car sales by 2035.

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) that governs motor vehicle emissions for the state adopted new rules that will require 35% of the new cars sold in the state are electric or plug-in hybrids by 2026, with that percentage rising to 68% by 2030 and 100% by 2035.

For years, Europe has depended on Russia for more than 40 percent of its natural gas imports as well as a large portion of its oil and solid fuels. Now that Russia is embroiled in war and facing sanctions from multiple nations, it has tightened its supply to the European Union. As a result, Europeans are struggling with an energy crisis that is forcing millions to dim their lights and ration hot water. 

Russia has resumed pumping gas to Europe through its biggest pipeline after warnings it could curb or halt supplies altogether.

The Nord Stream 1 pipeline restarted following a 10-day maintenance break but at a reduced level.

On Wednesday, the European Commission urged countries to cut gas use by 15% over the next seven months in case Russia switched off Europe's supply.

Russia supplied Europe with 40% of its natural gas last year.

President Joe Biden’s administration on Friday proposed up to 10 oil and gas lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico and one off the Alaska coast over the next five years — going against the Democrat’s climate promises but scaling back a Trump-era plan that called for dozens of offshore drilling opportunities including in undeveloped areas.