News Roundup: U.S. Gas Prices Reach 14-Year High, AAA Says

BY JACK CROWE

March 07, 2022

Good morning and welcome to the News Editor's Roundup, a weekly newsletter that will ensure you're up to date on the developments in politics, business, and culture that will shape the week's news cycle — as well as those that might escape mainstream attention.

U.S. Gas Prices Reach 14-Year High, AAA Says

Average U.S. gas prices jumped to $4.009 per gallon Sunday, the highest since late July 2008, as Russia contends with the fallout of global sanctions for invading Ukraine.

The average price, calculated by AAA, soared 11 percent over the past week alone. Gas was an average of $3.604 one week ago and just $2.760 one year ago.

The current cost of gas is the highest since gas prices hit a record $4.114 a gallon on July 17, 2008, according to automobile club data cited by Reuters. At that time, U.S. crude futures jumped to a record $147.27 a barrel.

Ukrainian Single Mother Recounts Terrifying Escape from Kyiv: 'Beyond Scary'

Marina Mazur was on the phone with her boyfriend early on February 24 when she first heard what she assumes were rockets flying over her Ukrainian family's home in Kyiv.

For months, Ukrainians had been questioning whether the Russians really would attack. In an instant, she knew. "We understood, it's like invasion, and actually that it is war," she said.

The 35-year-old single mother said she rushed into her 14-year-old son's bedroom, and told him to get dressed. They gathered basic necessities, and decamped to a shelter in the basement of her parents' home, along with Mazur's parents, sister, brother-in-law, and niece.

Russian Banks to Switch to Chinese Card System after Visa, Mastercard Suspend Operations in Russia

Multiple Russian banks on Sunday announced plans to begin issuing cards using a Chinese card operator's system with Russia's Mir network after Visa and MasterCard pulled out of Russia.

Sberbank, Alfa Bank and Tinkoff all said they would begin using the Chinese UnionPay system, according to Reuters.

The announcement comes one day after Mastercard announced cards issued by Russian banks will no longer be supported by its network, while any Mastercard issued outside the country will not work at Russian stores or ATMs. Visa similarly announced it is working to suspend all transactions in the coming days, over a week after the Russian invasion of Ukraine first began.

Mastercard said it does not "take this decision lightly," in a statement.

Senior State Department, White House Officials Travel to Venezuela to Pressure Key Putin Ally: Report

Senior U.S. officials traveled to Venezuela on Saturday to hold meetings with the administration of President Nicolás Maduro as the Russian invasion of Ukraine brings renewed attention to Russia's Latin American allies, according to a new report.

Sources told the New York Times about the scheduled trip, which marks the highest level visit by Washington officials to Venezuela's capital, Caracas, in years. The delegation includes senior officials from the State Department and the White House, according to the report, and it was not immediately clear how long the group would stay in Caracas or with whom the group plans to meet.

While the U.S. cut ties with Maduro's administration and closed its Caracas embassy in 2019, U.S. officials have zeroed in on Venezuela as one of Russia's last remaining international allies as many countries have shunned the Kremlin over the Ukrainian invasion.

Ukrainian Evacuation Efforts Halted by Russian Shelling

A second attempt to evacuate Ukrainians from the port city of Mariupol has failed as Russian shelling continued despite a planned local ceasefire, according to a new report.

Ukrainian military officials said planned evacuations from the southern city were scheduled to begin at noon local time during a 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. local ceasefire, according to the Associated Press.

Ukrainian Interior Ministry adviser Anton Gerashchenko said officials were forced to suspend the evacuation due to a Russian assault.

"There can be no 'green corridors' because only the sick brain of the Russians decides when to start shooting and at whom," he wrote on Telegram.

American Basketball Player, Olympic Medalist, Detained in Russia

The Russian Federal Customs Service announced on Saturday that its agents had detained an American basketball player after finding cannabis oil in vaping cartridges in her luggage.

The Customs Service noted that the player is a member of the WNBA and had won two gold medals on the U.S. Olympic team, without directly naming the player. However, a Russian security source identified the player as Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner, in comments to the Russian News Agency TASS.

The Customs Service has opened a criminal investigation into the incident, which could result in a five- to ten-year prison sentence according to Russian drug-smuggling law. The agency and TASS said the detention occurred in February, but an exact date was not immediately available.

Zelensky Requests Lethal Aid, Oil Sanctions in Call with U.S. Lawmakers

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky made requests for lethal aid and additional sanctions against Russia in a Zoom call with members of Congress on Saturday, according to multiple reports.

Zelensky requested planes that Ukrainian pilots are trained to fly, one senator on the call told CNN. Zelensky also called on the U.S. to ban imports of Russian oil and block usage of Visa and Mastercard in Russia, according to that senator.

Zelensky also discussed the issue of a no-fly zone over Ukraine on the call, a Senate source told Fox News. However, the NATO alliance has already rejected imposing a no-fly zone because the move would obligate NATO nations to enforce it, thus bringing them into direct contact with Russian forces.

"Allies agree we should not have NATO planes operating in Ukrainian air space or NATO troops on Ukraine's territory," NATO secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg said on Friday.

Brown University Sued by Biologically Male Transgender Student Accused of Sexual Assault

Brown University has been sued for alleged discrimination by a transgender student who was accused of sexual assault by a classmate and former friend, who is also named as a defendant in the suit.

The lawsuit was filed Wednesday in Providence federal district court by attorneys representing the transgender plaintiff, a biologically male student using the pseudonym "Lois Lane."

Lane claims that the defendant, a biologically female student identified only as "Jane Roe," filed a false complaint of sexual misconduct and harassed and intimidated Lane. This allegedly caused the plaintiff to suffer emotional damage and loss of educational opportunities, according to legal filings obtained by National Review. The case was first reported by a local news outlet, GoLocalProv.