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Here are the headlines you Need2Know for Tuesday, March 8, 2022:
HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES
The U.S. is now looking into possible Russian war crimes and human rights abuses, as Ukrainians on the ground accuse Moscow of waging "medieval-style" siege warfare. The two sides wrapped up a third round of talks that made only minor progress toward establishing "safe corridors" for civilians trying to escape the fighting. All of these developments are escalating fears that more and more civilians will be caught in the crosshairs. CNBC
We thought the war was the crime?
RECORD GAS PRICES
Gasoline prices have hit a record high of $4.17 per gallon and yet the U.S. and its European allies are signaling that a ban on Russian oil imports is still on the table. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said "very active discussions" are underway to cut off Russia from the life-blood of its economy. The move is highly controversial given Russia's outsized role in the global oil market. Germany is warning against the measure, while the rest of EU is divided, and the U.K. is all in. Whatever governments end up doing, private energy companies are getting increasing pressure to back out of Russia and today oil giant Shell relented and announced it'll stop buying Russian oil and natural gas. USA TODAY
COMPANIES WEIGH PULLOUTS
Shell wasn't the only Western company still doing business with Russia. McDonald's and PepsiCo also haven't shut down their operations in the country, which places them among 32 other hold-outs that have significant exposure in Russia, according to a running tally from a Yale University professor. In the meantime, at least 200 companies have pulled out. Recent additions to the list include Netflix, TikTok, and Samsung. Visa and Mastercard have also shut down their operations in the country and now Russia is looking to China for alternative payment processors. THE LIST
Boycott or be boycotted.
BLOCKING CRYPTO WALLETS
Coinbase, the world's second largest crypto exchange, has announced that it's blocking 25,000 Russian users who it said are involved in illicit activity. The move from Coinbase comes as crypto exchanges face increasing pressure from the U.S. government to cut off Russian users. Most exchanges have said they will fully comply with the law, but that they won't punish ordinary Russians for their government's actions. CEO Brian Armstrong said many Russians are using "crypto as a lifeline" as their currency collapses, and a ban would hurt them too. BLOOMBERG
CUTTING TRUCK EMISSIONS
The days of diesel-powered trucks pumping out exhaust could be numbered, as the Biden administration proposes new pollution standards for commercial tractor-trailer rigs. The rules take aim at smog- and soot-forming nitrogen oxide emissions, which are also known to cause respiratory problems in humans. In addition to the advent of battery-powered trucks, the EPA is banking on new pollution control devices to cut emissions. While the trucking industry says it's open to cutting pollution, there's been some pushback that the new standards are technically impossible and could make trucks costly and unreliable. WSJ
AMAZON (RAINFOREST) STRUGGLING
In other environmental news, more than 75% of the Amazon rainforest is struggling to recover from an onslaught of logging, wildfires, and droughts. A new study from the journal Nature Climate Change looked at over two decades of satellite images to conclude that large swaths of the rainforest are becoming less resilient, and could eventually turn into dry savannah. That means entire species of plants and animals could disappear and may threaten the Amazon's crucial planetary role as a massive natural storehouse for carbon dioxide. AXIOS
REDISTRICTING MOVES AHEAD
In a win for Democrats, the Supreme Court is allowing new electoral maps in Pennsylvania and North Carolina to move forward, rejecting pleas from Republicans to overturn them on constitutional grounds. This is a big deal because at issue is whether courts have the right to overturn state legislatures that engage in gerrymandering. While the decision doesn't settle the issue permanently, it does mean that the two states in question will get a chance to reshape their electoral maps after decades of gerrymandering. NY TIMES
“Hello, Gerry.”
'SQUID GAME ELECTION'
In what some are calling the "Squid Game Election," after the popular Netflix survival-horror series, South Korea's leading presidential candidates are waging the most toxic political campaigns in recent memory. We'd probably need another Netflix series to break it all down, but the mud-slinging has been especially brutal. Supporters of Lee Jae-myung, of the governing liberal party, have called his opponent a "beast," while Yoon Suk Yeol, of the conservative opposition, has described Lee's party as "Hitler." Both candidates have also filed multiple lawsuits charging the other of spreading false information and there's widespread speculation that the loser will end up in jail. AP
They should play children’s games to determine the winner.
BILL COSBY STILL FREE
The Supreme Court has rejected a bid from Pennsylvania prosecutors to review the lower court decision that overturned Bill Cosby's sexual assualt conviction from 2018. The disgraced comedian, who was sentenced to three to 10 years in prison for drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand in 2004, walked free last year after the state Supreme Court overturned the conviction on the grounds that the prosecution had violated Cosby's due process rights. The legal details of the rejection are pretty technical, but the result is clear: Cosby, who multiple women have publicly accused of rape and sexual assault, will not return to jail. CNN
LEFTOVERS: COUNTRY ROYALTY
Miranda Lambert took home the top honor at the 57th Academy of Country Music Awards while Morgan Wallen's "Dangerous: The Double Album" won Album of the Year, just a year after he was banned from the show for using a racial slur. Kelly Clarkson also honored Dolly Parton with a beautiful rendition of "I Will Always Love You." And speaking of country royalty, Prince Harry raised some eyebrows when he popped up in Texas over the weekend to check out bull riding at Fort Worth's Stockyards Championship Rodeo. PEOPLE
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