North America

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — With inflation raging and state coffers flush with cash, governors and lawmakers across the U.S. are considering a relatively simple solution to help ease the pain people are feeling at the gas pump and grocery store — sending money.

At least a dozen states have proposed giving rebate checks of several hundred dollars directly to taxpayers, among them California, Kansas and Minnesota. Critics, including many Republican lawmakers, say those checks won’t go far enough given the pace of inflation and are pushing instead for permanent tax cuts.

NEW YORK (AP) — As coronavirus infections rise in some parts of the world, experts are watching for a potential new COVID-19 surge in the U.S. — and wondering how long it will take to detect.

Despite disease monitoring improvements over the last two years, they say, some recent developments don’t bode well:

—As more people take rapid COVID-19 tests at home, fewer people are getting the gold-standard tests that the government relies on for case counts.

—The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will soon use fewer labs to look for new variants.

WASHINGTON (AP) — After more than 30 hours of hearings, the Senate is on track to confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson as the first Black woman on the Supreme Court. But Democrats seem unlikely to confirm her with a robust bipartisan vote, dashing President Joe Biden’s hopes for a grand reset after partisan battles over other high court nominees.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Justice Clarence Thomas was discharged from the hospital Friday after a stay of nearly a week, the Supreme Court said.

Thomas, 73, had entered the hospital last Friday evening after experiencing “flu-like symptoms.” He was treated for an infection with intravenous antibiotics, the court said Sunday in announcing his hospitalization. He had been expected to be released from the hospital Monday or Tuesday.

The court did not say why he remained in the hospital longer than initially thought or what kind of infection he was treated for.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine is approaching a new, potentially more dangerous phase after a month of fighting has left Russian forces stalled by an outnumbered foe. He is left with stark choices — how and where to replenish his spent ground forces, whether to attack the flow of Western arms to Ukrainian defenders, and at what cost he might escalate or widen the war.

25 March 2022; MEMO: Israel's ongoing illegal settlement expansion has been slammed by China during a UN briefing on the situation in Palestine. Beijing's representative at the world body insisted that settlements are a violation of international law and urged the international community to support the Palestinian people.

24 March 2022; MEMO: Thousands of academics who are members of the Middle East Studies Association (MESA) have voted to endorse a boycott of Israel. The resolution "endorses the Palestinian call for solidarity in the form of boycotts, divestment and sanctions."

24 March 2022; MEMO: US refiners have begun snapping up fuel oil cargoes from the Middle East this month after US President, Joe Biden, banned Russian oil imports over the country's invasion of Ukraine, shipping data showed, Reuters reports.

The United States, last year, imported about 700,000 barrels per day (bpd) of different types of fuel oil and other feed stocks that mostly went to US Gulf Coast refineries to supplement heavy crude oil, according to market research data.

NEW YORK, March 24. /TASS/: The US company Google has confirmed that users are having difficulty accessing the Google News website and application in Russia, Reuters reported on Wednesday.

"We’ve confirmed that some people are having difficulty accessing the Google News app and website in Russia and that this is not due to any technical issues on our end," the agency quoted Google as saying.

UNITED NATIONS, March 24 (Reuters) - The 193-member U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly demanded aid access and civilian protection in Ukraine on Thursday and criticized Russia for creating a "dire" humanitarian situation after Moscow invaded its neighbor one month ago.

The resolution, drafted by Ukraine and allies, received 140 votes in favor and 5 votes against - Russia, Syria, North Korean, Eritrea and Belarus - while 38 countries abstained.