USA

WASHINGTON (AP) — Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has given the smaller nation’s embassy in Washington an unexpected role: recruitment center for Americans who want to join the fight.

Diplomats working out of the embassy, in a townhouse in the Georgetown section of the city, are fielding thousands of offers from volunteers seeking to fight for Ukraine, even as they work on the far more pressing matter of securing weapons to defend against an increasingly brutal Russian onslaught.

CHICAGO (AP) — Actor Jussie Smollett is scheduled to return to court on Thursday, where he will learn if a judge will order him locked up for his conviction of lying to police about a racist and homophobic attack that he orchestrated himself or allow him to remain free.

Smollett, who is expected to continue to deny his role in the staged attack in January 2019, faces up to three years in prison for each of the five felony counts of disorderly conduct — the charge filed for lying to police — of which he was convicted. He was acquitted on a sixth count.

MIAMI (AP) — Pressure is building on the Biden administration to begin unwinding sanctions on Venezuela after President Nicolas Maduro freed two American prisoners and promised to resume negotiations with his opponents.

Maduro’s goodwill gesture came during a weekend trip to Caracas by senior White House and State Department officials that caught off guard Maduro’s friends and foes alike.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Propelled by surging costs for gas, food and housing, consumer inflation jumped 7.9% over the past year, the sharpest spike since 1982 and likely only a harbinger of even higher prices to come.

The increase reported Thursday by the Labor Department reflected the 12 months ending in February and didn’t include most of the oil and gas price increases that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. Since then, average gas prices nationally have jumped about 62 cents a gallon to $4.32, according to AAA.

Washington, Mar 10 (AP) Russia's invasion of Ukraine has given the smaller nation's embassy in Washington an unexpected role: recruitment center for Americans who want to join the fight.

Diplomats working out of the embassy, in a townhouse in the Georgetown section of the city, are fielding thousands of offers from volunteers seeking to fight for Ukraine, even as they work on the far more pressing matter of securing weapons to defend against an increasingly brutal Russian onslaught.

New Orleans, Mar 10 (AP) A plane carrying former President Donald Trump was forced to make an emergency landing in New Orleans last weekend after suffering engine failure over the Gulf of Mexico.

The details of the emergency landing, first reported by Politico, were confirmed on Wednesday by a person familiar with the incident who was not authorized to speak publicly about it and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Washington, Mar 10 (AP) The House overwhelmingly approved legislation Wednesday night that would ban Russian oil imports to the United States, an effort to put into law the restrictions announced by President Joe Biden in response to the escalating war in Ukraine.

Going further than Biden's import ban on Russian oil, the bill making its way through Congress would also encourage a review of Russia's status in the World Trade Organization and signal U.S. support for sanctions on Russian officials over human rights violations, as the U.S. works to economically isolate the regime.

WASHINGTON, March 9 (Xinhua) -- The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries are using the Ukraine crisis to pursue longer-term militaristic projects, according to a U.S. media outlet report.

"After the end of the United States' 20-year occupation of Afghanistan, and after two decades of the 'war on terror,' this is precisely the time to critically evaluate the impacts of U.S. militarism and push for demilitarization," said an article published on the website of Yes! Magazine on Monday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is signing an executive order on government oversight of cryptocurrency that urges the Federal Reserve to explore whether the central bank should jump in and create its own digital currency.

The Biden administration views the explosive popularity of cryptocurrency as a call for acting with urgency to look at the risks and benefits of digital assets, said a senior administration official who previewed the order on the condition of anonymity.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — Opening statements are set to begin Wednesday in the trial of four men who prosecutors say plotted to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2020 because they were angry about pandemic restrictions she imposed.

Prosecutors have said they will present secret recordings of the men discussing the plan and other evidence, including that they surveilled Whitmer’s vacation home and conducted training with weapons.