Wednesday morning news - March 9, 2022

For WORLD Radio, I'm Kent Covington. 

Gas prices likely to rise further as U.S. bans Russian oil imports » Gas prices in the United States have reached record highs. And President Biden warns … they’re likely heading higher.

That is due in part to his decision, with bipartisan backing to ban Russian oil imports. The president made the announcement at the White House on Tuesday.

BIDEN: The decision today is not without cost here at home. Putin’s war is already hurting American families at the gas pump. Since Putin began his military buildup at Ukrainian borders, just since then, the price of the gas pump in America went up 75 cents. And with this action is going to go up further.

The action follows pleas by Ukraine to cut off the imports, which had been a glaring omission in the massive sanctions against Moscow.

Energy exports have kept a steady stream of cash flowing to Russia despite otherwise severe restrictions on its financial sector.

Biden declared, “We will not be part of subsidizing Putin’s war.”

And British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said his country will join the United States in taking that stand.

JOHNSON: We will stop important Russian oil, Mr. Speaker. My [SIC] friend, the business secretary, will update the House on that tomorrow.

But most of Europe will not be following suit anytime soon as they simply don’t have a good way to replace Russian energy imports in the short term.

Poland offers fighter jets to US in plan to help Ukraine » Poland announced Tuesday it will indeed give all its MiG-29 fighter jets to the United States, which would, in turn, give them to Ukraine.

Ukrainian pilots know how to fly the Russian-made fighter jets, and the move is expected to be a morale booster for Ukraine.

The U.S. military would then send American F-16s to Poland to make up for their loss. But the White House has not confirmed the swap.

GOP Congressman Mike Turner said Tuesday …

TURNER: The White House needs to approve this and to get this moving. These planes would make a tremendous difference in Ukraine being able to defend itself, its population and to those corridors of people who are seeking to leave Ukraine.

But some aren’t so sure that it will make a tremendous difference because newer Russian aircraft can outclass the Soviet-era MiGs.

Still, the Polish government appealed to other countries that own MIG-29 jets to follow suit.

Russia has warned that supporting Ukraine’s Air Force would be seen in Moscow as participating in the conflict and open up suppliers to possible retaliation.

Iran sticks to ‘red lines’ in nuke talks » The latest round of nuclear talks with Iran wrapped up in Vienna on Tuesday.

Restoring the 2015 nuclear deal is a topic that remains controversial in Washington. Former President Trump pulled out of the pact in 2018, but President Biden hopes to reforge the agreement.

Iran wants all sanctions against the country lifted and says it will not back down on its “red lines” in nuclear talks.

Still, in recent days, negotiators on all sides had signaled that a potential deal was close.

U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken said Moscow is still involved in the talks.

BLINKEN: Russia continues to be engaged in those efforts, and it has its own interests in ensuring that Iran is not able to acquire a nuclear weapon.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said he wanted guarantees that the U.S. sanctions would not affect Moscow’s relationship with Tehran. That threw months of negotiations into question.

But Blinken called Lavrov's demand “irrelevant.” He said the nuclear deal and sanctions on Moscow over the Ukraine war were “totally different.”

Top French officials this week warned Russia not to hold up a new agreement as a form of blackmail in the face of Western sanctions over the Ukraine invasion.

Minneapolis teachers go on strike after contract talks fail » Teachers in the Minneapolis School District walked off the job Tuesday. WORLD’s Josh Schumacher has that story.

JOSH SCHUMACHER, REPORTER: The walkout halted classes for about 29,000 students in one of Minnesota's biggest school districts.

The teachers’ union is asking for smaller class sizes, higher pay, and mental health support for teachers and students.

The union and district have been negotiating. And the district pledged to continue talks but it called the walkout disappointing.

Students will have access to online learning and breakfast and lunch at the school starting today.

Teachers in the neighboring St. Paul district had also scheduled a strike for Tuesday but announced a tentative agreement late Monday night.

National labor leaders say teachers and support staff across the country right now share many of the same complaints.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Josh Schumacher.

Australian authorities brace for flooding around Sydney » Authorities in Australia have told at least a half-million people in and around Sydney to evacuate or prepare to flee floodwaters as torrential rain lashes the area.

Major flooding was expected along several rivers in and around Sydney. And local residents say many streets look like rivers.

Forecasters warned of life-threatening flash flooding and damaging winds. At least two people have already died in the Sydney area.

And across New South Wales and Queensland, 20 people have died in widespread flooding in recent weeks.

I'm Kent Covington. For more news, features, analysis, visit us at wng.org.

WORLD Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of WORLD Radio programming is the audio record.