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The Supreme Court declines to revive Bill Cosby’s sexual assault conviction. Gas tops $4 and highest in history for some states. Russia suggests peace conditions, major companies cut services in Russia, and more Ukraine updates.
On Monday, the US Supreme Court declined a request from Pennsylvania prosecutors to review an opinion by Pennsylvania’s highest court that overturned the sexual assault conviction of actor and comedian Bill Cosby. Leaving the belief in place means that Cosby’s release from prison in June on the grounds that his due process rights had been violated will stand. Cosby had been convicted of aggravated indecent assault in 2018 and sentenced to 3 to 10 years in state prison.
The opinion by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court justices said a former Montgomery County district attorney’s decision to not prosecute Cosby in 2005 in return for his deposition in a civil case was ultimately used against him at trial, CNN reported.
Ahead of peace talks scheduled to occur in Antalya, Turkey, on March 10, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russian military action would “stop in a moment” if Ukraine meets three conditions, Reuters and Unilad reported.
The conditions Russia wants to end the Ukraine war are:
(1) Reject any aims to enter any bloc (e.g., promise not to join NATO). (2) Recognize Crimea as Russian territory. (3) Recognize Donetsk and Lugansk as independent states.
The prices for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline topped $4 on Sunday, the highest amount since 2008, CNBC reported.
According to the gas pricing tracker at AAA, the national average was $4.065 as of March 7, 2022, an average increase of $0.45 for the week, although gas rose more than fifty cents in many states. California had the highest gas prices at $5.343, while Missouri had the lowest at $3.67. At least half of US states had gas prices of $4 or higher.
In the state of New Hampshire on Monday, gas reached an average of $4.07, which is the highest in the state’s history, WMUR reported.
Amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, several companies have announced they are suspending services in Russia. Among the cutting services companies are MasterCard, Visa, American Express, Netflix, TikTok, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Ubisoft, and Levi Strauss.
TikTok said it stopped its service over a “fake news” law in Russia, punishable by up to 15 years in jail.
Sky News reported that American Express said its “globally issued” cards would no longer work at shops or ATMs in Russia.
