International Women’s day, the ever-climbing gas prices in the U.S., and more top news

March 7, 2022 5:30 PM

AP, CNN

Posted: March 7, 2022 5:30 PM

Updated: March 9, 2022 11:14 AM

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International Women’s Day

International Women’s Day is Tuesday, March 8, and it’s a time to celebrate female achievement and also take action.

Individuals across the globe are being encouraged to “Break the Bias” in honor of International Women’s Day, with the 2022 celebration calling for a world free of stereotypes and discrimination.

Since 1911, International Women’s Day has brought together citizens to celebrate the achievements of women and promote equality, and this year organizers hope to further the mission of diversity, equity and inclusivity for a “gender equal world.”

Michael Reaves/Getty Images

Calvin Ridley has been suspended indefinitely, according to the NFL.

Calvin Ridley

Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Calvin Ridley has been suspended indefinitely for gambling on NFL games during the 2021 season, the league announced Monday.

The suspension will last at least through the conclusion of the 2022 season, the NFL said. Ridley, 27, may petition for reinstatement on or after February 15, 2023.

In a letter to Ridley notifying him of his suspension, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell wrote, “Your actions put the integrity of the game at risk, threatened to damage public confidence in professional football, and potentially undermined the reputations of your fellow players throughout the NFL.

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Steven Senne – staff, AP

Gas prices

Gasoline prices are pushing even farther above $4 a gallon, the highest price that American motorists have faced since July 2008, as calls grow to ban imports of Russian oil.

Prices at the pump were rising long before Russia invaded Ukraine and have spiraled faster since the start of the war. The U.S. national average for a gallon of gasoline has soared 45 cents a gallon in the past week and topped $4.06 on Monday, according to auto club AAA.

“I am looking at the possibility of walking to work,” said Asiya Joseph, who had just paid $4.29 a gallon at a BP station in Brooklyn, New York. “This is the first time that I am filling up my tank in like, 10 days.”

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<p>Pedestrians cross a street in front of a billboard displaying the symbol "Z" in the colors of the ribbon of Saint George and a slogan reading: "We don't give up on our people," in support of the Russian armed forces, in Saint Petersburg, on March 7, 2022. (-/AFP via Getty Images/TNS)</p>

-/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

Pedestrians cross a street in front of a billboard displaying the symbol "Z" in the colors of the ribbon of Saint George and a slogan reading: "We don't give up on our people," in support of the Russian armed forces, in Saint Petersburg, on March 7, 2022. (-/AFP via Getty Images/TNS)

Ivan Kuliak/Letter “Z”

Bronze medal-winning Russian gymnast Ivan Kuliak got low marks from the athletic community for wearing the letter Z on his leotard while standing next to a gold medal-winning Ukrainian tumbler at the Artistic Gymnastics World Cup in Qatar.

Z is the symbol scrawled across the exterior of armored vehicles being used by Russian troops in their ongoing invasion of Ukraine. It’s believed the Russians are marking vehicles with that symbol to tell them apart from the Ukrainian vehicles with which they are at war. Z is a letter that doesn’t exist in the Cyrillic Russian alphabet.