Marketplace All-in-One

A meeting between Russia and India’s foreign ministers has just wrapped up in New Delhi. The BBC’s Rajini Vaidyanathan in Delhi says that top of the agenda was how India, which has remained neutral in the Ukraine conflict, can continue to pay for the oil it gets from Russia without breaking sanctions. Hungarians will go to the polls this Sunday as Prime Minister Viktor Orban seeks a record fifth term in office. The BBC’s Nick Thorpe in Budapest explains how the war in Ukraine and Orban’s relationship with Vladimir Putin have shaped this election. And last night in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo, police say they arrested more than 50 people as protesters stormed the presidential palace. The country is facing its most acute economic crisis since independence in 1948.

Supermarkets are increasingly becoming testing grounds for some of the latest technology. At Walmart’s subsidiary, Sam’s Club, customers can use an app to scan and pay for items while in the grocery aisle. Last month, Walmart sued BJ’s Wholesale Club, alleging the company infringed on patents for its Scan and Go technology. As checkout tech gets more advanced, it’s getting more competitive. Marketplace’s Kimberly Adams speaks with Don Apgar, merchant practice director at Mercator Advisory Group, about innovations in the space.

As energy prices soar due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the U.S. is drawing on government petroleum reserves. But getting the oil flowing and to market isn’t easy. We’ll explain the realities of tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Plus, an hourslong gap in former President Donald Trump’s phone log on Jan. 6, 2021, is drawing scrutiny from Democrats in Congress. In Texas, parents of transgender kids are weighing the costs of staying or leaving the state, given new anti-trans orders. And finally, some very clever basketball-loving law students in North Carolina made us smile.

Here’s everything we talked about today:

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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott recently ordered state agencies to investigate families that provide gender-affirming medical care to transgender kids for child abuse. Some parents are now looking to move to states with stronger LGBTQ protections — but that can be an expensive and disruptive solution. Today, we hear from some of those families. Plus, we’ll do the numbers on business costs, durable goods and shrinking consumer purchasing power.

The Russian president said he has signed a decree that will force foreign buyers of his country’s natural gas to pay in rubles. Starting Friday, Vladimir Putin says pay in rubles – or contracts will be halted. Diane Swonk helps us dig into the latest data that shows a key inflation measure the Fed watches reaching a 40-year high. The Securities and Exchange Commission is proposing new rules on the firms known as SPACs, or special-purpose acquisition companies. They raise money and buy out startups to take them public.

President Biden is ready to order the release of up to a million barrels a day of oil from the United States strategic petroleum reserve in an effort to battle rising gas costs. American workers are failing drug tests at the highest rate in decades, because the worker shortage has caused many companies to ease drug testing. A bill heading to the Senate would provide wider access to 401(k) benefits.

From the BBC World Service: Russia is saying it will require payments for energy exports in its own currency, the ruble, rather than via the current euro-denominated contracts. But the BBC’s Jenny Hill in Moscow says it’s not yet clear how that will work, or if European customers like Germany will comply. The United Nations is launching the largest fundraising appeal in its history, hoping to raise nearly $4.5 billion for Afghanistan. And in Pakistan, Prime Minister Imran Khan faces a vote of no-confidence in parliament. The BBC’s Farhat Javed in Islamabad explains that the opposition accuses him of economic mismanagement during his four years in office.

Private investment in artificial intelligence more than doubled last year, according to Stanford University’s AI Index Report. The research tracks and visualizes data about this tech, including business investment, software costs and research trends. Marketplace’s Kimberly Adams speaks with Jack Clark, co-chair of Stanford’s AI Index, who explains why we’re seeing more of this technology now.

This week on Whaddya Wanna Know Wednesday, we answer your questions about why everything is so expensive and who’s going to fix it. So first, does the Federal Reserve need help solving inflation? Can someone please explain why the Jones Act is still around? Plus, what the heck is crypto mining and when are we getting good public transportation? Finally, Kai Ryssdal and Kimberly Adams share their competing theories on headphone wearing.

Here’s everything we talked about today:

The war in Ukraine has threatened the global supply of all sorts of commodities. Today, we’re zooming in on three key parts of the global energy industry: Russia’s role in nuclear power, how Europe’s shift from Russian to American natural gas could play out and why OPEC+ likely won’t boost oil supplies. Plus: The changing conversation around standardized tests and potential planting on protected lands.