Three Things for March 16
1. Uber and Lyft temporarily add a fuel surcharges fee
In response to increased gas prices, Uber and Lyft have temporarily added a fuel surcharge to their apps.
The money will go directly to each company’s drivers.
In a statement to NPR, a company spokesperson said, “We've been closely monitoring rising gas prices and their impact on our driver community.”
Uber also released a statement regarding the new fee.
“Beginning Wednesday, March 16, consumers will pay a surcharge of either $0.45 or $0.55 on each Uber trip and either $0.35 or $0.45 on each Uber Eats order, depending on their location—with 100% of that money going directly to workers’ pockets,” said the statement from Uber. “The surcharges are based on the average trip distance and the increase in gas prices in each state. This is temporary for at least the next 60 days when we’ll reassess.”
As of Tuesday evening, the average cost of a gallon of gas in the U.S. is $4.33.
2. Anna Sorokin from “Inventing Anna” continues to fight deportation
Anna Sorokin, who claimed to be a German heiress to fund a lavish lifestyle in New York City, is now fighting against deportation.
On Tuesday, March 15, a lawyer in Sorokin’s case said she is making a new bid to fight deportation, which has been in the works since she was convicted in 2019.
“Sorokin, whose scheme inspired the recent Netflix series ‘Inventing Anna,’ was taken into U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement custody nearly a year ago,” reports AP News.
Sorokin successfully passed as a socialite with a $67 million dollar fortune under the name Anna Delvey.
“Sorokin, who was convicted in 2019 and spent more than three years behind bars, has since been challenging deportation. An appellate immigration judge last month declined to stop the 31-year-old German citizen from being removed,” reported AP News. “Her trial lawyer cast her as an ambitious entrepreneur who got in over her head financially and was simply buying time to pay her debts.”
3. Tennessee looking to adopt Texan abortion bill
On Tuesday, March 15, Tennessee Republicans began adopting Texas’ abortion bill.
The bill was filed for introduction in February and is currently circulating through the Health Subcommittee in the state’s House of Representatives.
“The proposal is almost a direct copycat of legislation currently enacted in Texas, which not only prohibits doctors from performing abortion before most people know they’re pregnant but also allows private citizens to file civil lawsuits against anyone who helps someone else get the procedure after six weeks into pregnancy,” reports AP News.
Tennessee’s version would ban all abortions rather than allowing a patient to have a six-week window.
“This bill is modeled directly after the legislation passed in Texas last year. Abortions, since that bill has been passed, have dropped 60% in Texas,” said GOP Rep. Rebecca Alexander, the legislation’s sponsor, while addressing a House subcommittee, according to AP News.
The House panel agreed to advance the bill. It has to clear the full House and Senate chambers before making its way to Gov. Bill Lee.
