UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT Volodymyr Zelenskyy meeting with President Joe Biden (Wikipedia).

A virtual address by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will be delivered to Congress on Wednesday in an effort to continue building support for his country as it resists Russia’s invasion.

“It is such a privilege to have this leader of this country, where these people are fighting for their democracy and our democracy,” said Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, according to the Associated Press.

The speech will be made to both the Senate and the House of Representatives and will be livestreamed. Zelenskyy will address the Canadian Parliament on Tuesday.

In related news:

• There was “little sign of progress” in peace talks between Russia and Ukraine on Monday, according to United Press International. The negotiations are scheduled to return on Tuesday.
• Gasoline prices, prompted in part by anxiety over the war in Eastern Europe, are declining, according to UPI. Referring to figures compiled by the American Automobile Association, the average price of a gallon of gasoline across the nation fell by one cent on Friday, declining from $4.33 to $4.32 on Monday.

One year ago, the national average was $4.06 a gallon.

Sports: March Madness for locals

THE ROAD to the Final Four.

Three area teams will be opening play in the NCAA Division 1 men’s basketball tournament this week. On Thursday UCLA will face Akron in Portland, Oregon in a 6:50 p.m. game.

On Friday, USC will face Miami in Greenville, South Carolina at 12:10 p.m. On Friday, Cal State Fullerton will meet Duke at 4:10 p.m. in Greenville.

All times are Pacific time.

Weather: Why live anywhere else?

West Orange County’s near-ideal weather will continue this week. The forecast for Tuesday is for mostly cloudy conditions and a daytime high of 78 and an overnight low of 52. Wednesday will be a bit cooler at 74 (53) under partly cloudy skies. Thursday will warm up a bit to 81 (53) under mostly sunny skies, taking us toward the weekend with lots of sun and a high of 78 (53) on Friday.

Business: Citibank says “nyet” to Putin

The financial blows to Vladimir Putin and Russia keep on coming. On Monday, Citibank – the American bank with the biggest financial footprint in Russia – announced it was withdrawing most of its business in that country because of the invasion of Ukraine.

Among other moves, it will close its consumer division and wind down its corporate loans and other operations, according to The New York Times.