Top eight today

Top eight stories for today including Justice Stephen Breyer will retire from the Supreme Court at the end of this term; The U.S. rejected Russia’s demands to cease trying to assimilate Ukraine into the West's military orbit; A California judge barred the state from enforcing a new animal welfare law requiring extra living space for breeding pigs, and more.

National

Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer to retire

After months of hounding from Democrats, Justice Stephen Breyer will step down from the Supreme Court and allow President Biden to appoint his successor.

Associate Justice Stephen Breyer, appointed by President Bill Clinton, sits with fellow Supreme Court justices for a group portrait at the Supreme Court Building in Washington, Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Fed lays groundwork for March interest rate hike

Hinting at an interest rate hike coming soon, but with no specific timetable in place, the Federal Reserve said it will cease its bond-buying program entirely by March.

In this March 3, 2020 file photo Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks during a news conference in Washington. Powell is pledging to reveal the names and other details of the entities that borrow from the emergency programs the central bank has set up to offset the economic hit from the viral outbreak. In prepared testimony for a Tuesday, May 19, 2020 congressional hearing, Powell says the central bank will disclose the amounts borrowed and the interest rates it levies under its programs to provide credit for large corporations, state and local governments, and medium-sized businesses. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, file)

Regional

Michigan high court urged to strike down new voting maps

The Michigan Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday in a lawsuit filed by a group of Detroit lawmakers who seek to block the implementation of newly drawn congressional and legislative districts they contend weaken the voting power of Black residents.

People speak during a meeting of Michigan's Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission on Oct. 21, 2021, in Lansing, Mich. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)

California grocers win brief reprieve from new bacon law

A California judge has barred the state from enforcing a new animal welfare law requiring extra living space for breeding pigs, ruling grocery stores or restaurants can’t be fined until regulators cement clear rules for the pork industry.

A feral Vietnamese pot-bellied sow roams the streets of the Cantera community with her piglets, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Dec. 11, 2020. The pigs start reproducing before they're a year old, and they can give birth to up to 10 piglets at a time. (AP Photo/Carlos Giusti)

West Texas pastor called to serve growing number of migrants cut off from US asylum system

Baptist pastor and migrant activist Rosalío Sosa has his work cut out for him as U.S. policy at the border continues to deny asylum to a wave of migrants that “won’t be stopped.”

Pastor Rosalío Sosa visits one of five migrant shelters in and around Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, that he helps administer as part of his service to migrants and other vulnerable populations along the U.S.-Mexico border. (Cody Copeland/Courthouse News)

LA moves to ban oil drilling within city limits

The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously Wednesday to ban new oil and gas wells and begin the process of phasing out all wells and refineries within city limits over the next 20 years.

Students walk by the gates of the AllenCo Energy drill site in South Los Angeles. (Nathan Solis/Courthouse News)

International

US rejects Kremlin’s Ukraine demands, Paris tries to rekindle peace talks

The United States on Wednesday rejected the Kremlin's demands to cease trying to assimilate Ukraine into the West's military orbit, a stance that was expected and which will keep war tensions very high in Europe.

U.S. Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan enters the Russian Foreign Ministry building in Moscow on Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2022. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Intel wins appeal of $1.2 billion EU antitrust fine

In a blow to European Union competition regulators, U.S. chipmaker Intel won an appeal against a $1.2 billion antitrust fine before the bloc’s second-highest court on Wednesday.

The symbol for Intel appears on a screen at the Nasdaq MarketSite, in New York, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)