Top eight today

Top eight stories for today including inflation across the European Union rose to a record 5.6%; Another year of drought conditions has forced the feds to again restrict the amount of water sent to California farmers; Europe moved closer to a major armed conflict over Ukraine, and more.

National

High court headwinds ruffle red states fighting to revive immigration deterrent

No one was safe from the ire of Supreme Court justices during oral arguments on Wednesday morning as they peppered Republican-led states and the Biden administration over the rescission of a controversial Trump-era immigration rule and the ensuing challenge to revive it.

Hundreds of people overflow onto the sidewalk in a line snaking around the block outside a U.S. immigration office in San Francisco in 2019. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)

California farmers to see paltry federal water deliveries as drought’s stranglehold tightens

Following two months of barren weather reports, California farmers received the most disappointing forecast yet Wednesday as the federal government warned many districts in the state’s agricultural heartland won’t get surface water deliveries in 2022.

California's persistent drought has Shasta Lake — the cornerstone of the state's water infrastructure — with rings like a draining bathtub. (Wayne Gungl from Pixabay via Courthouse News)

Regional

Iowa Supreme Court takes new look at abortion rights

Less than four years ago, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled that the Iowa Constitution protects the fundamental right of a woman to choose whether to terminate a pregnancy. On Wednesday, the court heard arguments that its decision was wrong and should be overturned.

The Iowa Judicial Branch building in Des Moines, home of the Iowa Supreme Court and Iowa Court of Appeals. (Rox Laird/Courthouse News)

Ex-UCLA philosophy lecturer accused of circulating manifesto threatening mass violence

A former University of California, Los Angeles, philosophy lecturer accused of circulating an 802-page manifesto pledging mass violence pleaded not guilty to federal charges at the Alfred A. Arraj U.S. Courthouse in Denver on Wednesday.

Police vehicles sit in front of University Hill Elementary School across from the campus of the University of Colorado after a man accused of making mass shooting threats against the college as well as the University of California, Los Angeles, was arrested Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2022, in Boulder, Colo. The police operation caused the evacuation of the elementary school and shelter-in-place orders for nearby residents on Boulder's University Hill. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Californians give modest support to legalized sports betting

The legalization of sports betting has modest support among likely California voters, according to a new poll released Wednesday.

In this March 15, 2018 photo, people watch coverage of the first round of the NCAA college basketball tournament at the Westgate Superbook sports book in Las Vegas. In 2018, The U.S. Supreme Court struck down a federal law barring gambling on football, basketball, baseball and other sports in most states, giving states the go-ahead to legalize betting on sports. (AP Photo/John Locher)

International

Energy costs drive EU inflation to record high 5.6%

Inflation across the European Union continued to rise from 5.3% in December 2021 to 5.6% in January, according to data published by Eurostat on Wednesday. During the same period last year, inflation hit 1.2%.

A man walks past the Euro sculpture outside the European Central Bank in Frankfurt, Germany. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

Europe readies for armed conflict, diplomacy craters

Europe moved closer to a major conflict on Wednesday as opposing governments in Ukraine called up their citizens to arms, Moscow bolstered its presence in the rebel-held Donbas region and NATO sent even more arms and troops toward its borders with Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier during the national celebrations of the Defender of the Fatherland Day in Moscow on Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2022. (Alexei Nikolsky, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

European drugmakers seek approval for promising new Covid vaccine

French drug manufacturer Sanofi and its British partner GlaxoSmithKline announced Wednesday they are submitting data from their Covid-19 vaccine trials to seek regulatory approval for the drug to be used as a two-dose shot as well as a booster.

French President Emmanuel Macron listens to a researcher as he visits an industrial development laboratory at drugmaker Sanofi’s plant in Marcy-l'Etoile, France, in June 2020. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani, Pool)

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