China’s skier Gu dodges U.S. passport question

The crowds expressed optimism that the conservative-majority Supreme Court might soon overturn the Roe vs. Wade ruling, which guarantees a constitutional right to abortion.

The US saw 7% year-over-year price increases in December, the largest hike in nearly four decades. This comes as omicron threatens to snarl supply chains once again.

It's been a rollercoaster 24 hours on global stock markets, with huge swings on Wall Street and volatility hitting its highest level since October 2020. Investors are waiting for the decision from the US Federal Reserve on when it will start raising interest rates, but are also concerned about the rising tensions at Ukraine's border. Meanwhile, Bitcoin has slumped as low as $33,000, down over 50 percent from its peak in November. Our Business Editor Stephen Carroll has the details.

The United States has warned that companies' stockpiles of semiconductor chips have shrunk dramatically due to the global supply shortage, putting production at risk from any disruption. A survey of 150 firms for the Commerce Department found the median stocks held by manufacturers had fallen from 40 days' worth in 2019 to just 5 days' worth in 2021. It comes as Democrats in the House of Representatives published a bill for investment worth $52 billion in the sector.

The US Supreme Court is expected to rule on Mississippi's 2018 abortion law. The decision could upend long-established abortion rights across the country. DW met a Kentucky activist who says she'll continue to fight for a woman's right to decide.

Stock markets slumped in Asia on Thursday and European shares started the day's trading in the red, after signals from the US Federal Reserve that it could raise interest rates more than three times in 2022. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank's policy committee was "of a mind" to start raising rates in March, and that it would be guided by the economic data. FRANCE 24's Business Editor Stephen Carroll looks at market reaction to the announcements.

Joe Biden says he isn't ruling out personal sanctions on Russian President Vladimir Putin if he invades Ukraine. The threat from the US president comes as tensions between Moscow and the West continue to heat up. On Tuesday, the third instalment of US military equipment landed in Ukraine and more than 8,000 American troops stationed in Europe have been placed on standby.

It started when the American government refused to provide worker protections in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in wage stagnation amid rising cost of living. Some economists have described the Great Resignation as a kind of general strike while discussing Striketober, a wave of strikes in October 2021.

A US federal judge in Georgia said she did not agree with the terms of the plea deal for the McMichaels, who killed Ahmaud Arbery in 2020 while he was jogging. Arbery's parents also denounced the plea agreement.

A case of whether to uphold a Mississippi law that bans terminations of pregnancy after 15 weeks has made it to the country's highest court. A ruling could see the landmark 1973 'Roe versus Wade' case that legalized abortion overturned.

US announces diplomatic boycott of 2022 Beijing Olympics

Can Xi Jinping's China pull it off? Can happy pictures of a torch relay reduced to 72 hours and tightly cropped images of top-level competitions make the world forget about the empty seats, the Covid bubble, the artificial snow, the tight security and the pressure on sponsors over human rights abuses in Xinjiang and Hong Kong?