News Wrap: Inflation rises to highest level in 40 years

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• Judy Woodruff:

  There is fresh evidence tonight of just how bad inflation has gotten in the U.S.

  Consumer prices in January jumped 7.5 percent from a year earlier. That's the biggest one-year increase since 1982, with no sign of a let-up anytime soon.

  Lawmakers from both parties pointed to the numbers today, with an eye toward the November elections.

• Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY):

  Democratic policies have created an inflation riptide that is forcing families and small businesses to swim as fast as they possibly can just to avoid getting sucked out to sea.

• Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT):

  We're just coming out of a pandemic, but I still think that we need to start doing some things in a positive way to lower inflation. We did it with the bipartisan infrastructure deal. We did it with the Rescue Plan.

• Judy Woodruff:

  Also today, 30-year home mortgage rates hit their highest point in two years, at nearly 3.7 percent.

  President Biden is stepping up his warnings to Americans to leave Ukraine immediately. A State Department advisory late today cited the risk of Russian military action as Moscow stages exercises in neighboring Belarus.

  And in an NBC News interview, the president said — quote — "Things could go crazy quickly."

  We will take a closer look at Ukraine after the news summary.

  The Biden administration urged Canada today to put an end to truck blockades along the northern border protesting government COVID vaccine mandates. The Ambassador Bridge linking Detroit to Windsor, Ontario, stayed bottles up for a fourth day. A bridge at Port Huron, Michigan, was also blocked, and a border crossing in Manitoba joined the list.

  Truckers are still clogging Central Ottawa as Supporters said today the government has to give way.

• Matt, Protester:

  If everyone here leaves and goes home, and everyone is a little bit happy, and everyone can go back to doing what they want to do, then we can start to have a civilized discussion about things.

  But until the mandates and the restrictions are lifted, no one here is leaving. This can go on for days, weeks, months. It doesn't matter.

• Judy Woodruff:

  With the protests continuing, General Motors and Toyota joined Ford in closing plants or cutting production as parts shipments are blocked.

  The blockades in Canada have sparked similar actions overseas. Police in New Zealand arrested 120 people today outside Parliament. Thousands have blocked streets there for three days. And, in France, protesters waving Canadian flags headed toward Paris, despite threats of fines and prison time.

  Britain's Prince Charles has come down with COVID for a second time. He is fully vaccinated, but royal officials say he's tested positive. Charles met recently with his mother, Queen Elizabeth, who is 95. Officials say she has no symptoms.

  Back in this country, the CDC proposed today to ease guidelines on how doctors prescribe opioid painkillers. Since 2016, there have been strict limits on the drugs, in an effort to slow an overdose epidemic. The proposed changes would give doctors more leeway in treating patients with severe pain.

  The U.S. Senate gave final approval today to ending forced arbitration in sexual assault and harassment claims. Instead, the bipartisan measure will allow accusers to go to court.

  Democrat Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York championed the bill.

• Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY):

  The arbitration process has not only allowed corporations to hide sexual harassment and assault cases in this secretive and this often biased process, but it has also shielded those who have committed serious misconduct from the public eye, so there's no accountability. And we know that sunlight is always the best disinfectant.

• Judy Woodruff:

  We will speak with former FOX News anchor Gretchen Carlson, who lobbied for the bill. And that's later in the program.

  State lawmakers in Louisiana will investigate the death of a Black man, Ronald Greene, in a violent encounter with white state police. Officers originally said Greene died in a crash in 2019. Later, body camera video showed the troopers beating him and using stun guns.

  Electric automaker Tesla says that it will fight a California state lawsuit accusing it of racial bias. The suit follows hundreds of complaints by Black employees at Tesla's factory in Fremont. The complaints range from racial slurs to job discrimination.

  A federal judge in California restored federal protections for gray wolves today across much of the nation. That reverses a move by the Trump administration. Wildlife advocates argued that, without the curbs, hunting would sharply reduce gray wolf numbers.

  On Wall Street today, the inflation news sent major indexes down 1.5 to 2 percent. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 526 points to close at 35241. The Nasdaq fell 304 points. The S&P 500 dropped 83.

  And at the Winter Olympics, American Nathan Chen's long program secured the gold medal in men's figure skating. Defending gold medalist snowboarder Chloe Kim won the women's halfpipe. And the U.S. won the mixed team aerials in freestyle skiing.