A BILL to enshrine into federal law the abortion rights of Roe v. Wade failed in a Senate vote on Wednesday (Shutterstock).

An attempt  by Democrats to write the abortion rights protections of the Roe v. Wade ruling into federal law failed as expected in the U.S. Senate on Wednesday.

According to Associated Press, a procedural vote to advance a pro-choice bill to full debate and vote failed on a 51-49 vote. All 50 Republicans voted against the proposed legislation, along with one Democrat – Joe Manchin of West Virginia – and all other Democrats were in favor.

The bill was in response to an expected ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court overturning the 1973 decision that created a national right of access to abortion for women.

It had already been passed by the House of Representatives. The bill’s chances were slim in the Senate because even if Manchin had voted with his party, the legislation would have needed 60 votes to break a filibuster.

Inflation deflates a bit, but not much

The rate of increase in the cost of living moderated a bit in April, according to The New York Times. The Commerce Department’s report on the Consumer Price Index showed an increase of 8.3 percent, down from 8.5 percent in March.

Core inflation – that part of consumer costs not including the volatile food and energy costs – was up 6.2 percent. That’s an increase of 0.6 percent, up from March’s 0.3 percent increase.

Sports: Angels and Dodgers both fall

Both the Los Angeles Angels and Los Angeles Dodgers lost on Wednesday, further tightening already snug races in the American League and National League West divisions.

The Angels lost 4-2 in Anaheim to the Tampa Bay Rays. Trailing 2-0 in the bottom of the eighth, Taylor Ward hit a two-run pinch-hit homer for the Halos. However, the visitors scored twice in the 10th to snap the home team’s three-game winning streak.

Now 21-12, the Orange County team leads the Houston Astros by a half-game. That gap can be closed if the Astros hold on to win a game with the Minnesota Twins. The game was suspended in the fourth with Houston leading 5-1.

Shohei Ohtani made the pitching start and worked six innings, yielding two hits and one earned run. He struck out five batters and walked two.

The Dodgers lost 5-3 to the Pirates in Pittsburgh. After falling behind 3-0, the Dodgers were able to tie the game up in the top of the seventh on a three-run triple by Edwin Rios. The Pirates scored one run each in the seventh and eighth innings.

Now 20-9, the Blue Crew leads the NL West by 1.5 games over the second place San Diego Padres.

Weather: You’re getting warm

That spring sunshine we’ve been waiting for is expected to be on hand Thursday in the West Orange County area, and continue through Saturday.

The forecast for Thursday calls for a daytime high of 81, with an overnight low of 55. It’ll be breezy, though, with winds up to 13 miles an hour. Friday should see a high of 84 (57) and Saturday will be even warmer at 87 (62) with winds at 10 miles an hour. Sunday will see the onset of a cooling trend with a high of 77 (59).

Business: Oil prices drop, gas prices don’t

GASOLINE PRICES in California have risen (Pexels/Gustavo Fring).

Even while the price of crude oil is declining, gasoline prices at the pump remain high, and are even setting new records in some parts of the country.

According to Businessinsider.com, the price of a barrel of West Texas Intermediate Crude has fallen 59 percent, but the pain at the pump persists.

Theories about why that is center on the person who owns the gas station, 99 percent of whom are not large petroleum corporations.

Among the possible causes are the desire of station operators to recapture money lost when they didn’t raise prices as fast as oil costs rose, warmer weather increasing demand (which pushes up prices) and other factors.