On the version of Hot off the Wire posted Jan. 8 at 7:15 a.m. CT: BEIRUT (AP) — An Israeli airstrike has killed an elite Hezbollah commander in southern Lebanon. It's the latest in an escalating exchange of strikes along the border that have raised fears of another Mideast war even as the fighting in Gaza exacts a mounting toll on civilians. A Lebanese security official said Monday's strike on an SUV killed a commander in a secretive Hezbollah force that operates along the border. Hezbollah identified the slain fighter as Wissam al-Tawil without providing further details. He is the most senior Hezbollah militant to have been killed since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack into southern Israel triggered all-out war in Gaza and lower-intensity fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, which has escalated since an Israeli strike killed a senior Hamas leader in Beirut last week. BOSTON (AP) — Winter weather is battering parts of both U.S. coasts. In the West, a Sierra Nevada storm packing heavy snow shut down a stretch of interstate Saturday and briefly knocked out power to tens of thousands in Reno, Nevada. New Englanders are bracing for a potent mix of snow and freezing rain through the weekend as that storm makes its way up the East Coast. Winter storm warnings and watches remain in effect throughout the Northeast. Icy roads have made for hazardous travel as far south as North Carolina. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul expects two-thirds of her state to get 8 inches (20 centimeters) of snow or more. PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A federal official says the Boeing jetliner that suffered an inflight blowout over Portland, Oregon, was not being used for flights to Hawaii after a warning light that could have indicated a pressurization problem lit up on three different flights. Alaska Airlines decided to restrict the aircraft from long flights over water so the plane could land quickly if the warning light reappeared. Aviation officials also have found the chunk of the fuselage that was expelled from the aircraft. More than 140 Boeing planes are grounded while the airlines await instructions on how to inspect them. The depressurized jet with 171 passengers and six crew returned safely with no serious injuries Friday night. ROME (AP) — Pope Francis is calling for a universal ban on the “despicable” practice of surrogate motherhood. He included what he called the “commercialization” of pregnancy in an annual speech to ambassadors accredited to the Holy See. The speech listed the threats to global peace and human dignity, including Russia’s war in Ukraine, the Israel-Gaza war, migration and climate crises and the “immoral” production of nuclear and conventional weapons. But he also listed smaller-scale issues that he said were threats to human dignity, including surrogacy. "Oppenheimer has dominated the Golden Globe Awards, taking home the night's top honor. Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Poor Things” has won best comedy or musical at the 81st Golden Globes, an upset victory over the category favorite, “Barbie.” Emma Stone also won for her performance in “Poor Things.” On the television side, “Succession” and “The Bear” are took multiple honors. Christopher Nolan’s epic American drama “Oppenheimer” picked up five big awards including best drama film, best director for Nolan, best actor for Cillian Murphy, best supporting actor for Robert Downey Jr. and for Ludwig Göransson’s score. Paul Giamatti and Da'Vine Joy Randolph both won for their performances in “The Holdovers.” LOS ANGELES (AP) — Timothée Chalamet and “Wonka” topped the box office charts for the third time in its four weekends in theaters. Studio estimates Sunday report Warner Bros.’ family-oriented musical added $14.4 million in ticket sales. That brings its total domestic grosses to $164.7 million. But 2024 is getting off to a slower start than last year and is down around 16%. The Universal/Blumhouse horror “Night Swim” is the only major new offering in theaters. Warner Bros. and Universal placed third and fourth on the charts as well with “Aquaman” in third place and “Migration” in fourth. “Anyone But You” rounded out the top five. BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Fossil hunters are celebrating the discovery of a mammoth tusk and other bones unearthed at a coal mine in North Dakota. A shovel operator was the first person to spot the collection of bones while shoveling a giant mound of dirt into a dump truck. More digging by paleontologists unearthed more bones, likely the most complete mammoth specimen found in North Dakota. The North American Coal company plans to donate the tusk to the state for educational purposes. The tusk is 7 feet long, weighs 50 pounds and is more than 10,000 years old. It's wrapped in plastic for now at the North Dakota Geologic Survey office in Bismarck. In sports, the Jets snap a long losing streak to the Patriots, the Eagles get blown out by the Giants to stumble into the postseason, Arthur Smith is out as Falcons head coach, Jarrett Allen's big night helps the Cavaliers hold off the Spurs, the Winnipeg Jets extend their points streak to 12 straight games, and the Dodgers look to add another free agent signing. WASHINGTON (AP) — Congressional leaders have reached an agreement on overall spending levels for the current fiscal year that could help avoid a partial government shutdown later this month. House Speaker Mike Johnson is hailing the agreement in a letter to colleagues as “the most favorable budget agreement Republicans have achieved in over a decade.” President Joe Biden says the agreement is one step closer "to preventing a needless government shutdown and protecting important national priorities.” Lawmakers needed an agreement on overall spending levels so that appropriators could write the bills that set line-by-line money for agencies. Funding is set to lapse Jan. 19 for some agencies and Feb. 2 for others. In the last week alone, Israel has killed a senior Hamas militant in an airstrike in Beirut, Hezbollah has fired barrages of rockets into Israel, the U.S. has killed a militia commander in Baghdad and Iran-backed rebels in Yemen have traded fire with the American Navy. Each strike and counterstrike increases the risk of the already catastrophic war in Gaza spilling across the region. But in the decades-old standoff pitting the U.S. and Israel against Iran and allied militant groups, there are fears that any one party could trigger a wider war if only to avoid appearing weak. LOS ANGELES (AP) — Judith Light of “Poker Face” and Sam Richardson of “Ted Lasso” and cast members from “The Last of Us” were among a wide range of acting winners at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards. The ceremony is a precursor to the primetime Emmys ceremony on Jan. 15. Light won her first Emmy in a nearly 50-year career for her guest role on “Poker Face.” Richardson won his first for playing a soccer-loving billionaire on “Ted Lasso.” And two cast members from “The Last of Us,” 53-year-old Nick Offerman and 20-year-old Storm Reid, won their first Emmys for guest roles on the HBO show. LONDON (AP) — The actor who earned fame as the blond half of a crime-fighting duo in the popular 1970s television series “Starsky and Hutch” has died. David Soul was 80. His wife, Helen Snell, said Friday that Soul died on Thursday "after a valiant battle for life in the loving company of family.” Soul portrayed detective Ken “Hutch” Hutchinson alongside dark-haired Paul Michael Glaser as detective David Starsky in “Starsky and Hutch.” It ran on ABC between 1975 and 1979. At the height of his fame, Soul also hit the music charts with the single “Don’t Give Up on Us.” Soul had lived in Britain for many years, where he took on several stage roles. On this week's AP Religion Roundup, an imam is killed outside a New Jersey mosque, and Native Hawaiians protect a sacred salt-making tradition. Orthodox Christians packed churches on Saturday night for Christmas Eve services, a holiday overshadowed for many believers by conflict. Patriarch Kirill is the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, the world’s largest Orthodox denomination. He led services at Moscow’s Christ the Savior Cathedral. A Kremlin spokesman said Russian President Vladimir Putin was expected to attend Christmas Eve services at his Novo-Ogaryovo residence along with the families of military personnel who have died in the war in Ukraine. Nightime services were canceled in the Russian border city of Belgorod following Ukrainian attacks Dec. 30 that killed 25 people. Celebrations in the Middle East were darkened by another conflict: the Israel-Hamas war. WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is allowing Idaho to enforce its strict abortion ban, even in medical emergencies, while a legal fight continues. The justices on Friday said they would hear arguments in the case in April and put on hold a lower court ruling that had blocked the Idaho law in hospital emergencies, based on a lawsuit filed by the Biden administration. The Democratic administration argued hospitals that receive Medicare funds are required by a federal law to provide emergency care including abortion. The legal fight followed the court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and allow states to severely restrict or ban abortion. A district judge in Idaho agreed with the administration. In a separate case in Texas, a judge sided with the state. —The Associated Press About this program Host Terry Lipshetz is managing editor of the national newsroom for Lee Enterprises. Besides producing the daily Hot off the Wire news podcast, Terry conducts periodic interviews for this Behind the Headlines program, co-hosts the Streamed & Screened movies and television program and is the former producer of Across the Sky, a podcast dedicated to weather and climate. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. Learn more here.

Welcome to the weekly bonus episode of Hot off the Wire, where we look back at some of the top headlines from the week in the world of sports and entertainment.  I’m Terry Lipshetz, Managing Editor of the National Newsroom at Lee Enterprises and your host. Subscribe to Hot Off The Wire through Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts so you don’t miss daily news updates. As always, be sure to check out our latest episode of Streamed & Screened, a podcast dedicated to movies and television.  Listen to the latest episode of Streamed & Screened here.  This week’s top headlines include: The NBA fined the Nets $100,000 for violating the league's participation policy by resting four players. A look at Yoshinobu Yamamoto's deal with the Dodgers and the Braves rework Chris Sale's contract. Recent celebrity deaths include Glynis Johns from "Mary Poppins" and comedian Tom Smothers. And an early version of Mickey Mouse that is now in the public domain will be featured in two upcoming horror films. Those stories and more from The Associated Press. — Compiled and narrated by Terry Lipshetz from Associated Press reports About this program Host Terry Lipshetz is managing editor of the national newsroom for Lee Enterprises. Besides producing the daily Hot off the Wire news podcast, Terry conducts periodic interviews for this Behind the Headlines program, co-hosts the Streamed & Screened movies and television program and is the former producer of Across the Sky, a podcast dedicated to weather and climate. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. Learn more here.

On the version of Hot off the Wire posted Jan. 6 at 6 a.m. CT: WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Treasury has announced that the nation’s gross national debt has surpassed $34 trillion. The record high comes after Republican lawmakers and the White House agreed to temporarily lift the nation’s $31.4 trillion debt limit last year after the government ran up against its legal borrowing capacity and needed to implement “extraordinary measures” to avoid a default. That agreement lasts until January 2025. Congress is gearing up for another funding fight. Most of us struggle with making those New Year’s resolutions stick. This year, add some fuel — or even electricity — to your personal improvement fire with cars that can help you see your goals through to the end. Whether you want to get fit or get out, Edmunds picks five vehicles to keep you motivated. On our list are the Toyota GR Corolla, Ford Bronco, Nissan Versa, Hyundai Ioniq 6 and Mercedes-Benz GLB. Four years after the last census, almost a dozen small communities in the Midwest are going to be counted again in hopes of getting more state funding. Eleven municipalities in Illinois and Iowa are the only cities in the U.S. so far to have signed agreements with the U.S. Census Bureau to recount their residents in 2024 and 2025 in a repeat of what happened during the 2020 census. The first year in which the special censuses can be conducted is 2024. The cities' populations have grown so fast in three years that they are leaving state funding on the table by not including the extra growth. Investment guru Warren Buffett topped The Chronicle of Philanthropy's annual list of the biggest charitable donations in 2023, with his $541.5 million gift to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, named for his first wife, who died in 2004. The 2023 list of gifts from individuals or their foundations totaled more than $3.5 billion. Four universities received big gifts, along with four scientific research institutes and a health-care system. The other gifts went to a family foundation and a racial justice group. The list has 11 gifts because of ties. Eight of the donors are multibillionaires, and their combined net worth is $305.1 billion. NEW YORK (AP) — New York City has banned vendors from the Brooklyn Bridge. The change ends a bustling market that supplied cheap goods to tourists on the iconic crossing. Police officers were stationed in pairs Wednesday along the mile-long span. The ban is aimed at easing congestion on the bridge's heavily trafficked pedestrian walkway. Sellers acknowledge the bridge has recently been inundated with tabletop businesses selling such items as New York-branded hats and keychains, but the vendors say the city’s total ban went too far. Mayor Eric Adams is defending the prohibition as necessary to ensure pedestrian safety and clamp down on what he described as growing disorder. NEW YORK (AP) — A new version of the federal student aid application known as the FAFSA is available for the 2024-2025 school year, but only on a limited basis as the U.S. Department of Education works on a redesign meant to make it easier to apply. That means that the application students can usually fill out starting in October isn't yet available to everyone. The redesign brings major changes such as fewer questions, the ability to list more colleges and availability in more languages. However, students will get their financial aid offers later than usual because the form hasn't been available. A soft launch period opened last week. NEW YORK (AP) — More U.S. hospitals are requiring masks and limiting visitors as health officials face a post-holiday spike in flu and other illnesses. New York City last week instituted a mask mandate for the city’s 11 public hospitals. Similar measures were ordered at some hospitals in Los Angeles and Massachusetts. Flu and COVID-19 infections have been increasing for weeks, with high levels of flu-like illness reported in 31 states just before Christmas. Updated national numbers are to be released Friday, but health officials predict infections will grow in many states well into January. Crib cameras are offering a clue to a rare but devastating tragedy — when seemingly healthy young children suddenly die in their sleep and autopsies can’t tell why. Similar to SIDS in babies, it’s called sudden unexplained death in childhood, or SUDC, when it happens after age 1. In a small study, researchers analyzed video that captured the deaths of seven toddlers and found seizures sometimes play a role. Now they must figure out why. Researchers from NYU Langone Health reported the findings Thursday in the journal Neurology. A Connecticut woman who pushed for expanded access to Vermont’s law that allows people who are terminally ill to end their lives has died in Vermont. Lynda Bluestein, who had terminal cancer, ended her life by taking prescribed lethal medication on Thursday. Her husband says her last words were that she was so happy that she didn't have to suffer anymore. The group Compassion & Choices filed a lawsuit against Vermont in 2022 on behalf of Bluestein. She claimed Vermont’s residency requirement in its medically assisted suicide law violated the U.S. Constitution. The state settled the case last year, allowing Bluestein and later anyone else in her circumstances to take advantage of the law. SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The falling-block video game Tetris has met its match in 13-year-old Willis Gibson. In late December, he became the first player to officially beat the original Nintendo version of the game — by breaking it. Technically, Willis — aka “blue scuti” in the gaming world — made it to what gamers call a “kill screen,” a point where the Tetris code glitches, crashing the game. That might not sound like much of a victory to most people, but it’s a highly coveted achievement in the world of video games. And it’s a very big deal for Tetris, which has long been described as an “unbeatable” game. NEW YORK (AP) — A small, rare herding dog called the Lancashire heeler is the latest breed recognized by the American Kennel Club. The organization announced Wednesday that the breed is now eligible for thousands of U.S. dog shows. Lancashire heelers historically were farm helpers that could both drive cattle and rout rats. The dogs are short-legged, long-bodied and active, and owners say contented heelers sometimes pull back their lips in a move that resembles a human smile. The Lancashire heeler is the 201st breed recognized by the AKC. Heelers’ history goes back centuries in the United Kingdom, where they’re now deemed a “vulnerable native breed” at risk of dying out in their homeland. HANAPEPE, Hawaii (AP) — A salt patch on the island of Kauai is one of the last remaining in all of Hawaii. Salt makers from 22 Native Hawaiian families gather here in the summer months to do the hard work of making paakai or Hawaiian salt. An important part of this cultural and spiritual practice is to give away the salt. It can never be sold. The existence of this salt patch is being threatened by climate change, rising sea levels and pollution. These challenges have shrunk the salt-making season and reduced the quantity of salt produced. But the salt makers are looking for solutions to preserve this unique practice and pass on their knowledge to future generations. —The Associated Press About this program Host Terry Lipshetz is managing editor of the national newsroom for Lee Enterprises. Besides producing the daily Hot off the Wire news podcast, Terry conducts periodic interviews for this Behind the Headlines program, co-hosts the Streamed & Screened movies and television program and is the former producer of Across the Sky, a podcast dedicated to weather and climate. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. Learn more here.

On the version of Hot off the Wire posted Jan. 5 at 6 a.m. CT: PERRY, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say a 17-year-old student with a shotgun and a handgun opened fire at a small-town Iowa high school, killing a sixth-grader and wounding five others. Thursday's shooting had students at Perry High School barricading themselves in offices, ducking into classrooms and fleeing. Authorities say one of the wounded was a school administrator and the suspect was found dead with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. investigators are looking at possible motive and reviewing the suspect’s social media posts. Two friends and their mother who spoke with The Associated Press said the suspect was a quiet person who had been bullied for years. PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) — Officials say South African athlete Oscar Pistorius has been released from prison on parole after serving nearly nine years in prison for killing his girlfriend. The Department of Corrections gave no more details of Pistorius’ release. The announcement came around 8:30 a.m., indicating that officials released the world-famous double-amputee Olympic runner early in the morning. Pistorius has served nearly nine years of his almost 13-and-a-half-year murder sentence for killing model and law graduate Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day 2013. He was approved for parole in November. Serious offenders in South Africa are eligible for parole after serving at least half their sentence. BERLIN (AP) — Police say four people have died after a fire broke out at a hospital in northern Germany and spread to several patients’ rooms. Emergency workers saw flames on the fourth floor of a wing of the hospital in Uelzen, southeast of Hamburg, when they arrived at the scene late Thursday evening. They could hear calls for help and evacuated several people, and were able to stop the fire spreading any further. Police said Friday that three patients died at the scene and a fourth after being taken to another hospital. It wasn’t immediately clear how many people were injured, nor what caused the fire. WASHINGTON (AP) — The Labor Department is expected to report that employers added a solid 160,000 jobs last month, according to the data firm FactSet. That would mean that the economy had added 2.7 million jobs in 2023. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned of hard times ahead after the Fed began jacking up interest rates in the spring of 2022 to attack high inflation. Economists predicted that the much higher borrowing costs would cause a recession. But that didn't happen and the nation’s labor market is still cranking out enough jobs to keep the unemployment rate near historic lows. SYDNEY (AP) — The largest male specimen of the world's most venomous spider that boasts fangs powerful enough to pierce a human fingernail has found a new home after being discovered north of Sydney, Australia. The Sydney funnel-web spider, found only in Australia, has been donated to the Australian Reptile Park to help save lives by contributing to the park's antivenom program. The spider, given the moniker “Hercules.” was initially delivered by a member of the public to a local hospital. But park experts retrieved it and soon realized it was the largest male specimen ever received by the public in Australia. “Hercules” measures 7.9 centimeters (3 inches) from foot to foot, surpassing the park’s previous record-holder from 2018, the male funnel-web named “Colossus”. WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump plans to spend the third anniversary of the Capitol riot by campaigning in Iowa as he tries win back the White House. The former Republican president has two events planned for Saturday in the leadoff voting state Iowa as he marks the anniversary of what he has called “a beautiful day.” President Joe Biden will be at a site near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, on Friday where he's expected to press his case that Trump and top supporters of his “Make America Great Again” movement are threats to American democracy. Biden's visit has been moved up from Saturday due to weather concerns. The Capitol riot is increasingly viewed differently along partisan lines. New York (AP) — New York City is suing more than a dozen charter bus companies for their role in Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s operation to send tens of thousands of migrants to urban areas. The lawsuit, filed Thursday, claims the 17 bus companies “knowingly implemented” Abbott’s busing plan in violation of a New York law that limits transferring “needy persons” across state lines. It seeks more than $700 million in damages to recoup the cost of caring for an estimated 33,000 migrants who have arrived in the city on charter buses since April 2022. Abbott said in response that the suit was a violation of the commerce clause, which guarantees the constitutional right to travel. DALLAS (AP) — The family of former U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson says the trailblazing Texas congresswoman died after getting an infection and accused a Dallas rehabilitation facility of neglect. Johnson, the first registered nurse elected to Congress, died on Dec. 31 at the age of 89. Les Weisbrod, her family’s attorney, said at a news conference that her death was caused by an infection in her spine that developed after she was left in her own feces at Baylor Scott & White Institute for Rehabilitation following back surgery. In a statement Thursday, Baylor Scott & White Health said they are committed to working with her family and attorney. A buzzer beater from Nikola Jokic and a matchup between top European stars in the NBA, two NHL standouts lead their teams to wins among a busy hockey slate, and a decorated running back signs with a contending team before Week 18. The NBA fined the Brooklyn Nets $100,000 on Thursday, marking the first time a team was sanctioned for violating the league’s player participation policy that went into effect this season. The Nets held out four rotation players — starters Spencer Dinwiddie, Nic Claxton and Cam Johnson, along with key reserve Dorian Finney-Smith — in what became a 144-122 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Dec. 27. Three of the players Brooklyn started that night logged 12 minutes or less. ATLANTA (AP) — The Atlanta Braves have reworked the contract for newcomer Chris Sale, announcing a $38 million, two-year deal with the left-handed pitcher who was acquired last weekend from the Boston Red Sox. The contract also includes an $18 million club option for 2026. It supersedes his previous deal which called for a $27.5 million salary in 2024, with $10 million of that figure deferred until 2039. In essence, the seven-time All Star gets an additional $10.5 million in guaranteed money without having to wait for a deferred payment, in exchange for committing to at least two seasons with the Braves rather than one. The NCAA and ESPN have agreed to a $920 million, eight-year deal that will give the network exclusive rights to 40 championships, including the Division I women’s basketball tournament. The women's side of March Madness has been growing in popularity and the association has been accused of undervaluing it in the past. NCAA President Charlie Baker told The Associated Press the deal has an average annual value of $115 million. That's an increase of more than 300% per year on what the previous 14-year deal with ESPN was paying the association. The deal covers 21 women’s and 19 men’s sports. FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Fire officials say a child playing with a cigarette lighter started a fire at the $6.9 million home owned by Miami Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill. Davie Fire Marshal Robert Taylor tells The Associated Press that the fire was accidental. He did not provide the age of the child, or the amount of damage caused by the fire. Hill was at Dolphins practice when the fire broke out. He left when he got word about the blaze. Miami television station WSVN showed a large amount of black smoke coming from the roof as firefighters doused the house with water. No one was injured in the fire. Scandals have led to a membership revamp and CBS to take over as broadcaster for the Jan. 7 Golden Globe Awards show, but a key question remains: Will viewers tune in? Comedian Jo Koy is hosting the ceremony, which will be broadcast live from Beverly Hilton Hotel beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern. NEW YORK (AP) — Glynis Johns, a Tony Award-winning stage and screen star who played the mother opposite Julie Andrews in the classic movie “Mary Poppins” and introduced the world to the bittersweet standard-to-be “Send in the Clowns” by Stephen Sondheim, has died. She was 100. Mitch Clem, her manager, said she died Thursday at an assisted living home in Los Angeles of natural causes. Johns’ greatest triumph was playing Desiree Armfeldt in “A Little Night Music,” for which she won a Tony in 1973. Sondheim wrote the show’s hit song “Send in the Clowns” to suit her distinctive husky voice, but she lost the part in the 1977 film version to Elizabeth Taylor. WASHINGTON (AP) — An armed unmanned surface vessel launched from Houthi-controlled Yemen got within a “couple of miles” of U.S. Navy and commercial vessels in the Red Sea before detonating. Thursday's attack took place just hours after the White House and a host of partner nations issued a final warning to the Iran-backed militia group to cease the attacks or face potential military action. Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, who heads U.S. Navy operations in the Middle East, said it was the first time the Houthis had used an unmanned surface vessel, or USV, since their harassment of commercial ships in the Red Sea began after the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war. WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House says U.S. intelligence officials have determined that Russia has acquired ballistic missiles from North Korea and is seeking close-range ballistic missiles from Iran as Moscow struggles to replenish arms for its war with Ukraine. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Thursday that recently declassified intelligence found that North Korea has provided Russia with ballistic missile launchers and several ballistic missiles. Kirby said a Russia-Iran deal had not been completed. But, he said, the U.S. “is concerned that Russia's negotiations to acquire close range ballistic missiles from Iran are actively advancing.” UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations has issued a somber global economic forecast for 2024, pointing to challenges from escalating conflicts, sluggish global trade, persistently high interest rates and increasing climate disasters. In its flagship economic report launched Thursday, the U.N. projected that global economic growth would slow to 2.4% this year from an estimated 2.7% in 2023, which exceeds expectations. But both are still below the 3.0% growth rate before the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020, it said. The U.N. forecast is lower than those of the International Monetary Fund in October and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in late November. —The Associated Press About this program Host Terry Lipshetz is managing editor of the national newsroom for Lee Enterprises. Besides producing the daily Hot off the Wire news podcast, Terry conducts periodic interviews for this Behind the Headlines program, co-hosts the Streamed & Screened movies and television program and is the former producer of Across the Sky, a podcast dedicated to weather and climate. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. Learn more here.

On the version of Hot off the Wire posted Jan. 4 at 7:30 a.m. CT: NEW YORK (AP) — A winter weather system moving through the U.S. is expected to wallop the East Coast this weekend with a mix of snow and freezing rain. But forecasters say it's too soon to say which areas will get snow and which will get rain and how much. The Pacific system is moving through Western and Southern states before moving up the East Coast this weekend. Major U.S. cities accustomed to white winters didn't receive much snow last year due to a lack of cold air. The National Weather Service in New York City said this week that 2023 would go down as the city's “least snowiness” year, with just 2.3 inches measured in Central Park. DENVER (AP) — Former President Donald Trump is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a Colorado ruling that bars him from the state’s ballot over his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack. The Republican presidential candidate on Wednesday appealed the Colorado Supreme Court’s finding that an insurrection clause in the Constitution’s 14th Amendment renders him ineligible. The Colorado court’s December ruling was the first time in history a court disqualified someone from running for the White House for having “engaged in insurrection." Trump's appeal comes a day after his legal team asked the Maine Superior Court to review a ruling by Democratic Secretary of State Shenna Bellows that Trump cannot be on that state’s ballot. BAGHDAD (AP) — Officials say an airstrike on the logistical support headquarters of an Iran-backed militia in central Baghdad has killed a high-ranking militia commander. Thursday's strike comes amid mounting regional tensions fueled by Israel-Hamas war and fears that it could spill over into surrounding countries. The Popular Mobilization Force - a coalition of militias that is nominally under the control of the Iraqi military - announced in a statement that its deputy head of operations in Baghdad, Mushtaq Taleb al-Saidi, or “Abu Taqwa,” had been killed “as a result of brutal American aggression.” SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A pilot accused of threatening to shoot a commercial airline captain who wanted to divert a flight to get medical attention for a passenger is set to make his first federal court appearance. Former Delta Air Lines pilot Jonathan J. Dunn was indicted Oct. 18. He is scheduled to appear in court on Thursday in Salt Lake City. Dunn was charged with interfering with a flight crew and could face up to 20 years in prison. The captain had proposed diverting to Colorado if a passenger’s condition worsened. Prosecutors say Dunn objected and threatened multiple times to shoot the captain. Delta says Dunn no longer works for the airline. DETROIT (AP) — American consumers bought 15.6 million new vehicles last year. The numbers indicate car buyers were undeterred by high prices, rising interest rates, autoworker strikes and a computer-chip shortage that slowed assembly lines. The tally is 12% more than in 2022, and the biggest increase in more than a decade. Yet sales still haven’t returned to the 17 million rate in the years before the pandemic, and there are signs of a cooling market as supplies grow on dealer lots and prices start to fall. Average auto sales prices peaked in December of 2022 just over $47,300. Data from J.D. Power show that average prices in mid-December were down 2.7% from the peak to around $46,000. Analysts expect more discounts through the year. WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. has coordinated with Israel, Egypt and others in rescuing the mother of a U.S. serviceman and her American brother-in-law who were pinned down during heavy fighting in Gaza City. News of the rescue, in the only known operation of its kind, came Wednesday from a U.S. official. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to confirm the rescue, which had been kept quiet for security reasons. The official said Zahra Sckak made it out of Gaza on New Year's Eve, along with her brother-in-law. Her husband had been shot earlier as the family fled from a building hit by an airstrike. He died days later. One of her three American sons is an Army infantryman. WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve’s policymakers concluded last month that inflationary pressures were easing and that the job market was cooling. In response, the officials chose to leave their key interest rate unchanged for the third straight time and signaled that they expected to cut rates three times in 2024. According to the minutes of their Dec. 12-13 meeting, Fed officials indicated in their own interest-rate forecasts that a lower benchmark rate “would be appropriate by the end of 2024" given the steady progress toward taming inflation. But they ”stressed the importance″ of remaining vigilant and keeping rates high “until inflation was clearly moving down sustainably″ toward their 2% target. AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Justice Department is suing Texas over a new law that would allow police in the state to arrest migrants who enter the U.S. illegally. The lawsuit filed Wednesday accuses Texas of violating the U.S. government’s authority over immigration enforcement. Under the Texas law, migrants could either agree to a Texas judge’s order to leave the U.S. or be prosecuted on misdemeanor charges of illegal entry. Migrants who don’t leave could face arrest again under more serious felony charges. The lawsuit asks a court in Austin to declare the Texas law unconstitutional, alleging that it would frustrate immigration operations and interfere with the federal government’s right to regulate foreign commerce. The law is set to take effect in March. WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is starting the campaign year by evoking the Revolutionary War to mark the third anniversary of the deadly U.S. Capitol insurrection and visiting the South Carolina church where a white gunman massacred Black parishioners. The Democratic president is seeking to present in the starkest possible terms an election he argues could determine the fate of American democracy. Biden is kicking off 2024 in Pennsylvania by delving into some of the country’s darkest moments rather than an upbeat affirmation of his record. Former President Donald Trump is the heavy favorite to win the Republican nomination. Trump's team argues Biden is threatening democracy because of the indictments brought against the former president. EAGLE PASS, Texas (AP) — U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson has led about 60 fellow Republicans in Congress on a visit to the Mexican border. And Johnson is expressing serious doubts about whether he'd support a bipartisan compromise. He's also suggesting he could use a looming government funding deadline as further leverage. Their trip Wednesday to Eagle Pass, Texas, comes as they are demanding hard-line immigration policies in exchange for backing President Joe Biden’s emergency wartime funding request for Ukraine. Senate negotiators in Washington are plugging away in hopes of a bipartisan deal. Johnson says he's holding firmly to the policies of a bill passed by House Republicans in May without a single Democratic vote. Biden has threatened a veto WASHINGTON (AP) — America’s employers posted 8.8 million job openings in November, down slightly from October and the fewest since March 2021. But demand for workers remains strong by historical standards. The number of job vacancies dipped from 8.9 million in October. And the number of people quitting their jobs — a sign of confidence in the labor market — fell to its lowest level since February 2021. The number of quits is now roughly where it stood before the pandemic erupted. Job openings dropped by 128,000 in transportation, warehousing and utilities and by 78,000 at hotels and restaurants. The federal government reduced job openings by 58,000. By contrast, openings in construction rose by 43,000 and in retail by 42,000. Officials say a New Jersey imam was shot multiple times and killed outside his mosque Wednesday, and authorities continue to search for the shooter. Essex County Prosecutor Ted Stephens said Imam Hassan Sharif was in his car when he was shot more than once near the Masjid-Muhammad Mosque in Newark. Attorney General Matt Platkin says authorities are still searching for a shooter, but there’s no evidence indicating the shooting was related to anti-Muslim bias. Platkin says law enforcement has stepped up outreach to houses of worship, acknowledging the unfolding tensions amid the Israel-Hamas fighting in Gaza. Newark's public safety director says Sharif had been a resident imam at the mosque for five years. SAN ANTONIO (AP) — A father and son in Texas have been charged in the killings of an 18-year-old pregnant woman who disappeared before Christmas and her boyfriend. The arrests announced Wednesday night by San Antonio police come more than a week after the bodies of 18-year-old Savanah Nicole Soto and 22-year-old Matthew Guerra were found in the parking lot of an apartment complex. San Antonio police say the couple was fatally shot over an apparent drug deal before their bodies were moved and left in a car. Police charged a 19-year-old with capital murder and his 53-year-old father with abuse of corpse for allegedly helping his son move the couple’s bodies. HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel is suing a police investigator and the town of Greenwich, Connecticut, more than five years after his murder conviction was overturned. Skakel was found guilty in 2002 of the killing of Martha Moxley in their Greenwich neighborhood in 1975 when they were both 15. He served more than 11 years in prison before the state Supreme Court overturned his conviction. Skakel's lawsuit alleges malicious prosecution, civil rights violations and other wrongdoing. Skakel says the police investigator, Frank Garr, withheld key evidence that favored Skakel. The state attorney general's office, which is representing Garr, declined to comment. A lawyer for Greenwich did not return a message seeking comment. Plenty of offense in the NBA, Auston Matthews becomes the NHL's first 30 goal scorer, nine Niners make the Pro Bowl rosters and two ranked teams play and lose in college basketball. Chiefs' quarterback Patrick Mahomes will sit the  regular-season finale, firefighters put out a large fire at the home of Miami Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill and Scottie Scheffler wins player vote as PGA Tour player of the year over Jon Rahm. WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States is confident Palestinian militant groups used Gaza’s largest hospital to hold hostages seized during their bloody Oct. 7, 2023, attack and to house command infrastructure. That's according to an American intelligence assessment declassified Tuesday and shared by a U.S. official. The assessment offers the firmest U.S. support for Israeli claims about the Shifa hospital complex, which was raided by Israeli forces in November in an operation decried by global humanitarian organizations and some members of President Joe Biden’s party. Yet the information released doesn’t fully back some of Israel's most significant allegations the hospital served as the central node for activities by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. JERUSALEM (AP) — The chief of Israel’s Mossad has vowed the intelligence agency will hunt down every Hamas member involved in the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, no matter where they are. David Barnea spoke a day after the deputy head of the Palestinian militant group was killed in a suspected Israeli strike in Beirut. Israel has refused to comment on reports it carried out the killing, but Barnea's comments appeared to be the strongest indication yet it was behind the blast. Israel was on high alert Wednesday for an escalation with Lebanon’s powerful Hezbollah militia after the strike in the Lebanese capital killed Saleh Arouri, the most senior Hamas member slain since the war in Gaza erupted nearly three months ago. COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Queen Margrethe rode through Denmark’s capital in a gilded, horse-drawn coach as she concluded her last New Year celebrations before her Jan. 14 abdication after 52 years on the throne. Thousands braved the biting cold Thursday to cheer the popular queen in what is to be her last public appearance as monarch. The 83-year-old Margrethe, who is Europe’s longest reigning monarch, will hand over the throne to her oldest son, Crown Prince Frederik in the first such resignation in Europe’s oldest ruling monarchy in nearly 900 years. Russia and Ukraine have exchanged hundreds of prisoners of war in the biggest single release of captives since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. Ukrainian authorities say that 230 Ukrainian prisoners of war returned home in the first exchange in almost five months. Russia’s Defense Ministry says that 248 Russian servicemen have been freed under the deal sponsored by the United Arab Emirates. The Foreign Ministry in the UAE has attributed the successful swap to the country's friendly ties to both Russia and Ukraine. The UAE has maintained close economic ties with Moscow despite Western sanctions and pressure on Russia after it launched its invasion in 2022. —The Associated Press About this program Host Terry Lipshetz is managing editor of the national newsroom for Lee Enterprises. Besides producing the daily Hot off the Wire news podcast, Terry conducts periodic interviews for this Behind the Headlines program, co-hosts the Streamed & Screened movies and television program and is the former producer of Across the Sky, a podcast dedicated to weather and climate. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. Learn more here.

On the version of Hot off the Wire posted Jan. 3 at 7:15 a.m. CT: Former President Donald Trump is appealing a decision by Maine’s Democratic secretary of state that he cannot be on the ballot there because he violated a constitutional ban against people who “engaged in insurrection” holding office. The Republican presidential candidate’s appeal to Maine’s Superior Court came Tuesday, and he is expected to soon appeal a similar ruling by Colorado’s Supreme Court to the U.S. Supreme Court. An apparent Israeli strike in the Lebanese capital of Beirut has killed Hamas’ No. 2 political leader, marking a potentially significant escalation of Israel’s war against the militant group and heightening the risk of a wider Middle East conflict. Saleh Arouri was the most senior figure in the group killed since the Israel-Hamas war began nearly three months ago. Harvard University President Claudine Gay has resigned amid plagiarism accusations and criticism over testimony at a congressional hearing where she was unable to say unequivocally that calls on campus for the genocide of Jews would violate the school’s conduct policy. Gay announced her departure, which came just months into her tenure, in a letter to the Harvard community on Tuesday. Air Canada, Canada’s largest carrier, had the worst on-time performance among large airlines in North America in 2023. According to a report from Cirium, the aviation analytics company, Canada's flag-carrying airline landed 63% of its 276,451 flights on time last year, placing it last among the continent’s 10 largest airlines. Delta Air Lines led the list for the most on-time airline in North America with its over 1.6 million flights arriving on time 85% of the time. Other top headlines: The Biden administration asked the Supreme Court to allow border agents to cut razor wire installed by Texas. In a Texas case, a federal appeals panel says emergency care abortions are not required by a 1986 law. Prosecutors say Sen. Robert Menendez cashed in by linking the Qatari royal family member with a New Jersey businessman. A congressman and a senator's son have jumped into the Senate race to succeed Mitt Romney in Utah. Michael Cohen can't hold Donald Trump liable for retaliatory imprisonment, an appeals court says. States and Congress wrestle with cybersecurity at water utilities amid renewed federal warnings. Women are stocking up on abortion pills, especially when there is news about restrictions. A man is found dead at a Salt Lake City airport after climbing inside of a jet engine. In sports, the Thunder and 76ers get big games from star players in wins Tuesday night, the Hurricanes tightened the race in the NHL's Metropolitan division, the top ranked team in men's college basketball won on the road and a University of North Carolina star forward reached a career milestone. Yamamoto's contract with the Dodgers includes two opt outs, but timing depends on elbow health. Steelers QB Kenny Pickett denies speculation he told coaching staff he wouldn't be No. 2 behind Mason Rudolph. Dalvin Cook is being waived by the Jets with one game left in the season. The earliest iteration of Mickey Mouse is on a rampage, barely two days in the public domain. Slashed free of Disney’s copyright as of Monday, the iconic character from “Steamboat Willie” is already the focus of two horror films. On Monday, just hours after the 1928 short entered the public domain, a trailer for “Mickey’s Mouse Trap” dropped on YouTube. Another yet-to-be-titled film was announced Tuesday.  —The Associated Press About this program Host Terry Lipshetz is managing editor of the national newsroom for Lee Enterprises. Besides producing the daily Hot off the Wire news podcast, Terry conducts periodic interviews for this Behind the Headlines program, co-hosts the Streamed & Screened movies and television program and is the former producer of Across the Sky, a podcast dedicated to weather and climate. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. Learn more here.

On the version of Hot off the Wire posted Jan. 2 at 6:45 a.m. CT: TOKYO (AP) — A plane has caught fire on the runway of Tokyo’s Haneda airport after colliding with a Japanese coast guard aircraft, officials said. Local TV showed a large burst of fire erupt from the side of a Japan Airlines plane as it taxied on a runway. The area around the wing then caught fire. NHK TV reported that all occupants of the passenger plane, believed to total 379 people, got out safely. The coast guard said the pilot of its plane evacuated safely. NHK reported that the other five crewmembers were found dead. Haneda is one of the busiest airports in Japan, and many people travel over the New Year holidays. WAJIMA, Japan (AP) — A series of powerful earthquakes has hit western Japan, leaving at least 48 people dead and damaging thousands of buildings, vehicles and boats. Officials are warning people in some areas on Tuesday to stay away from their homes because of a risk of more strong quakes. Aftershocks continued to shake Ishikawa prefecture and nearby areas a day after a magnitude 7.6 temblor slammed the area on Monday afternoon. Officials say at least 48 people are confirmed dead and 16 seriously injured in Ishikawa. Japan is frequently hit by earthquakes because of its location along the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin. ROCHESTER, New York (AP) — Police are investigating after a fiery two-vehicle collision killed two people and injured five others in Rochester, New York, early on New Year’s Day. Officials say a Ford Expedition struck a Mitsubishi Outlander, sending both vehicles through a group of pedestrians in a crosswalk. Investigators say once the flames were doused, firefighters located at least a dozen gasoline cannisters in and around the Expedition. That prompted police to bring in an arson team and alert the FBI. Investigators ask witnesses or anyone with information to reach out to police. KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s two largest cities have come under Russian hypersonic ballistic missile attacks. Officials said the Tuesday morning assaults killed at least four people and injured almost 100, as the war approached its two-year milestone and the Kremlin’s forces stepped up their winter bombardment of urban areas. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said four civilians were killed and 92 injured in the capital Kyiv and in northeastern Kharkiv as hypersonic Kinzhal missiles that can fly at 10 times the speed of sound slammed into city blocks. The barrage extended Russia’s escalated attacks on Ukraine in recent days that began on Friday with its largest single assault on Ukraine since the war started, in which at least 41 civilians were killed. VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — The family of a mother of eight who was a huge “Star Trek” fan has ensured the final frontier will be her ultimate resting place. Gloria Knowlan died 12 years ago. A small quantity of ashes from her cremated body are to be in one of 250 memorial capsules set to be launched into space later this month. Launch organizers are hoping the rocket carrying the capsules will wind up approximately 330 million kilometers from Earth, roughly past the orbit of Mars. The remains or DNA samples of “Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry, and Original Series stars Nichelle Nichols, DeForest Kelley and James Doohan also are expected to make the trip. WASHINGTON (AP) — Chief Justice John Roberts is turning his focus to the promise and shortcomings of artificial intelligence in the federal courts. His annual report makes no mention of Supreme Court ethics or legal controversies involving Donald Trump. Roberts on Sunday described artificial intelligence as the “latest technological frontier" and discussed the pros and cons of computer-generated content in the legal profession. The year-end report was issued just a few days after the latest instance of AI-generated fake legal citations making their way into official court records. Roberts wrote that AI can make it much easier for people without much money to access the courts, but that any use of AI “requires caution and humility.” WASHINGTON (AP) — In this time of war overseas, more Americans think foreign policy should be a top U.S. priority for 2024. That's according to a new poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, which finds international concerns and immigration rising in importance with the public. Those concerns are still overshadowed by long-standing economic worries. But about 4 in 10 U.S. adults named foreign policy topics in an open-ended question that asked people to share up to five issues for the government to work on next year. That’s about twice as many who mentioned the topic in the AP-NORC poll conducted a year ago. WASHINGTON (AP) — The USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier strike group is heading home after months of extra duty at sea providing protection for Israel. The Navy announced Monday the Ford and its accompanying warships will be replaced by the amphibious assault ship the USS Bataan and its two accompanying warships, the USS Mesa Verde and the USS Carter Hall. The three vessels had been in the Red Sea and have been transiting toward the Eastern Mediterranean over the last few days. Since it was extended in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Ford and the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier have been part of a two-carrier presence bracketing the Israel-Hamas war, underscoring U.S. concerns the conflict will widen. WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. John Fetterman acknowledges having “dark conversations” about harming himself before he hit “the emergency brake” and sought treatment for depression. In an interview with NBC's `"Meet the Press," the Pennsylvania Democrat described his thoughts at that time as, “I can’t be a blueprint for my children. I can’t let them be left alone or not to understand why he would have done that." So he checked himself into Walter Reed National Military Medical Center last February. Fetterman wondered whether he'd survive politically. He said that “when it got released where I was and where it was going, it was a big story. And so, I had assumed that that would be the end of my career.” LONDON (AP) — A Colorado mother suspected of killing two of her young children and injuring a third has made an initial court appearance in London. Kimberlee Singler was held after her initial appearance in Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Monday. She has a Jan. 29 hearing scheduled on whether she should be extradited to the United States to face two counts of first-degree murder and other charges. The 35-year-old disappeared as Colorado police prepared to arrest her in the deaths of her 9-year-old daughter and 7-year-old son, who were found slain Dec. 19 in what was reported as a burglary. She disappeared last week and was arrested Saturday in London. RIVERDALE, Utah (AP) — A foreign exchange student from China who was reported missing last week in Utah has been found. Authorities said the student and his family appear to be victims of a “cyber kidnapping” scheme. The 17-year-old student was reported missing Friday, a day after he was last seen at the home where he had been staying. Police in Riverdale initially said that they believed the student was forcefully abducted. But on Sunday they said the boy had been found safe in a tent about 25 miles away. Police say Kai's family paid an $80,000 ransom after receiving a photograph that made it appear the student was abducted. SECAUCUS, N.J. (AP) — A New Jersey mayor says buses of migrants bound for New York City have been stopping at the town’s train station in an apparent effort to evade New York's efforts to regulate migrant arrivals. Secaucus Mayor Michael Gonnelli said Sunday that four buses are believed to have arrived starting Saturday at Secaucus Junction and dropped off migrants who then took trains into New York City. He called it a “loophole” around the order by New York Mayor Eric Adams. A message posted on a Jersey City social media account said about 10 buses from Texas and one from Louisiana had arrived at various transit stations throughout the state. New Year’s Day arrived to cheers from thousands in New York’s Times Square where a sparkling crystal ball descended to start 2024 with hope for some, even as the world’s ongoing conflicts subdued celebrations and raised security concerns across the globe. The march of midnight across time zones included pyrotechnic displays centered on iconic locations including Sydney’s Opera House, the Acropolis in Athens, the world’s tallest building in Dubai and the bamboo-shaped Taipei 101 skyscraper in Taiwan. The wars in Ukraine and Gaza have affected this year’s New Year’s Eve celebrations in a myriad of ways. Many cities deployed extra security and some places canceled events altogether. ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York’s minimum-wage workers have more than just the new year to celebrate. A pay bump kicked in Monday as the clock ticked over to 2024. In the first of a series of annual increases slated for the Empire State, the minimum wage increased to $16 in New York City and some of its suburbs, up from $15. In the rest of the state, the new minimum wage is $15, up from $14.20. New York is one of 22 states getting minimum wage increases in the new year. In California, the minimum wage increased to $16, up from $15.50. It will be Michgan and Washington in the College Football National title game, the Pistons start a new skid and Pacers end the Bucks' home winning streak. Also: We preview the final week of the NFL season and recap this past Sunday's games. —The Associated Press About this program Host Terry Lipshetz is managing editor of the national newsroom for Lee Enterprises. Besides producing the daily Hot off the Wire news podcast, Terry conducts periodic interviews for this Behind the Headlines program, co-hosts the Streamed & Screened movies and television program and is the former producer of Across the Sky, a podcast dedicated to weather and climate. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. Learn more here.

On the version of Hot off the Wire posted Jan. 2 at 6 a.m. CT: NEW YORK (AP) — A new study adds to evidence that severe obesity is becoming more common in young U.S. children. There was some hope that children in a government food program might be bucking a trend in obesity rates. Earlier research found rates had dropped a little for those children. But an update published Monday in the journal Pediatrics shows the rate up a bit to 2% by 2020. The increase echoes national data, which suggests around 2.5% of all preschool-aged children are severely obese. The study involved young kids in the Women, Infants and Children program, which provides healthy foods and other services. A Swedish study has uncovered a paradox about people diagnosed with an excessive fear of serious illness: They tend to die earlier than people who aren’t hypervigilant about health concerns. The study was published Wednesday in JAMA Psychiatry. Researchers were curious about the condition known as hypochondria. People with it are unable to shake their fears despite normal physical exams and lab tests. The researchers found that people with the diagnosis have an increased risk of death from both natural and unnatural causes, particularly suicide. The researchers say many of these deaths are preventable through appropriate treatment. Some states that stockpiled millions of masks and other personal protective equipment during the coronavirus pandemic are now throwing the items away. An Associated Press investigation found that at least 15 states have tossed out some of the PPE items because they are expiring or have more than they need. Other states have sold extra materials at bargain prices or have tried to give away surplus masks, gowns and gloves but have had difficulty finding entities willing to take them. Public health experts say the glut of supplies shows that governments need to do a better job of planning for future emergencies. WASHINGTON (AP) — In a politically polarized nation, Americans seem to agree on one issue underlying the 2024 elections — a worry over the state of democracy and how the outcome of the presidential contest will affect its future. They just disagree over who poses the threat. A poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that 62% of adults say democracy in the U.S. could be at risk depending on who wins. That view is held by 72% of Democrats and 55% of Republicans, but for different reasons. President Joe Biden has warned about former President Donald Trump's promises to seek retribution against opponents, while Trump says the federal charges against him show Biden has weaponized the government. WASHINGTON (AP) — Relatively few Americans are excited about a potential rematch of the 2020 election between President Joe Biden and Donald Trump. But more Republicans would be happy to have Trump as their nominee than Democrats would be with Biden. That's according to a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Randy Johnson, a Republican from Monett, Missouri, says, “I find it sad for our country that that's our best choices.” That apathy from voters comes even as both Biden and Trump, at least for now, seem like they'll easily get their parties' nominations next year. To independent Andrew Collins from Windham, Maine, “This is probably the most uniquely horrible choice I’ve had in my life.” WASHINGTON (AP) — The IRS says it's going to waive penalty fees for people who failed to pay back taxes that total less than $100,000 a year for tax years 2020 or 2021. The agency says nearly 5 million people, businesses and tax-exempt organizations will be eligible for the relief, which totals about $1 billion. The federal tax collector temporarily suspended mailing automated reminders to pay overdue tax bills during the pandemic. IRS official say the pause in automated reminders is behind the decision to forgive the failure-to-pay penalties. NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Nineteen-month-old Elijah Jack is unable to walk like most toddlers his age. Special needs children like him often take longer than most to become independently mobile. Elijah was one of the first to get a specially designed rolling chair built by a team of biomedical engineering students at Tulane University. He now has mastered getting around on wheels — turning, stopping and steering all on his own. The chair has allowed Elijah to have a whole new level of independence. His mother now does too. She now has time to get other things done since she no longer has to carry him all day. TROY, Ohio (AP) — More than five years ago, someone left a kitten with twisted back legs at a Missouri animal shelter. The cat was transferred to specialists in Iowa who amputated her left hind leg. She was soon after adopted by a woman who lost her left leg after a near-fatal car accident. Now the duo has partnered with a nonprofit that registers therapy animal volunteer teams. They visit hospitals, nursing homes and even amputee support groups to aid in therapy and other activities to improve well-being in communities. The duo is one of only an estimated 200 therapy cat teams in the United States. Hidden inside the foundation of popular artificial intelligence image-generators are thousands of images of child sexual abuse, according to a new report that urges companies to take action to address a harmful flaw in the technology they built. Those same images have made it easier for AI systems to produce realistic and explicit imagery of fake children as well as transform social media photos of fully clothed real teens into nudes, much to the alarm of schools and law enforcement around the world. The Stanford Internet Observatory found more than 3,200 images of suspected child sexual abuse in a database used to train leading AI image-makers. VANCOUVER, Wash. (AP) — New federal guidelines that dropped an abstinence requirement before gay men in monogamous relationships can give blood are opening a new pool of potential donors. They include Dylan Smith, an employee at Bloodworks Northwest in Vancouver, Washington, who was himself barred from donating blood until this month. Smith says being allowed to donate has made him very happy. The American Red Cross began implementing the new U.S. Food and Drug Administration guidance in August. And about half of the 16 independent blood bank organizations in the U.S. that are members of the Alliance for Community Transfusion Services also have rolled out the guidelines, with more expected next year. Rite Aid has been banned from using facial recognition technology for five years over allegations that a surveillance system it used incorrectly identified potential shoplifters, especially Black, Latino, Asian or female shoppers. The deal announced late Tuesday settles Federal Trade Commission charges that the struggling drugstore chain didn’t do enough to prevent harm to its customers and implement “reasonable procedures,” the government agency said. Rite Aid said it disagrees with the allegations, though the company is pleased to reach an agreement to resolve the issue. It noted that any agreement will have to be approved in U.S. Bankruptcy Court. —The Associated Press About this program Host Terry Lipshetz is managing editor of the national newsroom for Lee Enterprises. Besides producing the daily Hot off the Wire news podcast, Terry conducts periodic interviews for this Behind the Headlines program, co-hosts the Streamed & Screened movies and television program and is the former producer of Across the Sky, a podcast dedicated to weather and climate. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. Learn more here.

Welcome to a special year-end bonus episode of Hot Off The Wire. I’m Terry Lipshetz, managing editor of the national newsroom at Lee Enterprises and your host.  During this final week of the year, the program will be taking a short break but it will return with another bonus episode on Jan. 1 before resuming regular production on Jan. 2. In the meantime, we’ve been collecting special reports from The Associated Press that look back at select topics from the past year. We’ll be covering dysfunction in the House of Representatives, artificial intelligence, Elon Musk and Taylor Swift. We’ll look at the war in Ukraine and the reemergence of China from its ‘zero-COVID’ policy. There were words of the year, Google and Wikipedia searches, and top songs on Spotify. And in sports, it was a year of college conference realignment as well as impressive performances from Simone Biles and Shohei Ohtani. — Compiled and narrated by Terry Lipshetz from Associated Press reports About this program Host Terry Lipshetz is managing editor of the national newsroom for Lee Enterprises. Besides producing the daily Hot off the Wire news podcast, Terry conducts periodic interviews for this Behind the Headlines program, co-hosts the Streamed & Screened movies and television program and is the former producer of Across the Sky, a podcast dedicated to weather and climate. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. Learn more here.

Welcome to the weekly bonus episode of Hot off the Wire, where we look back at some of the top headlines from the week in the world of sports and entertainment.  I’m Terry Lipshetz, Managing Editor of the National Newsroom at Lee Enterprises and your host. Subscribe to Hot Off The Wire through Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts so you don’t miss daily news updates. As always, be sure to check out our latest episode of Streamed & Screened, a podcast dedicated to movies and television.  Listen to the latest episode of Streamed & Screened here.  This week’s top headlines include: Aaron Rodgers will not play again for the Jets this season.  Prized pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto agreed with the Dodgers on $325 million deal, according to reports. Georgia and Ohio State make headlines on national signing day. Marvel and Disney drop actor Jonathan Majors after he's convicted of assaulting his former girlfriend. Those stories and more from The Associated Press. — Compiled and narrated by Terry Lipshetz from Associated Press reports About this program Host Terry Lipshetz is managing editor of the national newsroom for Lee Enterprises. Besides producing the daily Hot off the Wire news podcast, Terry conducts periodic interviews for this Behind the Headlines program, co-hosts the Streamed & Screened movies and television program and is the former producer of Across the Sky, a podcast dedicated to weather and climate. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. Learn more here.

On the version of Hot off the Wire posted Dec. 22 at 6 a.m. CT: WASHINGTON (AP) — As children around the world eagerly await Santa’s arrival on Christmas, the military is ready to track him and see if he’s using any new technology. The North American Aerospace Defense Command keeps a close watch on Santa and his sleigh from the moment he leaves the North Pole. And it once again will share all those details so everyone can follow along as Santa travels the globe beginning Christmas Eve. NORAD is the military command that's responsible for protecting North American airspace. It has launched its noradsanta.org website, social media sites and mobile app, loaded with games, movies, books and music. NEW YORK (AP) — Christmas Eve is almost here. But before running out the door for some last-minute gifts or final tree trimmings ahead of Santa’s visit, you might want to double-check the hours of the stores you’re headed to. Business closings on Christmas Eve are less common than those on Christmas Day, but many large chains still cut back hours or close up shop early for the coming holiday — including Walmart, Costco, Target, Kroger and more. Operations can also vary by location. When in doubt, call ahead or look up more specific schedules for your neighborhood spots online. NEW YORK (AP) — Haven’t ordered any of your holiday gifts yet? Well, you might find solace in discovering some of America’s biggest retailers are working to increase their shipping speeds to please shoppers expecting faster and faster deliveries. Walmart, Target and Amazon are all-in on the shipping wars, a move retail experts say will help them maintain a competitive edge against low-cost China-founded retailers Shein and Temu. For Walmart and Target, their investments are also aimed at narrowing the gap in delivery speed with Amazon, which has set the standard for fast shipping and remains the king of speed. NEW YORK (AP) — As the year comes to an end with holiday parties and crowds, mask-wearing is much more off than on around the country even as COVID’s long tail lingers. There’s the odd one here and there, but nothing like it was three years ago at the dawn of the COVID pandemic’s first winter holidays. Look at it a different way, though: These days, mask-wearing has become just another thing that simply happens in America. In a country where the mention of a mask prior to the pandemic usually meant Halloween or a costume party, it’s a new way of being that hasn’t gone away. On this week's Religion Roundup segment, original tunes to familiar Christmas carols weren't always so familiar, or necessarily for Christmas. NEW YORK (AP) — The promise of self-checkout has meant that customers can avoid long lines by scanning and bagging their own items, workers can be freed of doing those monotonous tasks themselves and retailers can save on labor costs. But it has also meant customers griping about clunky technology, workers having to stand around and monitor both humans and machines, and retailers contending with theft. Now, self-checkout faces a reckoning of sorts just as retailers are in the midst of their busiest time of the year. This past fall, Walmart removed self-checkout kiosks in three stores in Albuquerque, New Mexico. To reduce wait times, Target is now limiting the number of items to 10 that shoppers can scan in a handful of stores nationwide. MENANDS, N.Y. (AP) — Animal shelters around the nation are overcrowded and bursting at the seams, often with larger dogs. Adoptions haven’t kept pace with the number of animals coming in, creating bottlenecks. Operators believe the influx of more animals is due largely to higher pet care costs and housing issues. And they’re in crisis mode as they try to reduce the kennel crush. Shelter Animals Count, a national database of shelter statistics, estimates that the shelter population grew by nearly a quarter-million animals in 2023. Shelters and advocacy groups are trying to attack the problem at both ends — by reducing intakes and encouraging more adoptions. —The Associated Press About this program Host Terry Lipshetz is managing editor of the national newsroom for Lee Enterprises. Besides producing the daily Hot off the Wire news podcast, Terry conducts periodic interviews for this Behind the Headlines program, co-hosts the Streamed & Screened movies and television program and is the former producer of Across the Sky, a podcast dedicated to weather and climate. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. Learn more here.

On the version of Hot off the Wire posted Dec. 22 at 6:15 a.m. CT: For most Americans dreaming of a white Christmas, this year’s prospects aren’t good. Although parts of the Rockies and Midwest already have snow or could get a fresh dusting by Monday, other parts of the country that are normally coated in white by this time of year are still sporting their drab, late-fall look. Among the areas more accustomed to snowy Decembers is the Northeast, where a powerful storm blew in this week and dumped heavy rain on the region’s ski areas, wreaking havoc on the snowpack. So where should snow lovers turn? Alaska, where Anchorage could break its Christmas Day 1994 record of 30 inches, according to the National Weather Service. Holiday travel is expected to hit its peak right around now. Airlines are confident they can handle the crowds, but it could come down to the weather. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says the government will be holding the airlines accountable to operate smoothly and treat passengers well if there are disruptions. Auto club AAA forecasts that 115 million people in the U.S. will go 50 miles or more from home between Saturday and New Year’s Day. That's up 2% over last year. Most of those people will drive, and they will save a bit on gasoline, compared with a year ago. The United Nations says more than a half-million people are starving in Gaza because not enough food has entered the besieged territory as Israel keeps up its blistering campaign of airstrikes and ground operations. Palestinian officials said Friday that the death toll has now exceeded 20,000. That's around 1% of the territory’s prewar population. PRAGUE (AP) — Authorities say three foreign nationals, two from the United Arab Emirates and one from the Netherlands, were among 25 wounded when a student opened fire at a university in Prague, killing 14 people. Thursday's mass shooting was the worst in Czech history. The city's police chief says a lone gunman opened fire in the philosophy department building of Charles University, where he was a student. Police said the gunman killed himself. The Czech government declared Saturday a national day of mourning to honor the victims, Prime Minister Petr Fiala said. MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian deputy foreign minister said talks with the United States on a potential prisoner exchange that would free Americans held in Russia are hampered by publicity and an alleged disparity in the U.S. negotiating stance. The U.S. State Department said last week that Russia rejected several proposals for freeing Paul Whelan, an American convicted of espionage, and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was detained in March and is facing espionage charges. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said in an interview with the Interfax news agency published Friday, “Here, as in many other areas, we observe the American traditional desire to get more for ourselves and give the minimum, as they say.” Over the past 24 hours six Ukrainian civilians have been killed during Russian attacks. TACOMA, Wash. (AP) — A jury has cleared three Washington state police officers of all criminal charges in the 2020 death of Manuel Ellis, a Black man who was shocked, beaten and restrained face down on a Tacoma sidewalk as he pleaded for breath. Two of the officers — Matthew Collins, 40, and Christopher Burbank, 38 — had been charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter, while Timothy Rankine, 34, was charged with manslaughter. The Pierce County medical examiner ruled Ellis’ death a homicide caused by oxygen deprivation, but lawyers for the officers said a high level of methamphetamine in Ellis’ system and a heart irregularity were to blame. A lawyer for Ellis' family says the verdict is devastating for the family and community. NEW YORK (AP) — Rudy Giuliani has filed for bankruptcy. The former New York City mayor is acknowledging severe financial strain that's grown as a result of his pursuit of Donald Trump's lies about the 2020 election and was made worse when jury last week required him to pay $148 million to two former Georgia election workers he defamed. In a bankruptcy filing Thursday in New York, Giuliani listed nearly $153 million in existing or potential debts. That includes almost $1 million in state and federal tax liabilities, as well as money he owes lawyers and many millions of dollars in potential judgments in lawsuits against him. He estimated he had assets worth $1 million to $10 million. NEW YORK (AP) — Honda Motor’s American arm is recalling more than 2.5 million vehicles in the U.S. due to a fuel pump defect that can increase risks of engine failure or stalling while driving. According to documents published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the fuel pump impeller used for a range of 2017-2020 Acura and Honda vehicles was improperly molded. This results in low-density impellers, which can deform the fuel pump body over time — leading to an inoperative fuel pump. Honda says it has not received any crash or injury reports related to this recall to date. The automaker added that it would replace fuel pumps for all vehicles impacted by the recall at no cost — but in a staggered approach, with owner notification letters not beginning until February. The Rams win a key game in the NFC playoff race, the Dodgers get standout Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the Pistons are on the threshold of the wrong kind of NBA history, the Lightning strike down the Stanley Cup champs and Kentucky beats its Bluegrass State rival. NEW YORK (AP) — Major League Baseball is widening the runner’s lane approaching first base to include a portion of fair territory, changing a more than century-old rule that caused World Series controversy over possible interference calls. MLB also is shortening the pitcher’s clock with runners on base by two seconds to 18 and further reducing mound visits in an effort to speed games. The sport’s 11-man competition committee also requires a pitcher who warms up on the mound before a half inning to face at least one batter. NEW YORK (AP) — The owner of Pornhub, one of the world’s largest adult content websites, has admitted to profiting from sex trafficking and agreed to make payments to women whose videos were posted without their consent. Federal prosecutors in New York announced Thursday that Aylo Holdings reached a deferred prosecution agreement to resolve a charge of engaging in unlawful monetary transactions involving sex trafficking proceeds. The deal calls for the Canadian company to pay the U.S. more than $1.8 million and make separate payments to the female victims. It also requires appointment of an independent monitor to oversee Aylo's operations for three years. —The Associated Press About this program Host Terry Lipshetz is managing editor of the national newsroom for Lee Enterprises. Besides producing the daily Hot off the Wire news podcast, Terry conducts periodic interviews for this Behind the Headlines program, co-hosts the Streamed & Screened movies and television program and is the former producer of Across the Sky, a podcast dedicated to weather and climate. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. Learn more here.

On the version of Hot off the Wire posted Dec. 21 at 6:45 a.m. CT: Holiday travel is expected to hit its peak right around now. Airlines are confident they can handle the crowds, but it could come down to the weather. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says the government will be holding the airlines accountable to operate smoothly and treat passengers well if there are disruptions. Auto club AAA forecasts that 115 million people in the U.S. will go 50 miles or more from home between Saturday and New Year’s Day. That's up 2% over last year. Most of those people will drive, and they will save a bit on gasoline, compared with a year ago. MIAMI (AP) — The United States has freed a close ally of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in exchange for the release of 10 Americans imprisoned in the South American country and the return of a fugitive defense contractor. That contractor is known as “Fat Leonard” and he's at the center of a massive Pentagon bribery scandal. The American detainees were back on U.S. soil late Wednesday. The deal represents the Biden administration's boldest move yet to improve relations with the major oil-producing nation and extract concessions from Maduro. The largest release of American prisoners in Venezuela’s history comes weeks after the Biden administration agreed to suspend some sanctions. JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli military says it has uncovered a major Hamas command center in the heart of Gaza City, inflicting what it described as a serious blow to the Islamic militant group. The center's location comes as pressure grows on Israel to scale back its devastating military offensive in the coastal enclave. The military's announcement Wednesday came as Hamas’ top leader arrived in Egypt for talks aimed at brokering a cease-fire that would put a temporary pause on over two months of heavy fighting and deliver a new deal for Hamas to swap Israeli hostages for Palestinian imprisoned by Israel. LE PECQ, France (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron says the giant opening ceremony extravaganza that Paris is planning to hold on the River Seine to launch next year’s Olympic Games could be moved if France is hit again in the run-up by extremist attacks. Macron’s comments in a television interview on Wednesday night were a rare behind-the-scenes glimpse into the deep layers of planning for the July 26 ceremony. Many details about the show remain shrouded in secrecy to preserve its hoped-for wow factor. The athletes will be paraded through the heart of the French capital on boats on the Seine. But Macron says plans could be revisited for security reasons if needed. He cited deadly extremist attacks that hit Paris in 2015 as an example. ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Shohei Ohtani has been named The Associated Press' Male Athlete of the Year for the second time in three years. Before the two-way superstar signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers this month, he put together another incredible season for Japan's national team at the World Baseball Classic and for the Los Angeles Angels. Ohtani led the AL with 44 homers and in several other categories, and he had the lowest opponents' batting average on the mound until his season ended early due to an elbow injury. The Dodgers still gave Ohtani the biggest contract in professional sports history. LOS ANGELES (AP) — A federal judge has blocked a California law that would have banned carrying firearms in most public places, ruling that it violates the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and deprives people of their ability to defend themselves and their loved ones. The law was set to take effect Jan. 1. It would have banned people from carrying concealed guns in 26 places including public parks and playgrounds, churches, banks and zoos. It would apply whether the person has a permit to carry a concealed weapon or not. One exception would be for privately owned businesses that put up signs saying people are allowed to carry guns on their premises. WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawyers for former President Donald Trump are urging the U.S. Supreme Court to stand down from a dispute over whether he can be prosecuted on charges he plotted to overturn the 2020 election results. Special counsel Jack Smith’s team last week urged the nation’s high court to take up and quickly consider Trump’s claims that he enjoys immunity from prosecution as a former president. The unusual request seemed designed to prevent any delays that could postpone the trial of the 2024 Republican presidential primary front-runner. But Trump’s lawyers told the Supreme Court on Wednesday that there was no reason for them to take up the matter now, especially because a lower appeals court in Washington is already considering the same question and has scheduled arguments for Jan. 9. DENVER (AP) — Former President Donald Trump's bid to win back the White House is now endangered by two sentences added to the U.S. Constitution 155 years ago. Section 3 of the 14th Amendment prohibits anyone who swore an oath to support the Constitution and then “engaged in insurrection” against it from holding office. For the first time in history, a court this week ruled that applies to the presidency. The Colorado Supreme Court ruled Trump is barred under the provision. But the court acknowledged that it's on untrodden legal ground, and the U.S. Supreme Court is likely to have the final word. The early signing period in college football opened with just a little five-star drama. Georgia likely locked up a recruiting crown by flipping an in-state blue-chipper away from Florida State. The consensus No. 1 recruit in the country had Ohio State coach Ryan Day literally sighing with relief. And a five-star defensive lineman committed to Florida decided to delay making his decision official. That was the least of the bad news for the Gators. The 76ers, Knicks and Clippers are among the NBA’s biggest winners, the Capitals picked up a key overtime win, and two developments in college football. The NHL and Diamond Sports Group, the largest owner of regional sports networks, have reached an agreement that will keep local broadcasts for 11 teams on Bally Sports through the end of this season. The agreement, which was contained in a court filing made Wednesday, is subject to court approval. Diamond Sports has been in Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in the Southern District of Texas since it filed for protection in March. The company said in a financial filing last year that it had debt of $8.67 billion. While there will be a reduction in rights payments for some teams, the local rights for those 11 franchises will revert back to the NHL at the end of this season. NEW YORK (AP) — New York’s attorney general has filed suit against SiriusXM, accusing the satellite radio service of making it intentionally difficult for its customers to cancel their subscriptions. Attorney General Letitia James’ office said Wednesday that an investigation into complaints from customers found that SiriusXM forced subscribers into often lengthy interactions with agents who were trained in ways to avoid accepting cancellation requests. The company disputed the claims, arguing that many incidents cited in the lawsuit came in 2020 and were caused in part by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their operations. The company said many of its plans can be canceled easily online. —The Associated Press About this program Host Terry Lipshetz is a senior producer for Lee Enterprises. Besides producing the daily Hot off the Wire news podcast, Terry conducts periodic interviews for this Behind the Headlines program, co-hosts the Streamed & Screened movies and television program and is the producer of Across the Sky, a podcast dedicated to weather and climate. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. Learn more here.

On the version of Hot off the Wire posted Dec. 20 at 6:45 a.m. CT: DENVER (AP) — A divided Colorado Supreme Court is removing former President Donald Trump from the state’s primary ballot, saying in a historic ruling that he is ineligible to be president after his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The ruling Tuesday marks the first time in history that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment has been used to disqualify a presidential candidate. Trump's campaign spokesman called it a “flawed decision” and said they will appeal it to the U.S. Supreme Court, which has never ruled on Section 3. The provision forbids those who “engaged in insurrection” from holding office and was used mainly after the Civil War to keep former Confederates out of government. AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The White House and Mexico’s president are sharply criticizing a new Texas law that would allow police to arrest migrants who illegally cross into the U.S. and empower local judges to order them to leave the country. Also Tuesday, civil rights groups and Texas’ largest border county filed a lawsuit. It came less than 24 hours after Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed the law. The groups say it's an unconstitutional reach over the U.S. government’s authority on immigration. Abbott said Tuesday that Texas is going to such dramatic lengths because of frustration over the Biden administration’s immigration policies. PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A Philadelphia television station says a news helicopter has crashed in a forest in New Jersey, killing both the pilot and photographer on board. WPVI-TV says a pilot and photographer from its news team were in the helicopter when it went down about 8 p.m. Tuesday in Wharton State Forest in Hammonton. The helicopter was returning from an assignment at the Jersey Shore when it crashed in the woods. The station says New Jersey State Police troopers were able to locate the crash site, which is difficult to access. The station says it's unclear what caused the crash. DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Hamas’ top leader is in Cairo for talks on the war in Gaza. Ismail Haniyeh’s visit Wednesday is part of a flurry of diplomacy aimed at securing another cease-fire and hostage swap at a moment when the militant group is putting up stiff resistance to Israel’s offensive. It comes a day after Hamas fired rockets that set off air raid sirens in central Israel. Israel has called on the rest of the world to blacklist Hamas as a terrorist organization, saying it must be eradicated in the wake of its Oct. 7 rampage across southern Israel that triggered the war. But the sides have recently relaunched indirect talks recently. A woman who bought a vase for $3.99 at a Virginia thrift store recently sold it for $107,000. Jessica Vincent said he bought it at a Goodwill outside Richmond and thought it would look nice in her house. But she soon learned the vase was extremely rare. It came from the Venetian island of Murano and was designed by the late architect Carlo Scarpa. The vase sold this month through Wright Auction House to a private European collector. Vincent plans to buy a new heating system in her farmhouse with the money. She is currently using two space heaters. WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has memorialized Justice Sandra Day O’Connor as a pioneer in the legal world who inspired generations of women. O'Connor was the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court. Chief Justice John Roberts joined Biden in speaking at Tuesday's services at Washington National Cathedral, calling her a "strong, influential and iconic jurist.” O’Connor was an Arizona native who served as an unwavering voice of moderate conservatism on the high court for more than two decades. The rancher’s daughter was nominated in 1981 by President Ronald Reagan and came to wield considerable influence on the nine-member court. O’Connor retired at age 75 and died Dec. 1 in Phoenix. WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — Former President Donald Trump is defending his comments about migrants crossing the southern border, who he had said are poisoning the blood of America. He said at a campaign rally in Waterloo, Iowa, on Tuesday that he had not read “Mein Kampf,” referencing Adolf Hitler's fascist manifesto. He reiterated his “blood” purity comments from over the weekend and said immigrants in the U.S. illegally are “destroying the blood of our country.” Trump has faced mounting criticism for his intensifying rhetoric as he seeks to make immigration policy a key piece of his second-term agenda. Experts have noted his language echoes writings from Hitler about the “purity” of Aryan blood, which underpinned Nazi Germany's systematic murder of millions of Jews. Ja Morant makes his season debut, Providence knocks off Marquette, Aaron Rodgers won't be returning to the Jets this season and the Rangers top the Maple Leafs. SEATTLE (AP) — Washington's Kalen DeBoer has been named The Associated Press coach of the year in college football. The Huskies are 13-0, won the Pac-12 championship and have a spot in the College Football Playoff in just DeBoer's second year in charge. The Huskies will face Texas in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1 with a spot in the CFP championship game on the line. In DeBoer's two seasons, the Huskies are 24-2 overall. Mike Norvell of Florida State was second in voting and Missouri's Eli Drinkwitz was third. GRINDAVIK, Iceland (AP) — A volcano has erupted in southwestern Iceland with a flash of light into the evening sky in the land known for fire and ice. Iceland’s Meteorological Office says the eruption appears to have occurred late Monday near the town of Grindavik. The town was evacuated in November after strong seismic activity damaged homes and raised fears of an imminent eruption. The volcano on the Reykjanes Peninsula is southwest of the capital, Reykjavik. The eruption could last days and isn’t expected to release ash into the air like another volcano did in 2010 that halted flights in Europe. There were no disruptions of flights to and from Iceland on Tuesday and international flight corridors remain open. CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — An orange tabby cat named Taters stars in the first video sent by laser from deep space, stealing the show as he chases a red laser light. The 15-second ultra high-definition video was beamed to Earth from NASA's Psyche spacecraft, 19 million miles away. It took less than two minutes for the video to reach Earth, sent at the system's maximum bit rate. The video was loaded for the demo before Psyche blasted off to a metal-rich asteroid in October. Team members at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory decided to feature an employee's playful kitty in the video released this week. —The Associated Press About this program Host Terry Lipshetz is a senior producer for Lee Enterprises. Besides producing the daily Hot off the Wire news podcast, Terry conducts periodic interviews for this Behind the Headlines program, co-hosts the Streamed & Screened movies and television program and is the producer of Across the Sky, a podcast dedicated to weather and climate. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. Learn more here.

On the version of Hot off the Wire posted Dec. 19 at 7 a.m. CT: BEIJING (AP) — Chinese media say at least 126 people have been killed in a magnitude 6.2 earthquake in the country’s northwest. The official People's Daily says 113 died in the province of Gansu and another 14 in neighboring Qinghai province. The quake struck just before midnight on Monday. More than 700 people have been injured. Emergency workers are searching for the missing in collapsed buildings and at least one landslide. People who lost their homes are preparing to spend a cold winter night in tents at hastily erected evacuation sites. Emergency authorities in Gansu issued an appeal for 300 additional workers for search and rescue operations, and Qinghai officials reported 20 people missing in a landslide. BROWNSVILLE, Texas (AP) — Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has approved sweeping new powers that allow police to arrest migrants who illegally cross the U.S. border and give local judges authority to order them to leave the country. The new law signed Monday tests the limits of how far a state can go to enforce immigration laws. Immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility, and Texas’ law is likely to face swift legal challenges. Opponents have called it the most dramatic attempt by a state to police immigration since a 2010 Arizona law that was largely struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court. WASHINGTON (AP) — Justice Sandra Day O’Connor will be laid to rest with funeral services Tuesday. President Joe Biden and Chief Justice John Roberts are scheduled to speak at the funeral for the first woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. O’Connor was an Arizona native who served as an unwavering voice of moderate conservatism on the high court for more than two decades. The rancher’s daughter was nominated in 1981 by President Ronald Reagan and came to wield considerable influence on the nine-member court. O’Connor retired at age 75 and died Dec. 1 in Phoenix. RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli forces raided one of the last functioning hospitals in Gaza’s north and bombarded the south with airstrikes that killed at least 28 Palestinians. They are pressing ahead with their offensive Tuesday with renewed backing from the United States, despite rising international alarm. The air and ground war was launched in response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack into Israel. It has killed nearly 20,000 Palestinians, displaced some 1.9 million, demolished much of northern Gaza and sparked attacks on U.S. and Israeli targets across the region. But after meeting with Israeli officials Monday, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said he was not there to dictate a timeline for the war. U.S. Steel, the Pittsburgh steel producer that played a key role in the nation’s industrialization, is being acquired by Nippon Steel in an all-cash deal valued at approximately $14.1 billion. The transaction is worth about $14.9 billion when including the assumption of debt. Nippon, which will pay $55 per share for U.S. Steel, said Monday that the deal will bolster its manufacturing and technology capabilities. It will also expand Nippon’s production in the U.S. and add to its positions in Japan, India and the ASEAN region. NEW YORK (AP) — Marvel Studios and the Walt Disney Co. have dropped actor Jonathan Majors after his conviction on charges of assaulting his former girlfriend in New York City earlier this year. A Manhattan jury convicted the “Creed III” star Monday of one misdemeanor assault charge and one harassment violation. A person familiar with the studio tells The Associated Press that Marvel and Disney immediately dropped Majors from all upcoming projects following the conviction. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak publicly on the matter. Majors' sentencing is set for Feb. 6. He faces the possibility of up to a year in jail, though probation or other non-jail sentences also are possible. Back up quarterback Drew Lock leads the Seahawks to a win over the Eagles, the Timberwolves move their record to 20 and 5, the Pistons creep closer to NBA futility, and the Iowa Senators fire their coach. NEW YORK (AP) — The NFL has suspended Pittsburgh Steelers safety Damontae Kazee without pay for the remainder of the season for what the league described as “repeated violations” of rules designed to protect player safety. The ruling means Kazee will miss Pittsburgh’s final three regular-season games and any potential playoff games if the Steelers (7-7) advance to the postseason. Kazee was ejected from Pittsburgh’s 30-13 loss to Indianapolis after hitting diving Colts wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. in the second quarter. Pittman laid out to try and catch a pass and Kazee made contact with Pittman’s head. Pittman left the game and went into the concussion protocol. The league ruled contact could have been avoided. A Utah mother of six who gave parenting advice via a once-popular YouTube channel called “8 Passengers” has pleaded guilty to four counts of aggravated child abuse for physically and emotionally abusing two of her children. Ruby Franke's attorney said she did so while under the influence of a relationship counselor who led her to a “distorted sense of morality.” The judge accepted the guilty pleas on Monday and scheduled sentencing for Feb. 20. Franke pleaded guilty to trying to convince her children they were evil and possessed and that their physical punishments were needed for them to repent. The children were also denied adequate food and water. Co-defendant Jodi Hildebrandt is scheduled to appear in court on Dec. 27. BETHLEHEM, West Bank (AP) — Bethlehem is gearing up for a subdued Christmas without the festive lights and customary Christmas tree towering over Manger Square. Officials in Jesus’ traditional birthplace have decided to forgo celebrations due to the Israel-Hamas war. The cancellation of Christmas festivities, which typically draw thousands of visitors, is a severe blow to the town’s tourism-dependent economy. But the mayor and church leaders say joyous revelry is untenable at a time of immense suffering of Palestinians in Gaza. They say religious ceremonies, including Midnight Mass in the Church of the Nativity, will be held with a special emphasis on prayers for peace. —The Associated Press About this program Host Terry Lipshetz is a senior producer for Lee Enterprises. Besides producing the daily Hot off the Wire news podcast, Terry conducts periodic interviews for this Behind the Headlines program, co-hosts the Streamed & Screened movies and television program and is the producer of Across the Sky, a podcast dedicated to weather and climate. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. Learn more here.

On the version of Hot off the Wire posted Dec. 18 at 6:30 a.m. CT: GEORGETOWN, S.C. (AP) — A late-year storm has unleashed heavy rain and gusty winds as it barrels up the East Coast. The storm has flooded streets, forced water rescues and caused the cancellation of holiday celebrations. In the waterfront community of Georgetown, South Carolina, authorities say dozens of rescues occurred after motorists were stranded by floodwaters. The town is situated between Charleston and Myrtle Beach. Media outlets are reporting water rescues on Kiawah and Seabrook islands. The tide gauge at Charleston, South Carolina, peaked at the city’s highest nontropical tide on record. The storm dumped up to five inches of rain across Florida. WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — A car plowed into a parked SUV that was guarding President Joe Biden’s motorcade Sunday night while the president was leaving a visit to his campaign headquarters. The president and first lady Jill Biden were unharmed. While Biden was walking from the campaign office to his waiting armored SUV, a sedan hit a U.S. Secret Service vehicle that was being used to close off intersections near the headquarters for the president’s departure. The sedan then tried to continue into a closed-off intersection, before Secret Service personnel surrounded the vehicle with weapons drawn and instructed the driver to put his hands up. The Secret Service did not immediately comment on the incident. TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is expected to press Israel to wind down major combat operations in Gaza on a visit to the region Monday. It is the latest test of whether the U.S. can leverage its unwavering support for the offensive to blunt its devastating impact on Palestinian civilians. France, the U.K. and Germany joined global calls for a cease-fire over the weekend, and Israeli protesters have demanded the government relaunch talks with Hamas on releasing more hostages after three were mistakenly killed by Israeli troops. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted that Israel will keep fighting until it removes Hamas from power, crushes its still-formidable military capabilities and returns the dozens of hostages still held by the group after its Oct. 7 attack. DALLAS (AP) — Southwest Airlines is paying a $35 million fine as part of a $140 million settlement with the government over a meltdown last holiday season. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Monday the settlement shows his department will hold airlines accountable if they fail to treat customers properly. The airline canceled nearly 17,000 flights as a winter storm paralyzed operations in Denver and Chicago and then snowballed when a crew rescheduling system couldn’t keep up. Southwest says it didn't violate consumer protection laws but is striking the agreement to settle the matter. The carrier will pay the $35 million fine and get $33 million in credit for compensation already given to customers. Southwest also gets a $72 million credit for vouchers to future travelers through 2027. ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York’s highest court just gave Democrats a chance to redraw the state’s congressional districts, a major victory as the party tries to flip seats in the state to win control of the U.S. House next year. Now the question is how far the state’s Democrat-dominated Legislature will try to push the boundaries in crucial battleground districts to give their party an advantage — and how far the courts will let them. The process will be closely watched for any sign of partisan gerrymandering, which is forbidden by state law. But experts say it’s unclear where the state’s highest court will land on determining what’s too partisan. The 49ers clinch their division, the Ravens clinch a playoff spot, Bills produce a statement win against the Cowboys, the Celtics remain perfect at home and the Golden Knights pick up a win. LOS ANGELES (AP) — An autopsy report on “Friends” star Matthew Perry says he died from the acute effects of the drug ketamine. The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner said in the autopsy report released Friday that Perry also drowned in the heated end of his pool, but said that was a secondary factor in his death deemed an accident. The report says coronary artery disease also contributed. Perry was declared dead at age 54 after being found unresponsive at his home in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles on Oct. 28. Investigators performed an autopsy the following day. LOS ANGELES (AP) — “General Hospital” has won six trophies, including four for acting, at the Daytime Emmy Awards. The late Sonya Eddy won for her role as no-nonsense head nurse Epiphany Johnson on the venerable ABC show. She died last December at age 55. Robert Gossett claimed the supporting actor trophy for his role as Marshall Ashford. Eden McCoy won outstanding younger performer in a daytime drama. Alley Mills won for guest performance on “General Hospital.” The soap won outstanding daytime drama to cap a dominant night at the 50th annual awards. Susan Lucci of “All My Children” received a Lifetime Achievement Honor. LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mayim Bialik won’t be giving answers as a host of “Jeopardy!” anymore. “The Big Bang Theory” actor has posted news of her departure on Instagram. Bialik says show producer Sony Pictures Television informed her that she will no longer be hosting the syndicated version. Former show champion Ken Jennings has been hosting season 40 of “Jeopardy!” by himself. Sony Pictures says in a statement that it decided to have a single host to maintain continuity for viewers. Bialik and Jennings had split hosting duties, but Bialik was the solo host for season 1 of “Celebrity Jeopardy!” In May, Bialik declared her support for the Hollywood writers' strike and declined to appear on the game show. NEW YORK (AP) — “Wonka” debuted with $39 million in box office sales in the U.S. and Canada over the weekend. It's a strong start for the musical starring Timothée Chalamet as Willy Wonka, and underscores Chalamet's drawing power. Musicals have been tough sells in theaters in recent years, so much so that Warner Bros. downplayed the song and dance elements of “Wonka” in trailers. Instead, the studio emphasized Chalamet, the 27-year-old actor. “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” again ranked second with $5.8 million in its fifth week of release. Hayao Miyazaki’s “The Boy and the Heron,” dipped to third with $5.1 million. ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — A Confederate memorial's days at Arlington National Cemetery are numbered. A cemetery official says the memorial is to be removed from the northern Virginia cemetery in the coming days. It's part of the push to remove symbols that commemorate the Confederacy from military facilities. The decision ignores a demand from some Republican congressmen that the Pentagon suspend efforts to remove the monument. A cemetery spokesperson says safety fencing has been installed and officials anticipate completing the removal by Dec. 22. A spokeswoman for Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin says he plans to move the monument to the New Market Battlefield State Historical Park in the Shenandoah Valley. A growing number of Black Americans see the struggle of Palestinians reflected in their own struggles for racial equality and civil rights. In recent years, the rise of protest movements against police brutality in the U.S., where structural racism plagues nearly every facet of life, has connected Black and Palestinian activists under a common cause. But that kinship sometimes strains the more than century-long alliance between Black and Jewish activists. Some Jewish Americans are concerned that Black support for the Palestinians could escalate the threat of antisemitism and weaken Jewish-Black ties fortified during the Civil Rights Movement. PARIS (AP) — Notre Dame Cathedral has gotten its rooster back, in a pivotal moment for the Paris landmark’s restoration. The installation by a crane of a new golden rooster, reimagined as a dramatic phoenix with licking, flamed feathers, goes beyond being just a weathervane atop the cathedral spire. It symbolizes resilience amid destruction and marks a key step in the monument’s revival after the devastating April 2019 fire — as restoration officials also revealed the the monument is being kitted out with an anti-fire misting system under its roof. The rooster replaces the original that was destroyed in the blaze and will stand over 96 meters high on the spire. —The Associated Press About this program Host Terry Lipshetz is a senior producer for Lee Enterprises. Besides producing the daily Hot off the Wire news podcast, Terry conducts periodic interviews for this Behind the Headlines program, co-hosts the Streamed & Screened movies and television program and is the producer of Across the Sky, a podcast dedicated to weather and climate. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. Learn more here.

Welcome to the weekly bonus episode of Hot off the Wire, where we look back at some of the top headlines from the week in the world of sports and entertainment.  I’m Terry Lipshetz, Managing Editor of the National Newsroom at Lee Enterprises and your host. Subscribe to Hot Off The Wire through Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts so you don’t miss daily news updates. As always, be sure to check out our latest episode of Streamed & Screened, a podcast dedicated to movies and television.  Listen to the latest episode of Streamed & Screened here.  This week Bruce Miller and I discuss the Golden Globe nominations, and Bruce has an interview with David Rysdahl, who stars in “Fargo” and appeared in “Oppenheimer.” This week’s top headlines include: “Barbie” led the Golden Globe nominations with nine, followed closely by “Oppenheimer.” Shohei Ohtani signed a massive deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers, although most of that money will be deferred. Andre Braugher (Brower), an Emmy-winning actor who starred in “Homicide” and “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” died at age 61. Those stories and more from The Associated Press. — Compiled and narrated by Terry Lipshetz from Associated Press reports About this program Host Terry Lipshetz is a senior producer for Lee Enterprises. Besides producing the daily Hot off the Wire news podcast, Terry conducts periodic interviews for this Behind the Headlines program, co-hosts the Streamed & Screened movies and television program and is the producer of Across the Sky, a podcast dedicated to weather and climate. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. Learn more here.

On the version of Hot off the Wire posted Dec. 9 at 6 a.m. CT: Airports and highways are expected to be busier this Christmas season than they were a year ago. Auto club AAA predicted Monday that 115 million Americans will travel at least 50 miles from home over the 10 days starting right before Christmas. That's about 2% more than last year, but not quite as many as 2019, the last holiday season before the pandemic. Most of those people will travel by car, and they'll enjoy slightly lower gasoline prices that a year ago. Airfares are also down a bit from high levels a year ago, according to government figures. NEW YORK (AP) — Health officials are releasing the first nationally representative estimate of how many U.S. adults have chronic fatigue syndrome: 3.3 million. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s number is larger than previous studies have suggested. It is likely boosted by some of the patients with long COVID. Chronic fatigue is characterized by at least six months of severe exhaustion not helped by bed rest. There is no cure, and no blood test or scan to enable a quick diagnosis. Doctors have not been able to pin down a cause. Research suggests it is a body’s prolonged overreaction to an infection. DETROIT (AP) — U.S. auto safety regulators say they have taken the first step toward requiring devices in vehicles that prevent drunk or impaired driving. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced on Tuesday that it is starting the process to put a new federal safety standard in place requiring the technology in all new passenger vehicles. Such devices were required in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that was passed by Congress in 2021. At a small rural Missouri high school, two English teachers shared a secret: Both were posting adult content on OnlyFans, the subscription-based website known for sexually explicit content. The site and others like it provide an opportunity for those willing to dabble in pornography to earn extra money — sometimes lots of it. The money is handy, especially in relatively low-paying fields like teaching. Many post the content anonymously while trying to maintain their day jobs. But some outed teachers and others in prominent fields have lost their jobs, raising questions about personal freedoms and how far employers can go to avoid stigma related to their employees’ after-hour activities. SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google lost an antitrust lawsuit over barriers to its Android app store, as a federal court jury has decided that the company’s payments system was anticompetitive and damaged smartphone consumers and software developers. It’s a blow to a major pillar of a technology empire. But it’s a win for Epic Games, the maker of the popular Fortnite video game that brought the lawsuit — and, analyst say, for the broader game developer community. Apple prevailed in a similar case that Epic brought against the iPhone app store. But that 2021 trial was decided by a federal judge in a ruling that is under appeal at the U.S. Supreme Court. GENEVA (AP) — The International Olympic Committee says some Russian athletes will be allowed to compete at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The decision removes the option of a blanket ban due to the invasion of Ukraine. It confirms moves the IOC started one year ago to reintegrate Russia and its military ally Belarus into global sports. In March, the IOC urged sports governing bodies to look at ways to let individual athletes compete. The IOC says eight Russians and three from Belarus in individual sports have so far qualified for Paris. Boston-based Lithuanian pianist Rasa Vitkauskaite has released a Christmas album of holiday classics. Her family suffered for years under oppression.  —The Associated Press About this program Host Terry Lipshetz is a senior producer for Lee Enterprises. Besides producing the daily Hot off the Wire news podcast, Terry conducts periodic interviews for this Behind the Headlines program, co-hosts the Streamed & Screened movies and television program and is the producer of Across the Sky, a podcast dedicated to weather and climate. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. Learn more here.

On the version of Hot off the Wire posted Dec. 15 at 6:45 a.m. CT: LONDON (AP) — Prince Harry has won his phone hacking lawsuit against the publisher of the Daily Mirror and was awarded over 140,000 pounds ($180,000) in the first of his several lawsuits against the tabloids to go to trial. Justice Timothy Fancourt in the High Court found on Friday that phone hacking was “widespread and habitual” at Mirror Group Newspapers over many years. He says private investigators were used substantially and “were an integral part of the system” to gather information unlawfully. He says executives at the papers were aware of it and covered it up. Harry had sought 440,000 pounds ($560,000) in the case as part of a crusade against the British media. COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — A prosecutor in Denmark says authorities are holding two people in custody and four others are the target of a terrorism investigation. The case coincides with one arrest in the Netherlands and several in Germany of alleged Hamas members. Denmark hasn’t said there is a Hamas link. But authorities in Germany said that three people arrested there are suspected of preparing for attacks Jewish institutions in Europe. Danish authorities say that one person was arrested in the Netherlands. But it wasn’t clear if there were any ties to the Hamas investigation in Germany. The prosecutor said Friday that the two suspects being held in Denmark were ordered to remain in pretrial detention until Jan. 9. The whereabouts of the other four weren’t immediately known. RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — The United States national security adviser is set to meet with the Palestinian president to discuss postwar arrangements for Gaza. A senior U.S. official says this could include reactivating Palestinian security forces driven out by Hamas in 2007. The proposal was presented as one of several. It was the first specific indicator of Washington’s vision for security arrangements in Gaza if Israel achieves its U.S.-backed objective of the war: To end Hamas control of the besieged enclave. Any role for Palestinian security forces in Gaza is bound to elicit strong opposition from Israel, which seeks to maintain an open-ended security presence there. BEIJING (AP) — Two subway trains have collided in heavy snow in Beijing, sending 515 people to the hospital, including 102 with broken bones. Authorities said Friday the accident occurred the previous evening in Beijing’s mountainous west on an above-ground portion of the sprawling subway system’s Changping line. They say slippery tracks prompted automatic braking on the leading train. A train following from behind was on a descending section and went into a skid and was unable to brake in time. Emergency medical personnel, police and transport authorities responded, and all passengers were evacuated by about 11 p.m. Twenty-five passengers were under observation and 67 remained hospitalized on Friday morning. WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. officials recently seized more than 1.4 million illegal e-cigarettes from overseas manufacturers, including the company behind Elf Bar. The fruity disposable products have become the top choice among underage American teens who vape. The Food and Drug Administration pegged the value of the e-cigarettes seized at Los Angeles Airport at $18 million. Many were mislabeled as toys, shoes and other household items in order to evade customs, officials said. In May, the FDA instructed customs officials to begin seizing shipments from the Chinese manufacturer behind Elf Bar. It’s the first time U.S. authorities have reported successfully blocking the company's imports. NEW YORK (AP) — Three major U.S. retailers — Amazon, Target and Walmart — say they’re suspending sales of water-bead products marketed to young children due to growing safety concerns. Water beads are small, colorful balls made of superabsorbent polymers. They’re are often sold as toys, including in craft activity kits, and as sensory tools for children with developmental disabilities. But warnings about the dangers of the beads being ingested have been piling up. According to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, an estimated 7,800 water bead-related injuries were treated in hospital emergency rooms between 2016 and 2022. NEW YORK (AP) — Three major U.S. retailers — Amazon, Target and Walmart — say they’re suspending sales of water-bead products marketed to young children due to growing safety concerns. Water beads are small, colorful balls made of superabsorbent polymers. They’re are often sold as toys, including in craft activity kits, and as sensory tools for children with developmental disabilities. But warnings about the dangers of the beads being ingested have been piling up. According to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, an estimated 7,800 water bead-related injuries were treated in hospital emergency rooms between 2016 and 2022. LOS ANGELES (AP) — As the age-old adage goes, don’t mess with success. On Wednesday, comedian Trevor Noah announced that he will once again host the Grammy Awards in 2024. For those keeping count, the 66th Grammys marks his fourth consecutive year of hosting duties. Noah shared the news Wednesday night on his podcast “What Now? With Trevor Noah.” The 2024 Grammy Awards will air Feb. 4 live on CBS and Paramount+ from the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. SZA heads into the 2024 ceremony with a leading nine nominations. Phoebe Bridgers has the second-most nominations, with seven. LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mickey Mouse is about to belong to you and me. The earliest version of Disney's most famous character, and arguably the most iconic character in American pop culture, will become public domain on Jan. 1, 2024. That's because the copyright on his first screen appearance, the 1928 short “Steamboat Willie,” is expiring. Many experts thought the day would never come. Congress in the past has extended the copyright period to assure it didn't happen. Minnie Mouse, who also appears in “Steamboat Willie,” also becomes public domain, as does Winnie the Pooh's friend Tigger as the book in which he first appeared in, “The House at Pooh Corner,” turns 96. INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Two-time ABA champion and three-time NBA All-Star George McGinnis has died. He was 73. McGinnis was considered one of the best prep players to play in the basketball-rich state of Indiana. He spent two seasons with the Indiana Hoosiers, earning third team All-American honors in the only season he actually played. McGinnis then became one of the first underclassmen to play professional basketball, joining the Indiana Pacers in 1971. He also played for the Philadelphia 76ers and Denver Nuggets before finishing his 11-year career back with the Pacers. He was the ABA's 1974-75 MVP and a three-time ABA All-Star. The Raiders stick it to the Chargers, the Celtics remain perfect at home, another triple double for Nicola Jokic, and the Blues coaching change works as they drew it up.  The National Football League continues to make incremental, widespread progress in its diversity hiring practices, according to an annual report. The report card from The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at Central Florida gave the NFL an overall grade of a B-plus, which is the highest mark for the league since the study began in 1988. The league received a B-plus mark for racial hiring and a B for gender hiring. NEW YORK (AP) — Six jerseys worn by soccer superstar Lionel Messi during Argentina’s winning run at last year’s World Cup have sold for $7.8 million. The auction house Sotheby's says Thursday's final price for the shirts is the highest price for an item of sports memorabilia this year, Sotheby’s said. Argentina defeated France in a penalty shootout after a 3-3 draw in the World Cup final in Qatar. The victory represented a crowning moment for one of the sport’s greatest-ever players. The shirts were on display at Sotheby’s New York headquarters during the two-week online auction that ended Thursday. No information on the winning bidder was released. —The Associated Press About this program Host Terry Lipshetz is a senior producer for Lee Enterprises. Besides producing the daily Hot off the Wire news podcast, Terry conducts periodic interviews for this Behind the Headlines program, co-hosts the Streamed & Screened movies and television program and is the producer of Across the Sky, a podcast dedicated to weather and climate. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. Learn more here.

On the version of Hot off the Wire posted Dec. 14 at 7 a.m. CT: The House has authorized the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden. Every Republican rallied behind the politically charged process despite lingering concerns among some in the party that the investigation has yet to produce evidence of misconduct by the president. The Kentucky congressman who's leading House Republicans' impeachment investigation of President Joe Biden has focused on the Biden family’s use of shell companies. Rep. James Comer says the Democratic president’s family has used such companies to obscure its earnings from “shady” business deals. But Comer has a shell company of his own, which he uses to hold land co-owned with a longtime campaign donor. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel will keep fighting Hamas despite international calls for a cease-fire. His announcement late Wednesday follows one of the deadliest single attacks that Palestinian militants have carried out since the ground invasion of Gaza began. Russian President Vladimir Putin says there will be no peace in Ukraine until Moscow achieves its goals, which remain unchanged after nearly two years of fighting. Putin said Thursday Moscow is in dialogue with with the United States on the issue of bringing home jailed Americans Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich and the Kremlin hopes to “find a solution,” even though “it’s not easy.” A judge says Donald Trump’s 2020 election interference case in Washington will be put on hold while the former president further pursues his claims that he is immune from prosecution. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan agreed Wednesday to pause any “further proceedings that would move this case towards trial or impose additional burdens of litigation on Defendant.” The Supreme Court says it'll hear appeals that could upend hundreds of charges stemming from the Capitol riot, including against ex-President Donald Trump. The justices agreed Wednesday to review an appellate ruling that revived a charge against three defendants from Texas, Pennsylvania and New York accused of obstruction of an official proceeding. Medication abortion is the preferred method of ending pregnancy in the U.S. Mifepristone is one of the two drugs used and it will go in front of the U.S. Supreme Court next year. The Supreme Court will hear a case in the spring that could block mail-order access to mifepristone and impose restrictions on its use, even where abortion remains legal. The Bucks win behind a history-making night from one of their stars, a pair of long NBA losing streaks continue, a Warriors forward is disciplined by the league, the Devils need extra time to emerge victorious and two top 25 men's basketball teams lose to unranked opponents. Also: The NFL approves a regular-season game for Brazil in 2024, college athletes who transfer twice can play, for now, and Virginia has 'understanding' about landing Washington's NBA, NHL teams. —The Associated Press About this program Host Terry Lipshetz is a senior producer for Lee Enterprises. Besides producing the daily Hot off the Wire news podcast, Terry conducts periodic interviews for this Behind the Headlines program, co-hosts the Streamed & Screened movies and television program and is the producer of Across the Sky, a podcast dedicated to weather and climate. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. Learn more here.

On the version of Hot off the Wire posted Dec. 13 at 6:45 a.m. CT: WASHINGTON (AP) — The House is pushing toward a vote to authorize the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden formally. This comes as Republicans rally behind the charged process despite lingering concerns among some in the party that the investigation has yet to produce evidence of misconduct by the president. House Speaker Mike Johnson and his leadership team have been facing growing pressure to show progress in what has become a nearly yearlong probe centered around the business dealings of Biden’s family members. Their investigation has raised ethical questions, but no evidence has emerged that Biden acted corruptly or accepted bribes in his current role or previous office as vice president. DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Negotiators at United Nations COP28 climate talks agreed Wednesday that the world must transition away from planet-warming fossil fuels. It was a significant step toward shifting how the world is powered but one filled with questions about how soon and who will pay for the transition. COP28 President Sultan al-Jaber gaveled through the text at a plenary session in Dubai after more than two weeks of discussions that saw nations try and figure out a way for the world to stay in line with limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) since pre-industrial times. Countries were split between those wanting strong language on a phase-out of fossil fuels and others who wanted some way to continue burning oil, gas and coal. DETROIT (AP) — Tesla is recalling more than 2 million vehicles across its model lineup to fix a defective system that’s supposed to ensure drivers are paying attention when they use Autopilot. Documents posted by U.S. safety regulators say the company will send out a software update to fix the problems. The recall comes after a two-year investigation by U.S. auto safety regulators into a series of crashes that happened while the Autopilot partially automated driving system was in use. Some were deadly. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says its investigation found Autopilot’s method of ensuring that drivers are paying attention can be inadequate and “can lead to foreseeable misuse of the system." ROME (AP) — Pope Francis, who turns 87 on Sunday, said he never thought about resigning this year despite a series of health scares. MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Current and former inmates of the Alabama prison system have filed a lawsuit challenging the prison labor program. The lawsuit filed Tuesday in federal court says prisoners are forced to work for little and sometimes even no pay in jobs that benefit government entities or private companies. They called it a kind of ''modern day slavery." The class-action lawsuit also accuses the state of maintaining a discriminatory parole system with a low release rate that ensures a supply of laborers from a disproportionately Black workforce. The Alabama Department of Corrections declined to comment on the lawsuit. The state has previously maintained that prison and work release jobs prepare inmates for life after incarceration. LOS ANGELES (AP) — Andre Braugher, the Emmy-winning actor best known for his roles on the series “Homicide: Life on The Street” and “Brooklyn 99." Braugher's publicist Jennifer Allen said he died Monday at age 61. The Chicago-born actor had his breakthrough role alongside Denzel Washington and Morgan Freeman in 1989’s “Glory" the Oscar-winning film about an All-black regiment during the Civil War. He played a detective for seven seasons in the 1990s on the NBC police drama “Homicide: Life on the Street." Later he played a police captain for eight seasons in the Fox comedy “Brooklyn Nine-Nine." He won two Emmys and was nominated 11 times. ATLANTA (AP) — The trial for rapper Young Thug and five other people is on pause until early next year after one of the defendants was stabbed in the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta. The sheriff's office said 31-year-old Shannon Stillwell was stabbed multiple times Sunday evening during a fight with another man housed in the same part of the jail. Superior Court Chief Judge Ural Glanville told jurors Tuesday morning that he was releasing them early for the holidays. Previously, the holiday break had been scheduled to start at the end of the proceedings Friday. Glanville told jurors to return Jan. 2 to continue the trial. CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — Harvard President Claudine Gay will remain leader of the prestigious Ivy League school following her comments last week at a congressional hearing on antisemitism. Gay came under intense scrutiny following the hearing in which she and two of her peers struggled to answer questions about campus antisemitism. Their responses provoked backlash from Republican opponents, along with alumni and donors who say the university leaders are failing to stand up for Jewish students on their campuses. The Harvard Corporation, the university’s highest governing body, released a statement Tuesday saying it unanimously supports Gay. The Mavericks and Celtics among the NBA's biggest winners, Toronto picked up a key NHL win, the St. Louis Blues made a coaching change, Justin Herbert’s season is over for the Chargers, the San Francisco Giants have reportedly inked a big contract with a Korean player, and Notre Dame has again landed another former ACC quarterback to lead its offense. —The Associated Press About this program Host Terry Lipshetz is a senior producer for Lee Enterprises. Besides producing the daily Hot off the Wire news podcast, Terry conducts periodic interviews for this Behind the Headlines program, co-hosts the Streamed & Screened movies and television program and is the producer of Across the Sky, a podcast dedicated to weather and climate. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. Learn more here.

On the version of Hot off the Wire posted Dec. 12 at 7 a.m. CT: WASHINGTON (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is warning that “when the free world hesitates, that’s when dictatorships celebrate.” He is also issuing a personal plea for Congress to break its deadlock and approve continued support for Ukraine in its fight against Russia. Zelenskyy spoke Monday at the National Defense University in Washington. President Joe Biden has asked Congress for $61.4 billion for wartime funding for Ukraine as part of a $110 billion package that also includes money for Israel and other national security priorities. The request is stalled in Congress. Zelenskyy is expected to meet with Biden and lawmakers on Tuesday. Israel is pressing ahead with an offensive against Gaza’s Hamas rulers that it says could go on for weeks or months. Ahead of a non-binding vote at the United Nations later Tuesday, Israel and the United States face global calls for a cease-fire in Gaza. More than 17,700 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, around two-thirds of them women and children, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-controlled territory. About 90% of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been displaced within the besieged territory, where United Nations agencies say there is no safe place to flee. The war began when Hamas raided southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking about 240 hostages. WASHINGTON (AP) — Special counsel Jack Smith is asking the Supreme Court to take up and rule quickly on whether former President Donald Trump can be prosecuted on charges he plotted to overturn the 2020 election results. A federal judge had ruled the case could go forward, but Trump signaled he’d ask the federal appeals court in Washington to reverse that outcome. Smith's request Monday is an attempt to bypass the appeals court. The high court justices indicated later Monday that they would decide quickly whether to hear the case, ordering Trump’s lawyers to respond by Dec. 20. Trump’s presidential campaign says, “There is absolutely no reason to rush this sham to trial." NEW YORK (AP) — Firefighters say they haven't found any victims of a partial building collapse in the Bronx. Firefighters spent hours Monday searching a huge mound of rubble after a corner of an apartment building collapsed, leaving apartments exposed like a stack of shelves. Fire officials say two people who evacuated the building received minor injuries. Firefighters used a search dog, a robotic dog and at least one drone to make sure nobody was trapped in the rubble. Officials were looking into what caused the collapse. The 1927 building has been undergoing facade repairs. Buildings Commissioner James Oddo says there were seven unresolved violations pending at the property, but they weren’t structural. Waukegan, Ill. (AP) — The man accused of killing seven people at a Fourth of July parade in suburban Chicago last year has fired his public defenders and told the judge he plans to represent himself at trial. A Lake County judge questioned his decision several times before scheduling a trial for February. Robert Crimo III has been charged with 21 counts of first-degree murder, 48 counts of attempted murder and 48 counts of aggravated battery. Crimo has insisted he understands the possible penalties he faces, including consecutive life sentences. The judge told Crimo he will be responsible for all aspects of his defense. AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Attorneys for a pregnant Texas woman who sought court permission for an abortion in an unprecedented challenge to one of the most restrictive bans in the U.S. say she has left the state to obtain the procedure. The announcement came Monday as 31-year-old Kate Cox awaited a ruling from the Texas Supreme Court over whether she could legally obtain an abortion under narrow exceptions to the state’s bans. A judge gave Cox permission last week but that decision was put on hold by the state’s all-Republican high court. The court ruled against Cox later Monday. Cox's lawsuit quickly became a high-profile test of bans in Texas and a dozen other GOP-controlled states, where abortion is prohibited at nearly all stages of pregnancy. The Titans pull off a stunning comeback win over the Dolphins, the Giants get a late field goal to beat the Packers, Shohei Ohtani will have a huge part of his contract deferred, and the Nuggets snap their skid. Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels from LSU was one of seven players in either their fifth or sixth season of college football selected to The Associated Press All-America team. Daniels, a fifth-year quarterback, won the Heisman and AP player of the year honors after accounting for 50 touchdowns and nearly 5,000 yards of offense this season. He was joined in the backfield by Missouri’s Cody Schrader, a sixth-year running back who leads the nation at 124.9 rushing yards per game. Sixth-year linebacker Payton Wilson from North Carolina State led the first-team defense. North Carolina star quarterback Drake Maye is entering the NFL draft and won’t play in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl for the Tar Heels against West Virginia. Maye announced his decision in a social media post Monday. That ended his UNC career after putting up prolific numbers and making himself one of the most sought-after potential prospects for the NFL. The school has also announced that all-ACC linebacker Cedric Gray, receiver Devontez “Tez” Walker, offensive lineman Corey Gaynor and defensive lineman Myles Murphy are all entering the draft. Of that group, only Murphy is set to play in the bowl. Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” dominated the Golden Globe nominations with nine nods for the blockbuster film, including best picture musical or comedy as well as acting nominations for Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling and three of its original songs. It was closely followed by its release date and meme companion “Oppenheimer,” which scored eight nominations, including best picture drama and for actors Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey Jr. and Emily Blunt. The revamped group, now a for-profit endeavor with a larger and more diverse voting body, announced nominations Monday for its January awards show, after scandal and several troubled years. The show airs Jan. 7 from Beverly Hills. —The Associated Press About this program Host Terry Lipshetz is a senior producer for Lee Enterprises. Besides producing the daily Hot off the Wire news podcast, Terry conducts periodic interviews for this Behind the Headlines program, co-hosts the Streamed & Screened movies and television program and is the producer of Across the Sky, a podcast dedicated to weather and climate. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. Learn more here.

On the version of Hot off the Wire posted Dec. 11 at 7 a.m. CT: NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump says he's decided against testifying for a second time at his New York civil fraud trial. In a social media post Sunday, the former president said he “very successfully & conclusively” testified last month and saw no need to appear again. Trump had been expected to return to the witness stand Monday as the last big defense witness in the case, which threatens his real estate empire and cuts to the heart of his image as a successful businessman. In all capital letters, Trump said, “I have already testified to everything & have nothing more to say.” He was often defiant and combative when he testified last month. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Central Tennessee residents and emergency workers are digging out from devastating weekend storms that killed six people, toppled houses and cut power to tens of thousands. Government officials confirmed that three people died after a tornado struck Montgomery County north of Nashville near the Kentucky state line on Saturday afternoon. The Nashville Emergency Operation Center confirmed that three others were killed as a result of tornadoes in a neighborhood near downtown. Dozens more were hospitalized. Communities worked to begin repairing damaged houses with strewn debris. Other harrowing scenes included a tractor-trailer flipped on its side and insulation ripped out of building walls. Israel says Hamas still has 117 hostages and the remains of 20 people who died in captivity or during the initial attack. The Israeli toll includes 104 soldiers who have died since the start of the Gaza ground offensive in late October. WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and Ukraine’s leader, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, will meet at the White House on Tuesday as the U.S. administration steps up the pressure on Congress to provide billions more in aid to Kyiv in its war with Russia. The White House says the visit is intended “to underscore the United States’ unshakeable commitment" to Ukraine's defense against Russia’s invasion “at this critical moment.” Biden has asked Congress for a $110 billion package of wartime funding for Ukraine and Israel. But the request is caught up in a debate over U.S. immigration policy and border security. Zelenskyy also has been asked to speak to senators. LOS ANGELES (AP) — Actor Ryan O’Neal, who was nominated for an Oscar for the tear-jerker “Love Story” and played opposite his precocious daughter Tatum in “Paper Moon,” has died. O’Neal's son Patrick said on Instagram that his father died Friday. No cause was given, but Ryan O'Neal was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2012. In 1970s films such as “Paper Moon” and Stanley Kubrick’s “Barry Lyndon,” the actor used his boyish, blond good looks to play men who hid shadowy backgrounds. Twice divorced, O’Neal was romantically involved with actor Farrah Fawcett for more than two decades and remained by her side as she battled cancer. She died in 2009. VISALIA, Calif. (AP) — A county prosecutor’s office says one of its law clerks passed the State Bar of California exam at age 17. The Tulare County District Attorney’s Office says that, according to research, Peter Park is the youngest person to pass the exam. The State Bar said Friday that it could not confirm that Park is the youngest, but it hailed the achievement. Executive Director Leah Wilson calls it an extraordinary feat. Park began high school in 2019 at age 13 and simultaneously began a four-year law program after completing college-level proficiency exams. He took the exam in July and received the results on Nov. 9. He became a law clerk for the DA’s office in August, turned 18 in late November and was sworn in as an attorney on Tuesday. The Cowboys win a big NFC East showdown, the Bills win a close one in Kansas City, the Ravens get a special teams score to prevail in overtime, 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy has a big day, a former all pro tight end dies in an apparent accident, eight games highlight the NHL schedule and a pair of men's college basketball top 25 teams lose. Correspondent Mike Reeves reports. NEW YORK (AP) — Japanese anime master Hayao Miyazaki’s is No. 1 at the North American box office for the first time in his decades-spanning career. According to studio estimates Miyazaki’s latest enchanting film “The Boy and the Heron” debuted with $12.8 million. The long-awaited animated fantasy from the director of “Spirited Away,” “My Neighbor Totoro” and other cherished anime classics, is only the third anime to top the box office in U.S. and Canadian theaters and the first original anime to do so. Another Japanese film — “Godzilla Minus One" — also charted high, with $8.3 million. Last week’s top film, “Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé,” dropped steeply in its second weekend with $5 million. NEW YORK (AP) — The Heisman Trophy race is looking wide open for 2024. Three of the four finalist this year, including winner Jayden Daniels of LSU, are out of eligibility. The other, Marvin Harrison Jr. of Ohio State is likely to jump to the NFL as a junior. Heading into next season there are fewer obvious candidates for an award that has been dominated by quarterbacks, especially transfer QBs. Among those to watch: Alabama's Jalen Milroe, Georgia's Carson Beck and former Oklahoma and UCF quarterback Dillon Gabriel, who plans to play a sixth season of college football at Oregon. LAS VEGAS (AP) — Anthony Davis had seasons highs of 41 points and 20 rebounds and the Los Angeles Lakers won the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament title with a 123-109 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Saturday night. Austin Reaves added 28 points, tournament MVP LeBron James had 24 points and 11 rebounds and D’Angelo Russell added 13 points. Tyrese Haliburton had 20 points and 11 assists for Indiana, Bennedict Mathurin also scored 20 points. The game was the only one in the tournament that doesn’t count in the standings, but there was still plenty on the line. In addition to taking home a trophy, Lakers players on standard contracts each made $500,000 and the Pacers received $200,000 apiece. Players on two-way deals take home half those amounts. LOS ANGELES (AP) — Nicki Minaj’s highly anticipated fifth studio album, “Pink Friday 2,” is here. Out Friday, on her 41st birthday, the 22-track “Pink Friday 2” is Minaj’s first full-length release in five years. The road to “Pink Friday 2” has been long, with the album initially teased more than three years ago and its release date delayed twice. In September, Minaj hosted the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards and performed her latest single, the dreamy “Last Time I Saw You,” before teasing a fiery new trap cut from “Pink Friday 2.” She's called her latest album as “the biggest gift I have ever given humanity thus far.” —The Associated Press About this program Host Terry Lipshetz is a senior producer for Lee Enterprises. Besides producing the daily Hot off the Wire news podcast, Terry conducts periodic interviews for this Behind the Headlines program, co-hosts the Streamed & Screened movies and television program and is the producer of Across the Sky, a podcast dedicated to weather and climate. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. Learn more here.

Welcome to the weekly bonus episode of Hot off the Wire, where we look back at some of the top headlines from the week in the world of sports and entertainment.  I’m Terry Lipshetz, Managing Editor of the National Newsroom at Lee Enterprises and your host. Subscribe to Hot Off The Wire through Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts so you don’t miss daily news updates. As always, be sure to check out our latest episode of Streamed & Screened, a podcast dedicated to movies and television.  Listen to the latest episode of Streamed & Screened here.  This week Bruce Miller and I discuss new shows coming to TV and streaming services, including a Lifetime movie starring Bill Pullman as Alex Murdaugh. This week’s top headlines include: The Yankees make a splash at the Winter Meetings by acquiring Juan Soto from the Padres and completing a rare trade with the Red Sox. Norman Lear, who created some of the most iconic sitcoms in television history, died at the age of 101. NCAA President Charlie Baker called for a new tier of Division I where schools would pay athletes. Those stories and more from The Associated Press. — Compiled and narrated by Terry Lipshetz from Associated Press reports About this program Host Terry Lipshetz is a senior producer for Lee Enterprises. Besides producing the daily Hot off the Wire news podcast, Terry conducts periodic interviews for this Behind the Headlines program, co-hosts the Streamed & Screened movies and television program and is the producer of Across the Sky, a podcast dedicated to weather and climate. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. Learn more here.

On the version of Hot off the Wire posted Dec. 9 at 6 a.m. CT: McDonald's expects to open nearly 10,000 McDonald's restaurants worldwide over the next four years — to reach a total of 50,000 restaurants — a pace of growth that would be unprecedented even for the world's largest burger chain. A prominent disinformation scholar is accusing Harvard University in a whistleblower disclosure of muzzling her speech and stifling — then dismantling — her research team as it launched a deep dive into a damning trove of Facebook files. The 2021 actions impacting Joan Donovan’s work coincided with a $500 million donation by a foundation run by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan. Fewer airplanes and helicopters will be flying tourists over Mount Rushmore and other national monuments and parks as new regulations take effect that are intended to protect the serenity of some of the nation’s most beloved natural areas. The air tours have pitted tour operators against visitors frustrated with the noise for decades, but it has come to a head as new management plans are rolled out at nearly two dozen national parks and monuments. A mother and her 14-year-old daughter are advocating for better protections for victims after AI-generated nude images of the teen and other female classmates were circulated at a high school in New Jersey. The case has put a spotlight yet again on explicit AI-generated material that overwhelmingly harms women and children. KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — A 70-year-old woman in Uganda has given birth to twins after receiving fertility treatment, making her one of the world’s oldest new mothers. Safina Namukwaya, gave birth to a boy and a girl via cesarean section at the hospital in the capital, Kampala, where she had been receiving in vitro fertilization treatment, said a hospital spokesman. CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A 23-year-old woman who recently started her first nursing job at a New Hampshire hospital was attending a training session on cardiac arrest when she, herself, suffered the medical emergency. Andy Hoang’s fellow nurses help save her life last month after she started feeling dizzy and nauseated at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. —The Associated Press About this program Host Terry Lipshetz is a senior producer for Lee Enterprises. Besides producing the daily Hot off the Wire news podcast, Terry conducts periodic interviews for this Behind the Headlines program, co-hosts the Streamed & Screened movies and television program and is the producer of Across the Sky, a podcast dedicated to weather and climate. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. Learn more here.

On the version of Hot off the Wire posted Dec. 8 at 6 a.m. CT: WASHINGTON (AP) — Hunter Biden has been indicted on nine tax charges in California as a special counsel investigation into the business dealings of President Joe Biden’s son intensifies against the backdrop of the looming 2024 election. The indictment Thursday includes three felonies and six misdemeanors. Special counsel David Weiss says Hunter Biden “spent millions of dollars on an extravagant lifestyle rather than paying his tax bills.” Defense attorney Abbe Lowell argues prosecutors bowed to political pressure in the case, which had been expected to end with a plea deal before it imploded over the summer. The new charges are in addition to federal firearms charges in Delaware alleging Hunter Biden broke laws against drug users having guns in 2018. BAGHDAD (AP) — U.S. and Iraqi officials say a rocket attack at the sprawling U.S. Embassy in Baghdad has caused minor damage but no casualties. Iran-backed militias in Iraq have claimed responsibility for dozens of attacks that targeted bases housing U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria since the Israel-Hamas war began two months ago. The embassy is in the heavily fortified Green Zone of Iraq's capital. An Iraqi security official said 14 Katyusha rockets were fired on Friday, of which some struck near one of the U.S. Embassy’s gates. A U.S. military official said rockets hit the vicinity of the Union III base that houses offices of the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq. WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says there is “a gap” between what Israel pledged to do to protect Palestinian civilians and the results so far since it began intensive military operations against Hamas in the southern Gaza Strip. LAS VEGAS (AP) — Police say the suspect in a deadly shooting at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, had a list of targets at the school and at East Carolina University in North Carolina, where he once worked. Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill said Thursday that the suspect, identified as 67-year-old Anthony Polito, also had 150 additional rounds of ammunition before he was killed by police. Officials say three faculty members were killed and a fourth was wounded Wednesday. WASHINGTON (AP) — The House has voted to censure Democratic Rep. Jamaal Bowman for triggering a fire alarm in a U.S. Capitol office building when the chamber was in session. The New York congressman Thursday became the third Democrat in the House to be admonished this year through the process. “Censure me next. That’s how worthless your effort is,” Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said on the floor late Wednesday. “It has no credibility. No integrity. No legitimacy. Censure me next, and I’ll take that censure and I’ll wear it next week, next month, next year like a badge of honor.” The vote is the latest example of how the chamber has begun to deploy punishments like censure, long viewed as a punishment of last resort, routinely and often in strikingly partisan ways. The Steelers see their playoff chances take a hit on Thursday Night Football, Jayden Daniels garners a big postseason college football award, the NBA's in-season tournament final is set, and the Sharks rally from a big deficit for an overtime win. WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is putting pharmaceutical companies on notice. Washington is warning them that if the price of certain drugs is too high, the government might cancel their patent protection and allow rivals to make their own versions. Under a plan announced Thursday, the government would consider overriding the patent for high-priced drugs that have been developed with the help of taxpayer money and letting competitors make them in hopes of driving down the cost. The administration did not immediately release details about how the process will work and how it will deem a drug costly enough to act. If the plan is enacted, drugmakers are almost certain to sue. AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A Texas judge has given a pregnant woman whose fetus had a fatal diagnosis permission to get an abortion in an unprecedented challenge to the state’s ban that took effect after Roe v. Wade was overturned last year. It was unclear Thursday how quickly or whether Kate Cox, a 31-year-old mother of two from the Dallas area, will be able to obtain an abortion. State District Judge Maya Guerra Gamble has granted a temporary restraining order allowing Cox to have an abortion. The state has not said if it plans to appeal. Cox is 20 weeks pregnant. Her attorneys say Cox went to an emergency room this week for a fourth time during her pregnancy. PARIS (AP) — When Notre Dame went up in flames in 2019, people who worked in the cathedral felt orphaned. With the reopening of the world-famous Paris landmark drawing closer by the day, they’re now beginning to picture their return to the place they call home. They are impatient to breathe life back into its restored stones and vast spaces with their songs and prayers. On Friday, Notre Dame's rebirth from the devastating fire will hit a major milestone. It will begin the last year of repair work before the cathedral reopens its huge doors to the public on Dec. 8, 2024. French President Emmanuel Macron will mark the 12-month countdown by donning a hard hat and touring the fenced-off reconstruction site. LONDON (AP) — Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, in sometimes angry testimony to Britain’s inquiry into the COVID-19 pandemic, on Thursday defended himself against suggestions that his indifference and failure to heed the advice of scientists led to thousands of unnecessary deaths. In a second day of sworn testimony, Johnson rejected claims that he was prepared to let older people die to protect the economy and that he was too slow to order a second national lockdown as infection rates began to rise in the autumn of 2020. Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” will get a theatrical release in Japan after all. The Japanese distributor Bitters End said Thursday that it will play in the country’s theaters in 2024. In a statement, Bitters End wrote that the decision was made, “following months of thoughtful dialogue associated with the subject matter and acknowledging the particular sensitivity for us Japanese.” “Oppenheimer” is about J. Robert Oppenheimer, the so-called “father of the atomic bomb,” and chronicles the development of the weapon during World War II. The film addresses but does not explicitly depict the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the U.S. NEW YORK (AP) — A woman has sued the hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs claiming he and two other men raped her 20 years ago in a New York City recording studio when she was 17. The lawsuit filed Wednesday accuses Combs, Harve Pierre, the former president of Combs’ Bad Boy Entertainment, and a third man of plying the accuser with drugs and alcohol and then raping her in 2003. Combs denied the allegations in a statement and vowed to fight for his name. The lawsuit follows three other lawsuits accusing Combs of abuse. Combs has denied those allegations as well. —The Associated Press About this program Host Terry Lipshetz is a senior producer for Lee Enterprises. Besides producing the daily Hot off the Wire news podcast, Terry conducts periodic interviews for this Behind the Headlines program, co-hosts the Streamed & Screened movies and television program and is the producer of Across the Sky, a podcast dedicated to weather and climate. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. Learn more here.

On the version of Hot off the Wire posted Dec. 7 at 7:30 a.m. CT: Chris Christie is doubling down on his criticism that his fellow Republican presidential candidates are too timid to take on Donald Trump and his legal troubles. The former New Jersey governor said after Wednesday’s debate that the other three candidates on stage in Tuscaloosa were “pretending we’re the only four candidates in the race.” Christie noted that Nikki Haley remained silent through an extended discussion of Trump’s fitness for office. Christie said if Haley, Ron DeSantis and others are afraid to take on Trump, they aren’t up to being head of state and sitting across the table from other world leaders. LAS VEGAS (AP) — Three people are dead and a fourth in critical but stable condition after a gunman opened fire at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas before police killed him in a shootout. Wednesday's attack had terrified students and professors cowering in classrooms. A law enforcement official with direct knowledge of the investigation tells The Associated Press that the shooter was a professor who'd unsuccessfully sought a job at the school. The campus is only a couple of miles from the Las Vegas Strip, where the worst mass shooting in U.S. history took place in October 2017. Police say lessons learned from that tragedy helped them confront Wednesday's attack. MOSCOW (AP) — State news agencies and authorities in Russia say a girl shot several classmates before killing herself at a school in the city of Bryansk. Initial reports said one person besides the shooter was killed and five people were wounded in Thursday's gunfire. Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reports that one of the people injured is in serious condition. Russia's Investigative Committee says the girl brought a pump-action shotgun to school that she used to fire at her classmates. Russia’s Interior Ministry said it was looking into a motive for the shooting, which is among several school shootings in the country in recent years. The Israeli military hit Rafah in southern Gaza overnight, residents say, as United Nations officials warn there are no safe places left in the besieged territory. The center of Gaza’s second-largest city, Khan Younis, has also seen fighting amid Israel’s widening air and ground offensive in the southern part of the territory that has displaced tens of thousands more Palestinians and worsened dire humanitarian conditions. On Dec. 7, 1941, the Empire of Japan launched an air raid on the U.S. Navy base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii as well as targets in Malaya, Hong Kong, Guam, the Philippines and Wake Island; the United States declared war against Japan the next day. Next year's Belmont Stakes will take place at Saratoga Race Course. New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced the move Wednesday. The final leg of horse racing's Triple Crown June 8 will be shortened to 1 1/4 miles and the purse increased from $1.5 million to $2 million. The change of location for at least 2024 is because of a massive renovation of Belmont Park. It'll be the first time the race is held at Saratoga. The Belmont construction project is also expected to keep the race in Saratoga in 2025. The EV trend in the US at the end of 2023 is a little tough to tease out. Overall sales hit a record, but they’re also falling short of expectations amid the industry’s push to transition away from combustion engines and quickly towards EVs. EV inventory is building on dealer lots, and many EV models are taking longer to sell than gas counterparts. Some automakers are discounting their EVs to get them to move. Ford decreased Mach-E production in recent months. This story addresses the many EV market dynamics consumers are seeing. LOS ANGELES (AP) — Two months ago, Kevin McCarthy was booted as House speaker. Now, the Republican congressman from California says he's resigning and will leave Congress by year's end. His announcement caps a stunning end of his House career for the onetime deli counter owner from Bakersfield, California. McCarthy has risen through state and national politics to become second in line to the presidency as speaker, until hard-right conservatives engineered his removal in October. McCarthy made his announcement in The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday and wrote that he'll “serve America in new ways.” McCarthy had brought Republicans into the majority but found it was much more difficult to lead the GOP’s factions. WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military has announced it is grounding all of its Osprey V-22 helicopters, one week after eight Air Force Special Operations Command service members died in a crash off the coast of Japan. The Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps took the extraordinary step of grounding hundreds of aircraft after a preliminary investigation of last week’s crash indicated that a materiel failure — that something went wrong with the aircraft — and not a mistake by the crew led to the deaths. The crash raised new questions about the safety of the Osprey, which has been involved in multiple fatal accidents over its relatively short time in service. Japan grounded its fleet of 14 Ospreys after the crash. RENO, Nev. (AP) — A Nevada grand jury has indicted six Republicans who submitted certificates to Congress falsely declaring Donald Trump the winner of the 2020 presidential election, making the Western swing state the third to seek charges against so-called “fake electors.” Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford began investigating the fake electors last month. The announcement represents a shift for Ford, who previously was quiet on whether he would investigate the fake electors before saying that state law did not directly address whether he could pursue charges. Fake electors were also charged in Michigan and Georgia, while 10 Republicans who posed as electors in Wisconsin settled a civil lawsuit Wednesday. HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — U.S. Coast Guard officials are promising reforms after an internal review found a “permissive environment” for sexual assault and harassment in the service. The report comes months after the Coast Guard apologized for failing to adequately handle cases of sexual assault and harassment at the service’s academy in Connecticut. The review was ordered by Admiral Linda Fagan, commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard. It recommends a range of reforms, including an end to an environment in which inappropriate jokes and comments were tolerated. It promised a greater focus on preventing inappropriate behavior at the earliest stages. WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department says four Russian men accused of torturing an American during the invasion of Ukraine have been charged with war crimes in a first-of-its-kind case. It's the first prosecution against members of the Russian armed forces in connection with atrocities during Moscow’s war against Ukraine. And it's the first time the Justice Department has brought charges under a nearly 30-year-old statute that makes it a crime to subject an American to torture or inhumane treatment during a war. The charges are largely symbolic for now, given the unlikely prospects of the department bringing into custody any of the four defendants, who are fugitives. The Yankees acquire Juan Soto in a blockbuster deal, Joel Embiid scores 50 while the Mavericks win by 50, Marquette wins a Top 20 matchup with Texas, and the Panthers outshine the Stars on ice. Some of the words tied to this year’s hottest topics were also among the most mangled when it came to saying them aloud. This year’s lists of the most mispronounced words in the U.S. and Britain were released Thursday by Babbel. The online language learning company commissions The Closed Captioning Group in the U.S. and the British Institute of Verbatim Reports in the U.K. to identify the top words that news anchors, politicians and other public figures have struggled with. Pronunciations that stumped included the first name of the Irish actor starring in “Oppenheimer,” Cillian Murphy. The experts at Babbel his name is pronounced KI-lee-uhn. Another name making was the singer SZA, which they say is pronounced SIZ-uh. LOS ANGELES (AP) — Norman Lear has died. The producer who made TV topical in the 1970s with the sitcom “All in the Family,” died Tuesday night at the age of 101 years old. “All in the Family" starred Carroll O’Connor as diehard conservative Archie Bunker, who clashed with his liberal son-in-law over racism, feminism and the Vietnam War. It was one of a string of TV hits for Lear and then-partner Bud Yorkin that also included “Maude” and “The Jeffersons.” Lear’s series reflected his political beliefs, which he put into action by founding the nonprofit liberal advocacy group People for the American Way. —The Associated Press About this program Host Terry Lipshetz is a senior producer for Lee Enterprises. Besides producing the daily Hot off the Wire news podcast, Terry conducts periodic interviews for this Behind the Headlines program, co-hosts the Streamed & Screened movies and television program and is the producer of Across the Sky, a podcast dedicated to weather and climate. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. Learn more here.

On the version of Hot off the Wire posted Dec. 6 at 6:30 a.m. CT: NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Donald Trump is declining to rule out abusing power if he again wins the presidency. Trump has talked about targeting his rivals and has referred to them as vermin. Fox News Channel host Sean Hannity asked Trump on Tuesday night to respond to growing Democratic criticism of his rhetoric, asking if he would promise that he “would never abuse power as retribution against anybody.” Trump responded, “Except for day one.” President Joe Biden has stepped up his warnings about Trump, contending Trump is “determined to destroy American democracy.” TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — The shrinking field of Republican presidential hopefuls are preparing to gather on a debate stage for the fourth time this year. The debate Wednesday at the University of Alabama will be their last meeting before the Iowa caucuses kick off the presidential nominating season next month. Four candidates will be on stage, but front-runner Donald Trump will not be among them. The former president has skipped all the debates to avoid giving his trailing rivals more attention. On Tuesday, Israel’s military entered Gaza’s second-largest city in its pursuit to wipe out the territory’s Hamas rulers. The Hamas-controlled Health Ministry says the territory's death toll has surpassed 16,200. Around 1,200 people have died on the Israeli side, mainly civilians killed during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack that triggered the war. WASHINGTON (AP) — Air Force Special Operations Command has recovered the remains of six of the eight service members who were lost when their Osprey aircraft crashed off the coast of Japan last week. It says it is focused on recovering the two bodies still missing and the aircraft debris. The crew ranged from 24 to 36 years old and came from eight states: California, Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Ohio and Utah. Their commander says the sorrow among the small Air Force Special Operations community “is immeasurable.” President Joe Biden says he and first lady Jill Biden are heartbroken by the loss. Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida shared a condolence message with Biden. ROME (AP) — Pope Francis says he's “much better” after a two-week bout of bronchitis but says speaking still makes him tired. Francis asked an aide to read his remarks at his weekly general audience Wednesday. Francis turns 87 on Dec. 17 and had part of one lung removed as a young man. He came down with the flu on Nov. 25 and was forced to cancel a planned trip to Dubai to participate in the U.N. climate conference. He later revealed he had been diagnosed with an acute case of infectious bronchitis that made breathing difficult. Former President Donald Trump’s civil business fraud trial has turned to one of the topics that has vexed him most — the disputed value of his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida. Palm Beach luxury real estate broker Lawrence Moens took the stand for Trump's defense Tuesday. Moens played a glimmering video of the historic waterfront estate and testified that he’d value it at over $1 billion as of 2021. State Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit claims that Trump and his company deceived lenders and others by giving them financial statements that greatly overstated the values of some of his prime assets, including by listing Mar-a-Lago at up to $612 million. Trump denies any wrongdoing. BOSTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has told campaign donors that he isn’t sure he’d be running for reelection if Donald Trump wasn’t also in the race. Biden warned Tuesday that democracy is “more at risk in 2024” and that the former president and his allies are out to “destroy” democratic institutions. Biden is using a trio of fundraisers to caution against what might happen should Trump again claim control of the White House. He noted that Trump has described himself as his supporters’ “retribution” and has vowed to root out “vermin” in the country. WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate in a single stroke has approved about 425 military promotions after Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama ended a monthslong blockade of nominations over a Pentagon abortion policy. Tuberville had been under pressure from members of both sides of the political aisle to end his holds as senators complained about the toll it was taking on service members and their families, and on military readiness. Tuberville said holds would continue, however, for about 11 of the highest-ranking military officers. President Joe Biden calls the Senate’s action long overdue and says the military confirmations should never have been held up. WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris has set the record for the most Senate tiebreaker votes, topping a nearly 200-year-old mark by casting her 32nd to help confirm a new federal judge in Washington, D.C. The previous recordholder was John C. Calhoun, who cast 31 tiebreaker votes during his eight years as vice president, from 1825 to 1832. Harris tied Calhoun's record in July and broke it Tuesday. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer calls the fellow Democrat's vote a “great milestone.” Casting tiebreaker votes is among the only constitutional duties for vice presidents. Harris has been repeatedly called on to break deadlocks because the Senate is so closely divided between Democrats and Republicans. The Bucks and Lakers advance, two top ten college basketball teams meet in New York, San Jose Sharks rally to beat the New York Islanders, the NCAA wants more benefits paid towards Division one athletes. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The New York Yankees have made a rare trade with the rival Boston Red Sox, acquiring outfielder Alex Verdugo for right-handers Greg Weissert, Richard Fitts and Nicholas Judice. It was just the eighth trade between the teams since Major League Baseball split into divisions in 1969. Verdugo, a 27-year-old left-handed hitter, batted .264 with 13 homers, 54 RBIs and a .745 OPS this year in his fourth season with the Red Sox. NEW YORK (AP) — Remember what you searched for in 2023? Well, Wikipedia has the receipts. English Wikipedia raked in more than 84 billion views this year. That's according to numbers collected by the Wikimedia Foundation, the non-profit behind the free, publicly edited online encyclopedia. And the most popular article was about ChatGPT (yes, the AI chatbot that’s seemingly everywhere today). The second most-read article on Wikipedia in 2023 was the annual list of deaths, which sees high traffic year after year. Meanwhile, the highly anticipated 2023 Cricket World Cup took third place — and “Barbenheimer,” Taylor Swift and more also appeared to sway our 2023 internet-reading habits. —The Associated Press About this program Host Terry Lipshetz is a senior producer for Lee Enterprises. Besides producing the daily Hot off the Wire news podcast, Terry conducts periodic interviews for this Behind the Headlines program, co-hosts the Streamed & Screened movies and television program and is the producer of Across the Sky, a podcast dedicated to weather and climate. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. Learn more here.

On the version of Hot off the Wire posted Dec. 5 at 7:30 a.m. CT: KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel is intensifying its bombardment in and around Gaza’s second-largest city, sending ambulances and private cars racing into a local hospital carrying people wounded in a bloody new phase of the war. Under U.S. pressure to prevent further mass casualties in the conflict with Hamas, Israel says it is being more precise as it widens its offensive into southern Gaza after obliterating much of the north. But Palestinians say there are no areas where they feel safe, and many fear that if they leave their homes they will never be allowed to return. Aerial bombardment and the ground offensive have already driven three-fourths of the territory’s 2.3 million people from their homes. ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — Officials are investigating the circumstances surrounding a massive explosion that destroyed a duplex and shook a Virginia suburb of Washington, D.C. Police said early Tuesday that a suspect in the home fired a flare gun 30 to 40 times into the neighborhood on Monday afternoon, drawing a large police response. Arlington County, Virginia, police say they obtained a search warrant and tried to contact the suspect, but he remained inside his home. When police attempted to execute a warrant, the suspect fired several rounds inside the home and the house subsequently exploded. Police say all officers escaped serious injury, but it was unclear what happened to the suspect. ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Nigeria's emergency services agency says more than 80 people are confirmed dead after military drones “mistakenly” bombed a religious gathering in the northwest. Some 60 people were injured in the attack Sunday in Kaduna state. The president ordered a probe into the incident, the latest of a series of failed aerial assaults in the conflict zone. Since 2017, some 400 civilians have been killed by airstrikes the military said were targeting armed groups, according to the Lagos-based SBM Intelligence security firm. Rights groups and analysts say such mistakes have continued to happen because of the failure to hold the security agencies accountable. WASHINGTON (AP) — A new study finds that students around the world suffered historic setbacks in reading during the pandemic and even deeper losses in math, with test score decreases so wide that the United States climbed in global rankings simply by falling behind less sharply. The state of global education was given a bleak appraisal in the Program for International Student Assessment, the first study to examine academic progress in dozens of countries during the pandemic. Released Tuesday, it finds that average math scores fell by the equivalent of three-quarters of a year’s worth of learning. Reading scores fell by the equivalent of half a year. ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — George Santos already has a new gig. Fresh off his historic expulsion, the former congressman has opened a Cameo account where the public can pay $200 for a personalized video message. Screenshots of his account with the bio "Former congressional ‘Icon’!” started to spread online Monday and by the afternoon, users were posting clips of Santos offering advice, blowing kisses and making jokes about Botox. Santos was expelled from the House on Friday following a scandal-plagued tenure in Congress and a looming criminal trial. He is only the sixth member in the chamber’s history to be ousted by colleagues. MIAMI (AP) — The Justice Department says a former American diplomat who served as U.S. ambassador to Bolivia has been charged with serving as a covert agent for Cuba’s intelligence services since at least 1981. Newly unsealed court papers allege that Manuel Rocha engaged in “clandestine activity” on Cuba’s behalf for decades, including by meeting with Cuban intelligence operatives. The complaint was filed in federal court in Miami, and includes charges of acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government and other crimes. He appeared in court Monday afternoon and will remain held until a bond hearing Wednesday. LONDON (AP) — Prince Harry is challenging the British government's decision to strip him of his security detail after he gave up his status as a working member of the royal family and moved to the United States. A three-day hearing began Tuesday in London’s High Court over the Duke of Sussex's claim that he deserves protection when he visits home. His lawyer claims Harry was treated unfairly by a committee that deviated from its own standards and failed to evaluate risks to him. A different judge previously rejected Harry's petition to privately pay for security in the United Kingdom. The Jaguars lose the game and their starting quarterback against the Bengals on Monday Night Football, a Steelers quarterback is out indefinitely after surgery, college football’s Heisman Trophy finalists are announced, the Pacers and Pelicans punch their tickets to Las Vegas, Zach Edey carries Purdue men’s hoops to victory and the Lightning cruise past the Stars. PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Philadelphia Phillies have signed manager Rob Thomson to a one-year contract extension through the 2025 season after he led the team to two straight trips to the NL Championship Series. The 60-year-old Thomson has a 155-118 record since the veteran bench coach replaced Joe Girardi as Phillies manager on June 3, 2022. Thomson led the Phillies to the 2022 World Series, where they lost in six games to the Houston Astros. The Phillies returned to the NLCS this season but blew series leads of 2-0 and 3-2 with Games 6 and 7 at home against Arizona. PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Philadelphia Eagles have signed three-time All-Pro linebacker Shaquille Leonard to a contract for the rest of the season. Leonard should be available to play for the Eagles on Sunday night against Dallas. Leonard visited with both the Eagles and Cowboys after the Colts waived him late last month. He complained publicly about decreased playing time this season with the Colts. Leonard made three All-Pro teams and three Pro Bowls in his first four seasons with the Colts. LONDON (AP) — Oxford University Press has named “rizz″ as its word of the year to highlight the popularity of a term used by Generation Z to describe someone’s ability to attract or seduce another person. It topped “Swiftie” or an enthusiastic fan of Taylor Swift, “situationship” which means an informal romantic or sexual relationship and “prompt” which is an instruction given to an artificial intelligence program. The annual decision was announced on Monday. It was made by experts at the publisher of the multivolume Oxford English Dictionary. The four finalists were selected by a public vote. The publisher said that rizz is believed to come from the middle of the word charisma and can be used as a verb as in to “rizz up” or chat someone up. SEATTLE (AP) — Alaska Air Group has agreed to buy Hawaiian Airlines in a $1.9 billion deal including debt. The airlines announced the agreement Sunday. Alaska will pay $18 in cash for each share of Hawaiian, whose stock closed Friday at $4.86. The deal includes $900 million in Hawaiian debt. The acquisition still needs the blessing of U.S. regulators, which have shown resistance to more consolidation within the airline industry out of fear it could lead to higher airfares. Alaska and Hawaiian are both leading carriers between Hawaii and the U.S. mainland, which could raise worries about the combination hurting competition. —The Associated Press About this program Host Terry Lipshetz is a senior producer for Lee Enterprises. Besides producing the daily Hot off the Wire news podcast, Terry conducts periodic interviews for this Behind the Headlines program, co-hosts the Streamed & Screened movies and television program and is the producer of Across the Sky, a podcast dedicated to weather and climate. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. Learn more here.

On the version of Hot off the Wire posted Dec. 4 at 7:30 a.m. CT: TOKYO (AP) — The U.S. Air Force says divers have discovered wreckage and the remains of five crew members from a U.S. Air Force Osprey aircraft that crashed last week off southwestern Japan. The CV-22 Osprey carrying eight American personnel crashed last Wednesday off Yakushima island during a training mission. The body of one victim was recovered and identified earlier. The Air Force Special Operations Command says the five newly located remains are being recovered and their identities have yet to be determined. Ospreys have had a number of crashes, including in Japan, where they are used at U.S. and Japanese military bases, and the latest accident has rekindled safety concerns. DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The U.S. military says three commercial ships in the Red Sea were struck by ballistic missiles fired from Houthi-controlled Yemen, and a U.S. warship shot down three drones in self-defense during the hourslong assault. The Iranian-backed Houthi rebels claimed responsibility. The attacks marked an escalation in a series of maritime attacks in the Mideast linked to the Israel-Hamas war as multiple vessels found themselves in the crosshairs of a single Houthi assault for the first time in the conflict. U.S. Central Command says the attacks represent a direct threat to international commerce and maritime security. DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel’s military has renewed calls for mass evacuations from the southern town of Khan Younis, as it widened its ground offensive and bombarded targets across the Gaza Strip. Tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians have sought refuge in the town in recent weeks. The expanded operations follow the expiration of a weeklong cease-fire. They are aimed at eliminating Gaza’s Hamas rulers, whose Oct. 7 attack into Israel triggered the deadliest Israeli-Palestinian violence in decades. The war has already killed thousands of Palestinians and displaced over three-fourths of the territory’s population of 2.3 million people, who are running out of safe places to go. DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A prominent developing-world leader on the issue of climate change said Monday that global taxes on the financial services, oil and gas, and shipping industries could drum up hundreds of billions to poorer countries adapt to and cope with global warming. Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley focused on how poorer countries could shoulder the astronomical costs for the world to adapt to climate change, reduce its future impact, and pay for losses and damage caused as climate trouble like floods, forest fires and heat waves rip through communities. Beyoncé ruled the box office this weekend. Her concert picture, “Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé,” opened in first place with $21 million in North American ticket sales, according to estimates from AMC Theatres Sunday. It debuted in 2,539 theaters in the U.S. and Canada, as well as 94 international territories, where it earned $6.4 million. Lionsgate’s “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes” fell to second place in its third weekend with an estimated $14.5 million. Third place went to “Godzilla Minus One." “Trolls Band Together” landed in fourth place in its third weekend with $7.6 million. College Football's semi finals are set for New Years Day but not everyone is happy, plenty of happy wide receivers in the NFL following Sunday's games, a big smile on a former manager who was elected to Baseball's Hall of Fame and the number one player in the world in golf wins again. WASHINGTON (AP) — The newest group of Kennedy Center honorees, including comedian Billy Crystal and actor Queen Latifah, were feted Sunday night at a star-studded event commemorating their lifetime achievement in arts and entertainment. Opera singer Renée Fleming, 1970s music icon Barry Gibb and prolific hitmaker Dionne Warwick were also honored at the black-tie gala. Each received personalized tributes and performances that are typically kept secret from the honorees themselves. President Joe Biden welcomed the honorees to the White House before the event, saying that the performing arts “reflect who we are as Americans and as human beings.” WASHINGTON (AP) — For more than a decade, Sandra Day O’Connor was the only woman on the Supreme Court. And she was the first female justice. Now the court has a record four. There was a time when O’Connor was known as the nation’s most powerful woman. That was before a woman led a presidential ticket and before a woman had served as secretary of state. O'Connor wielded considerable political clout with a pragmatic approach to the law that at times irritated colleagues both to her left and right. O’Connor retired from the court in 2006. She died Friday in Phoenix of complications of related to advanced dementia and a respiratory illness. She was 93. NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. health officials say flu is picking up steam while RSV lung infections may be peaking. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday that COVID-19 remains the main cause of hospitalizations and deaths in the country. The agency said a surge in RSV infections may be about to peak. And CDC officials say they are also looking into reports of outbreaks of pneumonia in two states, but say they don’t believe it’s due to anything unusual. As the flu season progresses, 11 states are now reporting a high level of illnesses. Oregon State, Washington State and the Mountain West have announced a football scheduling agreement for the 2024 season. It gives the two schools six opponents each and keeps open the possibility that they will operate as a two-team conference for at least a year. All 12 Mountain West schools will be involved and Oregon State and Washington State will each play three homes games and three road games against members of the conference. The Mountain West will play a seven-game conference schedule and the games against Oregon State and Washington State will not count against the conference standings. In this week's AP Religion Roundup, charges in a New York assassination plot against a religious separatist leader could complicate US-India relations. —The Associated Press About this program Host Terry Lipshetz is a senior producer for Lee Enterprises. Besides producing the daily Hot off the Wire news podcast, Terry conducts periodic interviews for this Behind the Headlines program, co-hosts the Streamed & Screened movies and television program and is the producer of Across the Sky, a podcast dedicated to weather and climate. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. Learn more here.

Welcome to the weekly bonus episode of Hot off the Wire, where we look back at some of the top headlines from the week in the world of sports and entertainment.  I’m Terry Lipshetz, Managing Editor of the National Newsroom at Lee Enterprises and your host. Subscribe to Hot Off The Wire through Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts so you don’t miss daily news updates. As always, be sure to check out our latest episode of Streamed & Screened, a podcast dedicated to movies and television.  Listen to the latest episode of Streamed & Screened here.  This week Bruce Miller and I discuss more than a dozen movies to watch between now and the end of the year. This week’s top headlines include: ABC is planning an earlier broadcast in hopes of attracting more viewers to the Oscars. Taylor Swift was Spotify’s most-streamed artist of 2023. Aaron Rodgers began a 21-day practice window that leaves the door open for a return this season. Those stories and more from The Associated Press. — Compiled and narrated by Terry Lipshetz from Associated Press reports About this program Host Terry Lipshetz is a senior producer for Lee Enterprises. Besides producing the daily Hot off the Wire news podcast, Terry conducts periodic interviews for this Behind the Headlines program, co-hosts the Streamed & Screened movies and television program and is the producer of Across the Sky, a podcast dedicated to weather and climate. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. Learn more here.

On the version of Hot off the Wire posted Dec. 2 at 6 a.m. CT: Kraft Heinz says it’s bringing dairy-free macaroni and cheese to the U.S. for the first time. The company says the new recipe has the same creamy texture and flavor of the beloved 85-year-old original but replaces dairy with ingredients like fava bean protein and coconut oil powder. Kraft NotMac&Cheese will be rolled out to U.S. stores over the next few months. It was developed in collaboration with Not Co., a Chicago startup that makes plant-based milk, burgers and other products. Kraft and Not Co. formed a joint venture last year and have also developed plant-based cheese slices and mayonnaise. Electric vehicle sales are expected to hit a record 9% of all passenger vehicles in the U.S. this year, according to Atlas Public Policy. That will be up from 7.3% of new car sales in 2022. This will be the first year U.S. EV sales surpass 1 million, and they will probably reach between 1.3 million and 1.4 million cars. Electric vehicle prices in the U.S. have been falling. Although the numbers show significant progress for electrification in the US, the nation is lagging behind countries like China, Germany, and Norway. The energy used by cars and their CO2 emissions could have dropped by over 30% in the past decade if not for the world’s growing taste for SUVs, a new report from the Global Fuel Economy Initiative suggests. Electric vehicles are a solution, but large gas-powered cars are incredibly popular, especially in the U.S., and their overall market share keeps growing. Large SUVs like the Chevrolet Tahoe, Toyota Sequoia, or Nissan Armada have highway fuel efficiency of just 28, 24, and 19 miles per gallon, respectively. NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. life expectancy rose last year, but it still isn’t close to what it was before the COVID-19 pandemic. It was up by more than a year in 2022, after plunging two straight years at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. It's now 77 years, 6 months — about what it was two decades ago. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the numbers on Wednesday. Researchers say the rise was mainly due the waning pandemic. The snapshot statistic is considered one of the most important measures of the health of the U.S. population. PHOENIX (AP) — The United States is ill-prepared to ensure housing and care for the growing ranks of America's older people. That's the conclusion of a new report being released Thursday by Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies. Without enough government assistance many older adults will have to forgo needed care or rely on family and friends for assistance. Many will become homeless. Officials at the center say more governmental assistance could better help the upsurge of older Americans who are baby boomers born after World War II. Creative ideas are needed to help house people with fixed or dwindling incomes. NEW YORK (AP) — The COVID-19 pandemic upended the work habits of people around the world, with millions working from home, at least for part of their week. Workers have returned in waves back to the office on some days, but navigating that transition is a significant hurdle for employers and workers alike. And many simply don’t want to restore the pre-COVID status quo. Top factors behind this resistance include a sense of losing flexibility or throwing off a better work-life balance, as well as often lengthy and costly commutes. Two surveys conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago give a glimpse into the challenges and tensions that arrive with return to office plans. INDIAN ROCKS BEACH, Fla. (AP) — It's been a record-breaking year for sea turtles in Florida. Just as they have for millions of years, the turtles have crawled onto beaches, digging pits in the sand to lay their eggs. Florida's preliminary count shows more than 133,840 loggerhead turtle nests and 76,500 green turtle nests, breaking records set years ago. Other southeastern U.S. states also report high numbers. But only one in 1,000 hatchlings lives to adulthood and climate change is threatening their species as beaches disappear under rising seas. Hotter sand makes more females, and the hatchlings are smaller and slower. Experts say their future remains ominous. LONDON (AP) — The British Antarctic Survey says that one of the world’s largest icebergs is drifting beyond Antarctic waters after being grounded for more than three decades. The iceberg known as A23a split from the Antarctic’s Filchner Ice Shelf in 1986. But it became stuck to the ocean floor and had remained for many years in the Weddell Sea. The iceberg is about three times the size of New York City and more than twice the size of Greater London. Andrew Fleming from the British Antarctic Survey told the BBC on Friday that the iceberg has been drifting for the past year and now appears to be picking up speed and moving past the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula helped by wind and ocean currents. ELMSFORD, N.Y. (AP) — A growing number of states are working to keep food out of landfills over concerns the waste is taking up too much space and posing environmental problems. Globally, about a third of food is wasted. In the United States, it’s even higher, at 40%. California and some others have passed laws requiring food waste to be composted while others including New York require supermarkets and other businesses to redirect food to food pantries. They argue it saves landfill space, cuts methane emissions and also gives poor families more choices. New York says it already has recycled or donated 5 million pounds of leftover food. The oil and gas sector, one of the major emitters of planet-warming gases, will need a rapid and substantial overhaul for the world to avoid even worse extremes fueled by human-caused climate change. That's according to a report released Thursday. The International Energy Agency says the current investment of $800 billion a year for the oil and gas sector will need to be slashed in half and emissions need to fall by 60% to give the world a fighting chance to meet its climate goals. It also found that the sector’s investment into clean technologies like solar and wind only account for 1% of the global total. WENDEN, Ariz. (AP) — Worries about future water supplies from ancient aquifers are bubbling up in western rural Arizona. Some neighbors complain that their backyard wells have dried up since an Emirati agribusiness began farming alfalfa nearby. One farmer worries that state officials someday may try to divert the area’s groundwater for Phoenix’s future needs. Experts say tensions are inevitable as companies in climate-challenged countries such as the United Arab Emirates look to faraway places like rural Arizona for water and land they need to cultivate forage material and commodities. —The Associated Press About this program Host Terry Lipshetz is a senior producer for Lee Enterprises. Besides producing the daily Hot off the Wire news podcast, Terry conducts periodic interviews for this Behind the Headlines program, co-hosts the Streamed & Screened movies and television program and is the producer of Across the Sky, a podcast dedicated to weather and climate. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. Learn more here.

On the version of Hot off the Wire posted Dec. 1 at 6:30 a.m. CT: WASHINGTON (AP) — In an alternate reality, the prime-time showdown between California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom and Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis could have been a preview of a 2024 general election debate. Instead, Thursday's 90-minute meeting was a hard-to-explain event that pitted one struggling Republican presidential hopeful against a Democratic rival who may or may not seek the presidency in four years. DeSantis called Newsom “a slick, slippery politician whose state is failing.” Newsom defended California and shifted the discussion to DeSantis’ stagnant 2024 presidential bid. The governors were eager to represent their parties on the national stage as they battled over the economy, pandemic restrictions and President Joe Biden’s leadership and traded personal insults. DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli fighter jets hit targets in the Gaza Strip minutes after a weeklong truce expired, as the war with Hamas resumed in full force. Black smoke billowed from the besieged territory Friday, and Israel dropped leaflets over parts of southern Gaza urging people to leave their homes, suggesting it was preparing to widen its offensive. In Israel, sirens warning of incoming rockets blared at several communal farms near Gaza, a sign that militants also restarted attacks. There were no reports of hits. The renewed hostilities heightened concerns for Palestinians in the tiny coastal enclave as well as about 140 hostages who remain there. Qatar said negotiators were still trying to reach an agreement on restarting the cease-fire. KHARKIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the war with Russia is in a new stage, with winter expected to complicate fighting after a summer counteroffensive that failed to produce desired results due to enduring shortages of weapons and ground forces. Despite the setbacks, however, he says in an interview with The Associated Press that “we are not backing down.” Zelenskyy also said he fears the Israel-Hamas war threatens to overshadow the conflict in Ukraine, with competing political agendas and limited resources reducing military aid. And his concerns are amplified by the tumult that inevitably arises during a U.S. election year and its implications for continued aid to his country. LAS VEGAS (AP) — Two Nevada state troopers have died in a hit-and-run while helping another driver and a suspect is in custody. Las Vegas police say the driver was impaired early Thursday morning and faces charges of DUI and reckless driving resulting in death. Police say the troopers were checking on a sleeping driver on the I-15 freeway around 3:30 a.m. when they were struck. The suspect was found hours later. The state police have identified the officers as Sgt. Michael Abbate and Trooper Alberto Felix. Gov. Joe Lombardo says the deaths are a devastating loss for Las Vegas and the entire state. The I-15 was where another trooper was killed in 2021 during a vehicle pursuit. WASHINGTON (AP) — Rep. George Santos of New York will confront a third effort to expel him from the House on Friday, sensing the vote is likely to be his last and intent on not going away quietly. The first-term Republican could well become just the sixth member of the House to be ousted by colleagues. Of the previous expulsions, three were for disloyalty to the Union during the Civil War and two were for being convicted of crimes in federal court. Santos' challenge to colleagues to take the “hard vote” is an appeal to those lawmakers who worry that a new precedent is being set for the chamber’s harshest punishment. WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee have voted to authorize subpoenas for two prominent conservatives who arranged luxury travel and other benefits for Supreme Court justices. But Republicans are challenging the legitimacy of the action and pledging to withhold support for enforcing the legal. The committee chairman, Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, pushed through the vote in the meeting’s final moments on Thursday after Republicans had walked out. The vote from the 11 Democrats would authorize subpoenas for Republican megadonor Harlan Crow and conservative activist Leonard Leo. But without bipartisan backing, the subpoenas probably won't be enforced because that would take 60 votes in the closely divided Senate. WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has gotten his turn at bringing the holiday spirit to Washington. The president and his wife, Jill, participated in the annual tradition of lighting the National Christmas Tree on the Ellipse near the White House. This year's tree is a 40-foot Norway spruce from West Virginia’s Monongahela National Forest. There was a moment's doubt earlier this week about whether Thursday's lighting ceremony would go ahead as planned after the tree was toppled by powerful winds. But it was upright again within hours after the National Park Service replaced a cable that helps secure it. DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Britain's King Charles III warned of “a starker and darker world” unless leaders change course during the U.N. climate conference in Dubai. HELENA, Mont. (AP) — A federal judge has blocked Montana's first-in-the-nation law banning the video-sharing app TikTok in the state while a legal challenge to the law moves through the courts. U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy says the ban “oversteps state power and infringes on the Constitutional right of users and businesses.” The ban had been scheduled to take effect Jan. 1. Montana’s Republican-controlled Legislature made the state the first in the U.S. to pass a complete ban on the app. The ban was based on the argument that the Chinese government could gain access to user information from TikTok. The app's parent company is based in Beijing. The Cowboys rally past the Seahawks, two lengthy NBA losing streaks continue but one comes to an end, the Red Wings continue to play well, and an NCAA women's college basketball head coach records a milestone victory. Correspondent Mike Reeves reports. NEW YORK (AP) — A New York appeals court has reinstated a gag order that barred Donald Trump from commenting about court personnel after he disparaged a law clerk in his New York civil fraud trial. The trial judge, Arthur Engoron, imposed the gag order Oct. 3 after Trump posted a derogatory comment about the judge’s law clerk to social media. The post included a baseless allegation about the clerk’s personal life. It came the second day of the trial in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit. It alleges Trump exaggerated his wealth on financial statements used to secure loans and make deals. The Republican former president denies any wrongdoing. WASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday proposed the strongest overhaul of lead in drinking water rules in more than three decades. If finalized, it would force most utilities to replace lead water pipes within 10 years. There are more than 9 million lead pipes still in the ground in the United States and they are typically the biggest source of lead in drinking water. Lead is particularly dangerous to young children. It lowers IQ scores, damages their development and can increase blood pressure in adults. The EPA proposal would also force utilities to act more quickly to reduce lead levels and improve how they test for lead. WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal officials say they will give investigators a better tool for understanding accidents and close calls between planes. The Federal Aviation Administration said Thursday it will propose that new planes have cockpit voice recorders that keep 25 hours of sound, up from the current two hours. The idea is to prevent valuable information from being lost. In one case, investigators couldn't hear what American Airlines pilots were doing before they crossed a runway right in front of a Delta jet taking off from JFK Airport in New York. That's because the American Airlines pilots took off for London, and whatever they said to each other during the close call was erased two hours later. WASHINGTON (AP) — Meta says it has found and disabled thousands of fake Facebook accounts linked to China that were used to spread politically partisan content in the United States before next year’s election. The accounts disclosed Thursday were designed to look as though they were run by everyday Americans. The network reposted content from the right and the left in an apparent effort to inflame political tensions. Meta's executives said Thursday they're guarding against similar efforts to interfere with elections next year in the U.S. and elsewhere. Critics say Meta hasn't done enough to address its role in spreading misinformation and hate speech. California-based Meta hasn't publicly linked the network to China’s government. LONDON (AP) — Shane MacGowan, the boozy, rabble-rousing singer and chief songwriter of The Pogues, who infused traditional Irish music with the energy and spirit of punk, has died. He was 65. His family said in a statement Thursday that "it is with the deepest sorrow and heaviest of hearts that we announce the passing of our most beautiful, darling and dearly beloved Shane Macgowan.” The singer died peacefully early Thursday with his family by his side, the statement added. The musician had been hospitalized in Dublin for several months after being diagnosed with viral encephalitis in late 2022. He was discharged last week, ahead of his upcoming birthday on Christmas Day. Academy Awards enthusiasts won’t have to stay up quite as late to hear the best picture winner in March. The 96th Oscars will begin one hour early, with the official show starting at 7 p.m. Eastern for the first time, ABC said Thursday. The official pre-show will also begin earlier, at 6:30 p.m. Eastern. The show has traditionally begun at 8 p.m. Despite various experiments to keep the runtime to three hours, the broadcast has sometimes stretched into the 11 o’clock hour. The 96th Oscars will air live on ABC on March 10 from the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. Nominations will be announced on Jan. 23. LONDON (AP) — The first trans-Atlantic flight by a commercial jet powered solely by so-called sustainable aviation fuel has flown from London to New York. The Virgin Atlantic flight aimed to achieve what supporters called “jet zero" to make air travel more environmentally friendly. But large hurdles remain in making the fuel widely available. While governments have long talked about decarbonizing air travel, the transition has been moving at the pace of a dirigible. Sustainable aviation fuel reduces greenhouse gas emissions by about 70% but is in short supply. BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The North American wolverine will receive long-delayed threatened species protections under a Biden administration proposal. Wednesday’s determination that the species is threatened with extinction follows years of scientists' warnings that climate change will likely melt away the elusive species’ snowy mountain refuges. Wolverines were wiped out across most of the U.S. by the early 1900s from unregulated trapping and poisoning campaigns. About 300 surviving animals in the contiguous U.S. live in fragmented, isolated groups at high elevations in the Northern Rockies. A federal judge in 2022 had ordered President Joe Biden's administration to make a final decision on whether to seek protections that were rejected under former President Donald Trump. —The Associated Press About this program Host Terry Lipshetz is a senior producer for Lee Enterprises. Besides producing the daily Hot off the Wire news podcast, Terry conducts periodic interviews for this Behind the Headlines program, co-hosts the Streamed & Screened movies and television program and is the producer of Across the Sky, a podcast dedicated to weather and climate. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. Learn more here.

On the version of Hot off the Wire posted Nov. 30 at 7:15 a.m. CT: WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger has died, his consulting firm says. He was 100. Kissinger dominated foreign policy as the United States extricated itself from Vietnam and broke down barriers with China. He exerted uncommon influence on global affairs under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, earning both harsh criticism and the Nobel Peace Prize. The German-born diplomat got the U.S. out of Vietnam after bloody, costly years of delay and into China in a sudden burst of secret diplomacy. Decades later, his name still provoked impassioned debate over foreign policy actions long past. He stands among the 20th century’s commanding figures in U.S. foreign policy. TOKYO (AP) — Global leaders are paying tribute to former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, but there is also sharp criticism of the man who remained an influential figure decades after his official service as one of the most powerful diplomats in American history. Kissinger, who died Wednesday at 100, drew praise as a skilled defender of U.S. interests. On social media, though, he was widely called a war criminal who left lasting damage throughout the world. Kissinger dominated foreign policy as the U.S. withdrew from Vietnam and established ties with China. Current Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that “few people were better students of history” and “even fewer people did more to shape history than Henry Kissinger.” PLAINS, Ga. (AP) — With her frail husband as a silent witness, Rosalynn Carter was celebrated by her family and closest friends at her funeral in Plains, Georgia, the same tiny town where she and Jimmy Carter were born. The former president attended the intimate gathering at Maranatha Baptist Church. She and her husband spent decades there welcoming guests. Maranatha Pastor Tony Lowden gave tribute to what he called “the life and legacy of the greatest first lady" and said that as a humanitarian, she "served every nation around the world.” Hundreds watched her motorcade through town. Her burial plot is in view of the front porch of the home where the 39th American president still lives. LOS ANGELES (AP) — It’s her, hi — Taylor Swift is Spotify’s 2023 most-played artist. According to Spotify Wrapped, Swift was 2023’s most-streamed artist globally, raking in more than 26.1 billion global streams since January. That means the pop superstar has dethroned Puerto Rican reggaetonero Bad Bunny, who held the coveted title for three years in a row since 2020. He’s in the second slot in 2023, followed by The Weeknd in third, Drake in fourth, and regional Mexican musician Peso Pluma in fifth. Bad Bunny's 2022 album “Un Verano Sin Ti” was Spotify’s most-streamed album for the second year in a row, raking in 4.5 billion global streams since the start of the year. LONDON (AP) — Elton John has urged British lawmakers to do more to fight HIV and AIDS. He says the U.K. can be the first country in the world “to defeat this awful virus.” The British star spoke to dozens of lawmakers and campaigners in the grand Speaker’s House of Parliament on Wednesday evening at an event honoring his dedication to fighting HIV. He told lawmakers: “I implore you not to waste your allotted time as political leaders." John set up his AIDS Foundation in 1992 and has helped raise millions of dollars to prevent HIV infections and reduce stigma. The Parliament reception for John came ahead of World AIDS Day, which takes place on Friday. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Daryl Hall has filed a court declaration that accuses his longtime music partner John Oates of committing the “ultimate partnership betrayal” by planning to sell his share of the Hall & Oates duo’s joint venture without the other’s permission. In the declaration filed Wednesday in a Nashville chancery court, Hall also lamented the deterioration of his relationship with and trust in his musical partner of more than a half-century. The court filing says the joint venture, named Whole Oats Enterprises LLP, includes Hall & Oates trademarks, personal name and likeness rights, record royalty income and website and social media assets. Oates responded in court that Hall had been trying to stand alone outside of the group for years. NEW YORK (AP) — Frances Sternhagen, the veteran character actor who won two Tony Awards and became a familiar maternal face to TV viewers later in life in such shows as “Cheers,” “ER,” “Sex and the City” and “The Closer,” has died. She was 93. Sternhagen won a Tony for best featured actress in a play in 1974 for her role in Neil Simon’s “The Good Doctor” and a second one in 1995 for a revival of “The Heiress.” She was nominated for Tonys four other times, for starring or featured roles in “The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window,” “Equus,” “Angel” and “Morning’s at Seven.” In sports: Big nights for Zion Williamson and Nikola Jokic in the NBA, a few upsets in men’s college basketball and another win for the Rangers in the NHL. FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — The New York Jets opened the 21-day practice window for quarterback Aaron Rodgers. The move Wednesday is the next step in the four-time NFL MVP’s rehabilitation from a torn Achilles tendon. Coach Robert Saleh said Rodgers, who turns 40 on Saturday, was cleared for some football activities but was limited at practice and isn't cleared for contact. Saleh emphasized it’s not necessarily a signal Rodgers will play again this season as it is the next step of the quarterback’s rehabilitation process. At the end of the 21-day period, the Jets will decide whether to activate him or he’ll spend the rest of this season on injured reserve. The family that runs the Las Vegas Sands casino company says it has entered agreements to buy the majority stake of the Dallas Mavericks from team owner Mark Cuban. The agreement would be in the valuation range of $3.5 billion, according to an AP source, and will take weeks for the league to process. Cuban would retain control of basketball operations in the deal. The family of Miriam Adelson, widow of billionaire casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, has announced it is selling $2 billion of her shares to buy the team. The Newport Beach, California, Police Department say its detectives are conducting an investigation into an accusation that Oklahoma City Thunder guard Josh Giddey had an improper relationship with an underage girl. In a since-deleted post, an anonymous social media user said a girl who is seen with Giddey in videos and photographs was a high school junior at the time. The social media account has since been deactivated. Giddey is an Australian who turned 21 in October. The NBA said last week that it is investigating. Giddey has declined to comment. —The Associated Press About this program Host Terry Lipshetz is a senior producer for Lee Enterprises. Besides producing the daily Hot off the Wire news podcast, Terry conducts periodic interviews for this Behind the Headlines program, co-hosts the Streamed & Screened movies and television program and is the producer of Across the Sky, a podcast dedicated to weather and climate. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. Learn more here.

On the version of Hot off the Wire posted Nov. 29 at 7 a.m. CT: RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — International mediators appeared to have made progress Wednesday on extending the truce in Gaza. They are encouraging the territory’s Hamas rulers to keep freeing hostages in return for the release of Palestinian prisoners and further respite from Israel’s air and ground offensive. The deal will otherwise expire within a day. Israel has welcomed the release of dozens of hostages in recent days and says it will maintain the truce if Hamas keeps freeing captives. But its other major goal is the annihilation of the armed group that has ruled Gaza for 16 years and orchestrated the deadly attack on Israel that triggered the war. That seems less and less likely. TOKYO (AP) — A crew member who was recovered from the ocean after a U.S. military Osprey aircraft carrying six people crashed Wednesday off southern Japan has been pronounced dead. Japanese coast guard officials say the cause of the crash and the status of the five others on the aircraft were not immediately known. Initial reports said the aircraft was carrying eight people, but the U.S. military later revised the number to six. The Osprey is a tiltrotor aircraft that can function as a helicopter and a turboprop aircraft. U.S. and Japanese officials say the aircraft belonged to Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo. U.S. Air Force officials at Yokota said they are still confirming information and had no immediate comment. CLEVELAND (AP) — An early blast of cold and snow shut down schools in Cleveland on Tuesday and made driving on heavily traveled Interstate 90 in northern Ohio treacherous. A lake-effect snow warning was issued by the National Weather Service for areas from Cleveland eastward into Erie, Pennsylvania. Just before 11 a.m. Tuesday, the weather service said observers had reported 13 inches or more in Ashtabula County in Ohio and Erie County in Pennsylvania along with 11.6 inches in Lake County, Ohio. A foot or more of snow also had fallen across a largely rural stretch of upstate New York east of Lake Ontario, with one spot recording 23 inches. PLAINS, Ga. (AP) — Rosalynn Carter is set to receive her final accolades and farewells in Plains, Georgia. It's the same tiny town where the former first lady was born. There, she and former President Jimmy Carter based his 1976 presidential campaign and returned after their White House years as they became global humanitarians. Rosalynn Carter died Nov. 19. Her funeral Wednesday will be held at Maranatha Baptist Church. The service comes on the last of three days of public tributes. The 99-year-old former president attended a memorial service Tuesday in Atlanta. Rosalynn Carter will be buried in a plot she will one day share with her husband. WASHINGTON (AP) — The global economy, which has proved surprisingly resilient this year, is expected to falter next year under the strain of wars, still-elevated inflation and continued high interest rates. The Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development estimated Wednesday that international growth will slow to 2.7% in 2024 from an expected 2.9% pace this year. That would amount to the slowest growth since the pandemic year of 2020. A key factor is that the OECD expects the world’s two biggest economies, the United States and China, to decelerate next year. The U.S. economy is forecast to expand just 1.5% in 2024, from 2.4% in 2023, as the Federal Reserve’s interest rate increases restrain growth. LOS ANGELES (AP) — Sean “Diddy” Combs has temporarily stepped down as chairman of his television network Revolt amid multiple sexual abuse allegations against the music mogul. Revolt announced Combs’ decision on social media Tuesday. It’s not clear when he will return to his media company – which said Combs previously had “no operational or day-to-day role” at the network. Combs declined to comment on the matter. The network has been preparing to celebrate its 10th anniversary. Earlier this month, R&B singer Cassie accused Combs of raping and beating her over the duration of their decadeslong, on-and-off relationship. After Cassie, two more women came forward to accuse him of sexual abuse. DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The Emirati president-designate for the upcoming United Nations COP28 climate talks has forcefully denied a report alleging his nation planned to use the summit to strike oil and gas deal, a day before the summit was due to being. Sultan al-Jaber, who also leads the massive state-run Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., called the allegations Wednesday from a BBC report “an attempt to undermine the work of the COP28 presidency” before the talks begin Thursday. The report cited what it described as “leaked briefing documents” the broadcaster described as showing the Emirates planned to discuss fossil fuel deals with 15 nations. The BBC did not immediately respond to a request for comment. BLUFFTON, S.C. (AP) — Nikki Haley says former President Donald Trump causes too much chaos to be successful in a second White House term. She reiterated her argument about the GOP front-runner at a large town hall Monday in her home state of South Carolina. The former governor and United Nations ambassador drew the largest crowd of her primary campaign so far as she tries to close the gap with Trump just weeks before the Iowa caucuses kick off the Republican nominating calendar. Haley says the time is now right for a new generation in U.S. leadership. Officials at a satellite campus of the University of South Carolina said around 2,500 people gathered for the event. NEW YORK (AP) — It’s not just you. Across the U.S., prices at the pump have felt milder in recent months. Gas prices have fallen or remained steady since September 19 — marking about a 70-day trajectory of decline. That's according to Andrew Gross, a spokesperson for motor club AAA. As of Tuesday, the national average for gas prices stood just below $3.25. That’s down 25 cents from a month ago and 30 cents less than this time last year. Experts point to recent declines in oil prices and a seasonal dip in demand, which is projected to continue in the coming months. A change in trajectory is always possible of course — particularly if there are shifts in the larger global market. WASHINGTON (AP) — A key Federal Reserve official raised the possibility that the Fed could decide to cut its benchmark interest rate as early as spring if inflation keeps declining steadily. The official, Christopher Waller, cautioned that inflation is still too high and that it’s not yet certain if a recent slowdown in price increases can be sustained. But he sounded the most optimistic notes of any Fed official since the central bank launched its aggressive streak of rate hikes. Waller is regarded as a relatively “hawkish" official, meaning that he typically favors higher rates to combat inflation rather than low rates to boost job growth. But he has also become somewhat of a bellwether for the Fed’s overall rate-setting committee. American consumers are feeling slightly more confident this month as the all-important holiday shopping season kicks into high gear. The Conference Board, a business research group, said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index rose to 102 from 99.1 in October. Analysts were expecting a reading of 101. The October reading was revised down from an original reading of 102.6. The index measuring Americans short-term expectations for income, business and job market rose to 77.8 in November from 72.7 in October. It was the third straight reading below 80 for future expectations, which historically signals a recession within a year. NEW YORK (AP) — Sports Illustrated is the latest media company damaged by being less than forthcoming about who or what is writing its stories at the dawn of the artificial intelligence age. The website Futurism reported that the once-grand magazine used articles with “authors” who apparently don't exist, with photos generated by AI. The magazine denied claims that some articles themselves were AI-assisted, but has cut ties with a vendor it hired to produce the articles. The Gannett newspaper chain and the tech website CNET each had unsuccessful experiments with AI this past year and had kept readers in the dark about what they were doing. College football's four unbeaten majors top the College Football Playoff rankings, the NBA's in-season tournament has its elite eight, college basketball's top-ranked team wins again, and a win for the Wild's new coach in his debut. —The Associated Press About this program Host Terry Lipshetz is a senior producer for Lee Enterprises. Besides producing the daily Hot off the Wire news podcast, Terry conducts periodic interviews for this Behind the Headlines program, co-hosts the Streamed & Screened movies and television program and is the producer of Across the Sky, a podcast dedicated to weather and climate. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. Learn more here.

On the version of Hot off the Wire posted Nov. 28 at 7:15 a.m. CT: WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration has told Israel that it must operate with far greater precision in southern Gaza if it renews a ground campaign aimed at eradicating the Hamas militant group. That's according to senior administration officials who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House. The officials said President Joe Biden and other administration officials have underscored to the Israelis that it is critical that the expected military campaign to eradicate Hamas in the south must be done in a way that does not cause “significant further displacement” of Palestinian civilians. One official said Israelis have been receptive when U.S. officials have raised these concerns. BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) — A man pleaded not guilty to attempted murder Monday in the weekend shooting of three college students of Palestinian descent in Vermont. The attack is being investigated as a possible hate crime. The three young men were shot and injured Saturday while walking near the University of Vermont campus. Forty-eight-year-old Jason Eaton was arrested Sunday and made a brief court appearance from jail Monday. He's charged with three counts of attempted murder. The U.S. Justice Department and state officials are also investigating whether the shooting was a hate crime. Protests have been widespread and tensions have escalated in the U.S. as the death toll rises in the Israel-Hamas war. ATLANTA (AP) — Rosalynn Carter will be memorialized Tuesday with classical music and beloved hymns, some of her favorite Biblical passages, and a rare gathering of all living U.S. first ladies and multiple presidents, including her 99-year-old husband Jimmy Carter. The funeral at Glenn Memorial Church in Atlanta falls on the second of a three-day schedule of public events celebrating the former first lady and global humanitarian. She died Nov. 19 at home in Plains, Georgia, at the age of 96. Jimmy Carter's participation in his wife's memorials has been a day-to-day decision because of his own frail health. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden will attend. They are longtime friends of the Carters. Country music stars Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood will sing. WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Donald Trump says he wants to reopen the contentious fight over the Affordable Care Act. He posted on his social media site Saturday that he is “seriously looking at alternatives” to “Obamacare” if he wins a second term. Democratic President Joe Biden’s campaign cast the call as yet another “extremist” proposal from the GOP front-runner. The back-and-forth points to what could be a key issue in a general election rematch between Trump and Biden. Health care has generally been a better issue for Democrats than Republicans, who have largely abandoned efforts to repeal the law in recent years. POCATELLO, Idaho (AP) — Police say a thick layer of fog is believed to have caused a roughly 30-vehicle collision on an Idaho interstate. The collision occurred Monday morning on eastbound Interstate 86 near Pocatello. Police say the fog caused visibility to significantly decrease in a short amount of time, slowing vehicles and causing a chain reaction crash. Police said one person with minor injuries was taken by ambulance to a hospital. Several others were taken by personal vehicles. Traffic on I-86 was blocked between exits 56 and 59 for seven hours, allowing for emergency responders and tow trucks to assist those involved and to clear the scene. WASHINGTON (AP) — Jill Biden has chosen a White House holiday décor that she hopes will inspire guests to feel like kids again. “Magic, wonder and joy” is her theme. Guests will walk underneath the branches of a tree to enter. They will stroll along a hallway decorated with oversized holiday candy and other sweets. They will see Santa's sleigh and reindeer suspended above the grand foyer. The first lady unveiled the décor on Monday. It also celebrates the 200th anniversary of the publication of the poem commonly known as ”’Twas the Night Before Christmas.” She plans Wednesday to unveil a holiday ice rink on the White House lawn. Families of children and educators killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting have made an offer to conspiracy theorist Alex Jones to pay only a fraction of the $1.5 billion in legal judgments they won against him. Lawyers for the families said in a recent filing in Jones' bankruptcy case that they would accept at least $85 million over 10 years. The families were awarded the $1.5 billion in lawsuits against Jones for his calling the 2012 Connecticut school shooting a hoax and for the threats and harassment they endured from Jones' followers. Jones' bankruptcy lawyer said in court Monday that the $85 million settlement offer was too high. WASHINGTON (AP) — Experts in constitutional law and the military say the Insurrection Act gives presidents tremendous power with few restraints. Recent statements by former President Donald Trump raise questions about how he might use it if he wins another term. The front-runner for the 2024 Republican nomination has spoken openly about his plans should he win the presidency, including using the military at the border and in cities struggling with violent crime. His plans also have included using the military against foreign drug cartels. The Insurrection Act, a law first crafted in the nation’s infancy, is one of the most substantial exceptions to the Posse Comitatus Act, which generally prohibits using the military for law enforcement purposes. In sports, the Bears win on a last minute field goal, the Panthers fire coach Frank Reich, LeBron James suffers his most lopsided loss, and the Wild fires coach Dean Evason. Also, Texas A&M hires Duke coach and former Aggies defensive coordinator Mike Elko to replace Jimbo Fisher. First this fall, a new round with COVID-19 shuttered Stephen Colbert’s “The Late Show.” Now the show is again sidelined as the host recovers from a burst appendix. The comedian revealed on social media Monday that he’s recovering after surgery, wiping out planned shows for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. “Going forward, all emails to my appendix will be handled by my pancreas,” he joked. Colbert had a busy three shows planned, including guests Jennifer Garner, Baz Luhrmann, Patrick Stewart and Kelsey Grammer, the return of former bandleader Jon Batiste and Barbra Streisand was to take “The Colbert Questionert.” —The Associated Press About this program Host Terry Lipshetz is a senior producer for Lee Enterprises. Besides producing the daily Hot off the Wire news podcast, Terry conducts periodic interviews for this Behind the Headlines program, co-hosts the Streamed & Screened movies and television program and is the producer of Across the Sky, a podcast dedicated to weather and climate. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. Learn more here.

On the version of Hot off the Wire posted Nov. 27 at 7:15 a.m. CT: TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel and Hamas appear open to extending a cease-fire in Gaza that has halted their deadliest and most destructive war but is set to expire after Monday. A fourth exchange of militant-held hostages for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel is planned for later in the day. Israel has said it would extend the cease-fire by one day for every 10 additional hostages released. Hamas has also said it hopes to extend the four-day truce. The cease-fire came into effect Friday after several weeks of indirect negotiations mediated by the United States, Qatar and Egypt. Police say a suspect has been arrested in the shooting of three young men of Palestinian descent who were attending a Thanksgiving holiday gathering near the University of Vermont campus. Police say the three were shot and injured Saturday night in Burlington. One of the men has suffered serious injuries and the others are in stable condition. Police Chief Jon Murad says a white man with a gun approached the trio, who were walking, and fired at least four rounds before fleeing. Murad says the shooting may have been a hate crime. Protests have been widespread and tensions have escalated in the U.S. as the death toll rises in the Israel-Hamas war. PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Oregon’s largest school district says it has reached a tentative agreement with its teachers union and its roughly 45,000 students will be back in class on Monday after more than three weeks. The agreement must still be voted on by teachers who have been on the picket line since Nov. 1 over issues of pay, class sizes and planning time. It must also be approved by the school board. Portland Public Schools students missed 11 days of school before the district began its weeklong Thanksgiving break. As the strike dragged on, tensions rose and one school board member's rental property was vandalized. Consumers are scouring the internet for online deals as they begin to cap off the five-day post-Thanksgiving shopping bonanza with Cyber Monday. Even though e-commerce is now part and parcel of our everyday lives, Cyber Monday – a term coined back in 2005 by the National Retail Federation – continues to be the biggest online shopping day of the year. For several major retailers, the “Cyber Monday” sale is a days-long event that began over the weekend. Consumer spending for Cyber Week - the five major shopping days between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday - provides a strong indication on how much shoppers are willing to spend during the holiday season. NEW YORK (AP) — The Walt Disney Co.’s “Wish” had been expected to rule the Thanksgiving weekend box office, but moviegoers instead feasted on leftovers, as “The Hunger Games: Songbirds and Snakes” led ticket sales for the second weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday. Neither of the weekend’s top new releases — “Wish” and Ridley Scott’s “Napoleon” — could keep up with Lionsgate’s “Hunger Games” prequel. It led all films with $28.82 million over the weekend and $42 million over the five-day holiday frame. “Napoleon” outperformed expectations to take $32.5 million over the five-day weekend and an estimated $20.4 million Friday through Sunday. But “Wish” wobbled, coming in with $31.7 million over five days and $19.5 million Friday through Sunday. WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden will convene the first meeting of his supply chain resilience council. The Democratic president is using Monday's event to announce 30 actions to improve access to medicine and needed economic data and other programs tied to the production and shipment of goods. Biden's announcement comes after supply chain problems fueled higher inflation as the United States recovered from the coronavirus pandemic in 2021. Consumer prices are down from last year’s peaks. But polling shows that inflation remains a political challenge for Biden going into the 2024 presidential election. Jalen Hurts continues his MVP push as the NFL game of the day needs overtime to decide the Eagles and Bills, Patrick Mahomes is on his game Sunday, the Pittsburgh Steelers find their offense on the road, Trevor Lawrence puts up some hefty numbers and so does Jason Tatum in the NBA. NEW YORK (AP) — Rep. George Santos says he expected to be expelled from Congress following a scathing report by the House Ethics Committee that found substantial evidence of lawbreaking by the New York Republican. The comments on Friday came during a three-hour conversation on X Spaces in which Santos lashed out at colleagues and described the committee's report as “slanderous.” House investigators say Santos used campaign funds for personal purposes and caused the campaign to file false or incomplete reports. Since the release of the report earlier this month, several members of Congress who previously voted against expelling Santos have publicly reversed themselves. On Friday, Santos said he has done the math on the votes and “it doesn’t look really good.” NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Daryl Hall has sued his longtime music partner John Oates, arguing that his plan to sell off his share of a joint venture would violate a business agreement the duo had. The move quickly prompted a judge last week to temporarily block the sale during legal proceedings and arbitration. The lawsuit contends that in their roles as co-trustees, Oates and other defendants were moving to sell their part in Whole Oats Enterprises LLP to Primary Wave Music. The lawsuit says they were doing so without Hall’s consent and in violation of their business agreement while arbitration hadn't been completed. A court order Wednesday released more details from the case. NEW YORK (AP) — Merriam-Webster's word of the year for 2023 is “authentic.” Editor at large Peter Sokolowski told The Associated Press ahead of Monday's announcement that lookups for the word rose to new heights on the company’s website throughout the year. There are many reasons. It's an age of deepfakes and post-truth. The rise of artificial intelligence also contributed. So did talk of authentic cuisine, authentic voices and authentic selves. Sokolowski called 2023 a crisis year of authenticity. This year’s pick follows “gaslighting” in 2022. Authentic marks the 20th anniversary of Merriam-Webster choosing words of the year. Among the runners-up for 2023 were deepfake, implode and kibbutz. —The Associated Press About this program Host Terry Lipshetz is a senior producer for Lee Enterprises. Besides producing the daily Hot off the Wire news podcast, Terry conducts periodic interviews for this Behind the Headlines program, co-hosts the Streamed & Screened movies and television program and is the producer of Across the Sky, a podcast dedicated to weather and climate. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. Learn more here.

In the series "The Protein Problem," The Associated Press examines how different parts of the world can raise their livestock without exhausting the planet. AP correspondent Jaime Holguin reports on the story behind the story in a conversation with AP correspondent Jon Fahey.  AP correspondent Tiffany Wang also has several reports on different aspects of "The Protein Problem." Those include: Beef is a way of life in Texas, but it's hard on the planet. One rancher in America thinks she can change that. Demand for seafood is soaring, but oceans are giving up all they can. Can we farm fish in new ways? Learn about an environment-friendly method of fish farming that grows fish indoors. Pastoralists have raised livestock in harsh climates for millennia. What can they teach us today? Learn more about Mongolian pastoralism that are good for the environment. Poverty is killing the Amazon rainforest. Treating soil and farmers better can help save what's left. Learn about the dilemma of people in poverty and rainforest preservation in the Amazon. — Compiled and narrated by Terry Lipshetz from Associated Press reports About this program Host Terry Lipshetz is a senior producer for Lee Enterprises. Besides producing the daily Hot off the Wire news podcast, Terry conducts periodic interviews for this Behind the Headlines program, co-hosts the Streamed & Screened movies and television program and is the producer of Across the Sky, a podcast dedicated to weather and climate. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. Learn more here.

On the version of Hot off the Wire posted Nov. 24 at 6 a.m. CT: A new large study finds that the popular weight-loss drug Wegovy reduced the risk of serious heart problems by 20% in certain patients. The international trial showed the weekly injections prevented heart attacks, strokes and heart-related deaths. Wegovy is a high-dose version of the diabetes treatment Ozempic. The latest study tested Wegovy in people without the disease. It's being praised as a landmark study that could change the way doctors treat heart disease in some patients. The findings could also shift perceptions that a new class of obesity drugs are cosmetic treatments and put pressure on insurers to cover them. Federal regulators say a new version of the popular diabetes treatment Mounjaro can be sold as a weight-loss drug. The Food and Drug Administration approved drug named Zepbound on Wednesday. The drug has been shown to help dieters lose 40 to 60 pounds in testing. It is the latest diabetes drug approved for weight loss, joining Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy, a high-dose version of Ozempic. Short supply and high costs have limited access to both medications. The FDA approved the new drug for people considered obese or for those who are overweight and have a weight-related health condition. A new report says progress against childhood cancers has stalled in recent years for Black and Hispanic youth. Thursday's report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention looked at cancer death rates for children and teens over two decades. The rates for white, Hispanic and Black children started about the same and all went down during the first decade. But then over the next 10 years, only the rate for white children dipped a little lower. Overall, the cancer death rate for children and teenagers declined 24% over the two decades, with the biggest drop in deaths from leukemia. NEW YORK (AP) — Syphilis cases in U.S. newborns again are on the rise. It has health officials calling for new measures to stop the increase, including encouraging millions of sexually active women of childbearing age and their partners to get tested. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says more than 3,700 babies were born with congenital syphilis in 2022. That's 10 times more than a decade ago and a 32% increase from 2021. CDC officials say there needs to be expanded testing. The agency also suggests starting syphilis treatment as soon as a pregnant woman tests positive. LONDON (AP) — Britain’s medicines regulator has authorized the world’s first gene therapy treatment for sickle cell disease, in a move that could offer relief to thousands of people with the crippling illness in the U.K. In a statement on Thursday, the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency said it had approved Casgevy, the first medicine licensed using the gene editing tool CRISPR, which won its makers a Nobel prize in 2020. The medicine was approved for patients with sickle cell and thalassemia. Both diseases are caused by mistakes in the genes that carry hemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells that carry oxygen. —The Associated Press About this program Host Terry Lipshetz is a senior producer for Lee Enterprises. Besides producing the daily Hot off the Wire news podcast, Terry conducts periodic interviews for this Behind the Headlines program, co-hosts the Streamed & Screened movies and television program and is the producer of Across the Sky, a podcast dedicated to weather and climate. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. Learn more here.

On the version of Hot off the Wire posted Nov. 23 at 6 a.m. CT: Carriers like the U.S. Postal Service, FedEx and United Parcel Service have capacity to meet projected demand this holiday season, which is cheery news for shoppers and shippers alike. Like last year, there’s expected to be little drama compared to struggles during the pandemic when people hunkered down at home and turned to online shopping while major carriers including the Postal Service simultaneously struggled with absences and a flood of parcels. Satish Jindel from ShipMatrix says carriers have a capacity of delivering more than 120 million parcels daily compared to a projected holiday peak of 82 million parcels per day. WASHINGTON (AP) — Inflation has reached its lowest point in 2 1/2 years. The unemployment rate has stayed below 4% for the longest stretch since the 1960s. And the U.S. economy has repeatedly defied predictions of a coming recession. Yet according to a raft of polls and surveys, most Americans hold a glum view of the economy. The disparity has led to befuddlement, exasperation and curiosity on social media and in opinion columns. Many factors lie behind the disconnect, but economists increasingly point to one in particular: The lingering financial and psychological effects of the worst bout of inflation in four decades. CHICAGO (AP) — Almost every major city in the United States generally allows drivers to turn right at red lights, but that could be changing. A dramatic rise in automobile accidents killing or injuring pedestrians and bicyclists has led to a myriad of policy and infrastructure changes. The debate over whether to ban right on red has sparked the most intense sentiments on both sides. Washington, D.C.'s City Council last year approved a right-on-red ban that takes effect in 2025. Chicago, San Francisco and Seattle have considered it too. Most U.S. cities have maintained the right-on-red rule since a 1970s mandate from the federal government aimed at conserving energy by preventing cars from idling at stop lights. Nearly nine out of 10 parents believe their child is performing at grade level despite standardized tests showing far fewer students are on track. That's according to a poll released Wednesday by Gallup and the nonprofit Learning Heroes. Many parents rely on report cards for a sense of their children’s progress, but researchers say they might be missing the whole picture. Without that knowledge, parents may not seek opportunities for extra support for their children. In a federal survey, school officials said half of all U.S. students started last school year behind grade level in at least one subject. MOUNT ANGEL, Ore. (AP) — In the face of human-caused climate change impacting water access and weather patterns in the Willamette Valley — a region known for hops growing — farmers are using all the new strategies they can get to stay afloat and provide for large and small breweries alike. Climate change is anticipated to only further the challenges producers are already seeing in hops and barley. Researchers are working with growers to help counter the effects of more volatile weather systems with improved hop varieties and by adding winter barley to the mix. WASHINGTON (AP) — Error-ridden state reviews have purged millions of the poorest Americans from the Medicaid program in recent months. Poverty experts are questioning if the Biden administration is doing enough to stop states from wrongly removing people from the government health care program. Estimates show up to 30 million people could be dropped from Medicaid as states finish reviewing their rolls over the next year. Advocates interviewed around the country say problems with the government forms, websites and phone lines in states including Texas, Florida, North Carolina and Arkansas have led to the high number of people losing Medicaid. Arkansas' Department of Human Services says it tried to reach people with additional calls, emails and texts. —The Associated Press About this program Host Terry Lipshetz is a senior producer for Lee Enterprises. Besides producing the daily Hot off the Wire news podcast, Terry conducts periodic interviews for this Behind the Headlines program, co-hosts the Streamed & Screened movies and television program and is the producer of Across the Sky, a podcast dedicated to weather and climate. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. Learn more here.

On the version of Hot off the Wire posted Nov. 22 at 6 a.m. CT: Millions of people are expected to hit airports and highways in record numbers over the Thanksgiving holiday. AAA forecasts that 55.4 million Americans will travel at least 50 miles from home with roads likely to be the most clogged on Wednesday. The holiday season is here, which means spending time with family on Thanksgiving and also, for millions of people, hunting for the best deals on Black Friday. Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November each year, which takes place this week. A lot of national retailers are keeping the doors closed on Thursday to give employees time with families and to recharge for the holidays ahead. That includes some of the biggest chains like Walmart and Target, which plan to re-open stores on Friday. Holiday meals may be changing for millions of Americans struggling with obesity and taking a new generation of weight-loss drugs. Experts and consumers say the drugs are shifting dining habits and social norms around food-centric holidays like Thanksgiving, Passover and Christmas. Some users welcome greater control over what they eat during the holidays. Others may lose their appetites entirely, doctors say, risking what one researcher called “the reward of having a beautiful meal.” Thanksgiving may be a time for Americans to come together, but opinion is divided over what’s on the crowded dinner table. A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research looks at the country's Thanksgiving tastes. Americans mostly agree on the deliciousness of pumpkin pie. And turkey rules. But we’re split over the eternal turkey question of dark meat versus white meat. And don’t even ask if marshmallows belong on sweet potatoes — it could cause a ruckus. The least favorite dishes? About two in 10 American celebrators said cranberries or cranberry sauce are their least favorite part of the feast. As for the cooking, women are much more likely than men to say they'll do all or most of it. As the 60th anniversary of the assassination of President John. F. Kennedy is marked, the last surviving witnesses remember the day as part of a new National Geographic series "JFK: One Day in America." HINSDALE, N.H. (AP) — For years, Geoffrey Holt was known as a mobile home park groundskeeper in a small New Hampshire town. Now, he's being remembered as a millionaire who gave his fortune to the community. Holt died in June at age 82. His 4,200 fellow residents in the town of Hinsdale recently learned he left nearly $4 million to benefit the following areas: education, health, recreation and culture. Holt was a modest man with few needs, but also a savvy investor who read financial publications. The Connecticut River town that has the nation's oldest continually operating post office plans to use the money frugally, as he did. —The Associated Press About this program Host Terry Lipshetz is a senior producer for Lee Enterprises. Besides producing the daily Hot off the Wire news podcast, Terry conducts periodic interviews for this Behind the Headlines program, co-hosts the Streamed & Screened movies and television program and is the producer of Across the Sky, a podcast dedicated to weather and climate. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. Learn more here.

On the version of Hot off the Wire posted Nov. 21 at 7:30 a.m. CT: Senior Hamas officials say an agreement could be reached soon in which the militant group would release hostages and Israel would free Palestinian prisoners. Israel, the United States and Qatar, which mediates with Hamas, have been negotiating for weeks over a hostage release that would be paired with a temporary cease-fire in Gaza and the entry of more humanitarian aid. DALLAS (AP) — Despite inflation and memories of past holiday travel meltdowns, millions of people are expected to hit airports and highways in record numbers over the Thanksgiving break. AAA forecasts that 55.4 million Americans will travel at least 50 miles from home between next Wednesday and the Sunday after Thanksgiving, with roads likely to be the most clogged on Wednesday. HONOLULU (AP) — A Hawaii official says all nine people aboard a U.S. Navy plane that overshot a runway have escaped injury. A U.S. Marine Corps spokesperson said Monday that the P-8A aircraft overshot the runway at a Marine base and went into Kaneohe Bay. Another spokesperson says the Coast Guard responded but that rescue operations were quickly called off. The P-8A is often used to hunt for submarines and used in reconnaissance and intelligence gathering. It is manufactured by Boeing and shares many parts with the 737 commercial jet. The base is about 10 miles from Honolulu on Oahu. WESTCLIFFE, Colo. (AP) — Authorities in Colorado are hunting for a man they believe shot and killed three people and critically wounded a fourth in a property dispute. The Custer County Sheriff's Office says what began as a dispute ended with gunshots Monday in a rural area about 8 miles from the county seat of Westcliffe. Authorities say two men and a woman died at the scene and a fourth person was taken to a trauma center in critical condition but is expected to survive. Residents of the wooded, rural area were told to shelter in place for five hours on Monday as authorities hunted for the suspect, but the order was listed Monday night while he remained at large. BEAVERCREEK, Ohio (AP) — Police in Ohio say a shooter opened fire at a Walmart, wounding four people before apparently killing himself. The attack took place Monday night at a Walmart in Beavercreek, in the Dayton metropolitan area. Police didn't immediately release the name of the shooter, a possible motive for the attack or other details. There also wasn't any immediate word on the conditions of the victims, who were taken to hospitals. In a statement, Walmart says the company is “heartbroken” over the shootings. KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has made an unannounced visit to Ukraine, traveling to Kyiv by train from Poland. Austin is making a high-profile push to keep money and weapons flowing to Ukraine even as U.S. and international resources are stretched by the new global risks raised by the Israel-Hamas conflict. In Kyiv he met Monday with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine's defense minister and chief of staff and announced that the U.S. would be sending an additional $100 million in weapons. Austin says Ukraine’s effort to defeat Russia’s forces “matters to the rest of the world” and U.S. support will continue “for the long haul.” The Eagles get Super Bowl revenge, the Nuggets and Bucks are among NBA's big winners, the Lightning get a key win over the Bruins in the NHL slate and two ranked college basketball matchups. WASHINGTON (AP) — A divided federal appeals court has found that private individuals and groups such as the NAACP do not have the ability to sue under a key section of the federal Voting Rights Act. It's a decision that voting rights advocates say could further erode protections under the landmark 1965 law. The 2-1 decision Monday by a panel of the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals based in St. Louis found that only the U.S. attorney general can enforce Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. That section prohibits discriminatory voting practices such as racially gerrymandered districts. WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has spent part of his 81st birthday observing the White House tradition of pardoning Thanksgiving turkeys. Gobblers Liberty and Bell received executive clemency Monday at a White House ceremony. Biden mentioned his age and joked that he wasn't at the first of these events held 76 yeas ago. The 20-week-old, 42-pound birds were hatched and bred in Willmar, Minnesota, by the Jennie-O turkey company for the occasion. The turkey pardon ceremony marks the unofficial start of the holiday season in Washington. On Monday, Jill Biden also welcomed delivery of a Fraser fir from North Carolina as the official White House Christmas tree. The company that created ChatGPT is in turmoil after Microsoft hired its ousted CEO and many more employees threatened to follow him in a conflict that centered in part oin part on how to build artificial intelligence that’s smarter than humans. The developments followed a weekend of drama that shocked the AI field and fueled speculation about the future of OpenAI. The startup's new CEO vowed to investigate the firing of co-founder and CEO Sam Altman. He's been instrumental in OpenAI’s transformation from a nonprofit research laboratory into a world-renowned commercial startup that inaugurated the era of generative artificial intelligence. Microsoft announced that Altman and OpenAI’s former president, Greg Brockman, would lead its new advanced AI research team. OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The founder of a former megachurch in Oklahoma known for rejecting the idea of hell and supporting gay rights has died. Bishop Carlton Pearson died Sunday in hospice care in Tulsa due to cancer according to his agent. Pearson was 70. Pearson founded Higher Dimensions Family Church in Tulsa and by 2000 its membership reached 6,000. Membership fell to a few hundred by 2008 after Pearson began teaching what he called “the gospel of inclusion,” a form of universalism, which does not recognize hell. The church, renamed New Dimensions was folded into another church as Pearson became a United Church of Christ minister. —The Associated Press About this program Host Terry Lipshetz is a senior producer for Lee Enterprises. Besides producing the daily Hot off the Wire news podcast, Terry conducts periodic interviews for this Behind the Headlines program, co-hosts the Streamed & Screened movies and television program and is the producer of Across the Sky, a podcast dedicated to weather and climate. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. Learn more here.

On the version of Hot off the Wire posted Nov. 20 at 7 a.m. CT: ATLANTA (AP) — Former first lady Rosalynn Carter has died at the age of 96. The Carter Center in Atlanta announced that the wife of former President Jimmy Carter died Sunday afternoon at her home in Plains, Georgia, with her family at her side. Rosalynn Carter was married to Jimmy Carter for more than 77 years, and both said she was the more political of the pair. Unlike many previous first ladies, Rosalynn Carter sat in on Cabinet meetings and spoke out on controversial issues. President Carter even sent her on a trip to Latin America to tell dictators he meant what he said on human rights. Together, Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter also co-founded The Carter Center to continue their work. KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has made an unannounced visit to Kyiv. He arrived Monday in what is expected to be a high-profile push to keep money and weapons flowing to Ukraine even as U.S. and international resources are stretched by the new global risks raised by the Israel-Hamas conflict. Austin traveled to Kyiv by train from Poland. He is scheduled to meet with senior Ukrainian officials and publicly press Ukraine’s urgent military needs as it enters another tough winter of fighting. U.S. officials said Austin intended to tell Ukrainian officials that American support for Kyiv’s effort to defeat Russia’s invasion forces is steadfast and will continue. KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli forces are pressing their offensive against Hamas in northern Gaza. They are battling militants around a hospital where thousands of patients and displaced people have been sheltering for weeks, raising Palestinian fears of another painful standoff and evacuation of a medical facility. A medical worker inside the Indonesian Hospital and the Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Monday that a shell struck the second floor of the facility, killing at least 12 people. Both blamed Israeli forces. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. The advance came a day after the World Health Organization evacuated 31 premature babies from Shifa Hospital. At least 28 were transported to Egypt on Monday. Millions are expected to travel for the holidays. Wind, snow and rain could be problematic for travelers across the Northeast, according to the National Weather Service. WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is spending part of his 81st birthday observing the White House tradition of pardoning Thanksgiving turkeys. The gobblers receiving executive clemency at a ceremony Monday are named Liberty and Bell. The 20-week-old, 42-pound birds were hatched and bred in Willmar, Minnesota, by the Jennie-O turkey company for the occasion. The turkey pardon ceremony marks the unofficial start of the holiday season in Washington and it will be an especially busy day for the White House. In addition to celebrating the president's birthday, Jill Biden also welcomes delivery of an 18-and-a-half-foot Fraser fir from North Carolina as the official White House Christmas tree. LOS ANGELES (AP) — An elevated Los Angeles freeway closed by a Nov. 11 arson fire has reopened ahead of Monday morning’s commute. That's at least a day earlier than previously announced and weeks ahead of the original estimate. Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Sunday that inspections showed it's safe to reopen shortly after crews worked round the clock for days to shore up about 100 support columns. Newsom said the freeway would be “fully operational” before Monday's rush hour. An estimated 300,000 vehicles a day use the east-west freeway crossing the heart of Los Angeles. Vice President Kamala Harris joined Newsom and city Mayor Karen Bass for Sunday's announcement. SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s military has warned North Korea not to go ahead with its planned spy satellite launch. A senior officer suggested Monday that South Korea could suspend an inter-Korean agreement to reduce tensions and resume front-line aerial surveillance in response. North Korea's first two attempts to put a spy satellite into space failed and its promised third attempt has been delayed. South Korean officials say the delay likely was because North Korea is receiving Russian technology assistance and a launch could happen in coming days. The U.N. Security Council bans any satellite launches by North Korea because it views them as a disguised test of its missile technology. Sugar prices are soaring in many places. That's largely due to production shortfalls in key exporters India and Thailand that are partly blamed on the El Nino. The U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization is predicting a 2% decline in production this year. Increasingly, sugar is being used for biofuels like ethanol, so global sugar buffer stocks are at their lowest since 2009. The Lions rally from down two scores late to beat the Bears, Matthew Stafford's return helps the Rams end their three-game losing streak, the Broncos ends the Vikings' winning streak, a LeBron James free throw gives the Lakers a win over the Rockets, and Aaron Nola decides to stay with the Phillies. “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes” tops the North American box office in its first weekend in theaters. The $44 million in ticket sales the film earned is a new low for the franchise. It always opened over $100 million in its Jennifer Lawrence days. The animated “Trolls Band Together” opened in second place with $30.6 million, while “The Marvels” fell a record 78% in its second weekend. Taika Waititi’s soccer comedy “Next Goal Wins” and the slasher “Thanksgiving” also opened in wide release over the busy, pre-Thanksgiving weekend. NEW YORK (AP) — Sean “Diddy” Combs and singer Cassie say they have settled a lawsuit containing allegations of beatings and abuse by the powerful music producer. The settlement was announced on Friday in a statement from an attorney for Cassie, whose full name is Casandra Ventura. It comes one day after the lawsuit was filed. The statement says Combs and Ventura have reached a deal to their “mutual satisfaction." No terms of the agreement have been disclosed. Ventura and Combs both issued statements. The statement from Ventura's lawyer says no further statements will be issued. RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Taylor Swift has postponed a concert in Rio de Janeiro after a 23-year-old fan died during her Friday night show. The singer said in a handwritten note posted Saturday on Instagram that the decision was made due to the extremely hot weather in the Brazilian city. “The safety and well being of my fans, fellow performers, and crew has to and always will come first,” Swift wrote in the message posted on Instagram. The cause of death for Ana Clara Benevides Machado has not yet been announced. But concertgoers complained they were not allowed to take water into Nilton Santos Olympic Stadium despite the soaring temperatures in Rio on Friday. RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Rio de Janeiro’s Christ the Redeemer statue was illuminated with a welcome to Brazil message for Taylor Swift. It was thanks to an act of charity by Swift fans orchestrated by the Catholic sanctuary that manages the world’s most famous Christ statue. The colossal monument donned a projected white “Welcome to Brazil” T-shirt honoring the singer’s latest leg of her Eras Tour. The initiative was launched after a request from Taylor Swift fans. The priest who runs the Christ statue then dared Swifties to donate for a good cause in return for their request. The statue was lit Thursday night after Swifties met the goal and helped fundraise for 20,000 panettones and water for the Catholic Church’s World Day of the Poor, which will be marked on Sunday. NEW YORK (AP) — George Brown, the co-founder and longtime drummer of Kool & The Gang who helped write such hits as “Too Hot,” “Ladies Night,” “Joanna” and the party favorite “Celebration,” has died at age 74. A statement from Universal Music says Brown died Thursday in Los Angeles after a battle with cancer. Kool & The Gang has sold millions of records with its catchy blend of jazz, funk and soul, what Brown liked to call “the sound of happiness.” Brown helped launch the Grammy-winning group in 1964. Kool & the Gang broke through in the mid-1970s with “Jungle Boogie” among others songs and peaked in the late ’70s and mid-1980s, with such hits as “Cherish” and “Celebration.” —The Associated Press About this program Host Terry Lipshetz is a senior producer for Lee Enterprises. Besides producing the daily Hot off the Wire news podcast, Terry conducts periodic interviews for this Behind the Headlines program, co-hosts the Streamed & Screened movies and television program and is the producer of Across the Sky, a podcast dedicated to weather and climate. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. Learn more here.

Welcome to the weekly bonus episode of Hot off the Wire, where we look back at some of the top headlines from the week in the world of sports and entertainment.  As always, be sure to check out our latest episode of Streamed & Screened, a podcast dedicated to movies and television.  Listen to the latest episode of Streamed & Screened here.  This week’s top headlines include: Jimmy Kimmel will host the Oscars for the fourth time. Kevin Hart will receive the Kennedy Center's Mark Twain Prize for lifetime achievement in comedy. Sean "Diddy" Combs accused of years of rape and abuse by singer Cassie in a lawsuit. Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers told NBC that he is targeting a mid-December return from a torn Achilles tendon. And it was a busy week off the field in baseball. The Athletics are moving from Oakland to Las Vegas, the All-Star Game will be played in Atlanta and annual awards, including MVP, were handed out. Those stories and more from The Associated Press. — Compiled and narrated by Terry Lipshetz from Associated Press reports About this program Host Terry Lipshetz is a senior producer for Lee Enterprises. Besides producing the daily Hot off the Wire news podcast, Terry conducts periodic interviews for this Behind the Headlines program, co-hosts the Streamed & Screened movies and television program and is the producer of Across the Sky, a podcast dedicated to weather and climate. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. Learn more here.

On the version of Hot off the Wire posted Nov. 17 at 4 p.m. CT: NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. health officials say at least seven states are seeing high levels of the flu and that cases are rising in other parts of the country. New flu data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows flu is steadily rising. The winter flu season traditionally ramps up in December or January. But it took off in October last year and is making a November entrance now. Louisiana has very high flu activity. There is high activity in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, New Mexico and South Carolina and the District of Columbia. Health officials in Puerto Rico declared an influenza epidemic earlier this month. DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — The United Nations was forced to stop deliveries of food and other necessities to Gaza and warned of the growing possibility of widespread starvation after internet and telephone services collapsed in the besieged enclave because of a lack of fuel. Israel announced Friday that it will allow a “very minimal” amount of fuel into the besieged territory daily. But the shipments appeared to be far less than what the U.N. has said is needed. The communications blackout is in its second day. It largely cuts off Gaza’s 2.3 million people from one another and the outside world, and it paralyzes the coordination of aid. WASHINGTON (AP) — The chairman of the House Ethics Committee has filed a resolution to force a vote on expelling Republican Rep. George Santos from Congress. The resolution was announced one day after the Ethics Committee issued a withering report detailing evidence that Santos of New York converted campaign donations for his own personal use, such as trips to Atlantic City and the Hamptons. Santos easily survived an expulsion vote this month as lawmakers stressed the need for due process. But the completion of the committee’s report has generated new momentum for ousting the scandal-plagued freshman. Santos announced this week that he would not seek reelection. RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — University of Virginia officials are further delaying the public release of the findings of an investigation into the events surrounding a 2022 campus shooting that killed three student-athletes and wounded two other students. Citing concern about the impact the findings could have on the suspect's pending trial, UVA said in a news release Friday that it would not make a “redacted” version of the final report public available until “after the criminal proceedings.” The suspect is charged with aggravated murder, aggravated malicious wounding and firearms-related counts. Court records show his next court hearing is in February. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is screening imports of cinnamon from multiple countries for toxic lead. It comes after more reports of illness in children who ate pouches of applesauce puree. The pouches were sold in several retail and online stories and have been recalled. The FDA says cinnamon from a manufacturer in Ecuador is the “likely source” of high levels of lead found in applesauce products. At least 34 children in 22 states have reportedly been sickened by lead poisoning. The FDA says no other reports of illness or elevated blood levels have been tied to cinnamon. NEW BUFFALO, Mich. (AP) — Authorities say 11 people were injured when an Amtrak train heading to Chicago derailed in southwestern Michigan. The train derailed Thursday night after hitting an empty vehicle and a tow truck. The train went off the tracks but remained upright. The crash happened near New Buffalo, about 70 miles east of Chicago. The injuries were not considered serious. The vehicle was stuck on the tracks and was in the process of being removed when the train hit both. Amtrak arranged buses to take passengers to Chicago. Eight trains between Chicago and Michigan were canceled Friday while investigators were at the scene. DETROIT (AP) — Honda is recalling nearly 250,000 vehicles in the U.S. because bearings can fail, causing the engines to stall and increasing the risk of a crash. The recall covers certain 2018 and 2019 Honda Pilot SUVs and Odyssey minivans, and some 2017 and 2019 Ridgeline pickup trucks. Also affected are certain 2015 to 2020 Acura TLX cars and 2016 to 2020 Acura MDX SUVs. Honda says in documents posted Friday by .U.S. safety regulators that connecting rod bearings in the engine can wear and seize due to a manufacturing error, damaging the engines. The engines could stall while being driven, increasing the risk of a fire or crash. The automaker says in documents that it has no reports of injuries. Dealers will inspect and repair or replace the engines if needed. LONDON (AP) — The British author of the Booker Prize-winning novel “Possession” has died at the age of 87. A.S. Byatt’s publisher, Chatto & Windus, said Friday that the author whose full name was Antonia Byatt died “peacefully at home surrounded by close family.” Byatt wrote two dozen books, starting with “The Shadow of the Sun” in 1964. She published “Possession” in 1990. The novel follows two modern-day academics investigating the lives of a pair of Victorian poets and was adapted into a 2002 film starring Gwyneth Paltrow. Her other works include the novel “The Children’s Book” and the short story collection “Medusa’s Ankles." Queen Elizabeth II made Byatt a dame, the female equivalent of a knight, in 1999 for services to literature. Used-car shoppers won’t have it easy this year or next. Although used car prices have declined from their record levels from last year, they are still high and are coupled with the highest interest rates we’ve seen in many years. If that’s not bad enough, used cars also are currently older. There are fewer near-new vehicles for sale right now than just a few years ago. Edmunds outlines some steps you can take to get the best possible deal during these tough times. PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Police in Maine say a lobsterman jumped from a boat into the water to help save a driver trapped in a sinking car. Police in Portland say the car drove into Casco Bay shortly after noon on Thursday. Police and fire crews were able to force entry into the vehicle while it was underwater. The lobster boat was nearby and Manny Kourinos, who is experienced in diving, entered the water and helped pull out the driver. The 33-year-old driver was hospitalized in stable condition. Police are investigating and say the vehicle was reported stolen out of South Portland earlier in the day. EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — For many years in college football, the booze flowed only outside the stadiums at tailgates. Not anymore. Selling beer and wine has become the norm. According to a survey by The Associated Press of Power Five conference schools and Notre Dame, 55 of 69 of them sell alcohol in the public areas of their stadiums on game days. That's up dramatically over the past decade. Experts say it is a reliable revenue stream. The trend picked up in 2019 after the Southeastern Conference cleared the way for alcohol sales at football stadiums. —The Associated Press About this program Host Terry Lipshetz is a senior producer for Lee Enterprises. Besides producing the daily Hot off the Wire news podcast, Terry conducts periodic interviews for this Behind the Headlines program, co-hosts the Streamed & Screened movies and television program and is the producer of Across the Sky, a podcast dedicated to weather and climate. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. Learn more here.

On the version of Hot off the Wire posted Nov. 17 at 5:45 a.m. CT: SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — President Joe Biden has ended the immediate threat of a government shutdown, signing a temporary spending bill a day before much of the government was to run out of money. The bill, which maintains existing funding levels, pushes a fight with congressional Republicans over the federal budget into the new year, when GOP lawmakers in the House are vowing to exact stiff spending cuts. It splits the deadlines for passing full-year appropriations bills into two dates: Jan. 19 for some federal agencies and Feb. 2 for others. The measure does not include any wartime aid for Ukraine or Israel, nor does it offer humanitarian funding for Palestinians. DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Rescuers in Gaza don’t have the equipment to search properly for the living, let alone the dead. Every day, hundreds of people claw through tons of rubble with shovels and iron bars and their bare hands. They are looking for the bodies of loved ones killed in Israeli missile strikes. More than five weeks into Israel’s war against Hamas, some streets are now more like graveyards. U.N. humanitarian monitors say at least 2,700 people, including 1,500 children, are missing and believed buried under the rubble. More than 11,400 are dead. DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Republicans battling to be the alternative to former President Donald Trump are coming together for what an influential Christian organization in Iowa is billing as a friendly conversation on politics and their world views. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy will appear at the roundtable “family discussion” in Des Moines Friday, Trump is not expected to make an appearance, though he was invited. The field around Trump is winnowing with less than two months before the Iowa caucuses kick off the GOP nominating calendar. In a sign of the urgency the field faces, many of his rivals are going after each other more frequently with jabs that have often turned personal. COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — A lawsuit has challenged the constitutionality of Missouri’s new law requiring voters to show photo identification to cast a regular ballot. The trial in the case is expected to begin Friday. Voting rights advocates suing to overturn the law say getting the records needed to obtain proper photo identification can be challenging, especially for elderly voters and people with disabilities. People without government-issued photo identification can cast provisional ballots to be counted if they return later that day with a photo ID or if election officials verify their signatures. WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Congressman George Santos of New York says he won't run for reelection in 2024 after a scathing House Ethics Committee report on his conduct cited “overwhelming evidence” of lawbreaking. The Ethics panel says it has referred its findings about Santos to the Justice Department. Shortly after the panel’s report was released, Santos blasted it in a tweet on X as a “disgusting politicized smear” but said he would not be seeking reelection to a second term. A renewed effort to expel him has been launched. The committee said Thursday that Santos’ conduct warrants public condemnation, is beneath the dignity of the office, and has brought severe discredit upon the House. NEW YORK (AP) — RSV infections are rising sharply in some parts of the country, nearly filling hospital emergency departments in Georgia, Texas and some other states. Federal officials say they are taking action to help counter the surge. On Thursday, they announced the release of 77,000 doses of a new RSV shot for newborns. The shot has been been in short supply since it became available three months ago. RSV is not expected to generate the kind of patient traffic seen last fall, when hospital emergency departments across the country were overwhelmed with sick, wheezing kids. But it could nevertheless strain resources in some places. SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — President Joe Biden has made America's case to CEOs attending the Asia-Pacific summit in San Francisco that the United States is committed to high standards in trade that will benefit economies across the Pacific. Fresh off his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Biden also told business leaders that the U.S. was “de-risking and diversifying” but not “decoupling” from Beijing. But he did not mince words in suggesting the U.S. and other Pacific nations could offer businesses a better option than China. Biden's comments came as he was courting world leaders at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. The Ravens score a huge bounce-back over Cincinnati, Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh agrees to a three-game suspension, Major League Baseball announces its MVPs, awards the 2025 All-Star Game to Atlanta and approves the relocation of the A's, while Miami and Oklahoma City win in the NBA and Vegas does the same in the NHL. NEW YORK (AP) — Sean “Diddy” Combs has been accused of years of abuse including rape and beatings by R&B singer Cassie. Cassie's legal name is Cassandra Ventura. She was in a yearslong relationship with the hip-hop producer and music mogul. She says in a lawsuit filed Thursday in New York federal court that Combs plied her with drugs, savagely beat her and forced her to have sex with male prostitutes. She says he raped her as she tried to end the relationship in 2018. Combs’ attorney says he vehemently denies what he calls the “outrageous lies” and and characterized the allegations as “blackmail.” —The Associated Press About this program Host Terry Lipshetz is a senior producer for Lee Enterprises. Besides producing the daily Hot off the Wire news podcast, Terry conducts periodic interviews for this Behind the Headlines program, co-hosts the Streamed & Screened movies and television program and is the producer of Across the Sky, a podcast dedicated to weather and climate. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. Learn more here.

On the version of Hot off the Wire posted Nov. 16 at 7:10 a.m. CT: WASHINGTON (AP) — Police and protesters have clashed outside Democratic National Committee headquarters during a demonstration for a cease-fire in the war between Israel and Hamas. Scores of Democratic representatives and candidates, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, were inside the building for a campaign reception when it was interrupted by chanting outside. Protesters said they wanted to block entrances and exits to force politicians to encounter their candlelight vigil Wednesday night. However, the situation swiftly devolved. U.S. Capitol Police said about 150 people were “illegally and violently protesting,” but protesters blamed police for the violence. Capitol Police said six officers were treated for minor injuries and one protester was arrested for assaulting an officer. KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — Residents say Israeli forces dropped leaflets warning Palestinians to flee parts of southern Gaza. That signals a possible expansion of their offensive to areas where hundreds of thousands of people who heeded earlier evacuation orders are crowded into U.N.-run shelters and family homes. Meanwhile, soldiers continued searching Shifa Hospital in the north on Thursday, in a raid that began a day earlier. They displayed guns they say were found hidden in one building, but have yet to release any evidence of the central Hamas command center that Israel has said is concealed beneath the complex. Hamas and staff at the hospital deny the allegations. Israel already carries out air raids in the south. Broadening operations there threatens to worsen an already severe humanitarian crisis. WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress has ended the threat of a government shutdown until after the holidays. The Senate gave final approval to a temporary government funding package Wednesday night and sent it to President Joe Biden for his signature. The bill sets up a final confrontation on the government budget in the new year. The Senate worked into the night to pass the bill with days to spare before government funding expires Saturday. The spending package keeps government funding levels at current levels for roughly two more months while a long-term package is negotiated. WOODSIDE, Calif. (AP) — U.S. President Joe Biden and China’s Xi Jinping have emerged from their first face-to-face meeting in a year vowing to stabilize their fraught relationship and showcasing modest agreements to combat illegal fentanyl and re-establish military communications. There were still deep differences on economic competition and global security threats. But Biden said they agreed to “pick up the phone” and talk if urgent issues arise. Biden said “that's important progress." Xi signaled later Wednesday that China would send the U.S. new pandas after recalling three from the National Zoo in Washington last week. ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York state has sued PepsiCo in an effort to hold the soda-and-snack food giant partly responsible for litter that winds up in bodies of water that supply the city of Buffalo with drinking water. The lawsuit, filed in state Supreme Court by Attorney General Letitia James, accuses the company and its Frito-Lay subsidiaries of creating a public nuisance by making a huge number of plastic bottles and wrappers, some of which inevitably wind up falling or blowing into the Buffalo River after they are discarded by customers. PepsiCo said it was serious about “plastic reduction and effective recycling.” It didn’t directly comment on the lawsuit’s claim that it was legally responsible for keeping garbage out of the Buffalo River. The Celtics stun the Sixers, Booker pays dividends on return to the line-up, an on-court fracas and neck grab draws punishment from the NBA, Flyers goaltender Carter Hart leads his team to victory, the Browns will be without their starting quarterback, and Major League Baseball announces the Cy Young Award winners. MILWAUKEE (AP) — Pat Murphy spent the last eight seasons as Craig Counsell’s bench coach in Milwaukee. He now is taking over for his former boss as the Brewers manager. The Brewers announced they were promoting Murphy a little over a week after the Chicago Cubs announced they had hired Counsell away from Milwaukee. Murphy’s only managerial experience in the majors came in 2015 when he led the San Diego Padres on an interim basis for the final 96 games of the season. He had been the Brewers' bench coach ever since. NEW YORK (AP) — Jimmy Kimmel is returning as host of the Academy Awards for the second straight year and fourth time overall. The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences announced Kimmel's return on Wednesday. ABC is returning to its late-night host a year after bringing Kimmel back for a 2023 ceremony that drew 18.7 million viewers, the most since 2020’s pre-pandemic broadcast. In the wake of Will Smith’s slap of Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars, Kimmel led a cautious ceremony that helped stabilize the Academy Awards after years of turmoil. The 96th Academy Awards will air live on ABC on March 10 from the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. On the version of Hot off the Wire posted Nov. 15 at 4 p.m. CT: The TSA expects to screen 28 million travelers at the nation's airports over a 12-day period during the Thanksgiving holiday that begins Friday. John Bush, the agency's Federal Security Director at Reagan Airport outside Washington, D.C. has some advice: get to the airport early and pack your patience. WOODSIDE, Calif. (AP) — To the domestic audience in China, Beijing continues to blame the U.S. for problems in the two countries' bilateral relations and urges Washington to “establish correct views” of China. The official news service Xinhua said in a series of editorials that Washington should walk out of its “zero-sum” mentality and expand cooperation to further stabilize and improve bilateral relations. Beijing has expressed hope that Washington would respond with “concrete actions.” Ahead of the meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping, senior White House officials said Biden would walk away from the talks with major announcements expected on curbing the flow of chemicals used in the production of fentanyl and steps to revive military-to-military communications. KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli troops stormed into Gaza’s largest hospital, searching for traces of Hamas inside and beneath the facility filled with hundreds of patients, including newborns, who have gone for days without electricity and with little food as fighting raged around them. Details from the Wednesday raid remained sketchy, but officials from Israel and Gaza presented different narratives about what was happening at the hospital: The Israeli army released video showing soldiers carrying boxes labeled as “baby food” and “medical supplies,” while Gaza health officials talked of terrified staff and patients as troops moved through the buildings. Israel faces pressure to prove its claim that Hamas had transformed Shifa Hospital into a command base. PARIS (AP) — A police officer being investigated in the killing of a 17-year-old of North African origin that touched off riots around France was freed from jail Wednesday while the probe continues. The prosecutor’s office in the Paris suburb where Nahel Merzouk was shot said magistrates concluded that continued detention of the motorcycle officer “no longer fulfills the legal criteria” for which he was held. The officer was given a preliminary charge of voluntary homicide. The rioting was driven by a mainly teenage backlash against a French state that many with immigrant roots say routinely discriminates against them. PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — A hospital director in Haiti says a heavily armed gang burst into the facility and took hostage hundreds of women, children and newborns. Jose Ulysse, founder and director of the Fontaine Hospital Center in the Cite Soleil slum, pleaded for help via social media. He confirmed has confirmed the incident in a brief message exchange with The Associated Press, saying the hospital is in “great difficulty.” No further details were immediately available, and it was not clear why the assailants may have taken patients hostage. Ulysse did not respond to further questions. The hospital has been considered an oasis in a community overrun by gangs that have unleashed increasingly violent attacks against each other and civilians. LONDON (AP) — The British government says it will still try to send some migrants on a one-way trip to Rwanda, despite the U.K. Supreme Court ruling that the contentious plan is illegal. Five justices on the country’s top court say asylum-seekers would be “at real risk of ill-treatment” because they could be sent back to their home countries once they were in Rwanda. The court cited Rwanda’s poor human rights record, including enforced disappearances and torture. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has pledged to stop migrants reaching Britain in small boats. He says the government will strike a treaty with Rwanda that will address the court's concerns. LONDON (AP) — Britain’s Supreme Court has ruled that the government's flagship policy to send migrants on a one-way trip to Rwanda is unlawful. The government is vowing to make some changes and press on with the controversial plan. Making the plan work has become a central pillar of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s pledge to “stop the boats" — his slogan for deterring people from crossing the English Channel to reach Britain. He says he's prepared to change U.K. law and even flout international human rights treaties in order to make the plan work. Legal experts say that could be a tall order. NEW YORK (AP) — Americans cut back on retail spending in October, ending six straight months of gains, though the decline was partly driven by falling prices for both gasoline and cars. Retail sales declined 0.1% last month after jumping a strong 0.9% in September, according to a report released Wednesday by the Commerce Department. September’s figure was revised higher from an initial report of a 0.7% gain. Excluding sales of gas and autos, retail sales ticked up 0.1%. WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. wholesale prices fell sharply last month as inflationary pressure continued to ease in the face of a year and a half of higher interest rates. The Labor Department reported Wednesday that its producer price index — which measures inflation before it hits consumers — dropped 0.5% in October from September, biggest drop since April 2020. UOn a year-over-year basis, producer prices were up 1.3% from October 2022. WASHINGTON (AP) — Comedian Kevin Hart has been chosen to receive the Kennedy Center’s Mark Twain Prize for lifetime achievement in American humor. The honor caps a three-decade career that has seen the comic rise from the open mics of Philadelphia to become one of his generation’s most successful performers. The 44-year-old Hart has honed a style that combined his diminutive stature, expressive face and motormouth delivery. It's made him a wildly successful touring act. He's gone on to become one of the country’s most bankable and ubiquitous performers. Hart says in a statement that “comedy is my outlet for social commentary and observations on life.” —The Associated Press About this program Host Terry Lipshetz is a senior producer for Lee Enterprises. Besides producing the daily Hot off the Wire news podcast, Terry conducts periodic interviews for this Behind the Headlines program, co-hosts the Streamed & Screened movies and television program and is the producer of Across the Sky, a podcast dedicated to weather and climate. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. Learn more here.

On the version of Hot off the Wire posted Nov. 15 at 6:30 a.m. CT: KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli forces are raiding Gaza’s largest hospital, where hundreds of patients, including newborns, have been stranded with dwindling supplies and no electricity. Wednesday's raid at Shifa hospital came as the army extended its control across Gaza City and the north. Shifa has become a symbol of the widespread suffering of Palestinian civilians during the war between Israel and Hamas. The hospital is also at the heart of clashing narratives over who is to blame for the thousands of deaths and widespread destruction in the besieged territory. Israel accuses Hamas of using Palestinians as human shields, while Palestinians and rights groups say Israel has recklessly endangered civilians. WASHINGTON (AP) — The House has voted overwhelmingly to prevent a government shutdown. New Republican Speaker Mike Johnson was forced to reach across the aisle to Democrats when hard-right conservatives revolted against his plan. Johnson’s proposal to temporarily fund the government into the new year passed on a bipartisan 336-95 tally, with 93 Republicans voting against it. He showed a willingness to leave his right-flank Republicans behind and work with Democrats — the same political move that cost the last House speaker, Kevin McCarthy, his job just weeks ago. Johnson’s approach, which the Senate is expected to approve by week’s end, effectively pushes a final showdown over government funding to the new year. SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping are heading into their meeting at a country estate in California hoping to stabilize U.S.-China relations after a period of tumult. But the White House says Biden is prepared to confront Xi on difficult issues such as trade, Beijing’s burgeoning relationship with Iran and human rights concerns. The leaders last spoke a year ago. Since then, fraught ties between the economic superpowers have been strained by the U.S. downing of a Chinese spy balloon and over differences on the self-ruled island of Taiwan, China’s hacking of a Biden official’s emails and other incidents. The leaders are in San Francisco on Wednesday for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. LONDON (AP) — Britain’s Supreme Court has ruled that the government’s contentious plan to send some migrants on a one-way trip to Rwanda is illegal. Five justices on the country’s top court say asylum-seekers would be “at real risk of ill-treatment” because they could be sent back to their home countries once they were in Rwanda. The ruling on Wednesday is a major blow to a key government policy that has drawn international attention and criticism. Britain and Rwanda signed a deal in April 2022 to send some migrants who arrive in the U.K. across the English Channel to the East African country, where their asylum claims would be processed and, if successful, they would stay. Sunak said the ruling “was not the outcome we wanted.” WASHINGTON (AP) — A fight seems to have nearly broken out a congressional hearing. The Tuesday hearing in the Senate devolved into an angry confrontation between Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma and International Brotherhood of Teamsters President Sean O’Brien. Mullin challenged the Teamsters leader to “stand your butt up” and settle longstanding differences right there in the room. Committee chairman Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont had to yell at Mullin to sit down after he challenged O’Brien to a fight. Mullin and O'Brien never came face to face in the room. But they hurled insults at each other for around six minutes. Georgia is No. 1 in the College Football Playoff Rankings, Manager of the Year awards are dealt in MLB, the Bills fire their offensive coordinator, the Pacers end the Sixers' win streak and Charlie Lindgren leads Washington past Las Vegas. SAN DIEGO (AP) — San Diego Padres owner Peter Seidler has died. He was 63. Seidler poured hundreds of millions of dollars into trying to bring a World Series championship to San Diego. He didn't succeed, despite paying for stars like Manny Machado and Xander Bogaerts. He was a third-generation member of the O'Malley family that used to own the Dodgers. A cause of death wasn’t disclosed. Seidler was a two-time cancer survivor. The team announced in mid-September that Seidler had an unspecified medical procedure in August and wouldn’t be back at the ballpark the rest of the year. On the version of Hot off the Wire posted Nov. 14 at 4 p.m. CT: JERUSALEM (AP) — Gaza’s Shifa Hospital has become the focus of a dayslong stalemate in Israel’s war against Hamas. Shifa is Gaza’s largest hospital. Israel claims, without providing visual evidence, that Hamas uses the facility for military purposes and has built a vast underground command center below the hospital. Since Israel declared war against Hamas in response to a deadly cross-border attack by the Islamic group on Oct. 7, its forces have moved in on Shifa. But hundreds of doctors and patients remain inside. It remains unclear how and when the standoff will end. SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — David DePape has testified in the federal trial against him over last year's attack against former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband. DePape told jurors Tuesday that he went to the Pelosis’ home as part of a larger plan to end corruption in the United States. He has pleaded not guilty to attempted kidnapping of a federal official and assault on the immediate family member of a federal official with intent to retaliate against the official for performance of their duties. Paul Pelosi testified Monday, recounting the attack publicly for the first time. SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — President Joe Biden says his goal for his upcoming meeting with Xi Jinping is to get the U.S.-China relationship on a “normal course.” The president made the comments Tuesday just before departing the White House for San Francisco, where he will meet with Xi and attend a summit of Asia Pacific leaders. Biden's meeting with Xi on Wednesday is the main event of his four-day visit to San Francisco. At the summit itself, he's looking to demonstrate that his administration can focus on the Pacific. That's even as he tries to keep the Israel-Hamas war from exploding into a regional conflict and persuade weary Republican lawmakers to continue funding Ukraine's effort to repel Russia’s invasion. WASHINGTON (AP) — Long past its painful peak, inflation in the United States may be heading steadily back toward its pre-pandemic levels, without the need for further interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve. Such a scenario became more likely, if hardly guaranteed, after Tuesday’s surprisingly tame report on consumer prices for October. The data showed a broad-based easing of inflation across most goods and services. The price of gas? Down. Appliances? Down. Autos? Down. Same for airfares, hotel rooms and doctors’ fees. Overall inflation didn’t rise from September to October, the first time that consumers prices collectively haven’t budged from one month to another in more than a year. LONDON (AP) — Police in England have arrested a man on suspicion of manslaughter in the death of American ice hockey player Adam Johnson whose neck was cut by a skate during a game. Johnson, 29, was playing for the Nottingham Panthers against the Sheffield Steelers in an Oct. 28 game when he was struck by an opponent’s skate blade. South Yorkshire Police did not name the suspect or provide his age. He was in police custody. The player whose skate cut Johnson’s neck was Matt Petgrave, 31, who plays for Sheffield. Johnson was a Minnesota native who had a brief NHL career with the Pittsburgh Penguins. LONDON (AP) — The BBC says two more people have come forward to complain about Russell Brand since the broadcaster launched a review into the actor and comedian’s behavior. The BBC was giving an update to its investigation after British media outlets in September published claims by four women that they were sexually assaulted by Brand between 2006 and 2013, at the height of his fame. The 48-year-old denies the allegations. The comedian worked as a BBC radio presenter from 2006 to 2008. The broadcaster said it recorded a total of five complaints against Brand. The BBC news website reported that the latest allegations are “understood to relate to his workplace conduct, and are not of a serious sexual nature.” WASHINGTON (AP) — The House is preparing for a vote to prevent a government shutdown. New Republican Speaker Mike Johnson was forced to reach across the aisle to Democrats when hard-right conservatives revolted against his plan. Johnson was willing to leave his right flank Republicans behind and work with Democrats on Tuesday to keep the government open. It's the same political move that cost Kevin McCarthy, the former House speaker, his job. This time, new Speaker Johnson appears on track for a better outcome. The Senate would act next, ahead of Friday’s shutdown deadline. But Johnson is facing the same political problem that led to McCarthy’s ouster as hard-right conservatives revolt. That could spell trouble ahead when funding runs out again in January. Home Depot is continuing to see its sales decline amid inflation concerns, and the home improvement retailer narrowed its fiscal 2023 outlook. But its quarterly performance came in above Wall Street’s expectations. Home Depot Inc. said Tuesday that its third-quarter revenue fell 3% to $37.71 billion. Still, it managed to beat the $37.52 billion that analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research predicted. U.S. health officials are warning doctors to be on the lookout for possible cases of lead poisoning in children. At least 22 toddlers in 14 states have sickened by lead that's linked to tainted pouches of cinnamon apple puree and applesauce. Cases were reported in children ages 1 to 3 years old. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says at least one child showed a blood lead level eight times higher than the level that raises concern. The illnesses are linked to recalled WanaBana, Schnucks and Weis brand cinnamon applesauce pouches. LAS VEGAS (AP) — New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers says his goal is to return from a torn Achilles tendon by mid-December. That's according to NBC's Melissa Stark, who spoke to Rodgers and reported his comments during the telecast of the Jets' game at Las Vegas. Rodgers had hinted recently he hopes to return before the end of the season, but this is the most specific he has been. He suffered what was thought to be a season-ending injury in the opener against the Buffalo Bills. —The Associated Press About this program Host Terry Lipshetz is a senior producer for Lee Enterprises. Besides producing the daily Hot off the Wire news podcast, Terry conducts periodic interviews for this Behind the Headlines program, co-hosts the Streamed & Screened movies and television program and is the producer of Across the Sky, a podcast dedicated to weather and climate. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. Learn more here.

On the version of Hot off the Wire posted Nov. 14 at 7 a.m. CT: A major rally will take place Tuesday at the National Mall in Washington in support of Israel.  Gaza’s largest hospital, Shifa, is surrounded by Israeli troops and the lives of dozens of patients, including newborns, are at risk. The Health Ministry in the Hamas-run territory proposed Tuesday that the facility be evacuated under the supervision of the Red Cross. WASHINGTON (AP) — The last time Congress tried to fund the government to prevent a federal shutdown, it cost House Speaker Kevin McCarthy his job. This time, new Speaker Mike Johnson appears on track for a better outcome. On Tuesday, the House is expected to vote on another stopgap package to keep the government running. If approved, the Senate would act next, ahead of Friday’s shutdown deadline. A new international report says the world is off track in its efforts to curb global warming in 41 of 42 important measurements and is even heading in the wrong direction in six crucial ways. Tuesday's report shows the only bright spot is global sales of electric passenger vehicles is now on track to help limit future warming to just another couple tenths of a degree. Study authors say public money spent to create more fossil fuel use is going in the wrong direction and faster than it has in the past. WASHINGTON (AP) — Inflation in the United States likely remained high last month, a trend that if sustained could raise concerns at the Federal Reserve, which is considering whether to raise interest rates again. Still, cheaper gas might have slowed a broad measure of overall inflation in October. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, core inflation is forecast to have risen 0.3% from September to October for a third straight month. Monthly increases at that pace would be too high to meet the Fed’s 2% annual inflation target. Economists pay particular attention to core prices, which are believed to provide a good signal of inflation’s likely future path. LONDON (AP) — Britain’s cybersecurity agency says artificial intelligence poses a threat to the country’s next national election. The National Cyber Security Center also says cyberattacks by hostile countries and their proxies are proliferating and getting harder to track. The center said Tuesday in its annual review that “this year has seen the emergence of state-aligned actors as a new cyber threat to critical national infrastructure” such as power, water and internet networks. The center is part of Britain’s cyberespionage agency, GCHQ. It said the past year also has seen the emergence of cyberattackers who are "sympathetic to Russia’s further invasion of Ukraine and are ideologically, rather than financially, motivated.” Denver knocks off Buffalo on Monday Night Football, the Celtics and Bucks were among key NBA winners, an upset in college basketball, a pair of games in the NHL, and MLB hands out rookie of the year awards.  On the version of Hot off the Wire posted Nov. 13 at 4 p.m. CT: Fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants outside Gaza’s largest hospital has prompted thousands of people to flee from the medical facility. But health officials said Monday that hundreds of patients and others displaced by the war remained inside. President Joe Biden said Shifa hospital “must be protected” and called for “less intrusive action” by Israeli forces. WASHINGTON (AP) — The new Supreme Court code of conduct agreed to by all nine justices does not appear to impose any significant new requirements on them. The code leaves compliance to the justices themselves and does not create any other means of enforcement. The Supreme Court disclosed the code on Monday, in the face of sustained criticism over undisclosed trips and gifts from wealthy benefactors to some justices. The justices say the code largely represents a codification of principles they've long regarded as governing their conduct. Liberal critics of the court were not satisfied, with one group saying the code “reads a lot more like a friendly suggestion than a binding, enforceable guideline.” SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Prosecutors are bringing forward law enforcement officials to discuss video that’s at the crux of their case against the man accused of attacking former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband at the couple’s San Francisco home last year. The trial against David DePape is in it's second day. Paul Pelosi is expected to testify. DePape has pleaded not guilty to attempted kidnapping of a federal official and assault on the immediate family member of a federal official with intent to retaliate against the official for performance of their duties. His attorney told jurors last week that she won't dispute that DePape attacked Paul Pelosi, but that the charges don't fit. WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House says Jill Biden will be in charge of a new initiative to boost federal government research into women's health. Women make up more than half the U.S. population but advocates say they remain understudied and underrepresented in health research. The first lady and other officials say the goal of the White House Initiative on Women's Health Research is to fundamentally change the government's approach. The first lady said former California first lady Maria Shriver raised the idea for the initiative during a meeting earlier this year. Jill Biden says she brought the idea to President Joe Biden and he took action. SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — One of the highest ranking leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has died. M. Russell Ballard was 95. Ballard was acting president of a top governing body called the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, the church’s second-highest leadership body. He was second in line to the church presidency. A church statement says Ballard died Sunday surrounded by family at his home. Ballard had been a member of the Quorum since 1985. He was the quorum’s acting president since 2018. He is survived by his seven children, 43 grandchildren, 105 great-grandchildren and one great-great grandchild. LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Exxon Mobil is drilling for lithium in Arkansas and expects to begin production of the critical material for electric vehicles by 2027. Exxon on Monday announced the project and said by 2030 it expects to produce enough lithium to supply the manufacturing needs of more than 1 million electric vehicles. The oil giant in early 2023 acquired the rights to 120,000 gross acres of the Smackover formation in southern Arkansas. The formation is considered one of the most prolific lithium resources of its type in North America. The project comes as the U.S. faces a greater need for lithium sources to meet its clean energy goals. NEW YORK (AP) — Maryanne Trump Barry, a retired federal judge and former president Donald Trump’s oldest sister, has died at age 86 at her home in New York. Until her retirement in 2019, Barry was a senior judge on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, a level below the Supreme Court. Trump’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But the former president’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr. called it “a rough day for myself and my family” after he spent Monday testifying in a civil fraud trial in New York. WASHINGTON (AP) — Secret Service agents protecting President Joe Biden’s granddaughter have opened fire after three people tried to break into an unmarked Secret Service vehicle in Washington. That's according to a law enforcement official who spoke to The Associated Press on Monday. It happened late Sunday night in the Georgetown neighborhood. The official says the agents were assigned to protect Naomi Biden when they saw the three people breaking a window of the parked and unoccupied SUV. The Secret Service says one of the agents opened fire but did not strike anyone. Washington has seen a significant rise in the number of carjackings and car thefts this year. Kansas remained at No. 1 in the first Associated Press men's college basketball poll of the season. The Jayhawks received 51 first-place votes from a media panel and were followed by Purdue, Arizona, Marquette and Connecticut. Arizona had the biggest jump from the preseason poll, moving up nine spots after beating No. 9 Duke on the road. No. 24 James Madison moved into the AP Top 25 for the first time following a road win over No. 18 Michigan State. —The Associated Press About this program Host Terry Lipshetz is a senior producer for Lee Enterprises. Besides producing the daily Hot off the Wire news podcast, Terry conducts periodic interviews for this Behind the Headlines program, co-hosts the Streamed & Screened movies and television program and is the producer of Across the Sky, a podcast dedicated to weather and climate. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. Learn more here.

On the version of Hot off the Wire posted Nov. 13 at 6:30 a.m. CT: WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Mike Johnson has unveiled his proposal to avoid a partial government shutdown next weekend by extending government funding for some agencies and programs until Jan. 19 and continuing funding for others until Feb. 2. The approach is unusual for a stopgap spending bill. Generally, lawmakers extend funding until a certain date for all programs. Johnson decided to go with the combination approach, addressing concerns from GOP lawmakers who want to avoid being presented with a massive spending bill just before the holidays, as has often occurred in the past. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed the need to destroy Hamas as the path forward to peace on NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday. Israeli forces and Hamas militants continued to fight outside of a hospital in Gaza. COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Tim Scott says he is ending his 2024 bid for president in a move that surprised his donors and stunned his campaign staff. The South Carolina senator made the announcement on Fox News Channel's “Sunday Night in America” with Trey Gowdy. Scott says, "I think the voters who are the most remarkable people on the planet have been really clear that they’re telling me, ‘Not now, Tim.’” The decision comes as Scott continued to struggle in the polls in a field dominated by former President Donald Trump. Scott, the Senate’s only Black Republican, entered the race with more cash than any other Republican candidate but couldn’t find a way to break through. NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s lawyers will start calling witnesses in the New York civil fraud trial that threatens the former president’s real estate empire. First up on Monday is Trump’s oldest son Donald Trump Jr. He is a Trump Organization executive vice president and a co-defendant in the case. He'll be returning to the witness stand two weeks after state lawyers quizzed him during a major stretch of the trial that also featured testimony from his father and siblings Eric and Ivanka Trump. Trump Jr. originally testified on Nov. 1 and 2. He said he never worked on the annual financial statements at the heart of New York Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit. LOS ANGELES (AP) — Officials say Los Angeles motorists should expect traffic snarls as crews assess how much damage was caused by a weekend fire that closed a major elevated interstate near downtown. Hazardous materials teams removed burned material from underneath Interstate 10 on Sunday to make way for engineers to see if the columns and deck of the highway can support the normal traffic of about 300,000 vehicles per day. California Gov. Gavin Newsom says officials can’t yet offer a timeline for when the highway might reopen. Commuters are being urged to work from home or take public transportation into downtown Los Angeles. LONDON (AP) — Former British Prime Minister David Cameron has made a shock return to high office. He was appointed foreign secretary on Monday in a major shakeup of the Conservative government that also saw the firing of divisive Home Secretary Suella Braverman. It’s rare for a former leader, and a non-lawmaker, to take a senior government post. The government said Cameron will be appointed to Parliament’s unelected upper chamber, the House of Lords. Sunak was under growing pressure to fire Braverman, a divisive figure popular with the authoritarian wing of the governing Conservative Party who drew anger for accusing police of being too lenient with pro-Palestinian protesters. BERLIN (AP) — U.S. officials say five U.S. service members were killed when a military helicopter crashed during training over the eastern Mediterranean Sea. The military's European Command said all five crew members were killed when the copter went down “during a routine air refueling mission as part of military training.” The military said the cause is under investigation but there are no indications hostile activity was involved. It first reported the crash Saturday and said on Sunday that search and rescue efforts began immediately. The aircraft's branch of service wasn't immediately clear. The Air Force has sent additional squadrons to the region, and the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier has been operating in the eastern Mediterranean. The Browns, Texans, Seahawks and Lions all win on game-ending field goals, while the Rockets, Sixers and Mavericks each prevail on the NBA hardwood. NEW YORK (AP) — Since 2008’s “Iron Man,” the Marvel machine has been one of the most unstoppable forces in box-office history. Now, though, that aura of invincibility is showing signs of wear and tear. The superhero factory hit a new low with the weekend launch of “The Marvels." It opened with $47 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. The 33rd installment in the MCU managed less than a third of the $153.4 million its predecessor “Captain Marvel," launched with. Sequels, especially in Marvel Land, aren’t supposed to fall off a cliff. The previous low for a Walt Disney Co.-owned Marvel movie was “Ant-Man,” which bowed with $57.2 million in 2015. SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher said use of AI was a a key point for striking actors as part of the new contract.  And just like at the box office, “Barbie” will be seen — and heard — at the Grammys. Music from the hit film’s soundtrack earned 11 nominations, including nabbing four of the five slots in the visual media song category. —The Associated Press About this program Host Terry Lipshetz is a senior producer for Lee Enterprises. Besides producing the daily Hot off the Wire news podcast, Terry conducts periodic interviews for this Behind the Headlines program, co-hosts the Streamed & Screened movies and television program and is the producer of Across the Sky, a podcast dedicated to weather and climate. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. Learn more here.