On the version of Hot off the Wire posted Jan. 12 at 7:30 a.m. CT:
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Yemen’s Houthi rebels have vowed fierce retaliation for American and British strikes against them, further raising the prospect of a wider conflict in a region already beset by Israel’s war in Gaza. The bombardment was launched in response to a recent campaign of drone and missile attacks on commercial ships in the vital Red Sea. The Houthis said Friday that the strikes killed at least five people and wounded six. As the bombing lit the predawn sky over multiple sites held by the Iranian-backed rebels, it forced the world to again focus on Yemen’s years-long war.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — An approaching storm is expected to deliver snow to Portland, Oregon, a city more accustomed to winter rain. It’s one of a number of sprawling storms bringing everything from what the National Weather Service called “life-threatening wind chills” in South Dakota to the possibility of tornadoes in the South. School and flights were canceled in advance in parts of the South and Midwest. Republican contestants campaigning ahead of Monday’s Iowa caucuses were contending with a blizzard warning covering most of the state. Advocates are particularly worried about homeless people as well as older residents who might be snowed or iced in, especially in the Pacific Northwest, where the winters are typically mild.
MULLAN, Idaho (AP) — Two men were rescued after being caught in an avalanche in the Idaho backcountry, while a third man was believed to be dead. The Shoshone County Sheriff’s Office says a rescue began shortly before 3 p.m. Thursday when law enforcement received a GPS alert of a possible fatality in an avalanche near Stevens Peak close to the Montana border. The sheriff’s office says authorities established communications and located two men caught in the avalanche. A discussion with the men led authorites to believe a third man had perished. Authorities called off the search Thursday and planned to resume looking for the deceased man on Friday. The Idaho search came a day after an avalanche hit a ski resort near Lake Tahoe in California, trapping several people and killing one.
CORONADO, Calif. (AP) — A U.S. Navy helicopter has crashed into a Southern California bay during a training exercise. Authorities say all six crewmembers survived. A Navy spokesperson says the MH-60R Seahawk crashed in the waters of San Diego Bay shortly after 6:30 p.m. Thursday. A safety boat was on hand and the crewmembers were taken in for medical evaluations. The Navy says it isn't aware of any critical or life-threatening injuries. The crash site was in Coronado, across an inlet from San Diego. The cause of the crash is under investigation.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The 75th Emmy Awards will include cast reunions and recreations of classic moments from a dozen iconic shows throughout television history. The ceremony's executive producer Jesse Collins tells The Associated Press that the shows will include “All in the Family,” “Cheers,” "Martin," “The Sopranos,” “Game of Thrones” and “Grey's Anatomy.” The first such moment will come within the first 10 minutes of Monday night's show, and they'll be spread throughout the Fox telecast hosted by Anthony Anderson. Collins says it's a way of honoring the history of television, and most of the stars taking part are eager to do it.
LONDON (AP) — Burberry, the London-based luxury goods fashion house, lost around 10% of its market value on Friday after it warned that profits this year would be lower than anticipated. It said wealthy shoppers, particularly in the Americas, tightened their belts during the crucial Christmas trading period. The company said its recent trading had been hit by a continued “slowdown in luxury demand” after rises in the cost of living and interest rates around the world. Burberry’s profit warning was its second in three months. In November, it warned that its sales growth was lagging behind targets due to pressure in the luxury market.
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Six-time NFL champion Bill Belichick has agreed to part ways as the coach of the New England Patriots, bringing an end to his 24-year tenure as the architect of the most decorated dynasty of the league’s Super Bowl era. Belichick became just the third coach in NFL history to reach 300 career regular-season wins, joining Hall of Famers Don Shula and George Halas. Belichick trails only Shula for the record for victories by a coach. But this season, finishing with a 4-13 record, was Belichick’s worst in 29 seasons as an NFL head coach.
NEW YORK (AP) — Barred from giving a formal closing argument, Donald Trump wrested an opportunity to speak in court at the conclusion of his New York civil fraud trial. He unleashed a barrage of attacks in a six-minute diatribe Thursday before being cut off by the judge. Trump is accused of inflating his company's financial statements in order to get better deals on loans and insurance. He called the proceedings “a fraud on me." The day began with authorities responding to a bomb threat at the judge’s house. They found nothing amiss. The judge indicated he'll rule by the end of the month.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration says it will send an unofficial delegation comprised of former senior officials to Taiwan shortly after the self-governed island holds an election for a new president this weekend. The move carries the risk of upsetting Beijing in an already-fragile bilateral relationship. A senior administration official confirmed the plan on Wednesday without offering more details. The official says such a face-to-face meeting is the “most effective way” to engage the new Taiwanese government and convey U.S. policy in the region for peace and stability. Beijing claims that Taiwan is part of China and vows to unify with it eventually. The Chinese oppose any official contact between the U.S. and Taiwanese governments.
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Israel is insisting at the United Nations’ highest court that its war in Gaza is a legitimate defense of its people, in response to accusations it is committing genocide against Palestinians. Instead, it says it is Hamas militants who are guilty of genocide. Israel described the allegations leveled by South Africa as hypocritical and said that one of the biggest cases ever to come before an international court reflected a world turned upside down. On Friday, Israel defended its air and ground offensive in Gaza as a legitimate response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. On that day, militants stormed through Israeli communities, killed some 1,200 people and took around 250 hostage.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate rose for the second time in as many weeks, climbing to its highest level in four weeks. The average rate on a 30-year mortgage rose to 6.66% from 6.62% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.33%. The latest increase follows a nine-week string of declines at the end of last year that lowered the average rate after it surged in late October to 7.79%, the highest level since late 2000. Still, the average rate remains sharply higher than just two years ago, when it was 3.45%.
LEWISTON, Maine (AP) — For 17 years, Sean Hodgson was best friends with the man who would commit Maine's deadliest mass shooting. Hodgson and Robert Card were both Army reservists. Hodgson watched Card unravel, becoming increasingly angry and paranoid. Knowing Card had access to guns and wouldn't get help, Hodgson texted an Army supervisor that he feared Card would snap and commit such a shooting. Now, in his first interview, Hodgson exclusively tells The Associated Press it was the hardest thing he's ever done. He says officials should've done more to intervene. An independent review for law enforcement calls Hodgson alarmist. But he says given his relationship with Card and history in threat detection, he should've been taken seriously. Army officials wouldn't comment, citing pending investigations.
BOSTON (AP) — Online retailer eBay has agreed to pay a $3 million fine to resolve criminal charges over employees who harassed a Massachusetts couple by sending live spiders, cockroaches and other disturbing items to their home. The Justice Department charged eBay in a criminal information with stalking, witness tampering and obstruction of justice on Thursday. The employees already were prosecuted more than three years ago in the scheme to intimidate David and Ina Steiner. The Massachusetts U.S. attorney’s office says eBay has entered a deferred prosecution agreement that could result in the charges against the company being dismissed if it complies with certain conditions. Ebay CEO Jamie Iannone called the company’s conduct in 2019 “wrong and reprehensible.”
The best CES products pierce through the haze of marketing hype at the Las Vegas gadget show to reveal innovations that could improve lives. The worst could harm us or our society and the planet in such “innovatively bad” ways that a panel of self-described dystopia experts has judged them “Worst in Show.” The third annual contest that no tech company wants to win announced its decisions Thursday and faults a number of well-known brands including BMW, Amazon, Instacart and Sennheiser.
—The Associated Press
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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.
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