On the version of Hot off the Wire posted Feb. 21 at 7:15 a.m. CT:

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Syria's state TV says an Israeli strike that hit a residential area in the country's capital of Damascus has killed two people. The TV reported that several missiles hit the western neighborhood of Kfar Sousseh on Wednesday morning. The pro-government Sham FM radio station said the strike hit a building near an Iranian-run school. Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets inside government-controlled parts of war-torn Syria in recent years. Israel rarely acknowledges its actions in Syria, but it has said that it targets bases of Iran-allied militants, such as Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group, which has sent thousands of fighters to support Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces.

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Prosecutors say a former FBI informant charged with making up a multimillion-dollar bribery scheme involving President Joe Biden, his son Hunter and a Ukrainian energy company had contacts with officials affiliated with Russian intelligence. Prosecutors said that in a court filing urging a judge to keep Alexander Smirnov behind bars while he awaits trial. But U.S. Magistrate Judge Daniel Albregts allowed Smirnov to be released from custody on electronic GPS monitoring. He is charged with falsely reporting to the FBI in June 2020 that executives associated with the Ukrainian energy company Burisma paid Hunter and Joe Biden $5 million each in 2015 or 2016.

LONDON (AP) — Lawyers for the American government are telling a London court why they think Julian Assange should face espionage charges in the United States. Their statements on Wednesday are in response to a last-ditch bid to stop the WikiLeaks founder's extradition. Assange’s lawyers are asking the High Court to grant him a new appeal in the long-running saga. Lawyers for the U.S. say Assange “committed serious criminal offences” that put lives at risk by publishing classified American documents. Assange’s lawyers argued on the first day of the hearing on Tuesday that American authorities are seeking to punish Assange for WikiLeaks’ exposure of U.S. military wrongdoing. Two judges hearing the case are expected to take several weeks to consider their verdict.

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A judge has sentenced parenting advice blogger Ruby Franke to possibly decades in prison after she admitted to physically and emotionally abusing her children. Franke and mental health counselor Jodi Hildebrandt spoke Tuesday during their sentencing hearings after they pleaded guilty to four counts of aggravated child abuse. Hildebrandt will also serve up to 30 years in prison. Franke apologized to her children Tuesday but blamed Hildebrandt for brainwashing her. The women were arrested at Hildebrandt’s house last August after Franke’s 12-year-old son escaped. Franke and her husband launched the YouTube channel “8 Passengers” in 2015 and amassed a large following as they documented their experiences raising six children.

MESQUITE, Texas (AP) — As President Joe Biden pushes House Republicans to pass needed aid for Ukraine, he wants voters to understand that nearly two-thirds would actually be going to U.S. factories, like a munitions plant set to open this summer in a gleaming new industrial park in suburban Dallas. Administration officials combed through the foreign aid in the $95 billion bipartisan supplemental funding bill passed by the Senate. Of the $61 billion for Ukraine, nearly $40 billion would go to U.S. factories that make missiles, munitions and other gear. House Speaker Mike Johnson refuses to put the bill up for a vote in the House.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Two men have been charged with murder in last week’s shooting after the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl parade. Court documents released Tuesday say the men were strangers who pulled out guns and began firing within seconds of starting an argument. Missouri prosecutors said at a news conference that Lyndell Mays, of Raytown, Missouri, and Dominic Miller, of Kansas City, Missouri, have been charged with second-degree murder and several weapons counts. The shooting left one person dead and roughly two dozen others injured. Mays and Miller were shot in the melee and have been hospitalized since.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — The Alabama Supreme Court has ruled that frozen embryos created during fertility treatments should be considered children under state law. Justices issued the ruling Friday in a pair of wrongful death cases brought by couples who had frozen embryos destroyed in an accident at a fertility clinic. Justices said an 1872 state law allowing parents to sue over the death of a minor child “applies to all unborn children, regardless of their location.” The ruling brought a rush of warnings from groups and advocates who said it would have sweeping implications for fertility treatments in the state.

DALLAS (AP) — American Airlines is raising bag fees and pushing customers to buy tickets directly from the airline if they want to earn frequent-flyer points. American said Tuesday that checking a bag on domestic flights will rise from $30 now to $35 online, and it'll be $40 if purchased at the airport. The fee for a second checked bag will rise from $40 to $45 both online and at the airport. American says it hasn't raised bag fees since 2018. American Airlines also says that most customers will have to buy tickets directly from the airline or partner airlines or approved travel sites if they want to earn frequent-flyer points. Corporate travelers won’t be affected by the change.

NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon.com Inc. is being added to the Dow Jones Industrial Average, joining Apple, Walt Disney, Walmart and other companies that make up the 30-stock average. S&P Dow Jones Indices said Tuesday that the e-commerce giant will replace drugstore operator Walgreens Boots Alliance in the Dow before the open of trading on Monday. The shift was prompted by Walmart’s decision to do a 3-to-1 stock split, which will reduce its stock’s weighting in the index. The Dow is a price-weighted index, so stocks that fetch higher prices are given more weight. Meanwhile, ride-sharing service Uber Technologies will be added to the Dow Jones Transportation Average, replacing JetBlue Airways.

NEW YORK (AP) — The Beatles are getting the big-screen biopic treatment in a Fab Four of movies that will give each band member their own film. All are to be directed by Sam Mendes. For the first time, the Beatles are giving full life and music rights to a movie project. Sony Pictures announced Monday a deal that may dwarf all music biopics that have come before it, with the stories of Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr spread out over a quartet of films. The films are expected to roll out theatrically in 2027, with the movies potentially coexisting or intersecting in cinemas.

NEW YORK (AP) — A curious criminal case involving handwritten lyrics to the classic rock megahit “Hotel California” and other Eagles favorites is going to trial in a New York courtroom. Opening statements are set for Wednesday. The three defendants are well-established figures in the collectibles world. They're accused of scheming to thwart band Eagles co-founder Don Henley’s efforts to reclaim the allegedly ill-gotten documents. Rare-book dealer Glenn Horowitz, former Rock & Roll Hall of Fame curator Craig Inciardi and memorabilia seller Edward Kosinski have pleaded not guilty to conspiracy and various other charges. The trial centers on over 80 pages of draft lyrics to songs from the “Hotel California” album. The 1976 release stands today as the third-biggest selling disc ever in the U.S.

HOUSTON (AP) — Former President George H.W. Bush’s speedboat has a new owner. The 38-foot “Fidelity V” sold for $435,000 during the George and Barbara Bush Foundation’s 2024 Presidential Salute auction. Last week's event in Houston benefited the the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum, and The Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University. The buyer was anonymous and it’s unclear what will become of the boat. The vessel sports a presidential seal and is powered by three Mercury outboard engines with a combined 900 horsepower. It was used in the waters off Kennebunkport, Maine, which is home to the Texas family's summer retreat.
The top team in college basketball and two other Top 25 teams are upset, Tennessee rallies for a road win, the College Football Playoff modifies its 12-team playoff format, the Nets name an interim head coach, a former Rockets star dies after battling cancer, the Rangers winning streak continues, and Alex Ovechkin scores twice to beat the Devils.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin’s Democratic governor, Tony Evers, has signed new legislative district maps into law that he proposed and that the Republicans who control the Legislature passed to avoid having the liberal-leaning state Supreme Court draw the lines. Democrats are hailing it as a major political victory in the swing state where the Legislature has been firmly under Republican control for more than a decade, even as Democrats have won 14 of the past 17 statewide elections. Democrats are almost certain to gain seats in the state Assembly and state Senate under the new maps, which will be in place for the November election.

Divers have recovered the body of an 11-year-old girl from a Texas river days after she went missing, and authorities say they are preparing to file a murder charge against a friend of the girl's father. Sheriff Byron Lyons in Polk County, Texas, said Tuesday that the body of Audrii Cunningham was recovered from the Trinity River north of Houston. The girl's family in Livingston reported her missing last Thursday after she failed to return home after school. Authorities say an arrest warrant is being prepared for Don Steven McDougal on a recommended charge of capital murder. Authorities said he's a friend of the girl’s father and lived in a camper on the family property.

NEW YORK (AP) — A man suspected in the death of a woman who was fatally bludgeoned in a New York City hotel room earlier this month has been arrested in Arizona, where police say he is a suspect in two stabbings in recent days. New York City police officials said Tuesday that they are seeking to extradite and arrest Raad Almansoori, 26, in the killing of Denisse Oleas-Arancibia, 38, whose body was found by staff on the floor of a lower Manhattan hotel room on Feb. 8. He has not yet been charged. Almansoori was arrested on Sunday in Arizona, where he was later booked on suspicion of attempted murder, aggravated assault and theft of means of transportation.

The funeral of a renowned transgender activist in a New York cathedral elicited a denunciation of the event by a senior church official, who called the Mass a scandal within one of the preeminent houses of worship in U.S. Catholicism. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York condemned the funeral of Cecilia Gentili in Manhattan's St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Thursday. The 52-year-old was a leading advocate for transgender people, sex workers and people with HIV. The pastor of Saint Patrick’s says the cathedral only knew of a request for a Catholic funeral mass and has denounced behavior at the event. Gentili’s family denied that the church had been deceived and said the funeral “brought ... joy to the Cathedral," despite the church's anti-trans views.
—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.
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