Busy day ahead of Iowa caucuses; Alabama football coach Nick Saban retires; music streams hit 4 trillion in 2023

On the version of Hot off the Wire posted Jan. 11 at 7:30 a.m. CT:

Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis faced off in the first one-on-one debate of the 2024 election cycle, while former President Donald Trump held a town hall at the same time. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who didn't qualify for the debate, dropped out of the race Wednesday in a late effort to blunt Trump's momentum heading into Iowa.

Donald Trump is returning to court for closing arguments in his New York civil fraud trial. The former president had been planning to deliver his own summation Thursday, but a judge nixed that. Judge Arthur Engoron was initially keen on the idea but yanked permission after Trump’s lawyer missed a deadline for agreeing to limits on his remarks.

President Joe Biden’s son is headed back to court for an arraignment on federal tax charges filed after the collapse of a plea deal that could have settled the case against him. Hunter Biden is expected to plead not guilty on Thursday to felony and misdemeanor tax offenses.

The United Nations' top court has started hearings over allegations that Israel's war with Hamas amounts to genocide, which Israel strongly denies. South Africa is asking the International Court of Justice to order an immediate suspension of Israel’s military offensive in the Gaza Strip.

Iowa Republicans will likely confront temperatures dipping below zero degrees Fahrenheit next week when they kick off the 2024 election cycle. The record-breaking forecast could complicate candidates’ hopes of making their own history in the state's leadoff presidential caucuses. The candidates are publicly expressing optimism that their supporters will show up no matter how bad the weather is. 

Republicans have taken the first step toward holding Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress for defying a congressional subpoena, hours after the president’s son made a surprise visit to Capitol Hill. The House Oversight and Judiciary committees each passed contempt charges against the younger Biden with unanimous Republican support and all Democrats opposed. 

The IRS is still too slow to process amended tax returns, answer taxpayer phone calls and resolve identity theft cases, according to an independent watchdog within the agency. The organization sent a report to Congress Wednesday that says while there is “cautious optimism” for the agency, the backlog of unprocessed amended returns has quadrupled from 500,000 in 2019 to 1.9 million in October last year. 

Nick Saban decides to retire as head coach at Alabama, the Seahawks move on from Pete Carroll as coach, Jayson Tatum's big finish leads the Celtics to victory over the Timberwolves, Kawhi Leonard gets a new deal to stay with the Clippers, and a pair of top 5 college basketball teams get upset.

Police in South Florida say a man fatally shot a 30-year-old Buffalo Bills fan during an altercation near Hard Rock Stadium after the Bills defeated the Miami Dolphins in the final regular season game. Miami Gardens police say Dylan Brody Isaacs and his friends had an altercation with a driver a few blocks from the stadium as they were returning to their vehicle after Sunday's game. 

Former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Julio Urías won’t be charged with a felony after his arrest in September on suspicion of domestic violence. A charge evaluation worksheet from the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office says Urías was arguing with his wife when he “pushed (her) against a fence and pulled her by the hair or shoulders.” However, the document says, “Neither the Victim’s injuries nor the Defendant’s criminal history justify a felony filing.” 

Google says it has laid off hundreds of employees working on its hardware, voice assistance and engineering teams as part of cost-cutting measures. The company said the moves were made as Google aims at “responsibly investing in our company’s biggest priorities and the significant opportunities ahead.” 

Listened to more music last year? You’re not alone. Luminate’s year-end report finds that the global music industry surpassed 4 trillion streams in 2023. That's a new single-year record. Global streams are also up 34% from last year, reflective of an increasingly international music marketplace. Stateside, three genres saw the biggest growth in 2023: country, Latin and world, a catchall that includes J-pop, K-pop and Afrobeats. As for the Taylor Swift of it all, Luminate found that Time’s 2023 Person of the Year made up 1.79% of the U.S. market, accounting for 1 in every 78 U.S. on-demand audio streams.

—The Associated Press

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Hot Off The Wire is a collection of news, sports and entertainment reports. The program is produced by Lee Enterprises with audio provided by The Associated Press.