FBI informant charged with lying about bribery scheme; updates in two trials involving Donald Trump; Caitlin Clark makes NCAA history

Episode Description

On the version of Hot off the Wire posted Feb. 16 at 6:15 a.m. CT:

WASHINGTON (AP) — An FBI informant has been charged with lying to authorities about a multimillion-dollar bribery scheme between President Joe Biden, his son Hunter and a Ukrainian energy company. The claim is central to a Republican impeachment inquiry in Congress. Prosecutors say Alexander Smirnov falsely told FBI agents in June 2020 that executives associated with the Ukrainian energy company Burisma paid Hunter and Joe Biden $5 million each in 2015 or 2016.

NEW YORK (AP) — A verdict is expected Friday in Donald Trump’s New York civil fraud trial, adding to a monumental week on the former president’s legal calendar. Trump could be on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars in penalties and other sanctions for allegedly inflating his wealth on financial statements that were given to banks, insurers and others to make deals and secure loans.

NEW YORK (AP) — A New York judge says former President Donald Trump’s hush-money trial will go ahead as scheduled with jury selection starting on March 25. Judge Juan Manuel Merchan said Thursday he made the decision after speaking with the judge in Trump’s now-delayed federal election interference case in the nation's capital.

ATLANTA (AP) — Allegations of misconduct have taken center stage in the case charging Donald Trump with interfering in Georgia’s 2020 presidential election, thrusting top prosecutors’ private lives into the spotlight. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is set to return to the witness stand Friday.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Police say the shooting that left one person dead and nearly two dozen injured after the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade appeared to stem from a dispute between several people. Police Chief Stacey Graves said Thursday that the 22 injured people ranged in age from 8 to 47 years old, with half of them were under the age of 16. A mother of two was killed.

Iowa's Caitlin Clark becomes the all-time scoring leader for NCAA women's basketball, the Timberwolves hit the All-Star break atop the west, the Lightning strike down the Avalanche, Tiger Woods makes his 2024 PGA debut and Jimmie Johnson qualifies for the Daytona 500.

In other headlines:
A U.S. company's lunar lander rockets toward the moon for a touchdown attempt next week.
Four patients die as oxygen runs out in Gaza hospital seized by Israeli forces, health officials say.
Ford's CEO says the company will rethink where it builds vehicles after last year's autoworkers strike.
Greece becomes the first Orthodox Christian country to legalize same-sex civil marriage.
NATO's chief warns against dividing the U.S. and Europe or undermining their joint nuclear deterrent.
The UK fell into a recession at the end of 2023 as the economy takes center stage in the runup to the general election.

—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.

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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.