Israel condemned over airstrikes; Rangers take 3-1 World Series lead; 'Friends' cast mates mourn their friend Matthew Perry

On the version of Hot off the Wire posted Nov. 1 at 7 a.m. CT:

The Hamas-run government in Gaza says Israeli airstrikes have hit a refugee camp near Gaza City for a second day in a row, causing many deaths and injuries. Meanwhile, dozens of people with foreign passports were allowed to enter the Rafah crossing from Gaza to Egypt. Communications and internet services were gradually being restored Wednesday after the second major cut in five days. The Palestinian death toll in the war has surpassed 8,500, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza. In the occupied West Bank, more than 120 Palestinians have been killed. More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed, most of them civilians slain in the initial Hamas rampage.

BLETCHLEY PARK, England (AP) — Digital officials, tech company bosses and researchers are converging on a historic estate near London to discuss what to do about extreme risks posed by cutting-edge artificial intelligence. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is convening the two-day AI Safety Summit that’s focused on so-called frontier AI. The term frontier AI refers to the latest and most powerful systems that take the technology right up to its limits, but could come with as-yet-unknown dangers. One of the most high-profile delegates is U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, who’s scheduled to attend the summit’s second day after making a separate speech on AI in London on Wednesday.

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — A senior U.N. official says Russian strikes are inflicting unimaginable suffering on the people of Ukraine and that more than 40% of them need humanitarian assistance. Ramesh Rajasingham, director of coordination in the U.N. humanitarian office, says thousands of civilians have been killed in strikes on homes, schools, fields and markets since Russia’s invasion in February 20022. The U.N. human rights office has formally verified 9,900 civilians killed, but Rajasingham says the actual number is likely to be higher. He told the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday that about 18 million Ukrainians — more than 40% of the population — need some form of humanitarian assistance.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Maryland doctors say the second person to receive a transplanted heart from a pig has died. Lawrence Faucette was dying from heart failure and ineligible for a traditional heart transplant when he received the genetically modified pig heart in September. According to the University of Maryland School of Medicine, the heart had seemed healthy for the first month after the highly experimental surgery. But doctors say it began showing signs of rejection in recent days and he died on Monday. The team last year performed the world’s first transplant of a pig heart into another dying man who survived two months.

The Rangers take Game 4 of the World Series, an NFL coach and GM are fired, the NFL trade deadline passes, three games in the NBA and two in the NHL, and the first College Football Playoff rankings are out.

On the version of Hot off the Wire posted Oct. 31 at 4 p.m. CT:

WASHINGTON — FBI Director Christopher Wray said Tuesday that multiple foreign extremist groups have called for attacks against Americans and the West in the past few weeks and suggested Hamas’ attack on Israel could inspire threats like those motivated by the Islamic State group years ago.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken are urging an increasingly divided Congress to immediately send major aid to both Israel and Ukraine. They said at a Senate hearing on Tuesday that in addition to helping the two countries in their fights against Hamas and Russia, broad support for the foreign aid would send a vital signal of strength to U.S. adversaries worldwide. The leaders' testimony comes as the administration’s massive $105 billion emergency aid request for conflicts in those countries and others has hit roadblocks. There is bipartisan support in the Democratic-led Senate for sending aid to both countries. But in the Republican-led House, new Speaker Mike Johnson has proposed focusing on Israel alone.

NEW YORK (AP) — A man who beat a 66-year-old Sikh man to death after a fender bender in New York City has been charged with manslaughter as a hate crime. Prosecutors said Tuesday that 30-year-old Gilbert Augustin also faces charges including assault as a hate crime and unlicensed driving in the Oct. 19 death of Jasmer Singh. Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said Augustin called Singh “turban man” during the argument that followed their crash on an expressway in the borough of Queens. Singh's family had pushed for hate crimes charges to be filed against Augustin. A message seeking comment was left with Augustin’s attorney.

RUMFORD, Maine (AP) — Law enforcement officers in Maine have killed a man who confronted officers outside a police station with a rifle. Twenty-three-year-old Sean Dyment of Canton, Maine was shot by two officers from Oxford County Sheriff’s Office Monday night. Dyment was transported to Rumford Hospital where he was pronounced dead. Authorities said they were talking to a resident outside the Rumford station about a vehicle that had been following the person. As they talked, police said a vehicle matching the person's description drove up to the station. Dyment then allegedly confronted officers with a rifle and was shot.

CHICAGO (AP) — A pair of recent reports from the Environmental Protection Agency put striking numbers on America's problem with food waste. One-third of the food produced in the U.S. is never eaten, and 58% of planet-warming methane emitted from U.S. landfills comes from decomposing food. That’s why over 50 local lawmakers wrote to the EPA on Tuesday to ask the agency to scale up programs that help cities divert food from landfills. The EPA says these reports represent an important step in defining the problem, but that the U.S. is still a long way off from its goal of cutting food waste in half by 2030. That's a benchmark that will require a significant shift in mindset from producers and consumers alike.

LEWISTON, Maine (AP) — Children have returned to school and plan to go trick-or-treating in Lewiston, Maine, after the deadliest mass shooting in state history. Area residents spent days locked in their homes last week while police searched for the man who fatally shot 18 people at a bowling alley and a bar. He was found dead on Friday. On Tuesday, hundreds of students returned to a high school that had recently been transformed into a law enforcement command post. Inside, students petted therapy dogs and were signing a large banner that read “Lewiston Strong,” the community’s new motto.

WASHINGTON (AP) — American consumers are feeling increasingly less confident these days as fears of an oncoming recession remain elevated. The Conference Board, a business research group, said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index fell to 102.6 from 104.3 in September. The index measures both Americans’ assessment of current economic conditions and their outlook for the next six months. The index measuring Americans short-term outlook for income, business and job market declined again, to 75.6 in October from 76.4 in September. Readings below 80 for future expectations historically signal a recession within a year. Consumer spending accounts for around 70% of U.S. economic activity, so economists pay close attention to the mood of consumers.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The stars of “Friends” say they are mourning the “unfathomable” death of Matthew Perry. Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, and David Schwimmer say in a joint statement to People magazine that they "utterly devastated by the loss of Matthew.” Perry was found dead at his Los Angeles home Saturday, and investigation is ongoing. The “Friends” actors say they “were more than just cast mates” with Perry. They say they “are a family.” Perry, who played Chandler Bing throughout the show’s 10 seasons, is being mourned worldwide. Fans are placing flowers and heartfelt tributes outside the New York building that served as an exterior for the show.

CAMDEN, N.J. (AP) — A person familiar with the trade says the Philadelphia 76ers have traded James Harden to the Los Angeles Clippers. The Sixers sent Harden, P.J. Tucker and Filip Petrušev to LA for Marcus Morris, Robert Covington, Nic Batum, K.J. Martin, a 2028 unprotected first-round pick, two second-round picks, a 2029 draft-pick swap and additional first-rounder from a third team. The third team is not yet specified, according to the person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the final details of the trade are not yet official.

Patrick Mahomes stands alone at the top. The two-time NFL MVP and Super Bowl MVP again was the unanimous choice by The Associated Press for No. 1 quarterback at the midpoint of the season. A panel of nine AP Pro Football Writers ranked the top five players at QB, making their selections based on current status through Week 8. First-place votes were worth 10 points. Second through fifth-place votes were worth 5, 3, 2 and 1 points. Mahomes also received all nine first-place votes in the preseason poll. Tua Tagovailoa, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson and Jalen Hurts each received second-place votes.

Andy Reid again was a near-unanimous choice by The Associated Press for the top spot among NFL head coaches, receiving eight of nine first-place votes. A panel of nine AP Pro Football Writers ranked the top five head coaches, making their selections based on current status through Week 8. First-place votes were worth 10 points. Second through fifth-place votes were worth 5, 3, 2 and 1 points. Reid also received eight of nine first-place votes in the preseason poll. Six-time Super Bowl champion Bill Belichick again got the other first-place vote. Doug Pederson, Kyle Shanahan, Mike Tomlin and Nick Sirianni each got second-place votes.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The COVID-19 treatments millions of have taken for free from the federal government will enter the private market next week with a hefty price tag. Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer is setting the price for a five-day treatment of Paxlovid at $1,390, but Americans can still access the pills at no cost -- for now. Millions of free, taxpayer-funded courses of the pills will remain at pharmacies, hospitals and doctor’s offices across the country, U.S. Health and Human Services officials said Friday. Many Americans won't face copays for the treatment until those pills run out.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — A statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee that was a focal point of a deadly white nationalist protest in 2017 has been melted down and will be repurposed into new works of art. The Jefferson School African American Heritage Center, a Charlottesville-based Black history museum, said Thursday that the statue had been destroyed. The Charlottesville City Council voted in 2021 to donate the statue to the heritage center, after it proposed a Swords into Plowshares project that would melt the statue and repurpose it into public art. The statue was taken down in 2021 after years of debate and delay. Lawsuits that sought to block the statue's destruction were unsuccessful.

—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.

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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.