Less than a week until Election Day; World Series beats MNF

Vice President Kamala Harris has delivered her campaign’s “closing argument” from the same spot in Washington where former President Donald Trump helped incite a mob that attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Harris used her address from the grassy Ellipse near the White House on Tuesday to encourage Americans to visualize their alternate futures if she or Trump takes over the Oval Office in less than three months. Trump met reporters at his private club and residence in Palm Beach, Florida, in the morning. He then headed to Pennsylvania for his evening rally in Allentown.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is reacting to a comic calling Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage” at a Donald Trump rally by saying, “The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters.”

LONDON (AP) — The World Health Organization says more than 8 million people were diagnosed with tuberculosis last year. That's the highest number recorded since the U.N. health agency began keeping track.

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iranian authorities have lifted a ban on imports of new iPhone 14, 15 and 16 models by the U.S. tech giant Apple. That's according to an announcement on Wednesday. The ban had been in place since 2023.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Four days before Election Day, the government will issue its final snapshot of hiring and unemployment in the United States after a presidential race in which voter perceptions of the economy have played a central role. Yet Friday’s report will include some of the most distorted monthly employment figures in years, with job growth having been held down temporarily in October by hurricanes and worker strikes.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The federal government is handing out $2.4 billion in railroad grants to help pay for 122 projects nationwide with more than half of the money going to smaller railroads. 

In other news:

• AP-NORC poll finds Democrats and Republicans split on Israel's responsibility for war's escalation.
• American consumers feeling much more confident as Election Day nears.
• About 475 damaged ballots retrieved from burned drop box in Washington state, auditor says.
• Hundreds of Pennsylvania voters are challenged based on postal service's change-of-address database.
• Trump says his New York rally marked by crude and racist insults 'was like a lovefest'.
• New York City's Mayor, under federal indictment, avoids criticizing Donald Trump following his Madison Square Garden rally.
• Supreme Court rejects push to remove Robert F. Kennedy Jr. from ballot in two swing states.
• Nebraska uses a unique method to find election workers It drafts them.
• Trump's social media company is now worth more than Musk's X after recent surge in stock price.
• Man who threatened Fani Willis and sheriff over Trump investigation gets nearly 2 years in prison.
• Elon Musk wins court victory in a dispute over a 2018 post during a labor dispute.
• NTSB preliminary report details fiery but safe emergency landing of a Frontier Airlines plane.
• Sean 'Diddy' Combs accused in new lawsuits of sexually assaulting 10- and 17-year-old boys.
• Court approves Tupperware's sale to lenders, paving way for brand's exit from bankruptcy.
• Colorado teen fights kidney failure after eating McDonald's Quarter Pounders.
• ‘I’m walking here!’ Jaywalking legalized in New York City.
• World Series Game 3 averages 13.64 million, beats 'Monday Night Football.'
• The Bonbers don't get the Bums' rush, the Mavs win a grudge match, the Capitals knock off the team that eliminated them last spring and NFL receiver news.
• As Halloween approaches, tourists visit a home with a gruesome past and tunnels said to be haunted.
• 'Halloween comet' breaks apart after flying close to the sun.
• Costume-wearing Halloween fans flock to spooky Bucharest festival.
• Police say British teen accused of fatally stabbing 3 girls also made poison and had a terror manual.
• South Korean military says the North appears poised to conduct nuclear and ICBM tests.
• Spanish authorities report multiple victims from flash flooding.

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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The News Tonight, used under license from Soundstripe. YouTube clearance: ZR2MOTROGI4XAHRX

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.