Published on Oct 4, 2023, 4:00:00 PM
Total time: 00:11:41
On the version of Hot off the Wire posted Oct. 5 at 7:07 a.m. CT:
STOCKHOLM (AP) — The Nobel Prize in literature has been awarded to Norwegian author Jon Fosse. The permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy announced the prize Thursday in Stockholm. The academy says the prize is for Fosse's “innovative plays and prose, which give voice to the unsayable.” Fosse told Norwegian public broadcaster NRK that he was both surprised and not, saying he had cautiously prepared himself over the years for the award. The Nobel Prizes carry a cash award of 11 million Swedish kronor from a bequest left by their creator, Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel. Winners also receive an 18-carat gold medal and diploma at the award ceremonies in December.
PINEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — The Powerball jackpot has climbed to an estimated $1.4 billion after no players matched all six numbers and hit it rich. The winning numbers announced Wednesday night are: 9, 35, 54, 63, 64 and the Powerball 1. Players will next have a shot at the Powerball jackpot Saturday night. No matter how large the prize grows the odds stay the same. It’s those odds of 1 in 292.2 million that make the jackpot so hard to win. The $1.4 billion jackpot is for a sole winner who takes an annuity, paid annually over 30 years. Winners choosing the cash option would receive an estimated $643.7 million.
McALLEN, Texas (AP) — The Department of Homeland Security announced that the Biden administration leveraged sweeping executive power to waive 26 federal laws in South Texas. This is the first time the administration has done this, a practice often employed by the Trump presidency. The waived laws will allow the construction of up to 20 miles of border barriers. The Department of Homeland Security made the announcement Wednesday on the Federal Registry that waives federal protections in Starr County, Texas. Environmental advocates said they were shocked with the Democratic administration's reversal to support such construction. The structures will run through public lands, habitats of endangered plants and species.
MEXICO CITY (AP) — New York City Mayor Eric Adams said he hoped to “manage expectations” of migrants setting out on their journeys, and to inform migrants that his city was “at capacity” after receiving around 120,000 migrants over the past year.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Some 75,000 Kaiser Permanente workers are taking to picket lines in multiple states over wages and staff shortages. Unions representing the workers who walked off the job Wednesday approved a strike for three days in California, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, and one day in Virginia and the District of Columbia. Doctors are not participating, and the company says it will keep its 39 hospitals open. Kaiser union members say understaffing is boosting the hospital system’s profits but hurting patients, while Kaiser say they offer better compensation than competitors. There have been work stoppages within multiple industries this year in the U.S.
DETROIT (AP) — Meaningful progress has been made in the negotiations between the striking United Auto Workers union and Detroit’s three auto companies. That's according to a person with direct knowledge of the talks, who said some offers had been exchanged. Another said there was more movement in talks with Jeep maker Stellantis, with less at Ford and General Motors. Neither person wanted to be identified because they aren’t authorized to speak publicly about the bargaining. Union President Shawn Fain will update members Friday on talks toward bringing to an end the nearly 3-week-old strikes against the companies.
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Adnan Syed is now free after being imprisoned for the murder of his ex-girlfriend more than two decades ago. But his attorneys will be arguing for his freedom once again on Thursday, this time in front of the Maryland Supreme Court. The case became known to millions through the true-crime podcast “Serial.” Syed is appealing a reinstatement of his murder conviction, after a lower court ordered a redo of the hearing that let the 42-year-old walk free. The court had found that the victim’s family didn’t get adequate notice to attend the hearing in person. The judges said that violated their right to be “treated with dignity and respect.”
It was day two of the Major League Baseball playoffs opening round on Wednesday and all four series are finished.
ANTWERP, Belgium (AP) — Led by Simone Biles, the U.S. women have won a record seventh consecutive team title at the gymnastics world championships. The American team of Biles, Shilese Jones, Skye Blakely and Leanne Wong combined for a total of 167.729 points to edge Brazil and France. The U.S. team won by a margin of 2.199 points as the final proved to be a closer contest than anticipated after the Americans put up a dominant performance in qualifying. The U.S. women have won gold in the team event at every world championship that included a team competition since 2011. Their victory in Antwerp broke a tie with the Chinese men and made Biles the most decorated female gymnast in history.
On the version of Hot off the Wire posted Oct. 4 at 4 p.m. CT:
WASHINGTON (AP) — Facing a likely roadblock from House Republicans on aid for Ukraine, President Joe Biden said Wednesday he’s planning to give a major speech on the issue and hinted there may be “another means” to support Kyiv if Congress balks. Biden told a group of reporters after giving remarks at the White House that “I’m going to be announcing very shortly a major speech I’m going to make on this issue and why it’s critically important for the United States and our allies that we keep our commitment” to Ukraine.
NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Donald Trump showed up for several hours on the third day of his New York civil fraud trial, complaining anew about his treatment before leaving for Florida. In court on Wednesday, his lawyers cross-examined an accountant who prepared financial statements at the heart of the case. Trump's lawyers are trying to blame the accountant for any shortcomings in the statements. New York Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit accuses Trump and his business of exaggerating his wealth in financial statements that went to banks, insurers and others. Outside the courtroom, his lawyers also appealed a key pretrial ruling. It found that Trump engaged in fraud by inflating the values of prized assets including his Trump Tower penthouse.
WASHINGTON (AP) — If your cellphone was on at 2:20 p.m. Eastern time you should have heard a loud noise and seen a message flash across your screen. That's when the U.S. government on Wednesday conducted its once-every-three-years nationwide test of the emergency alert system. Alerts also went out on radio and television. The cellphone alerts went off at the White House during press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre’s briefing. Ahead of the test, organizations that work with abuse survivors who have secret phones recommended they turn them off so as to not have the blaring noise tip off their abusers. The last nationwide test was Aug. 11, 2021.
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis has opened a big meeting on the future of the Catholic Church. He says the church is in need of repair to make it a place of welcome for “everyone, everyone, everyone.” He says it shouldn't be a rigid barricade riven by fears and ideology. Francis presided over a solemn Mass in St. Peter’s Square to formally open the meeting Wednesday. Progressives are hoping it will lead to more women in leadership roles and conservatives are warning could split the church. The meeting won’t make any binding decisions and is only the first session of a two-year process. But it nevertheless has drawn an acute battle line in the church’s perennial left-right divide.
WILLIAMSON, W.Va. (AP) — After two years of receiving federal subsidies, 220,000 child care programs across the country lost funding. Part of the largest investment in child care in U.S. history, the monthly payments ranged from hundreds to tens of thousands of dollars. The funding that ended Saturday was meant to stabilize the industry during the COVID-19 pandemic. Providers say ending it puts at risk millions of children and their families. The Century Foundation, a progressive think tank in Washington, D.C., analyzed a provider survey and government data. It concluded that half of all providers are threatened in Arkansas, Montana, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington, D.C.
The once-critical white COVID-19 vaccination cards are being phased out. Vaccines are not being distributed by the federal government anymore, so the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has stopped printing new cards. People can still get proof of vaccination from a doctor or state health department. Some states have online options that create a QR code. Health officials recommend keeping your card in a safe place if you still have one.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican California congressman Kevin McCarthy's ouster from the speaker role has left the House of Representatives roiling. An essential body of American democracy no longer has an elected leader. Lawmakers were stunned Tuesday when a House speaker was voted out of leadership for the first time. The vacant speaker job comes as the House still grapples with the aftermath of the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, a Republican Party in upheaval and the United States’ contested role in global leadership. The House faces pressing questions of how to avert a government shutdown, whether to continue to fund Ukraine’s defense against Russia's invasion and whether to proceed with an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — The man facing a murder charge in the fatal shooting of Tupac Shakur in Las Vegas 27 years ago has made his first court appearance. Duane “Keffe D” Davis faced a Nevada judge Wednesday following his indictment last week. Police and prosecutors say Davis orchestrated the drive-by killing of the hip-hop icon in September 1996 and provided his nephew with the gun to do it. Davis has publicly described his role in the killing for several years. Court records list Edi Faal as his attorney. Davis denied an interview in jail where he's being held without bail.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Associated Press and theGrio have come together for a candid conversation about issues facing Black Americans ahead of the 2024 election and amid high levels of polarization. The panel discussion, titled “Race and Democracy: The Facts and The Fury,” addresses topics ranging from targeted racial violence to barriers to voting. It is the first of its kind between the nation’s oldest wire service and Allen Media Group’s multimedia platform. It will be carried on APNews.com and theGrio.com, Wednesday at 12 p.m. Eastern. It also will air on theGrio Television Network Series “TheGrio with Marc Lamont Hill” at 7:30 p.m. Eastern.
LAKE PLACID, N.Y. (AP) — Former NFL tight end Russ Francis was killed along with another aviation enthusiast when their single-engine plane crashed shortly after takeoff from an upstate New York airport. The 70-year-old Francis and 63-year-old Richard McSpadden had taken off from Lake Placid Airport in a single-engine Cessna when it crashed Sunday afternoon in a corner of the airport. Francis was a first-round pick in the NFL draft in 1975 and played with the New England Patriots from 1975 to 1980. Francis joined the San Francisco 49ers in 1982, and was part of the team that won the 1984 Super Bowl. He rejoined New England in 1987 and retired the year after.
—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.