On the version of Hot off the Wire posted Jan. 26 at 7 a.m. CT:

ATMORE, Ala. (AP) — Alabama has executed a man with nitrogen gas, putting him to death with a first-of-its-kind method that once again put the U.S. at the forefront of the debate over capital punishment. Officials said Kenneth Eugene Smith was pronounced dead at 8:25 p.m. Thursday at an Alabama prison. It marked the first time a new execution method has been used since lethal injection was introduced in 1982. The execution came after a last-minute legal battle in which Smith’s attorneys said the state was making him the test subject for an experimental execution method that could violate the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment. Smith was one of two men convicted in the 1988 murder-for-hire slaying of Elizabeth Sennett, a pastor’s wife.

NEW YORK (AP) — Closing arguments are set to begin in the defamation case against Donald Trump a day after the former president left a Manhattan courtroom fuming after his 3-minute testimony gave him little time to refute a writer's sexual abuse claims. On Friday, lawyers on both sides will get to sum up their case for nine jurors who will start deliberating later in the day. The jury will decide what, if anything, Trump owes magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll. A jury last year found Trump sexually abused her in spring 1996 in the changing room of a luxury Manhattan department store. Trump denies it.

MOSCOW (AP) — A Moscow court extended the pretrial detention of Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter who was detained on espionage charges, through March in a Friday ruling. A 32-year-old United States citizen, Gershkovich was arrested in the city of Yekaterinburg while on a reporting trip to Russia in late March 2023. He and his employer deny the allegations, and the U.S. government declared him to be wrongfully detained. Russian authorities have not provided any evidence to support the espionage charges. Gershkovich is the first American reporter to to face espionage charges in Russia since September 1986, when Nicholas Daniloff, a Moscow correspondent for U.S. News and World Report, was arrested by the KGB.

LONDON (AP) — Buckingham Palace says King Charles III was admitted to a private hospital to undergo a “corrective procedure” for an enlarged prostate. That announcement Friday confirms a pre-planned treatment that was announced last week. The 75-year old king will be treated at the London Clinic, where the Princess of Wales is recovering after undergoing abdominal surgery. The king visited Kate at the hospital after he arrived. Charles, who acceded to the throne 16 months ago, was diagnosed with the benign condition on Jan. 17 after going for a check-up because he was experiencing symptoms. He cancelled engagements, and was urged to rest ahead of the procedure.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia and Ukraine keep trading accusations over the crash of a Russian plane that Moscow said was carrying Ukrainian POWs, but one thing is clear: Many Ukrainians whose relatives are imprisoned in Russia are afraid this could mark the end of prisoner exchanges. Even the basic facts surrounding the crash remain unclear. Russian officials accuse Kyiv of shooting down the plane. Russia claims that 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war were on board as they headed for a prisoner swap. The Ukrainian side said it has no evidence of POWs. It has said, however, that an exchange was planned for Wednesday. Neither side has provided evidence. And relatives and loved ones are in vulnerable states, with no answers.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The Republican National Committee has pulled a resolution to consider declaring Donald Trump the party’s “presumptive 2024 nominee” before he formally clinches the requisite number of delegates. That's according to a person familiar with the decision who was not authorized to publicly discuss the proposal and spoke on condition of anonymity Thursday night. News of the withdrawal came shortly after Trump posted on his Truth Social site that he “greatly” appreciated the notion but felt, “for the sake of PARTY UNITY," that he should win the contest at the ballot box. A candidate needs 1,215 requisite delegates to secure the nomination. Trump currently has 32 delegates to Nikki Haley’s 17.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation’s economy grew at an unexpectedly brisk 3.3% annual pace from October through December as Americans showed a continued willingness to spend freely despite high interest rates and price levels that have frustrated many households. The latest figures reflected the surprising durability of the world’s largest economy, marking the sixth straight quarter in which GDP has grown at an annual pace of 2% or more. Consumers drove the fourth-quarter growth. Their spending expanded at a 2.8% annual rate, for items ranging from clothing, furniture, recreational vehicles and other goods to services like hotels and restaurant meals. The GDP report also showed that despite the robust pace of growth, inflationary measures continued to ease.

More Americans filed jobless benefits last week but layoffs remain at historically low levels despite elevated interest rates and a flurry of job cuts in the media and technology sectors. Applications for unemployment benefits rose to 214,000 for the week ending Jan. 20, an increase of 25,000 from the previous week, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Overall, 1.83 million Americans were collecting jobless benefits during the week that ended Jan. 13, an increase of 27,000 from the previous week. Weekly unemployment claims are viewed as representative for the number of U.S. layoffs in a given week.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The maker of Robitussin is recalling several lots of cough syrup due to contamination that could pose a serious risk to people with weakened immune systems. The recall affects eight lots of Robitussin cough syrup for adults containing honey. The Food and Drug Administration posted the company’s announcement to its website Wednesday. The company says the products may contain dangerously high levels of yeast. Yeast is a natural component of honey, but the levels detected by the company were beyond allowed measurements. The recalled products were Honey CF Max Day Adult and Robitussin Honey CF Max Nighttime Adult cough syrups. Haleon says it has not received any reports of injury or infection linked to the products.

The Pacers snap the 76ers winning streak, Jaylen Brunson's big night helps the Knicks beat the Nuggets, Nikita Kucherov's three-point night leads the Lightning over the Coyotes, two more NFL teams fill their vacant head coach positions, and finalists for the NFL's end-of-season awards are announced.

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Authorities say New England Patriots wide receiver Kayshon Boutte has been arrested on charges related to illegal online gambling while he was under age and playing at Louisiana State University. Boutte is accused of creating an online betting account under a fake name and then placing more than 8,900 illegal bets. State police said six were wagers on LSU football. Baton Rouge news outlets reported that an arrest affidavit alleges that two of the bets were on an LSU game that Boutte played in. State police say bets were made while Boutte was still under the age of 21 and not legally allowed to gamble.

Melanie, a singer-songwriter behind 1970s hits including “Brand New Key,” has died. Melanie's publicist tells The Associated Press that she died Tuesday. She was 76. Born Melanie Safka, the singer rose through the New York folk scene and was one of only three solo women to perform at Woodstock. Her hits included “Lay Down” and “Look What They've Done to My Song Ma.” But she was best known for “Brand New Key,” a song she wrote about a girl who roller skates past the house of a boy she longs for. It went to No. 1 in the U.S. and several other countries and became a cultural staple.

—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.

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