On the version of Hot off the Wire posted Dec. 9 at 6 a.m. CT:

Airports and highways are expected to be busier this Christmas season than they were a year ago. Auto club AAA predicted Monday that 115 million Americans will travel at least 50 miles from home over the 10 days starting right before Christmas. That's about 2% more than last year, but not quite as many as 2019, the last holiday season before the pandemic. Most of those people will travel by car, and they'll enjoy slightly lower gasoline prices that a year ago. Airfares are also down a bit from high levels a year ago, according to government figures.

NEW YORK (AP) — Health officials are releasing the first nationally representative estimate of how many U.S. adults have chronic fatigue syndrome: 3.3 million. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s number is larger than previous studies have suggested. It is likely boosted by some of the patients with long COVID. Chronic fatigue is characterized by at least six months of severe exhaustion not helped by bed rest. There is no cure, and no blood test or scan to enable a quick diagnosis. Doctors have not been able to pin down a cause. Research suggests it is a body’s prolonged overreaction to an infection.

DETROIT (AP) — U.S. auto safety regulators say they have taken the first step toward requiring devices in vehicles that prevent drunk or impaired driving. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced on Tuesday that it is starting the process to put a new federal safety standard in place requiring the technology in all new passenger vehicles. Such devices were required in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that was passed by Congress in 2021.

At a small rural Missouri high school, two English teachers shared a secret: Both were posting adult content on OnlyFans, the subscription-based website known for sexually explicit content. The site and others like it provide an opportunity for those willing to dabble in pornography to earn extra money — sometimes lots of it. The money is handy, especially in relatively low-paying fields like teaching. Many post the content anonymously while trying to maintain their day jobs. But some outed teachers and others in prominent fields have lost their jobs, raising questions about personal freedoms and how far employers can go to avoid stigma related to their employees’ after-hour activities.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google lost an antitrust lawsuit over barriers to its Android app store, as a federal court jury has decided that the company’s payments system was anticompetitive and damaged smartphone consumers and software developers. It’s a blow to a major pillar of a technology empire. But it’s a win for Epic Games, the maker of the popular Fortnite video game that brought the lawsuit — and, analyst say, for the broader game developer community. Apple prevailed in a similar case that Epic brought against the iPhone app store. But that 2021 trial was decided by a federal judge in a ruling that is under appeal at the U.S. Supreme Court.

GENEVA (AP) — The International Olympic Committee says some Russian athletes will be allowed to compete at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The decision removes the option of a blanket ban due to the invasion of Ukraine. It confirms moves the IOC started one year ago to reintegrate Russia and its military ally Belarus into global sports. In March, the IOC urged sports governing bodies to look at ways to let individual athletes compete. The IOC says eight Russians and three from Belarus in individual sports have so far qualified for Paris.

Boston-based Lithuanian pianist Rasa Vitkauskaite has released a Christmas album of holiday classics. Her family suffered for years under oppression. 

—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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