On the version of Hot off the Wire posted Dec. 20 at 6:45 a.m. CT:

DENVER (AP) — A divided Colorado Supreme Court is removing former President Donald Trump from the state’s primary ballot, saying in a historic ruling that he is ineligible to be president after his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The ruling Tuesday marks the first time in history that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment has been used to disqualify a presidential candidate. Trump's campaign spokesman called it a “flawed decision” and said they will appeal it to the U.S. Supreme Court, which has never ruled on Section 3. The provision forbids those who “engaged in insurrection” from holding office and was used mainly after the Civil War to keep former Confederates out of government.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The White House and Mexico’s president are sharply criticizing a new Texas law that would allow police to arrest migrants who illegally cross into the U.S. and empower local judges to order them to leave the country. Also Tuesday, civil rights groups and Texas’ largest border county filed a lawsuit. It came less than 24 hours after Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed the law. The groups say it's an unconstitutional reach over the U.S. government’s authority on immigration. Abbott said Tuesday that Texas is going to such dramatic lengths because of frustration over the Biden administration’s immigration policies.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A Philadelphia television station says a news helicopter has crashed in a forest in New Jersey, killing both the pilot and photographer on board. WPVI-TV says a pilot and photographer from its news team were in the helicopter when it went down about 8 p.m. Tuesday in Wharton State Forest in Hammonton. The helicopter was returning from an assignment at the Jersey Shore when it crashed in the woods. The station says New Jersey State Police troopers were able to locate the crash site, which is difficult to access. The station says it's unclear what caused the crash.

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Hamas’ top leader is in Cairo for talks on the war in Gaza. Ismail Haniyeh’s visit Wednesday is part of a flurry of diplomacy aimed at securing another cease-fire and hostage swap at a moment when the militant group is putting up stiff resistance to Israel’s offensive. It comes a day after Hamas fired rockets that set off air raid sirens in central Israel. Israel has called on the rest of the world to blacklist Hamas as a terrorist organization, saying it must be eradicated in the wake of its Oct. 7 rampage across southern Israel that triggered the war. But the sides have recently relaunched indirect talks recently.

A woman who bought a vase for $3.99 at a Virginia thrift store recently sold it for $107,000. Jessica Vincent said he bought it at a Goodwill outside Richmond and thought it would look nice in her house. But she soon learned the vase was extremely rare. It came from the Venetian island of Murano and was designed by the late architect Carlo Scarpa. The vase sold this month through Wright Auction House to a private European collector. Vincent plans to buy a new heating system in her farmhouse with the money. She is currently using two space heaters.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has memorialized Justice Sandra Day O’Connor as a pioneer in the legal world who inspired generations of women. O'Connor was the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court. Chief Justice John Roberts joined Biden in speaking at Tuesday's services at Washington National Cathedral, calling her a "strong, influential and iconic jurist.” O’Connor was an Arizona native who served as an unwavering voice of moderate conservatism on the high court for more than two decades. The rancher’s daughter was nominated in 1981 by President Ronald Reagan and came to wield considerable influence on the nine-member court. O’Connor retired at age 75 and died Dec. 1 in Phoenix.

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — Former President Donald Trump is defending his comments about migrants crossing the southern border, who he had said are poisoning the blood of America. He said at a campaign rally in Waterloo, Iowa, on Tuesday that he had not read “Mein Kampf,” referencing Adolf Hitler's fascist manifesto. He reiterated his “blood” purity comments from over the weekend and said immigrants in the U.S. illegally are “destroying the blood of our country.” Trump has faced mounting criticism for his intensifying rhetoric as he seeks to make immigration policy a key piece of his second-term agenda. Experts have noted his language echoes writings from Hitler about the “purity” of Aryan blood, which underpinned Nazi Germany's systematic murder of millions of Jews.

Ja Morant makes his season debut, Providence knocks off Marquette, Aaron Rodgers won't be returning to the Jets this season and the Rangers top the Maple Leafs.

SEATTLE (AP) — Washington's Kalen DeBoer has been named The Associated Press coach of the year in college football. The Huskies are 13-0, won the Pac-12 championship and have a spot in the College Football Playoff in just DeBoer's second year in charge. The Huskies will face Texas in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1 with a spot in the CFP championship game on the line. In DeBoer's two seasons, the Huskies are 24-2 overall. Mike Norvell of Florida State was second in voting and Missouri's Eli Drinkwitz was third.

GRINDAVIK, Iceland (AP) — A volcano has erupted in southwestern Iceland with a flash of light into the evening sky in the land known for fire and ice. Iceland’s Meteorological Office says the eruption appears to have occurred late Monday near the town of Grindavik. The town was evacuated in November after strong seismic activity damaged homes and raised fears of an imminent eruption. The volcano on the Reykjanes Peninsula is southwest of the capital, Reykjavik. The eruption could last days and isn’t expected to release ash into the air like another volcano did in 2010 that halted flights in Europe. There were no disruptions of flights to and from Iceland on Tuesday and international flight corridors remain open.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — An orange tabby cat named Taters stars in the first video sent by laser from deep space, stealing the show as he chases a red laser light. The 15-second ultra high-definition video was beamed to Earth from NASA's Psyche spacecraft, 19 million miles away. It took less than two minutes for the video to reach Earth, sent at the system's maximum bit rate. The video was loaded for the demo before Psyche blasted off to a metal-rich asteroid in October. Team members at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory decided to feature an employee's playful kitty in the video released this week.

—The Associated Press

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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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