On the version of Hot off the Wire posted July 31 at 7:45 a.m. CT:

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard says Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh has been assassinated in Tehran. No one immediately claimed responsibility but suspicion immediately fell on Israel. It has vowed to kill Haniyeh and other Hamas leaders over the group’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel that sparked the war in Gaza. Haniyeh was in Tehran to attend Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s swearing-in on Tuesday. Iran gave no details on how Haniyeh was killed, and the Guard said the attack was under investigation. The top Hamas leader in Gaza is Yahya Sinwar, who masterminded the Oct. 7 attack.

BEIRUT (AP) — Israel has carried out a rare strike on Beirut, which it said killed a top Hezbollah commander who was allegedly behind a weekend rocket attack that killed 12 young people in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights. The strike in the Lebanese capital killed at least one woman and two children and wounded dozens of people. Hezbollah did not immediately confirm the commander’s death. 

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris appears to have energized Democrats in the early days of her candidacy, with the surge in warm feelings extending across multiple groups, including some key Democratic constituencies that had been tepid about President Joe Biden. That's according to a new poll. About 8 in 10 Democrats say they would be very or somewhat satisfied if Harris became the Democratic nominee for president. The survey from the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research was conducted after Biden withdrew from the race. 

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A floating barrier in the Rio Grande meant to discourage migrants from trying to cross from Mexico into Texas can stay for now, a full federal appeals court has ruled. 

A “side hustle” can be one way to try out a new business idea before taking a full-fledged jump. Nearly 1 in 3 Americans earn money on the side in addition to working full time, a Bankrate survey found. 

Decades ago, the standard transmission was a manual, while that newfangled automatic was optional. In today’s vehicles, automatic transmissions help a vehicle get better fuel economy and acceleration than traditional manual transmissions. Many performance cars don’t even come with a manual transmission anymore. But there’s still a level of satisfaction you get when driving a vehicle with a manual and shifting your own gears.

In other news:

—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.