On the version of Hot off the Wire posted May 23 at 7:45 a.m. CT:

Nearly 44 million travelers are leaving town for Memorial Day weekend and the unofficial start of summer. But severe weather will continue to be a problem for many after deadly storms swept through the Midwest.

SAN PEDRO GARZA GARCIA, Mexico (AP) — At least nine people are dead and 63 more injured after the collapse of a stage during a campaign rally in the northern Mexican state of Nuevo Leon. The state’s governor confirmed the tragedy and said among the dead was a child. A strong gust of wind caused the stage to collapse during an event attended by presidential long-shot candidate Jorge Álvarez Máynez. 

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Officials say that Russian missiles have slammed into Ukraine’s second-largest city in the northeast of the country and killed at least seven civilians. They said at least 16 people were injured as S-300 missiles struck the city of Kharkiv early Thursday.

NEW YORK (AP) — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says in a new rule that buy now, pay later lenders are basically credit card providers and must provide the same protections and rights that apply to those lenders. 

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes sank last month, pushed down by high mortgage rates and rising prices. The National Association of Realtors reported Wednesday that existing home sales fell 1.9% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.14 million from a revised 4.22 million in March. 

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.