On the version of Hot off the Wire posted April 9 at 7:30 a.m. CT:

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has escalated his pledge to invade Rafah. In a video statement Monday, he declared: “It will happen. There is a date,” without elaborating. He spoke as Israeli negotiators are in Cairo discussing international efforts to broker a cease-fire deal with the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Israel has insisted on sending troops into Rafah, saying the city on the Egyptian border is Hamas’ last stronghold. However, this has raised international alarm over the fate of the around 1.4 million Palestinians sheltering in Rafah, most of whom are displaced from other parts of the Gaza Strip. Israel’s top ally, the U.S., has said invading Rafah would be a mistake and has demanded to see a credible plan to protect civilians.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Special counsel Jack Smith’s team is urging the Supreme Court to reject former President Donald Trump’s claim that he is immune from prosecution in a case charging him with scheming to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. The brief from prosecutors was submitted just over two weeks before the justices will take up the legally untested question of whether an ex-president is shielded from criminal charges for official actions taken in the White House. The outcome of the April 25 arguments is expected to help determine whether Trump faces trial this year in a four-count indictment that accuses him of conspiring to block the peaceful transfer of power after losing the 2020 election to Democrat Joe Biden.

SALEM, Mass. (AP) — Police in Massachusetts say someone threw an explosive device onto the porch of The Satanic Temple at a time when no one was inside, and the device and damage it caused were not found until nearly 12 hours later. No injuries were reported. Police said in a news release Monday that state police bomb technicians ensured that the device was no longer a danger. Police dogs swept the location for other devices and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives assisted. The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force is assisting with the investigation. Police did not provide details on the damage. Police have responded to the temple previously for bomb threats and hate crimes.

WASHINGTON (AP) — For the 10th consecutive month, Earth in March set a new monthly record for global heat — with both air temperatures and the world’s oceans hitting an all-time high for the month, the European Union climate agency Copernicus said. March 2024 averaged 57.9 degrees Fahrenheit, exceeding the previous record from 2016 by a tenth of a degree, according to Copernicus data.

In other headlines:

—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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