On the version of Hot off the Wire posted March 25 at 7:30 a.m. CT:

NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Donald Trump may be about to find out how New York state aims to collect over $457 million that he owes in his civil business fraud case. After state Attorney General Letitia James won the judgment, she opted not to enforce it during a legal time-out for Trump to ask an appeals court for a reprieve from paying up. That period ends Monday, though James could decide to allow Trump more time. The presumptive Republican presidential nominee has been trying to avoid having to post a bond for the entire sum in order to hold off collection while he appeals. Courts so far have said no.

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s hush money case in New York is set for a crucial hearing this week. A judge will weigh on Monday when the former president will go on trial. Trump has pleaded not guilty to falsifying business records, but prosecutors say Trump did it as part of an effort to protect his 2016 campaign by burying stories of an extramarital affair. Jury selection was set to start Monday but was postponed after the recent delivery of thousands of pages of records from a previous investigation. Trump’s lawyers want the case dismissal or at least delayed for three months. Prosecutors say there’s little new material in the trove.

MOSCOW (AP) — Four men accused of staging the Russia concert hall attack that killed more than 130 people have appeared before a Moscow court showing signs of severe beatings. All four were charged with terrorism. One appeared to be barely conscious during Sunday's hearing. Court statements say two of the suspects accepted their guilt in the assault, though the men’s condition raises questions about whether they were speaking freely. The authorities formally charged the men with committing a group terrorist attack resulting in deaths. The offense carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. Moscow's Basmanny District Court ordered that the men, all of whom are citizens of Tajikistan, be held in pre-trial custody until May 22.

In entertainment news, the latest on honors for Kevin Hart, and Actress Cameron Diaz and her musician husband, Benji Madden, say they are “blessed and grateful” to have welcomed a baby boy — Cardinal Madden — to their family.

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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