Biden visits storm-ravaged Florida; oil cut may lead to higher gas prices; Ukraine joins World Cup bid | Hot off the Wire podcast
President Joe Biden has toured hurricane-ravaged areas of Florida, surveying storm damage by helicopter and bringing a pledge that federal, state and local governments will work as one to help rebuild homes, businesses and lives.
Biden says he’s putting politics on mute for now to focus on those in need in and around Fort Myers. He comforted local residents Wednesday, walking among them with Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, a potential 2024 rival.
The OPEC+ alliance of oil-exporting countries has decided to sharply cut production to support sagging oil prices. The move Wednesday could deal the struggling global economy another blow and raise politically sensitive pump prices for U.S. drivers just ahead of key national elections.
A Democratic congressman who has made his opponent’s questionable record fighting the opioid epidemic a central theme of his campaign for Ohio’s open U.S. Senate seat has accepted campaign donations over the years from drug distributors blamed for key roles in the crisis. An Associated Press review found U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan received $27,000 in combined contributions from the nation’s three largest drug distributors between 2007 and this August.
Authorities say a Mexican citizen who was shot at a U.S. Border Patrol station in Texas has died from his wounds. The man was in custody at the Ysleta Border Patrol Station in El Paso on Tuesday when he was shot.
Oscar-winning actors Marion Cotillard and Juliette Binoche, as well as other French screen and music stars, have filmed themselves chopping off locks of their hair in a video to support protesters in Iran. The video, released Wednesday on Instagram and hashtagged HairForFreedom, comes as Iran is engulfed by anti-government protests.
The family of a cinematographer shot and killed by Alec Baldwin on the set of the film “Rust” has agreed to settle a lawsuit against Baldwin and the movie’s producers, and production may resume on the project in January.
Dallas baseball fan Cory Youmans made the catch of a lifetime, snagging the ball that New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge hit for his American League-record 62nd home run. Youmans caught the prized souvenir on the fly Tuesday night at Globe Life Field, home of the Texas Rangers.
Ukrainian soccer federation president Andriy Pavelko says hosting World Cup matches in 2030 would be “the dream of people who survived the horrors of war” after his country launched a joint bid with Spain and Portugal.
Health insurers will flood the Medicare Advantage market again this fall with enticing offers of plans that have no monthly price tag. The number of so-called zero-premium plans has been growing for years, and they can appeal to retirees who live on fixed incomes. But experts say shoppers should exercise caution before jumping at the bargain.
