Ukraine minister dies in helicopter crash; polar bear kills two in Alaska; feds to investigate nursing home abuse | Hot off the Wire podcast

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On this version of Hot off the Wire:

» Authorities say Ukraine’s interior minister Denys Monastyrskyi has died in a helicopter crash near the capital that killed at least another 14 people, including other officials and three children.

» The head of the United Nations says the world is in a “sorry state” because of myriad “interlinked” challenges including climate change and Russia’s war in Ukraine.

» A shooter stood over a 16-year-old mother clutching her 10-month-old baby and pumped bullets into their heads in a brazen attack in a central California farming community that left six dead at a home linked to drugs and guns. Law enforcement is seeking at least two suspects and there is a $10,000 reward for information leading to their arrests.

» An attorney for Derek Chauvin is expected to ask an appeals court to throw out the former Minneapolis police officer's convictions in the murder of George Floyd.

» Alaska State Troopers say a polar bear has attacked and killed two people in a remote western Alaska village.

» The federal government says it will begin a targeted crackdown on nursing homes’ abuse of antipsychotic drugs and misdiagnoses of schizophrenia in patients.

» In sports, it was a big night for Joel Embiid and Jrue Holiday, and Houston won in college hoops action.

From the original version of Hot off the Wire:

» The White House is brushing aside criticism of its fragmented disclosures about the discovery of classified documents and official records at President Joe Biden’s home and former office.

» Republican Greg Abbott is starting a record-tying third term as Texas governor promising safer classrooms.

» A Navy reservist who is charged with storming the Capitol on Jan. 6 is going back on trial in Virginia on separate charges that he illegally bought silencers and talked about using them against Jewish people.

» Peoria police and fire officials are investigating a fire at a central Illinois Planned Parenthood clinic as arson, police said Tuesday.

» President Joe Biden has hosted the Golden State Warriors, who won the 2022 NBA championship, at the White House.

» Nepalese authorities are returning to families the bodies of plane crash victims and are sending the aircraft’s data recorder to France for analysis as they try to determine what caused the country’s deadliest air accident in 30 years.

» A trial in absentia has opened for Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Belarus’ top opposition leader, who denounced the proceedings as a farce and urged the West to bolster support for the country’s beleaguered opposition.

» Kevin Spacey received a lifetime achievement award from the National Cinema Museum in Turin and discussed his key roles to a sold-out crowd Monday.

» Taylor Swift’s acoustic guitar, Eminem’s signed tennis shoes and an ensemble worn by a BTS member are among the items to be auctioned for charity next month.

» The fastest Corvette ever made comes out later this year, and it’s not powered soley by a howling V8. The E-Ray is a gas-electric hybrid, the first all-wheel-drive version of the storied sports car with the front wheels running on an electric motor the traditional 6.2-liter V8 powering the back.