Tennessee expels two Democrats from House; airstrikes kill 2 in West Bank; XXXTentacion’s killers get life | Hot off the Wire podcast

On this version of Hot off the Wire:

» Tennessee’s GOP-dominated House has expelled two of three Democratic members for their roles in a demonstration in favor of gun control following the Nashville school shooting.

» Israel has conducted rare airstrikes in Lebanon and continued bombarding the Gaza Strip, an escalation that sparked fears of a broader conflict following violence over Jerusalem’s most sensitive site.

» Eight Filipinos have been nailed to crosses to reenact Jesus Christ’s suffering in a gory Good Friday tradition that is rejected by the Catholic church.

» Three men convicted in the 2018 killing of star rapper XXXTentacion were sentenced Thursday to life in prison in Florida.

» In sports, the Heat and Suns picked up big wins, there is a three-way tie at the Masters, the Braves walked off the Padres and the Penguins grabbed a key win.

From the previous version of Hot off the Wire:

» President Joe Biden’s administration is laying the blame on his predecessor, President Donald Trump, for the deadly and chaotic 2021 withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan that brought about some of the darkest moments of Biden’s presidency.

» Long-time Mideast rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia have taken another significant step toward reconciliation, formally restoring diplomatic ties, affirming the need for regional stability and agreeing to pursue economic cooperation.

» The Supreme Court is allowing a 12-year-old transgender girl in West Virginia to continue competing on her middle school’s girls sports teams while a lawsuit over a state ban continues.

» White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre described the vote in Tennessee’s GOP-controlled House to expel three Democrats as “legislative bullying.”

» The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday proposed new rules for monitoring and limiting harmful emissions from chemical plants.

» Are robot waiters the future? It’s a question the restaurant industry is increasingly trying to answer. Many think the waist-high machines are the solution to the industry’s labor shortages.

» House Republicans have subpoenaed one of the former Manhattan prosecutors who had been leading a criminal investigation into Donald Trump before quitting last year in a clash over the direction of the probe.

» China is vowing reprisals against Taiwan after a meeting between the United States House speaker and the island’s president, saying the U.S. is on a “wrong and dangerous road.”

» Rising methane levels in the atmosphere last year again played a big part in an overall increase in the greenhouse gases that cause climate change.