US contractor killed in Syria; Utah law limits social media for kids; NCAA Tournament highlights | Hot off the Wire podcast

On this version of Hot off the Wire:

» A strike Thursday by a suspected Iranian-made drone killed a U.S. contractor and wounded five American troops and another contractor in northeast Syria, the Pentagon said. American forces said they retaliated soon after with “precision airstrikes” in Syria.

» Utah has become the first state to sign into law legislation that attempts to limit teenagers’ access to social media apps. Republican Gov. Spencer Cox signed a pair of measures Thursday requiring parental consent before kids can sign up for sites like TikTok and Instagram.

» A three-day strike by workers in the Los Angeles Unified School District has wrapped up. But it wasn’t immediately clear Thursday if any progress has been made in negotiations for higher pay for teachers’ aides, bus drivers, custodians and other support staff in the nation’s second-largest school system.

» North Korea claimed Friday to have tested a nuclear-capable underwater drone designed to generate a gigantic “radioactive tsunami” that would destroy naval strike groups and ports.

» A prosecutor says a hostage rescue that left a suspect fatally shot Thursday in Houston began days ago when three migrants were kidnapped from a vehicle in a neighboring county.

» In sports, Gonzaga, Kansas State, UConn and Florida Atlantic won in the Sweet 16, the Cavaliers topped Brooklyn on a late shot and the Bruins edged Montreal on the ice. 

From the previous version of Hot off the Wire:

» Track and field has banned transgender athletes from international competition while adopting new regulations that could keep Caster Semenya and other athletes with differences in sex development from competing.

» Pentagon leaders have told Congress that the U.S. military must be ready for possible confrontation with China. And they’re pushing Congress to approve the Defense Department’s proposed $842 billion budget, which would modernize the force in Asia and around the world.

» The Manhattan district attorney investigating Donald Trump has rebuffed House Republicans’ request to turn over documents. The office called the effort an “unprecedented inquiry” into an ongoing probe.

» Authorities say a woman accused of setting fire last year to a Wyoming abortion clinic that was under construction told investigators that she opposes abortion and was experiencing anxiety and nightmares over the facility opening.

» A new report from the American Library Association says attempted book bannings and restrictions at school and public libraries continue to surge, setting a record in 2022.

» A young zebra walked, trotted, and galloped for hours in the busy streets of South Korea’s capital before emergency workers tranquilized the animal and brought it back to a zoo.

» A federal appeals court in a sealed order has directed a lawyer for Donald Trump to turn over to prosecutors documents in the investigation into the former president’s retention of classified records at his Florida estate.

» A top Russian security official has declared that the risk of a nuclear war has risen and blasted a German minister for threatening Russian President Vladimir Putin with arrest.

» Holocaust survivor Tova Friedman is a TikTok star at age 85, thanks to her 17-year-old grandson.