On this version of Hot off the Wire:
» The U.S. surgeon general says loneliness poses health risks as deadly as smoking a dozen cigarettes daily, costing the health industry billions of dollars annually. Dr. Vivek Murthy's report issued Tuesday says about half of U.S. adults say they’ve experienced loneliness.
» Television and movie writers declared that they will launch a strike for the first time in 15 years, as Hollywood girded for a walkout with potentially widespread ramifications in a fight over fair pay in the streaming era.
» Authorities have discovered the bodies of seven people during a search for two missing teenagers and they were believed to include the girls and a convicted sex offender.
» Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has notified Congress that the U.S. could default on its debt as early as June 1, if legislators do not raise or suspend the nation’s borrowing authority before then and avert what could potentially become a global financial crisis.
» Chinese electric car exporters are starting to compete with global brands in their home markets. They bring fast-developing technology and low prices that Tesla's chief financial officer says “are scary.”
» Sometime next year, semis with no human in the cab will start carrying freight down Interstate 45 between Dallas and Houston.
» In sports, James Harden guided the shorthanded Sixers to a NBA playoff win, the Nuggets got behind Nikola Jokic to take a 2-0 series lead, the Devils advanced in Stanley Cup playoffs, and the Yankees' Aaron Judge went on the injured list.
» The White House says it now estimates that just since December Russia has suffered 100,000 casualties, including more than 20,000 killed, as Ukraine has rebuffed a heavy assault in eastern Ukraine.
» First Republic Bank became the second largest failure in history Monday when regulators seized it and JP Morgan Chase stepped up as a buyer.
» The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is recommending the U.S. rethink its decades-old policy of insuring only as much as $250,000 in bank deposits.
» Fourteen-year-olds in Wisconsin could serve alcohol to seated customers in bars and restaurants under a bill circulated for cosponsors by a pair of Republican state lawmakers.
» Days after Disney sued Florida’s governor in federal court for what it described as retaliation for opposing the state’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill, members of Disney World’s governing board made up of Gov. Ron DeSantis appointees have authorized a lawsuit against the entertainment giant.
» A dizzying number of props, sets and costumes from television shows beloved by generations of viewers will be sold at auction next month. The collection James Comisar has spent over 30 years amassing includes “The Tonight Show” set Johnny Carson gave him after retiring, the timeworn living room from “All in the Family” and the bar where Sam Malone served customers on Cheers.
» A first-of-its-kind federal investigation has found two hospitals put a pregnant woman's life in jeopardy and violated federal law by refusing to provide an emergency abortion when she experienced premature labor at 17 weeks.
» There are more than 200 LGBTQ+ lawmakers across the country, and they're increasingly finding themselves fighting against bills that target their communities.
» Aerosmith will be touring a city near you for the last time to celebrate their 50-plus years together. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band announced Monday the dates for their “Peace Out” farewell tour starting Sept. 2 in Philadelphia.
» Nearly nine years after Johnny Winter’s death, a battle for control of the legendary blues guitarist’s music is being fought in court with allegations of theft and greed flying.
» In this week's AP religion roundup, Pope Francis laments the return of war in Europe, and Pittsburgh's Jewish congregations prepare for a trial in the nation's deadliest antisemitic attack.
» Doctors are zapping the heart with radiation normally reserved for cancer in a bid to better treat a dangerous kind of irregular heartbeat.
» Scientists say many North American bats are in trouble. A report by experts from the U.S., Canada and Mexico says more than half of the continent's 154 bat species are at risk of “severe population decline” in the next 15 years.
» Legal marijuana growers along the West Coast are struggling with oversupply, low prices and limited outlets for selling their product.
Butterflies take flight after emerging from chrysalis, and more of today's top videos
Rarely seen images show butterflies taking flight after emerging from chrysalis, an Instagram mom has been convicted for fabricating a story about her kids' kidnapping, and more of today's top videos.
An image is definitely worth a thousand words. Rarely seen pictures show one of the first butterflies of spring taking flight after emerging f…
A woman who publicized a fake story about how a couple tried to kidnap her children has been convicted of falsely reporting a crime.
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Auroral beads usually appear right before huge auroral displays, but until now, how these beads form has been a mystery.
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311 million people visit America’s national parks in a year, but a small number of those visitors never leave the parks.
Ukrainian soldiers were preparing to dig a trench near Bakhmut but the sound of a rocket ripping through the air less than 170 feet away stopp…
Jasper, 16, relocated from Texas to Minnesota with their parents to escape from the alarming increase in bills targeting transgender youth. "I…