Biden faces new peril; astronauts confident in return

On this version of Hot off the Wire:

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s imperiled reelection campaign is hitting new trouble. Rather than urging him to stay in, House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday “it’s up to the president to decide” if he should. Celebrity donor George Clooney said he should not run, and Democratic senators expressed fresh fear about his ability to beat Republican Donald Trump. Late Wednesday, Vermont Sen. Peter Welch called on Biden to withdraw, becoming the first Senate Democrat to do so. It all shows how unsettled the questions over Biden’s candidacy remain among Democrats, despite Biden’s insistence he is staying in the race. Pelosi has been widely watched for signals of how top Democrats are thinking about Biden’s candidacy.

DALLAS (AP) — It may take days to fully bring back power after Hurricane Beryl slammed into Texas early Monday. Frustrations grew about the recovery effort in one of the largest cities in the U.S. State officials have faced questions about whether Houston’s power utility was sufficiently prepared.

PARIS (AP) — A fire broke out in the spire of the medieval cathedral in the northern French city of Rouen but authorities said it was under control about 90 minutes later.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Two astronauts who should have been back on Earth weeks ago say they’re confident that Boeing’s space capsule can return them safely. NASA test pilots Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams launched aboard Boeing’s Starliner capsule early last month. Leaks and thruster failures almost derailed their arrival at the International Space Station, and has kept them there much longer than planned.

• Judge says Rudy Giuliani bankruptcy case likely to be dismissed. But his debts aren’t going away.
• Defense attorney says ‘Alec Baldwin committed no crime; he was an actor, acting’ at trial openings.
• Sen. Bob Menendez’s lawyer tells jury that prosecutors’ bribery case ‘dies here today.’
• Founder of collapsed hedge fund Archegos Capital is convicted in securities fraud scheme.
• BMW recalling more than 390,000 vehicles due to airbag inflator issue.
• Their Vermont homes were inundated by extreme flooding. A year later, they still struggle to recover.
• Calls for justice grow in death of Black man outside Milwaukee hotel as GOP convention approaches.
• His brother was found dead, his mother was arrested before this baby was found crawling by a highway.
• The U.S. men’s national soccer team is looking for a new coach, Novak Djokovic awaits Lorenzo Musetti in his Grand Slam semifinal debut, a banned NBA player has pleaded guilty in a wire fraud case, the Phillies hit another benchmark while improving their MLB-best record and the NBA agrees to terms on a new 11-year, $76 billion media rights deal.
• The UK mulls tighter crossbow laws after 3 women were slain in an attack. The suspect is in hospital.
• Russia declares newspaper The Moscow Times ‘undesirable’ amid crackdown on criticism.

Host Terry Lipshetz is managing editor of the national newsroom for Lee Enterprises. Besides producing the daily Hot off the Wire news podcast, Terry conducts periodic interviews for this Behind the Headlines program, co-hosts the Streamed & Screened movies and television program and is the former producer of Across the Sky, a podcast dedicated to weather and climate.