On this version of Hot off the Wire:

Each Saturday Hot off the Wire looks at a variety of stories in business, science, health and more. This week’s headlines include:

• Many small business owners see 2024 as a “make or break” year, a survey shows.
• Casinos won $66.5B in 2023, their best year ever as gamblers showed no economic fear.
• Dandelions and shrubs to replace rubber, new grains and more. Are alternative crops realistic?
• Astronomers find what may be the universe’s brightest object with a black hole devouring a sun a day.
• “Soaring” over hills or “playing” with puppies, study finds seniors enjoy virtual reality.
• Former President Jimmy Carter reaches a milestone as the first living ex-president with an official White House Christmas ornament.
• Some video game actors are letting AI clone their voices. They just don’t want it to replace them.
• Silent brain changes precede Alzheimer’s. Researchers have new clues about which come first.
• A pacemaker for the brain helped a woman with crippling depression. It may soon offer hope to others.
• State governments looking to protect health-related data as it’s used in abortion battle.
• A Colorado man is dead after a pet Gila monster bite.
• A sand hole collapse in Florida killed a child. Such deaths occur several times a year in the U.S.
• A body camera captures the dramatic rescue of infant by deputy at scene of car crash in Florida.
• A hiker describes an 11-hour ordeal after falling on Mount Washington and admits he was “underprepared.”
• A probe of illegal drugs delivered by drone at a West Virginia prison nets 11 arrests.
• AI legalese decoder can help individuals navigate complex legal jargon, making it easier to understand terms and conditions.
• Local businesses are turning to AI legalese decoder for assistance in deciphering legal contracts and agreements.

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.

Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. Learn more here.