US, Russia ratchet up rhetoric; Rodgers plans to play for Jets; Honda recalling 500,000 vehicles | Hot off the Wire podcast

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On this version of Hot off the Wire:

» Russia and the United States ratcheted up their confrontational rhetoric over a U.S. surveillance drone that encountered Russian warplanes and crashed near the Crimean Peninsula.

» Texas officials have announced a takeover of Houston’s nearly 200,000-student school district.

» Aaron Rodgers says he intends to play for the New York Jets in 2023 after 18 seasons in Green Bay.

» After killing hundreds and displacing thousands as it barreled through Mozambique and Malawi since late last week, Cyclone Freddy has dissipated over land, although flooding remains a threat in both countries, a regional monitoring center said late Wednesday.

» Honda is recalling a half-million vehicles in the U.S. and Canada because the front seat belts may not latch properly.

» America’s consumers trimmed their spending in February. The government said Wednesday that retail sales slipped 0.4% after jumping a revised 3.2% in January.

» Ryan Redington has won the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, which his grandfather helped co-found.

» As part of a yearlong investigation, The Associated Press obtained the data points underpinning several algorithms deployed by child welfare agencies to understand how they predict which children could be at risk of harm.