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--:-- Georgia Howe: This episode is brought to you by Black Rifle Coffee. Go to blackriflecoffee.com and use promo code WIRE for 10% off your purchase and your first coffee club order. That's blackriflecoffee.com, promo code WIRE.
--:-- John Bickley: I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief John Bickley. It's Wednesday, January 24th, and this is your Morning Wire afternoon update.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The chair of the Arizona Republican Party, Jeff DeWitt, abruptly resigned today after the leak of an audio tape that appeared to show him attempting to bribe Republican Carrie Lake not to run for the Senate.
--:-- John Bickley: In the recording reportedly captured in March of last year, DeWitt offers Lake to name a price that might convince her to suspend her Senate campaign for a couple of years. Is there a number of which I can be bought? That's what it's about. You can take a pocket for a couple of years. No. No, this is not about money. This is about our country.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Amid backlash, DeWitt published a letter today announcing that he is stepping down. He also accused Lake of having set up the whole conversation and recorded it in order to, quote, have control over the state party. DeWitt also suggested that Lake has secretly recorded conversations with other people.
--:-- John Bickley: A U.S. destroyer fended off another attack from the Yemen-based Houthis today after the militant group fired ballistic missiles at U.S.-owned container ships.
--:-- Georgia Howe: According to U.S. defense officials, the Iran-backed group fired three missiles total, some of which were aimed at the U.S.-owned Maersk Detroit commercial container ship transiting the Gulf of Aden in the Southern Red Sea.
--:-- John Bickley: The USS Gravely, a U.S. destroyer, intercepted two of the missiles while a third one missed. The container ship is continuing its transit and was not damaged in the attack.
--:-- Georgia Howe: But according to White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby, the container ship wasn't the only one targeted. There were three Houthi missiles fired at two merchant vessels. One missile missed by something like 200 kilometers. The other two were shot down by a U.S. Navy destroyer.
--:-- John Bickley: That's what I know. It obviously underscores that the Houthis still intend to conduct these attacks, which means we're obviously still going to have to do what we have to do to protect that shipping.
--:-- Georgia Howe: This is the third U.S.-owned ship the Houthis have attacked in recent weeks.
--:-- John Bickley: Russia is pointing the finger at Ukraine after a Russian military transport plane went down earlier today, that killed all 74 people on board, including 65 Ukrainian prisoners.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce reports. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the aircraft was performing a scheduled flight when it was hit by anti-aircraft missiles.
--:-- Tim Pierce: The ministry claims that Russian radars observed the launch of two Ukrainian missiles. Meanwhile, the Kremlin called the incident a terrorist attack, saying the flight was on its way to the border shared with Ukraine for a prisoner swap, which Russian officials say Ukraine knew was going on.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Ukrainian officials, while they did not immediately deny the accusations, cautioned against sharing unverified information.
--:-- Tim Pierce: So far, claims about what caused the crash have not been verified.
--:-- Georgia Howe: A Delta airline Boeing 757 lost a nose wheel over the weekend while making its way from the gate to the runway creating more questions about the nation's top aircraft manufacturers quality control.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Daily Wire reporter Amanda Prestigiacomo has the latest. According to Delta Airlines, the plane which was headed to Bogota, Colombia was retired and placed back into service the next day. There were no injuries to passengers or crew.
--:-- Georgia Howe: This comes amid a string of incidents in recent years involving Boeing planes. Earlier this month, a Boeing 737 MAX 9 operated by Alaska Airlines had the door plug blown off, leaving a massive hole in the side of the plane.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Since the incident, airlines have found loose bolts and other problems in the panel doors on a handful of planes. Boeing's CEO was in Washington today meeting with lawmakers regarding the safety of the planes.
--:-- Georgia Howe: This episode is brought to you by Shopify. Get a $1 per month trial period at Shopify.com slash Morning Wire.
--:-- John Bickley: The Texas National Guard and state troopers are putting up more razor wire and keeping border agents from entering the majority of Shelby Park and Eagle Pass.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The move comes after the U.S. Supreme Court vacated a decision from a lower court that prevented border patrol agents from removing the wire.
--:-- John Bickley: The 5-4 ruling did not explicitly say that the Lone Star State has to remove the wire, so the state has doubled down. Major General Thomas Swellzer told his staff that he believes the ruling only permits Border Patrol to cut through obstacles to retrieve stranded migrants.
--:-- Georgia Howe: He said Texas National Guard troops will repair any obstacles destroyed by federal agents.
--:-- John Bickley: Meanwhile, lawmakers are urging the governor to hold the line.
--:-- Randy Weber: Here's what Congressman Randy Weber told NewsNation. Frankly, I think that Governor Abbott needs to tell the federal government to stay out of Texas in my opinion. They're not protecting the border. They've done a lousy job as the administration has. They've not put the policies into effect that need to be there to deter people from coming in.
--:-- Georgia Howe: President Biden is under fire for what critics say is election denial.
--:-- John Bickley: At an event in Virginia this week, the grinning president introduced Terry McAuliffe, the Democrat who lost the 2021 race for governor to Republican Glenn Youngkin, as, quote, the real governor of Virginia, prompting a cheer from the audience.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Hello, Virginia. And the real governor, Terry McColl.
--:-- John Bickley: Biden's campaign has focused heavily on election denial among so-called MAGA Republicans, even going so far as to compare them to the defeated Confederates.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Meanwhile, the United Auto Workers Union endorsed President Biden today.
--:-- John Bickley: Both Biden and Trump, the clear frontrunners after the New Hampshire primaries, have heavily courted auto workers in the past, seeing the group as a key demographic, especially in Midwest battleground states.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Popular fast food franchise In-N-Out Burger is leaving Oakland, California, over safety concerns for its employees.
--:-- John Bickley: The burger joint announced on Sunday that while it's doing well financially, it's closing its only location in the city due to crime.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Police department data shows that robberies in the area spiked 38 percent between 2022 and 2023, and burglaries jumped by 23 percent.
--:-- John Bickley: Those are your drive home updates this afternoon. To learn more about these stories, go to dailywire.com. And for more in-depth discussion of our biggest stories of the day, listen to the latest full episode of Morning Wire every morning.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for listening to the Morning Wire.
--:-- John Bickley: And we'll see you tomorrow.
