--:-- Georgia Howe: This episode is brought to you by LifeLock. When you visit the doctor, you probably hand over your insurance, your ID, and contact details. It's just one of the many places that has your personal info. And if any of them accidentally expose it, you could be at risk for identity theft.
--:-- John Bickley: LifeLock monitors millions of data points a second. If you become a victim, they'll fix it, guaranteed, or your money back. Save up to 40% your first year at LifeLock.com slash podcast. Terms apply.
--:-- Georgia Howe: This episode is brought to you by Lumen. Take the next step in improving your health. Go to lumen.me slash wire to get 20% off your Lumen.
--:-- John Bickley: Thank you, Lumen, for sponsoring this episode.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Undercover video exposes Colony Ridge, firefighters battle wildfires across the Carolinas, and female track athletes refuse to compete against a trans-identifying male. I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief John Bickley. It's Monday, March 3rd, and this is your Morning Wire afternoon update.
--:-- John Bickley: Undercover footage from Project Veritas shows Colony Ridge sales staff appearing to admit that they sell land to buyers with foreign IDs. It can be a Mexican passport. It can be a Mexican passport, but we need two. The passport and maybe the... Like a Mexican passport and a Mexican driver's license. Would that be okay? Yes, those two.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Daily Wire reporter Spencer Lindquist has more. In the video, saleswoman Sandy Moreno goes on to say they also don't check whether potential buyers are in the country illegally.
--:-- John Bickley: This comes just one week after state and federal law enforcement raided the area resulting in the arrests of 118 illegal aliens Colony Ridge, which is estimated to currently house 75,000 to 100,000 people, is projected to grow to 250,000 people within a decade. The development also faces lawsuits from the Texas Attorney General and federal agencies over alleged predatory sales tactics targeting Hispanic buyers.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Promotional materials and social media campaigns specifically encourage foreign buyers to, quote, own land in the United States.
--:-- John Bickley: Federal agents have busted two Guatemalan men for allegedly running one of the largest human smuggling operations in the U.S. Authorities say the suspects helped smuggle 20,000 migrants from Guatemala since 2019. Caught in Los Angeles, the alleged ringleader reportedly charged migrants up to $18,000 and held those who couldn't pay hostage.
--:-- Georgia Howe: A third suspect, still at large, is accused of threatening a federal agent. Officials say dismantling these networks is critical to saving lives and securing the border.
--:-- John Bickley: A new investigation reveals that a federal union boss collected a taxpayer-funded paycheck for 34 years without working a single hour for the Social Security Administration. Daily Wire investigative reporter Luke Rosiak reports.
--:-- Luke Rosiak: Vitolde Cerinsky, the president emeritus of the American Federation of Government Employees Social Security Council, received his salary under a policy called official time. That allows union officials to receive government salaries while working solely on union activities.
--:-- John Bickley: In 2018, Cerinsky was actually banned from social security offices amidst allegations that he sent a sexually explicit photo to an agency employee. Despite retiring, he remains a powerful force in union leadership, strategizing against efforts to reform the federal workforce.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The case has reignited calls to eliminate taxpayer union time with lawmakers arguing it a misuse of public funds Donald Trump Office of Personnel Management is now demanding that agencies report how so-called official time is being used.
--:-- John Bickley: South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster has declared a state of emergency as firefighters battle wildfires across the Carolinas. Nearly 5,000 acres have burned in South Carolina. The largest fire is in Carolina Forest near Myrtle Beach, now at 1,200 acres with 0% contained.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The state's Army National Guard has deployed Black Hawk helicopters to assist. A statewide burning ban is in effect with violators facing prosecution.
--:-- John Bickley: Here's what Forestry Commission Chief Russell Hubright told NBC about how this happened.
--:-- Russell Hubright: It's very erratic. You saw the flames were low and all of a sudden they jumped up, right? So wind changes can do that. And this kind of a fuel type, as we call it, so it can be a little scary.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Meanwhile, in North Carolina, a 500-acre wildfire near Asheville remains uncontained.
--:-- John Bickley: This episode is brought to you by Shopify. Sign up for your $1 per month trial period at shopify.com slash morningwire, all lowercase. Established in 2025 has a nice ring to it, doesn't it? Head over to shopify.com slash morningwire to start selling with Shopify today.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Two people are dead and many others injured after a driver plowed into a crowd in Mannheim, Germany. Authorities say the 40-year-old suspect is in custody, but they have not yet classified the incident as an attack.
--:-- John Bickley: The crash follows a similar car ramming in Munich last month that was linked to Islamic extremism. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz condemned the violence while officials urged residents to avoid the area.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Numerous female competitors refused to compete against a male runner who identifies as female during the USA Track and Field Open Masters Championships Daily Wire reporter Amanda Prestigiacomo has the details.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: This past weekend 21 Sadie Schreiner won the women 400 and 200 dashes after several teenage female athletes withdrew in apparent protest. Schreiner, who previously competed in men's track, also set records while racing for the women's team at the Rochester Institute of Technology.
--:-- John Bickley: USA Track and Field has not commented on the withdrawals, but follows International Olympic Committee rules allowing male athletes and women's events.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The controversy has reignited debate over fairness in women's sports.
--:-- John Bickley: And Hollywood stars descended on Kodak Theatre last night for the 2025 Oscars. Comedy-drama Anora won big last night, winning five of the six categories it was nominated for, including Best Picture.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Its 23-year-old star Mikey Madison took home Best Actress in an upset win that many thought would go to Demi Moore. Adrian Brody won a second Best Actor award for his role in The Brutalist. And Kieran Culkin and Zoe Saldana both took home Supporting Actor awards.
--:-- John Bickley: Other films receiving awards included The Brutalist, Wicked, Emilia Perez, and Dune Part 2. No Other Land took home the Oscar for Best Documentary. The Daily Wire's Am I Racist, the highest-grossing documentary of the decade, did not make the list.
--:-- Georgia Howe: However, this year's Oscar speeches were noticeably apolitical. A stark contrast to the past several years.
--:-- John Bickley: Those are your drive home updates this afternoon. To learn more about these stories, go to dailywire.com. And in case you missed it this morning, we covered some major stories, including Zelensky's flee to the EU, BlackRock's rejection of woke, and Maine's call to protect women's sports.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for tuning in. We'll be back tomorrow morning with another full edition of Morning Wire.
