--:-- [Upbeat music fades out, and the host, John Bickley, speaks]
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--:-- John Bickley: This episode is brought to you by Babbel. For a limited time, get 55% off your Babbel subscription at babbel.com slash wire. Rules and restrictions may apply.
--:-- John Bickley: I'm Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief John Bickley with guest host Mary Margaret Olihan, senior reporter for The Daily Signal. It's Monday, April 29th, and this is your Morning Wire afternoon update.
--:-- Mary Margaret Olihan: Thanks for having me, John.
--:-- John Bickley: Columbia University's president says the university will not divest from Israel as talks with student organizers end. This comes as the college gave students who are occupying the campus an ultimatum for today.
--:-- Mary Margaret Olihan: University leadership gave anti-Israel protesters a 2 p.m. deadline, asking them to voluntarily leave the encampment or face consequences. Now, the school is asking students to sign a form promising to follow campus policies through June 30, 2025, or by their graduation.
--:-- John Bickley: According to Columbia leadership, failing to abide by university rules may result in probation, restricted access, suspension, or expulsion. This comes as university president Manoush Shafiq said today that the protests have created an unwelcoming environment for Jewish students. And she asked for the encampment protests to disperse voluntarily.
--:-- Mary Margaret Olihan: While Shafiq says the school will not divest from Israel, it will allow its advisory committee for socially responsible investing, which explores divestment, to review student proposals.
--:-- John Bickley: A new CNN poll shows Donald Trump has expanded his lead over Joe Biden. Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips has the latest.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: According to the latest polling from CNN, just 39% of Americans say President Biden's first term in office has been a success, while 55% say they now view President Donald Trump's term as successful. The poll also found Trump leading Biden 49 to 43% nationally.
--:-- John Bickley: It also indicates that Republicans are more united in their support of Trump than Democrats are for Biden. 92% of Republicans say Trump's term was a success, while only 73% of Democrats say the same about Biden.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Leaders in the Middle East and U.S. are stressing that revived negotiations between Israel and Hamas could be the last chance at striking a ceasefire deal. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Saudi Arabia leaders today after President Biden reiterated U.S. opposition to a ground operation in Rafah.
--:-- Mary Margaret Olihan: Blinken said the following at the World Economic Forum. The only thing standing between the people of Gaza and a ceasefire is Hamas. They have to decide, and they have to decide quickly. So we're looking to that, and I'm hopeful that they will make the right decision, and we can have a fundamental change in the dynamic.
--:-- John Bickley: An Israeli official and an Arab diplomat with knowledge of the negotiations told NBC News that the deal on the table would see 33 hostages freed in the first stage in exchange for a temporary ceasefire and the release of Palestinian prisoners.
--:-- Mary Margaret Olihan: This comes amid concern in Israel that the International Criminal Court may issue arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and other officials.
--:-- John Bickley: Islamist extremists reportedly set fire to several Christian houses and businesses in southern Egypt last week. The violence happened in the village of Al-Fawakar, which is home to about 3,000 Coptic Christian families, the largest religious minority in the Middle East.
--:-- Mary Margaret Olihan: Daily Wire reporter Zach Jewell has more.
--:-- Zach Jewell: According to locals, the attacks are believed to have been triggered by an attempt to build a new church in the village. Video circulating on social media appears to show crowds of people dancing and celebrating in front of the burning buildings.
--:-- John Bickley: Christians have long been a persecuted minority in Egypt. Conversion from Islam to Christianity is illegal. Christians are barred from holding certain public offices. And terror attacks against churches and religious minorities are fairly common.
--:-- Mary Margaret Olihan: Morning Wire.
--:-- John Bickley: Hunter Biden plans to sue Fox News. That's according to a letter from the lawyers of the president's son sent to the network and obtained by NBC News.
--:-- Mary Margaret Olihan: The letter accuses Fox News Channel and Fox News Digital of alleged conspiracy and subsequent actions to defame Hunter and paint him in a false light. His lawyers also cite what they call Fox's unlawful publication of hacked intimate images of Biden.
--:-- John Bickley: The network has not yet responded to the letter. They were given an April 26th deadline to do so.
--:-- Mary Margaret Olihan: Three women were diagnosed with HIV after getting a vampire facial procedure at an unlicensed New Mexico medical spa. Health officials say the women are believed to be the first documented cases of people contracting this virus through cosmetic needles.
--:-- John Bickley: A CDC report claims that the unlicensed facility reused disposable equipment intended for one-time use. A vampire facial involves drawing a client's own blood, separating its components, and then using tiny needles to inject plasma into the face to rejuvenate the skin.
--:-- Mary Margaret Olihan: Creepy.
--:-- John Bickley: And an interstate in Washington State saw a bizarre road hazard, Runaway zebras. After the animals broke loose on I-90, law enforcement successfully corralled three of them, while one is still on the run.
--:-- Mary Margaret Olihan: A woman who lives near the area from which the animals broke loose says she was notified by motion sensor on her security camera. She said she couldn't believe what she saw.
--:-- John Bickley: They start walking up my driveway and they make their way over to one of my rentals over here. You know, I've had plenty of bears in my front yard, but this was a new one for sure.
--:-- Mary Margaret Olihan: Another local who helped corner one of the zebras posted a video on social media and wrote, I can now add Zebra Wrangler to my resume. Well, that's a fun resume builder.
--:-- 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 the biggest stories of the day, listen to the latest full episode of Morning Wire every morning.
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