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--:-- John Bickley: Good evening, I'm John Bickley, executive editor of the Daily Wire, and this is Evening Wire. We're joined tonight by Georgia Howe. It's Thursday, August 28th.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Good evening, John. Thanks for having me.
--:-- John Bickley: We're learning more about the shooter in yesterday's horrific shooting in Minneapolis. Daily Wire reporter Zach Jewell has the latest.
--:-- Zach Jewell: Police say that a journal belonging to the 23-year-old shooter contained entries in which he wrote regretting his transgender identity, saying he was, quote, tired of being trans and felt he had brainwashed himself. The journal, written in English and Russian, also expressed frustration over his long hair and gender expression.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's right, Zach. This marks the second trans-identifying shooter to target a Christian school in two years following the 2023 Covenant school shooting in Nashville. It's an avenue the White House confirms the FBI is investigating.
--:-- Zach Jewell: All of the elements are being investigated in the shooting, absolutely. Which is part of the reason the FBI director came out and immediately confirmed that facet of the investigation.
--:-- John Bickley: In yet another major escalation in the battle between Trump and the Fed, Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook has officially sued the president for removing her from the Fed monetary panel. Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce has more.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Cook, who is a Biden appointee, filed a suit in federal court Thursday, and many expected to head quickly to the Supreme Court. President Trump removed her over allegations that she committed mortgage fraud before her time at the Federal Reserve.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The White House has responded to the lawsuit saying Trump had the authority to remove her because he deemed that she was quote credibly accused of lying in financial documents from a highly sensitive position overseeing financial institutions.
--:-- Tim Pierce: The Department of Health and Human Services has fired the director of the CDC, but she's refusing to step down. Attorneys representing Susan Menares say that she has neither resigned nor been fired, accusing Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. of politicizing public health.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The White House, however, insists that she's out, saying Menardez defied the president's agenda. Former acting CDC chief Richard Besser told Politico that the dismissal follows a disagreement between Menardez and RFK Jr. over vaccination schedule changes.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Menardez, the first Senate-confirmed CDC director, clashed with officials over vaccine policy. Her ouster is said to have triggered the resignations of at least three other top CDC leaders.
--:-- John Bickley: D.C.'s Democratic mayor admitted this week that President Trump's federal takeover has drastically reduced crime in the district. In a press conference Wednesday, Muriel Bowser said she greatly appreciates the federal aid and touted recent crime stats, especially of carjackings.
--:-- Muriel Bowser: The most significant thing that we are highlighting today is the area of crime that was most troubling for us in 2023. Now, we have driven it down over the last years. But for carjackings, the difference between this period, this 20-day period of this federal surge and last year represents a 87 percent reduction in carjackings in Washington, D.C.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Bowser also criticized the surge, though, and claimed that federal involvement has led to greater distrust between the community and law enforcement.
--:-- John Bickley: President Trump has a blunt message to U.S. housing authorities. Turn over the citizenship status of your tenants or risk federal funding. A draft letter from Housing Secretary Scott Turner cites Section 214 of federal housing law, which bars undocumented immigrants from public housing programs.
--:-- Scott Turner: HUD says some local authorities have failed to collect or share the required information. The order is part of President Trump's broader push to tighten benefit eligibility and enforce immigration law.
--:-- Georgia Howe: HUD officials say enforcement could include cutting off funds to non-compliant housing agencies.
--:-- John Bickley: Mexico has paused package shipments to the U.S. ahead of President Trump's rapidly approaching tariff deadline. Imported goods valued at $800 or less were exempt from tariff duties, but Trump's Department of Homeland Security announced last month that it ends this Friday.
--:-- John Bickley: In response, Mexico's postal service is shutting down shipments, at least for now. The postal service said the pause is being imposed while Mexico continues its dialogue with U.S. authorities and international postal organizations to define mechanisms that will allow for the orderly resumption of services.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Speaking of things coming from Mexico, the DEA has busted 27 people in New Hampshire with ties to Mexico's Sinaloa cartel. The DEA says the bust seized fentanyl and methamphetamine that moved through Lawrence, Massachusetts, long a fentanyl hub for New England.
--:-- John Bickley: Photos released by DEA New England show suspects in handcuffs and bundles of seized cash. Officials say the takedown targeted cartel-backed networks driving the region's fentanyl crisis.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Russia launched airstrikes against Kiev early this morning, killing 18 people and wounding 45. The move comes as Russian ground forces pushed into a new region of Ukraine yesterday.
--:-- John Bickley: In a post on Ex-Ukrainian, President Vladimir Zelensky slammed the aggression, saying, quote, Russia chooses ballistics instead of the negotiating table.
--:-- Georgia Howe: President Trump is reportedly considering harsh economic sanctions against Russia if no peace progress is made.
--:-- John Bickley: Britain, France, and Germany are moving to reimpose sweeping sanctions on Iran, citing what they call significant noncompliance with nuclear agreements.
--:-- John Bickley: The so-called E3 formally notified the UN Security Council, triggering the snapback mechanism built into the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. The sanctions would restore limits unless the entire council votes to stop them, something even Russia and China cannot veto on their own.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The International Atomic Energy Agency says Iran holds uranium far above agreed limits, but there's still time for diplomacy to prevent sanctions from taking effect.
--:-- John Bickley: An Israeli strike on a hospital in Gaza has sparked international backlash. According to the Hamash-run Gaza Health Ministry, the attack killed 20 people including journalists and health workers.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the attack a tragic mishap. Israel military has said the strike took out six terrorists as well as a camera that had been used to track Israeli military movements.
--:-- John Bickley: Military officials added that the strike was further supported by Hamas's past use of hospitals to hide terrorist activity, as well as intelligence that Hamas has used that hospital for military purposes since the start of the war.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Microsoft and Google are cracking down on employee activism. Daily Wire reporter Cassie Akiva has more.
--:-- Cassie Akiva: On Tuesday, Microsoft employees breached and occupied the offices of a top executive, leading to the firing of at least two employees. Other recent activism has included raising a Palestinian flag outside the company's headquarters and using company message boards to post activist messages.
--:-- John Bickley: Last spring, Google fired 48 people in connection to protests about the company's contract with the Israeli government. While tech has long fostered an open attitude towards activism, shifts in the labor market have made it easier to replace employees who cause workplace disruptions.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The U.S. economy grew by more than expected last quarter. Newly revised numbers from the Bureau of Economic Analysis found that real GDP actually grew by 3.3 percent over the first quarter.
--:-- John Bickley: The change was due to growth in consumer spending and increased imports, though investment spending did decline. We're now looking at an annualized growth rate of 1.4 percent for the first half of the year.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And schools using Biden-era electric buses are going back to diesel. The prior administration contracted Canadian busmaker Lyon Electric to build a fleet of 435 electric school buses. However, Lyon is now going bankrupt with most of its contract unfulfilled.
--:-- John Bickley: This renders the bus's manufacturer warranty unenforceable, and districts currently using them are either stockpiling replacement parts or pulling the buses off the roads completely.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The result? Many school districts are recommitting to the diesel-powered buses the Biden administration had hoped to phase out.
--:-- John Bickley: Who could have seen that coming?
--:-- Georgia Howe: All right, those are your drive-home updates. To learn more about these stories, go to dailywire.com.
--:-- John Bickley: And in case you missed it this morning, we covered some major stories, including the horrific shooting at a Minneapolis Catholic school, the DOJ giving settlements to FBI whistleblowers punished under Biden, and a look behind the scenes of the Cracker barrel rebranding debacle.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for tuning in. We'll be back tomorrow morning with another full edition of Morning Wire.
--:-- John Bickley: Goodnight, and we'll see you tomorrow.
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