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--:-- John Bickley: I'm Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief John Bickley, with guest host Michelle Tafoya, host of the Michelle Tafoya podcast.
--:-- Michelle Tafoya: Thanks for having me, John.
--:-- John Bickley: It's Wednesday, May 29th, and this is your Morning Wire afternoon update.
--:-- Michelle Tafoya: The damaged Gaza pier that was built by the U.S. military will be removed and repaired. Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce has more.
--:-- Tim Pierce: The pier was built as an alternative route into Gaza to help deliver aid to the people in the area, but the pier was quickly damaged by rough seas and washed up on the shore. Now it will be relocated to the southern Israeli city of Ashdod, where U.S. Central Command will repair it.
--:-- Michelle Tafoya: Meanwhile, Israel is refuting claims they are responsible for a weakened attack in Gaza that reportedly left dozens of Palestinians in a tent camp dead. According to the IDF, the munitions it used were too small and too far away from the camp to have caused the type of damage that was seen.
--:-- Michelle Tafoya: Video of the strike posted on social media appears to show secondary explosions in the area of the camp which the IDF believes came from weapons stored nearby.
--:-- John Bickley: Trump New York City hush money trial is now in the hands of the jury. Here to break down the controversial jury instructions is Daily Wire senior editor Joel Needler.
--:-- Joel Needler: According to many legal experts, the most out of the ordinary and controversial instruction given by Judge Juan Marchand was that the jury does not need to agree on what crime occurred, something that former federal prosecutor Andy McCarthy called, quote, outrageous.
--:-- Joel Needler: In every criminal case, the jury has to agree on the essential elements of the offense. That's why a conviction is appropriate. The thought that in the first ever trial of a former American president who just happens to be the de facto nominee of a major party in the upcoming election, they're making up the rules of criminal procedure as they go along.
--:-- Michelle Tafoya: The jury is discussing the 34 counts facing Trump, to which he has pleaded not guilty. After a few hours of deliberation, the jury requested to review some of the evidence and hear part of the jury instructions again. Judge Mershon has dismissed the jury for the day. They will reconvene tomorrow morning to resume deliberations.
--:-- John Bickley: Trump has responded to comments made by actor Robert De Niro outside the courthouse yesterday. De Niro said Trump would be dictator if elected president. Before entering the courthouse this morning, Trump spoke to reporters about the actor's comments.
--:-- John Bickley: He's a fool. He's a broken down fool standing out there. He got he got maggot. He got maggot yesterday. He got a big dose of it.
--:-- Michelle Tafoya: De Niro's press conference was billed as a Biden campaign event when reporters asked Biden's communications chief, Michael Tyler, why the campaign hosted De Niro outside the courthouse.
--:-- Michael Tyler: He said it was because they knew the press would be there.
--:-- Michelle Tafoya: Here's a back and forth between Tyler and MSNBC.
--:-- Michael Tyler: Is there any concern about the campaign getting a little bit too close to these court proceedings and could that backfire?
--:-- Reporter: Any concerns?
--:-- Michael Tyler: No, there's no concern. This campaign is not speaking about the substance of the trial in any way, shape, or form.
--:-- Michelle Tafoya: Harvey Weinstein appeared in the same Manhattan courthouse today where jurors are deliberating Trump's fate. The former movie mogul attended a hearing for his upcoming retrial, which will likely take place after Labor Day.
--:-- John Bickley: His 2020 conviction for sex crimes was thrown out by an appeals court last month, which cited improper witness testimony. Weinstein remains in custody as he continues to serve a 16-year sentence from California.
--:-- Michelle Tafoya: This episode is brought to you by Shopify. Get a $1 per month trial period at shopify.com slash morningwire.
--:-- John Bickley: That's shopify.com slash morningwire.
--:-- Michelle Tafoya: Elections across the state of Texas yesterday had notable Republicans facing surprising challenges in tight primaries. Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan, known for his impeachment of state attorney general and fellow Republican Ken Paxton, survived by under 400 votes against Trump-backed challenger David Covey.
--:-- Dade Phelan: The voters of Southeast Texas, they chose me. And it's a good day for Southeast Texas.
--:-- Michelle Tafoya: U.S. Representative Tony Gonzalez also pulled off a win by just 400 votes against gun rights activist Brandon Herrera.
--:-- Tony Gonzalez: Last night was fun, exciting. There is absolutely nothing easy about the 23rd District in Texas.
--:-- Michelle Tafoya: Though Phelan and Gonzalez both kept their spots the support for more conservative candidates highlighted a rift in the Republican Party.
--:-- John Bickley: A California bill that would have required schools to notify parents if their child wants to change their gender identity failed to qualify for the ballot in November. Daily Wire investigative reporter Mairet Elordi has the details.
--:-- Mairet Elordi: The initiative collected 400,000 signatures, short of the 540,000 required. Proponents of the bill said it's important for parents to have transparency with the school over their child's health. Opponents argued it would be unsafe for children if their parents were unaccepting of transgender youth.
--:-- Michelle Tafoya: Campaign organizers aren't giving up, hoping to continue efforts via an appeal on the initiative's name. They previously sued Attorney General Rob Bonta for titling the bill Restrict Rights of Transgender Youth Initiative, calling it biased language.
--:-- John Bickley: An infestation of crickets is causing traffic accidents in Nevada. After responding to multiple crashes, state police issued a warning that crushed crickets are creating, quote, extremely slick and unpredictable roads.
--:-- Michelle Tafoya: While the bugs do not directly harm humans, they're quite large and have swarmed towns across the state.
--:-- John Bickley: And the culprit behind the auction of Elvis's Graceland estate appears to be a Nigerian scammer. An email address related to the mysterious group, Nassani Investments, said it was part of a scam ring preying on the vulnerable and elderly.
--:-- Michelle Tafoya: The scammer remarked, we figure out how to steal. That's what we do. I had fun figuring this one out and I didn't succeed very well.
--:-- John Bickley: The FBI is considering launching a criminal probe over the affair.
--:-- Michelle Tafoya: All right, those are your drive home updates this afternoon. To learn more about these stories, go to dailywire.com.
--:-- John Bickley: 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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