--:-- [Upbeat music fades out, and the hosts introduce the show]
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--:-- [Music transitions to a more serious tone]
--:-- Georgia Howe: I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley. It's Wednesday, October 18th, and this is your Morning Wire afternoon update.
--:-- John Bickley: Still no Speaker of the House as Ohio Republican Jim Jordan was unable a second time to get the 217 votes needed to secure the gavel. Once again, Democrats voted in lockstep for New York Democrat Hakeem Jeffries, who earned 212 votes, while Jordan received 199, one vote short of his total yesterday.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Some Republicans have suggested making Patrick McHenry Speaker pro-Tem on a more permanent basis. Jordan is pushing back on that idea.
--:-- John Bickley: I don't think that's the right way to go. I think we should get a Republican speaker. I got 90 percent of the Republicans in the Congress in supporting me. Would that help buy you more time? No, I mean, I think you should get a Republican speaker. I've been very clear about that. I think that's where the conference is. That's what our rules suggest. So let's get a Republican speaker and get about the people business.
--:-- Georgia Howe: President Biden made an official visit to war Israel today meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu and the nation's temporary wartime government.
--:-- John Bickley: Biden made brief remarks from a script but took no questions from the press. I want you to know you're not alone. You are not alone. We will continue to have Israel's back as you work to defend your people. We'll continue to work with you and partners across the region to prevent more tragedy to innocent civilians.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The president also announced $100 million in humanitarian funding for Gaza, where Hamas is located, as well as the West Bank, but warned the terrorist group against poaching the resources.
--:-- John Bickley: Let me be clear. If Hamas diverts or steals the assistance, they will have demonstrated once again that they have no concern for the welfare of the Palestinian people. And it will end.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Meanwhile, in reaction to false reports that Israel bombed a hospital in Gaza, anti-Israel and anti-American protests broke out at Israeli and U.S. embassies around the globe.
--:-- John Bickley: Both the U.S. and Israeli governments have confirmed that the explosion damaged mostly a hospital parking lot and was launched by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group. It also suspected that far fewer people were injured than the 500 initially reported.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Biden commented on the incident Wednesday morning. Based on what I seen it appears as though it was done by the other team not you. But there's a lot of people out there not sure. So we've got to overcome a lot of things.
--:-- John Bickley: A Daily Wire investigation has revealed that the U.S. Immigration Enforcement Agency hired a former spokeswoman for the Palestinian Liberation Organization and put her in a position to determine who gets into the country as an immigrant or asylum seeker.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Meanwhile, the U.S. is facing pressure from the political left to welcome Palestinian refugees into the country. GOP officials, including several presidential candidates, have said that no refugees from Gaza should be accepted.
--:-- John Bickley: My position is very clear. It's the first presidential candidate to say, no Gaza refugees, period. We're just not going to do it. We aren't bringing in anyone from Gaza, Syria, Somalia, Yemen, or Libya or anywhere else that threatens our security.
--:-- Georgia Howe: A judge announced Wednesday that Joran Vandersloot, the primary suspect in Natalie Holloway's 2005 disappearance, admitted that he killed her in Aruba and disposed of her remains.
--:-- John Bickley: Vandersloot has not been charged in that death, but pleaded guilty to extortion and wire fraud in that case. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Arkansas has now become the first state to force a Chinese-owned company to divest its land. Arkansas Republican Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed a bill into law that bans certain foreign parties from owning agricultural land in the state.
--:-- John Bickley: Now one company Syngenta Seeds located in Craighead County and owned by the Chinese Communist Party, is being forced to pay a $280,000 fine for failing to divest in the time given and must sell its properties.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Here's Huckabee Sanders on Tuesday. This isn't about where you're from. We welcome Chinese Americans, Russian Americans, and anyone else who's given up foreign oppression for American freedom. This is about where your loyalties lie. We simply cannot trust those who pledge allegiance to a hostile foreign power.
--:-- John Bickley: The attorneys of Sam Bankman-Fried, who's on trial for allegedly defrauding customers and investors of FTX, says that the 31-year-old would like to testify in the coming weeks but needs more Adderall in order to do so.
--:-- Georgia Howe: His lawyers say that he has a prescription to take the ADHD drug and does so each morning while at the Metropolitan Detention Center, but the dosage wears off by the time the trial starts each day.
--:-- John Bickley: They add that neither his legal team nor U.S. Marshals are allowed to bring more Adderall to the court and requested to adjourn until Thursday due to their client's prescription needs. The judge has rejected that request.
--:-- Georgia Howe: All right, 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 our latest full episode of Morning Wire every morning.
--:-- [Music transitions to a closing theme]
--:-- Georgia Howe: I'm Georgia Howe, and I'll be back with John Bickley tomorrow.
