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--:-- John Bickley: Welcome to the Morning Wire afternoon update. I'm John Bickley.
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--:-- John Bickley: This episode is brought to you by ZBiotics. Go to zbiotics.com slash wire to get 15% off your first order with code wire at checkout. That's zbiotics.com slash wire.
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--:-- John Bickley: It's Monday, May 20th. Let's get to the news.
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--:-- John Bickley: Iran's Supreme Leader has named Vice President Mohammed Makhbar as interim president following Ibrahim Raisi's death. According to the country's state-run news agency, Raisi, along with the country's foreign minister, were confirmed dead after a helicopter crash in a mountainous region of the country.
--:-- Jonathan Gillum: Makhbar will lead the country's executive branch and, according to the Ayatollah, is required to elect a new president within 50 days. I don't see much of a difference from Iran. If anything, you're going to see Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, all these different proxy groups are probably more on guard right now at this time for the possibility that somebody like Israel, the United States would take advantage of this.
--:-- John Bickley: So I do see that changing.
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--:-- John Bickley: The International Criminal Court is seeking arrest warrants for both Israeli and Hamas leaders. My office charges Netanyahu and Gallant as co and as superiors in the commission of these alleged crimes.
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--:-- John Bickley: The court's chief prosecutor, Kareem Khan, on Monday accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and three Hamas leaders of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip and Israel.
--:-- Kareem Khan: Those who do not comply with the law should not complain later when my office takes action based upon solid evidence. That day has come. Today, we underline in the clearest possible fashion that international law and the laws of armed conflict apply to everyone. Israel is not a member of the court, so even if the arrest warrants are issued, Netanyahu and Gallant do not face any immediate risk of prosecution.
--:-- John Bickley: President Joe Biden condemned the court's decision, calling it, quote, outrageous.
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--:-- John Bickley: Michael Cohen took to the stand again today in Donald Trump's hush money trial. Daily Wire senior editor Joel Needler has the latest.
--:-- Joel Needler: Trump's former fixer says he took the money as a form of self-help during questioning from Trump's lawyer Todd Blanche. Cohen said he reimbursed a technology company on behalf of Trump's organization, but pocketed most of the money, which was around $30,000. Then Cohen was reimbursed total by the Trump organization for that payment.
--:-- John Bickley: The former Trump lawyer says he did it because he was upset about his bonus being cut after he fronted of his own money to buy the silence of adult film star Stormy Daniels.
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--:-- John Bickley: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange won the right to appeal an extradition order from the U.S. British high court judges found the United States could not assure Assange the same free speech protections as an American citizen.
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--:-- John Bickley: Assange, an Australian native, is currently being held in a British high-security prison. He was arrested by London police in 2019 after seeking asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy in London for seven years. Assange has been held in British prison after the U.S. government indicted him for his alleged role in helping Chelsea Manning hack a Pentagon computer and release classified U.S. military documents.
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--:-- John Bickley: This episode is brought to you by NetSuite. Download NetSuite's popular KPI checklist designed to give you consistently excellent performance absolutely free at NetSuite.com slash MorningWire. That's NetSuite.com slash MorningWire.
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--:-- John Bickley: Taiwan's new president, Lai Ching-da, was sworn in today and spoke strongly against China in his inaugural speech. Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce has more.
--:-- Tim Pierce: The president's victory marks a third straight term for the Democratic Progressive Party, which champions Taiwan's independence and is openly hated by the Chinese Communist Party.
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--:-- John Bickley: Lai, the former vice president, called for China to stop its verbal attacks and military intimidation of the island nation. Lai said he would neither yield to nor provoke communist China and looks to maintain the current relationship where, quote, Taiwan is already an independent, sovereign country.
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--:-- John Bickley: U Secretary of State Antony Blinken championed the victory as a win for democracy. The secretary said we look forward to working with President Lai across Taiwan political spectrum to advance our shared interests and values deepen our longstanding unofficial relationship, and maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.
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--:-- John Bickley: Illinois State Attorney Kim Fox recently drafted a policy that would not prosecute drug, theft, and gun charges from routine traffic stops. Fox, whose jurisdiction includes Chicago, says that the policy would end traffic stops for minor infractions, such as broken brake lights and missing license plates, which she claims disproportionately target people of color.
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--:-- John Bickley: One of Fox's prosecutors described the policy as unthinkable, and Chicago Alderman Silvana Tabarez said it would, quote, cement Fox's legacy as the biggest pro-criminal advocate in the nation.
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--:-- John Bickley: The plan comes in the wake of a March incident where Chicago police shot and killed Dexter Reed, who shot an officer after being pulled over for a seatbelt violation.
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--:-- John Bickley: And rising inflation under President Biden is forcing more aggressive action from a major retailer. Target will begin cutting prices on thousands of items in an attempt to win back inflation-weary customers. The retail giant cut prices on 1,500 items today and will continue to roll out lower prices on over 3,000 more products over the summer.
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--:-- John Bickley: Target joins other businesses like McDonald's, Ikea, and Aldi, who are trying to lure back consumers with special deals. Target sales declined last year for the first time in almost a decade.
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--:-- John Bickley: 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.
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