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--:-- Georgia Howe: I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley. It's Thursday, October 12th, and this is your Morning Wire afternoon update.
--:-- John Bickley: The United States and Qatar have reportedly agreed to refreeze the $6 billion set to be released to Iran. Last month, Iran released five Americans in exchange for the Biden administration's agreement to release the funds. Iran claimed the money would be used for humanitarian purposes, while Qatar agreed to verify how the money was spent. But recent reports suggest that Iran coordinated and funded Hamas' attack on Israel, thus forcing the U.S. and Qatar to block the funds.
--:-- Georgia Howe: However, today, U.S. national security spokesperson John Kirby was unable to give a definitive answer as to whether Iran could still access that money. I understand Iran hasn't accessed any of this yet. You intended for humanitarian purposes, but there have been reports of this quiet agreement. So, yes or no, if Iran wanted to access this today, could they?
--:-- John Kirby: I'm not going to speculate one way or another here about future transactions. What I can tell you is none of it has been accessed, and we are watching every dime.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The White House also gave the nation an update on the American death toll in Israel on Thursday. We can now update the number of Americans that we know have been killed to 27, and the number of unaccounted for stands today at 14. We're obviously doing everything we can to support and inform the families. Now, sadly, five more families have now gotten the worst possible news that any family can conceive of getting. And we're going to stay in touch with them as appropriate.
--:-- John Bickley: The embattled Democratic Senator Bob Menendez has been hit with a new indictment. Now, the federal government is accusing New Jersey's senior senator of conspiring to act as a foreign agent. His wife, Nadine, as well as an Egyptian-American businessman, Wael Hanna, were also charged in the superseding indictment today. The senator was originally indicted on a number of bribery charges and accused of using his official position to benefit a trio of New Jersey businessmen and the government of Egypt in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes that included gold bars, cash, and a luxury convertible. He's denied any wrongdoing.
--:-- Georgia Howe: A new report shows that the high school graduating class of 2023 had the lowest ACT scores in 30 years. The average of the scores for English, math, reading, and science was 19.5 out of 36. Adding to the alarming data, the ACT spokesperson said that nearly 50% of 2023 seniors did not meet the test's college readiness benchmarks. Critics blamed the COVID lockdowns for the abysmal scores.
--:-- John Bickley: We have a court update in the case of the Alabama woman who faked her own kidnapping earlier this year. Here with Boris, Daily Wire culture reporter Megan Basham.
--:-- Megan Basham: So, Carly Russell was found guilty this week of charges related to her fabricated claims earlier this year. She had claimed that she was abducted in Alabama. Well, Hoover Municipal Judge Brad Bishop found that the 26-year-old was guilty on Wednesday of falsely reporting to law enforcement authorities and falsely reporting an incident. The judge recommended one year in jail, nearly $1,000 in restitution, and two additional fines over $1,000 each. Now, that was according to a report from a local Alabama publication. Russell admitted to law enforcement back in July that she fabricated her entire story.
--:-- Georgia Howe: An illegal alien was recently arrested and indicted after authorities busted him with 12,000 fentanyl pills at his home in West Jordan, Utah. Oscar Noe Kotogalavis was charged with possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and illegal reentry. Fentanyl continues to kill hundreds of Americans each day while thousands of illegal aliens enter through the southern border each week.
--:-- John Bickley: U.S. Olympic gymnastic star Mary Lou Retton remains in intensive care after being struck by a rare pneumonia, according to her daughters. Retton won the individual all-around gold at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, captivating the nation and becoming the first American to win gold at the event. She was also the first female to appear on the Wheaties box. A fundraiser for the 55-year-old has raised over $370,000 to help offset hospital bills.
--:-- Georgia Howe: 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.
