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--:-- Georgia Howe: This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Fiscally responsible. Financial geniuses. Monetary magicians. These are things people say about drivers who switch their car insurance to Progressive and save hundreds. Visit Progressive.com to see if you could save. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates. Potential savings will vary. Not available in all states or situations.
--:-- Georgia Howe: This episode is brought to you by Fume. Kick your bad habits today by going to tryfume.com slash wire and you'll get 10% off with promo code wire. That's tryfume.com slash wire.
--:-- Georgia Howe: I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley. It's Friday, April 12th, and this is your Morning Wire afternoon update.
--:-- John Bickley: Israel is preparing for an attack from Iran that could come as early as today or tomorrow. That's according to the Wall Street Journal. The attack is in retaliation for a drone strike in Damascus, Syria that killed several Iranian military leaders. A direct attack would lead to an expansion of Israel's ongoing military efforts against Hamas.
--:-- John Bickley: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to defend Israel, saying, "Whoever harms us, we will harm them. We are prepared to meet all the security needs of the state of Israel both defensively and offensively."
--:-- Georgia Howe: U Border Patrol says they captured 54 convicted sex offenders since October 1st in the Del Rio sector alone. The sector chief patrol agent Robert Danley announced the arrests on Twitter, saying that all the men had illegally crossed the border and were trying to evade law enforcement.
--:-- John Bickley: In their February 2024 monthly update, Customs and Border Patrol reported large spikes in drug seizures. The report cited a 294% increase in methamphetamine, 164% more heroin, and 140% more cocaine in February than in January.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to 7% on Thursday, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The housing market had started to show signs of life in the first quarter after rates dipped slightly, but experts say the now elevated rates will likely lead to another slowdown and keep demand low.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Mortgage loan applications have already dropped 5% for the week and 23% year over year.
--:-- Georgia Howe: O.J. Simpson, who passed away on Thursday, owed more than $100 million at the time of his death. The former star football player was acquitted of the murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and Ron Goldman in 1995, but he was found liable for the murders in civil court in 1997.
--:-- Georgia Howe: This episode is brought to you by Shopify. Get a $1 per month trial period at shopify.com slash morningwire. That's shopify.com slash morningwire.
--:-- Tim Pierce: California lawmakers made a preemptive move to cut spending by $17 billion this week. The legislature's decision to cut spending is seen as an effort to get the state's massive deficit under control in case Governor Newsom launches a run for president.
--:-- Tim Pierce: When Newsom took office, California was enjoying historic surpluses, but those funds have disappeared. In January, Newsom announced a $38 billion deficit, but the nonpartisan legislative analyst's claims that the current deficit is actually $73 billion.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Shohei Ohtani's former interpreter has been charged with bank fraud and theft. Ipe Mizuhara is accused of stealing $16 million from baseball's biggest star in a gambling operation.
--:-- Martin Estrada: The evidence we gathered over the past few weeks has demonstrated that in total Mr. Mitsuhara stole over $16 million from Mr. Otani's account in order to pay for these illegal sports bets. Phone and bank records show that Mr. Mitsuhara appears to have accessed Mr. Otani's bank account online.
--:-- Martin Estrada: What is more, Mr. Mitsuhara lied to the bank to access the account. I want to emphasize this point. Mr. Otani is considered a victim in this case. There is no evidence to indicate that Mr. Otani authorized the over $16 million of transfers from his account to the bookmakers.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Mr. Otani has stated that he did not authorize these transfers, that he did not grant Mitsuhara access to his account.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And don't forget to file your taxes before the deadline. Monday, April 15th is tax day. The IRS has already received more than 90 million filings and 97% of those were submitted electronically. 68% of the people who have already filed or do a refund. The average refund for 2023 is $3,050.
--:-- 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.
