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--:-- Georgia Howe: LifeLock monitors millions of data points a second. If you become a victim, they'll fix it, guaranteed, or your money back. Save up to 40% your first year at LifeLock.com slash podcast. Terms apply.
--:-- John Bickley: This episode is brought to you by Balance of Nature. Go to balanceofnature.com and use promo code WIRE for 35% off your first order as a preferred customer, plus get a free bottle of fiber and spice.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's balanceofnature.com, promo code WIRE.
--:-- John Bickley: I'm Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Wednesday, July 31st, and this is your Morning Wire afternoon update.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Iran's supreme leader is vowing revenge after Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas, was assassinated in Tehran.
--:-- John Bickley: Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce is here to break down what we know so far.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Both Hamas and Iran blamed Israel and vowed retaliation, with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei saying it is Iran's duty to avenge the killing. Meanwhile, Hamas is warned of major repercussions. No one has taken credit for the attack, and the Israel Defense Force has declined to comment.
--:-- John Bickley: Haniyeh was killed hours after a top Hezbollah commander was slain in Beirut escalating regional tensions The Hamas leader was in Iran for the inauguration of a new president.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Morningwire spoke to Behnam Ben Taloglu, senior fellow covering Iran and the Middle East at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Here's what he said.
--:-- Behnam Ben Taloglu: The Israelis are looking to signal resolve against Iran, which is back to Hamas, as well as the plethora of other terror groups that are firing in Israel currently, as well as, of course, to try to move things along in the ground war in Gaza. And one would expect an uptick in operations.
--:-- John Bickley: Former President Trump spoke before the National Association of Black Journalists annual convention in Chicago today, and things quickly got heated.
--:-- Georgia Howe: This appearance was an opportunity for Trump, who won 12 percent of black voters in 2020, to appeal directly to the demographic.
--:-- Tim Pierce: The conversation between Trump and the panel was immediately tense. I have been the best president for the black population since Abraham Lincoln. Better than President Johnson who signed the Voting Rights Act.
--:-- John Bickley: For you to start off a question and answer period, especially when you're 35 minutes late, because you couldn't get your equipment to work in such a hostile manner, I think it's a disgrace.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The invitation to Trump garnered much controversy and backlash. Convention co-chair Karen Attia resigned from her position yesterday, writing in a social media post, quote, to the journalists interviewing Trump, I wish them the best of luck.
--:-- John Bickley: Meanwhile the association president defended the Trump invite saying a group of NABJ founders all gave it a thumbs up.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Amid the criticisms one notable voice ESPN Stephen A Smith told them all to grow up.
--:-- John Bickley: The Fed held interest rates steady today keeping them at a two-decade high.
--:-- Georgia Howe: This comes as analysts predict that rate cuts may start as soon as September.
--:-- John Bickley: Fed officials, however, have stated that they want to be absolutely sure that inflation is on a downward trajectory before cutting rates.
--:-- Jerome Powell: The broad sense of the committee is that the economy is moving closer to the point at which it will be appropriate to reduce our policy rate. In that, we will be data dependent, but not data point dependent. So it will not be a question of responding specifically to one or two data releases. The question will be whether the totality of the data, the evolving outlook and the balance of risks are consistent with rising confidence on inflation and maintaining a solid labor market.
--:-- John Bickley: Policymakers noted inflation is, quote, somewhat elevated, a shift from the previous elevated description, and highlighted a balanced focus on employment and inflation risks.
--:-- Georgia Howe: This episode is brought to you by Birch Gold Group. Right now, qualifying purchases will get you a one-of-a-kind, limited edition, golden truth bomb. Just text WIRE to 989898 today.
--:-- John Bickley: President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela has requested a Supreme Court audit of the recent election after opposition leaders disputed his victory claim.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Daily Wire reporter Amanda Presta Giacomo has the latest.
--:-- Amanda Presta Giacomo: Maduro has announced his readiness to release the complete vote tally sheets saying he is willing to be summoned questioned and investigated However, the Supreme Court is closely aligned with his government.
--:-- John Bickley: Opposition leaders Edmundo Gonzalez and Maria Corrina Machado claim their data shows Maduro lost. International pressures are mounting as leaders, including Colombia's President Gustavo Petro, call for transparent vote counts.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The National Electoral Council has still yet to release detailed results.
--:-- John Bickley: Delta Airlines has lost half a billion dollars as a result of July's CrowdStrike cyber outage.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The outage led the carrier to cancel more than 5,000 flights. Now, Delta CEO Ed Bastian says the company is looking to sue CrowdStrike and Microsoft for its losses.
--:-- John Bickley: The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating why Delta experienced such severe disruption compared to its peers.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And embattled airplane manufacturer Boeing named a new CEO today as it looks to turn around a troubling year. They tapped Robert Kelly Ortberg, a veteran in the aerospace industry. Boeing looks to bounce back after posting a $1.4 billion loss in June and pleading guilty to misleading safety regulators earlier this month.
--:-- John Bickley: 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 our biggest stories of the day, listen to the latest full episode of Morning Wire every morning.
