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--:-- Georgia Howe: I'm Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Thursday, April 20th, and this is your Morning Wire afternoon update.
--:-- John Bickley: An IRS agent seeking whistleblower protection claims the investigation into Hunter Biden is being deliberately mishandled by the Biden administration. In a letter yesterday, attorney Mark D. Little told members of the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate that his client had been overseeing a high-profile controversial investigation since 2020 and wants to make protected whistleblower disclosures to Congress.
--:-- Georgia Howe: White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre addressed the allegations in today's briefing. The president has been very clear that this is something for the Department of Justice, which is independent and we have been very clear since the campaign that this is something that they need to speak to and that why we refer you to the Department of Justice We just not going to speak about it from here.
--:-- John Bickley: Elon Musk newest rocket the SpaceX Starship exploded this morning during a launch. Here with more is Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce.
--:-- Tim Pierce: The ship wasn't manned, so nobody was hurt. Musk and SpaceX say the launch was, in fact, successful because it gives the company new opportunities to learn. Starship was the tallest rocket ever built and exploded in midair after it apparently failed to separate from its super heavy booster. The outcome wasn't unexpected. Last month, Musk gave the rocket a 50-50 chance of blowing apart.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Video of the Starship launch showed the SpaceX crew cheering loudly even after the rocket exploded. It does appear to be spinning, but I do want to remind everyone that everything after clearing the tower was icing on the cake. As we promised an exciting end to the Starship inaugural integrated test flight.
--:-- Tim Pierce: BuzzFeed is permanently shuttering its news division as part of a cost-cutting move after the digital site lost $10 million. A letter to employees from the CEO said, quote, we are reducing our workforce by approximately 15% today. adding that the company will now focus its news content on the profitable HuffPost website
--:-- John Bickley: The House passed today the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act sponsored by Florida GOP Congressman Greg Stubbe by a narrow party line vote of 219 to 203 Zero Democrats supported the bill, which would bar federal funds going to schools and sporting organizations that allow males to compete in women's sports.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Today we will pass this historic legislation to protect women and girls in sports. Thank you so much to the incredible work I know that there are so many personal stories. And in addition to these wonderful women members of Congress, we have tremendous women athletes who are here with us today who have talked about just the unfairness when it comes to biological males competing in women's sports.
--:-- John Bickley: Democratic House Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, however, says that GOP characterizations of the issue are misleading. And the extreme mega Republicans are trying to sensationalize an issue that doesn't really exist. in the way that they are falsely portraying.
--:-- Georgia Howe: A judge ruled on Wednesday that Congress can, in fact, subpoena a former Manhattan prosecutor in the indictment of former President Donald Trump. Daily Wire editor Hayden Daniel has more.
--:-- Hayden Daniel: Bragg had attempted to block the subpoena of Mark Pomerantz, the prosecutor who worked extensively on Trump's case, but left after a disagreement with Bragg Pomerantz has since given media interviews and even written a book about the efforts to nab the former president The House Judiciary Committee subpoenaed the former prosecutor earlier this month and accused Bragg and his office of acting politically in the Stormy Daniels hush money case.
--:-- John Bickley: Chicago mayor-elect Brandon Johnson addressed the mob of teens that rioted in downtown Chicago last weekend again on Wednesday, doubling down on his claims that the teens should not be demonized.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Demonizing children is wrong. Do you understand the risk that young people take just because they're young? Do you know that home plate is at the bottom of my stairs? I found that out when my son was sliding down those stairs trying to score. They're young. Sometimes they make silly decisions. They do. And so we have to make sure that we are investing to make sure that young people know that they are supported.
--:-- John Bickley: One Chicago resident who helped a young man and woman escape the violent mob, as seen in a now viral video, claimed that a police officer gave her the following warning. Got told by the desk sergeant that this was going to happen. It was going to keep happening because Brandon Johnson got elected. That floored me.
--:-- 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.
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