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John Bickley: After nuclear talks with Iran break down, Israel launches Operation Rising Lion, striking Iranian nuclear facilities and key military sites. We will not let the world's most dangerous regime get the world's most dangerous weapons. I'm Daily Wire, executive editor John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Friday, June 13th, and this is Morning Wire.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The FBI zeros in on the group's bankrolling the nationwide anti-ICE violence. It appears they're well orchestrated and coordinated and well funded. And sanctuary state governors face tough questions on Capitol Hill. Do you know who Raymond Rojas Basilio is?
--:-- John Bickley: I just want to say this. These crimes are horrific. Because of your sanctuary state policy. Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
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John Bickley: Israel bombed Tehran early Friday morning local time targeting Iran's nuclear facilities, ballistic missile stockpiles, and other key military sites. The move comes after the Trump administration ordered non-essential personnel out of the Middle East and amid growing tensions with the Iranian regime. Joining us to discuss is Daily Wire reporter Tim Peirce.
--:-- Tim Peirce: Tim, so we knew something was probably in the works here after these nuclear talks broke down. We now have Operation Rising Lion. What do we know so far?
--:-- John Bickley: As you mentioned, this was not totally unexpected. There were signals all week that a strike might be in the works. President Trump has been working to hammer out a deal that would prevent Iran from having any nuclear weapons capacity. But his 60-day deadline for Iran to agree to a deal lapsed, and talks really broke down over the last week. So Israel felt that their hand was forced.
--:-- Tim Peirce: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a global address soon after what he called Operation Rising Lion began. And he explained the rationale for the strikes. For decades, the tyrants of Tehran have brazenly, openly called for Israel's destruction. They've backed up their genocidal rhetoric with a program to develop nuclear weapons. In recent years, Iran has produced enough highly enriched uranium for nine atom bombs. Nine. In recent months, Iran has taken steps that it has never taken before. Steps to weaponize this enriched uranium. And if not stopped, Iran could produce a nuclear weapon in a very short time. It could be a year. It could be within a few months, less than a year. This is a clear and present danger to Israel's very survival.
--:-- John Bickley: Netanyahu also detailed what Israel targeted in its first night of bombings. We struck at the heart of Iran's nuclear enrichment program. We struck at the heart of Iran's nuclear weaponization program. We targeted Iran main enrichment facility in Natanz We targeted Iran leading nuclear scientists working on the Iranian bomb We also struck at the heart of Iran ballistic missile program Now the prime minister listed some of the key targets there What and who do we know were hit so far?
--:-- Tim Peirce: Yeah, a New York Times graphic showed at least half a dozen locations across Iran where explosions were seen. Reports say bombs hit around Tabriz in Iran's north, close to where a nuclear facility and two military bases are located. And residents in Tehran reported Israeli fighter jets overhead. Iranian state media also reported that the head of Iran's Revolutionary Guard and two of its top nuclear scientists were killed in the strikes. And Israel says this operation is just beginning. The Israeli military said it plans to continue this attack for days more.
--:-- John Bickley: All right, so this will be a multi-day campaign, but already some key targets taken out. Right, and it's important to note that Israel appears very much united in this operation. We spoke with the human rights attorney Arsene Ostrovsky, the CEO of the International Legal Forum, who is on the ground there in Tel Aviv. He said the Israeli people are fully behind these strikes and that they view them not as an act of aggression, but of self-defense. Iran presents, first and foremost, a direct and existential threat to the state of Israel. But it's also a very real threat to the United States, to American forces, to shipping, to regional stability as well. So what Israel is doing is not only defending ourselves as any sort of a nation would, but I believe it's also defending the interests of the West and the United States as well.
--:-- John Bickley: Now, what are we hearing so far from the Trump administration? Well, we've seen all along consistent support from Trump for Israel's operations against Iran and its terror proxies. Secretary of State Marco Rubio put out a statement last night that emphasized that the U.S. was not involved in these strikes. He also seemed to warn Iran against any attacks on, quote, U.S. interests or personnel. We've also seen some statements of solidarity from top Republicans as well as Democrats. Speaker Johnson, for instance, endorsed the attack in a post with an Israeli flag. Right. Well, Israel appears to have hit their main ballistic missile sites.
--:-- Tim Peirce: Tim, thanks so much for reporting.
--:-- John Bickley: Thanks for having me on.
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John Bickley: As the riots in Los Angeles have escalated with the deployment of military forces, focus has turned to the groups organizing these violent protests, especially Indivisible, an activist organization funded by George Soros. Daily Wire culture reporter Megan Basham joins us now with more.
--:-- Megan Basham: Hey, Megan. So before we get to the funding question, let's start with the latest. What's happening on the ground now?
--:-- John Bickley: Well, you know, the situation has certainly escalated, John. There is a curfew now in effect. As Cabot reported this week, National Guard troops have been deployed to disperse the protests so that ICE can do the work that they need to do. The burning cars, the traffic shutdowns while waving Mexican flags, the looting of stores, including major retailers like Apple, all of that is still continuing. California Governor Gavin Newsom, in the meanwhile, is opposing deployment, and he has sued to keep Trump from using federal troops.
--:-- Megan Basham: But California Congressman Kevin Kiley told Newsmax that Newsom is more worried about politics than the safety and peace of his constituents He views the emergency here the clear and present emergency is not the looters not the rioters posing a threat to life and property but rather the dedicated National Guardsmen who are there to get the rioting and the looting under control and to try to keep the peace.
--:-- John Bickley: There's been a lot of online chatter about this No Kings protest plan for cities around the country on Saturday. I've seen allegations that groups funding that are also funding the L.A. riots. What can you tell us about that?
--:-- Megan Basham: Yeah, John, I spent a couple of days looking into who is funding these groups. And what I can tell you is that they have some very deep pockets behind them. So Neville Singham, a tech billionaire living in Shanghai, is a key figure here. He's been described as a financier of pro-Chinese Communist Party propaganda. And he allegedly funneled over $20 million into radical groups linked to these riots and to the anti-Israel protests. Another key group here is Indivisible. They are openly acknowledging their involvement, and it's noteworthy that this is the same group that was behind some of those Tesla protests. They've received some $9 million in funding from George Soros' foundation. They've also received funding from Democratic fundraising platform ActBlue. And then, you know, just for fun, for a little bit of Hollywood glamour, the Barbra Streisand Foundation has also been supporting Indivisible.
--:-- John Bickley: Authorities are now starting to arrest some of these leaders who are facilitating the riots. Just one example, U.S. Attorney Bill Asaley told Fox that the FBI arrested a man passing out bionic shield face masks to L.A. rioters. He said that this is part of an orchestrated effort, that it is not organic. We have made it a huge priority to try to identify, locate, and arrest those who are involved in organizing, supporting, funding, or facilitating these riots that are going on. It appears they're well-orchestrated and coordinated and well-funded.
--:-- Megan Basham: Right, we had Mark Hemingway on yesterday, and he talked about that very thing. Now, how about the upcoming No Kings protests? What do we know so far?
--:-- John Bickley: Yes, there's going to be roughly 1,800 of those protests all across the country, John, in some 1,500 cities this Saturday. It's funded by many of the same organizations, except for this time you can throw a Walmart heiress into the mix. So Christy Walton, who married into the family, paid for a full-page ad in national newspapers calling for the public to mobilize against ICE agents. Now, that has sparked demand for Walmart boycotts, but Walmart is trying to distance themselves from this. A Walmart spokesperson issued a statement saying, the advertisements from Christy Walton are in no way connected to or endorsed by Walmart.
--:-- Megan Basham: The big picture, though, troops are standing by for deployment in several states as the protests spread. And the governors of South Carolina, Utah and Texas are warning protesters that they are prepared to make mass arrests if necessary. Yeah, I'm sure that there's lots of concern in these cities that these protests will devolve into the violence and mayhem we're seeing in Los Angeles. Praying that doesn't happen.
--:-- John Bickley: Megan, thanks so much for reporting.
--:-- Megan Basham: Yep. Thanks, John.
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Georgia Howe: Democrat governors tried to defend their sanctuary policies before Congress yesterday. Republicans grilled governors on their handling of criminal illegal migrants in a fiery hearing. Daily Wire investigative reporter Mairead Lordi is here with the details.
--:-- Mairead Lordi: Hi, Georgia. Yes, so this was an extremely heated congressional hearing. Three Democratic governors, Kathy Hochul of New York, J.B. Pritzker of Illinois, and Tim Walls of Minnesota, who was Kamala Harris's running mate, they appeared together before the House Oversight Committee on Thursday to testify about their state's sanctuary policies. And of course, this hearing played out as Los Angeles and other cities struggled to get riots protesting ICE enforcement under control. At one point during the hearing, New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik read off a list of horrific crimes committed by illegal migrants to Kathy Hochul, who struggled to respond.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Well, this is an illegal migrant in New York because of your sanctuary state policies. Do you know what crime he committed? I'm not familiar at this moment. I bet you're going to be familiar when I remind you. he found a sleeping woman on the subway lit her on fire and burned her alive This is in Kathy Hochul New York And as I sure you are aware and I remind you that ICE issued an order to detain this violent criminal, but that was rejected by New York officials due to sanctuary state laws. They are walking down the streets because of your policies and your executive order that you signed three times. I appreciate the chairman- Rather than going after the viral moment, I suggest you look at the facts. No, no, no. I'm standing up for New Yorkers.
--:-- Georgia Howe: How did the questions for the other two governors go? About the same, really. At another point, Congressman Andy Biggs tried to get Governor Tim Walz to answer whether he agreed with his own Minnesota attorney general, who said it was not lawful for counties to hold illegal migrants in custody for ICE, even with an immigration warrant. That's his statement. It's not yours. I just want to know if you agree with him. Yeah, well, I know you know this, Congressman, that all 87 Minnesota counties follow federal law. I don't know that. I just want to know. I don't know. Why would I know that? I'm just going by your attorney general. He says not to do it. Do you agree with the attorney general? That's all I'm asking. The attorney general is elected independently in Minnesota. Nothing in his opinion allows it. In Minnesota. So are you telling me you disagree with him? Could I have 20 seconds just to say? I just want you to answer the question. You're not answering the question.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Then Illinois Governor Pritzker balked at answering whether he thinks a certain Guatemalan man had a right to be in the country illegally, who was arrested on suspicion of killing two women ages 20 and 21 by crashing into them at a traffic light while driving drunk. That migrant is also under federal indictment for having a fraudulent permanent resident card, social security card, and passport. Here's that exchange with Congressman James Comer. I understand, Governor, should that criminal have been here in the first place? Did he have a right to be in this country illegally. If the person is a criminal of any sort, then they ought to be arrested, they ought to be given their due process rights, and they ought to be convicted.
--:-- Mairead Lordi: Hannah Davis, policy analyst at the Federation for American Immigration Reform. She said the number of sanctuary districts in the United States has exploded over the last decade. So back in 2018 was when FAIR did its last report, and we found a little over 550. So it's been a few years, but as of May of 2025, we found 1,003 sanctuary jurisdictions across the U.S. And unfortunately, what began as a small movement initially surrounding the concept that non-citizens should be able to report crimes to local law enforcement without fear of deportation has been emboldening radical opposition to the enforcement of federal immigration policy. And again, the national conversation around sanctuary policies is happening as police try to get the Los Angeles riots against ICE under control. Right. And those riots are now spreading to more cities.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Maureen, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Mairead Lordi: Thanks, Georgia.
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Brandon: And a quick programming note. Afternoon update is back. Look for Evening Wire in your podcast feeds on weekdays at 5 p.m. Eastern time. Thanks for waking up with us. And if you're watching on YouTube, like and subscribe. We'll be back this evening with more news you need to know.
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