--:-- [Upbeat music fades out, and the host, Georgia Howe, speaks]
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--:-- Georgia Howe: This episode is brought to you by Balance of Nature. Go to balanceofnature.com and use promo code WIRE for 35% off your first fruits and veggie set, plus $10 off each additional set. That's balanceofnature.com, promo code WIRE.
--:-- [Music fades out, and the host, Georgia Howe, speaks]
--:-- Georgia Howe: I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief John Bickley. It's Wednesday, March 20th, and this is your Morning Wire afternoon update.
--:-- John Bickley: The judge in Trump's Georgia election interference case will allow the defendants to appeal the ruling allowing the Fulton County DA to continue prosecuting the case. Daily Wire reporter Amanda Prestigiacomo has more.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee granted requests from the defense to take the decision to the Georgia Court of Appeals for review. It will be up to the appeals court to decide whether or not to hear the appeal. Attorneys for Trump and the other defendants want this appeal heard now. They argue that the failure to remove Fulton County DA Fannie Willis could lead to a retrial if the appeals court were to later find that Willis's disqualification was indeed warranted. The defendants are optimistic that an appellate review will lead to the case being dismissed and Willis being disqualified.
--:-- John Bickley: Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade resigned last week after McAfee's ruling said that Willis could stay on the case as long as Wade stepped aside.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: A New Orleans appeals court heard arguments today on Texas Senate Bill 4 after halting the law late last night. The decision to block the law, which allows police in Texas to arrest illegal immigrants and deport them, came hours after the Supreme Court allowed the law to take effect. The Biden administration has argued that the law conflicts with federal immigration law and that states have no authority to legislate on the issue. Meanwhile, Texas has argued that they have no choice but to move forward due to the crisis at their border.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: Charges against Steve Nkui, the Gold Star father who disrupted President Biden's State of the Union address earlier this month, have been dropped. Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce has the latest.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Nkui attended the State of the Union as a guest of Florida Congressman Brian Mast. The Gold Star father was arrested after he interrupted the speech shouting, "Abby Gate." The year before I took office, murder rates went up 30 percent. The biggest increase in history. Nkui is the father of Kareem Nkui, a U.S. service member who was killed during the Biden administration's chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
--:-- Georgia Howe: According to Fox News, Washington, D.C.'s Democratic Attorney General Brian Schwab decided against prosecuting Nkui as he had declined to prosecute other protesters in the past. The charges were dropped after several Republican representatives called for Nkui to be set free.
--:-- Tim Pierce: After his outburst during Biden's address, Nkui was warned by U.S. Capitol Police, then escorted out and arrested. He spoke to Morning Wire after the incident. I remember like 56 minutes or something. I watch this whole thing for like 56 minutes. And then finally he brings up Afghanistan. And he never said my kid's name. And all he had to say was, "Hey, you know what?" And not even saying a mistake. You know, I made a mistake. Or, you know, I'm to blame. Just say, "Hey, you know, United States will never forget the brave and valiant service." That's all he had to do. He didn't do that.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Daniel Penny has a court date. A Manhattan judge has scheduled the trial for the Marine vet charged in the New York subway death that occurred on October 8th. The manslaughter trial is expected to take four to six weeks. Penny's next hearing is set for September 17th.
--:-- Tim Pierce: A woman who witnessed the 24-year-old Penny subdue the irate Jordan Neely with the help of another passenger called him a quote hero. Video of the incident shows Penny restraining Neely until they reached the next subway station. Neely had a documented history of mental illness and a criminal record, which included prior subway assaults. Penny cooperated with police and was initially released, but turned himself in over a week later after District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office charged him with manslaughter. The case has divided New Yorkers, many of whom blame city leadership for failing to keep the subways safe.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: House Republicans held a Biden impeachment hearing today, which included testimony from former Hunter Biden associates Tony Bobulinski and Jason Galanis. Hunter Biden did not appear, though an empty chair with his nameplate was featured in the hearing. Galanis gave his testimony from a federal prison where he's being held for securities fraud.
--:-- Tony Bobulinski: Mr. Bobulinski, who's the big guy? Joe Biden. Joe Biden. You're sure? A thousand percent. And there's other text messages that back that up, that the brave whistleblowers Shapley and Ziegler have produced not from my phones, not from my Blackberry that I took screenshots from. They took them from subpoenas directly from Apple's iCloud that back up the fact that Hunter knew the big guy was Joe Biden. The big guy is the brand. The big guy is the lift. The big guy is the one who showed up at golf outings who did take phone calls and meetings and lunches and dinners with Hunter Biden and his business associates. Is that right? Correct.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The Biden administration is finalizing their most far-reaching climate regulation yet. The EPA rule would require automakers to sell more electric vehicles while continuing to make their gasoline vehicles more fuel-efficient. The new rule would require a boost in EV sales after 2030. That timeline change, which was revised to be less aggressive than previously planned, was an election-year concession to labor unions who had raised concerns about a rapid shift to EVs.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: Protests have continued this week in Cuba as food shortages and blackouts pushed the country towards collapse. In an interview with the Associated Press, the Cuban deputy foreign minister said the food shortages were due to longstanding embargoes by the U.S. Officials in the U.S., like Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio, are pushing back against those claims. Rubio took to X yesterday to say the disastrous situation was down to Cuba's longstanding Marxist policies. He claimed Marxism always leads to hunger, poverty, and shortages.
--:-- John Bickley: And the Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged today, but the Fed chairman, Jerome Powell, did hint at possible future rate cuts in 2024. Powell did say that inflation remains high and cutting rates too soon could reverse any progress that's been made. If we ease too much or too soon, we could see inflation come back. And if we ease too late, we could do unnecessary harm to employment and people's working lives. And so we do see the risks as two-sided. So it is consequential. We want to be careful. And fortunately, with the economy growing, with the labor market strong, with inflation coming down, we can approach that question carefully and let the data speak on that.
--:-- 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.
