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--:-- John Bickley: 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.
--:-- Georgia Howe: I'm Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Thursday, April 4th, and this is your Morning Wire afternoon update.
--:-- John Bickley: Bipartisan group No Labels has suspended its effort to get a third-party presidential ticket on the ballot. No Label's CEO, Nancy Jacobson, said in a statement that the group has always said it would only offer our ballot line to a ticket if we could identify candidates with a credible path to winning the White House. But Jacobson says that no such candidate emerged.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The group says it will remain engaged over the next year and will promote dialogue around major policy challenges. The group was rejected by a handful of candidates during its effort to recruit. Rumors suggested they sought names such as former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu, and West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin.
--:-- John Bickley: A bid made by former President Trump and his co-defendants to dismiss the charges in the Georgia election interference case has been rejected. Daily Wire reporter Amanda Presta-Giacomo has more.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: The defendants argued that the charges brought by Fulton County DA Fannie Willis violated their First Amendment protections of political speech and activity freedom of association and to petition Congress. However, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee ruled today that their right to protest the election results did not protect against charges brought by Willis.
--:-- Steve Sadow: Steve Sadow, a lawyer representing Trump, said that Trump and the other defendants respectfully disagree with Judge McAfee's order and will continue to evaluate their options regarding First Amendment challenges.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: Trump and 14 other defendants in the racketeering case have pleaded not guilty.
--:-- John Bickley: President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke today as U.S. intelligence warns of retaliation from Iran. Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips has the latest.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Earlier this week, Israeli forces struck the Iranian consulate in the Syrian capital of Damascus, killing two Iranian commanders. Following the attack, Iran vowed it would take revenge on the U.S. and Israel for the incident. According to Lebanese media and the Pentagon, Iran is planning a retaliatory attack using a combination of drones and missiles launched from various military bases.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The news comes as President Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding Israel's war against Tamas. According to the White House, Biden told Netanyahu the Israeli strike that mistakenly killed seven World Central Kitchen aid workers earlier this week was unacceptable, though Israel said it did not intend to target the aid workers.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Biden also warned the Israeli Prime Minister that further U.S. support will depend on Israel's efforts to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering, and the protection of aid workers. Biden went on to tell Netanyahu that, quote, an immediate ceasefire is essential to stabilize and improve the humanitarian situation and protect innocent civilians.
--:-- John Bickley: Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen landed in China today for five days of meetings in which she says she intends to discuss several economic issues. According to the Treasury, Yellen will talk with her Chinese counterpart about trade practices and emphasize the consequences of industrial overcapacity happening in China.
--:-- Janet Yellen: China has faced scrutiny around the world over its building up of its manufacturing capabilities, leading Chinese companies to sell products like solar panels much cheaper than producers in other countries.
--:-- John Bickley: Here's Yellen before her trip. President Biden charged me with attempting to stabilize our economic relationship, to deepen our communication. We have agreed that it's important to both of us that we don't want to decouple our economies. We want to continue and we think we both benefit from trade and investment, but that it needs to be in a level playing field.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The Treasury says Yellen is also expected to encourage shared efforts against criminal activity such as drug trafficking and fraud. Combating climate change will also be discussed.
--:-- John Bickley: This episode is brought to you by Beam. Try Beam's best-selling dream powder for up to 40% off for a limited time when you go to shopbeam.com slash wire and use code wire at checkout. That's shopbeam.com slash wire.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Taiwan is still searching for several missing people one day after the biggest earthquake the island's seen in 25 years. At the latest count, officials say that at least 10 people are dead. According to the Central Disaster Response Center, well over 1,000 people remain injured. More than 700 people are in some way trapped and 15 are missing.
--:-- John Bickley: Officials say a large majority of those who are trapped are at a hotel in eastern Taiwan's Taroko National Park, though they have been confirmed to be safe.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The Federal Reserve will hold off on rate cuts to see if inflation can cool down. During a business conference at Stanford University, Fed Chair Jerome Powell acknowledged that efforts to combat rising prices had stalled as of late.
--:-- Jerome Powell: Powell said there's still time to look at new incoming data to guide any policy decisions. Inflation has fallen from a peak of 9.1 percent, but it remains more than a percentage point higher than the Fed's target rate of 2 percent.
--:-- John Bickley: The Fed's next rate decision will take place at the beginning of May. On Wednesday, Powell said the central bank faces risks whether it cuts interest rates too early or too late.
--:-- Jerome Powell: The good news about monetary policy is it can move quickly. The emergency tools we have, as I mentioned, are agile compared to other government policies. And they have a significant effect on the economy. So I think we've gotten to what is, knock on wood, a pretty good place. We're using our tools now to try to bring inflation down the rest of the way to 2%, while keeping the economy strong and the labor market strong as well.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Iowa women's basketball star Caitlin Clark has been named Player of the Year for the second year in a row by the AP. Clark received 35 of 36 votes for the honor. The vote took place before the March Madness tournament began.
--:-- John Bickley: Clark has led her Iowa team to the Final Four and will play University of Connecticut tomorrow at 9.30 p.m.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And the White House has directed NASA to establish a unified standard of time for the moon and other celestial bodies. This comes as the U.S. aims to set international norms in space amid a race to the stars among other countries and private companies.
--:-- 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 the biggest stories of the day, listen to the latest full episode of Morning Wire every morning.
