--:-- [Upbeat music fades out]
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): Why shop at Burlington? Maybe it's the deals that are new each time you drop by. Maybe it's the brand names you'll be shocked Burlington has in store. Or maybe it's the quality of the items, the amazing selection, and the newest trends.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): If you like to save but also like to stay in style, Burlington is your answer. And the question you'll be asking yourself is, why go anywhere else? Burlington. Deals. Brands. Wow.
--:-- [Upbeat music continues for a few seconds before fading out]
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): This episode is brought to you by Balance of Nature. Get your daily dose of fruits and veggies that you can take anywhere. Head 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. That's balanceofnature.com, promo code WIRE.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): Pope Francis passes away at age 88, the stock market dips again, and China threatens to punish countries that make deals with Trump. I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley. It's Monday, April 21st, and this is your Morning Wire afternoon update.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): Pope Francis, whose decade-long tenure marked a turning point for the Catholic Church, died this morning, the day after he delivered an Easter message from St. Peter's Square.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): Daily Wire reporter Moreta Lordi reports.
--:-- Moreta Lordi: Cardinal Kevin Farrell of the Apostolic Chamber announced the Pope's death early Monday, stating that at 7:35 this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the house of the Father.
--:-- Moreta Lordi: Stating that his entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and of his church, the Cardinal praised Francis as a man who taught us to live the values of the gospel with fidelity, courage, and universal love, especially in favor of the poorest and most marginalized.
--:-- Moreta Lordi: Francis, who was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, was elected in March 2013 after Pope Benedict XVI resigned. He was the first Latin American pope, and his papacy often adopted progressive tones, but also upheld the church's conservative doctrines on abortion, gay marriage, and gender ideology.
--:-- Moreta Lordi: Despite his criticisms of the Trump administration for its immigration policy, one of the last people the Pope met was Vice President J.D. Vance, who visited him the day before his passing on Easter.
--:-- Moreta Lordi: During President Trump's first term, he sat down with the Pope at the Vatican in 2017. Trump responded to the Pope's death early Monday saying, "May God bless him and all who loved him."
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): Other world leaders are responding to the passing of Francis, including the president of the pontiff's home country, Argentina, Javier Millet, who said, "Despite differences that seem minor today, having been able to know him in his kindness and wisdom was a true honor for me."
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): Italian Prime Minister Giorgio Maloney posted a statement on social media saying, "A great man and a great pastor have left us. I had the privilege of enjoying his friendship, his advice, and his teachings, which have never failed even in moments of trial and suffering."
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban also posted a tribute describing Francis as a shepherd who led with courage and unwavering faith.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): The deported illegal immigrant with alleged ties to the violent MS-13 gang has been transferred out of El Salvador's notorious mega prison.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): The State Department has confirmed that Kilmar Abrego-Garcia was moved out of Seacot, that's the maximum security prison for terroristic threats.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): He was moved to a detention facility several days before the arrival of Democrat Senator Chris Van Hollen.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): Abrego Garcia told the senator that he's not in a cell and now he has his own room with a bed and furniture.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): The stock market took a hit this morning amid President Trump's ongoing tariff negotiations and war of words with the Fed.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips has the numbers.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Stocks on Wall Street plunged Monday, with the Dow dropping more than 1,200 points. The S&P 500 fell 3.2%, and the Nasdaq lost 3.5%, with nearly every major company now in the red.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: The U.S. dollar also took a hit, falling 1% to its lowest level in more than three years.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Most of the investor anxiety stemmed from ongoing trade tensions with China and fresh attacks by President Trump on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, whom he called a "major loser" after pressuring the Fed to slash interest rates.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Vice Chairman of Evercore ISI Krishna Guha warns any conflict between the White House and Federal Reserve will only add to the market uncertainty.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: We're seeing a clear signal from the market that it doesn't like the idea that the president might try to remove the Fed chair.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: There's been some loss of confidence in U.S. economic policymaking in recent weeks. Global investors are pulling capital out of the U.S.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: But what you've seen is ongoing confidence in the Fed. But if you start to raise questions about Federal Reserve independence, you are raising the bar for the Federal Reserve to cut.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: If you actually did try to remove the Federal Reserve chairman, I think you would see a severe reaction in markets, with yields higher, dollars lower, and equity selling off.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): Whether you're a startup founder navigating your first audit or a seasoned professional scaling your GRC program, proving your commitment to security has never been more critical or complex.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): A new IDC white paper found that Vanta customers achieve $535,000 per year in benefits, and the platform pays for itself in just three months.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): Get $1,000 off Vanta at vonta.com slash morningwire.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): A new investigation by The Daily Wire followed the money from embattled Texas Development Colony Ridge all the way up to the governor's office.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): Daily Wire's Spencer Lindquist reports.
--:-- Spencer Lindquist: Texas Governor Greg Abbott nominated Colony Ridge, a massive development known for attracting legal aliens, to become a federal opportunity zone in 2018.
--:-- Spencer Lindquist: That status awards investors significant tax breaks, allowing an area to develop rapidly.
--:-- Spencer Lindquist: Documents obtained by The Daily Wire reveal that Abbott submitted the nomination just two days after he took a $100,000 donation from the developer's wife.
--:-- Spencer Lindquist: Then, two weeks later, he invited Colony Ridge developer Trey Harris and State Senator Brandon Creighton to the governor's mansion for a lunch meeting.
--:-- Spencer Lindquist: After the Opportunity Zone status was finalized by the IRS, the real estate company that Creighton works for began building homes in Colony Ridge.
--:-- Spencer Lindquist: Altogether, Trey Harris visited the governor's mansion on four occasions, and he and his wife donated a total of $1.5 million to Abbott.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): China is vowing to punish countries that agreed to trade deals with President Trump.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): The communist government vowed on Monday to take countermeasures against countries that work out any deals with the U.S. that it deems to be at the expense of China's interests.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): The threats come as Trump seeks to hammer out deals with dozens of countries.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): Among them is one of China's biggest economic adversaries, India, whose prime minister is set to meet with Vice President J. Vance this week to discuss a bilateral trade deal.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): The Defense Department and the White House are firing back after the latest anonymously sourced hit piece on Pete Hegseth.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): Daily Wire senior editor Virginia Cruda has more.
--:-- Virginia Cruda: A new report by The New York Times claims that the defense secretary shared highly sensitive military information in a second signal chat group that allegedly included his wife, his brother, and his attorney.
--:-- Virginia Cruda: The Times says the chat group was accessed via Hegseth's personal phone rather than his government phone.
--:-- Virginia Cruda: Defense Department spokesman Sean Parnell released a statement responding to the story, accusing The Times of enthusiastically taking the grievances of disgruntled former employees as the sole source for their article.
--:-- Virginia Cruda: There was no classified information in any Signal chat, no matter how many ways they try to write this story, Parnell said.
--:-- Virginia Cruda: Hegseth defended himself while attending the annual White House Easter egg roll.
--:-- Virginia Cruda: This is what the media does. They take anonymous sources from disgruntled former employees, and then they try to slash and burn people and ruin their reputations.
--:-- Virginia Cruda: Not going to work with me because we're changing the Defense Department, putting the Pentagon back in the hands of war fighters, and anonymous smears from disgruntled former employees on old news doesn't matter.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): And the Bible-based animated film King of Kings held strong over Easter weekend, with a surprisingly low drop in revenue week over week.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): Enjoying an audience score of 98%, the Angel Studios film managed to perform almost as well in its second week as it did at its premiere.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): Over Easter weekend, it brought in $17.2 million, just a 10% decline from its $19.1 million debut.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): Most movies see a 50% drop in their second week.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): Its opening weekend broke the record set by the Prince of Egypt for the most money earned by an animated biblical film during its premiere, and it's made over $45 million so far.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): All right, those are your drive home updates this afternoon.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): To learn more about these stories, go to dailywire.com.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): And in case you missed it this morning, we covered several big stories. That includes the deportee battle escalating, RFK Jr. taking on autism, and Trump's fight with the Fed.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): Thanks for tuning in. We'll be back tomorrow morning with another full edition of Morning Wire.
