--:-- Georgia Howe: I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley. It's Wednesday, October 11th, and this is your Morning Wire afternoon update.
--:-- John Bickley: The House of Representatives has recessed, making it unclear if and when a floor vote could happen. GOP House members nominated Congressman Steve Scalise of Louisiana as their party's choice for speaker. Scalise, currently House Majority Whip, won the secret ballot by a vote of 113 to 99, defeating House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan. Since Republicans have control of Congress, it is likely that Scalise will wind up the next speaker. But he first has to win 217 votes from Congress as a whole.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The death toll for U.S. citizens in Israel has jumped up to 22. That's according to a State Department announcement today. As for Americans still stranded in Israel, the Biden administration has yet to reveal any evacuation efforts and maintains that the best way to come home is via commercial travel.
--:-- John Feiner: Our understanding is that the civilian airport in Israel remains functional, operating. There are commercial flights still going in and out of Israel at the moment. Some carriers have suspended those operations, which we believe is making it somewhat difficult in some cases for Americans and others to secure tickets on outbound flights. And so the State Department is going to continue working with American citizens to help make sure that they know all of the options that are available.
--:-- Georgia Howe: One elected official is taking matters into his own hands. Congressman Corey Mills flew to Israel overnight Tuesday to help evacuate Americans as Hamas terrorists continue their brutal attack on the country. Mills told the Floridian that he has so far helped 32 Americans get out of the country, but there are still hundreds of American citizens who remain trapped.
--:-- Corey Mills: I felt compelled to show solidarity with our Israeli brethren and help Americans evacuate. The first-term congressman, who is a defense contractor and co-founder of a private security company, was part of a team of military contractors who rescued an American family from Afghanistan.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Meanwhile, Israel's government formed an emergency unity government Tuesday night. Here with more is Daily Wire reporter Zach Jewell.
--:-- Zach Jewell: Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Minister of Defense Benny Gantz, Netanyahu's chief opposition leader, have agreed to form an emergency unity government. The unity government will allow decision-making to move more quickly and with more military experience at the table. As part of the new emergency government, which will reportedly create a small war cabinet to help guide decisions.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Former President Donald J Trump and others, including Democratic Senator Tammy Baldwin, are calling on the Biden administration to reverse its decision to unfreeze $6 billion for Iran. The money was originally frozen due to sanctions placed on the world's largest state sponsor of terrorism by the Trump administration. The Biden administration unfroze that money on the condition it would only be used for humanitarian purposes and in exchange for five U.S. hostages. Critics warned that the funds would be used for terrorism by groups like Hamas.
--:-- Antony Blinken: Iran has unfortunately always used and focused its funds on supporting terrorism, on supporting groups like Hamas. And it's done that when there have been sanctions. It's done that when there haven't been sanctions. And it's always prioritized that.
--:-- Georgia Howe: A new report shows that the office of then-Vice President Joe Biden exchanged tens of thousands of emails with members of his family and their respective firms during the Obama administration. A Freedom of Information Act request obtained through America First Legal showed that Biden used his vice presidential email account to exchange more than 29 emails with his son Hunter, his brother Jim, and other business groups directly contradicting a previous claim that Biden made during his 2020 presidential campaign.
--:-- Georgia Howe: I have never discussed with my son or my brother or anyone else anything having to do with their businesses, period.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The news comes as House Republicans continue to investigate the president and his family.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Border Patrol has released 13,000 migrants in San Diego, the largest U.S. city on the border. This comes at a time when shelters in the city are already overwhelmed due to migrant numbers with around 500 new arrivals every day. While the city has developed a fairly consistent process to house immigrants, local officials have struggled to keep up with the latest numbers. Over 200,000 migrants crossed the San Diego sector from January to August of this year. That's the highest number of crossings there in two decades. U.S. Customs and Border Protection has released thousands of immigrants since early September to free up space in detention facilities.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Most are dropped off at transit stations with notices to appear in immigration court at their final destinations in the U.S.
--:-- 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.
