--:-- [Upbeat music fades out, and the host, Georgia Howe, speaks]
--:-- 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. 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.
--:-- [Music transitions to a brief commercial break]
--:-- Announcer (Balance of Nature): 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.
--:-- [Music transitions back to the hosts]
--:-- Georgia Howe: I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief John Bickley. It's Friday, March 14th, and this is your Morning Wire afternoon update.
--:-- John Bickley: The Republican-led Senate is poised to pass a funding bill today that's backed by President Trump. The stopgap bill will prevent a government shutdown that would hit at midnight tonight. The House-approved resolution faces a procedural vote in the Senate today, but as we reported this morning, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has reversed course and agreed to support the bill, so it will likely pass. Many Democrats are upset with Schumer's decision, which he defended on MSNBC.
--:-- Georgia Howe: I knew I'd get criticized, but I felt obligated for the country, for my Democratic caucus, to the people to explain how bad a shutdown would be. And if we went into a shutdown and everything bad happened, I had to give people this warning.
--:-- John Bickley: Hamas agreed today to release the last living U.S. hostage held in Gaza. Eden Alexander, a 21-year-old Israeli-American, has been in captivity for 525 days. The bodies of four dual national hostages will also be returned as part of the deal announced by a senior Hamas official. Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet his team Saturday to plan next steps as ceasefire talks continue in Qatar.
--:-- Georgia Howe: It's unclear when the transfer of hostages will take place, but it marks progress and negotiations amid pressure from President Trump, who has prioritized freeing all hostages.
--:-- John Bickley: California will borrow around $3.5 billion to cover the state's Medi-Cal shortfall. Daily Wire senior editor Ash Short has details of the budget crisis.
--:-- Ash Short: Officials inside Governor Gavin Newsom's administration are warning that the multi-million dollar loan is the maximum the state can borrow and only covers bills through the end of this month. The shortfall is fueling debate over the state's $8.4 billion cost to cover undocumented immigrants this year. This is nearly triple the original $3 billion estimate provided to California voters.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Assemblymember Carl DeMeo says he was thrown off the budget committee after exposing the massive cost for illegal immigrant health care and the three plus billion dollar loan.
--:-- Carl DeMeo: I was on the budget committee for only two hearings and I was taken off because of the line of questioning I've been engaging in in a variety of government programs and budget items. This was at my first hearing where we basically said our sources, our investigators are telling us that the cost of illegal and immigrant health care is not what you represented in the budget, that it's far higher. What's the real number? And she said it's nine point five billion. I said, OK, well, that's 43 percent higher than you. You guesstimated. And how much of that is general fund, which means how much of it is not being reimbursed by the federal government? And the answer, $8.4 billion, all but a small fraction of the cost. So we talking about one out of four dollars in the Medi program in the state general fund in California is being handed out to an illegal immigrant. And that's why it is insolvent currently.
--:-- John Bickley: There are new air restrictions around D.C.'s main airport after January's tragic mid-air collision. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced this week that the FAA is accepting both safety recommendations from the NTSB to permanently restrict non-essential helicopter operations around Reagan Washington National Airport.
--:-- Sean Duffy: Over the last two and a half years, there have been 85 near misses or close calls. And that is close calls that are within 200 feet of vertical separation and 1,500 feet of lateral separation. Incredibly close for aircraft, 85 of them. I think the question is, when this data comes in, how did the FAA not know? How did they not study the data to say, hey, this is a hotspot, we're having near misses, and if we don't change our way, we're gonna lose lives. That wasn't done. Maybe there was a focus on something other than safety. But in this administration, we are focusing on safety. And so what the FAA has deployed is AI tools. Our AI tools will help us take corrective actions preemptively as opposed to retroactively.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Tax day is just a month away. Imagine no income taxes for Americans earning less than $150,000 a year. That's President Trump's goal, according to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
--:-- Howard Lutnick: How about no tax on tips? How about no tax on overtime? How about no Social Security? How about all those things? These are the kind of thoughts that will change America. I know what his goal is. No tax for anybody who makes less than a year. That's his goal. And that's what I'm working for.
--:-- John Bickley: A massive storm system is set to slam over 100 million people across the U.S. this weekend. Daily Wire reporter Amanda Prestigiacomo has the details on the storm.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Meteorologists are warning of tornadoes, flash floods, blizzards, and wildfires for today through Sunday. Several states will be affected from Texas and Alabama up to Minnesota and Wisconsin. The central states, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, and Tennessee, will face the worst of the storms. Meteorologists are predicting over two dozen tornadoes, golf ball-sized hail, and 80 mile-per-hour winds.
--:-- Georgia Howe: As the storm rolls east Saturday into Sunday, severe thunderstorms and tornado risks will hit Louisiana, Mississippi, and Florida, while blizzards dump up to a foot of snow in the Dakotas and Minnesota. By Sunday, the entire eastern seaboard from Florida to Massachusetts will likely experience high winds and flash floods.
--:-- John Bickley: And Versace is getting a new creative director. After 30 years at the helm of the iconic Italian fashion label, Donatella Versace is stepping down. She's been leading Versace since the murder of brother Gianni back in 1997 when he was known as the king of fashion.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Donatella is credited with expanding the luxury brand into hotels and even automobiles, and for brokering its $2.1 billion sale to Michael Kors. Dario Vitale, formerly of Prada's Miu Miu line, will take over as creative director.
--:-- John Bickley: All right, there's your Drive Home updates this afternoon. To learn more about these stories, go to dailywire.com. And in case you missed it this morning, we covered some major stories, including the Democrats' shutdown threats, the death of the Green New Deal, and the anti-fluoride movement. Thanks for tuning in. We'll be back tomorrow morning with a weekend edition of Morning Wire.
