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--:-- Georgia Howe: This episode is brought to you by ZBiotics. Go to zbiotics.com slash wire to get 15% off your first order with code wire at checkout. That's zbiotics.com slash wire.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief John Bickley. It's Thursday, March 14th, and this is your Morning Wire afternoon update.
--:-- John Bickley: In what's being called the most significant criticism of the Israeli government since the war with Hamas began, Senator Chuck Schumer said the following on the Senate floor today.
--:-- [Audio clip of Senator Chuck Schumer plays]
--:-- John Bickley: I believe a new election is the only way to allow for a healthy and open decision-making process about the future of Israel at a time when so many Israelis have lost their confidence in the vision and direction of their government.
--:-- John Bickley: Schumer, the highest-ranking Jewish official in the U.S. ever, said that Netanyahu has aligned himself with, quote, far-right extremists and is pushing support for Israel worldwide to historic lows.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Schumer went on to call for course corrections in the country's strategy against Hamas, including taking precautions to better protect Palestinian civilians in Gaza.
--:-- John Bickley: Some people, however, have called the Senate majority leader's criticism tone deaf.
--:-- [Audio clip of Aryeh Lightstone plays]
--:-- John Bickley: Aryeh Lightstone, the former senior advisor to the U.S. ambassador to Israel, called Schumer's statement, quote, one of the most public betrayals of any ally in U.S. history.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Schumer's speech will solidify Bibi's next election, and either he doesn't know, or in our likelihood, he's too dumb to realize that the people of Israel do not want their government decisions being led by Biden, who just gave $10 billion to Tehran, to Iran, who thinks that there's equivalence in between Hamas and Israel, and who believes, as Secretary of State Blinken said, that Israel's number one priority in the war should be providing humanitarian aid to their enemies.
--:-- John Bickley: Former President Trump was in court again today, this time in Florida.
--:-- [Audio clip of Spencer Lindquist plays]
--:-- John Bickley: Daily Wire reporter Spencer Lindquist has more.
--:-- Spencer Lindquist: Trump's lawyers have argued a judge should drop the federal criminal case regarding his handling of classified documents, claiming that the Presidential Records Act bars his prosecution.
--:-- John Bickley: The law that was passed in 1978 governs the preservation of information during and following a presidency.
--:-- Spencer Lindquist: Meanwhile, special counsel Jack Smith has called on the judge to reject Trump's claim.
--:-- John Bickley: The former president says he designated the materials he took to Mar-a-Lago as personal records while still in office.
--:-- Spencer Lindquist: A president's personal records are excluded from the Records Act requirements.
--:-- John Bickley: According to NBC, the judge presiding over the case appeared skeptical of Trump's argument.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Hunter Biden is fielding criticism for declining to appear at a congressional hearing next week.
--:-- [Audio clip of Tim Pierce plays]
--:-- Georgia Howe: Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce reports.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Hunter's former business partner Tony Bobulinski said in a statement that he was disappointed to see Hunter dodging the opportunity.
--:-- John Bickley: He said he's been adamant in wanting to go before the American people and oversight is now giving him that opportunity.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Bobulinski went on to say just how committed he is to revealing the full truth before the nation as he called for all the witnesses, including himself, to be subject to a polygraph with real-time results to be viewed by the American people.
--:-- Georgia Howe: In addition to Hunter Biden and Bobulinski, the House Oversight Committee invited Devin Archer and Jason Galanis to testify at the 10 a.m. hearing on March 20th.
--:-- John Bickley: Senator Bob Menendez, though, is reportedly considering re-election, though as two sources close to the senator tell NBC, the potential bid will be as an independent candidate.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Menendez, along with his wife Nadine, face around 18 federal counts and are accused of taking bribes from a foreign government for political favors.
--:-- John Bickley: The senator, currently a Democrat, stepped down from his post as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee after his indictment, but has rejected calls for his resignation.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now he's reportedly making calls to allies and preparing to collect signatures to run as an independent.
--:-- John Bickley: Several New Jersey Democrats have already filed to replace the embattled senator.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The death of transgender Oklahoma student Nex Benedict has been ruled a suicide.
--:-- [Audio clip of Amanda Prestigiacomo plays]
--:-- Georgia Howe: Daily Wire reporter Amanda Prestigiacomo has the latest.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: The medical examiner's report, which was released yesterday, listed the probable cause of death as combined toxicity from two drugs.
--:-- John Bickley: One of the drugs is available over the counter and the other is prescription only.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Previous reporting had focused on an altercation in which the trans-identifying teen claimed to have been jumped by three students after throwing water on them.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Notably, police said in an early preliminary report that Nex's death was not the result of trauma, though police would not confirm that without official results.
--:-- John Bickley: And baseball-sized chunks of hail were reported in Kansas and Missouri last night during a severe thunderstorm that brought traffic to a standstill on Interstate Highway 70.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The storm system was also associated with multiple tornadoes in Kansas.
--:-- John Bickley: Severe weather is expected in portions of Oklahoma, Arkansas, and northeast Texas through today.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Those are your drive home updates this afternoon.
--:-- John Bickley: To learn more about these stories, go to dailywire.com.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And for more in-depth discussion of the biggest stories of the day, listen to the latest full episode of Morning Wire every morning.
--:-- [Music transitions to a news theme]
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for listening to Morning Wire.
--:-- John Bickley: We'll be right back after this break.
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