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--:-- Georgia Howe: I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief John Bickley. It's Friday, February 16th, and this is your Morning Wire afternoon update.
--:-- John Bickley: Welcome to the show, everyone. We've got a lot to cover today.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: The NFL is back, and FanDuel's got everything you need to play your game. From same-game parlays to live betting. Right now, new customers bet $5 and get $300 in bonus bets if you win. 21-plus in president select states. 18-plus in Kentucky and Wyoming. Must be first online real money waging. $5 deposit required. Bonus issued is non-withdrawable bonus bets that expire seven days after receipt. Restrictions apply. See full terms at FanDuel.com slash sportsbook. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.
--:-- John Bickley: That's right, folks. And now, let's get to the news.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Former President Trump has been fined $364 million in his New York civil fraud case, and he's been banned from leading a company in the state for three years. The case was brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James. She claimed Trump inflated the value of his company's assets in order to get better loan terms. The ruling was made by Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arthur Ingeron.
--:-- John Bickley: That's right. Trump will likely appeal the ruling, but if it stands, he would lose control of Manhattan's Trump Tower and his many iconic New York properties. Trump has called this a politically motivated case, pointing out that while campaigning for attorney general, James promised she would get Trump.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Meanwhile, Judge Ingeron ruled Trump guilty of fraud before the trial even began. Jonathan Turley offered his perspective on the massive penalty on Fox News.
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--:-- Jonathan Turley: The court has done everything short of ordering that Trump be thrown into a woodchipper. I mean, he imposed almost the maximum amount that James requested. He barring him from doing business in a city where he's an iconic business figure, barring him from getting loans. That last part is particularly ironic because the banks not only said they were not victims and did not complain about the alleged fraud, but they said they wanted to do more business with Trump.
--:-- Georgia Howe: This is all being done essentially in their name as victims, even though no one lost any money. None of us could find a case like this. I think there are real problems here. I think that this is going to have the same impact on some appellate judges. There have to be some limits, including constitutional limits, on the size of penalties. This is confiscatory and, in my view, just excessive. So I think there's a major appeal, obviously, that's going to come.
--:-- John Bickley: Outspoken Russian activist Alexei Navalny died in prison on Friday. That's according to Russian prison authorities. The 47-year-old anti-corruption activist and harsh critic of Vladimir Putin was serving a decades-long sentence in a Russian work prison.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Navalny was convicted of extremism back in 2021, but many, including the U.S. State Department, believed he was prosecuted due to his political criticism of Putin and the Russian government. Navalny appeared in court on Thursday via video link and appeared upbeat and healthy.
--:-- John Bickley: Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, "For more than a decade, the Russian government, Putin, prosecuted, poisoned, and imprisoned Navalny and now reports of his death. Russia is responsible for this."
--:-- Georgia Howe: Navalny is believed to have survived at least two attempted poisonings. A new report found that the Federal Bureau of Prisons failed to prevent the death of nearly 200 inmates.
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--:-- Cabot Phillips: The inspector general reviewed more than 344 deaths which occurred in prisons over eight years from 2014 to 2021, including the suicide of Jeffrey Epstein and the murder of Whitey Bolger. The conclusion was that 187 inmate suicides could have been prevented.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The report said a combination of recurring policy violations and operational failures contributed to inmate suicides. The report blamed prison safety issues on widespread and chronic understaffing.
--:-- John Bickley: George Soros has bought up a majority stake of radio company Odyssey. The Soros Management Fund paid more than $400 million for a controlling stake in Odyssey and its more than 220 radio stations and podcast channels, including LA's K-Rock.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Odyssey is the second-largest radio broadcaster behind iHeartMedia. Many conservatives worry that the progressive activists will use the media group to influence voters in the run-up to the 2024 election. Soros is known for funding the campaigns of progressive district attorneys across the country.
--:-- John Bickley: Great Britain's economy has entered a recession. The country's GDP shrunk by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, worse than economists expected.
--:-- Georgia Howe: England now joins Japan as two of the group of seven advanced economies to enter a recession, though it is expected to be short-lived. Exchequer Chancellor Jeremy Hunt says they expected growth to be weaker while tackling inflation.
--:-- John Bickley: The underlying picture here is an economy that is more resilient than most people predicted. Inflation is coming down. Real wages have been going up now for six months. And if we stick to our guns, independent forecasters say that by the early summer, we could start to see interest rates falling. And that will be a very important relief for families with mortgages.
--:-- Georgia Howe: A resident in Western Oregon has been diagnosed with the bubonic plague.
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--:-- Joel Needler: The person likely caught the plague from a pet cat, which did not survive. The infected person whose identity has not been made public was treated with antibiotics, as have all persons who came in contact with the infected person.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The bubonic plague tends to infect about a dozen people in the U.S. each year, nearly all of them in the West. Health officials do not expect the plague to spread or kill anyone in this instance. In the 14th century, the bubonic plague killed as many as 50 million people.
--:-- John Bickley: SpaceX is now headquartered and incorporated in Texas. Elon Musk made good on his promise to move the space exploration company out of Delaware after a judge in the state refused to approve Musk's $55 billion Tesla compensation package, which was approved by the board of directors.
--:-- Georgia Howe: This is the first time a judge has overturned a CEO's pay package.
--:-- John Bickley: Former President George H.W. Bush's speedboat is for sale. Fidelity 5 hit the auction block on Thursday. The 100-horsepower boat travels up to 75 miles per hour and was used in the waters off Kennebunkport, Maine, where the president's family still owns a summer compound.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Proceeds from the sale will be used for his presidential library.
--:-- John Bickley: Four young condors were released in Patagonia in southern Chile this week. Two of the condors were born in captivity. One was nursed to health from poisoning, and one was rescued after falling out of the nest.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The condors lived in southern Chile in an outdoor cage for two months before being released. The birds have radio and satellite transmitters, which will allow researchers to track their movements.
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--:-- 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.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for listening, everyone. We'll be back tomorrow with more news and analysis.
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--:-- John Bickley: And don't forget to check out our sponsors. Balance of Nature is offering 35% off your first order as a preferred customer, plus a free fiber and spice supplement. Use promo code WIRE at checkout. And Black Rifle Coffee is offering 20% off your order with code WIRE. Visit blackriflecoffee.com to learn more.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for listening to Morning Wire. We'll see you tomorrow.
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