--:-- Georgia Howe: Welcome to Morning Wire. I'm Georgia Howe, here with Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley.
--:-- John Bickley: Thanks for having me, Georgia.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Today's episode is brought to you by Fast Growing Trees. This spring, they have the best deals for your yard, up to half off on select plants and other deals. And listeners to our show get 15% off their first purchase when using code WIRE at checkout.
--:-- John Bickley: That's right, Georgia. And now, let's get to the news. Trump talks with Zelensky as Putin allegedly breaks the partial ceasefire. I'm John Bickley.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's right, John. President Trump held what he's calling a very good phone call with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky today. It comes just hours after Russia allegedly reneged on its deal agreeing to halt attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure for 30 days.
--:-- John Bickley: Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce says more. [pause]
--:-- Tim Pierce: Trump said the call focused on aligning both Ukraine and Russia's needs after Putin agreed yesterday to halt attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure. But Russia is accused of breaking the partial ceasefire overnight after it hit two hospitals and energy infrastructure in the Sumy region of Ukraine.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Still, Trump remains optimistic about reaching a ceasefire soon. For his part, Zelensky condemned Putin's broken promise, while other global leaders accused the Russian president of playing games with international diplomacy.
--:-- John Bickley: Meanwhile, Zelensky also confirmed a significant prisoner exchange and called for further action to pressure Putin toward ending the war such as additional sanctions on Russia.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Israeli troops are headed back into Gaza as the Israeli Defense Force launches its first ground operation since ending the ceasefire with Hamas.
--:-- John Bickley: The key focus of the op is to retake part of the key Gaza corridor. The IDF seized control of the southern Netzerim corridor and plans to expand the buffer zone.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Defense Minister Israel Katz urged Palestinians to evacuate combat zones in Gaza as the IDF renews its mission to eliminate Hamas.
--:-- John Bickley: Katz warned that airstrikes were just the first step in a broader offensive.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The Federal Reserve says it's leaving its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 4.25% to 4.5% as it continues assessing economic conditions.
--:-- John Bickley: The decision follows three consecutive rate cuts in late 2024. The central bank remains focused on promoting maximum employment and controlling inflation.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The Federal Open Market Committee cited increased uncertainty around the economic outlook as it moves cautiously forward.
--:-- John Bickley: Millions of federal funding to the University of Pennsylvania has been paused, pending an investigation into potential Title IX violations.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Daily Wire reporter Mairead Alordi has the details.
--:-- Mairead Alordi: The Trump administration's decision follows the national controversy sparked by UPenn swimmer Leah Thomas, a trans-identifying male who won a national title in women's swimming.
--:-- Georgia Howe: While the paused funding represents a small portion of UPenn's total federal funds, the university could face further cuts if the investigation finds violations.
--:-- John Bickley: The investigation also includes San Jose State University and the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Yesterday, a Biden-appointed federal judge blocked President Trump's executive order banning trans-identifying people from military service, ruling it's likely unconstitutional.
--:-- John Bickley: Trump administration lawyers argue that military officials have broad discretion to decide how to assign and deploy service members without judicial interference.
--:-- Georgia Howe: They have until Friday to appeal.
--:-- John Bickley: 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.
--:-- Georgia Howe: A new IDC white paper found that Vonta customers achieve $535,000 per year in benefits, and the platform pays for itself in just three months.
--:-- John Bickley: Get $1,000 off Vonta at Vonta.com slash MorningWire.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Elon Musk took aim at Joe Biden, saying he left astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams stranded in space for political reasons.
--:-- John Bickley: The comments came during an interview with Sean Hannity last night, which Musk praised SpaceX and NASA for rescuing the astronauts.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The astronauts were only supposed to be there for eight days, and they've been there for almost 10 months.
--:-- John Bickley: So obviously that doesn't make any sense.
--:-- Georgia Howe: SpaceX could have brought the astronauts back after a few months at most.
--:-- John Bickley: And we made that offer to the Biden administration. It was rejected for political reasons, and that's just a fact.
--:-- Georgia Howe: China and Hong Kong are seeking to thwart a deal between BlackRock and C.K. Hutchinson to take control of key Panama Canal ports.
--:-- John Bickley: The U.S. sees the deal as a way to gain an edge in the region and reclaim the canal from Chinese influence.
--:-- Georgia Howe: China relation expert Gordon Chang says Beijing has gained a dangerous foothold at the canal.
--:-- John Bickley: It not only has port operations at both ends of the canal, it's got infrastructure there. It's got a lot of state enterprises. So there are many ways that Beijing can block the canal if it wanted to.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And some people say that the first indication that we will have that China intends to use force in East Asia will be an accident in the Panama Canal because that will prevent the U Navy from surging ships from the Atlantic to the Pacific fleets through the canal.
--:-- John Bickley: So there's the concern.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The Trump administration is telling New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority to get on board with subway safety or get off the gravy train.
--:-- John Bickley: Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has demanded the MTA provide detailed data on subway safety measures by March 31st or risk losing federal funding.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The letter comes in response to rising subway crime and fare evasion.
--:-- John Bickley: It also urges the MTA to prove federal funds are being used for safety.
--:-- Georgia Howe: While Governor Kathy Hochul has increased security efforts, crime is down 27 percent compared to 2024, although felony assaults remain high.
--:-- John Bickley: And March Madness is off to an exciting start.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Last night, Alabama State pulled off a dramatic 70-68 win, picking up the game-winning bucket with just one second left on the clock.
--:-- John Bickley: At about the three-second mark, Micah Simpson chucked the ball down court to Amar Knox, who nabbed the last-second layup winning the game.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Here's that moment.
--:-- John Bickley: Those are your drive home updates this afternoon.
--:-- Georgia Howe: To learn more about these stories, go to dailywire.com.
--:-- John Bickley: And in case you missed it, we covered some key stories this morning, including Trump-Putin talks, the JFK file release, and the state of the U.S. economy.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for tuning in. We'll be back tomorrow morning with another full edition of Morning Wire.
