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--:-- John Bickley: I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief John Bickley. It's Monday, January 27th, and this is your Morning Wire afternoon update.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Military service members who were discharged for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine may soon join the ranks again. Daily Wire reporter Amanda Prestigiacomo has the latest.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: President Trump is set to sign an executive order today that will restore over 8,000 troops back to their previous rank with full back pay and benefits. This comes after the troops were removed under the Biden administration's vaccine mandate between 2021 and 2023. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed the move while calling it a step toward rebuilding military readiness and morale.
--:-- John Bickley: Trump is also set to sign orders banning diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the military and reversing policies allowing transgender individuals to serve openly.
--:-- Georgia Howe: President Trump has signed an executive order today that will restore over 8,000 troops back to their previous rank with full back pay and benefits. Meanwhile, the CIA is taking a closer look at the origins of COVID.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: CIA Director John Ratcliffe revealed in an interview that the agency now assesses a lab-related incident in Wuhan as the most likely cause of the outbreak. He emphasized that the findings, based on an assessment conducted during the Biden administration, aim to rebuild public trust and avoid political controversy.
--:-- John Ratcliffe: I think we'll get to the point where every intelligence agency in the United States will agree with the CIA's assessment that the most likely outcome was from a lab in Wuhan. And we'll get more intelligence as time goes by, and we'll be transparent with the American people about what that intelligence says.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Days after withdrawing from the World Health Organization, President Trump says he's open to rejoining it. But there would need to be some significant reform.
--:-- Tim Rice: Speaking at a rally in Las Vegas, Trump criticized the WHO for unfair financial contributions, pointing out that the United States previously paid $500 million annually, while China contributed just $39 million.
--:-- Donald Trump: He knows what the hell we have. Does anyone know? We have so many people pouring in, we have no idea. We go up, but we're going down a little bit now. You don't mind that, do you? Gonna take some bad ones out. I would do it four years ago, but Biden immediately went back for even more money.
--:-- Tim Rice: Trump says the WHO offered to reinstate U.S. membership at the lower rate, but he initially declined. However, he suggested the possibility of rejoining if the organization implements reforms.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Tensions are on the rise between the U.S. and the Taliban. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has called for bounties to be placed on the heads of Taliban leaders as long as they're holding Americans as prisoners.
--:-- Marco Rubio: This comes as two Americans remain in Taliban custody and follows a deal that sent two home in the beginning hours of Trump's presidency. The Taliban's ambassador to Qatar warned Rubio against threats while saying that the Taliban prefer resolving issues through dialogue, pointing to Qatar's role in securing the recent release of a Canadian prisoner.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: TV host Dr. Phil McGraw witnessed ICE arrests on a weekend ride along with agents in Chicago. Among them was the arrest of a Thai national convicted of child sex crimes.
--:-- Dr. Phil McGraw: Where are you from? Where I was born or where I'm from? Where are you born? Thailand. You've been deported before from the United States? No. Never been deported?
--:-- Georgia Howe: ICE has ramped up enforcement, averaging nearly 1,000 arrests daily since Trump took office. Officials say the crackdown will continue with the goal of expelling millions of undocumented migrants.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Dr. Phil called the operation a high mission targeting serious offenders.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Stocks took a dive today as a new Chinese AI product rattled investors. The Nasdaq plunged 3.5 percent, with the S&P 500 down nearly 2 percent as Chinese AI startup DeepSeq gained traction globally.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Shares of NVIDIA fell more than 15 percent, leading declines in tech. Part of DeepSeq's rapid rise is fueled by its open source model and lower development costs. Its success has cast doubt on U.S. dominance in artificial intelligence. Experts say the Chinese firm still lags behind OpenAI and Google, but it's gaining ground fast.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And Super Bowl 59 is set, and many people aren't happy about it. The Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles will face off on February 9th in New Orleans. And while social media is buzzing, it's mostly with frustration. Fans online are expressing disappointment with memes and jokes, criticizing the lack of variety as the Chiefs make their fifth Super Bowl appearance since 2020.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Despite the backlash, Chiefs and Eagles fans, however, are celebrating their shot at the championship.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for tuning in. We'll be back tomorrow morning with another full edition of Morning Wire.
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