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--:-- John Bickley: This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Fiscally responsible. Financial geniuses. Monetary magicians. These are things people say about drivers who switch their car insurance to Progressive and save hundreds. Visit Progressive.com to see if you could save. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates. Potential savings will vary. Not available in all states or situations.
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--:-- John Bickley: I'm Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief John Bickley with guest host Katie Pavlich from Town Hall VIP. It's Wednesday, May 15th, and this is your Morning Wire afternoon update.
--:-- Katie Pavlich: Thanks for having me, John.
--:-- John Bickley: The Biden administration will move forward with the sale of over $1 billion in new weapons to Israel. Three congressional aides told the New York Times the sale would include tactical vehicles and ammunition. The sale comes despite the president halting a separate shipment of bombs to the Jewish state in an attempt to keep U.S.-made weapons from being used in any potential operation in Rafah.
--:-- Katie Pavlich: This latest action taken by the administration shows the increasingly thin line that Biden is walking in an attempt to manage politics here at home, negotiating a ceasefire while also allowing Israel to defend itself.
--:-- John Bickley: Consumer prices rose again in April, this time by 3.4% year over year, a slightly smaller increase than we saw in March. Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips has the latest.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: The new data matched economists' expectations while the Federal Reserve sees it as progress in their efforts to reach their target rate of 2%. But the numbers still represent rising costs across the board. As a result, the Fed appears likely to postpone rate cuts this year with Fed Chair Jerome Powell saying Tuesday that inflation has kept pressure on the central bank to leave interest rates untouched.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Our star is a neutral interest rate that would neither push up on economic activity nor bring it down at some hypothetical future time when we're at full employment, we're at 2% inflation, and there are no shocks hitting the economy. So I think five, six years down the road, there's this sort of nirvana out there.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, around 70% of the consumer price monthly increase was due to an uptick in gasoline and housing costs. Food prices are still a mixed bag, with some prices for things like chicken and eggs falling in April, while other things like sausage and ice cream increased.
--:-- John Bickley: President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have agreed to two debates, one in June and a second in September. Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce has the details.
--:-- Tim Pierce: CNN will host a general election debate on June 27th in Atlanta. According to a press release, the debate won't have an audience to ensure candidates may maximize the time allotted in the debate, an arrangement requested by the Biden campaign.
--:-- Tim Pierce: The terms were settled just hours after President Joe Biden challenged Trump to two debates in a video full of jump cuts posted to X this morning. Here's a bit from that.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Donald Trump lost two debates to me in 2020. Since then, he hadn't shown up for debate. Now he's acting like he wants to debate me again. Well, make my day, pal. I'll even do it twice. So let's pick the dates, Donald. I hear you're free on Wednesdays.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Trump quickly accepted the challenge, though he said he disagreed with Biden's request to not debate in front of a crowd. In addition to the audience ban, the Biden campaign made several other demands. That a candidate's microphone be silenced when his time to speak is up and that Robert F. Kennedy not be allowed to participate.
--:-- Tim Pierce: The independent RFK will reportedly not be on the stage with Trump and Biden in Atlanta. As for the second debate, both candidates have agreed to a September 10th date on ABC.
--:-- John Bickley: Ohio is seeking to remove non-citizens from the state voter rolls after a review found 137 people on the rolls who were not U.S. citizens. The report highlights people still registered to vote despite having their lack of citizenship confirmed twice by the Bureau of Motor Vehicles.
--:-- Katie Pavlich: Ohio state law requires the BMV to confirm non-citizenship on two occasions in order to remove someone from the voter roll. Secretary of State Frank LaRose says there may be more non-citizens registered to vote than the initial investigation uncovered.
--:-- Katie Pavlich: Ohio is now calling on the Biden administration to provide access to federal citizenship data to help efforts to verify voter registration in the Buckeye State.
--:-- John Bickley: This episode is brought to you by Ramp. Get $250 when you join Ramp. Just go to ramp.com slash wire. That's R-A-M-P dot com slash wire today.
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--:-- John Bickley: The Department of Health and Human Services has suspended federal funding to EcoHealth Alliance over irresponsible coronavirus research. Henrietta Brisbane from the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic laid out evidence for the suspension of funds, saying the nonprofit failed to disclose an experiment that possibly made the COVID-19 virus more dangerous.
--:-- Katie Pavlich: In addition, there is evidence EcoHealth Alliance passed taxpayer dollars to the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which is suspected to be a source of the COVID-19 virus. EcoHealth has not said whether it will appeal the decision, a process laid out in the HHS letter alerting them of the suspension.
--:-- John Bickley: Air Force prosecutors are seeking new charges against Jack Teixeira, the Massachusetts airman who leaked top-secret military documents on the social media platform Discord. Teixeira appeared in front of a hearing officer yesterday who will recommend whether to pursue military justice charges.
--:-- Katie Pavlich: Teixeira pleaded guilty in March to federal crimes and will serve at least 11 years in prison. His defense attorneys argue that being court-martialed would charge him for the same crime twice. There is no timeline for the Air Force to make a decision on pressing charges.
--:-- John Bickley: Walmart has announced plans to lay off and relocate hundreds of corporate employees. A memo sent to staff on Tuesday highlighted the move, which will cut many corporate positions and transfer personnel working from home and at smaller offices.
--:-- Katie Pavlich: Walmart will bring many of these workers to its headquarters in Arkansas, where they are building a 350-acre campus. America's biggest retailer faces growing financial challenges as competitors like Amazon threaten to overtake their top spot.
--:-- John Bickley: Last month, all 51 Walmart health clinics closed in a similar cost-cutting effort. The memo did not specify which positions or the exact number of employees being laid off.
--:-- Katie Pavlich: And casual dining chain Red Lobster has closed dozens of locations across the country as it plans to file for bankruptcy later this month. The seafood giant is reportedly closing almost 100 locations with most already auctioning off their restaurant equipment.
--:-- Katie Pavlich: Red Lobster reported tens of billions of dollars in losses last year, including an $11 million deficit after an endless shrimp promotion backfired. Additionally, co-owner Tide Union Group announced plans earlier this year to divest from the chain.
--:-- John Bickley: Red Lobster is hoping to restructure their debt and continue operating. Though to some people, the announcement from the chain has come as a shock.
--:-- Customer: Usually Red Lobster offers a budget-friendly meal and food tastes good. I was looking for some good fish. I'm in shock because it always stayed busy and you always were in line to get a table.
--:-- 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 our latest full episode of Morning Wire every morning.
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--:-- John Bickley: This episode is brought to you by Balance of Nature. Get 35% off your order of fruits and veggies plus $10 off every additional set. Use promo code WIRE at checkout: https://www.balanceofnature.com/
--:-- Katie Pavlich: And don't forget to join Ramp and get $250 off when you sign up. Go to http://www.ramp.com/WIRE.
--:-- John Bickley: Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices.
