Morning Wire - Arizona GOP Chair Resigns & Houthis Attack Intercepted | Afternoon Update | 1.24.24

Episode Date: January 24, 2024

Developing stories you need to know just in time for your drive home. Get the facts first on Morning Wire. Black Rifle Coffee: Hear Clint’s story at https://www.blackriflecoffee.com/ Shopify: "Get a $1 per month trial at https://www.shopify.com/morningwire" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This episode is brought to you by Black Rifle Coffee. Go to Black RifleCoffee.com news promo code wire for 10% off your purchase and your first coffee club order. That's Black Rifle Coffee.com promo code wire. I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief John Bickley. It's Wednesday, January 24th. And this is your Morning Wire afternoon update. The chair of the Arizona Republican Party, Jeff DeWitt, abruptly resigned today after the leak of an audio tape that appeared to show him attempting to bribe Republican Kerry Lake not to run for the Senate. In the recording reportedly captured

in March of last year, DeWitt offers Lake to name a price that might convince her to suspend her Senate campaign for a couple of years. Is there a number of which? I can be bought. That's what it's about. You can take a pause for a couple years. No. They go right back to what you're doing. No. This is not about money. This is about our country. Amid backlash, DeWitt published a letter today announcing that he is stepping down. He also accused Lake of having set up the whole conversation and recorded it in order to, quote, have control over the state party. Do it also suggested that Lake has secretly recorded conversations with other people. A U.S. destroyer fended off another attack from the Yemen-based Houthis today after the militant group fired ballistic missiles at U.S. owned

container ships. According to U.S. defense officials, the Iran-backed group fired three missiles total, some of which were aimed at the U.S.-owned Maersk-Detroit commercial container ship transiting the Gulf of Aden in the Southern Red Sea. The USS Gravely, a U.S. destroyer, intercepted two of the missiles while a third one missed. The container ship is continuing its transit and was not damaged in the attack. But according to White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby, the container ship wasn't the only one targeted. There were three Houthi missiles fired at two merchant vessels.

One missile missed by something like 200 kilometers. The other two were shot down by a U.S. Navy destroyer. That's what I know. It's obviously underscores that the Houthis still intend to conduct these attacks, which means we're obviously still going to have to do what we have to do to protect that shipping. This is the third U.S.-owned ship the Houthis have attacked in recent weeks. Russia is pointing the finger at Ukraine after a Russian military transport plane went down earlier today. killed all 74 people on board, including 65 Ukrainian prisoners. Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce reports.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the aircraft was performing a scheduled flight when it was hit by anti-aircraft missiles. The ministry claims that Russian radars observed the launch of two Ukrainian missiles. Meanwhile, the Kremlin called the incident a terrorist attack, saying the flight was on its way to the border, shared with Ukraine for a prisoner swap, which Russian officials say Ukraine knew was going on. Ukrainian officials, while they did not immediately deny the accusations, cautioned against sharing unverified information. So far, claims about what caused the crash have not been verified. A Delta airline Boeing 757 lost a nose wheel over the weekend while making its way from the gate to the runway, creating more questions about the nation's top aircraft manufacturers'

quality control. Daily Wire reporter Amanda Presti Giacomo has the latest. According to Delta Airlines, the plane, which was headed to Bogota, Columbia, was retired and placed back into service the next day. There were no injuries to passengers or crew. This comes amid a string of incidents in recent years involving Boeing planes. Earlier this month, a Boeing 737 Max 9 operated by Alaska Airlines had the door plug blown off, leaving a massive hole in the side of the plane. Since the incident, airlines have found loose bolts and other problems in the panel doors on a handful of of planes. Boeing's CEO was in Washington today, meeting with lawmakers regarding the safety of the planes. This episode is brought to you by Shopify. Get a $1 per month trial period at Shopify.com

slash morning wire. That's Shopify.com slash morning wire. The Texas National Guard and state troopers are putting up more razor wire and keeping border agents from entering the majority of Shelby Park in Eagle Pass. The move comes after the U.S. Supreme Court vacated a decision from a lower court that prevented border patrol agents from removing the wire. The 5-4 ruling did not explicitly say that the Lone Star State has to remove the wire, so the state has doubled down. Major General Thomas Swellzer told his staff that he believes the ruling only permits Border Patrol to cut through obstacles to retrieve stranded migrants.

He said Texas National Guard troops will repair any obstacles destroyed by federal agents. Meanwhile, lawmakers are urging the governor to hold the line. Here's what Congressman Randy Weber told News Nation. Frankly, I think that Governor Abbott needs to tell the federal government to stay out of Texas, in my opinion. They're not protecting the border. They've done a lousy job as the administration has. They've not put the policies into the fact that need to be there to deter people coming in. President Biden is under fire for what critics say is election denial.

At an event in Virginia this week, the grinning president introduced Terry McCallif, the Democrat who lost the 2021 race per governor to Republican Glenn Yonkin, as, quote, governor of Virginia, prompting a cheer from the audience. Hello, Virginia, and the real governor, Terry McCull. Biden's campaign has focused heavily on election denial among so-called MAGA Republicans, even going so far as to compare them to the defeated Confederates. Meanwhile, the United Auto Workers Union endorsed President Biden today. Both Biden and Trump, the clear frontrunners after the New Hampshire primaries,

have heavily courted auto workers in the past, seeing the group as a key demographic, especially in Midwest battleground states. Popular fast food franchise In-N-Out Burger is leaving Oakland, California over safety concerns for its employees. The Burger Joint announced on Sunday that while it's doing well financially, it's closing its only location in the city due to crime. Police Department data shows that robberies in the area spiked 38% between 2022 and 2023, and burglaries jumped by 23%. 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 our biggest stories of the day, listen to the latest full episode of Morning Wire every morning.