Morning Wire - Border Wall Fire Sale & New Jersey’s Drone Mystery | 12.13.24

Episode Date: December 13, 2024

The Biden Administration is selling off large chunks of border wall in a hurry, government officials give conflicting information about UFOs in New Jersey, and America largely rejects recreational weed. Get the facts first on Morning Wire. Netsuite: Make better business decisions with NetSuite https://www.NetSuite.com/MORNINGWIRE Ramp: Now get $250 off when you join Ramp. Go to http://www.ramp.com/WIRE Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Biden administration rushes to sell off large sections of border wall materials before Donald Trump takes office. We have the Daily Wire exclusive. They're taking half a mile's worth of unused border wall north every day. I'm Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Friday, December 13th, and this is Morning Wire. Theories about mysterious UFOs over New Jersey have run wild as government officials give conflicting explanations. Iran made a deal. with China to purchase drones, motherships, and technology.

There is not any truth to that. There is no Iranian ship off the coast of the United States. And America may be sobering up on recreational marijuana. Why have a number of states rejected it? Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know. Over 38,000 businesses have future-proofed their operations with NetSuite by Oracle,

the number one cloud ERP. It brings accounting, financial management, inventory, and HR into one fluid platform. With real-time insights and forecasting, you're peering into the future with actionable data. When you're closing the books in days, not weeks, you're spending less time looking backwards and more time on what's next. Download the CFO's guide to AI and machine learning at net suite.com slash morningwire. This guide is free to you at net suite.com slash morning wire. Again, that's net suite.com slash morning wire. Democrats from the White House to local officials are taking steps to hinder President-elect Donald Trump's plan to build the wall at the southern border. A

Daily Wire exclusive report on Thursday revealed that the Biden administration is selling off materials for the border wall at fire sale prices. Here to talk about the efforts to thwart Trump's agenda before he takes office as Daily Wire reporter Tim Pearson. So the Daily Wire published a video yesterday of trucks in Arizona hauling off tons of materials set aside for border wall construction. What's going on there? Yeah, the Daily Wire was able to reveal this thanks to the reporting of James Lolino. He obtained video from a source he has in Arizona that shows a government contractor trucking company hauling away tons of border wall materials. Those materials, these heavy steel slats and ballards, are being shipped north. This is potentially millions of dollars worth of materials, and it's being placed on a government surplus auction site, where the starting bid for a segment of wall is just $5.

Here's Lillino. I mean, some of these sections were going for a few thousand dollars in recent auctions, but it's, pennies on the dollar compared to how valuable it is. This is, you know, four pieces of wall in each package. This isn't just one tiny little border wall. This is four pieces, and it's starting at $5 a pop. So this sounds like potentially a massive waste of taxpayer money going on here. What's the goal? Well, the Biden administration refused to answer questions on this fire sale. But a border agent in Arizona told Lulinao that the operation looks like the Biden administration is trying to hamper Trump's plans to restart construction on the border wall.

Here was Trump in January this year. On day one of my new administration, I will seal the border and I will shut down the invasion of millions of people that are coming through into our country. According to the agent, officials want the materials gone by Christmas. That would mean no materials to immediately restart construction of the border wall, which Trump was counting on for his day one lockdown of the border. And it's not clear what needs to happen for,

Trump to replace all those materials. It may be that he has to fight again for Congress to approve more funds, which will take away from other priorities he has heading into a second term. It seems like a petty but maybe effective move to slow Trump's agenda here. Now, we have more news about not just federal but local officials trying to trump proof their areas before he takes office. What's going on California? Right. So we've reported extensively on sanctuary city policies. But in San Diego County, local officials there are taking it up a notch and passing what's been dubbed super sanctuary policies. The San Diego Board of Supervisors voted three to one this week to issue more protections for illegal immigrants than even California state law provides for. And according to the

board's only member to vote no, Republican Jim Desmond, the policy could have some pretty dire consequences. This policy goes beyond California's existing sanctuary laws by adding an additional layer of bureaucracy that hinders local law enforcement from directly notifying ICE about illegal immigrants who are currently in our jails, and they have committed heinous crimes, including child abuse or endangerment, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, but only if this conviction is for a felony, possession of an unlawful deadly weapon, gang-related offenses, a crime resulting in death or involving personal affliction. or great bodily injury, possession or use of a firearm in the commission of an offense,

torture, rape, and kidnapping. That's the population we're talking about. Of course, Trump's border czar, Tom Homan, has made it clear that federal law enforcement will go into places like San Diego County to enforce the law no matter how local leaders feel. We'll see how it works out. Sounds like quite a radical stance for San Diego County to take. Tim, thanks for joining us. Good to be on. Are you a finance professional looking for a better way to maximize productivity and cut wasteful spending? Look no further than Ramp. Ramp is the corporate card and spend management software designed to help you save time and put money back in your pocket.

With Ramp, your finance team receives unparalleled control into company spending, closing your books eight times faster, and saving an average of 5% in your first year. And now get $250 when you join Ramp. Just head over to Ramp.com slash wire. That's ramp.com slash wire. dot com slash wire cards issued by sutton bank member fdic terms and conditions may apply residents lawmakers and defense officials are seeking answers after weeks of mysterious drone activity over the skies of new jersey here with the latest is daily wire senior editor cabot phillips a cabot so a strange story with more questions right now than answers what exactly is going on in new jersey yeah strange indeed johns

and these are not your run-in-the-mill drones that you can buy on amazon authorities say many are SUV-sized and emit no radio signals, making them difficult to track. They often operate in groups with blinking lights and display sophisticated technology. Officials say they go dark and elude radar detection when pursued by police helicopters. According to the Coast Guard, which has also been tracking the activity, the drones have been observed flying for six to eight hours over New Jersey before making a beeline out into the Atlantic, where presumably they're landing somewhere in recharging. Perhaps most concerning, the drones have invaded the airspace surrounding military installations and infrastructure like railways, power stations, and police departments.

They've also surrounded Coast Guard ships, and in some cases, FBI agents investigating the case say they've appeared above their own homes. Wow. So what sort of response have we seen from the government so far? Yeah, at first, the story was sort of laughed off by mainstream media outlets as some sort of UFO mass hysteria. But as the activity continued night after night, lawmakers and law enforcement begin taking it very seriously. The FBI launched an investigation in late November. the DHS and New Jersey State Police are also investigating. Now Congress is getting involved.

They held a hearing on the matter Wednesday. But no one seems to have any clue who is actually behind the activity. And that is frustrating lawmakers. For example, here's Texas rep Tony Gonzalez questioning FBI official Robert Wheeler. You're telling me we don't know what the hell these drones are and New Jersey are. Is that correct? That's right. It's crazy.

I mean, that's crazy. That's madness that we don't know what these drones are. Members of the New Jersey State Legislature have also expressed similar frustration after a Homeland Security briefing. Here's Rep. Brian Bergen. Every question that was asked by a member of the state legislature, great questions, no answers, no resolution. They don't know where the drones are coming from. They don't know who's doing it. They don't know why they're doing it. But they say there's no credible threat.

And on Wednesday, another frustrated lawmaker, New Jersey's Jeff Van Drew, sparked a firestorm after claiming the drones originated with Iran and had been launched from a mother ship that was deployed off the coast of our eastern sea. board. Iran launched a mothership probably about a month ago that contains these drones. That mothership is off the east coast of the United States of America. They've launched drones. It's everything that we can see or here. And again, these are from high sources. I don't say this lightly. But hours later, a Pentagon spokesperson denied that claim saying there's no evidence the drones are coming from a foreign entity. We're going to continue to monitor what is happening, but at no point where our installations threatened. These are not U.S.

military drones. That sentiment was echoed by White House spokesman John Kirby, who said the drones do not pose a security risk. But it's worth noting, neither he nor Homeland Security have said they've identified the source of the activity. So the Pentagon knows who's behind the drones. They're not saying so publicly. Some have speculated their insistence that they don't belong to an adversary and aren't a threat is evidence the craft belong to our military, but the Pentagon doesn't want to confirm it on the record. But lawmakers say if that were the case, the FBI would have been alerted and would not have launched a widespread federal investigation into their origins. More on all this, I spoke with Senior Research Fellow for Advanced Technology at the Heritage Foundation,

Brent Sadler. Well, if it's not the Chinese, it's probably going to be the Chinese in the near future with large drones. They already tested us with the balloon, and that was a fiasco. So the sins a signal that there is a security gap that an adversary can take advantage of. So as these settings continue, lawmakers, law enforcement, and most importantly, the people of New Jersey won answers. He has to an increasing number of Americans.

Cabot, thanks for reporting. Anytime. Elton John made headlines recently for calling legal marijuana one of North America's greatest mistakes. Results from the 2024 election suggest more Americans may be having doubts about the push towards legalization. Daily Wire investigative reporter, Marade, Alorty is here with the details.

So, Marade, it seemed for a long time that legal marijuana was a winning issue for the left. Has that changed? Hi, Georgia. It looks like they might be hitting some resistance in red states. Florida and both North and South Dakota rejected ballot measures that would have legalized recreational marijuana. Here's Governor Ron DeSantis talking about how one big weed company put nearly $100 million towards the failed push for legalization in Florida.

People say it's the legalization of recreational weed. That's partially true. They're saying you have a right to possess and smoke it, but only if you buy it from them because they're actually setting up a cartel in the Constitution of Florida. So if you want to grow your own marijuana, that is not in the amendment. They also have nothing in here that would allow any type of limitation on public use. In Nebraska, voters approved a measure allowing medical marijuana but not recreational cannabis. Currently, 24 states permit recreational use of marijuana and 38 states plus Washington, D.C. allow medical marijuana.

As John mentioned, music icon Elton John called legalizing marijuana, quote, one of the greatest mistakes of all time. He's been sober since 1990 and said he believes marijuana is addictive and leads to other drugs. It looks like he's not alone in that assessment. Now, what does public opinion look like on marijuana these days? Well, there's still broad support. About 57% of Americans support legalizing recreational marijuana as of March of this year, and only one in 10 say it should not be legal at all, even for medical purposes.

We're over a decade into the push to legalize recreational pot, so it's been normalized in quite a few states by now. Plus, legalizing recreational marijuana is often presented as a way to reduce incarceration, particularly of minorities. We should note, too, a majority, 56% of Florida residents voted in favor of recreational cannabis, but the measure needed 60% to pass. But not only did several states reject recreational marijuana last month, polling shows people are getting sick of it in states where pot has already been legalized.

And where are we seeing that? Well, the pungent smell of pot has been. become a huge complaint in places where it's popular. In many cities across the country, people complain that they can smell weed everywhere on city sidewalks, in parks, drifting into people's homes, and even in places where children are around. The smell is making people rethink the whole idea of smoking weed anytime, anywhere. A Washington, D.C. woman won a lawsuit against her neighbor for the smell of pot drifting into her apartment. And New Jersey residents say the smell of pot is everywhere there. One in five New Jersey residents say it bothers them a great deal and over a

quarter, 28% say it bothers them slightly, according to a poll from last year. Last year, two Minnesota cities, St. Paul and Duluth banned smoking marijuana in parks and St. Paul banned smoking it close to the entrances of businesses. Another notable shift is that the legacy media is starting to call out the dangers of marijuana. The New York Times recently reported in depth that doctors are seeing a spike in marijuana causing psychosis, addiction, and a rare syndrome called cannibinoid hyperamysis syndrome, which involves severe vomiting and pain and is caused by heavy pot consumption.

Marijuana misuse is especially common among young adults. The culprit appears to be readily accessible marijuana products that are often stronger than the weed that was available in the 90s. Now, we've reported before that general drug decriminalization became very unpopular in Oregon

after just a few years of having it. Are we seeing a walkback of some of the more radical legalization efforts? Yes, Oregon voters are definitely walking back there progressive drug policies. They effectively legalized even hard drugs back in 2020, but voters changed their minds this year. Back in March, they voted to recriminalize those drugs. There was only one ballot measure relating to harder drugs in November of this year. That was in Massachusetts.

Their voters also rejected a proposal to legalize certain natural psychedelics by about 57%. Psychiatric experts in the state warned that patients with depression or trauma might actually be destabilized further by psychedelics, not helped by. them. Well, it seems like another example of a culture shift happening. Marade, thanks for reporting. Thanks, Georgia. Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back this afternoon with more news you need to know.