Morning Wire - Evening Wire: American Captive Returns From Russia & Southern Poverty Law Center CFO Arrested | 8.12.26

Starting point is 00:00:00 What if a few minutes with God could change the direction of your entire day? With pray.com, you can begin each morning with powerful daily prayers, inspiring Bible stories, and messages created to strengthen your faith. Whether you need peace, encouragement, or a fresh start, pray.com helps you make prayer part of your everyday life. Download the pray.com app today. President Trump touts the safe return of an American from the clutches of a Russian prison. A judge in Staten Island blocks Mamdani's pieter tax, and it's been announced that the jurors in the Luigi Mangione trial will be anonymous. I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire Executive Editor John Bickley. It's Wednesday, August 12th, and this is Evening Wire.

Starting point is 00:00:53 Iran's military leadership structure sees an overhaul while President Trump delivers a polarizing response. Daily Wire Foreign Affairs reporter Cassia Kiva has the latest. President Trump today said the U.S. has, quote, total control over the Strait of Hormuz, calling the naval blockade a, quote, wall of steel. Trump also said that Iran has no Navy, no Air Force, its soldiers are unpaid, and the IRGC is, quote, decimated and fleeing. He added that Iran has, quote, no money and ended his post with, quote, praise B to Allah. Meanwhile, Iran claims more than 75% of its missile and drone capabilities remain intact. It's important to note that the Iranian regime is known for exaggerating

Starting point is 00:01:35 its military capabilities. And Iran's new supreme leader, Bostabakhamani, is reshuffling the country's military and security leadership, including moving six senior officials into key positions. The move appears to be aimed at consolidating his power following months of recovering from the airstrike that killed his father and severely injured him. The former CFO of the Southern Poverty Law Center was arrested today by the Justice Department on charges of money laundering and fraud. The DOJ says the SPLC and its former CFO Heidi Byrick, quote, knowingly misled donors who believed their money was being used to dismantle violent extremist organizations when in fact part of those donations were instead being used to pay

Starting point is 00:02:16 senior leadership within those extremist groups. Byrick's legal team says she is innocent and the case against her and the SPLC is without merit and politically motivated. But the DOJ says Byrick helped funneled donor money to an informant in the white supremacist group National Alliance, that informant they allege was also her lover. Russia has set free an American citizen and U.S. Marine veteran Robert Gilman after more than four years in custody. President Trump announced Gilman's release Tuesday. Trump wrote on social media that the Marine veteran was released on humanitarian grounds and not part of an exchange. Gilman was arrested in Russia in 2021 and accused of attacking a police

Starting point is 00:02:56 officer. He was later sentenced to three and a half years in a penal colony with extra time added for allegedly attacking guards. Advocates have disputed the charges and said that Gilman has been repeatedly tortured and drugged while in prison. His release comes after Gilman's family grew increasingly concerned about his health and warned that he could die without proper medical treatment. Ice agents could soon be wearing electric shock gloves. The new tech known as glove or generated low output voltage emitter has been used by other law enforcement agencies, across the country to control violent suspects in jails and in the field. The new tech comes as sources within ICE have described an uptick in violence by the individuals they're trying to arrest.

Starting point is 00:03:36 Since the Trump administration began its mass deportation campaign, ICE agents have faced a 1,300 percent surge in assault and a 3,300 percent increase in vehicular attacks. The Kentucky-based company behind the gloves say they are not a weapon, but a device used to quickly distract with small, uncomfortable electric pulses. A Staten Island judge temporarily blocked the rollout of New York City Democratic Mayor Zoran Mamdani's controversial PA-to-Tare tax on Monday. Judge Wayne Ozzy issued a temporary restraining order requiring the city to remove its published tax roll, which contains more than 900,000 properties and barring officials from

Starting point is 00:04:16 taking further action on approximately 17,000 warning notice is already sent to property owners. The order also pauses related deadlines, while. a lawsuit challenging the tax's implementation moves forward. The homeowners behind the lawsuit are not challenging the tax itself. Instead, they argue that the city's Department of Finance is improperly placing the burden on property owners to prove that they do not owe the tax rather than requiring city officials to determine which properties are subject to it. The lawsuit claims the city placed homeowners in an untenable position in the dead of summer. Mayor Momdani responded Monday,

Starting point is 00:04:50 defending its implementation entirely. The next hearing in the homeowner's lawsuit is scheduled for August 31st. Massachusetts has become the 10th state to legalize abortion up to the point of birth. Democrat Governor Mora Healy signed a bill into law yesterday, highlighting that women will no longer have to travel out of state for late-term abortions. The state's previous laws generally prohibited abortions after 24 weeks of pregnancy. Healy spoke after the signing. Take a listen. This governor, I promise that no matter what Donald Trump or Republicans in Congress or the Supreme

Starting point is 00:05:24 court does, we're going to continue to make sure that women and families have access to the health care that they need, that women in particular are able to make their own health care decisions, not the government. Those arguing for the law claim that it's only intended to allow for late-term abortions in the case of severe birth defects or dangerous to the mother's health, but the previous state law already provided exceptions in those cases. The new law removes all restrictions and would allow abortion to the point of birth, whatever the rationale. It's hard to know what to say when timeless truths are challenged, like the definitions of simple words like man or woman. Gender ideology has permeated almost every area of public life,

Starting point is 00:06:10 including your kids' schools, sports, medical ethics, and religious freedom. If you're not sure how to navigate all that, you're not alone. This is exactly why the Alliance Defending Freedom has created a free five-part video series to help you respond to all the destructive of gender ideology with facts fortified by grace. You'll hear from experienced attorneys on how this ideology is affecting the culture and how you can advocate for your beliefs and freedoms. Get the free series right to your inbox at join ADF.com slash wire and equip yourself to stand for truth with confidence and clarity. The Trump administration says Medicaid funds will no longer be paid towards transgender procedures for children. Here was Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy

Starting point is 00:06:53 Jr. on Tuesday. So-called gender-affirming care has inflicted lasting physical and psychological damage on vulnerable young people. This is not medicine. It is malpractice. Medicare and Medicaid Services Chief Mehmet Oz says the new rule would protect children from potentially irreversible harm so they can truly flourish. The rule is set to take effect on October 12th and will have a six-month window for patients to taper off hormone treatments. The announcement comes as a growing body of research shows patients often regret undergoing such procedures, but it's often too late to avoid the life-altering side effects such as infertility and diminished bone density. A man in Florida was stabbed to death with a machete, and we now know that the attacker was

Starting point is 00:07:38 an illegal migrant released into the country under the Biden administration. Reporter Leona Salinas has a story. The suspect, Eddie Rivas Rizzo, a 27-year-old Nicaragua National, allegedly attacked his roommate at a mobile home park in Hollandale Beach, Florida on August 6th. second. Surveillance video allegedly showed Rivas chasing the victim, stabbing him in the armpit area and fighting with him on the ground. Upon arrest, it was discovered that Rivas illegally crossed the southern border into California in April 2022 and was released into the United States by border agents. He has now been charged with first-degree murder. Homeland Security Secretary Mark Wayne

Starting point is 00:08:14 Mullen responded to the case stating, we will work with our partners in Florida to make sure this killer is removed from our country, deporting illegal aliens saves lives. The Manhattan judge overseeing the trial of Luigi Mangione ruled yesterday that the jurors' identities will be kept secret from the public. Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Gregory Caro heated prosecutors' concerns that the public attention around Mangione's case could invite attempts to intimidate the jury. However, Caro did allow for an overflow room for those who want to witness the trial, despite prosecutors' concerns that attendees could secretly tape the proceedings. Mangione's defense team has pushed for more access and argued that the trial should be televised, which would be a rare occasion in a New York courtroom. Jury selection in Mangione's trial is set to start on September 8th.

Starting point is 00:09:03 There's an update on the story of Jason Ardey, that's the former Cambridge professor who appears to have fabricated nearly his entire resume. Daily Wire Associate producer Garrett Van Team has the story. Following the avalanche of revelations of plagiarism, fabrications, and outright lies surrounding Ardei, vice chancellor of Cambridge has opened an investigation into the faculty members that appointed him in the first place. Arday held the position of professorial chair in the sociology of education and was lauded as Cambridge's youngest ever black professor. Most of the investigation now centers around the university's faculty of education. Presumably, in light of the investigation, the

Starting point is 00:09:42 department's online webpage has been removed. Arde faced prior accusations of plagiarism before the full scope of his scandal was revealed. Now, the university wants to know how such a blatant fraud was given such a prestigious post. Indiana fever coach Stephanie White blew up on reporters yesterday in response to the drama around her player Sophie Cunningham. The hate, the fearmongering, the divisiveness, the stuff that's trying to hijack our league will not win. When they go low, we go high.

Starting point is 00:10:14 Love will win. Grace will win. humility will win and kindness will win. I stand by them. I will always stand by them. Everybody else can go to hell. Cunningham has been embroiled in a media controversy ever since taking a hard stance against men and women's sports. White was pulled into the issue herself after she was characterized

Starting point is 00:10:35 as giving a weak defense of her player on and off the court. White dodged questions about the trans issue and was criticized for her reaction to a brutal technical foul against Cunningham during a game last week that left the player bleeding on the court. All right, those are your drive home updates. To learn more about these stories, go to Dailywire.com, and in case you missed it earlier today, we covered some major stories, including results coming in from several races that could reshape the national landscape,

Starting point is 00:11:03 the first batch of text messages being released from Dr. Fauci's phone, and Spanish citizens bracing for a potential second wave of invaders. Thanks for tuning in. We'll be back tomorrow morning with another full edition of Morning. What if a few minutes with God could change the direction of your entire day? With pray.com, you can begin each morning with powerful daily prayers, inspiring Bible stories, and messages created to strengthen your faith. Whether you need peace, encouragement, or a fresh start, pray.com helps you make prayer part of your

Starting point is 00:11:44 everyday life. Download the pray.com app today. Thank you.

Morning Wire - Evening Wire: American Captive Returns From Russia & Southern Poverty Law Center CFO Arrested | 8.12.26

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