Morning Wire - Evening Wire: Another Epstein Arrest & Mexican Cartels Erupt | 2.23.26

Episode Date: February 23, 2026

Another British official is arrested over Epstein after former Prince Andrew, cartel violence erupts across 20 Mexican States, and a monster snowstorm strikes over a hundred million Americans in the Northeast. Get the facts first with Evening Wire. - - - Ep. 2647 - - - Wake up with new Morning Wire merch: https://bit.ly/4lIubt3  - - - Today’s Sponsor:  Balance of Nature - Go to https://BalanceofNature.com and order the Whole Health System supplements as a Preferred Customer today. - - - Privacy Policy: ⁠https://www.dailywire.com/privacy⁠ morning wire,morning wire podcast,the morning wire podcast,Georgia Howe,John Bickley,daily wire podcast,podcast,news podcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Another British official is arrested over Epstein connections. Cartel violence erupts across 20 Mexican states and a monster snowstorm strikes over 100 million Americans in the Northeast. I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire Executive Editor John Bickley. It's Monday, February 23rd, and this is Evening Wire. The UK's former U.S. ambassador is in custody today after British police made another arrest related to Jeffrey Epstein. Peter Mandelson was arrested over suspicion of misconduct. in office as it came to light that he may have exchanged confidential government documents as well as funds with Epstein. British Prime Minister Kier Starmer fired Mandelson from the ambassadorship in

September and apologized for appointing him to the plum position. Mandelson's arrest follows that of former Prince Andrew on similar grounds. Deadly cartel violence spread to 20 of Mexico's 31 states on Sunday. Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce has more. On Sunday, government force has killed the leader of the Halisco New Generation cartel in a shootout that killed at least eight people. U.S. and Mexican intelligence had tracked the leader referred to as Almencho to a cabin in a secluded, forested area outside of De Palpa after tailing one of his girlfriends. The cartel immediately responded by declaring war on the Mexican government. The violence began with pockets of chaos and a few locations across Halisco State, including the Puerto Vallarta Airport, a hotspot for American tourists.

The violence included setting buses and cars on fire to create street blockades and gun fire. At least 250 of these fiery narco blockades have been reported across Mexico, and dozens of deaths have been reported so far. Mexican President Claudia Scheinbaum addressed the nation today, urging calm and normalcy, claiming all the fire blockades have been neutralized by government forces. Nick Reiner pleaded not guilty today in the double murder of his parents, iconic Hollywood director Rob and his wife, Michelle Singer. Reiner made his first appearance in court today after his parents were found brutally stabbed to death in their home in December. Nick faces two charges of first-degree murder and could be sentenced to death or life in prison

if convicted. He's currently being held in solitary confinement without bail. He's set to appear in court again on April 29th. President Trump made a call on Sunday to a locker room in Milan, Italy, congratulating the men's U.S. hockey team after winning their first gold medal in nearly half a century. Video circulated on X of the team receiving the call via FBI director Cash Patel as they celebrated their overtime victory over rival Canada. Trump had especially high remarks for goaltender Connor Hellebike. And by the way, say hi to him. How are you doing, Dad? Trump went on to offer a, quote, military plane to bring the team to his State of the Union address tomorrow.

Many of the team members could be heard saying they were, quote, in. The next day, we'll just have some fun. We have medals for you guys. And we have to, I must tell you, we're going to have to bring the woman's team, you do know that. Absolutely. 60% of the vans.

Provinceder of Independence, I'm going to shake hands with everybody. are fabricated here here even in Quebec, with the tissue that we're that's chute in New York

and the water of the public to our business on our base our base to the entire

entire that's the company that all this is we're grandie. Trouvey

of little enterprises like on another onau on California governor and

can't read. Shikes. Daily Wire Assistant editor, Andy Valdez, has more. Speaking to a largely black audience on Sunday while promoting his new book, Newsom highlighted his 30th percentile SAT score. I'm not trying to impress you. I'm just trying to impress upon you. I'm like you. I'm no better than you. You know, I'm a 960 SAT guy. Literally a 960 SAT guy. I cannot, you've never seen me read a speech. because I cannot read a speech. Rapper Nikki Minaj responded on X saying, his way of bonding with black people

is to tell them how stupid he is and that he can't read. Fox News host Sean Hannity posted the clip of Newsom on X and Newsom hit back, referencing a recent video posted to President Trump's account that included a short clip featuring the Obamas as apes, which the president says he did not see. Newsom added, quote, but you're going to call me racist for talking about my lifelong struggle with dyslexia?

Senator Ted Cruz also replied on X, saying simply, the soft bigotry of low expectations. President Trump has reacted to yesterday's security breach at his Florida home, in which a 21-year-old armed man was shot and killed at Maralago. During an angel family's remembrance ceremony today, the president said the following. I don't know how long I'll be around? Got a lot of people gunning for me, don't I? But I will not forget them. I'm never going to forget them.

Authorities say Austin, Tucker, Martin entered the property carrying a shotgun and a gas can. When confronted by secret service agents and a sheriff's deputy, officials say he pointed the weapon at officers and was fatally shot. No agents were injured and Trump was not at the residence. Investigators say a motive remains unclear, though acquaintances told media outlets that Martin had recently expressed strong views about the Justice Department's handling of Jeffrey Epstein-related documents. The investigation is ongoing. Two Detroit police officers have been suspended without pay for cooperating with federal immigration officers. Daily Wire Reporter's actual reports.

The officers contacted Border Patrol on two separate occasions during traffic stops leading to the arrests of illegal migrants. Citing a violation of department policy, Detroit Police Chief Todd Bedison sought to have the officers fired, but the Board of Commissioners opted to suspend the officers without pay for 30 days. While Detroit has not officially declared itself a sanctuary city, it effectively acts as one by prohibiting police from cooperating with federal immigration agents. ICE responded to the situation from their official ex-account and offered each of the suspended police officers a job. One of the suspended officers, Sergeant Denise Wallet, has sued the city of Detroit. Let's be honest. Most of us have no idea what phytonutrients actually are,

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According to Ukrainian authorities, they hit a missile manufacturing plant in Votbrinsk, east of Moscow, about 800 miles from Ukraine's border. Keef says the facility produces short-range, Skander, and Intercontinental Topol ballistic missiles. Ukraine says it carried out the strike using domestically produced ground-launched Flamingo cruise missiles, sparking a fire at the site. The strike comes as Russia continues to use ballistic missiles and drones to target Ukraine's energy infrastructure, causing widespread winter power outages as the war enters its fifth year. Cities across the Northeast spent the last few days warning that winter is coming,

and now it's definitely here. Daily Wire reporter Breckis Stoll has more. Forecasters warn conditions in cities like Boston, New York, Atlantic City, and Portsmouth are expected to worsen today as a powerful winter storm strengthens into a blizzard. Cities in the region are expected to see more than a foot of snow with nearly 100 million people in the storm's path. New York, New Jersey, and Boston have all declared emergencies with power outages expected amid forecast of strong winds and whiteout conditions. New York mayor and self-described Democratic socialist Zonron Mundani is calling on residents to sign up

as emergency snow shovelers to help keep the streets and sidewalks clear during the storm. This is a way that New Yorkers get paid to shovel snow in assistance with the city's response to a winter storm event. The recruitment push immediately drew attention since participants must provide two forms of identification to become a snow shoveler under federal labor laws. Federal law requires that employers get authorization and documentation to pay people for their work. We are not allowed to just cut checks to individuals for their work. And these are the policies that we've had in place,

but I understand that for many, it's the first time that they've ever heard about it. The irony hasn't gone unnoticed. Americans across the country are wondering why you need to present identification to shovel snow, but not to vote. The Democratic Socialist of America's New York chapter of which Mbemdani is a member in which enthusiastically endorsed the mayor

has strongly advocated against voter ID requirements in elections. And a curious development in the UFO saga has conspiracy theorists and laymen both scratching their heads. Daily Wire reporter Lyndon Blake has a story. Just days after President Trump demanded the release of classified UFO-related intelligence, a massive online public catalog of extraterrestrial-related documents has been wiped clean. The archive, known as the Black Vault, contained more than 3.8 million documents related to UFOs, CIA projects, and U.

other major conspiracies. For over three decades, researcher and euthologist John Greenwald Jr. maintained the archive as a resource for those interested in declassified information. Following the incident, Greenwald posted on X that he did not wipe the servers and that access had been changed without his knowledge. The timing of the alleged sabotage has led to speculation about the president's proposed release and whether anyone wishes to prevent it. Those of your drive home updates this evening. To learn more about these stories, go to dailywire.com. And in case you missed it earlier today, we covered some major stories,

including the last ditch effort to stave off strikes against Iran, Secret Service taking down an intruder at Mar-a-Lago, and Team USA reigniting the American spirit with thrilling victories on the Olympic ice. Thanks for tuning in. We'll be back tomorrow morning with another full edition of Morning Wire.