Morning Wire - Evening Wire: Court Defends California Redistricting & Ryan Routh Sentenced | 2.4.26

Starting point is 00:00:02 Tom Homan thins out federal forces in Minneapolis, a would-be Trump assassin receives a long prison sentence, and the man accused of shooting two D.C. National Guardsman appears in court. I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire, Executive Editor John Vickley. It's Wednesday, February 4th, and this is Evening Wire. The Supreme Court declined to hear a Republican-backed challenge to California's newly redrawn congressional map, handing Democrats a major win. Now the maps will take effect next year. approved by California voters under Proposition 50 is expected to shift five House seats toward Democrats. California Republicans, along with the DOJ, argued the map amounted to illegal racial gerrymandering. State officials denied that, saying the lines were drawn for political, not racial reasons. The search for Nancy Guthrie continues. Daily Wire reporter Lyndon Blake has the latest. As we reported this morning, Nancy Guthrie, the mother of today's show host Savannah Guthrie, is missing. There have been more ransom notes reported. Pima County's

Starting point is 00:01:02 Sheriff Chris Nano said the department is looking into the notes that allegedly have details about Nancy and her home that have not been made public yet. The ransom note also states the demand for millions of dollars in Bitcoin. KGUN, one of the news outlets in Arizona who received the notes, said the person who wrote the note demands the money by Thursday, and if not paid by Monday, threatens to kill Nancy. Pima County authorities came out Wednesday morning and said that they do not have a suspect or person of interest in the case. This case has truly gripped the nation. If you want to learn more about it, you can join me on the new podcast episode, Finding Nancy Guthrie. It's available on the Daily Wire website and the Daily Wire Plus podcast channel. Link is in

Starting point is 00:01:44 the description. The man who attempted to assassinate President Trump at his golf club in Florida was sentenced to life in prison today, plus a little more. Ryan Ruth was convicted of five federal crimes last fall, including attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate and multiple gun-related charges. Ruth's conviction last year came with some courtroom drama when he stabbed himself in the neck with a pen, apparently trying to take his own life. One of the gun convictions carries a mandatory seven-year prison term, leading the judge to hand down a total sentence of life in prison plus seven years. Borders'ar Tom Homan announced a massive drawdown of federal immigration agents during a press conference this morning. Daily Wire immigration

Starting point is 00:02:23 reporter Jenny Tare has a story. 700 federal immigration officers and agents will be leaving the Twin Cities area starting this morning. The personnel change comes after Holman said he secured deals with an unprecedented number of counties that have agreed to allow ICE to take custody of illegal aliens before they hit the streets. That will leave 2,000 federal immigration agents in Minnesota, along with all the teams working on fraud investigations. The former ICE chief also met last week with Minnesota Governor Tim Walls, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, and the state attorney general, Keith Ellison, along with local police chiefs. Here's more from Homan this morning.

Starting point is 00:03:01 We currently have an unprecedented number of counties communicating with us now and allowing ICE to take custody of illegal aliens before they hit the streets. Unprecedented cooperation. And I'll say it again. This is efficient. It requires only one or two officers to assume custody of a criminal alien target rather than eight or ten officers going into the community and arresting that public safety threat. This frees up more officers to arrest or remove criminal aliens.

Starting point is 00:03:28 More officers taking custody of criminal aliens directly from the jails means less officers on the street doing criminal operations. This is smart law enforcement, not less law enforcement. It's safer for the community, safer for the officers, and safer for the aliens. The man accused of shooting two National Guard troops in Washington, D.C. in November made his first court appearance this morning. Ramanala Lockenwall, a 29-year-old Afghan National living in the U.S. as a refugee, pleaded not guilty of to nine charges, including first-degree murder. Lockenwall allegedly drove to the Capitol from Bellingham, Washington, and opened fire on National Guard troops the day before Thanksgiving, killing Army specialist Sarah Bextram and wounding Air Force Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe.

Starting point is 00:04:15 His next court date is scheduled for May 6th. The federal murder charge against Lockenwald makes him eligible for the death penalty, which Attorney General Pam Bondi says the government is seeking. After months of threats and insults, President Trump finally met with Colombian President Gustavo Petro at the White House on Tuesday. Daily Wire Foreign Affairs reporter Cassie Akiva has more. The meeting which included Vice President J.D. Vance was closed to the press and said to focus on drug trafficking from Colombia, which is the world's largest producer of cocaine. This meeting marked the first between a South American head of state in Trump following the

Starting point is 00:04:49 January 3rd rating Caracas. A day after that, Trump said that Colombia is, quote, run by a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States. And that Petro was, quote, not going to be doing it for very long. Trump spoke to reporters after the meeting. He and I weren't exactly the best of friends, but I wasn't insulted because I never met him. I didn't know him at all. You got a long grade. Petro later posted a photo of a certificate folder featuring an image of the two leaders on one side

Starting point is 00:05:16 and on the other, a note signed by Trump that read, Gustavo, a great honor, and I love Colombia. Trump also gave Petro a maga hat and signed a copy of The Art of the Deal. President Trump held what he called an excellent and thorough call today with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce says more. The call follows President Xi's purge of his senior military leaders and amid ongoing trade negotiations. In a truth social post today, Trump said that he had just completed an excellent telephone conversation with President Xi of China. He said that two of them discussed trade, military, and the April trip that I will be making to China, which he said he was very much looking forward to.

Starting point is 00:05:54 Trump said the two also discussed Taiwan, the war between Russia and Ukraine, the current situation with Iran, the purchase of oil and gas by China from the United States, and trade in soybeans and airplane engines. Trump stressed, quote, the relationship with China and my personal relationship with President Xi is an extremely good one, and we both realize how important it is to keep it that way. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has announced a new $100 million federal investment to combat homelessness and addiction. Daily Wire report. Amanda Prestige Giacomo reports.

Starting point is 00:06:26 The Streets Initiative, Safety Through Recovery, Engagement, and Evidence-Based Treatment and Supports will aim at connecting people struggling with addiction to long-term recovery programs and psychiatric care. Kennedy highlighted that the initiative will be a shift away from previous federal approaches, which he said failed to address the root causes of addiction. In a statement, Kennedy said, quote, Addiction begins in isolation and ends in reconnection. Quoting again here, thanks to the leadership of President Trump, we are bringing Americans suffering from addiction out of the shadows and back into community. Charlie Kirk's suspected assassin is trying to fight the death penalty, claiming that President Trump influenced the prosecutor.

Starting point is 00:07:09 Daily Wire, Senior Editor Virginia Cruta has the story. Tyler Robinson's defense team argues that the Utah County Attorney's Office has only moved to seek the death penalty because it was clear that was what President Donald Trump wanted. Robinson's attorney questioned Utah County Attorney Jeffrey S. Gray during a pretrial hearing aimed at having Gray's office removed from the case due to a perceived conflict of interest. Novak, one of Robinson's attorneys, argued that Gray had been influenced by his own campaign promise to seek the death penalty in cases he deemed, quote, appropriate. The fact that the child of a prosecutor in Gray's office was present at the time of Kirk's assassination and the knowledge that President Trump had already declared his wish to see Kirk's killer, the death penalty. Gray, however, says that his goal was to limit speculation from social media and the press to lessen the anxiety felt by victims, specifically Charlie's widow Erica Kirk. The defense also petitioned the court to bar all video recordings and still photography in the

Starting point is 00:08:07 courtroom during the trial. Pete Hacks says the Boy Scouts must roll back woke initiatives or they'll lose military support. Daily Wire reporter Zach Jule has the latest. A Pentagon spokesman shared in a statement on X, quote, from day one at the war department, we have made it very clear. No more DEI at DOW, zero tolerance. He also said their partnership, including support of the national jamboree celebration, was in jeopardy. But now they are close to a final agreement,

Starting point is 00:08:34 as Scouting America has, quote, firmly committed to a return to core principles, back to God and country immediately. The statement concluded that Scouting America will continue to partner with the Department of War, provided it implements common. sense reforms. The Post also warned, quote, they are on the clock, and we are watching. The Washington Post has begun laying off roughly one third of its staff as part of what leadership calls a major restructuring. WAPO executive editor Matt Murray told employees the paper must

Starting point is 00:09:03 reinvent its journalism and business model to survive. The changes include closing the sports department in its current form, scaling back international coverage, eliminating the books section, and suspending the Post reports podcast. The Post lost nearly $180 million over the last two years and is aiming to break even in 26. The cuts follow subscriber losses, newsroom unrest, and a broader shake-up under owner Jeff Bezos as the paper redefines its mission and focus. The man who's set to headline the Super Bowl halftime show is getting slammed for drag performances as a petition calls for him to be replaced.

Starting point is 00:09:39 Daily Wire Entertainment reporter Amanda Harding explains. A petition demanding that the NFL cancel left-wing artist Bad Bunny and replace him with country star George Strait has racked up more than 120,000 signatures. The petition makes the case that the Super Bowl halftime show should unite our country, honor American culture, and remain family-friendly, not be turned into a political stunt. Bad Bunny, it says, represents none of these values. His drag performances in style are the opposite of what families expect on football's biggest stage. The performer is known for dressing in drag to, quote, challenge toxic masculinity and support the LGBTQ plus community. He stirred up even more,

Starting point is 00:10:16 from the right when he joined other celebrities at the Grammys to give an ice out message. But NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is standing by giving the stage to him for most watch event of the year. And famed rapper Nikki Minaj posted a message backing voter ID on X over the weekend that has gone completely viral, racking up 55 million views. She wrote, quote, what sensible, forward-thinking, cutting-edge, leading nation is having a debate on whether or not there should be voter ID. They're actually fighting not to have people present ID when voting for your leaders. Do you get it now? End quote. As CNN was forced to admit Tuesday, a vast majority of Americans agree with the performer. Here's CNN pollster Harry Enton. The American people are with

Starting point is 00:11:00 Nikki Minaj. I got all this polling on the screen going back since 2018. You'll notice on all of it, it's all north of 75%, 76%, 76%, 76%, 81%, 81%. And then 83% 83%. And then 83% and 83%. And then 83% in the last year of Americans agree with Nikki Minaj. They favor photo ID to be able to vote. 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 CMS administrator Dr. Oz, exposing billions in health care fraud in California,

Starting point is 00:11:33 the frantic search for Nancy Guthrie, and the Senate voting to keep a federal agency alive after its CFO confessed to taking bribes. Thanks for tuning in. We'll be back tomorrow morning with another full of. edition of Morning Wire.

Morning Wire - Evening Wire: Court Defends California Redistricting & Ryan Routh Sentenced | 2.4.26

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