Morning Wire - Evening Wire: Mangione Pleads Guilty & Jason Arday Found Dead | 8.14.26

Episode Date: August 14, 2026

The U.S. military blows up ‘FALSE’ claims about American warships pushed by Iranian outlets, Trump asks the Supreme Court to intervene in the Ball Room case, and Luigi Mangione pleads guilty. Get the facts first with Evening Wire. - - - Ep. 3039 - - - Today’s Sponsor: Lean - Get 20% off when you enter code WIRE at https://TakeLean.com  - - - Wake up with new Morning Wire merch: https://bit.ly/4lIubt3   - - - 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

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. Former Cambridge professor Jason Ardei has died. The U.S. military blows up false claims about American warships pushed by Iranian outlets, and Luigi Mangione pleads guilty. I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire Executive Editor John Bickley.

It's Friday, August 14th, and this is Evening Wire. Professor Jason Ardei, who recently stepped down from his post at Cambridge University amid a growing plagiarism scandal, was found unresponsive at a home in Battersea, this morning. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Police have not released a cause of death, but they do not suspect foul play. The scandal involving Ardei had ballooned in scale over the past two weeks after numerous lies were identified in his personal story. He was 41 years old. The American military is shooting down claims about supposed alarming behavior on a U.S. warship amid its lengthy deployment to the Middle East. Contributor Tim Pierce reports.

U.S. Central Command said Thursday that claims about a rise in suicide. ideation on the USS Abraham Lincoln and a supposed fight among American sailors that killed seven were false. The statement came after reports that two sailors had attempted to jump overboard during the deployment and reports of poor conditions on the aircraft carrier. Central Command statement said, quote, over the past 48 hours, multiple media outlets have reported several false claims related to USS Abraham Lincoln's deployment to the Middle East. It continued, one report alleged seven sailors died in a brawl aboard the aircraft carrier and others have recently suggested a spike in suicidal ideations. These reports are false. The claim about American

soldiers killing each other originated with Iranian news outlets and was repeated across Asian media outlets. Central Command also pushed back on reports of low morale, saying that the Lincoln's crew re-enlistment rate is over 84 percent, the highest in the Navy. Today, Luigi Mangione pleaded guilty to federal stalking charges in connection with the murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Here's Mangione's attorney, Karen Friedman Agnifalo, on the courthouse steps after the hearing. With today's guilty plea, Mr. Mangione has accepted full responsibility for the death of Brian Thompson, arising from the events of December 4th, 2024 outside of the United Healthcare Investor Conference here in Midtown Manhattan. It was a single tragic event, yet he's being prosecuted twice for the same conduct.

The guilty plea may reshape the state case against Manjubljave. His attorney has already filed a motion to dismiss state charges under a New York law that prohibits double jeopardy in separate state and federal cases. For his part, U.S. Attorney James McDonald said this about the guilty plea after the hearing. Mangione attempted to send a public message through violence, but the message that emerges today is very different. Violence is not a legitimate instrument to promote any political or social message. and those who resort to violence in an effort to advance their beliefs will be prosecuted, convicted, and put in jail. The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court today to intervene in the ballroom construction case,

slamming lower court judges for holding it up. Solicitor General John Sauer said in an emergency appeal to the court today, quote, this project, like its predecessors, should be a matter for the president and the political process, not construction by injunction. Trump wants to build a 90,000 square foot ballroom that can hold more attendees and provide better security for key White House events. He's pointed to recent threats of violence, including at the White House Correspondence Dinner and Iranian assassination plots,

as a reason to bring events in-house. But the project has sparked a months-long legal battle, which the president is now hoping the high court will finally put to rest. Today, U.S. Attorney for D.C., Janine Piro announced the arrest of the suspected vandal of D.C.'s World War II Memorial. Daily Wire reporter, Zach Jewell, has the latest. Melissa Ferris has been charged with two felonies, depredation against property of the United States, and destruction of veterans' memorials. Each charge carries a sentence of up to 10 years in prison. According to the DOJ, Ferris is behind graffiti applied to the monument yesterday.

The granite was streaked with bright pink and green spray paint and a message that said clean hands, dirty money. Authorities also said that bubble soap was dumped into the memorial's central fountain. President Trump said of the vandalism that, quote, there can be no greater insult to World War II heroes. The economy got some great reports this week. According to the Labor Department, wholesale prices eased slightly in July, though they were a little higher than expected. Meanwhile, consumer inflation cooled slightly last month, coming in at 3,000. 3.4% year over year that's down from 3.5% in June. That also comes despite energy prices spiking a bit due to flare-ups in the Middle East. Experts say that together those reports might encourage the

Fed to hold the interest rate steady. Then there's the stock market which has set new records. The SMP 500 has seen record high closings and continues to signal more growth to come. The one big caution from economists, though, is energy costs in the coming weeks and months, which could start to be felt in more areas. is sponsored by Brickhouse Nutrition. Everybody knows someone right now who's talking about weight loss injections. And to be fair, the results can be dramatic. But a lot of people are also hesitant about weekly injections. That's why more people, including some here at the Daily Wire, have been looking into Lean from Brickhouse Nutrition. Lean is a doctor-developed weight loss

supplement, and several people around the Daily Wire team have talked about how helpful it is for controlling cravings and staying more consistent with healthier eating habits. The ingredients in lean are backed by research showing that they can help lower blood sugar and convert stored fat into energy and reduce those constant hunger cravings that make dieting so difficult. And this is important. Lean is not really aimed at someone trying to lose two or three pounds before a vacation. The doctors at Brickhouse Nutrition created it for people who've been struggling to lose 10 pounds or more and are looking for a realistic option that fits in their everyday life. Let's get you started with 20% off and free rush shipping so that you can add lean to your

healthy diet and exercise plan. Visit takelein.com and enter Wire for your discount. That's promo code wire at takelein.com. A passenger aboard Orion Air Flight was saved from getting sucked out of the plane in a mid-air disaster. 61-year-old Dubisa Karovic was in the window seat of a flight from Greece to Germany when investigators believe a bird flew into one of the plane's engines. The bird strike caused an engine blade to eject from its housing, striking the window directly next to Karovic. The window shattered and the catastrophic decompression.

that followed ripped the man from his seat, forcing his head and shoulders out of the plane. Nearby passengers, including the man's wife, grabbed hold and wrenched him back inside, avoiding further disaster. The midair incident has been turned over to the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board for investigation. Top Trump officials are sounding the alarm over GOP midterm strategy. Reporter Drew Berkmeier has the story. Top political advisors are urging Republicans to make an unexpected shift in their midterm messaging. to talk more about health care and less about voter integrity.

Trump campaign officials brief Republican senators earlier this month on which issues could give candidates the biggest advantage. They say Republicans hold a massive 46 point advantage when voters are presented with a message calling for greater transparency around health insurers' profits, claim denials, and wait times while accusing Democrats of lining insurers' pockets. Republicans also held 44 point and 38 point advantages on banning congressional stock trading and cracking down on fraud respectively. A beloved Wisconsin Walmart greeter has been fired after more than two decades on the job,

reportedly following an incident in which a regular customer hugged him. Daily Wire Associate producer Brooke Morgato has the story. Kenneth Kenny Schmitz, who worked at the Manitouac store for 21 years, has drawn an outpouring of support from customers who say his friendly demeanor and willingness to greet shoppers made him a fixture in the community. A GoFundMe campaign launched after his firing has raised more than $8,000 toward a $9,000 goal, with supporters calling on Walmart to reinstate him and some threatening to boycott the retailer. The campaign organizers said Schmitz was dismissed over something, quote, completely beyond his control,

while Walmart declined to discuss the personnel matter. The company's code of conduct prohibits, quote, offensive physical contact, including certain forms of touching, though the policy does not specifically address customer-initiated hugs. Socialist Senator Bernie Sanders fired back this week at leftists who are mad that he didn't endorse Francesca Hong for governor in Wisconsin. Despite polls showing her way ahead, Hong ended up losing in the state's Democratic primary Tuesday, and Sanders got flack for failing to push for Hong, but now says that's unfair. The socialist senator told Politico, quote, We have limited resources and capabilities, and there are a lot of really great candidates who have run for office who we have not endorsed.

We can't endorse every single candidate. He also threw Hong a bone saying she ran a, quote, very, very great and very strong grassroots campaign. That very strong campaign ended up with her being edged out by a candidate who had actually dropped out of the race at one point for lack of support. And construction workers renovating a former brewery site in Belgium made an astonishing discovery when they uncovered a hidden stash of gold worth roughly $10.4 million.

The crew was digging through a sewer pipe when they initially thought they had found ordinary euro coins, but they then gleamed gold. Soon they were pulling out bars and bullion. The workers turned the treasure over to police, who said keeping it would amount to theft, and the gold is now being held by a local welfare organization that hopes to use the proceeds for charity. The hoard's original owner remains unknown, though a local historian suggested it may have belonged to a prominent brewing family.

Under Belgian law, the rightful owner has five years to claim the fortune. And if no legitimate owner comes forward and the treasure is not tied to crime, it could eventually be split between the finder and the property owner. Meanwhile, the workers are hoping they may qualify for a finder's feed. 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 VP Vance targeting fraud in the gender transition industry, several high-profile criminal cases getting done. big updates this week and the state of the midterms after upsets and scandals. Thanks for tuning in. We'll be back tomorrow morning with a weekend edition of Morningwire. 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.