Morning Wire - Evening Wire: NASCAR Star Plane Crash & Bongino Departs FBI | 12.18.25

Episode Date: December 18, 2025

Australian police thwart a second suspected Bondi Beach attack, Deputy Director Dan Bongino is leaving the FBI, and the Oscars abandon ABC. Get the facts first with Evening Wire. Thumbnail Image Credit: Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports - - - Ep. 2545 - - - 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

Australian police thwart a second suspected Bondi beach attack. Deputy director Dan Bongino is leaving the FBI and the Oscars abandoned ABC. I'm Daily Wire Executive Editor John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Thursday, December 18th. This is Evening Wire. NASCAR star Greg Biffle and some of his family members died this morning in a plane crash. Daily Wire reporter Lyndon Blake has more. This is just a tragic story.

A private plane carrying Biffle's family in two. others crashed Thursday morning about 45 miles outside of Charlotte. The crash happened just after 10 a.m. while attempting to land shortly after the plane took off from the Statesville Regional Airport. Longtime friend of Biffle, YouTuber Garrett Mitchell, said the Biffles were on their way to visit his family when the plane crashed. Biffel's two children were 14 and 5. He was known as both a racing champion and a humanitarian who dedicated his time to helping his community. Biffel used his plane helicopters, boats, to take generators, chainsaws, water, all the essential supplies to the rural areas of North Carolina

that were devastated last year from Hurricane Helene. North Carolina State Congressman Richard Hudson mourned the loss on X, noting that Biffle will be remembered for his service to others as much as for his fearlessness on the track. More updates are streaming in on the investigation into the Brown University shooting. Daily Wire reporter Zach Jule has the latest. A person of interest sought in connection to the shooting has been identified, according to CBS News. A search for that person is now underway, but authorities have not yet released the name of the person of interest to the public.

Police are asking the public to help them identify another person who is, quote, in proximity of the person of interest. Officials have released three grainy photos showing a person in a coat and hoodie walking through a yard on what appears to be a residential street. Anyone with information is urged to contact the tip line at 401-272-3121. Police are also looking into whether the Brown University mass shooting might be connected to the murder of an MIT professor. Two days after the shooting at Brown on Saturday, MIT professor Nuno Lerero was killed inside his Boston home some 50 miles away. Meanwhile, investigators have recovered live ammunition and DNA from the scene at Brown

University. Australian police arrested seven suspects near Bondi Beach today on suspicion of plotting a violent act. Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce has the details. Australian police officers on Thursday detained seven men after receiving intelligence that the group might be planning a violent act. Police rammed a white hatchback reportedly traveling from the southern state of Victoria to Sydney's Bondi Beach, the side of last weekend's Islamic terror attack targeting Jews. A second hatchback was stopped by police just a few blocks away, and two men inside were also arrested. New South Wales police said that tactical operations police responded to information received that a violent act was possibly being planned. A source told the Sydney Morning Herald that authorities might have recovered a weapon in one of the

vehicles, but police have not verified that claim. Authorities promised to release more information on the arrests and assure the public that there is no ongoing risk to the community. Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino plans to leave the Bureau next month. With more's Daily Wire Culture Reporter, Megan Basham. Bonino posted his farewell announcement on X on Wednesday, stating that he'll be leaving his position in January and thanking Trump, Attorney General Bondi, FBI Director Patel, and the American people for the privilege to serve them. Trump appointed Bongino to the Bureau in February. Before his career in conservative media, Bongino served in the New York Police Department and Secret Service.

In the media, he was an adept watchdog over the Department of Justice and FBI. especially on scandals such as Operation Crossfire Hurricane and the Jeffrey Epstein saga. Mangino recently wrapped one of his priorities for the FBI since coming into the deputy director role, identifying the suspected pipe bomber who planted bombs outside the Republican and Democratic headquarters in Washington, D.C. on January 5, 2021. Shares of Trump media surge after the company announced a $6 billion merger with a nuclear fusion firm, T-A-E Technologies. Daily Wire, Senior Editor Cabot Phillips has the details. The All-Stock deal announced on Thursday would create the nation's first publicly traded fusion

energy company, with Trump Media and T-AE splitting ownership roughly down the middle. The combined company plans to begin construction next year on a 50-mawatt fusion plant in hopes to first begin providing power by 2031, though experts say commercial fusion remain scientifically uncertain. CEO Devin Nunes says the merger positions the U.S. to help lead in meeting soaring energy demands driven by artificial intelligence. TAE founded in 1998 is one of the world's longest running fusion ventures. In response to the U.S. blockade, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has ordered Navy escorts for his nation's oil tankers. Although the ships being escorted are not among those under

U.S. sanctions, the escalation increases the likelihood of violent conflict. Venezuelan oil, which is largely purchased by private buyers in China, has become the focus of Trump's campaign to oust the Venezuelan president. Maduro, for his part, has shown no signs of backing down, reportedly vowing to keep exports flowing at all costs. The House narrowly passed a bill yesterday that would block doctors across the country from carrying out transgender procedures on minors. Daily Wire reporter Amanda Prestiakamo has the details. Under the law, doctors who carry out transgender procedures on kids could face steep fines or up to 10 years in prison. The banned procedures include giving gender-confused kids cross-sex hormones, which can have profound

impacts on fertility, sexual function, and heart health. The law also blocks giving kids puberty blockers, which can significantly harm bone development, and it bans genital surgeries and the removal of breasts of girls who identify as boys. In related news, the Trump administration has rolled out new rules today that will defund hospitals that perform trans procedures on kids and penalize doctors who administer those procedures. Hospitals that offer these procedures to minors are banned from Medicare and Medicaid programs. The rules will also block federal funding of Medicaid's Children's Health Insurance program from going towards trans procedures for anyone under the age of 19.

After multiple investigations, the U.S. government has accepted fault for a crash at Reagan Airport that left 67 dead last January. DeLewire Senior Editor Virginia Cruda reports. The crash involved an American Airlines regional jet colliding mid-air with an Army helicopter. The Justice Department said in a filing on Wednesday that the pilots of the Army Blackhawk helicopter, quote, failed to maintain vigilance. The failure was a cause in fact and proximate cause of the accident. The filing also laid a portion of the blame on the American Airlines pilots, but the airline maintains that their pilots acted according to all laws and standards, placing the blame entirely on the Army's pilots. pilots and air traffic control. The government has declared their intention to pay damages to the

families of those lost in the incident. An update in the potential Warner Brothers sale. The company is demanding a personal guarantee from billionaire Larry Ellison to fund Paramount's bid. Paramount, run by his son David Ellison, outbid Netflix's offer to acquire Warner Brothers. But Warner Brothers warned their shareholders that Paramount's financing was not secure. In order for the deal to go through, the companies now requiring Larry's personal guarantee. If that can't be made, Paramount would have to increase their bid to have any hopes of closing the deal. In a major shake-up, Pope Leo has replaced Cardinal Timothy Dolan as leader of the Catholic Church in New York, sideline a leading conservative among U.S. bishops. DeLewire's senior editor, Joel Neeler, has more.

Dolan delivered an invocation at Trump's second inauguration. He praised Charlie Kirk as a modern-day St. Paul. He's also been a frequent guest on Fox and Friends and host his own weekly program. on Sirius XM's The Catholic Channel. To replace Dolan, Pope Leo chose a relatively unknown clerk from Illinois, Bishop Ronald Hicks. At a press conference in New York a few hours after the Vatican's announcement Thursday, Hicks gave some remarks in Spanish before speaking in English. Citing his experience as a former missionary in Latin America, he said he has a great heart for the Latino community. Hicks also repeated his earlier endorsement of the U.S. Catholic bishop's condemnation of Trump's immigration crackdown.

The Senate passed a $900 billion defense policy bill this week, which clears the way to accomplishing many of Trump's agenda goals, including modernizing military purchases, development of new technologies, as well as raising the salary of military personnel. The bill also contained provisions that would give Congress increased oversight on certain military actions. This comes amid increasing questions regarding the Trump administration's targeting of drug trafficking boats in the Caribbean. A new bill from Republican Senator Tom Cotton would protect National Guard troops from, quote, deranged individuals who attack or spit on them while they're on duty. Daily Wire political reporter Cameron Arkin reports. The bill known as the National Guard Protective Zone Act would make it a federal misdemeanor for those who enter a 15-foot buffer zone for guardsmen with the intent to intimidate, harass, or impede troops. It would also create a felony for anyone who spits on or throws an object at a guardsman well on duty that would be punishable by up to five years in prison.

Senator Cotton told the Daily Wire, quote, The brave Arkansases who serve in our National Guard should be protected from deranged individuals. My bill ensures that anyone who intends to intimidate or harass guardsmen will face the full force of the law. Cotton's legislation comes as President Trump has deployed national guard troops to cities across the country from Memphis to L.A. to assist in federal operations. Democratic Socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said she'd, quote, stomp vice president J.D. Vance in a presidential election. After a recent poll showed the far-left congresswoman leading Vance by 2%, 51 to 49, the editor of Migrant Insider, asked her Wednesday if she really thinks she could win. Listen, these polls, like, three years out are, you know, they are what they are. But let the record show, I would stop him.

I would stop him. And in a big break with tradition, the Oscars will leave ABC, its broadcast home since 1976, and moved to YouTube in 2020. Here's Daily Wire Entertainment Reporter Amanda Harding. The announcement surprised the entertainment industry and marked a turning point in how people consume content. Disney owned ABC will continue to air the Academy Award. until its 100th anniversary in 2028. But then in 2029, through at least 2033, YouTube will stream the show and related content on its platform,

which boasts 2 billion users worldwide. This includes red carpet pre-shows, behind-the-scenes footage, nominee announcements, and the Governor awards, where honorary Oscars are presented. YouTube's CEO Neil Mohan said in a statement, quote, "...partnering with the Academy to bring this celebration of art and entertainment

to viewers all over the world will inspire a new generation of creativity and film lovers while staying true to the Oscar's story legacy. Those are 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 latest on Trump's blockade on Venezuelan oil tankers, highlights from his Oval Office address,

and Turning Point USA's Amfest kicking off today. Thanks for tuning in. We'll be back tomorrow morning with another full edition of Morningwire.