Morning Wire - Israeli Hostage Rescue & Lloyd Austin Hospitalized | Afternoon Update | 2.12.24

Episode Date: February 12, 2024

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This episode is brought to you by Birchgold Group. Diversify your savings with Birchgold. Their experts can help turn your 401k into a 401k in gold. Just text Wire to 989898 today. I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief John Bickley. It's Monday, February 12th, and this is your Morning Wire afternoon update. In a daring operation overnight, Israel Defense Forces rescued two Israeli hostages who were being held by Hamas terrorists in Rafe, Egypt.

Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce reports. Israeli forces went into Rafah early on Monday despite pressure from President Biden to forego the operation. Israeli soldiers rescued both 61-year-old Fernando Marmon and 71-year-old Louis Har. Both were kidnapped from near Yitzhak on October 7th. The brief operation included a battle with Hamas militants in the building, with hostages and others nearby. As an IDF spokesman told the times of Israel, this was a very complex action in which Israeli soldiers filled it heavy fire while performing the rescue. Both hostages are said to be in good condition after their arrival at Shiba Medical Center in Ramat Gan. Here's the hospital's acting director.

I think that the most important moment is not just the medical part, but rather the personal issue and the fact and to see them joining with their families. We're the loved one. For a month, I haven't seen them. Remember, there's a 70-year-old person. there in a 60-year-old person. They are not young. These are the people who were kidnapped from Israel. Closed-door hearings began today to consider the degree of access to evidence in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case for former President Trump.

Special counsel Jack Smith is seeking to block requests by Trump's lawyers for unredacted documents. Smith argues that it poses a significant and immediate threat to over two dozen witnesses. Trump faces a handful of charges in the case, including willful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice, and corruptly concealing a document. Lawyers representing the former president are seeking to have the charges thrown out and face a February 22nd deadline for pretrial motions. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is in critical care at Walter Reed Medical Center following symptoms of an emergent bladder issue. The Pentagon says Austin has transferred his duties to his deputy. Daily Wire senior editor Joel Needler has more.

In a statement Sunday, the military hospital said it is not clear how long Secretary Austin will remain hospitalized and that the bladder issue is, quote, not expected to change his anticipated full recovery. The hospital also says his cancer prognosis remains excellent. This comes on the heels of Austin's hospital stay earlier this year, during which he was hospitalized for two weeks. Apparently, the secretary did not go through the proper protocol, leading him to say, I want to be crystal clear. We did not handle this right. and I did not handle this right.

I should have told the president about my cancer diagnosis. I should have also told my team and the American public. This episode is brought to you by PolicyGenius. Head to PolicyGenius.com or click the link in the description to get your free life insurance quotes and see how much you could save. That's PolicyGenius.com. Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has apologized for a $7 million Super Bowl ad paid for by the American Values SuperPack. The retro ad drew heavily from the images of his famous uncle, former president John F. Kennedy. Members of RFK's family complained about the nostalgic ad online, citing the candidates, quote, deadly health care views.

Though he pinned the ad to the top of his ex-feed, RFK apologized to family members offended by it. He also said the American Values SuperPack, which ran the ad, did not consult him before airing it. A woman who opened fire at the mega church of Celebrity, Pastor Joel Osteen in Houston was shot and killed by off-duty officers on Sunday after injuring at least one person. A young child who was with the woman was also caught in the crossfire. Officials say that the child is in critical condition. As a federal law enforcement source tells CNN, the shooter used a rifle with the words, Free Palestine written on it. Questions regarding the shooter's gender have also emerged with past arrest records showing

she at one time identified as a man named Jeffrey. Meanwhile, Osteen says his community was devastated. We've been here 65 years and has somebody shooting in your church. But, you know, we don't understand why all these things happened, but we know God's in control. And we're going to pray for that little five-year-old boy and pray for the lady that was deceased, her family and all, and the other gentlemen. And a California man whose family's gender reveal stunt started a wildfire that killed a firefighter in 2020 has pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter. Daily Wire reporter Zach Jewell reports.

According to authorities, a smoke-generating pyrotechnic device was set off during the September 5th photo shoot at El Dorado Ranch Park in Yucapa and quickly set the dry grass surrounding it ablaze. Refugio Jimenez Jr. and Angelina Jimenez tried to frantically put out the fire with water bottles before calling 911. Over the next several days, strong winds spread the fire through the forest land, roughly 75 miles from Los Angeles. 39-year-old Charles Morton was killed on September 17th, 2020, when the blaze overran a remote area where firefighters were cutting fire breaks. All right, there's your drive home updates this afternoon.

To learn more about these stories, go to Dailywire.com, and for more in-depth discussion of the biggest stories of the day, listen to our latest full episode of Morning Wire every morning.