Morning Wire - National Security Warning & NY’s Special Election | Afternoon Update | 2.14.24

Episode Date: February 14, 2024

Developing stories you need to know just in time for your drive home. Get the facts first on Morning Wire. Black Rifle Coffee: Get 20% off your order with code WIRE: https://www.blackriflecoffee.com/ Netsuite: Take advantage of no payments and no interest for six months at Http://www.NetSuite.com/MORNINGWIRE Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This episode is brought to you by Black Rifle Coffee. Right now, you can get 20% off your order at blackriflecoffee.com with promo code wire. That's black rifle coffee.com promo code wire. I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley. It's Wednesday, February 14th. And this is your Morning Wire afternoon update. The Republican chair of the House Intelligence Committee issued a statement today warning about a serious national security threat. Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce has the latest. Congressman Mike Turner of Ohio said in a statement that the House Intelligence Committee informed Congress about the serious national security threat. Turner requested that the president declassify all information related to the threat in order to discuss ways to combat it with their allies. While the statement didn't offer any specifics about the threat, House members were seen coming and going from a highly secure room in the capital basement known as the

skiff, where the most sensitive, classified information is shared with lawmakers. White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said the following about Turner. statement during a White House press briefing today. I'll just say that I personally reached out to the gang of eight to set up a meeting. The Senate's not here. The four House members have agreed to that meeting. This is well before Congressman Turner came out today. We'll have that conversation tomorrow.

I'm not going to say anything further. A gas pipeline exploded this morning in Iran, and Iranian officials are calling the blast, quote, sabotage and terrorist action. The manager of Iran's gas network control center. told the nation's state television that explosions damaged several areas along the roughly 790-mile pipeline. This comes as tensions in the region remain high amid Israel's war against Hamas. Israel also launched retaliatory strikes in Lebanon this morning after rockets fired from their northern neighbor killed one person and injured seven others.

Israeli officials say they targeted terrorist sites run by the militant Iran-backed Hezbollah group. The seat once held by former Republican Congress, George Santos has been filled. Daily Wire's senior editor, Cabot Phillips, has the details. Former Democratic Representative Tom Swazi is headed back to Congress after winning the special election in New York's third congressional district last night. With Swazzi's win, Republicans can now afford to lose just two votes on any partisan bill in the House as their slim majority shrinks further.

According to sources close to Swazi, he may be sworn in as early as tomorrow, though he may have to wait until the end of the month due to the House's extended president Day recess. Democrats quickly coalesced around Swazi following Santos' expulsion from Congress for campaign finance violations. House Speaker Mike Johnson is seeking an in-person meeting with the president before making any moves regarding aid to Ukraine and Israel. The speaker and his staff have reportedly requested several meetings through White House officials over the past two months after Johnson's trip to the southern border. Sources say the latest request came just over a week ago and was about a general path forward on a legislative package. But according to House

Majority Leader Steve Scalise, Biden, quote, refuses to meet with the House Speaker. This comes after Biden called on the House to bring the aid package up for a vote. History is watching. Failure to support Ukraine at this critical moment will never be forgotten. Johnson addressed his numerous requests to meet with the President this morning. If the Speaker of the House can't meet with the President of the United States, that's a problem. I don't know why they're uncomfortable. having the president sit across the table from me, but I will go in good faith because we have to solve this issue and do every single thing we can. And as you know, he has a broad arsenal of executive authority that he could use right now. He could have used yesterday.

He could use months ago to stem the flow. This episode is brought to you by NetSuite. Download NetSuite's popular KPI checklist designed to give you consistently excellent performance absolutely free at netsuite.com slash morningwire. That's netsweet.com slash morningwire. Lawyers representing Harvey Weinstein have asked New York's highest court to toss out his 2020 conviction. Weinstein's legal team argues the judge succumbed to public pressure amid the Me Too movement and infringed on the former movie mogul's right to a fair trial. 71-year-old Weinstein was convicted in February of 2020 for forcing sexual acts on two different women.

He was sentenced to 23 years in prison. One of the illegal immigrants allegedly involved in an attack on two cops in Times Square has been arrested again and for another coordinated crime. The team was arrested Tuesday for taking part in the robbery of a Macy's in Queens. He's one of four people charged in the theft, which did turn violent. A security guard attempted to thwart the robbery, leading to a struggle in one of the suspects punching the guard in the face. Thousands of Uber and Lyft drivers across the U.S. and UK are participating in strikes in a variety of cities today, demanding better rates and improved working conditions. Workers also demonstrated outside of Newark Liberty International Airport.

The strike was organized by the group Justice for App Workers. And while love may be in the air this Valentine's Day, so is inflation. According to the National Retail Federation, Americans are projected to spend about $25.8 billion overall on the holiday this year, just a tick down from the $25.9 billion last year. Valentine's Day spending peaked at $20,000. 27.4 billion in 2020. The NRF says that last year's higher average spending may have caused people to return to a more conservative spending level. Those are 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 the latest full episode of Morning Wire every morning.