Morning Wire - Shapiro Interviews Zelensky & Tren De Aragua Smuggling | Afternoon Update | 4.24.25

Episode Date: April 24, 2025

Daily Wire’s own Ben Shapiro sits down Ukraine’s leader, Venezuela may be helping Tren De Aragua into the U.S., and a Texas bill could open the door to more Colony Ridge-like developments. Developing stories you need to know just in time for your drive home. Get the facts first on Morning Wire. Identity Guard: Get a 30 day free trial AND 60% off when you go to https://IdentityGuard.com/wire. Beam: Head to https://shopbeam.com/WIRE and use code WIRE at checkout for up to 40% off. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

60% of the vans on Amazon come to vendor independent like Sac Magic. Hello, here Camille of Sac Magic. Our compresses chode fraud are fabriced in Quebec, and our presence on Amazon

enlarge our clientele to world entire. Trouve of little enterprises like Amazon.com. This episode is brought to you by Identity Guard. Identity Guard is offering our listeners

a 30-day free trial and 60% off when you go to IdentityGard.com slash wire. That's less than what you're paying for that streaming service you forgot to cancel.

That's ID-E-E-N-T-I-G-R-D-R-D-R-D-R-R-R-D. slash wire to sign up for a 30-day free trial and get 60% off. Certain terms apply. See site for details. Daily Wire Zone Ben Shapiro presses Ukraine's leader on his handling of the war. The Trump administration accusation accuses Venezuela of helping Trend de Aragua and a Texas bill could open the door to more colony ridge-like developments. I'm Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Thursday, April 24th, and this is your Morning Wire afternoon update. Daily Wire editor emeritus Ben Shapiro, sat down with Ukrainian president Vladimir Zelensky to press him on the handling of the war and U.S. taxpayer money. Zelensky insisted that Ukraine would be fully transparent on how American funds are

spent, claiming U.S. aid has gone to weapons and battlefield support, not salaries or pensions. He's also invited full inspections and maintained that no U.S. weapons have been misused or sold. What kind of transparency can you provide to the American people to guarantee that their taxpayer dollars are being used in the best possible way to fight Russia, to defend Ukraine, and to ensure that if the United States wants, wouldn't ought to be possible by the United States of where those dollars are going? Yes. Most of those money were in the form of weapons.

Now, that's the first thing. All of those weapons came. The money were paid to the transportation of those weapons. Ukrainian companies were not allowed to transport. this money. That's why we haven't received not in the public, not in the private sector the money for the transportation. There were different assistance programs. The training

of Ukrainian soldiers abroad. There's many things. I'm documenting and registering what we have. I understand there could be different calculations, different assistance programs, or aid programs, but this is like an audit, really. While Zelensky

denied cracking down on faith groups, he said churches tied to Russian intelligence have no place in Ukraine. So it's not only about the ties at a level of intelligence. There was a legal connection, legal ties, for many years, but that shouldn't be the case. We shouldn't be having disputes or controversies around whose church is older than the others. And Ukraine is not really, shouldn't be speaking about this. Look, we're sitting here close to the Sophia Cathedral.

Sophia is older than... Russia's capital city and any churches they have, this building is older than that. That's the answer. We shouldn't have any disputes. We have scientific evidence. The first half of the interview was released on the Ben Shapiro show today. President Trump is telling Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop following a barrage of strikes on Ukraine overnight. Daily Wire Deputy Managing editor Tim Rice says more. Trump took to truth social to slam the attacks on Kiev as not necessary while urging Russia to commit to a peace deal. The strikes, which killed at least nine

people and left many more injured, come despite Ukraine agreeing to a U.S.-backed ceasefire last month, one that would recognize Russia's hold over Crimea and parts of eastern Ukraine. The strike comes amid mounting tension between the United States and Russia, as Putin secured a deal to open a naval base in war-torn Sudan. The Trump administration is urging Sudan to back away, warning that cooperation with Moscow's defense sector could trigger sanctions. The base, which would likely hold Russian warships and nuclear subs could give Russia a strategic foothold in the Red Sea. A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration's directive dismantling, diversity, equity, and inclusion in K-12 schools. The ruling comes after lawsuits from the

NIA and ACLU, claiming the guidance violates teachers' First Amendment and due process rights. The Education Department had warned schools to drop DEI practices or risk losing federal funding. The FBI says Venezuela's Maduro regime may be aiding the infiltration of train-day-Iragua gang members into the U.S. They say it's all part of a plan from the regime to target Venezuelan dissidents on American soil. The Trump-designated terror group is allegedly being used as a proxy to destabilize U.S. communities. While a recent intel report disputes direct ties to Caracas, Trump officials say the threat is real, vowing strict action to prevent violence and uphold national security. This episode is brought to you by Beam.

Groggy and exhausted is no way to start off your day, which is why we're introducing Beam's dream powder, a science-backed healthy hot cocoa for sleep. Head to shopbeam.com slash wire and use code wire at checkout for up to 40% off. California Governor Gavin Newsom is backing up the Trump administration's push to keep an illegal immigrant and convicted killer behind bars. Oscar Eduardo Ortega Anguiano is convicted in the death of two teens. He was under the influence when he hit their car at nearly 100 miles per hour. hour. Now he's set for early release after serving just three and a half years of a 10-year sentence.

Newsom is now saying the state will honor a federal ICE detainer and efforts to bring new felony immigration charges. U.S. attorney Bilal Assele says these types of cases are something he'll be focusing on moving forward. Those are illegal aliens who've reentered, committed crimes, will be very aggressive with them. There were no filings the last few years under the prior administration. Zero. Zero of 1326 cases. As of last week, we've had over 200 filings in my office. Asali says Ortega Anguiano could face up to 20 years in federal prison for illegal reentry. A new bill going through the Texas legislature is drawing scrutiny with critics saying it opens the door to target illegal immigrants with predatory practices.

Daily Wire investigative reporter Spencer Lindquist has the exclusive. The legislation, which was drafted by Colony Ridge's defense lawyer and a powerful lobbying group, exempts residential real estate developers from some key mortgage origination laws, weakening state oversight and shifting accountability to the loan originators rather than the developments. Emails obtained by the Daily Wire show coordination between the Texas Land Developers Association and the lawyer currently defending Colony Ridge against the Department of Justice. The bill is being pushed by lawmakers who receive substantial donations from those with a financial stake in the bill's passage.

Critics say that it opens the door to predatory practices, especially in developments like Colony Ridge that targets illegal aliens with high-interest land deals. And Columbia University appears to be cracking down on anti-Israel protests amid the potential for unrest. The Ivy League School says it will disperse any encampments and arrest those involved, citing safety and campus disruption. The alert follows a secret Brooklyn meeting where masked organizers urged protesters to reclaim the lawn. Columbia says it values free expression, but only within university rules. The protests echo last year's encampment chaos that ended in arrests and a campus lockdown. Before we go, we want to share some big news.

Starting on Monday, April 28th, we're launching a video version of Morning Wire. You've trusted us for fast, accurate news, and now we're excited to bring you into our studio to see us on video. For audio listeners, don't worry, it won't change your listening experience. It's just another way to enjoy the show. You'll be able to find Morning Wire video on our YouTube channel and, of course, on the Daily Wire app and website. or you can continue listening on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. All right, thanks for tuning in. We'll be back tomorrow morning with another full edition of Morning Wire.