Morning Wire - Tennessee Capitol Protest & WSJ Journalist Arrested | Afternoon Update | 3.30.23

Episode Date: March 30, 2023

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I'm Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief John Bickley with Georgia Howl. It's Thursday, March 30th, and this is your Morning Wire afternoon update. A group of around 400 people rushed into the Tennessee State Capitol building in Nashville this morning to protest for stricter gun laws following a mass shooting at the Covenant School earlier this week. The protest was planned by a Tennessee nonprofit called Wake. According to the New York Post, Wake seeks to improve conditions for women and children. Capital Police escorted members of the legislature. to a restroom as protesters grew more aggressive.

A Wall Street Journal reporter has been arrested in Russia after being accused of spying by Russia's security agency. According to Russia's Federal Security Service, Evan Gershkovich had, quote, collected information constituting a state secret about the activities of one of the enterprises of the Russian military industrial complex after, quote, acting on the instructions of the American side.

An espionage case has been opened against Gershkovich, the journal denied, any accusations of spying. An arrest of this nature has not happened since the fall of the Soviet Union. Two Army H.H.60 Black Hawk helicopters crashed Wednesday night in Kentucky during a training exercise, resulting in the deaths of nine service members. Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce reports. Few details have been released about the crash, which occurred at around 10 p.m. local time between two helicopters that are part of the 101st Airborne Division. The crash took place in Trigg County

near Fort Campbell. Early Thursday morning, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear announced that he would be traveling to Fort Campbell to support our troops and their families after last night's tragic incident. Here's some of what the governor said. We know a lot about loss in Kentucky, especially these last three years. We're going to do what we always do. We're going to wrap our arms around these families. And we're going to be there with them, not just for the days, but the weeks and the months

and the years to come. We're going to let them know that they are loved. They are special. And if they'll allow us to carry some of their grief, we'll do that for as long as we can. Following the horrific school shooting in Nashville on Monday, Tennessee senators Marcia Blackburn and Bill Haggurty have introduced the Safe School Act, a bill that would unlock $900 million in grants to beef up security at public and private schools. The Safe School Act establishes a grant program. that will allow both public and private schools to train and hire veterans and former law enforcement

officers to serve as school security officers and keep our children safe. Senator John Federman is expected to return to work the week of April 17th after weeks of seeking treatment for anxiety and depression at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Federman checked himself in for treatment in March, stating that he'd dealt with such issues in the past, but they'd amplified after a near-fatal stroke, a Senate campaign, and his first days in office. Sources close to the freshman senator have indicated that he recovered well and is ready to get back to work as soon as possible. And the U.S. Congress passed a law today that puts an end to the COVID-19 emergency three years after it was declared under then-President Donald Trump. President Biden strongly opposed the bill, but a spokesperson said he will sign it.

While the bill easily passed, 23 Senate Democrats and 197 House Democrats voted against it, wanting to keep the emergency in place. 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.