Morning Wire - Trump Defunds Maine & Eric Adams Stays | Afternoon Update | 2.21.25

Episode Date: February 21, 2025

Developing stories you need to know just in time for your drive home. Get the facts first on Morning Wire.Beam: Go to https://shopbeam.com/WIRE and use code WIRE for up to 40% off Delete.Me: Get 20% off your DeleteMe plan by texting WIRE to 64000 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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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. Eric Adams will stay in office. Trump and Joyce's highest approval ratings, and Microsoft unveils a new quantum leap technology.

I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire, editor-in-chief John Bickley. It's Friday, February 21st, and this is your Morning Wire afternoon update. New York Governor Kathy Hokel will not remove Eric Adams from his mayoral position. The governor said in a statement, quote, My strong belief is that the will of the voters and the supremacy and sanctity of Democratic elections preclude me from any other action. I cannot deny the people of this great city the power to make the decision for themselves. Calls for Adam's resignation came amid allegations from Democrats that he had worked out a deal with the Trump administration to drop

corruption charges against him. Senate Republicans approved a $342 billion budget blueprint this morning. The bill passed with a 52 to 48 vote after an all-night voting session and includes $150 billion for military spending and $175 billion for border security. The Senate bill is not as extensive as the House version championed by Speaker Johnson, which includes tax cuts and major cuts to federal programs to cover new funding. The House bill will likely be put to a vote next week. The state of Maine will be cut off from federal funds. President Trump announced this Thursday after the state defied his executive order

preventing male athletes from competing in girls and women's sports. speaking to Republican governors in Washington, Trump called out Maine. I heard men are still playing in Maine. Is anybody here from Maine? Who is that? Is that the governor? Well, I hate to tell you this, but we're not going to give them any federal money. They are still saying we want men to play in women's sports,

and I cannot believe that they're doing that. So we're not going to give them any federal funding, none whatsoever until they clean that up. President Trump has called for the federal government to take control over Washington, D.C., citing concerns about crime and homelessness. While speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump criticized the city's current leadership under Mayor Muriel Bowser and says he wants the federal government to crack down on crime and beautify the city. I think that we should govern this District of Columbia. It's so important to D.C. situation. I think that we should run it strong, run it with law and order. make it absolutely flawlessly beautiful.

And I like the mayor. I get along great with the mayor. But they're not doing the job. Too much crime. Too much graffiti. Too many tents on the lawns. It's a sad thing. You know, homeless people all over the place.

We've got to take care of the homeless. But you can't have that in Washington, D.C. Argentina's president, Javier Malay and Elon Musk appeared together on stage at the conservative political action conference yesterday afternoon. Malay brought along a popular stage prop from his unorthy. presidential campaign, a chainsaw, which he then gifted to Musk. The symbolism was unmistakable, Argentina's libertarian president, passing the torch of government reformed to Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency. Here's what that sounded like. The chainsaw for bureaucracy.

A turn saw. An attorney working for Sean Diddy Combs has quit the rapper's defense team. In a motion filed in New York on Friday, Anthony Rico stated, quote, under no social. circumstance can I continue to effectively serve as counsel for Sean Combs. There was no further explanation given and prosecutors were informed. RICO says his withdrawal will not delay Combs' May 5th trial on federal sex trafficking and racketeering charges, to which he has pleaded not guilty. Despite Rico's departure, Combs' lead counsel, Mark Agnifalo, remains on the case. Take control of your data and keep your private life private by signing up for Delete Me.

Now at a special discount for our listeners. Today, get 20% off your delete me plan by texting Wire to 6400000. That's Wire to 64000. Message and data rates may apply. See terms for details. President Trump's approval rating remains higher than it averaged at any point during his first term. Daily Wire Deputy Managing editor Tim Rice has the numbers.

According to the Real Clear Politics average of major polls, the president's job approval rating is hovering around 49% with 47% disapproving. A recent CNN poll found that about about... a third of Americans view Trump's single most significant action thus far to be securing the southern border. Slashing government spending is next, while 62% of respondents say they want the president to do more to bring down everyday prices. While Trump's at new heights, Democrats are hitting new lows. Quinepiac found that just 21% of voters approve of the way Democrats in Congress are handling their job and all-time low, while 68% of voters disapprove. A terror attack rocked Israel

yesterday when two buses exploded in a parking lot in Bat Yam, a city just south of Tel Aviv. The buses were empty and had been returned to the lot for the evening. No injuries were reported. All bus and train services were halted Thursday as firefighters searched the vehicles for bombs. Additional explosives were found on other buses. Microsoft researchers claim they've discovered a new state of matter which could be used to create a quote quantum leap in computer science. Every single atom in the ship is placed purposefully. It is constructed from ground up. It is entirely a new state of matter.

Resident researcher Michael Whitaker has the techie details. Microsoft's new quantum chip, Myeran01, reportedly uses extremely thin topoconductors to manipulate subatomic particles, creating a state of matter which, according to Microsoft's CEO, Satcha Nadella, is neither solid, liquid or gas. Cubits can encode and process exponentially more information than a classical bit. by taking advantage of superposition, a property of quantum particles that allows them to exist in several states at once.

Creating stable qubits has proved to be extraordinarily difficult. Right now, even the most advanced quantum computers only use about 1,000 qubits. Microsoft claims that they now have a clear pathway to delivering a million-cubit chip that can, quote, fit in the palm of one's hand. All the world's current computers operating together can't do what a 1 million-cubit quantum computer

will be able to do. And retail giant Forever 21 is closing 200 more stores as it plans for its second bankruptcy since 2019. At its peak, the chain had more than 500 stores nationwide and 800 internationally. The rise of Timo and Shee and Sheehan, as well as growth from other fast fashion brands like Zara and Uniclo are thought to be the cause of Forever 21's sagging sales. The closures come as mall retail stores are struggling nationally.

All right, those are your drive home updates this afternoon. To learn more about these stories, go to Dailywire.com, and in case you missed it this morning, we covered some important stories, including Trump's record first 30 days in office, Doge's continued progress and California's insurance crisis. Thanks for tuning in. We'll be back tomorrow morning with another edition of Morning Wire.