The Daily Signal - Laken Riley Murderer Conviction, Mace Bill Would Ban Men from All Federal Women’s Facilities, Trump Nominates Education Secretary | Nov. 20

Starting point is 00:00:00 Lake and Riley's murderer was convicted this morning. I'm Elizabeth Mitchell, and this is the Daily Signal's top news in 10 for Wednesday, November 20th. Jose Ibarra, the murderer of nursing student Lake and Riley, was convicted this morning for the murder of the 22-year-old woman. Ibarra, an illegal immigrant from Venezuela, was sentenced to life in prison without parole. One, malice murder. I find the defendant guilty. Count two, felony murder, I find the defendant guilty. Count three felony murder, I find the defendant guilty. Count four, felony murder, I find the defendant guilty. Count five, kidnapping with bodily injury, I find the defendant guilty. count six, aggravated assault with intent to rape. I find the defendant guilty. Count seven, aggravated battery, I find the defendant guilty. Count eight, obstructing or hindering a 911 call, I find the defendant guilty. Count nine, tampering with evidence, I find the defendant guilty.

Starting point is 00:01:28 Count ten, peeping Tom, I find the defendant guilty. I certainly will allow both sides to look at this if you want to do it. Riley died in February from blunt forced trauma to the head outside of the University of Georgia's campus. The prosecution and defense agreed to a bench trial for Ibarra, so the judge, not a jury, decided the outcome. The Daily Signals, Virginia Allen is here to discuss. Thanks, Virginia. Great to be with you, Elizabeth. Virginia, how do you think Riley's family members are feeling right now following the conviction and sentencing of their daughter's murderer? Elizabeth, it's hard to imagine what Lake and Riley's family members, what her friends have to be feeling right now.

Starting point is 00:02:15 Of course, there's some sense of justice in this that Jose Abara has been sentenced to life in prison without parole. But of course, that sentencing does not bring back Lake and Riley. The emotion has been really high in the courtroom from the start of the trial on Friday through this afternoon. Family members breaking down crying. Lake and Riley's mom at points having to leave the courtroom in part because she didn't want to see some of those really, really graphic images that were put on display for the courtroom and specifically for the judge. This court case was unique in the fact that Jose Abara waived his right to a jury trial and chose to leave his fate in the hands of the judge that made this whole

Starting point is 00:02:54 process a lot faster, which in that sense that I do think probably brings some relief for the family as this was not a drug out trial, as murder trials often are, as you wait on a jury to hash through the facts. It was very, very fast. The argument concluded this morning closing arguments were Wednesday morning. And by 2 o'clock on Wednesday afternoon, we had that decision from the judge of life in prison without parole. It's really a tragic story. Thanks for joining the show today. Absolutely. A new bill would ban biological males from all federal women's bathrooms. Representative Nancy Mace, a South Carolina Republican, followed up on her bill banning males from women's bathrooms in the capital,

Starting point is 00:03:38 by proposing legislation to ban biological males who identify as transgender women from all federal women's facilities. Mace announced her resolution a couple months before Tim McBride, who wishes to be known as Sarah McBride, is slated to begin his first House term. McBride will be the first transgender identifying member of Congress. This bill was first reported on by the Daily Wire. Michael Nulls spoke to Mace about the bill this morning. Well, I filed a resolution this week that would ban a biological men from women's private spaces. So that would be the bathroom, changing rooms, locker rooms up here on Capitol Hill.

Starting point is 00:04:16 But I'm not going to stop there. I'm also filing a bill that we're giving you exclusive a copy to and copy with that would ban, ban biological men from women's restrooms and women's private spaces in every federal property across the entire country. So I'm going to do everything I can to protect women and girls here on the hill. but also all across the nation. I mean, this question needs to be answered. Do women have rights or not? Are we going to allow these men to bully us into submission?

Starting point is 00:04:45 And I say, no, no more. I'm done with this. I mean, I was built for tough. There's no amount of bullying and threats on my life that they've made this week. That's going to stop me from this. And I was the first woman to graduate from the Citadel, the military college of South Carolina. I was built for tough, and I am not going to back down.

Starting point is 00:05:03 And I'm urging my colleagues to join me in this. fight. This is common sense. This isn't controversial. The bill will prohibit individuals from accessing or using single-sex facilities on federal property other than those corresponding to their biological sex. It also bars anyone from accessing other facilities on federal property that do not correspond with their biological sex, and it provides precise definitions of what it means to be male or female. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson released a statement today saying single-sex facilities in the U.S. Capitol and office buildings are reserved for individuals of that biological sex. Under House rules, the Speaker has general control of facilities in the chamber, giving him

Starting point is 00:05:46 the authority to issue the policy surrounding bathrooms. The Daily Signals editor-in-chief, Kate Trinco, wrote an article titled, Did They Learn Nothing from the 2024 Election? Democrats fight for a man in women's bathroom. Thanks for joining us. Great to be on. We know from polling and from the 2024 election results that Americans widely don't support males who say they're women going into female spaces. What do you think Democrats are missing here? Well, they're missing a lot. They're saying that Republicans who don't want Tim McBride or Sarah, as he'd like to be known, from entering women's bathrooms in the Capitol, they're accusing those Republicans of bullying McBride. Of course, McBride issued a statement saying, hey, let's focus on the real issues or something to that effect.

Starting point is 00:06:29 well, there's an easy answer. He could just not use the women's bathrooms. But Democrats seem determined to get him access no matter what. Absolutely. Thanks so much. Thanks for having me. President-elect Donald Trump announced his appointments of Linda McMahon to serve as his education secretary and Matt Whitaker to serve as ambassador to NATO. McMahon is one of the chairs of the Trump transition team. The other chair, billionaire Howard Lutnik, was appointed to lead the Commerce Department. McMahon led the U.S. Small Business Administration during Trump's first term. She stepped down in 2019 to join the leadership of the America First Policy Institute.

Starting point is 00:07:12 In a statement on truth social, Trump said McMahon will fight tirelessly to expand choice to every state in America and empower parents to make the best education decisions for their families. Prior to her career in public service, McMahon was the president and later, the CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. Whitaker, who was nominated to serve as ambassador to NATO, Trump said, Matt is a strong warrior and loyal patriot, who will ensure the United States interests are advanced and defended. Matt will strengthen relationships with our NATO allies and stand firm in the face of threats

Starting point is 00:07:48 to peace and stability. He will put America first. Whitaker was Trump's former acting attorney general. He is also the former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Defense. Iowa and a graduate of University of Iowa. On the topic of foreign affairs, the United States closed its embassy in Kyiv on Wednesday morning, citing the threat of a significant air attack. This comes a day after Ukraine used American missiles to hit a target inside Russia in what Moscow described as an escalation of the war. Now to our quick hits, the majority of American Medical Society.

Starting point is 00:08:29 have released statements infusing political ideology into their missions, according to a new study by a medical watchdog, do no harm. Out of 28 medical specialty societies, 26 have adopted official positions related to affirmative action or racism, climate change, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, immigration policy, or the conflict between Israel and Hamas since 2010. Next up, House Republicans Press, Deanne Criswell, administrator of the federal emergency management agency in a Tuesday hearing about bias at FEMA after a supervisor directed staff to avoid helping Florida residents with signs supporting Donald Trump.

Starting point is 00:09:12 Criswell testified that she fired the supervisor who directed staff to avoid pro-Trump homes, and that the supervisor was acting alone. But that very supervisor said avoiding such homes was a more widespread practice. FEMA whistleblowers told the Daily Signal and other outlets that FEMA's culture inspired the political avoidance. And House Republicans cited these stories in questioning Criswell. In our last quick hit of the day, Fox News reported that Texas is offering the incoming Trump Vance administration, a tract of more than 1,400 acres to stage its mass deportation operation in January. That's all for this episode of The Daily Signals, Top News in 10.

Starting point is 00:09:58 Thank you so much for tuning in today. We'll be back with you tomorrow at 5.5. P.M. Have a good night.

The Daily Signal - Laken Riley Murderer Conviction, Mace Bill Would Ban Men from All Federal Women’s Facilities, Trump Nominates Education Secretary | Nov. 20

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