More Ukraine Defense Aid & Homelessness Skyrockets | Afternoon Update | 12.30.24

episode

Morning Wire 5 min 5 speakers transcribed

▲ 0

Transcript

jump: speakers · find in transcript

Transcript

Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.

Advertisement 0:01

This episode is brought to you by balance of nature. Go to balance of nature.com and use promo code wire for 35% off your first order as a preferred customer. Plus get a free bottle of fiber and spice. That's balance of nature.com promo code wire.

Georgia Howe 0:16

I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief John Bickley. It's Monday, December 30th, and this is your Morning Wire afternoon update. President Biden announced today that he's now offering another $2.5 billion in defense assistance to Ukraine. In a statement Monday, the outgoing president said, "...at my direction, the United States will continue to work relentlessly to strengthen Ukraine's position in this war over the remainder of my time in office." The new military aid will include a $1.25 billion drawdown package for Ukraine's military, as well as another $1.22 billion authorization through the Defense Department's Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative. The billions in additional aid come as the Biden administration scrambles to direct as much money as it can to Ukraine before Trump takes office.

John Bickley 1:05

Fulton County District Attorney Fannie Willis has suffered yet another legal blow. The Superior Court ruled that Georgia lawmakers can subpoena her for information related to her Donald Trump election case. Lawmakers are looking into whether Willis engaged in misconduct during her prosecution of the president-elect. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Shakira Ingram has given Willis until January 13th to file a list of claimed privileges and objections. But Willis' team plans to appeal the decision, calling it wrong. Willis was recently removed from the case by an appeals court, which cited the appearance of impropriety amid a scandal with one of her prosecutors. Trump has blasted her case as a disgrace to justice.

Georgia Howe 1:48

Homelessness in the U.S. skyrocketed in 2024, jumping 18%. Daily Wire reporter Tim Pearce has the numbers.

Tim Pierce 1:56

Most of the rise was driven by a lack of affordable housing, natural disasters, and an influx of immigrants. A January count by the Department of Housing and Urban Development found over 770,000 people homeless, a number that is almost certainly an undercount. The sharp 18% increase followed a 12% increase the previous year. The HUD report also points out a concerning trend of family homelessness, which surged nearly 40% due to the arrival of migrant families. New York and Chicago saw these numbers double due to migrant arrivals. Los Angeles reported a small decrease of 5% in people living on the streets. This could be due to a Supreme Court ruling that says outdoor sleeping bans can be enforced by local authorities.

Tim Pierce 2:35

Homelessness among the veteran community continued its downward trend, dropping 8% this year.

John Bickley 2:40

Trump's threats about taking aggressive military action against drug cartels in Mexico appear to already be yielding results. Mexico's new left-wing president, Claudia Sheinbaum, has started to take action against the powerful Sinaloa cartel. According to the Wall Street Journal, Mexican law enforcement has made record seizures of fentanyl from the cartel. And Sheinbaum has sent her security minister to Sinaloa to, quote, oversee the efforts to take back control of a state where organized crime dominates. The country is also now setting up an elite unit of security officers who will be vetted and trained by the U.S. for operations against the cartels.

Georgia Howe 3:18

The man accused of burning a woman to death in the New York subway has been indicted by a grand jury. Daily Wire senior editor Ash Short reports.

Ash Short 3:26

A grand jury has indicted 33-year-old Sebastian Zepeda for the unprovoked attack and murder of a woman in a subway car. Prosecutors say Zepeda, who is an illegal immigrant, lit the victim's clothing on fire, causing her death. The indictment will be unsealed on January 7th, and Zepeda faces life in prison if convicted. Officials say Zepeda was deported in 2018, but reentered the U.S. illegally and had been staying in New York City migrant shelters.

John Bickley 3:52

President Biden is telling people he would have beaten Trump in the election and that he wanted his attorney general to go after Trump even harder. That's according to a report by The Washington Post. Daily Wire deputy managing editor Tim Rice has more.