Transcript of Evening Wire: Iran Comes Back Online & Is Pope Leo Right About AI? | 5.26.26 New

Iran threatens retaliation against the U.S. Democrats trigger backlash with their Memorial Day messaging, and a new Star Wars film hits theaters for the first time in 7 years. I'm Daily Wire executive editor John Bickley with Georgia Howell. It's Tuesday, May 26th. This is Evening Wire.

The internet has been restored in Iran just as the regime threatens retaliation on the United States. Daily Wire foreign affairs reporter Kassia Kiva has the latest.

Amid ceasefire negotiations, Iran's Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is escalating threats against the United States, warning that America will no longer have secure military footholds in the Middle East. In a statement, Khamenei said countries in the region will no longer act as, quote, a shield for US military bases. This comes as Iran accused the US of violating the ceasefire by launching overnight strikes. According to US Central Command, the strikes were defensive and targeted Iran's missile infrastructure. In vessels preparing to deploy sea mines. Despite this, Secretary of State Marco Rubio says negotiations to end the conflict are now focused on the wording of a final agreement. And internet access in Iran is finally starting to come back after 3 months of near-total blackout conditions, making it one of the longest internet shutdowns in modern history. The regime first imposed the restrictions in January during mass anti-government protests in which thousands of civilians were reportedly killed, briefly eased them, and then shut down the internet again in February as tensions with the United States grew.

President Trump is calling for more Muslim-majority countries to join the Abraham Accords, even Iran. Daily Wire contributor Tim Pearce says more.

The president said that taking part in the peace deal to end the war in Iran should be contingent on joining the Accords and normalizing relations with Israel. Failure to do so, the president said, would show bad intention. In a Truth Social post, Trump specifically mentioned Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, and Jordan, and added that their leaders have already said that they support Iran joining the accords as soon as a peace deal is signed.

The California chemical spill crisis is now under control. Last week, a chemical tank at an aerospace facility in Garden Grove, California overheated, raising concerns about toxic chemical leakage or even a major explosion. 50,000 residents evacuated their Orange County homes for several days. This morning, officials confirmed that the risk had been mitigated though a smaller area of 16,000 residents still can't return to their homes due to lingering concerns about the possibility of a smaller explosion. The cause of the overheating is still under investigation, but a class-action lawsuit against the GKN Aerospace facility has been filed.

President Trump has closed a major loophole used by illegal immigrants. Daily Wire immigration reporter Ginny Teer explains.

According to a new federal rule, foreigners roaming the United States and wanting a green card must return to their home country to apply. This closes a major loophole a major loophole that contributed to the growth of the illegal immigrant population in the country. Before the new rule came into play, immigrants who were in the United States for temporary work, tourism, or school could stay in the country while applying for a green card. As a result, the illegal immigrant population grew since many stayed in the country after being denied permanent residency. Their failure to depart forced federal authorities to hunt them down for deportation, according to United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. A spokesman for the agency said Friday Friday that the move shows how the United States is, quote, returning to the original intent of the law to ensure aliens navigate our nation's immigration system properly. Exemptions will remain in place for, quote, extraordinary circumstances, but immigrants who come to the United States under temporary terms will no longer be able to use the visit as the first step in getting a green card.

Democrats triggered outrage online for their Memorial Day messages. Daily Wire reporter Amanda Prestigiacomo has the details.

It began with the Democratic National Committee. The DNC's official X account posted a message to remember 13 U.S. service members who have, quote, died in Trump's war with Iran. The post received immediate blowback, including from some Democrats. For instance, Senator Tammy Duckworth said that it was incredibly distasteful to use our heroic dead for a political attack on Memorial Day. The DNC did eventually delete the post, though it was several hours later. And then in Minnesota, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frye triggered outrage when he seemingly ignored Memorial Day to post a message about George Floyd. It took Frye about 2 hours after his Floyd post to finally put out a message honoring America's fallen.

New Jersey Governor Mikey Sherrill spent her Memorial Day at an anti-ICE protest outside of a Newark immigrant detention center. Daily Wire assistant editor Nathan Gay has more.

Sherrill joined dozens of protesters and demanded to be let into the facility. Even though several New Jersey lawmakers had toured the facility just a couple of days before, federal officials denied Sheryl's request, which agitated protesters. Video showed some of the protesters wearing Palestinian keffiyehs and building barricades in front of the facility. Protesters clashed with federal officers several times as they attempted to remove barricades and clear roads.

Everybody knows someone right now who's trying to lose weight. Maybe it's opening the closet and realizing there's an entire section of clothes that used to fit perfectly and just sit there untouched. That feeling is incredibly common. It's part of why people have been talking so much about weight loss injections lately. But not everybody wants weekly injections, especially when they start hearing about some of the side effects. That's why doctors created Lean. Lean is a weight loss supplement from BrickHouse Nutrition designed specifically for frustrated dieters with 10 pounds or more to lose. The studied ingredients in Lean have been shown to help lower blood sugar, curb appetite and cravings, and help burn fat by converting it into energy. And what makes it relatable is that the goal isn't perfection, it's just getting back to feeling comfortable again. More energy, more confidence, feeling better walking into a room and getting dressed in the morning. People around The Daily Wire have talked about how motivating it feels when small things start changing again in a positive way, even just looking in the mirror and recognizing yourself a little bit more. Here's even better news: they're having a huge Memorial Day sale, and Lean is 25% off.

Visit takelean.com and enter THANKYOU25 for 25% off. That's promo code THANKYOU25 at takelean.com.

Pope Leo has released a 45,000-word warning on artificial intelligence. Daily Wire host Isabel Brown has the details.

Pope Leo spoke on Monday to several executives, politicians, and tech giants, including Christopher Ola, who's one of the co-founders of Anthropic, one of the largest AI companies in the world, as he was reading from something called an encyclical. And if you're not very familiar, this is a letter that can only be written by the Pope, addressed to the bishops of the church and is typically a major document on church teachings. His encyclical focusing on the warning of the disruptive effects of AI. Pope Leo is calling for a future with government regulations around AI development and for the safeguarding of current workers' human dignity, along with training for new roles as old ones become obsolete. He's also warning specifically about AI's rapidly increasing use in weapons.

Artificial intelligence now demands to be disarmed, freed from logics that turn it into an instrument of domination, exclusion, and death. Decisions about technology must never be separated from conscience and responsibility.

Pope Leo entitled his encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, or Magnificent Humanity, with the hopes of it resonating on a similar level as the Rerum Novarum, which shaped Catholic teaching during the Industrial Revolution and was written by the last Pope Leo, Pope Leo XIII. But especially as artificial intelligence continues to impact the dignity of the human person, particularly as we understand its relevance in modern-day slavery with human trafficking and other forms of degrading humanity itself, the fact that the church is paying such close attention to the role of this new and emerging technology is hugely important as we go through not just an industrial revolution in how AI and technology is changing the workplace, but really a digital revolution that is redefining what human interactions and experiences are going to look like in the next several decades and centuries.

California is paying to provide solar panels, energy-efficient windows, and refrigerators to illegal immigrants. A new report from City Journal's Chris Rufo examined the low-income weatherization program and found a provision for farmworkers, which are 50 to 75% illegal. That farmworker segment of the initiative has received $49 million since 2019, despite only serving 2,000 homes. That means the average recipient received more than $23,000 of equipment. Experts say the West Coast may be in store for a powerful El Niño event this year. Daily Wire assistant editor Andy Valdez has the story.

Warm winds from the Pacific Ocean are expected to bring heavy rains to California but could also make for other weather patterns such as drier conditions in the South. Some of the most powerful El Niño events in history have been associated with massive changes to humanity. The modern resiliency measures have done a lot to curb the worst impacts. Experts say that the next El Niño phenomenon could be another strong system that will put modern systems and structures to the test. But at the very least, California beachgoers will soon enjoy warmer than usual waters.

Texas primary runoffs are taking place today, pitting Senator John Cornyn against State Attorney General Ken Paxton for the GOP nomination for Cornyn's seat. The winner will face Democrat James Talarico in November. President Trump waded into the race last week, giving Paxton his enforcement and possibly the Republican nomination. Despite scandals weighing him down, Paxton has scored double-digit leads on Cornyn in several polls since he became Trump's pick. In another race to watch, Democrat Maureen Galindo may be poised to win her primary race despite being condemned by top Democrats. Her comments regarding Zionists and detention centers earned her rebukes from House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries and others.

And the Force is mediocre with this one, I guess. I don't know. 7 years since the rise of Skywalker, Disney's The Mandalorian and Grogu Grogu launched this weekend, but it was pretty shaky, with many already declaring it a flop. It earned about $100 million domestically and definitely won the weekend, but the last Star Wars Memorial Day release was Solo back in 2018. That made $107 million. Adjusted for inflation, that lands at around $131 million now, which makes The Mandalorian and Grogu the worst live-action Star Wars opening to date. Solo earned almost $400 million total, and that was still considered a flop.

Those are your drive home updates this evening. To learn more about these stories, go to dailywire.com. And in case you missed it earlier today, we covered some major stories including President Trump saying a peace deal with Iran is imminent, the deadly Ebola outbreak spreading in Central Africa, and Texas voters deciding between the establishment and presidential picks for the Republican Senate. Thanks for tuning in. We'll be back tomorrow morning with another full edition of Morning Wire.