Transcript of Evening Wire: Iran Resumes Attacks & OpenAI Liable For Murder? | 4.22.26

Iran fires on 3 ships in the Strait of Hormuz. The Trump administration nears a deal to rescue Spirit Airlines, and OpenAI is embroiled in a criminal investigation. I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire Executive Editor John Bickley. It's Wednesday, April 22nd, and this is Evening Wire.

President Trump offered a welcome update today. Iran has halted the planned execution of 8 women following his appeal earlier this week. Very good news. Trump said the 8 women protesters who were going to be executed tonight in Iran will no longer be killed. 4 will be released immediately and 4 will be sentenced to 1 month in prison. Trump went on to thank the Iranian leaders who honored his request. Meanwhile, some Iranian forces opened fire on commercial vessels in the Hormuz Strait. Daily Wire contributor Tim Pearce has more.

Various news reports say that at least 3 cargo ships have likely been attacked by Iran since Trump extended the ceasefire yesterday. Two of those ships reported direct damage to their vessels. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps confirmed in a statement that it had intercepted two merchant ships that it said had violated Tehran's blockade of the strait. The attacks may endanger the fragile ceasefire between the U.S. and Tehran, though President Trump told the New York Post that peace talks could resume as soon as Friday. The president agreed to extend the ceasefire on Tuesday after Pakistani mediators asked for more time because of the chaos and fractures in the Iranian regime caused by the war.

The Trump administration is reportedly nearing a $500 million deal to rescue the budget airline Spirit. Daily Wire reporter Zach Jewell has more.

The airline has struggled in recent years to remain solvent, especially under increased pressure because of the Biden administration. Heritage Foundation economist Peter St. Ange told The Daily Wire that Spirit's struggles soared after the DOJ under Biden blocked Spirit from merging with JetBlue. The Justice Department filed suit in 2023 claiming that the merger would result in tens of millions of travelers facing, quote, higher fare fares and fewer choices. But according to Saint-Ange, Spirit's low-fare business model only works when it can scale through tools like mergers. President Trump has said he does not want to see Spirit fall.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has threatened to pull $110 million in public safety grants from Houston over a recent policy preventing ICE from assisting law enforcement. Daily Wire immigration reporter Jenny Ter has the story.

In a recent interview with The Daily Wire, Governor Abbott fumed over how the new leftist policy actively prevents local police from waiting 30 minutes for ICE to arrive at a scene to detain individuals with immigration warrants. In response, the state has threatened to withhold $90 million in funds from Dallas and $2.5 million from Austin for taking a similar approach to policing. Abbott called the lawmakers behind this move, quote, radical leftists and progressives, and remarked that, quote, it was in the city of Houston where there were two illegal immigrants who were apprehended and let go and then went on to murder Jocelyn Nungaray. So these people are not comprehending the reality. The Houston City Council voted Wednesday to amend the sanctuary policy, but it remains to be seen if the change is enough for them to keep the state funds. Some have made the argument that Abbott has effectively defunded the police in these cities, to which he said this: The law prohibiting them from defunding the police remains in place.

They're going to be short $110 million. They got to find the money elsewhere in their budget.

To make sure they are fully funding law enforcement in their community.

Otherwise, they'll be in violation of another law.

An illegal Mexican national has been charged with an unspeakable crime after his daughter, a minor, gave birth in a South Carolina parking lot. Following an investigation, the 43-year-old suspect was arrested and charged with 3 counts of second-degree criminal sexual misconduct with a minor and 1 count of incest. Authorities were notified after his daughter, who's believed to be between the ages of 11 and 14, was discovered giving birth in a hospital parking lot. South Carolina authorities have stated they're cooperating with ICE on the case. Acting Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Lauren Biss told The Daily Wire, quote, this sicko should never have been in our country to prey on children in the first place.

The state of Texas can require schools to display the Ten Commandments. That's according to a new federal court ruling. Daily Wire culture reporter Megan Basham reports.

In a 9-8 vote, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that the law, SB 10, does not violate the First Amendment's Establishment Clause. The majority opinion wrote that, quote, SB 10 looks nothing like a historical religious establishment. It doesn't tell churches or synagogues or mosques what to believe or how to worship or whom to employ as priests, rabbis, or imams. It punishes no one who rejects the Ten Commandments, no matter the reason. It levies no taxes to support any clergy. It does not co-opt churches to perform civic functions. These are the kind of things establishments of religion did at the founding. SB 10 does none of them. Now, the ACLU, who brought the case against Texas, argues that the law is a violation of the First Amendment and has now vowed to take the matter to the Supreme Court. Following Texas's lead, similar laws requiring the Ten Commandments in public schools have been passed in Louisiana, Arkansas, and Alabama.

Meanwhile, a Biden-appointed federal judge has ruled American taxpayers must continue spending millions of dollars on transgender procedures in blue states. Daily Wire investigative reporter Meg Brock has more.

The ruling stemmed from a case brought by Democrat-run states, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro. They sued the Department of Health and Human Services after Health Secretary RFK Jr. moved in December to block taxpayer funds for healthcare providers that provide harmful sex-rejecting procedures to children. The judge in the case, U.S. District Judge Mustafa Kusubay, has a reputation for judicial transgender activism. Kusubay overruled the Health Secretary, finding RFK's stance on transgender procedures to be unlawful and one man's musings on gender-affirming care. In a statement to The Daily Wire, a spokeswoman for HHS blasted the ruling and promised to continue the legal fight against taxpayer-funded sex mutilation procedures for children.

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The FBI foiled a trans-identifying man's plot to transition his son in Cuba. Daily Wire homepage managing editor Jordan Schroeder has more.

Authorities charge 42-year-old Anessa Ethington, who goes by Rose, and 32-year-old Blue Anessa Ethington with international parental kidnapping after the gender-confused boy was taken to Cuba. The child, a boy who identifies as a girl, split time with his divorced parents who share custody in Cache County, Utah. The boy was supposed to go on a camping trip to Canada with his father, a man who identifies as a woman, and his partner Blue, but instead ended up in Cuba, according to court documents. Family members told authorities they feared the boy was, quote, transported to Cuba for gender reassignment surgery prior to puberty. The two kidnappers were deported from Cuba on Monday, and the child was returned home safe to Utah. FBI Director Kash Patel exclusively telling The Daily Wire that, quote, we are proud of our agents, intel analysis, and partners who acted quickly and saved a young child from what could have been a horrific kidnapping. Let it be a message to any criminal actor who would try the same: this FBI will find you no matter where you try to hide.

The state of Florida has opened a criminal investigation into OpenAI after a campus shooter used ChatGPT to plan his attack. Here with the details is Daily Wire senior editor Joel Needler.

The shooting took place last year at Florida State University. According to the Florida Department of Justice, the shooter, who we will not name, used ChatGPT to research when his target location would be the most crowded as well as what firearms would be most effective. The shooter also appeared to be interested in gaining attention for his crimes, asking ChatGPT how the nation would react to his planned shooting at the campus. Attorney General James Oothmeyer stated that, quote, if this were a person on the other end of the screen, we would be charging them with murder. An OpenAI spokesperson told The Daily Wire that ChatGPT is not responsible for this terrible crime.

A UK teacher is on trial for allegedly abusing and strangling the baby he was attempting to adopt. 37-year-old Jamie Varley and his partner John McGowan Fazakerley took in baby boy Preston Davey in April of 2023 as they sought to become his adoptive parents. 3 months later, 13-month-old Davey was rushed to the hospital and declared dead after suffering cardiac arrest. An autopsy revealed that the boy appeared to have been smothered to death. An investigation showed the boy had sustained dozens of traumatic injuries, including 30 bruises and a fractured arm. Farley has been charged with numerous counts, including manslaughter, sexual assault of a child, and taking indecent photos of a child. McGowan Fazakerly is also facing charges of child cruelty and other counts.

A fatal shooting at a popular tourist site outside Mexico City has left one dead and over a dozen others injured. Daily Wire assistant editor Andy Valdez reports.

A gunman opened fire on tourists visiting ancient pyramids outside Mexico City on Monday. The gunman killed one Canadian tourist and wounded several other people, including Americans, before turning the gun on himself. Mexican authorities said that 6 US citizens were wounded in the attack, including 2 from gunshot wounds. One witness estimated that she heard up to 20 shots fired during the tragedy. The shooting is believed to be the first in the history of the Tiwatiwakan pyramids, a popular tourist site that dates back more than 2,000 years.

And today is Earth Day, the holiday first celebrated in 1970 to promote environmentalism, but it has long been associated with other unrelated left-wing political agenda items. Earth Day was founded in part by Ira Einhorn, an environmental and anti-war activist from Philadelphia. Einhorn's activism career was cut short though when the murdered body of his ex-girlfriend was found stuffed in a trunk in his closet. He was convicted of her murder, and several other women testified about his tendency toward extreme violence. So on this Earth Day, we want to encourage all Morning Wire listeners to take care of the environment, but always remember, human lives come first.

Try to remember that, Georgia. All right, those are your drive home updates. To learn more about these stories, go to dailywire.com. And in case you missed it, earlier today we covered some major stories, including Trump extending the ceasefire, more leadership changes shaking up Capitol Hill, And Congress looking into the nearly dozen scientists who have mysteriously died or disappeared. Thanks for tuning in. We'll be back tomorrow morning with another full edition of Morning Wire.