Transcript of Evening Wire: Maduro Raid Polymarket Scandal & The Left Turns On Mamdani? | 4.24.26 New

A Pentagon bus crash leaves several War Department officials injured. The DOJ drops its investigation into Jerome Powell, and the number of single men seeking surrogacy rises. I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire Executive Editor John Bickley. It's Friday, April 24th, and this is Evening Wire. Nearly two dozen people were injured after two busses collided head-on at the Pentagon Metro station on Friday morning. Authorities say that at least 10 of those injured are War Department employees. Nearly 20 people were taken to a nearby hospital, though most of their wounds were minor. However, one person was taken to a trauma center. The busses were reportedly traveling slowly when they collided.

Iran's top diplomat is expected in Pakistan as Washington and Tehran attempt to restart peace talks and reopen the Hormuz Strait. Daily Wire contributor Tim Pearce has the latest.

Reports say President Trump is sending envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Islamabad this weekend. The pair is expected to meet with Iran's top diplomat, Foreign Minister Abbas Araki, in another round of talks to end the war and open the Hormuz Strait. It has been nearly 2 weeks since the first round of talks ended in no deal. Negotiations between Washington and Tehran have been hampered by chaos inside the Iranian regime. President Trump earlier this week indefinitely extended a ceasefire in the war because of the lack of unity among Iranian leadership. At the same time, Trump has kept in place a US blockade on Iranian exports that is costing the regime the equivalent of hundreds of millions of dollars a day.

Iran's newly installed Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is reportedly recovering from severe injuries, and he may even require plastic surgery. This comes after an airstrike that killed his father, Ali Khamenei, and his wife and son. Senior Iranian officials told The New York Times that the strike left the 56-year-old leader physically debilitated largely isolated and increasingly reliant on hardline military commanders to govern.

President Trump says the US will help Lebanon protect itself from Hezbollah. Daily Wire foreign affairs reporter Cassie Akiva reports.

After a meeting between Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors at the White House on Thursday, President Trump said that Israel and Lebanon had agreed to extend their ceasefire by 3 weeks while US-mediated discussions continue in DC. Ambassadors for Israel and Lebanon met for direct talks last week for the first time in 3 decades. The initial meeting took place at the US State Department and was mediated by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The discussions had focused on how to deal with the Iranian proxy and terror group Hezbollah, which has used Lebanon as a staging ground to launch attacks on Israel.

The Justice Department is dropping its investigation into Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. US Attorney for DC Janine Pirro said today that that she's directed her office to close its investigation into the Federal Reserve and its chair. Trump has been pushing for the probe, but its closure now helps clear the path to confirm the president's choice for Powell's replacement, Kevin Warsh.

The FDA has launched a $17 million pilot program to overhaul school lunches. Daily Wire assistant editor Andy Valdez has the story.

Commissioner Marty McCary says that up to 70% of a child's diet can come from ultra-processed foods, that are full of unhealthy fats, sugars, and additives. Those schools that opt into the program receive education and coaching on how to drastically reduce the use of ultra-processed foods in their kitchens. Some of the funds have gone to updating cafeterias so that the staff are able to prepare fresh food rather than have to purchase it prepackaged. McCary said that over time, the program could reduce costs for taxpayers in both education and the healthcare system.

President Trump said this morning that the Southern Poverty Law Center's alleged fraud is another Democrat hoax that places the 2020 election results into doubt. Daily Wire reporter Zach Jewell has more.

The president made the comment in a post on Truth Social, marking the first time he's publicly addressed the allegations against the SPLC. The group was charged earlier this week with multiple counts of wire fraud over its scheme to pay the leaders of multiple white supremacist groups in exchange for information. Trump said, quote, the Southern Poverty Law Center, one of the greatest political scams in American history, has been charged with fraud. This is another Democrat hoax, along with Ax Blue and many others. If it is true, the 2020 presidential election should be permanently wiped from the books and be of no further force or effect. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Trump's comments come after the Treasury Department announced a new anti-SPLC-like measure. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant said this week that the IRS will revise Form 990 to increase transparency and curb misconduct within tax-exempt organizations. The move specifically targets fiscal sponsorship arrangements, government grants, and contracts—mechanisms critics say have been exploited for dark money networks to operate without public scrutiny. Bessant said, quote, we are ending the days of hiding fraud, abuse, and extremist activity behind complicated nonprofit arrangements.

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A special forces operator turned classified intelligence into a six-figure side hustle. Daily Wire homepage managing editor Jordan Schroeder explains.

A US Army special forces soldier who helped capture Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro is now facing federal charges after being accused of turning that same operation into a six-figure payday on a prediction market. Prosecutors say 38-year-old Gannon Ken Van Dyke used classified information tied to the Maduro operation to place a series of highly specific wagers on Polymarket. Those bets, totaling roughly $33,000, were placed in late December and early January on specific outcomes like whether US forces would enter Venezuela and whether Maduro would be removed from power by the end of January. The result: a profit of about $409,000, a staggering 1,200% return that immediately raised red flags.

New York City Mayor Zoran Momdani has been facing heavy criticism recently, but this time from the left. Daily Wire lifestyle reporter Lauren Baer has the story.

Momdani has been swarmed outside of his mayoral residence and at speaking events by far-left activists voicing their disappointment in the mayor. Other socialist candidates like Seattle's Kshama Sawant have turned Momdani into a rhetorical punching bag during campaign speeches. Many criticized Momdani as too supportive of Israel and not supportive enough of, quote, trans rights. Far-left critics characterize Mamdani as a, quote, "fence walker" and an exemplar of politicians who run as socialists but become moderate after taking office. Having proposed everything from government-run grocery stores to illegal immigrant-friendly policies to attempted taxpayer-funded universal childcare, the Mamdani administration is surprised by the backlash. To many on the far left, however, Mamdani policies are not enough.

New York's Suffolk County Sheriff's Office has joined law enforcement across the state in testing out a new high-tech tool to help track fleeing suspects. The tool is called StarChase. It uses a gun mounted to the bumper of a police car that fires a GPS tracker into a suspect's vehicle. The sheriff's office started testing the device several weeks ago in its DWI enforcement unit. It boasts an 85% success rate. Police say it allows them to monitor a suspect without engaging in dangerous high-speed chases.

The EU is about to ban 15 chemicals in cosmetics. But they'll still be allowed here in the U.S. The new policy in the European Union, set to go into effect on May 1st, targets substances in cosmetics now classified as CMR— carcinogenic, mutagenic, or toxic for reproduction. That means that they could harm fertility, cause cancer, or affect unborn children. A senior scientist at the Environment Working Group told the New York Post, quote, unlike the EU, the U.S. does not have a similar mechanism that automatically bans chemicals classified as carcinogenic, mutagenic, or toxic for reproduction.

And a surprising trend as the number of single men seeking children through surrogacy has risen. Daily Wire investigative reporter Meg Brock has the story.

While the numbers remain small compared to couples and single women pursuing surrogacy, previous data had the single male rate at practically zero. Now, with new data out of England, the past few years have seen hundreds of single men file surrogacy applications. The trend follows a 2019 change in English law which gives single people the same surrogacy rights as couples. Helen Gibson, an anti-surrogacy advocate, responded to the trend stating, a mother is the primary safeguarder of a child and removing her permanently from their life so the baby can be placed with a lone male goes against all best practice for the care of newborn infants. Studies suggest that around 3/4 of single men seeking children through surrogacy are gay.

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 Trump and Republicans staring down midterm elections as the pressure mounts, Operation Gangsta's Paradise bringing in dozens of gang members, and soaring airfare prices affecting summer travel plans. Thanks for tuning in. We'll be back tomorrow morning with a weekend edition of Morning Wire.