Transcript of Evening Wire: Narco Seas Patrol & Aviation Shutdown Strain | 10.24.25

The US ramps up its military presence in the Caribbean. New York attorney general LaTisha James enters a plea in her federal bank fraud case, and California surfers get their boards stolen by sea otters. I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire executive editor, John Bickley. It's Friday, October 24th, and this is Evening Wire. President Trump has ordered some serious firepower to the Caribbean. The Pentagon says the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group has been deployed to the region as part of a broader campaign to take down drug smuggling networks. A Defense Department statement said the move follows President Trump's directive to, quote, dismantle transnational criminal organizations and counter narco terrorism. Officials say the expanded mission will boost America's ability to track and stop illegal shipments heading toward the US, calling it a show of force in defense of the homeland.

B-1 bombers reportedly flew within about 50 miles from Venezuela on Thursday as the US continues to strike drug boats departing from the country. Daily Wire reporter Tim pierce reports.

The flights have been tracked on flight radars. The Wall Street Journal reports that the two bombers took off from DICE, Air Force Base in Texas on Thursday, and flew near Venezuela, but remained over international waters. The flights followed a show of force last week when B-52 bombers and F-35 B-Jet fighters operated by the US Air Force and Marines flew near an island off the Coast of Venezuela. Asked about the flights during a panel discussion at the White House on Thursday, Trump said that it's not accurate that the bombers flew close to Venezuela. No, it's false, he said, but we're not happy with Venezuela for a lot of reasons, drugs being one of them. The US military has blown up at least seven boats in international waters in the Caribbean, said to be carrying deadly drugs to the United States, and another two boats in the Pacific.

New York attorney general LaTisha James pleaded not guilty today in her federal bank fraud case. James has been indicted on two felony charges of bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution. The charges stem from her purchase of a home in Norfolk, Virginia, in 2020. Federal prosecutors say she misled a bank by claiming the home would be her secondary residence. Instead, she rented it to family members. The deception, prosecutors say, would end up saving her nearly $19,000. James, who infamously ran for office, promising to prosecute Donald Trump and then did so, claims she's being politically targeted.

House Minority Leader, Hakeem Jeffrey has officially put his support behind self-proclaimed Democratic Socialist Zoran Mohamedani to be New York's next mayor. The Brooklyn Democrat told The New York Times that the party must unite against what he called an existential threat from President Trump. He praised Mohamedani's focus on affordability and his plan to keep by PD Commissioner Jessica Tisch on the job, calling it a strong step toward public safety. The endorsement comes less than two weeks before election day, signaling the Democratic establishment is finally closing ranks behind the progressive front runner.

President Trump abrupt ended all trade negotiations with Canada on Thursday. This came after Ontario's government launched a $75 million anti-tariff ad campaign targeting Americans and featuring Ronald Reagan. Daily Wire reporter, Zack Jules has more.

The campaign aird during a playoff game between the Toronto Bluejays and Seattle Mariners. The ad was developed by Ontario Premier Doug Ford's administration. Trump took to Truth Social in response, saying, The Ronald Reagan Foundation has just announced that Canada has fraudulently used an advertisement which is fake, featuring Ronald Reagan speaking negatively about tariffs. He added, Based on their egregious behavior, all trade negotiations with Canada are hereby terminated. The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute says that it's now pursuing potential legal options, saying the ad misrepresents the presidential radio address and that Ontario did not seek or receive permission to use and edit their remarks.

In a twist straight out of a Hollywood script or an episode of the Kardashian's, federal prosecutors revealed that Kylie Jenner's former New York City townhouse served as the backdrop for a mafia-run poker operation. Crane & Company host David Cohn has the story.

The federal indictment alleges that a Greenwich Village mansion rented by Jenner and rapper Travis Scott was one of the two key sites for an underground gambling ring tied to four of New York's notorious Mafia families. Prosecutors say the townhouse was used to host high-stakes poker nights featuring riged shuffling devices and X-ray tables that let mobsters and their associates cheat unsuspecting high rollers. Among those allegedly involved in the scheme was Portland Trailblazer's head coach, Chauncey Billups, and former Cleveland Cavaliers player, Damon Jones, who acted as, quote, unquote, face cards, drawing in the wealthy and the famous to games they never stood a chance of winning.

Illinois Governor J. B. Pritzker at first denied, then dismissed Chicago's notorious murder rate among America's most populous cities. Pritzker sat for an interview with Fox News Brett Bayer on Thursday evening and was forced to defend his approach to crime when his state's capital is consistently one of the worst ranked among comparable urban areas. The Democratic governor at first claimed that Chicago is not in the top 30 in terms of our murder rate before Bayer brought up a map showing Chicago had a worse murder rate than Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Antonio, and San Diego. Here's some of that exchange.

What I'm explaining to you is when you want to fight crime- Now, you're talking about violent crime. Look, you can pull statistics up. No, these are murders. I'm explaining to you that our murder rate has been cut in half. And very importantly, Brett, and you got to hear this. Very importantly, we've been doing the things that are necessary to bring crime down. We've invested in community violence interruption. We've invested in police. I've added more state police than any governor in quite a long time.

Former CIA DA director John Brennan says that his recent referral for criminal prosecutions is clear proof that he's being targeted personally by Republicans. Here's Brenan on MSNBC reacting to the referral for charges.

When these things happen, I certainly get mad, I get angry. I also get sad that this is the state of our country, the state of our politics these days. I serve nearly three and a half decades in public service, a lot involved in counterterrorism in the aftermath of 9/11. They don't care about doing things like this to destroy individuals, to go after me, to hurt me and my family and others.

This week, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan referred Brennan to the Justice Department over allegations that he lied to Congress about his role in Russigate, the infamous hoax used to damage President Trump.

Major pilots associations are calling on Congress to end the government shutdown, citing the strain on the aviation system. Daily Wire reporter, Breca Stoll has more.

During Thursday's White House press briefing, US Secretary, Caroline Levet, highlighted that the Thanksgiving holiday is fast approaching, saying the White House fears there will be significant flight delays, disruptions, and cancelations across the country this holiday season if Democrats continue to shut down the government. There are about 13 1,000 air traffic controllers who are considered essential workers and are currently working without pay due to the shutdown. Tsa agents are also having to work without pay. In response, several pilots associations representing tens of thousands of pilots all issued statements begging lawmakers to end the shutdown ahead of the holidays.

In another court win for the Trump administration, a federal judge struck down a Biden era rule this week that expanded federal discrimination protections to include gender identity and forced healthcare providers to perform transgender procedures. Daily Wire senior editor Joel Needler has more.

A US district Judge cited with Tennessee and 14 other states that sued the Department of Health and Human Services over the rule. The judge said that HHS overstepped its legal authority by expanding Title IX discrimination protections to gender identity. He wrote, In the opinion of the court, Congress only contemplated biological sex when it enacted Title IX in 1972. Therefore, the court finds that HHS exceeded its authority by implementing regulations redefining sex discrimination and prohibiting gender identity discrimination.

It was no ordinary wipeout off the Coast of Santa Cruz, California. 21-year-old surfer Isabella Orduna says she was paddling out when she felt a nip on her foot, and when she looked up, a sea otter had stolen her board. Witnesses say the otter refused to budge until rescuers paddled in. It's the second surfboard hijacking this week at Steamer Lane, the same spot once ruled by Otter 841, the infamous longboard-loving mammal of 2023. Experts say it may be a copycat or copyotter case. They're urging surfers to keep their distance.

And amid all the East Wing drama from the left, the Trump Whitehouse is firing back with history. Daily Wire Assistant Editor Andy Valdes, has the story.

As Democrats slam President Trump for building a privately-funded ballroom at the White House, the administration has posted a new major events timeline online highlighting not just renovations, but past Democratic scandals. Among them, Bill Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky, Barack Obama's 2012 Muslim Brotherhood visit, and who could forget, the 2023 discovery of cocaine in the West Wing. Critics call it political trolling But the White House calls it transparency. Press Secretary, Caroline Levet, says presidents have always modernized the residence. Trump's just doing it in style.

All right, this is your drive home updates. To learn more about these stories, go to dailywire. Com. In case you missed it this morning, we covered some major stories, including the FBI unveiling a massive Mafia-tied gambling scheme involving big names in the NBA, the US striking another drug boat, bringing poison to our shores, and the fallout from the final debate for New York City mayor. Thanks for tuning in. We'll be back tomorrow morning with a weekend edition of MorningWire.