Transcript of Evening Wire: Vivek On The Ballot & Alito Slams Jackson | 5.5.26 New

Americans in several states head to the polls for key primaries. Justice Alito slams Ketanji Brown Jackson, and Morning Wire wins a big award. I'm Daily Wire Executive Editor John Bickley with Georgia Howell. It's Tuesday, May 5th, and this is Evening Wire.

The Trump administration avoided drawing a hard line today on when the US might renew its assault on Iran. Daily Wire Foreign Affairs reporter Kassia Kiva has the latest.

On Tuesday, President Trump revealed that the U.S. had intercepted over 100 missiles fired at an aircraft carrier about 2 weeks ago, but he declined to say what action Iran could take for the U.S. to drop the ceasefire.

They've fired at U.S. ships several times in the last 24 hours. What do they need to do to violate the ceasefire?

Well, you'll find out because I'll let you know.

The Daily Wire put a similar question to leaders at the Department of War this morning. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Cain said he would leave to the White House to decide.

The threshold of restarting is a political decision above my pay grade. What I'll say is it's low harassing fire right now. It feels like Iran is grasping at straws to try to do something across the southern flank. It's primary day around the country, and one place we're watching is Ohio. Polls will be open there until 7:30 this evening. A couple races to watch.

GOP Senator Jon Husted will have to defend his seat for the first time, likely against former Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown. Brown lost his seat 2 years ago to Republican Bernie Moreno. For governor, Trump ally Vivek Ramaswamy is the odds-on favorite for Republicans. He spoke with The Daily Wire's own Ben Shapiro this morning.

Yeah, look, I mean, the primaries are usually quite competitive. I would say we're cautiously optimistic that we will shatter recent norms for what those primary outcomes are. So we'll see what the results come in. I don't want to count the chickens before they hatch, Ben, but let's see.

Additionally, former Ohio Health Department Director Amy Acton is running uncontested for the Democrats. Results are expected to start rolling in shortly after polls close.

Vice President J.D. Vance is taking action after a bombshell report by Daily Wire investigative reporter Luke Rosiak. After Rosiak broke open a story of what appears to be a billion-dollar Medicaid fraud scheme in Ohio, as we reported on this show yesterday, the VP said his fraud task force was on it. Vance said in a statement, quote, these shocking allegations, if true, show why the fraud task force's work is so important. I'm directing the task force to look into it and take immediate action to prosecute any fraudsters involved and stop all further payments as appropriate.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris has endorsed Karen Bass for reelection for mayor of Los Angeles. Daily Wire immigration reporter Jenny Ter has the details.

In a statement praising Bass, Harris credited the mayor's leadership with LA's, quote, first-ever 2-year decline in homelessness and a drop in crime not seen since the '60s. Harris also said that Bass refused to, quote, back down from President Trump's immigration agenda. Bass supports LA's sanctuary city policies. She also approved spending $250,000 in taxpayer funds on signs that claim federal agents are barred from city property. For his part, U.S. Attorney Bill Asailli has said that the signs have no legal weight and are essentially useless.

Virginia Democratic Governor Abigail Spanberger recently sat down for an interview with a local ABC affiliate where she admitted to being open to a wide slate of new taxes on goods such as gym memberships, streaming services, and dog grooming.

I think that every idea, as long as it's reasonable and makes some amount of sense, should be entertained and should be discussed. And so, as you mentioned, the one on streaming services, you know, you used to buy a DVD, there'd be a sales tax. I think they're worthy conversations to be had about what does revenue generation look like into the future as our economy changes in so many ways.

Justice Samuel Alito slammed Ketanji Brown Jackson over what he called her, quote, baseless and insulting voting rights rant. Daily Wire homepage managing editor Jordan Schroeder has the details.

In an order Monday, the high court allowed its landmark Voting Rights Act ruling to take effect immediately. The 6-3 decision, authored by Alito, struck down Louisiana's congressional map and sharply limited the ability of states to consider race when drawing congressional maps, reigniting redistricting battles nationwide ahead of the 2026 midterms. The routine order took an unexpected turn, however, when Justice Jackson issued a lone dissent calling the court's action, quote, unwarranted and unwise. She wrote that the court had, quote, spawned chaos and accused the court of overreaching into the implementation of the law. But Justice Alito was having none of it and responded by writing, quote, the dissent in the suit levels charges that cannot go unanswered. The dissent would require the 2026 congressional elections in Louisiana be held under a map that has been held to be unconstitutional. Alito finished by calling Jackson's legal arguments, quote, baseless insulting, and trivial at best.

President Trump is bringing back the Presidential Fitness Test. Daily Wire lifestyle reporter Lauren Baer has more.

Many listeners who attended public school prior to the 2010s will remember the annual assessment of fitness, which included things like the infamous mile run, push-ups, sit-ups, and flexibility measures. Students who performed in the top 15th percentile nationwide across all categories of fitness received a patch of recognition from the federal government. The program was phased out in 2012 by the Obama administration in favor of a new program emphasizing noncompetitive lifelong habits with no awards. The change was intended to avoid embarrassment for less athletic students. In 2025, President Trump directed authorities to develop a plan to reboot the program, and in an executive order signed today in the Oval Office, President Trump directed public schools to reimplement the program in the coming school year.

Today I sign a proclamation recognizing National Youth Sports and Fitness, and I'll also sign the very first copy of the new revitalized Presidential Fitness Test Award, a certificate in recognition of achievement of the gold standard of physical fitness.

The program remains optional, but several states have already signed on.

Shares for UPS and FedEx plunged this week on the news that Amazon has opened its entire shipping network to customers. After spending decades mastering logistics, Amazon launched Supply Chain Services on Monday and will now allow companies to use its extensive distribution network for their own business. The venture puts the massive online retailer in direct competition with other shippers that used to benefit from increased business because of Amazon.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio heads to Rome to make peace with the Pope. Daily Wire culture reporter Megan Basham has the story.

Pope Leo has criticized the Trump administration over US operations in Iran, prompting the president to respond, at one point suggesting that the Vatican chose him as a response to Trump's presidency. If I wasn't in the White House, Leo wouldn't be in the Vatican, the president said in a fiery Truth Social post. VP Pence has already taken some steps toward reconciliation, but now the administration is sending Rubio to the Vatican to help bridge the divide. Both Pence and Rubio are practicing Catholics. While social media chatter has made the disagreement appear close to insurmountable, administration officials hope the visit will show that their goals are more aligned with the Vatican's than it may seem.

Prosecutors say the suspected arsonist behind the Palisades fire became fixated on Luigi Mangione before the blaze. Daily Wire reporter Zach Jewell has the story.

Jonathan Rinder Nash frequently searched phrases like "free Luigi Mangione" and expressed anger at capitalism and the wealthy in the weeks preceding the Palisades fire. Court filings also Police claim the suspect, an Uber driver, ranted to passengers in the days leading up to the fire, describing himself as, quote, pissed off at the world and suggesting the attack would be driven by resentment toward the rich, comparing it to Mangione's alleged crime. Rindernecht has pleaded not guilty to federal arson charges tied to the fire, which destroyed roughly 7,000 homes and businesses, caused an estimated $150 billion in damage, and left 12 people dead. He has been held without bail since his arrest.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant is warning that U.S. banks face a rising threat from AI-driven cyberattacks. Daily Wire assistant editor Andy Valdez has more.

Bessant appeared on Fox News saying financial institutions must actively strengthen defenses in the wake of rapidly advancing AI. He emphasized that recent developments represent a, quote, step change in large language model capabilities and stressed the need for the U.S. to stay ahead while balancing innovation with security. When asked if Americans should worry about AI hacking their bank accounts, he replied bluntly, quote, "You should." The concern stems from AI systems like Anthropic's Mythos model, which identifies thousands of serious vulnerabilities across widely used software, highlighting a twofold reality: banks and security teams can deploy these tools to detect and fix weaknesses, but hackers can also exploit them to accelerate attacks.

The number of people on food stamps has plummeted recently as states put in place new rules against fraud and waste. Federal data shows that since the Trump administration enacted new restrictions on the program last year, states have significantly reduced SNAP recipients. Some states, such as Arizona, have seen drops as large as 50%. Some of the rule changes include raising the age for work requirements from 54 to 64 and tightening eligibility to ensure illegal aliens are not improperly on SNAP rolls.

And we owe you a massive thank you. The Daily Wire is celebrating two trophies from the Media Research Center's annual Watchdog Awards. Morning Wire received the coveted Outstanding Podcast Award which means a ton to this whole team here as we show up every day to deliver the news you need to know.

And there's actually more to this story, as Daily Wire immigration reporter and Morning Wire regular Jenny Tayer also won an award for Outstanding Reporter and was recognized, quote, as a leading voice in immigration reporting. The MRC awarded Jenny for her coverage of the migrant gang crisis in Aurora, Colorado, and for her reporting at the front lines of Trump's deportation effort in Minneapolis.

And as Newsbuster's managing editor Curtis Houck pointed out, the Daily Wire is actually the only news organization to win a Watchdog Award every year since its creation half a decade ago, and we're really proud to continue that tradition.

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 the US shepherding oil ships through the Strait of Hormuz, the Supreme Court weighing in on mail-order abortion drugs, and the House Judiciary Committee digging into the Democrats' main fundraising platform. Thanks for tuning in. We'll be back tomorrow morning with another full edition of Morning Wire.