News Reporter (2:45)

A new report found that Iran doubled its executions in 2025, marking the highest total in more than three decades. Daily Wire Foreign Affairs Reporter Cassia Kiva has the gruesome details.

Cassia Kiva (2:57)

The reported execution count for 2025 was 1,639, which averages out to roughly four deaths per day, according to the findings from the organization Iran Human Rights and together against the death penalty. The data shows sharp increases in executions tied to drug related offenses, up 58% in murder convictions, up 79%, while authorities also issued death sentences for vague charges such as, quote, waging war against God and quote, corruption on earth. The report states that courts handed down many of these sentences after, quote, grossly unfair trials and without due process. With ethnic and religious minorities disproportionately targeted. At least 48 women were executed, the highest figure in 20 years, while early 2026 figures suggest the pace will continue. It should also be noted that this number does not include those slaughtered during recent anti regime protests with at least 7,000 lives ended, while many sources claim that figure is much higher.

John Bickley (4:00)

Diplomats from Israel and Lebanon met in Washington, D.C. today for ceasefire talks, the first direct talks between the two sides in over three decades. Secretary of State Marco Rubio hosted the meeting with the aim of finding a solution to the terror group Hezbollah, which operates in and controls a political party in Lebanon. Rubio addressed reporters ahead of the talks.

Marco Rubio (4:21)

This is about bringing a permanent end to 20 or 30 years Hezbollah's influence in this part of the world and not just damage it's inflicted on Israel, the damage it's inflicted on the Lebanese people. This will take time, but we believe it is worth this endeavor and the hope today is that we can outline the framework upon which a permanent and lasting peace can be developed.

News Reporter (4:44)

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has secured a pure majority in Parliament. Daily Wire senior editor Joel Niedler reports.

Joel Niedler (4:52)

While Carney's Liberals previously held the largest share of seats in Parliament, they were short of a pure majority, forcing them to make coalition deals with smaller parties to advance their agenda. Now, two special election wins and a surprising string of political defections have given the Liberals a majority. In a shocking move, five Conservative MPs have crossed the line joining the Liberal party over the past few weeks. Some expect there may be more defections soon. Carney's rise to popularity has turned Canadian politics on its head. Conservative leader Pierre Poiliev, who once seemed to be a lock for prime minister, is now at the head of a party in shambles.

John Bickley (5:26)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced Monday that Ukrainian forces have captured a Russian position using nothing but robots. In a speech to Ukraine's defense industry, Zelensky said quote, the future is here on the battlefield and Ukraine is creating it. He did not reveal the location of the battle, but instead praised the expanding use of AI and robotics in Ukraine's military and its impact on the overall war effort.

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News Reporter (6:26)

in an explosive report released today, the Trump administration reveals how the Justice Department under President Biden targeted religious Americans who opposed abortion. Daily Wire Culture reporter Megan Basham has more.

Megan Basham (6:39)

The report from the Trump DOJ's weaponization working group is based on a review of more than 700,000 internal records. It concludes that the Biden administration misapplied the FACE act to prosecute peaceful pro life protesters, while at the same time offering support to abortion clinics and minimizing attacks on pro life groups and religious institutions. It also alleges serious prosecutorial misconduct, including withholding evidence, misleading the court, and failing to screen out jurors with a bias against religious and conservative views. And to make this story wilder, Joe Biden's administration relied on information gathered from radical pro abortion groups to track, prosecute and snoop on peaceful pro life protesters. Look for our full report tomorrow on Morning Wire.

John Bickley (7:30)

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard released declassified documents this week that she says reveals the flimsy basis of President Trump's first impeachment. Daily Wire political reporter Cameron Arkin has the story.

Cameron Arkin (7:42)

The document trove contains evidence that was reviewed by former Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson before he reported to Congress of alleged corruption in Trump's dealings with Ukraine. In part, the inspector general failed to interview even one witness with firsthand knowledge of a phone call between Trump and Ukraine President Zelensky before handing a whistleblower report to Congress. In a statement, Gabbard said Atkinson placed, quote, political motivations over the truth. According to her, Atkinson and other, quote, deep state actors in the intelligence community concocted a false narrative to usurp the will of the American people and impeach President Trump.

News Reporter (8:21)

The Trump administration broke ground in New York City today on a new natural gas pipeline for the area. The Northeast Supply Enhancement Pipeline will stretch from Pennsylvania to Staten island and will help power about 2.3 million homes in the New York City area. It's expected to reduce electricity costs by $6 billion over 15 years. The project was furiously resisted by green groups for years, but New York governor Kathy Hochul agreed to approve it after meeting with Trump.

John Bickley (8:48)

Meanwhile, New York Mayor Zoran Mandani has picked out the first location for a city owned grocery store plan, but the price tag is leaving residents in shock. Union Construction estimates show that a standard sized grocery store in New York city averages around $15 million to build. Mandani's first government grocery store will be smaller than average but expected to cost twice as much. 30 million residents are now raising questions about where exactly the money is going. The mayor plans to erect five groceries to launch the program and is still seeking independent operators to run the stores. While those third party operators would theoretically manage the stores, the government would control pricing employee wages, Authorities say A man

News Reporter (9:29)

threw a molotov cocktail at OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's house in San Francisco, and there's a hint to his motives online. 20 year old Daniel Moreno Gama raged against Altman and AI in a substack post titled AI existential risk, Marino Gama claimed that Altman, quote, raped his own sister, assassinated an open AI whistleblower and lied to Congress. In the same post, Mauren Obama also said that AI and those who build it are, quote, gambling with your future and the lives of your children. Authorities say that Maureen Obama was arrested with a manifesto and a list of tech CEOs and investors with their addresses.

John Bickley (10:09)

Brian Hooker, the American man who claims his wife fell overboard while the two were sailing in the Bahamas, has been released from police custody. His wife, Lynette, has been missing since April 4th. Brian claims she was bounced overboard by rough seas, but her family expressed immediate skepticism about his account, citing a history of domestic violence. Here's a clip of Lynette's mom describing a prior incident on the Drop Dead Serious podcast.

Lynette's Mom (10:34)

They were on the boat, both drinking and they got in a fight and he threw her down on this bench and he was on top of her, choking her and she felt something crack in her neck and she was so stiff necked for a long time and she came home to me for a while. But one of the conversations that they had while they were on the boat the next morning is he told her that he wished he had finished the job and thrown her overboard.

John Bickley (11:06)

The Bahamian government has not charged Hooker in LYNETTE'S death, but he remains a person of interest. For his part, he has forcefully denied any involvement in her death.

News Reporter (11:16)

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 and his team taking control of the Strait of Hormuz, the pope and the president publicly sparring over the war in Iran, and Congress roaring back into session with fresh scandals. Thanks for tuning in. We'll be back tomorrow morning with another full edition of MORNING wire.