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Georgia Howe
Former CNN News anchor Don Lemon gets arrested. The DOJ releases roughly 3 million more pages related to Jeffrey Epstein. And Trump announces his pick for chair of the Federal Reserve. I'm Georgia Howe. John Bickley is off this afternoon. It's Friday, January 30th, and this is Evening Wire. Former CNN anchor Don Lemon was arrested in Los Angeles on Thursday night while covering the Grammy Awards. Daily Wire Immigration reporter Jenny Tear has the details.
Jenny Tear
Lemon was arrested allegedly for violating the law in his role in an anti ICE protest at a Minnesota church earlier this month. Lemon had joined a group of leftist rioters for a January 18th protest organized and promoted by the Racial Justice Network and Black Lives Matter Minnesota. Here he is confronting the church pastor during the protest.
Church Pastor
Listen, we live in a there's a constitution in the First Amendment to freedom of speech and freedom to assemble and protest. We're here to worship. We're here to worship Jesus because that's the hope of these cities. That's the hope of the world is Jesus Christ. I'm very respectful. Please don't push me though.
Jenny Tear
The mob targeted city's church in St. Paul because one of its pastors allegedly worked with ICE. President Donald Trump said that those behind the protests, quote, should be thrown in jail. And his administration roundly rejected Lemon's claim that his activities were protected under the First Amendment. Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon said the Justice Department would, quote, pursue Lemon to the ends of the earth.
Georgia Howe
ICE says the Ecuadorian consulate in Minneapolis is shielding an illegal immigrant with a criminal record, allowing him to evade ICE arrest. Officials say Jorge Miguel Bravo Eureilles fled the Ecuadorian consulate Tuesday as agents attempted to arrest him. Authorities say his record includes a DUI conviction, a sexual assault arrest and multiple assault cases. ICE says agents did not enter the consulate but accused staff of blocking the arrest. Bravo Eurales remains at large. Ecuador's government called the incident an attempted incursion and filed a diplomatic protest, saying consular officials acted to protect the facility. Lake and Riley's killer, Jose Ibarra is seeking a new trial. His lawyers claim he was not mentally competent to stand trial in 2024. Here's Daily Wire reporter Lyndon Blake with the developing story.
Lyndon Blake
Ibarra is currently serving life in prison without the possibility of parole after being found guilty on all 10 counts in November 2024 for the killing of Lakin Riley. The illegal immigrant attacked riley, who was 22 at the time, while she was running on the University of Georgia campus. Prosecutors say Riley died in the violent struggle. Abara is scheduled to appear Friday in Athens Clarke County Superior Court in Georgia. Abara's attorneys have already obtained a mental evaluation as part of the appeals process and will make arguments before Judge Patrick Haggard, who presided over the original case and handed down the maximum sentence. The hearing today will focus on whether alleged errors during the original proceedings justify a new trial.
Georgia Howe
A federal judge in New York has dismissed the federal murder charges against Luigi Mangioni, which means the death penalty is now off the table. Daily Wire reporter Zach Jewell has the details.
Zach Jewell
He still faces a state murder charge and two federal counts of stalking. Lawyers from Mangione argued that the prosecution didn't properly show an underlying violent crime which is needed for the firearm related federal murder charge. Mangione is accused of shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson at point blank range in New York after traveling from out of state to commit the alleged murder. Prosecutors claimed the underlying crime was stalking, but the defense argued that stalking doesn't always involve violence, which is how they got the charge dismissed. The defense also requested to block evidence found in Mangione's backpack, including a gun and notes criticizing the health insurance industry, but that was rejected by the judge. Mangione was arrested five days after the shooting at a McDonald's in Pennsylvania after being recognized from a wanted poster. His federal trial is expected to begin in September.
Georgia Howe
The DOJ has released another massive tranche of records related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche says roughly 3 million pages of material are being made public today, including 2,000 videos and 180,000 images. Blanche was asked about whether the identities of those guilty of abusing the women are within these documents. Here's what he said.
Church Pastor
There's this built in assumption that somehow there's this hidden tranche of information of men that we know about, that we're covering up or that we're not. We're choosing not to prosecute. That is not the case.
Georgia Howe
Officials say some records remain sealed to protect victims and block the release of child sexual abuse material. The disclosure follows the Epstein Files Transparency act signed into law last year requiring unclassified records to be released. The Justice Department says more documents are still under review and additional releases are expected. A judge sentenced a man to prison on Thursday for falsely claiming to have shot Charlie Kirk moments after the conservative activist was assassinated. Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce has the details.
Tim Pierce
71 year old George Zinn was sentenced with up to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to several charges, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. He was charged on 1 3rd degree felony charge of obstruction of justice and 2 2nd degree felony charges of sexual exploitation of a minor. Immediately following the September assassination of Kirk Zen falsely claimed to have shot the conservative commentator, the Utah County Sheriff's Office said. Zen began to yell, quote, I shot him. Now shoot me. As Zen was detained, law enforcement asked him for the murder weapon. When they searched him, law enforcement found child sexual abuse materials on his phone. Zen will serve his sentences for all charges concurrently, with the longest term being for the sexual exploitation charges, one to 15 years. A parole board will ultimately decide how much time Zen will serve in prison.
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Jenny Tear
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Georgia Howe
President Donald Trump has announced his pick to chair the Federal Reserve. The president said in a post on Truth Social that former Fed governor Kevin Warsh will go down as one of the great Fed chairman, maybe the best. Trump's nominee will now have to face the Senate for approval. GOP Senator Thom Tillis, who chairs the Banking Committee, called Trump's pick a qualified nominee with a deep understanding of monetary policy, but noted that he will not vote to confirm any nominee to chair the fed until the DOJ's inquiry into Chairman Powell is fully and transparently resolved. Meanwhile, Trump says Warsh wants to cut rates, something Trump has pushed Powell to do. Did Kevin Marsh commit to you that.
Lyndon Blake
He will push to cut interest rates.
Georgia Howe
If he is confirmed so.
Church Pastor
But we talk about it and I've been following him and I don't want to ask him that question. I think it's inappropriate. I want to keep it nice and pure. But he certainly wants to cut rates. I've been watching him for a long time.
Georgia Howe
Israel is set to reopen the Rafah crossing that connects Gaza to Egypt for pedestrian traffic. Israel's Defense Ministry said on Friday that the checkpoint will be monitored in coordination with Egypt and overseen by a European Union monitoring mission. Residents of Gaza who want to return to the enclave from Egypt can do so, but it will only be allowed for those who left after the war began and who have received prior approval from Israel. The opening of the Rafah crossing is part of the U S brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas from last year. President Trump has reportedly received a slate of options for military action against Iran, according to the New York Times. The proposals include potential strikes aimed at Iran's nuclear and weapons facilities, as well as undercutting the power of Iran's supreme leader. The new slate of options come as Trump has pushed the regime to cut a deal on the future of its nuclear program. Meanwhile, the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group recently arrived in the Middle east, bolstering US Forces in the region. In a victory for President Trump, the High Court of Panama has voided the contract of a Chinese linked company that operated entry ports of the Panama Canal. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a post on social media that the United States is encouraged by the recent Panamanian Supreme Court decision to rule port concessions to China unconstitutional. The Panama Ports Company, which operated terminals at each end of the canal, called the decision inconsistent with the relative legal framework and the law. The Trump administration has leaned on Panama to end Chinese influence over the canal, which is one of the most important chokepoints in global shipping. Chinese President Xi Jinping has dramatically purged top leadership of the Chinese military. Daily Wire senior editor Joel Niedler has the latest.
Joel Niedler
Most notable among those ousted is General Zhang Youh Shah, China's highest ranking military official and chief deputy to Xi. The public firing of Zhang sends a harsh message, as the general, at 75 years old, could have just as easily been quietly forced into retirement. The firing, along with accusations of corruption and insubordination, served to make Zhang a pariah among Chinese leadership. While the exact reasons for the firing remain unknown, rumors claim that Zhang may have passed on Chinese military secrets to the United States. Following the purges, Xi himself and one other officer became the only remaining members of China's Central military commission.
Georgia Howe
Sam Altman's OpenAI is reportedly planning to go public in quarter four of this year. Reports claim that OpenAI has been taking informal meetings with bankers to explore avenues for an ipo. Racing to get ahead of AI tech rival Anthropic After a relative drought of large public offerings over the past few years, Wall street analysts expect 2026 to be a big year with companies like OpenAI, Anthropic and SpaceX all reportedly pursuing IPOs. OpenAI could face some challenges going public, however, due to remaining questions over the viability of AI products, relatively high turnover at the startup and fierce competition. Actress and comedian Catherine O' Hara has died. She she was 71. TMZ confirmed the news with sources close to her family. Her cause of death was not released. O' Hara was best known for her iconic roles in Home Alone, Beetlejuice, Best in Show and as Moira Rose from Schitt's Creek, a performance that earned her an Emmy in 2020. Born in Toronto, O' Hara built a career spanning more than four decades across film, television and comedy. She's survived by her husband and two sons. Joe Rogan says he wasn't snubbed by the Golden Globes. He opted out. On his podcast, Rogan revealed organizers invited him to submit for the new Best Podcast category, but required a $500 entry fee.
Joe Rogan
The $500 is like for paperwork or whatever. I said no. I go, I don't care. I already won. Like you can't tell me I didn't win. I've been number one for six years in a row. All of a sudden you're going to have a contest in front of all these people wearing tuxedos and you're going to say now I'm not number one. Like off.
Georgia Howe
The award went to Amy Poehler's podcast, which launched last year. Rogan brushed off the outcome, saying popularity matters more than trophies and that he's already won with his audience. And in a wild caught on camera moment, an Atlanta airport bystander took out a TSA breach suspect via body slam. The video from last October was released Thursday showing a man rushing past a TSA checkpoint at Hartsfield Jackson Airport and then knocking an officer to the ground. But then, in an absolutely crazy moment, a bystander stops him by picking him up and slamming him on the ground. Police identified the suspect as 40 year old Fabian Leone, who was later charged with simple battery and evading security. Authorities say Leon admitted to drinking alcohol and using drugs before the incident. 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 border czar Tom Homan putting anti ICE activists on notice, Congress narrowly averting a shutdown over immigration enforcement and a federal contracting program banning more than a thousand companies. Thanks for tuning in. We'll be back tomorrow morning with a weekend edition of MORNING wire.
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Georgia Howe
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Georgia Howe
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Jenny Tear
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This Evening Wire episode, hosted by Georgia Howe, unpacks a dramatic day in national and world affairs, spotlighting media figures in trouble, bombshell document releases, high-profile legal stories, and developments in global business and politics. Key stories include the arrest of Don Lemon, the release of millions of Jeffrey Epstein records, President Trump's new pick for the Federal Reserve, and sweeping changes in China’s military. The tone is brisk, urgent, and direct, with a focus on fact-based reporting.
Summary: ICE reports the Ecuadorian consulate in Minneapolis aided an illegal immigrant with a serious criminal history in evading arrest.
Details:
Context: Highlights complexities of consular protection versus law enforcement.
Laken Riley Case Update:
This episode delivers brisk, multi-topic coverage of headline news with a forthright, punchy style. Whether unraveling legal drama, chronicling political intrigue, or capturing viral moments, the show underscores recurring themes of media distrust, legal complexity, and shifting global power dynamics. Anchored by Georgia Howe and supported by Daily Wire staff, it’s a rapid-fire digest for listeners wanting the facts straight, with a dose of commentary.