B (3:36)

Ecuador has voted no to hosting a new U.S. military base. Daily Wire reporter Breca Stoll has the details. President Daniel Noboa had spent months courting Washington in support of the plan, but voters issued a sharp rebuke in a national referendum on Sunday, with 61% opposing the measure. While the US has sought to expand its presence in South America, analysts say the vote reflects broader frustrations with Naboa rather than a decisive rejection of America. American presence the president's popularity has plummeted in recent months and widespread energy outages and shortages of essential medicines.

A (4:07)

The president hosted the Saudi prince and princess for dinner at the White House last night, but they weren't the only distinguished guests. Soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo joined the festivities as well. The star recently surprised fans when he told Piers Morgan that he was interested in meeting the U.S. president. Here's that moment. One of the guys that I want to sit to have a nice talk was one of the guys Donald Trump. Donald Trump. I wish one day to meet him, to sit with him because he's really, he's one of the person that I really like him because I think he can make things happen and I like people like that. Ronaldo, who signed with the Al Nasser Saudi soccer league in 2022, joined an elite guest list last night, which also included Tim Cook and Elon Musk. Trump was seen walking and laughing with Ronaldo and told reporters his son Barron is a big fan. Ronaldo is here and Barron got to meet him and I think he respects his father a little bit more now.

B (5:03)

The Trump administration took a step toward dismantling the Department of Education. Daily Wire senior editor Joel Niedler has more.

A (5:10)

In an announcement yesterday, education secretary Linda McMahon shared that much of the department's workload is shifting to hhs, Labor, Interior and State. Although fully shuttering the department would require congressional approval, McMahon has worked with President Trump to scale back the agency's responsibilities and personnel, cutting nearly half its staff earlier this year. In keeping with the announcement, McMahon posted a message to X this week pointing out the effect, or lack thereof, of the record government shutdown on Day to Day Education. The federal Department of education furloughed 90% of its staff. And what happened? Nothing. Schools stayed open. Students went to class. Teachers got paid. The shutdown proved our schools don't depend on Washington bureaucracy to function. This episode is brought to you by PayPal. PayPal helps you make the most of your money. You can earn 20% cash back when you pay in four with PayPal from now through December 8th. No fees, no interest. Act now to get this limited time offer.

B (6:14)

Save the offer in the app to get 20% cash back when you pay in 4 from now through December 8th. PayPal expires12.8 see paypal.com promoterms subject to approval. Learn more at paypal.com payin4paypal inc. And MLS 911.

A (6:31)

The Trump administration has awarded a $1 billion federal loan guarantee to restart a reactor on Three Mile Island. Constellation, which owns the nuclear facility, has said it will use the money to refurbish and restart a reactor that will then be used to power a Microsoft data center. The reactor that will be restarted is not part of the facility that partially melted down in 1979. Constellation has said that the federal backing comes with minimal risk to taxpayers and that the project will produce 835 megawatts of clean energy, enough to power 800,000 homes.

B (7:04)

Former Vice President Kamala Harris appeared on the campaign trail this week for the first time since her loss in November. The former VP traveled to Tennessee, where she made a couple stops around Nashville in support of Democrat state Congresswoman Afton Bain, who's running in a special election for U.S. congress. Bain is a long shot candidate running against Republican nominee Matt Van Epps in a district that Trump won by 20 points last year. Here's Harris during an event in Nashville's Hadley Park. So I thank you in advance for being active. This is about you. This is about your future. This is about your country. This is about your power. And who is the power with the people.

A (7:42)

All right, New York City Mayor Elect Zoran Mamdani is once again asking for financial support. In a video posted to X yesterday, Mamdani explained that the city does not match transition funding like it does campaign funds. So his team needs to raise $4 million independently in order to, quote, start to deliver on January. We have less than 50 days until we take office and we have a lot to do. We have to vet the 50,000 resumes we've received. Thank you. We have to keep paying our incredible team. Thank you. And we have to plan not just our inauguration, but our policy implementation.

B (8:16)

Democrat lawmakers are urging service members to defy any orders that they deem, quote, illegal. In a viral video, six Democrats make a direct statement to service members. Senators Alyssa Slotkin and Mark Kelly and Representatives Chris d', Aluzio, Mackie Goodlander, Chrissy Houlahan and Jason Crow first tout their own military and intelligence backgrounds. Then they call for open defiance of higher ups if their orders aren't legal.

A (8:40)

Right now, the threats to our Constitution aren't just coming from abroad, but from right here at home. Our laws are clear. You can refuse illegal orders.

B (8:49)

You can refuse illegal orders.

A (8:51)

You must refuse illegal orders.

B (8:53)

No one has to carry out orders that violate the law or our Constitution. War Secretary Pete Hegseth responded to the video by tweeting, Stage 4 Trump Derangement Syndrome.

A (9:04)

A federal court has blocked Texas Republicans new congressional map, which would give them five additional seats. And now the state's appealing the ruling to the Supreme Court. Daily Wire Immigration reporter Jenny Terre has the story.

B (9:15)

U.S. district Judge Jeffrey Brown ruled Tuesday that Texas's new map was racially gerrymandered and thus likely unconstitutional, saying the state should Instead use its 2021 maps. Texas Governor Greg Abbott defended the maps, saying they were redrawn to better reflect Texas conservative voting preferences and for no other reason. He also slammed the court's discriminatory claims against the map as absurd and unsupported by Testimony offered during 10 days of hearings. The ruling, he said, was clearly erroneous. Meanwhile, also in Texas, Governor Greg Abbott designated the Muslim Brotherhood and the Council on American Islamic Relations as foreign terrorist organizations. Here's Daily Wire reporter Zach the governor's.

A (9:57)

Action bans the Muslim groups from purchasing or acquiring land in Texas and subjects anyone affiliated with them to heightened penalties. In his announcement on Tuesday, Abbott cited each group's ties to Islamic extremism and accused them of seeking to forcibly impose Sharia law. He said, quote, the actions taken by the Muslim Brotherhood and care to support terrorism across the globe and to subvert our laws through violence, intimidation and harassment are unacceptable. These radical extremists are not welcome in our state and are now prohibited from acquiring any real property interest in Texas. The Justice Department indicted a former Olympic snowboarder today for more crimes related to murder, drug trafficking and money laundering. Canadian Ryan James Wedding was previously indicted for related offenses and joined the FBI's top 10 most wanted list in March of this year. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the indictment in a press conference today. Here's Bondi on wedding he controls one.

B (10:53)

Of the most prolific and violent drug trafficking organizations in this world. His organization is responsible for importing approximately 60 metric tons of cocaine a year into Los Angeles via semi trucks from Mexico.

A (11:16)

The State Department has upped the reward for weddings capture from 10 to $15 million and now offers a $2 million reward for valuable information related to the murder of a federal witness.

B (11:28)

And as part of its push to revive the Christmas spirit in D.C. the Kennedy center announced its first ever Christmas tree and lighting ceremony. The event will take place on December 17th. A Kennedy center spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the event is a milestone for America's Cultural center, one of Washington's premier holiday attractions. The center partnered with the US Department of Agriculture Forest Service to, quote, showcase a beautiful red spruce and create new traditions for families and visitors this holiday season.

A (11:58)

All right. Those are your Drive Home updates today. To learn more about these stories, go to dailywire.com and in case you missed it, earlier today, we covered some major stories, including Congress voting to open the Epstein files, markets tumbling amid concerns about an AI bubble and a new investigation suggesting academic fraud in higher education. Thanks for tuning in. We'll be back tomorrow morning with another full edition of MORNING Wire.