Kamala Harris walks back her immigration stance, Iran is threatening revenge after a senior Hamas leader is killed in Tehran, and controversy surrounding two Olympic boxers in the women’s division. Get the facts first with Morning Wire.
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(upbeat music) Kamala Harris is rallying her base in important swing states, while reversing course on an issue she's historically pulled poorly on. I will proudly put my record against his any day of the week, including, for example, on the issue of immigrations. I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire editor-in-chief, John Bickley. It's Thursday, August 1st, and this is Morning Wire. (upbeat music) Iran is threatening revenge after a senior Hamas leader is assassinated while visiting Tehran. Now the US State Department is urging restraint and sounding the alarm over an escalation to all-out war. The US was not involved in the planning of the attack, and this was an action taken by the IDS based on Israeli intelligence. And controversy surrounding two Olympic boxers competing in the women's category renews debate about the game's transgender policies. - Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know. (upbeat music) - Hey guys, producer Brandon here. The Olympic summer games are just around the corner and good ranchers is gearing up for the festivities by offering new subscribers a free gold medal add-on for the next four years. You can enjoy free-playing chicken breasts, Angus ground beef, applewood bacon, or wild cod salmon in every order for the next four years, or until the next summer games. Plus with Code Wire, you'll get an additional $25 off your first box. That's up to $1,200 in savings when you subscribe. Go to good ranchers.com and use promo code wire to claim this exclusive offer. Good ranchers, American meat delivered. (upbeat music) - As Kamala Harris prepares to announce her running mate, the vice president's campaign has focused on illegal immigration, hoping to flip the script on the issue. - Here to break it all down is Daily Wire, senior editor, Cabot, Philip, say Cabot. So the vice president debuting a new campaign message this week that's focused on really a very surprising topic. Tell us about that. - Yeah, it would hardly be a surprise to see the Harris campaign hone in on abortion or healthcare, but they're now going all in on a very different issue, illegal immigration. After years of saying there was no crisis at the border and advocating for looser penalties for illegal immigrants, Kamala Harris is now singing a very different tune, saying she's the one who's tough on the border and Donald Trump is too weak. Taking the stage in Atlanta this week, these were some of the first words out of the vice president's mouth. - Donald Trump has been talking a big game about securing our border, but he does not walk the walk. And when I am president, I will work to actually solve the problem. - And have a listen to this ad, the Harris campaign just debuted in Nevada. - On the border, the choice is simple. Kamala Harris supports increasing the number of border patrol agents. Donald Trump blocked a bill to increase the number of border patrol agents. - Now, look, it is worth noting. Donald Trump and other Republicans did oppose the border bill she's talking about, but it's because they argued it did not go far enough to address the border crisis. It was the Biden administration who shut down a number of border security measures that Trump and Republicans were calling for. And that really is the big problem here for Harris. Her words simply do not line up with her record. For example, on funding for the border patrol as a senator in 2018, Harris sent a letter to quote, urge her colleagues to reject President Trump's proposal for funding to hire new border patrol personnel. Throughout her tenure in Congress, she also routinely fought against the Trump administration's border legislation. And then while running for president, went even further to the left. She famously and repeatedly said that those crossing the border illegally should not be considered criminals. And she raised her hand in support of free healthcare for illegal immigrants. And look, she can deny it all she wants, but Kamala Harris was put in charge of addressing the border crisis by Joe Biden and oversaw the single largest increase in illegal crossings in history. So it's certainly a risky strategy to lean into this topic, but it gives you an idea of how important this issue is and how much of a liability it's become for Democrats. Remember, poll after poll shows voters trust Trump over Harris to stop the crisis. So shifting gears a bit, the vice president is expected to soon make her pick for a running mate. What are we hearing? Well, there seems to be a pretty clear short list. First, there's Arizona Senator Mark Kelly. Kelly is from a border state and has echoed the Harris campaign's message this week on illegal immigration, repeating that claim that Trump is the one preventing border security. He's also got the benefit of fairly broad name recognition from his days as an astronaut. Then there's Kentucky's Andy Beshear, one of the few Democratic governors in a deep red state. Kentucky went for Trump by 26 points last election, but he won reelection last year by a comfortable margin. And Democrats say he could counteract JD Vance's messaging in Appalachia. And finally, there is the favorite for the job Pennsylvania governor, Josh Shapiro. He is widely popular there, and some polling has even shown that a third of Trump supporters prove of the job he's done as governor. That is very significant in the state that could ultimately decide this race. But it is worth noting that some on the left have raised questions over whether him being Jewish could turn off the progressive faction of the Democratic Party, which has recently embraced pro-Hamas anti-Semitic rhetoric. We should have the pick by Tuesday when Harris will kick off a multi-state campaign swing. That next major piece should fall into place very soon. Kevin, thanks for reporting. Anytime. - Hey guys, producer Brandon here. Men's closets were due for a radical, reinvention, and Ron has stepped up to the plate. Ron's signature four-way stretch fabric features wrinkle release technology and is treated with gold fusion anti-odor technology. I gotta tell ya, Nashville in July can be a bit rough for us big guys with the heat and the humidity. It's easy to become a sweaty mess. But Ron's commuter collection makes it easy to stay fresh and odor-free all day. Head to Ron.com/wire and use promo code wired to save 20% off your entire order. That's 20% off when you head to r-h-o-n-e.com/wire and use code wire. - Hamas's top political leader Ismail Haniah died on Tuesday. He was killed in what Hamas and its state sponsor, Iran, have said was an Israeli assassination operation. Haniah's death came hours after Israel killed a top Hezbollah commander in Beirut. - Here to talk about the deaths of the terrorist leader and what it means for the conflict in the Middle East is Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce. So Tim, what does this strike mean for Hamas? - It's definitely a major loss. Haniah had been at the top of Hamas for decades and so he had a lot of institutional knowledge and experience that can't be easily replaced. And even more notable, Haniah was killed in the middle of Iran's capital city of Tehran. Morning Wire spoke to Victoria Coates, Vice President of National Security and Foreign Policy at the Heritage Foundation. Here's what she said about that. - Taking this kind of direct action against Iran against the high value target in the capital city is unprecedented. And I think in many ways, this is a response for the Iranian action in April when they for the first time directly attacked Israel from Iran. - As Coates said, this could be Israel's response to Iran's unprecedented April 13th and 14th barrage against the Jewish state. Iran launched over 300 missiles, rockets and drones into Israeli territory. I should note here that while Hamas and Iran have blamed Israel for Haniah's death, Israel hasn't taken credit. That isn't unusual, however, experts who spoke with us said that the evidence suggests Israel's fingerprints are on this. - So what would be the goal for Israel targeting Haniah in that way? - Yeah, Morning Wire spoke to Betnam Ben Taliblu, an expert on Iran in the Middle East at the foundation for defensive democracies about that. Here's what he said. - It's designed to throw the group off balance quite unlike the attack that killed for what Shukare Hezbollah operative in Beirut's hours before this was reported. This is not designed to rob the group of a certain localized military capability or specific knowledge. It's designed to show the full capacity of Israel to engage in deterrence by punishment and to strike in a place that is the capital city of the head of the snake. Basically, it's the crown jewel. - One thing to note is that this was an incredibly precise strike. We don't yet know many of the details, but Haniah was killed at a safe house surrounded by top Iranian troops. Here's coats on how the strike could have been pulled off. - It would probably took places that they used one of the F-35 eyes that we've sold to the Israelis to go up into probably a rocky airspace and then were able to fire off a precision missile very into literally Haniah's bedroom in what was supposed to have been a safe house in Tehran. - Now, this is an incredibly embarrassing incident for Iran given that a top leader of one of its terror proxies was assassinated in its capital city. What kind of official response can we expect to see? - Right, and the strike was carried out during a time of heightened security for the inauguration of Iran's new president. It's extremely embarrassing for Iran and the Ayatollah has already pledged revenge. Here's Talah Blue again. - How Iran may react here is very interesting because this attack took place in the country's capital. The last time the regime engaged in that gigantic missile and drone barrage was when allegedly it was not its own consulate but it alleged that its consulate was attacked in Syria. So if that's what they'll do for a fake consulate, imagine what they might do for an attack on their territory. - After we spoke with Talah Blue, the New York Times reported that Iran's Supreme Leader has already ordered plans for a counter-strike against Israel. According to the report, Iran is, quote, "considering another combination attack of drones "and missiles on military targets in the vicinity "of Tel Aviv and Haifa that would avoid civilian targets." - Iran is also weighing whether to involve its proxies and Yemen, Syria and Iraq for maximum effect. - Now, was the United States involved or aware that this strike was taking place? - The Biden administration has said it was left in the dark here. It's worth mentioning that after the April barrage from Iran on Israel, the Biden administration urged Israel to restrain itself from responding. The U.S. argued that because no life was lost, the risk of escalation wasn't worth it. Now, it's not clear whether this could eventually lead to direct U.S. involvement in the Middle East, but that has been a concern of the Biden administration. - Well, in the meantime, we're gonna be keeping an eye out for Iran's response. Tim, thanks for reporting. - Good to be on. - Controversy continues at the Olympics as two boxers who failed to meet the gender eligibility tests a year ago are cleared to fight in the women's category during this summer's games. - Joining us to discuss is Daily Wire Sports Reporter and Crane & Company co-host David Cohen. Hey, David, hey, John. So first, there's a lot of confusion about why some transgender identifying athletes are allowed to compete at the Olympics, but not others. Can you provide some background for us? - Certainly the International Olympic Committee, the IOC, complies with the governing bodies for each different sport, essentially passing the buck. And this is why, for instance, say a swimmer like Leah Thomas was ruled ineligible to compete in the women's category this Olympics because FINA, the international governing body for world aquatics, altered its trans policy to keep men out of women's sports. A spokesperson for the IOC, Mark Adams, has addressed the lack of a uniform policy on gender. He said that while, and this is quote, everyone would love to have a single answer yes or no, it's instead incredibly complex. - And it's likewise a very complex for boxing, correct? - It definitely is. The two fighters in question here and main caliph of Algeria and Lin Yu Ting of Taiwan were disqualified from the women's world boxing championships in New Delhi last year after failing to meet gender eligibility tests. Now that event, the world championship, was run by the International Boxing Association, which has been banished from Olympic boxing since before the Tokyo Games. This ban is due to a year's long dispute between the IOC and the IBA, which is a Russian led boxing organization over alleged failures of governance and integrity. So that led to the Olympic Committee appointing its own officials to run boxing at two straight summer games. Now the IOC acknowledged Monday, the tournament rules for Paris are descended from those in place eight years ago at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, meaning caliph and Lin are competing in their second consecutive Olympics. So they're now back despite failing those gender eligibility tests in 2023. What did those tests consist of? - So at the time of their disqualifications, the president of the IBA alleged that the boxer's chromosome tests came back as XY rather than XX. The organization says it reached its conclusions after a comprehensive review that was intended to uphold the fairness and integrity of the competition. Now questions have been raised as to whether these two fighters experience any chromosomal abnormalities, but based on the information provided by the IBA that does not appear to be the case. Also, here's a paragraph from NBC News, John. Now keep in mind, NBC owns the television rights deal to the Olympic Games. They said caliph and Lin both have always competed as women and there's no indication that either identifies as transgender or intersex. The latter of course referring to those who are born with both sex characteristics that don't fit strictly into male or female gender binary. Following the disqualification last year, caliph told Algeria's in a hard TV that some quote did not want Algeria to win a gold medal. caliph called this a big conspiracy and said, we will not be silent about it, unquote. We will see if any female fighters speak out against this. Lastly though, John, I found this information interesting as well. There are betting odds for both fighters. Lin is favored in the 119 pound event and caliph is favored in the betting odds in the 145 pound division. We'll have a lot of renewed interest in how those two boxers perform now. Dave, thanks for joining us. Thanks for having me. Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back later this afternoon with more news you need to know. (upbeat music) (clicking)
Kamala Harris walks back her immigration stance, Iran is threatening revenge after a senior Hamas leader is killed in Tehran, and controversy surrounding two Olympic boxers in the women’s division. Get the facts first with Morning Wire.
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