— Kristi Noem is out at Homeland Security. Dozens of states sue the Trump administration over tariffs, and Britney Spears is arrested. I'm Daily Wire executive editor John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Thursday, March 5th. This is Evening Wire. — President Trump announced today that Kristi Noem is stepping down as head of Homeland Security at the end of the month. The president said he'll nominate Oklahoma Senator Mark Wayne Mullen to lead DHS. Writing on Truth Social, Trump said he was pleased with Mullen's appointment and that Noem had, quote, served us well. Mullen spoke to the press minutes after the news broke and was asked whether he and Noem had discussed the transition. Neither one of us had time to talk, so I'm going to go give her a call in just a second. You know, our families are very close, and this happened very quick, so we're going to go have a conversation with her in just a second. A reporter asked Mullen if he knew what Trump was expecting from him. I will never discuss private conversations. Never have. I'm not going to do that now either. Trump announced that Noam will take over a new role called Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas, which he described as leading, quote, our new security initiative for the Western Hemisphere. According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, a Wisconsin man died on Wednesday after he initiated a shootout with federal and state authorities in Texas. Daily Wire contributor Tim Pierce has the latest. Authorities say 33-year-old James Douglas McMillan attempted to flee from a Border Patrol checkpoint after a drug-sniffing canine alerted to his vehicle. Law enforcement directed McMillan to pull over for a secondary search when he attempted to flee. DPS said that McMillan was driving a stolen vehicle. The chase ended when a Texas officer performed a pit maneuver and stopped McMillan. The 33-year-old then barricaded himself in his vehicle and aimed a firearm at law enforcement, prompting officers to fire and kill him. Two dozen states are suing the Trump administration over the new round of tariffs. Daily Wire legal analyst Heidi Hall has the details. After the Supreme Court voided several of the president's tariffs in a ruling last week, Trump announced a blanket 10% global tariff rate. The lawsuit, which was filed today, claims the administration does not have the authority to implement these tariffs either. Attorneys general from Oregon, Arizona, California, and New York are leading the case. Oregon's attorney general, Dan Rayfield, said of the lawsuit, quote, the focus right now should be on paying people back, not doubling down on illegal tariffs. The suit is backed by 20 predominantly blue states, including Colorado, Illinois, and Minnesota. The U.S. and Israel appear to have both deployed high-intensity lasers to help defend against Iranian drones and missile strikes. The New York Post reports that at least one U.S. destroyer off the coast of Iran is equipped with a Helios system. That's short for High Energy Laser with Integrated Optical Dazzler and Surveillance. That's a mouthful. Military experts say the system seemed to be in use in videos released by the Pentagon to take out drones. Experts also believe that Israel has deployed its iron beam to knock down Iranian drones and missiles shortly after they are launched Wall Street hit some turbulence today as oil prices spiked and investors braced for more fallout from the Middle East The Dow fell over 1% with both the S&P and Nasdaq sliding as well. As for oil prices, crude ticked up to roughly $84 a barrel and U.S. oil pushed past $77. Morningwire spoke to Dr. Peter Earl of the American Institute for Economic Research, who says the closure of the Strait of Hormuz hasn't been as disruptive yet as some have feared. And we still haven't seen half of the move in oil markets that we saw when Russia invaded Ukraine. So the wonder right now is, has the Strait of Hormuz, its importance, been sort of overvalued in the years? Has it been overstated? Or are the markets just that optimistic that this will be resolved quickly, especially since the president said that there would be military assistance and there would be government insurance for the traffic that goes through there. So it's kind of an interesting quandary because one would have expected to see upon the closure of the Strait of Hormuz much, much higher oil prices than we see right now. Higher energy prices are also sending treasury yields up, dimming hopes for quick interest rate cuts. The U.S. Senate blocked another attempt to stop the president from engaging in foreign conflicts. On Wednesday, the Senate voted down a resolution to force the president to end the operation in Iran. Senator Rand Paul was the only Republican to join with Democrats. Wednesday's failure marked the eighth time an attempt has been made against the president's military intervention since he took office last year. That's a record for one sitting Congress. Washington revealed this week that Iran was using negotiations with the United States to stall time as it stockpiled materials needed for weapons-grade nuclear enrichment. Daily Wire senior editor Joel Needler has the details. During several rounds of negotiations with Iran, the Trump team, led by Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, was offered an agreement. Iran wanted to continue uranium enrichment for the next decade, claiming it was necessary for a civilian research program. Witkoff and Kushner asked if they could take the agreement back to the U.S. so they could have nuclear experts weigh in, but were refused. Team Trump then discovered that the Iranians were seeking to enrich five times more uranium than was allowed under the Iran nuclear deal. Then they looked closer at the Tehran Research Reactor, the civilian research program, and discovered that it was really being used to stockpile seven to eight years worth of fuel. Well, before we continue, I'm excited to give you some amazing news about an issue that we care about here at The Daily Wire. Our friends at Alliance Defending Freedom have just announced that the state of Vermont has agreed to change its policy that discriminated against Christian foster families. Families like the Wotis and Gantz were model foster parents. They had taken in siblings and even focused on caring for kids with struggles like fetal alcohol syndrome. And these parents had lost their foster licenses because they refused to compromise their faith by participating in a lie They were told they had to agree to promote the state radical gender ideology including by taking kids to pride parades Following a victory in a similar case out of Oregon last year, this win in Vermont means we're winning the battle, folks. I can't tell you how inspiring it is to learn about the courage of these families, moms and dads who have answered the call to care for vulnerable children who deserve a loving home. Go to joinadf.com slash wire and find out more about this incredible victory and how Alliance Defending Freedom is standing up for everyday families and protecting our constitutional rights. That's join ADF.com slash WIRE or text WIRE to 83848 and celebrate this amazing victory with us. CNN has admitted that Operation Epic Fury has in fact weakened our greatest enemies. Daily Wire political reporter Cameron Arcan has the story. A CNN senior military analyst said on Tuesday that the demonstration of military force and precision on display in Operation Epic Fury was enough to make the political leadership in both Russia and China sit up and take notice. Retired Admiral James Stravitas joined anchor Casey Hunt on the arena with Casey Hunt, where he argued that in addition to capturing the complete attention of global adversaries, the United States was also progressively weakening both Russia and China as a weak in Iran. If you are Xi or Putin, you hate us, but you have to respect the military capability of the United States. When you look at the span of what the U.S. military has done in the last two months, it's pretty extraordinary and it will get your attention in Beijing and Moscow. China looks at Iran as a big investment opportunity. Russia looks at Iran as an arms and technology supplier. Many of the drones flying in Ukraine today were made in Iran. So there's a geopolitical pragmatism that can affix itself to these strifes in terms of degrading both Russia and China. The Trump administration has issued new guidance over abuse claims for trans-identifying children. Daily Wire reporter Meg Brock has the story. The Administration for Children and Families, ACF, at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, HHS, has alerted all 50 states that affirming biological reality does not constitute child abuse or neglect under federal law. The assistant secretary for the ACF, Alex Adams, said yesterday that letters had been sent reminding states that removing a child from their home must be based on, quote, objective evidence. The state's decision to break up a family cannot be based solely on a parent's objection to radical gender ideology or irreversible sex-rejecting medical interventions. The ACF is asking states to adopt clear definitions of abuse and to protect the rights of parents as well as the freedom of religion New York City taxpayers are set to fork out over per child under Mayor Zoran Mamdani new free 2K pilot program That around more than the average cost of private childcare City officials say the state will cover the bill using current tax revenues, though a detailed long-term funding plan has not been released. The program, a key campaign promise for Mamdani, will begin in five school districts with applications opening this summer. Morgan Stanley is laying off 3% of its workforce following record financial growth in 2025. Daily Wire reporter Zach Jewell has the reason why. Morgan Stanley plans to cut roughly 2,500 jobs despite impressive gains over the past year. The reason is artificial intelligence. The layoffs began last week and will affect employees in investment banking, trading, and wealth management across both U.S. and international offices. This follows a broader trend of workforce reductions on Wall Street, trimming roles including private bankers and back office staff handling client mortgages. Other major financial institutions, including Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase, are doing the same in efforts to improve efficiency measures as they increasingly adopt AI over human employees. Pop star Britney Spears was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving in Ventura, California last night. Daily Wire Entertainment reporter Amanda Harding has more. Spears was released from custody and is scheduled to appear in court on May 4th. She's facing possible jail time, several years of probation, and the loss of her license. The arrest follows a pattern of increasingly erratic behavior over the past few months. Newly released dispatch audio reveals that she was swerving in and out of lanes before being pulled over. And tributes continue to pour in for legendary Notre Dame football coach Lou Holtz after he passed away this week at age 89. Holtz was considered one of the most influential coaches in college football history, winning 249 games as a college head coach. 100 of those happened at Notre Dame, where he served as head coach from 1986 to 1996. A statement from the university reads, quote, Notre Dame mourns the loss of Lou Holtz, a legendary football coach, a beloved member of the Notre Dame family, a devoted husband, father and grandfather. All right, those are your drive home updates. To learn more about those stories, go to dailywire.com. And in case you missed it earlier today, we covered some major stories, including the U.S. and Israel moving toward air dominance over Iran, Tim Walls facing a fiery fraud hearing, and the Pentagon identifying six soldiers killed by an Iranian strike in Kuwait. Thanks for tuning in. We'll be back tomorrow morning with another full edition of Morning Wire.
