Morning Wire XX
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[3] I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire editor -in -chief John Bickley.
[4] It's Friday, April 12th, and this is your Morning Wire afternoon update.
[5] Israel is preparing for an attack from Iran that could come as early as today or tomorrow.
[6] That's according to the Wall Street Journal.
[7] The attack is in retaliation for a drone strike in demand.
[8] Syria that killed several Iranian military leaders.
[9] A direct attack would lead to an expansion of Israel's ongoing military efforts against Hamas.
[10] Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to defend Israel, saying, quote, whoever harms us, we will harm them.
[11] We are prepared to meet all the security needs of the state of Israel, both defensively and offensively.
[12] U .S. Border Patrol says they've captured 54 convicted sex offenders since October 1st in the Del Rio sector, The sector's chief patrol agent Robert Danley announced the arrests on Twitter, saying that all the men had illegally crossed the border and were trying to evade law enforcement.
[13] In their February 24 monthly update, Customs and Border Patrol reported large spikes in drug seizures.
[14] The report cited a 294 % increase in methamphetamine, 164 % more heroin, and 140 % more cocaine in February than in January.
[15] Mortgage rates rose again this month to their highest level since December.
[16] Daily Wire's senior editor Cabot Phillips has the details.
[17] The average rate for a 30 -year fixed -rate mortgage rose to 7 % on Thursday, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
[18] The housing market had started to show signs of life in the first quarter after rates dipped slightly, but experts say that now elevated rates will likely lead to another slowdown and keep demand low.
[19] Mortgage loan applications have already dropped 5 % for the week and 23 % you, over year.
[20] O .J. Simpson, who passed away on Thursday, owed more than $100 million at the time of his death.
[21] The former star football player was acquitted of the murders of his ex -wife, Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman in 1995, but he was found liable for the murders in civil court in 1997.
[22] The judgment against him was $33 million.
[23] Legal filings by the Goldman family in 2022 claim Simpson had paid only $133 ,000.
[24] Fred Goldman told NBC news that the family will continue to pursue payments from Simpson's estate.
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[28] California lawmakers made a preemptive move to cut spending by $17 billion this week.
[29] Here with more as Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce.
[30] The legislature's decision to cut spending is seen as an effort to get the state's massive deficit under control.
[31] in case Governor Newsom launches a run for president.
[32] When Newsom took office, California was enjoying historic surpluses, but those funds have disappeared.
[33] In January, Newsom announced a $38 billion deficit, but the nonpartisan legislative analyst office claims that the current deficit is actually $73 billion.
[34] The California legislature, which is controlled by Democrats, has refused to raise taxes or cut spending to what they call critical programs to make up for the shortfall.
[35] Shohei Otani's former interpreter has been charged with bank fraud and theft.
[36] Ipe Mizuhara is accused of stealing $16 million from baseball's biggest star in a gambling operation.
[37] U .S. Attorney Martin Estrada announced the charge is Thursday.
[38] The evidence we've gathered over the past few weeks has demonstrated that in total, Mr. Mitsuhara stole over $16 million from Mr. Otani's account in order to pay for these illegal sports bets.
[39] Phone and bank records show that Mr. Mitsuhara appears to access Mr. Otani's bank account online.
[40] What is more, Mr. Mitsuhara lied to the bank to access the account.
[41] I want to emphasize this point.
[42] Mr. Otani is considered a victim in this case.
[43] There is no evidence to indicate that Mr. Otani authorized the over $16 million of transfers from his account to the bookmakers.
[44] Mr. Tanya stated that he did not authorize these transfers, that he did not grant Mitsuhara access to his account.
[45] And don't forget to file your taxes before the deadline.
[46] Monday, April 15th is Tax Day.
[47] The IRS has already received more than 90 million filings, and 97 % of those were submitted electronically.
[48] Sixty -eight percent of the people who have already filed were due a refund.
[49] The average refund for 2023, is $3 ,050.
[50] Those are your drive -home updates this afternoon.
[51] To learn more about these stories, go to dailywire .com.
[52] And for more in -depth discussion of the biggest stories of the day, listen to the latest full episode of Morning Wire every morning.