Morning Wire XX
[0] I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire Editor -in -Chief John Bickley.
[1] It's Wednesday, December 6th, and this is your Morning Wire afternoon update.
[2] Representatives James Comer and Jim Jordan have threatened to hold Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress.
[3] This comes after lawyers for the president's son said he would not testify unless it was in a public setting.
[4] Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce has the details.
[5] House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer subpoenaed Hunter Biden to appear for a deposition on December 13th.
[6] behind closed doors.
[7] But last week, Hunter's attorney, Abby Lowell, said his client would rather testify publicly.
[8] Both Comer and Jordan said last week, the president's son would receive no special treatment and that he's required to first be deposed behind closed doors.
[9] Today, Lowell sent a letter to Comer saying Hunter will only appear for testimony in a public hearing, prompting the contempt threat from Comer and Jordan.
[10] Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy says he will retire from Congress at the end of this month, just over two months after being ousted from the office of Speaker.
[11] Daily Wire Senior Editor Cabot Phillips has more.
[12] McCarthy's resignation is another blow to the already narrow GOP House majority, which has seen several other shake -ups in recent months.
[13] That includes powerful North Carolina rep Patrick McHenry, who announced he would not seek re -election, and also the expulsion of Representative George Santos of New York, whose successor will be chosen by special election in February.
[14] Democrats are expected to pick that seat up, meaning Republicans would hold just a seven -seat majority in the chamber.
[15] McCorothy was removed from his position as Speaker on October 3rd after eight members of his own conference voted against him.
[16] It was the first time in history a speaker had been removed.
[17] The Justice Department says it has charged four Russian nationals with war crimes for their roles in the invasion of Ukraine.
[18] The DOJ says the charges are in connection with their unlawful detainment of a U .S. national in the context of the armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
[19] Again and again, he believed he was going to die.
[20] According to the indictment, the four allegedly interrogated, beat, and tortured an American victim, while also threatening to kill him in a mock execution.
[21] The victim was then forced to perform manual labor.
[22] According to the DOJ, the American whose name is unknown was not involved in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
[23] The American man was living in southern Ukraine when he was kidnapped from his home.
[24] Here's Attorney General Merrick Garland.
[25] These charges against four Russia -affiliated military personnel are the Justice Department's first criminal charges under the U .S. war crime statute.
[26] They are also an important step toward accountability for the Russian regime's illegal war in Ukraine.
[27] Our work is far from done.
[28] Law enforcement in Texas say they've charged a man with murder following a day -long series of violent incidents in two different cities that left six people dead and at least two in three.
[29] The case started yesterday morning when a school district police officer was shot and injured in Austin.
[30] Later that morning, Austin's interim police chief says four people were found dead in two area homes.
[31] Then, about 80 miles south in San Antonio, police say the bodies of two people were found inside a residence after the deputies saw water coming out of the home.
[32] Police in the San Antonio area say they believe the suspect killed the people there before driving to Austin.
[33] Police are still investigating and haven't nailed down a motive.
[34] The nature of the relationship, if any, between the victims and the suspect is unknown.
[35] Based on information obtained over the course of these investigations, we strongly believe one suspect is responsible for all of the incidents.
[36] The suspect is in custody and no longer poses a threat to our Austin community.
[37] The suspect also allegedly shot a cyclist and robbed a home in the Austin area.
[38] The search for the suspect ended last night after the suspect crashed his car during the police pursued.
[39] Two North Carolina students have been arrested for allegedly dealing THC edibles and psilocybin mushrooms that sent at least seven students to the hospital.
[40] According to police, several students at C .C. Griffin Middle School started having a negative reaction last Friday after ingesting an unknown substance.
[41] Police say they recovered a sample of a rice, crispy treat, and it tested positive for THC.
[42] Officers also recovered psilocybin mushrooms.
[43] Former President Trump joined Fox News Hannity on Tuesday night for a town hall discussion on the GOP presidential primary, President Biden, and more.
[44] In one moment that got a lot of attention, Hannity asked Trump if he'd ever use his power for retribution.
[45] Here's what Trump said.
[46] He says, you're not going to be a dictator, are you?
[47] I said, no, no, no, other than day one, we're closing the border and we're drilling, drilling, drilling.
[48] After that, I'm not a dictator, okay?
[49] The former president also commented on energy.
[50] We have to fire up our factories.
[51] Wind is not going to fire up our factories, and it's the most expensive energy, even solar.
[52] I like solar from a concept standpoint, but it's massively expensive.
[53] And we can't allow China to build a factory a week, and we do nothing.
[54] They build a coal plant, and they're obvious about it.
[55] And then Biden goes to see them about global warming.
[56] And tonight, GOP presidential candidates will meet on stage in Tuscalo.
[57] Alabama for the fourth Republican presidential debate.
[58] Only four contenders to Trump remain in the running.
[59] Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.
[60] DeSantis has held on to second behind Trump, but Haley has enjoyed some recent momentum in polling and the fundraising battle.
[61] The former president, who is leading the polls, will not be on that stage.
[62] Those are your drive home updates this afternoon.
[63] To learn more about these stories, go to dailywire .com, and for more in -depth discussion of the biggest stories of the day, listen to the latest full episode of Morning Wire every morning.