Evening Wire: Texas Refinery Explodes & Mullin Sworn In | 3.24.26

0:00In 2024, a truck crashed into Canaw in Moresque, where I work. 146 of our dogs needed homes fast. We asked for help on Facebook. Our stories spread through WhatsApp messages and Instagram reposts. Immediately, people stepped up. And just six hours later, every dog was fostered. I'll never forget how our community showed up for us. Learn however, 3.5 billion people connect to what matters with meta at meta.com slash community. A man hunt is underway after the shooting of a U.S. Park police officer in D.C. an explosion at a Texas oil refinery forces residents to shelter in place and Delta cancels congresses perks amid the ongoing TSA crisis. I'm daily wire executive editor John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Tuesday, March 24th. This is Evenewire. The search for a suspect continues after a U.S. Park police officer was shot in Southeast Washington, D.C. Daily wire contributor Tim Pierce has the latest.

1:04The release say the shooting happened around 730 pm last night near Queen Stroll Place. The officer was transported for treatment and is expected to survive with injuries described as non-life threatening. Police shut down multiple blocks in the area as large law enforcement presence responded. The FBI is now assisting in the investigation. Officials do not release details on a suspect or motive, and the search for those responsible is ongoing. An explosion at an oil refinery in Texas forced residents to shelter in place last night. Daily wire senior editor Joel Needler has more. Residents of Port Arthur, just east of Houston, reported seeing huge plumes of smoke rising from the refinery on Monday. More than 700 workers man the facility, but no injuries or deaths have been reported. Local authorities closed two major highways near the site and cautioned residents to temporarily shelter in place until the situation was contained. The cause of the explosion has not yet been determined, though the Jefferson County Sheriff believes it may have been an industrial heater failure. According to the Wall Street Journal, President Trump decided to postpone strikes on Iran's power plants after Arab state leaders

2:07opened discussions between Washington and Iran. Foreign ministers in Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan met in Riyadh last week to kick start talks to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but one of the chief problems was finding an Iranian leader that had not yet been killed. Meanwhile, the journal reports that Tehran is worried that the ceasefire talks could be a trap meant to kill more Iranian leaders. The regime is chiefly worried about the safety of Mohammed, Bagaire, Gali Baf, the speaker of Iran's parliament and one of its remaining senior leaders. Former Oklahoma Senator Mark Wayne Mullin was sworn in as Secretary of Homeland Security today. President Trump attended the ceremony and spoke briefly before Mullin put his hand on the Bible. So I'd like to ask Attorney General Bondi to come and do the honors of swearing in a man who's going to do a phenomenal job for a country, and I tell you your family has to be very proud. You have to be very proud. Everybody wanted this job. I said there's one man for this job, but I have no doubt he's going to be fantastic. Thank you, Pam. Come on over. Thank you.

3:10Congratulations, Secretary. The Senate confirmed Mullin's nomination last night. On this vote, the eyes are 54. The nays are 45. The nomination of Mark Wayne Mullin of Oklahoma to be Secretary of Homeland Security is confirmed. Along with this fellow Democrat John Federman, Senator Martin Heinrich from New Mexico joined Republicans in confirming Mullin. Heinrich issued a statement explaining his vote saying, quote, This is going to surprise some people, but I consider Mark Wayne Mullin a friend with a very honest and constructive working relationship. Mullin will take over Homeland Security at a turbulent time as the partial shutdown continues. Alan Armstrong and Energy Executive will fill Mullin's Senate seat until a new election in November. You've been there, settling in for an evening of TV only to waste half the night scrolling. Enter Fire TV. Entertainment with zero effort required. Fire TV serves up personalized recommendations from across all your apps. Not sure what to watch. Just tell Alexa Plus what you're in the mood for and she'll pull up the

4:14perfect recommendation. Problem solved. Stop the scroll. Start the show. Find what you're looking for with Fire TV. Subscriptions may be required. President Trump has rejected a pitch that would fund other agencies under the Department of Homeland Security, but not ICE. Daily Wire homepage editor Jordan Schroeder has the story. Senate Majority Leader John Thune indicated to the president that Senate Republicans and some Democrats would back the pitch in hopes of ending the shutdown. In exchange, funding for ICE would be handled through a future reconciliation bill that would only need Republican votes to pass. Trump projected this posting on true social quote, I don't think we should make any deal with the crazy country destroying radical left Democrats unless and until they vote with Republicans to pass the Save America Act. A GOP Senate staffer also noted that there could be a quote true compromise coming because Republicans already have much of what they want for ICE funding through the one big beautiful bill act signed by Trump last year. Delta Airlines has suspended perks for members of Congress amid the ongoing DHS shutdown. Daily Wire assistant editor Andy Veldas has more.

5:18Many airlines offer special congressional desk service for members of Congress and their staffers, allowing them to skip security lines. But with TSA workers now without pay for nearly a month, Delta is telling Congress to wait in line like everyone else. Over 400 TSA workers have quits since the shutdown began, causing massive delays at airports. Atlanta International Airport, where Delta is headquartered, has reported security wait times up to four hours. Acting Deputy TSA Administrator Adam Stahl has cautioned that some smaller airports may need to haul operations entirely if the shutdown continues much longer. As America turns 250 this year, we're going to hear a lot about the history and culture, but we'll probably forget the people who actually fed this country. America's ranchers, for generations they've been getting up before the sun in every kind of weather to put real food on our tables. Good ranchers is 100% committed to America, not just in slogan but in practice. Every cut they sell is raised on local American farms and ranches, and from the pasture to the seal

6:18on every box, it all happens here at home, even including their in-house customer support. I enjoy my cowboy box, giving me everything my family needs, it gives me rabbis, sirloins, plenty of ground beef, and of course I like to add on some good ranchers bacon because more bacon is certainly better than no bacon. As a good rancher subscriber, I love how easy it is to manage my box if I'm traveling or life gets busy, I can pause, delay, or move my order in just a few clicks. So why wait? Subscribe to any box at GoodRanchers.com using our code wire to get free meat for life and $25 off your first order. Again, use our code wire at checkout for this exclusive offer. GoodRanchers.com American Meat Delivered. Investigators say the deadly crash at LaGuardia Airport likely stemmed from a series of failures not just one mistake. Daily Wire reporter Lyndon Blake has more. In a press conference Monday, NTSB Chair Jennifer Hammondi said it's too early to place blame solely on the air traffic controller who was heard saying I messed up shortly after the collision.

7:21Here's Hammondi. I would caution pointing fingers at controllers and saying distraction was involved. This is a heavy workload environment. We rarely, if ever, investigate a major accident where it was one failure. Our aviation system is incredibly safe because there are multiple, multiple layers of defense built into prevent an accident. So when something goes wrong, that means many, many things went wrong. The crash unfolded when an air candidate jet collided with the fire truck that had been cleared on the runway to check on another aircraft. The impact killed both pilots and left more than 40 others injured. Hammondi stressed that the US aviation system remains highly safe overall, but said investigators will take a comprehensive look at everything from communication protocols to runway procedures. The goal now determine exactly how those layers of safety failed and how to prevent it from happening again. The Supreme Court seems poised to back the Trump administration in turning away some asylum

8:26seekers. The Court heard oral arguments today about the president's authority for metering asylum seekers, which allows border officials to deny them entry if American facilities are overburdened. The Obama administration was first to put metering into practice, but the Biden administration did away with the policy. A lower court has since blocked attempts to revive it. Oral arguments focused on when asylum seekers precisely arrive in the US, and the side challenging the metering policy used the analogy of knocking on a door. Justice Samuel Alito was one of multiple justices to pull apart that analogy. There's been talk about knocking at the door. Does a person arrive in the house when the person is not in the house and is knocking at the door, asking to be admitted to the house? The Pentagon imposed new limits on reporters this week. Daily Wire Reporter's Actual has the story. Word Apartments spokesman Sean Parnell wrote in a memo that reporters work area will be moved into an annex outside the main Pentagon building. The department will also rewrite the rules for journalists who request credentials to clarify prohibited activities and fix other issues.

9:31Reporters inside the Pentagon will require an escort. The new rules were announced after a judge ruled that earlier restrictions the war department placed on reporters were unconstitutional. The department said in a statement that it still plans to appeal the ruling and that the new rules are meant to preserve security while the legal process plays out. A senior US military official says Iranians should stay inside while the US continues operations against the regime. In an interview, Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, US Central Command Deputy Commander, told the Iranian people to avoid unnecessary risks until they hear from President Trump. Continue to heed our advice. We've had multiple messages that have come out that have said, beware, the government doesn't care about you. They're launching missiles and drones from populated areas. You need to stay inside for right now. There will be a clear signal at some point as the president is indicated for you to be able to come out. Secretary of State Marco Rubio testified today in the trial of a former congressman accused of secretly lobbying on behalf of Nicholas Maduro, the ousted Venezuelan strongman.

10:36Republican David Rivera and his co-defendant Esther Newfer are charged with making elicit efforts to stall sanctions on Venezuela and return for $50 million. The allegations date to after Rivera's time in Congress. Rubio previously worked with Rivera when they both served in the Florida legislature in the early 2000s. The Secretary of State was one of the lawmakers Rivera allegedly lobbied when Rubio served in the US Senate. And House Republicans in the oversight committee have launched an investigation into alleged hospice fraud in California. Daily wire reporter Megan Basham has the details. Reports show that more than 700 of roughly 1800 hospices in Los Angeles County triggered multiple state-defined fraud indicators and that local hospices build Medicare far above the national average. The committee sent California governor Gavin Newsom a letter demanding records on the state's oversight of these programs arguing that weak internal controls allowed fraud, overbilling and the enrollment of beneficiaries without their knowledge.

11:38Newsom's office pushed back saying California imposed a moratorium on new hospice licenses in 2021 and revoked more than 280 licenses over the past two years. The core question to be answered. Did California regulators miss or enable a pattern of hospice fraud funded by taxpayers? Those of your drive home updates this evening to learn more about these stories go to dailywire.com and in case you missed it earlier today we covered some major stories including Trump announcing peace talks with Iran, ICE agents assisting TSA in airports across the country and the Hail Mary that could save Hollywood if it listens. Thanks for tuning in. We'll be back tomorrow morning with another full edition of Morning Wire. Get in the game with the college branded Venmo debit card. Record your team with every tap and earn up to 5% cash back with Venmo Stash, a new rewards program from Venmo. No monthly fee, no minimum balance, just school pride and spending

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