Evening Wire: Trump Hosts Zelensky & MSNBC’s Name Change | 8.18.25

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President Trump hosts world leaders at the White House.

Former Attorney General Bill Barr sits down for a closed-door deposition on Jeffrey Epstein.

And New Mexico's governor deploys the National Guard.

I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire executive editor John Bickley.

It's Monday, August 18th, and this is Evening Wire.

President Trump is going straight for a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia, foregoing efforts to achieve a ceasefire.

He says a ceasefire could actually make a peace deal harder.

Sitting alongside Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky in the Oval Office today, Trump said past peace deals he brokered were reached while conflicts were still ongoing.

I know that it might be good to have, but I can also understand strategically why, well, you know, one country or the other wouldn't want it.

You have a ceasefire and they rebuild and rebuild and rebuild, and, you know, maybe they don't want that.

But if you look at the six deals that we made peace, you know, long-term, long-running wars.

I didn't do any ceasefires.

Trump insisted his focus is on a broader peace agreement, even if fighting continues in the meantime.

Zelensky did not speak publicly during the exchange, but the two leaders are set for more talks this week.

Former Attorney General Bill Barr sat for a closed-door deposition today before the House Oversight Committee.

Committee Chairman James Comer called the move a major step in uncovering what he described as the Epstein Island saga.

The renewed probe comes after the FBI recently declared its Epstein review closed, saying there was no incriminating client list or credible evidence of blackmail.

Comer has also subpoenaed Bill and Hillary Clinton, James Comey, and other former top officials as part of the investigation.

Citizens in both Israel and Gaza are growing frustrated with the ongoing conflict.

Daily Wire reporter Zach Jul has the latest.

Last night, 400,000 Israelis blocked roads across the country, demanding that their leaders strike a deal with Hamas to free the hostages still held by the terror group.

Israel believes about 20 hostages remain alive, with 30 more dead inside Gaza.

Netanyahu insists military pressure must continue until Hamas is destroyed, warning that ending the war early would repeat the horrors of the October 7th attack.

Meanwhile, in Gaza, Palestinians are calling on Hamas to end the violence and relinquish its power.

But the terror group is cracking down against this, brutally.

Hamas is reportedly executing critics to silence dissent.

President Trump has backed Israel's plan to expand its war in Gaza, saying the only way to to free the remaining hostages is to, quote, confront and destroy Hamas.

The Trump administration has clawed back thousands of student visas, many of which were over support for terrorism.

Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce has the details.

As the State Department tells Fox News, of the 6,000 visas that have been revoked this year, most of them have stemmed from visa overstays or criminal charges such as assault, DUIs, and burglary.

However, between 200 and 300 students lost visas for raising funds or expressing support for Hamas.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has warned that foreign students involved in pro-Palestinian protests are also under review, saying guests in the U.S.

cannot disrupt higher education.

We are going to pause this program and reevaluate how those visas are being vetted and what relationship, if any, has there been by these organizations to the process of acquiring those visas.

We're not going to be in partnership with groups that have links or have sympathies towards Hamas.

The State Department reports roughly 40,000 visas total have been pulled in 2025, far outpacing Biden's entire tenure.

Democrats call the effort a violation of due process, but the administration insists it's about national security and combating anti-Semitism.

Three people died in a collision with a semi-truck in Florida last week after the illegal immigrant driver attempted an unlawful U-turn.

Daily Wire reporter Amanda Presagiacomo has more.

A video of the incident has gone viral on Axe and allegedly shows Indian immigrant Harjinder Singh make a sharp turn across multiple lanes on an interstate before a minivan crashes into the side of the trailer.

All three people in the minivan died.

Singh entered the U.S.

through California in 2018, and he was almost immediately arrested and processed for expedited removal.

However, he was released on bond after claiming fear of returning to India.

Despite having entered illegally, he then obtained a commercial driver's license in the Golden State.

Singh is in custody and faces charges of vehicular homicide as well as deportation.

An illegal immigrant was fatally shot after pulling a gun on an off-duty NYPD officer last night.

The New York Post reports that the perpetrator, Le Gione Soto of the Dominican Republic, entered the U.S.

through El Paso last summer and was reportedly involved in three other gunpoint robberies on Sunday.

His accomplice in the robberies remains unidentified and at large.

The officer sustained non-life-threatening injuries.

New Mexico has deployed the National Guard to support law enforcement efforts in Albuquerque amid a surge in violence.

Daily Wire reporter Spencer Linquis has the details.

came at the request of local authorities, quote, creates the right kind of support system to address crime.

Texas Democratic legislators who fled the state to stall a redistricting effort returned today, enabling the state house to get back to business.

Texas House Speaker Dustin Burroughs addressed the legislature today.

We are done waiting.

We have a quorum.

Now is the time for action.

The Democrats left Texas to deny a quorum in the legislature and only returned after California Governor Gavin Newsom unveiled a plan to redistrict California.

Newsom's goal was to effectively cancel out any House seats Republicans gain in Texas.

Representatives who previously fled the state will be monitored by Texas Department of Public Safety officials until their next meeting scheduled for Wednesday.

A Category 4 Atlantic hurricane continues to gain strength, prompting some North Carolinians to evacuate.

Hurricane Aaron developed and strengthened quickly over the weekend, jumping from Category 1 to Category 5 within hours.

While current projections expect Aaron to steer clear of the coastline, officials warned that the storm's effect on surf and rip currents could be life-threatening.

Two counties have declared states of emergency as well as mandatory evacuation orders from some coastal islands.

The storm's effects are expected to hit the U.S.

over the coming days.

Profits for American companies rose at a far faster rate than experts predicted for quarter two.

Despite a slowing job market and the Trump tariffs rolling out, companies in the S ⁇ P 500 enjoyed more than double the expected profit rise over quarter two.

Year-over-year profits are expected to have risen about 12%, outpacing the 5% growth analysts predicted last month.

Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred says expansion could bring one of baseball's biggest shake-ups, the end of the American and national leagues.

Speaking during ESPN's Little League Classic, Manfred said adding two new teams would allow a full geographic realignment, cutting travel and creating east and west playoff brackets.

Nashville is among the city's eyed for a franchise, but plans hinge on stadium deals for both the A's and the Rays.

MLB has expanded since 1998, and Manford says he wants two more teams in place before he retires in 2029.

I think if we expand, it provides us with an opportunity to geographically realign.

I think we could save a lot of wear and tear on our players in terms of travel.

In a major blow to the Georgia economy, Marvel Studios announced it's moving its production to the U.K.

The state has lost nearly 50% of its film business over the past three years alone at its peak the entertainment industry supported more than 20 000 jobs in the state the powerhouse production company known for superhero films is now moving production to europe due to lower costs workers in europe command lower wages and production companies don't have to cover their health care production is surged in australia and canada for similar reasons marvel is reportedly working on two new avengers movies and a spider-man film at a studio outside of london and left-wing cable channel msnbc is being forced to fully rebrand and getting stripped of its famous peacock symbol.

Daily Wire senior editor Joel Niedler has more.

The new name will be MS Now, which is short for My Source for News, Opinion, and the World.

And rather than having the peacock in its logo, it'll feature a white flag with two red stripes.

That comes despite assurances just a few months ago that the channel would be able to hold on to its name.

The big changes all come as the channel has been sold by NBC Universal to a new company, Versant, which will be headed by Mark Lazarus.

He explained the reason behind the big name and logo change, saying in a memo today, quote, As we all know, the peacock is synonymous with NBC Universal, and it is a symbol they have decided to keep within the NBCU family.

Those of your drive-home updates this evening.

To learn more about these stories, go to dailywire.com.

And in case you missed it this morning, we covered some major stories, including Trump hosting Zelensky after his big summit with Putin, Meta under fire amid accusations that its AI is programmed to talk romantically with minors, and more states send National Guardsmen to DC.

Thanks for tuning in.

We'll be back tomorrow morning with another full edition of Morningwire.

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