Evening Wire: U.S. Jets Head South & Fentanyl In The Workplace? | 9.5.25

The U.S.

ups the ante in its Caribbean war on drug cartels.

An infamous Chinese hacker group gets more aggressive.

And fentanyl is becoming more common on random workplace drug tests.

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

It's Friday, September 5th, and this is Evening Wire.

The U.S.

is sending 10 fighter jets to Puerto Rico to beef up its war on drug cartels.

Sources told the New York Post this morning that 10 F-35 jets are scheduled to arrive next week.

Their mission to support anti-cartel operations in the Caribbean.

While the administration hasn't commented yet, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said yesterday that the U.S.

will be providing Ecuador with $13.5 million to boost its security and anti-drug capabilities and $6 million in UAVs for its Navy.

Here's Rubio yesterday.

We're ready to support in this what is, frankly, it's a war.

It's a war on killers.

It's a war on terrorists.

These are not narco-traffickers.

These are narco-terrorists.

Two Venezuelan aircraft flew too close for comfort to a U.S.

Navy ship yesterday.

The American vessel was in international waters.

The Department of Defense called the incident highly provocative and issued a warning on X saying, quote, the cartel running Venezuela is strongly advised not to continue any effort to obstruct, deter, or interfere with counter-narcotics and counter-terror operations carried out by the U.S.

military.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hagseth commented on the now infamous cartel boat strike this morning.

We smoked a drug boat and there's 11 narco-terrorists at the bottom of the ocean.

And when other people try to do that, they're going to meet the same fate.

President Trump is bringing back the Department of War.

The president is signing an executive order resurrecting the previous name of the Department of Defense and will add it as a secondary title to the Pentagon.

The order will also add the title Secretary of War to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Hexeth celebrated the announcement on X with the simple caption, Department of War in all caps.

Hexeth is also expected to draft legislation and executive orders to lock in the name change.

President Trump called out European leaders for, quote, funding the war in Ukraine.

According to a White House official, the president had a call with several leaders yesterday and pointed out that by purchasing Russian oil, Europe is directly funding Vladimir Putin's economic war machine.

Trump reportedly called on the EU to increase pressure on Russia and China to bring the war to an end.

In response to ongoing European talks, Putin said this morning that any foreign troops dispatched to support Ukraine would be considered, quote, legitimate targets for destruction.

A new bill that will speed up foreign defense sales and boost American manufacturing jobs has cleared the House.

The Made in America Defense Act will bring more accountability to how U.S.

equipment is delivered abroad.

The bill's author, freshman Congresswoman Sherry Biggs, says Washington's bloated process clogs supply chains and hurts small businesses.

Her legislation requires annual reports to Congress and opens the door for faster direct sales to U.S.

allies.

Here's what Biggs told Morningwire.

The Made in America Defense Act cuts through years of red tape that's held back our small businesses.

Finally, opening the door for American manufacturers to compete, to grow, and to lead again.

It means stronger supply chains, more good-paying jobs, especially for welders and machinists, and less dependence on foreign systems.

This is what putting America first in our defense policy looks like.

The bill now heads to the Senate where its future remains uncertain.

A Chinese hacker group known as SALT Typhoon is at it again, though U.S.

officials warn this time it could be the group's most ambitious cyber attack yet.

Officials say the group infiltrated telecommunications networks and critical infrastructure in more than 80 countries, stealing data that investigators say may have touched nearly every American.

The joint statement from the U.S., Britain, and allies calls the campaign unrestrained and indiscriminate.

Officials warn China's goal is to track global communications, even listening in on phones used by politicians, including Donald Trump and Vice President J.D.

Vance, during last year's campaign.

In the event that Alligator Alcatraz ever fills up, the state of Florida says they've opened a new detention center for migrants with room for thousands more.

Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce says the latest.

Governor Ron DeSantis' office says the former Baker Correctional Institution in Sanderson has been been converted into the deportation depot.

The first detainees arrived earlier this week, and 117 people are already being held.

The facility's total capacity is 1,500.

The opening follows a federal appeals court decision allowing Florida's controversial Alligator Alcatraz detention center in the Everglades to keep operating during an ongoing lawsuit over environmental concerns.

DeSantis says both facilities will stay open for business and could serve as models for future immigration enforcement nationwide.

Nearly 500 workers were arrested in a massive immigration raid at a Georgia Hyundai plant that's under construction.

Homeland Security officials say 475 people were detained Thursday, making it the largest single-site enforcement action in the agency's history.

Agents say more than 300 were South Korean nationals who had overstayed visas and were working illegally through subcontractors at the site.

The $7.6 billion battery complex near Savannah is Hyundai's biggest U.S.

project and a key piece of South Korean investment.

Seoul lodged a formal protest saying its its citizens' rights must not be unjustly infringed.

The DOJ indicted 22 Chinese nationals and three Americans on Wednesday for an alleged international drug trafficking scheme.

The indictment also accuses four Chinese companies of smuggling so-called cutting agents used in various fentanyl mixtures to drug traffickers in Ohio while posing as legitimate pharmaceutical companies.

The Trump administration has been vocal on the dangers of fentanyl, which is a synthetic opioid many times more powerful than morphine.

Court records reveal what was taken from John Bolton's home during an FBI raid.

Daily Wire reporter Zach Jewell has more.

The FBI raided former Trump National Security Advisor John Bolton's Maryland home on August 22nd as part of an investigation into allegations that he illegally snuck out national security files from the White House during President Trump's first term.

The FBI seized a trove of documents, three computers, and two iPhones, according to court records made public on Thursday.

Among the boxes of documents were, quote, types, documents, and folders labeled Trump 1 through 4, and a white binder that was labeled, quote, statements and reflections to Allied strikes, according to the New York Post.

Bolton, a vocal Trump critic, is being investigated for allegedly violating two sections of the Espionage Act of 1917.

While he has yet to be charged with any crime, if the feds go after him on those two charges, he could face up to 25 years in prison.

More Americans are testing positive for fentanyl on random drug tests in the workplace.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the rate jumped from just under 1% in 2023 to 1.13% in 2024, and the rate has doubled since 2020.

The overall rate of positive screenings for all drugs has hovered around 4.5%.

Despite the apparent rise in fentanyl use around the country, overdose deaths actually declined for the first time last year, dropping by 2%.

President Trump and his advisors are weighing a shake-up for New York City politics.

According to sources close to the matter, Trump allies have floated nominating Mayor Eric Adams to be ambassador to Saudi Arabia.

That's a posting that could end his faltering re-election bid.

Billionaire adviser Steve Witcoff has been pushing the idea, reportedly even meeting Adams in Florida this week.

The White House has not confirmed the plan, and Adams insists he's still running.

But polls show his path to re-election is narrowing, and the ambassadorship would give him a high-profile exit.

Many of the biggest names in tech joined President Trump for dinner at the White House on Thursday.

The event featured business titans such as Apple's Tim Cook and Google's Sundar Pin Chai.

The dinner showcased the close relationship the White House and top tech companies have pursued.

The tech executives offered enthusiastic praise for the president, like this moment from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.

First of all, to echo the comments of Tim and others, thank you so much for getting us all together and thank you for being such a pro-business, pro-innovation president.

It's a very refreshing change.

And Elon Musk could become Earth's first trillionaire after Tesla offered a staggering pay package.

The offer is contingent on Musk hitting a dozen different milestones over the next 10 years.

That includes growing Tesla's market cap from $1.1 trillion to $8.5 trillion and putting more than 1 million Tesla Roba taxis on the road.

Hitting every benchmark would win Musk a 25% stake in the company.

That's up from his current 13%.

In a letter to shareholders, the chairwoman of Tesla's board wrote, quote, retaining and incentivizing Elon is fundamental to Tesla achieving its goals and becoming the most valuable company in history.

Those are 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 RFK's fiery Senate testimony, new gun restrictions being considered by the DOJ, and CBS catching plack for the latest case of deceptive editing.

Thanks for tuning in.

We'll be back tomorrow morning with a weekend edition of Morningwire.