Evening Wire: Fifth NYE Conspirator Charged & U.S. Blockades Venezuela | 12.17.25

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A fifth person is arrested in the alleged New Year's Eve terror plot. The U.S.
blockades Venezuelan oil tankers. And Warner Brothers warns shareholders to reject Paramount's hostile bid.

I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire executive editor John Bickley. It's Wednesday, December 17th, and this is Evening Wire.

Authorities have arrested a fifth person in connection with a plot to bomb immigration agents on New Year's Eve. Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce says the latest.

Law enforcement arrested Micah James Legnon in Louisiana on Saturday after messages tied him to alleged members of the radical leftist group Turtle Island Liberation Front.

Four alleged members of the front, described by authorities as anti-government and anti-capitalist, were arrested last week in connection with a plot to bomb five sites in Los Angeles and Orange County.

Legnon participated in chat groups under the monikers Kateri the Witch and Dark Witch She-Her.

Prosecutors produced messages that they said showed Legnon planned to to bomb sites in New Orleans at the same time the bombs were set to go off in California.

The criminal complaint unsealed yesterday says the raid on Legnon's home produced sniper training manuals, SWAT training manuals, assault rifles, and multiple rounds of ammunition.

He's been charged with one count of making threats in interstate commerce.

President Trump has initiated a total blockade of sanctioned Venezuelan oil tankers, declaring the Maduro regime a foreign terrorist organization.

In a statement on Truth Social, Trump wrote, quote, Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest armada ever assembled in the history of South America.

It will only get bigger and the shock to them will be like nothing they have ever seen before until such a time as they return to the United States of America all the oil, land, and other assets that they previously stole from us.

The stolen quote assets likely refer to U.S. oil interests in Venezuela that were seized by the government when their oil and gas industry was nationalized.

Officials in Australia say the 24-year-old involved in the ISIS-inspired attack on a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach will face terrorism and murder charges.

Naveed Akram and his father allegedly opened fire on hundreds of worshipers, killing 15 people and injuring dozens before police fatally shot the elder attacker and critically wounded the son.

Officials say the pair had recently returned from an area of the Philippines where ISIS has a heavy presence. It's there they allegedly received military-style training.

President Trump hosted a Hanukkah reception at the White House last night, using the event to reaffirm his support for Jewish Americans and denounce what he's called a rise in anti-Semitism.

Daily Wire foreign affairs reporter Cassia Kiva has more. Trump singled out Representative Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez and Representative Ilhan Omar, accusing them of promoting anti-Israel sentiment.

He also condemned those who denied the October 7th Hamas massacre, saying he had personally viewed the footage of the attacks.

Trump told the crowd his administration is deporting what he called foreign jihadist sympathizers at record levels.

A local rabbi, Levy Shemtov, praised Trump's support for the Jewish community before lighting the menorah, calling him the strongest friend Israel has ever had in the White House.

President Trump will address the nation from the White House at 9 p.m. Eastern tonight.

The president is closing in on the end of the first year of his second term, which has been marked by an aggressive agenda on immigration and foreign policy and unprecedented action on trade.

White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt says the address will focus on highlighting some of the administration's biggest accomplishments in 2025, while also, also, quote, teasing some policy that will be coming in the new year.

Nick Reiner has been formally charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the brutal slaying of his parents, director Rob Reiner and photographer and producer Michelle Singer-Reiner.

Daily Wire senior editor Joel Niedler has more.

Reiner was charged Tuesday with two counts of first-degree murder, with special circumstances attached because there were multiple murders and because he allegedly attacked with a deadly weapon, a knife.

The maximum sentence for those charges is life without the possibility of parole or the death penalty. But L.A.

County District Attorney Nathan Hockman said that his office has not yet decided if it would pursue the death penalty.

Hawkman said that his office has requested that Nick Reiner be held without bail, but he also said that, quote, charges are not evidence and that the suspect should still be allowed his day in court.

As the Brown University shooter remains at large, authorities and school officials are warning against what they call, quote, harmful speculation after a person linked to the university was doxxed.

Daily Wire assistant editor Andy Valdez reports. The university says that a member of their community experienced harmful doxing activity over public speculation around the shooting.

The school suggested that the individual's social media accounts were then taken down for safety reasons, but that's just led to even more online speculation.

In a statement, the university stressed that, quote, accusations, speculation, and conspiracies we're saying on social media and in some news reports are irresponsible, harmful, and in some cases dangerous for the safety of individuals in our community.

Meanwhile, officials have released images of a second person of interest who they have asked for help to identify.

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President Trump has expanded his travel ban to include five more countries following a wave of terror attacks across the globe. Daily Wire reporter Zach Jewell reports.

The president expanded the travel ban Tuesday to include Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan, and Syria. Travelers with documents from the Palestinian Authority will also be banned from entry.

Trump's proclamation calls for, quote, extreme vigilance during the visa issuance and immigration processes to identify and prevent foreign nationals who intend to harm Americans or our national interests.

It adds that the U.S.

government, quote, must ensure that admitted aliens do not intend to threaten its citizens, undermine or destabilize its culture, government institutions, or founding principles, or advocate for, aid, or support designated foreign terrorists or other threats to our national security.

Federal immigration agents will descend upon two new states as part of a continued operation to nab Somali illegal immigrants. Daily Wire immigration reporter Jenny Terror has the story.

A federal law enforcement source told the Daily Wire that over 200 ICE officers will deploy from across the country to Kansas and Ohio to make arrests.

The move comes as the Trump administration continues to target Somali illegal immigrants following reports of a massive fraud scheme in Minnesota.

The fraudsters, many of whom were Somali, stole billions from state welfare programs, funneling the cash through fake nonprofits and shell companies back to Somalia and even Somali terrorist group Al-Shabaab.

The administration responded by deploying more than 100 ICE officers to Minneapolis with orders to scoop up hundreds of illegal Somali immigrants who already have deportation orders.

Warner Brothers is likely to advise shareholders to reject Paramount's more than $100 billion offer. Daily Wire Culture reporter Megan Basham has more.
Paramount has offered to acquire Warner Bros.

Discovery at $30 a share, outbidding the standing Netflix offer of $27.75 per share.

Warner is warning its shareholders, however, that Paramount's financing may not be secure enough to bring the deal across the finish line. So it's advising investors to stick with the Netflix deal.

With a deadline of January 8th, Paramount still has some time to sweeten the offer should they choose to pursue it.

After regulators blocked its proposed sale to Amazon, iRobot, the American company that created the robotic vacuum Roomba, filed for bankruptcy this week.

Under the bankruptcy plan, iRobot's manufacturer Pysea will take all of the company's equity, shifting ownership from American to Chinese hands.

Initially, the company hoped to merge with Amazon to improve its scale and create more competitive pricing, but was blocked three years ago over antitrust laws. The bankruptcy leaves the U.S.

without a major American-owned competitor in the home robotics industry. Florida Florida has scored a significant victory in its effort to protect children from exposure to sexually explicit content.

Here's Daily Wire reporter Amanda Prestijacimo. The state can now enforce its 2023 law aimed at preventing minors from attending sexually explicit drag shows.
The 11th U.S.

Circuit Court of Appeals lifted a lower court injunction this week that had blocked enforcement of the law for nearly two years.

That allows Florida to move forward while the broader legal battle continues. The ruling applies statewide, with the lone exception of Hamburger Marys, the venue that initially challenged the law.

And the first teaser trailer for a new documentary on the First Lady of the U.S. dropped today.
The film, titled Melania, follows Mrs.

Trump during the 20 days leading up to President Trump's second inauguration.

The film's directed by Brett Ratner of Rush Hour fame and was licensed by Amazon as part of a $40 million deal signed in January. Here's a bit of the trailer:

Everyone wants to know.

So here it is.

Hi, Mr. President.
Congratulations. Did you watch it? I did not.
Yeah, I will see it on the news.

Those are 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 President Trump suing the BBC as the White House rebuffs a new media scandal, newly declassified documents raising new questions about the Mar-a-Lago raid, and the latest on the University of Michigan scandal.

Thanks for tuning in. We'll be back tomorrow morning with another full edition of Morningwire.

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