Morning Wire
Black Sea Ceasefire & Signal Leak Hearing | Afternoon Update | 3.25.25
Tue, 25 Mar 2025
Ukraine and Russia move toward a full ceasefire, National Security officials answer to Congress over yesterday’s chat leak, and genetic testing giant 23andMe goes belly up. Developing stories you need to know just in time for your drive home. Get the facts first on Morning Wire. Old Glory Bank: Go to https://oldglorybank.com/wire today to open your account and put your money in the hands of people you can ACTUALLY trust.The Candle Club: Live Free & Smell Fancy with The Candle Club: https://thecandleclub.com/morningwire
Chapter 1: What is the main topic of this episode?
Ukraine and Russia move toward a full ceasefire. National security officials answer to Congress over yesterday's chat leak. And genetic testing giant 23andMe goes belly up. I'm Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Tuesday, March 25th, and this is your Morning Wire afternoon update.
The White House says Ukraine and Russia have taken a major step towards peace. Daily Wire Deputy Managing Editor Tim Rice has the latest.
Chapter 2: What progress has been made towards a Ukraine-Russia ceasefire?
Officials say both countries have agreed to stop military activity in the Black Sea, as well as strikes on energy infrastructure. The agreement reportedly comes as a result of talks in Saudi Arabia, where delegations met separately with American mediators. Ukraine's defense minister confirmed the deal, while Russia has yet to comment publicly.
The White House says both countries will eliminate the use of force in the Black Sea, though key details, including enforcement and the status of port infrastructure, remain unclear. Ukraine hopes the agreement will allow it to reopen frontline ports like Mykolaiv and Kherson, which were closed amid heavy fighting.
The deal also comes as Kyiv looks to protect its grain exports through a shipping corridor that bypasses Russian threats in the region.
Chapter 3: What are the implications of the Signal chat leak?
Top national security officials faced heated questions on Capitol Hill today. This comes after The Atlantic revealed a journalist was accidentally added to a Signal chat discussing U.S. military plans. CIA Director John Ratcliffe defended the use of Signal, saying it's a permitted tool, and insisted no classified information was shared.
It's permissible to use to communicate and coordinate for work purposes, provided, provided, Senator, that any decisions that are made are also recorded through formal channels. So those were procedures that were implemented. My staff implemented those processes, followed those processes, complied with those processes.
Chapter 4: How are national security officials responding to the Signal leak?
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard echoed that claim.
Senator, I can attest to the fact that there were no classified or intelligence equities that were included in that chat group at any time.
So the attack sequencing and timing and weapons and targets you don't consider should have been classified?
I defer to the Secretary of Defense and the National Security Council on that question.
Meanwhile, Democrats called the situation sloppy and incompetent. Here's Senator Michael Bennett.
This sloppiness, this incompetence, this disrespect for our intelligence agencies and the personnel who work for them is entirely unacceptable. It's an embarrassment.
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Chapter 5: What is President Trump's stance on the Signal leak controversy?
President Trump downplayed the controversy, saying National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, who had added the journalist, had learned a lesson and he's standing by his team.
Chapter 6: What legal actions is the Trump administration taking over deportation flights?
The Trump administration has invoked a legal doctrine known as state secrets privilege in a legal battle over the deportation flights. Daily Wire reporter Tim Pearce has more.
Attorney General Pam Bondi told a federal judge on Monday that revealing flight details tied to deportations would endanger national security. The move comes after federal Judge James Boasberg demanded more information on two recent flights to El Salvador. This comes after Boasberg blocked further deportation flights under the Alien Enemies Act, saying the migrants must first be granted hearings.
Bondi argues the court is overreaching and that national security concerns outweigh the need for disclosure. House Republicans, frustrated with the number of injunctions against Trump, plan to vote on the No Rogue Rulings Act next week. The bill aims to curb what Republicans call a judicial overreach that's stalling President Trump's second-term agenda. Here's Congressman Jim Jordan.
Two and a half weeks ago in the Judiciary Committee bill, we passed legislation which said instead of these federal district judges issuing injunction that applies to the entire country, we think it should be limited to the parties of the case in that respective jurisdiction. It's Congressman Issa's bill. It's a good piece of legislation. We passed it two and a half weeks ago.
Speaker Johnson's indicated he'd like to get this bill to the floor next week and move it through the process.
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A powerful sedative known as Trank or the zombie drug is once again making headlines. Experts say the drug Xylazine is being smuggled through the southern border and mixed with fentanyl. Xylazine is a veterinary tranquilizer that causes severe flesh wounds and puts users in a zombie-like state. It also doesn't respond to overdose reversal drugs like naloxone.
The DEA says Xylazine has been found in nearly a quarter of fentanyl powder seizures and is making the opioid crisis even more deadly.
Trump's Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is taking aim at pharmaceutical TV ads. Kennedy has long called for a ban on these ads, arguing that they mislead the public and skew media coverage. Here's Kennedy a few months ago.
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