Trump and Macron discuss Ukraine, Colony Ridge gets raided by ICE, and Apple refuses to let the UK spy on its users. Get the facts first with Morning Wire.Jeremy’s Razors: Visit https://jeremysrazors.com to get your Precision 5 Razor + Precision 5 Razor Box today.Shopify: Go to https://Shopify.com/morningwire to sign up for your $1 per month trial period and upgrade your selling today.
Chapter 1: What did Trump and Macron discuss about the Ukraine war?
President Trump meets with French President Macron in the Oval Office about ending the Ukraine war.
We're working on deals right now. In particular, the big one is to get the war stopped.
How did the meeting go, and will Ukraine pay the U.S. back for the aid given?
I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief John Bickley. It's Tuesday, February 25th, and this is Morning Wire. Federal and state agents team up to raid illegal immigrant haven Colony Ridge.
Chapter 2: What happened during the Colony Ridge raid by ICE?
For years, Colony Ridge was a no-go zone for federal ICE agents and federal officers. Today, that is not the case. It is a go zone.
And Apple pledges a $500 billion investment in the U.S. and refuses to spy on its users.
Chapter 3: Why is Apple refusing to let the UK spy on its users?
This is a British government asking an American company to undermine the privacy and security of users who might not even be American or British. It's a very bizarre situation.
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Chapter 4: How is the U.S. planning to secure Ukraine's future?
On the third anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Donald Trump hosted French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss Europe's role in ending the conflict.
Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips is here with more. So Cabot, Trump hosted Macron at the White House yesterday, but just last week Macron convened a meeting of European leaders about how to handle Trump. So how did yesterday's meeting go?
Yeah, it's definitely worth noting the meeting comes at a tumultuous time for America-Europe relations. But on Monday, Macron, who in the past has called Trump brain-dead, struck a much friendlier tone, calling him a personal friend and commending him for working on a deal to end the war.
Trump, for his part, called Macron a very special man in my book and assured him that any peace deal would benefit Europe. Now, one of the president's biggest gripes with Europe is that they have not done enough to fund their own defense, as well as Ukraine's. But on Monday, Macron said he and other leaders were ready to step up.
Europe is willing to step up, to be a stronger partner, to do more in defense and security for its continent.
As part of that effort, Macron said he and other European leaders would be willing to send troops to Ukraine to serve as peacekeepers once a deal is presumably reached. Russian President Vladimir Putin had initially expressed opposition to the idea of more European boots on the ground in Ukraine. But Trump said Monday that Putin would accept those terms.
Yeah, he will accept that. I've asked him that question. If we do this deal, he's not looking for more war. He doesn't mind. But I've specifically asked him that question. He has no problem with it.
Well, and Trump also says that he's close to a deal with Ukraine that would offer some economic reparations. What's the latest there?
Yeah, Trump says once a deal is reached with Moscow, the Ukrainians must find a way to pay the U.S. back for the $100 billion-plus we've poured into protecting them. He wants access primarily to the country's vast oil and mineral reserves, along with a cut of revenue from future energy deals there. Zelensky was initially opposed to that idea, saying, quote, I cannot sell our country.
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Chapter 5: What is the controversy surrounding the email to federal employees?
Yeah, for those who missed it, over the weekend, tens of thousands of federal workers began receiving an email from the Office of Personnel Management asking them to justify their employment by listing off what they had accomplished the previous week. Those emails came with the subject line, what did you do last week?
And read, please reply to this email with approximately five bullets of what you accomplished last week and cc your manager. That message came shortly after an ex-post from Elon Musk saying, quote, failure to respond will be taken as a resignation. Now, Democrats expressed outrage at the email saying it was a form of intimidation against the federal workforce, but Trump stood by it.
I thought it was great. By asking the question, tell us what you did this week, what he's doing is saying, are you actually working? And then if you don't answer, like, you're sort of semi-fired or you're fired because a lot of people are not answering because they don't even exist.
It's worth noting there were a number of agencies which directed their employees not to respond, including the Defense Department, State Department and FBI. New Director Kash Patel sent a bureau wide email telling employees to, quote, pause any responses, saying they'll handle reviews internally. Trump says those working on confidential matters like the FBI and State Department would be exempt.
All right. Well, Cabot, thanks for reporting.
Anytime.
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Several federal and state agencies raided the Colony Ridge housing development on Monday. The development is known for catering to illegal immigrants by offering loans with no U.S. documentation.
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Chapter 6: What are the benefits of Shopify for businesses?
The development encourages people to, quote, own land in the United States and allows buyers to purchase property by using a taxpayer identification number rather than a social security number. A clever loophole if you're looking to attract illegal aliens. Their strategies have come under scrutiny and even provoked lawsuits from the Department of Justice and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
But there's no denying that the development's tactics have sparked rapid growth. And the development has also attracted numerous criminals into the area, with many being caught in the last month.
Tell us about that, the criminal activity that we've seen there recently.
There's been a long list of illegal alien crimes in the development. Two illegal alien murder suspects who were wanted by the international police for murder were both caught living there. And a Guatemalan human smuggler, who the feds say was responsible for a mass casualty event, had purchased multiple properties at the development.
Colony Ridge CEO John Harris just recently claimed that crime is a non-issue at the development. And then days later, three illegal aliens were arrested, resulting in a major drug bust. Law enforcement found that the previously deported illegal alien had 344 pounds of meth stashed away in a trailer at his Colony Ridge property.
And just before that bust, an illegal alien pled guilty to luring a woman into the development before shooting and killing her along with two accomplices. Todd Benzman is a senior national security fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies. And he told me that these raids are particularly significant given that the area had previously been under-policed. Here's what Benzman had to say.
I think that the obvious immediate impact is that illegal aliens are not going to be as interested in buying and investing in that area if they know that there's a pretty good chance that ICE is going to be lurking around and pick them up and send them home.
Now you've reported on some developments on the legislative front. What's the latest there?
So the area surrounding Colony Ridge is represented in the Texas State House by Representative Janice Holt. She took the seat of Ernest Bales, who was ousted by voters in the primary after we reported on his financial ties to Colony Ridge. Representative Holt recently introduced legislation that would allow the state government to more accurately document land sales.
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