Evening Wire: LA News Helicopter Crashes & The EU Courts Canada? | 9.16.26

What if a few minutes with God could change the direction of your entire day with pray.com you can begin each morning with powerful daily prayers inspiring Bible stories and messages created to strengthen your faith whether you need peace encouragement or a fresh start pray.com helps you make prayer part of your everyday life. Download the pray.com app today. The war in the Middle East continues to spread with new attacks against Saudi Arabia a helicopter crash in Los Angeles kills three people and the EU courts Canada to become what it's calling an associate member. I'm Georgia Howe with daily wire executive editor John Bickley. It's Wednesday September 16th and this is evening wire. The Middle East war spreads as Saudi Arabia attacks Yemen while the Houthis claim new attacks on Saudi oil facilities. Foreign Affairs reporter Cassia Kiva has the latest. An American contracted ship was struck by Iran in the state of her moves by a projectile which caused minor injuries. US personnel were on board. Saudi Arabia has also fired a Chinese made ballistic missile in Yemen for the first time. The Wall Street Journal reports that debris from a Chinese made Dongfang 15 was found in Yemen as Saudi forces battling Iran bathed Houthi terrorists. Houthis have continued to step up their attacks on Saudi Arabia and its oil facilities but they say they do not intend to draw the US or Israel into its new conflict. And Saudi Arabia Jordan Kuwait and the Arab League are condemning the alleged Houthi attempt to target Mecca with a drone. The Houthis deny targeting the Holy City though videos show sirens going off. China is also vowing to protect Iran's quote "legitimate rights and interests." Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi made the statement while meeting with his Iranian counterpart. President Trump is expected to meet with Chinese president Xi Jinping at the White House next week. Seven House Republicans broke with President Trump on Tuesday night joining Democrats to pass a resolution petitioning him to end the war in Iran. The 220 to 204 vote is the third time since June the House is voted to end the war but none of the measures has made it past the Senate. Supporters of the measure, which included Kentucky Congressman Thomas Massey, argued that the War Powers Act requires congressional approval for the war after 90 days. The Trump administration says the two-week ceasefire that was declared in late April reset that clock. House Speaker Mike Johnson said before the vote that the conflict was entering quote a new phase with the U.S. focus shifting to stabilizing the region with the help of allies. Three people were killed yesterday when a local news helicopter crashed in Los Angeles while filming the scene of a deadly bus collision. The NBC Los Angeles helicopter came down between two commercial buildings and erupted into flames setting several vehicles on fire. Authorities identified the broadcaster in pilot as among the three deaths with the third victim likely being a pedestrian. The National Transportation Safety Board has yet to determine an official cause of the crash and is actively investigating the accident. The family of Charlie Kirk has signaled they may sue Utah Valley University. Kirk's family has filed a notice of claim with the Utah Attorney General citing a series of stunning failures and reckless decisions by Utah Valley University, which they claim contributed to Kirk's death. The claim alleges the university failed to perform a quote meaningful risk assessment as well as failed to provide sufficient security resources. The university has previously stated that just six police officers were assigned to the event which hosted a crowd of more than 3,000. Filing a notice of claim does not necessarily mean that the family will sue against the school, but preserves the statute of limitations from expiration. According to new undercover footage obtained by the Daily Wire, a female minister at James Teleriko's longtime Austin Church believes the Democrat is misleading the public in an attempt to flip Texas Blue. Reporter Jacob Wheeler has the details. Reverend Babs Miller, minister to the parish at St. Andrews Presbyterian Church, was caught making stunning admissions about Teleriko's political makeover as he seeks to win over conservative-minded Texas moderates. The newfound shift includes striking new positions, including support for a national ban on gender transition surgeries for minors, and opposition to transgender athletes competing in girls' sports when he believes it threatened safety or fairness. But Miller suggests that Teleriko is under pressure to moderate his past positions and will eventually revert to his embrace of the movement's most extreme elements if he flips Texas. Miller was caught telling an undercover journalist quote, "I can guarantee you that once he gets elected, he'll change his tune back to where he was." Truth is under attack. Lies about gender and the sanctity of life still dominate in our culture, threatening Americans' rights, your rights. Alliance defending freedom is fighting in courtrooms around the country for your freedom to speak and live the truth. But they rely on friends like you to do this work. Your gift to ADF today will be matched by a limited time grant while funds last. Visit joinadf.com/wire or text wire-to-83848. American Idol is leaving California. Entertainment reporter Amanda Harding has the story. The phrase "you're going to Hollywood no longer applies as American Idol packs their bags and heads to Atlanta ahead of the 25th season." The move follows a long-time trend of productions leaving California largely due to high tax rates and regulations. Georgia, in contrast, offers a 30% tax credit for unscripted and reality TV production. A report from the rap highlights L.A.'s dramatic filming decline. In the second quarter of 2019, L.A. recorded just over 8,600 shoot days, which was already a dramatic low at the time. This year, in a continuing downward trend, the same quarter reported only 4,700. California has begun to roll out their own tax credits to try and hang on to their historic film tradition, but the effort may be too little too late. A small Texas police department is being shut down after a state investigation found it failed to meet minimum law enforcement standards mere months after its officers arrested a local mother over a Facebook post. The Texas Commission on Law Enforcement notified Trinidad Mayor Dennis Haas on September 9th that the city's license to operate its own police department was being revoked. Investigators determined that the department "failed to meet minimum standards" and "was unable to provide evidence that the agency provides public benefit to the community." The decision comes after the five officer department became the center of a national controversy in May when officers arrested Jennifer Combs and jailed her overnight over a Facebook post concerning Trinidad's water supply. Combs had written about reports of hospitalizations of citizens after drinking the city's water. Police charged her with felony false alarm or report, arguing that the post had created "fear, panic, or unnecessary emergency response within a community." The charge was later dropped after a Henderson County grand jury declined to indict her. The village of Pittington, England has overwhelmingly voted to secede from the UK in protest against a proposed migrant camp. Associate producer Garrett Fanteam has the latest. The UK government recently released plans to erect a newly arrived migrant facility next to the village. The facility would hold as many as 3,500 migrants compared to Pittington's population of just 350 citizens. Most of those migrants would be recently arrived young men. The residents of Pittington held the largely symbolic vote on Monday with 92 percent of residents voting to secede. Following the vote the chairman of Pittington Parish Council Tim McNally said, quote, "It is a message to the government that you are going to have to change. You are going to have to grow into our way of thinking. We are formerly the village known as Pittington. Today, we are to be known as the Principality of Pittington, and we will be putting up a sign to that effect. As third world migration into the UK increases, the UK government has made a point to relocate arrivals away from the poorer urban areas, attempting to spread them throughout the country. A spokesperson for Prime Minister Andy Burnham recently stated that relocating migrants into middle-class areas should be a, quote, point of principle. And that residents of those areas must, quote, do their bit in supporting migrants. The European Union has invited Canada to work toward becoming its first, quote, associate member as both sides see closer ties amid strain relations with the U.S. European Commission President Ursula Vonderland propose the partnership during a speech alongside Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, citing cooperation on Arctic security, defense, manufacturing, and critical minerals. The two sides plan to develop concrete proposals at a summit in October, but experts say the move is largely symbolic for now. And in stranger news, the world champion Squirrel Cookoff returned to Arkansas this September, bringing roughly 30 teams together to compete with creative squirrel dishes, from squirrel ice cream to stove top recipes alongside a squirrel skinning contest, and the world's hottest squirrel eating competition. The free family-friendly event now in its 15th year began in 2012 when Ozark's personality Joe Wilson invented the idea of a squirrel cookoff to impress television producers, then rushed to turn the fictional event into a real one in just three weeks. What started as a small gathering in Bentonville has since grown into a major annual celebration of wild game cooking and outdoor life. So I'm going to pass on that, John, maybe you? Oh, it's not going to happen. All right, this is your drive home updates to learn more about these stories. Go to dailywire.com, and in case you missed it earlier today, we covered some major stories, including the FBI stopping an ISIS-inspired terror plot before it could start. The Trump administration charging a dozen fake daycares for $10 million in fraud, and a Catholic family's custom battle with the state over their daughter for refusing to call her a boy. Thanks for tuning in, we'll be back tomorrow morning with another full edition of Morningwire. What if a few minutes with God could change the direction of your entire day? With pray.com, you can begin each morning with powerful daily prayers, inspiring Bible stories, and messages created to strengthen your faith. Whether you need peace, encouragement, or a fresh start, pray.com helps you make prayer part of your everyday life. Download the pray.com app today.