Evening Wire: President Xi Arrives In Washington & Category 5 Hurricane Approaches Mexico | 9.23.26

Okay, first, before we give you the facts of the day, Run, Hide, Fight Infidels is streaming now only on Daily Wire. It's an ode to the great action movies of the 80s and 90s. There's even a love story which nobody expected. And you can support Daily Wire's mission to continue making movies that people actually want to watch. Go check it out. 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. A Category 5 hurricane is being tracked off the coast of Mexico. President Xi visits Washington, D.C. for a three-day trip. And Dolly Parton's estate accuses the country icon's nephew of trying to destroy the brand. I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire Executive Editor John Bickley. It's Wednesday, September 23rd, and this is Evening Wire. Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Washington today for his third face-to-face meeting with President Trump since the start of his second term. Daily Wire contributor Tim Pierce has the latest. Trump met Xi on the tarmac at Andrews Air Force Base before taking part in a ceremony that marked Xi's first day in office. Trump met Xi on the tarmac at Andrews Air Force Base for the first time in the U.S. in over a decade. According to the White House schedule, most of the agenda and festivities will take place tomorrow. After Xi arrives at the White House, the two leaders will go into the Rose Garden for a welcoming ceremony that will involve 500 U.S. soldiers and a military flyover. They'll then head into bilateral talks, and then in the evening, Trump will host Xi and the Chinese delegation to a state dinner in the White House's East Room. Xi is scheduled to leave Washington on Friday after a visit to National Archives to see the U.S. founding documents. Now, relations between the U.S. and China have been strained lately over issues that include trade, AI, and the future of Taiwan, and Trump's lavish reception for the Chinese dictator has drawn criticism from fellow Republicans. Here with Senator Roger Wicker, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. But Mr. President, during every minute of dialogue, our commander-in-chief should keep in mind that his guest is a brutal, unelected, and oppressive dictator who seeks to dominate his neighbors and whose massive military arsenal is aimed directly at the United States of America. Hurricane Polo, located off Mexico's southern coast, is one of the strongest storms to appear over the Pacific in decades. A Tuesday notice from the Miami-based National Hurricane Center clocked Polo's wind speeds at a sustained 165 miles per hour. A notice this morning said that Polo's average wind speed had slowed slightly to 150, but the cyclone is still capable of strong gusts and is sending tropical storm force winds out over 100 miles from its center. Polo is forecast to be near Mexico's southwest coast for the next day or two. Though models suggest the storm will remain offshore while it continues to move west-northwest. Tropical storm watches and warnings have been issued for several areas along Mexico's coast. The U.S. and Iran are back in talks, but Iran's president is warning that Tehran will not surrender its nuclear ambitions. Foreign Affairs reporter Kassia Kiva has the latest. The U.S. and Iran held three hours of indirect talks on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, with envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner communicating with Iranian officials through mediators. The meeting came just one day after Trump threatened to annihilate the Iranian regime if a deal could not be reached. Iranian President Massoud Peshikshan responded in his own U.N. speech Wednesday, defending Iran's nuclear program as peaceful and about progress, and saying Tehran will not give it up. The American delegation walked out during his speech on Wednesday, saying that Iran's nuclear program is peaceful and about progress, and saying as he accused the U.S. of terrorism. Towards the end of his speech, the regime leader said, quote, the resistance of the Iranian people will only increase in response to sanctions, increased pressure, and increased bullying. He added, we will never bow our head or bend the knee. On Tuesday, President Trump met Venezuela's Delcy Rodriguez for the first time since she took over as acting president of her country. The two met in New York, where dozens of world leaders have gathered for the 2026 U.N. General Assembly. Rodriguez and Trump have a unique connection in that he is directly responsible for her rise to lead Venezuela's government. Trump had Venezuela's former president, Nicolas Maduro, captured and extradited to the U.S. earlier this year, where he now faces charges that include narco-terrorism and gun smuggling. Rodriguez touted the meeting on social media, writing that the U.S. and Venezuela will continue to work together on issues such as energy, mining, security, and other matters of mutual interest. Joe Biden's COVID era, quote, remote trucking inspections have been officially scrapped. Immigration report. Reporter Ginny Ter has the story. The Trump administration has ended a COVID era policy that allowed federal regulators to inspect trucking companies remotely instead of visiting their facilities in person. An internal Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration memo obtained by the Daily Wire says remote audits limited investigators' ability to fully assess a carrier's safety practices, while the agency is now requiring meaningful in-person inspections except in limited circumstances. The policy change follows a 2021 Kansas crash in which a truck carrying metal pipes struck multiple vehicles and killed one person. A later investigation found the driver had an expired medical certificate, was lacking an up-to-date annual inspection, and had several load securement violations. Transgender procedures for young people are being shut down at major hospitals thanks to the Trump administration's pressure. Daily Wire investigative reporter Meg Brock has more. The Justice Department has secured deals with at least half a dozen major hospitals to stop providing gender transition operations for young people. The hospitals agreed to pay fines, and several agreed to offer free guidance for any patients who want to detransition. In exchange, the Justice Department has halted wide-ranging investigations into potential medical malpractice and extortionate business practices at those hospitals. The Trump administration has labeled medically assisted youth gender mutual aid services as illegal, and they're not the only ones that are doing it. The Trump administration has labeled medically assisted youth gender mutual aid services offer free guidance for any patients who want to detransition. The Trump administration has labeled medically assisted youth gender mutilation abusive, and the settlements are a major victory for the government that has sought to curb those operations across two dozen states where they are allowed. In a surprising attempt to support the insanity defense in the Lindsay Clancy case, The View's Sunny Hostin revealed she had been the holdout juror in the infamous 1991 Daniel Rakowitz case. Rakowitz, also known as the Butcher of Tompkins Square, was a known drug dealer and eccentric who carried around a Bible and live rooster while making wild threats. He ended up slaughtering his roommate Monica Beerlay, a 26-year-old dance student, in 1989. He was accused of dismembering her body and boiling her head for soup, which he then said he served to the homeless. Hostin said, We were sequestered for nine days. One juror threw a chair at me. They were so angry with me, but one by one, I picked them off and said, what about this? What about that? And we ended up, all 12, unanimously voting that he was not criminally responsible. She wrapped up her comments saying, but he is still in a mental institution being treated. Olympic gymnast Simone Biles revealed that three masked men broke into her Chicago home during her final months in the city and stole her Porsche GTS. The Olympic gymnast came to the scene and said, She casually dropped the story while filming a TikTok about shopping for a new car, saying, the things that happened to me are absolute insanity, and joking that she could use a reality show. Biles said police eventually recovered the Porsche, but she's still buying a new car, and she revealed that the burglary was one reason why she and her husband Jonathan Owens got a Doberman. She says she may eventually share the full story of the break-in. Dolly Parton's estate has accused the late icon's nephew of threatening to destroy her legacy. Entertainment reporter Amanda, Harding, has the details. Court documents filed in Nashville this week have revealed discord within Dolly Parton's estate. The filings center around Brian Seaver, Parton's nephew and former head of security. Seaver, who was chosen by the late singer to publicly announce her passing, reportedly sent increasingly threatening messages to the executors of Dolly's estate, prompting the estate to file for restraining orders. Dolly's estate is managed by an entity named She's Alive, headed by her longtime manager Danny Nozel. Court filings from She's Alive include messages from Seaver in which he threatens to intentionally ruin Dolly's legacy if he is not paid. The exact nature of Seaver's financial claims to the estate are unknown at this time. And Harvey Weinstein was sentenced to 15 years in prison Wednesday for sexually assaulting former Project Runway production assistant Miriam Haley in 2006. Weinstein was convicted in 2025 after his original 2020 New York conviction was overturned by the state's highest court in 2024. He's also serving a 16-year sentence in California for sexual assault, while a separate New York rape charge was dropped, after jurors deadlocked earlier this year. Weinstein apologized to Haley in court, but continued to maintain he was innocent. All right, those are 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 President Trump's big speech before the UN, Vice President Vance's anti-fraud task force targeting Obamacare enrollments, and more details coming to light about the man behind a high-dollar scam that hit NFL star Travis Kelsey. Thanks for tuning in. We'll be back tomorrow, with another full edition of Morning Wire. to strengthen your faith. Download the Pray.com app today.