Wednesday Afternoon Update: Zelensky In D.C., $1.7 Trillion Omnibus Advances, DEA Seized Enough Fentanyl To Kill Every American In 2022

This article is a companion piece to today’s Morning Wire Afternoon Update. To listen to the podcast version, click here.

Biden Administration Sending More Assistance To Ukraine

The Biden administration announced today it is sending $1.85 billion in aid to Ukraine comprised of $1 billion in military equipment and $850 million in funding. The announcement came just hours before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky landed in Washington, D.C., where he met with President Joe Biden. This evening, Zelensky will address congressional members on Capitol Hill, reportedly to ask for more weapons.

$1.7 Trillion Omnibus Advances

The Senate on Tuesday advanced a massive 4,155-page spending package totaling nearly $1.7 trillion by a 70-25 vote with 21 Republicans lending their support. Conservative critics claim the bill is loaded with pork and doesn’t properly address America’s most pressing issues.

House Ways and Means Committee Votes To Release Trump Taxes

The House Ways and Means Committee voted along party lines on Tuesday to release years of former President Donald Trump’s tax returns.

DEA Seized Enough Fentanyl To Kill Every American In 2022

The Drug Enforcement Administration announced that it seized enough fentanyl so far this year to kill every single American citizen, comprised of 50.6 million fake prescription pills laced with fentanyl, along with more than 10,000 pounds of fentanyl powder, with two weeks left in the calendar year 2022. That amounts to more than 379 million lethal doses of fentanyl.

Musk Announces What’s Next For Twitter

Elon Musk announced Tuesday that he will be stepping away as the head of Twitter. On Tuesday night, he tweeted, “I will resign as CEO as soon as I find someone foolish enough to take the job! After that, I will just run the software & servers teams.”

California Earthquake Kills At Least Two

Two deaths and 12 injuries have been reported in association with the 6.4 magnitude earthquake in Northern California yesterday. More than 14,000 families are still without power in Humboldt County.

Today Is The Winter Solstice

And today is the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year. From here on out, the days are going to start getting longer and brighter.

To listen to the audio version of this podcast, click here. For more in-depth discussion of the biggest stories of the day, listen to the latest full episode of Morning Wire every morning.