Overview of Evening Wire: USA Grabs Gold & Ghislaine Pleads The Fifth | 2.9.26
This edition of The Daily Wire’s Evening Wire (Feb 9, 2026) covers a wide set of headlines: Team USA’s early Winter Olympics success, an update in the search for 84‑year‑old Nancy Guthrie and her family’s plea, Ghislaine Maxwell invoking the Fifth during a House Oversight hearing, fallout from newly revealed Epstein links in the U.K., international political developments (Japan, Hong Kong, Armenia), several U.S. domestic items (Brooklyn power outage and mayoral controversy, a telehealth drug rollback, military flyover changes), and the unexpectedly large viewership of the TPUSA All‑American halftime show.
Top headlines (quick summary)
- Olympics: U.S. wins golds in women’s downhill (Breezy Johnson) and mixed team figure skating; U.S. sits third in golds at the Milan Games.
- Nancy Guthrie (missing, 84): fourth family video plea released; $6 million Bitcoin ransom deadline passed; no suspect identified.
- Ghislaine Maxwell: invoked Fifth Amendment repeatedly before the House Oversight Committee; conditioned testimony on clemency for her 20‑year sentence.
- U.K. fallout: Prime Minister’s chief of staff resigned amid revelations linking former ambassador Peter Mandelson to Epstein (payments and shared information alleged).
- Japan: Conservative leader won a landslide parliament victory, promising stronger U.S. ties, higher defense spending, and economic stimulus.
- Hong Kong: Publisher Jimmy Lai sentenced to 20 years under national security law; several ex‑Apple Daily staff sentenced as well.
- Venezuela: U.S. forces captured a Venezuelan tanker in the Indian Ocean after a month‑long pursuit — the eighth such seizure since the embargo enforcement began.
- TPUSA halftime show: streamed to millions (6.1M on YouTube live + ~1M on Charlie Kirk’s channel), promoted as a patriotic alternative to the Super Bowl halftime show.
- Domestic U.S.: Brooklyn power outages during extreme cold; NYC mayor criticized for comments defending a knife suspect after police shooting.
- Health/Pharma: HIMS withdraws a compounded pill version of the GLP‑1 drug Wegovy following FDA warnings.
- Military: F‑22 Raptors pulled from Super Bowl flyover at last minute for operational missions.
- Politics: Former Green Beret Anthony Aguilar, whose Gaza incident claims were discredited, is running for Congress in NC‑13.
- Diplomacy: VP J.D. Vance visited Armenia to sign a U.S.–Armenia civil nuclear agreement and announce potential U.S. investment and drone shipments.
Olympics update
- Notable U.S. results: Breezy Johnson won gold in women’s downhill; U.S. mixed figure skating team also captured gold (skaters included Madison Chock, Evan Bates, Alyssa Liu, Ilya Malinin).
- Historical note: Since 1924 Team USA has accumulated 330 Winter Olympic medals, including 114 golds.
- Current standing (Milan Games): U.S. in third place for gold medals, behind Norway and Switzerland.
Nancy Guthrie case — latest
- The family released a fourth video (Savannah Guthrie) that appears unscripted; the message is a public plea for tips and help rather than addressing the ransom note directly.
- Key facts: Nancy Guthrie is 84. A ransom demand for 6 million Bitcoin had a deadline (Monday, 5 PM MT); police say no suspect/person of interest yet.
- Where to follow: Daily Wire’s true‑crime series “Finding Nancy Guthrie” (Spotify, Apple, Daily Wire).
Ghislaine Maxwell and U.K. Epstein fallout
- Maxwell: Invoked the Fifth Amendment repeatedly before the House Oversight Committee. She has said she would give a full account only if granted clemency for her 20‑year sentence; President Trump said he “has not thought about it.”
- U.K.: Morgan McSweeney (PM’s chief of staff) resigned amid pressure after new Epstein files linked former UK ambassador Peter Mandelson to Epstein — emails purportedly show Mandelson shared confidential info and received payments ($75,000 reported for 2003–2004). Political fallout includes calls for broader responsibility on appointments.
International developments
- Japan: The conservative leader (transcript names vary) called an early election and won a landslide, securing a supermajority in the lower house and pledging closer U.S. ties, higher defense spending, and economic stimulus.
- Hong Kong: Jimmy Lai (Apple Daily publisher) sentenced to 20 years under the national security law; six former Apple Daily employees also received prison terms (6–10 years). U.S. State Department condemned the sentencing and called for Lai’s release.
- Venezuela: U.S. captured an oil tanker in the Indian Ocean after a month‑long pursuit — cited as the eighth tanker seized under the current embargo enforcement.
- Armenia: VP J.D. Vance became the highest‑ranking U.S. official to visit Armenia while in office, signing a civil nuclear agreement with PM Nikol Pashinyan; potential $9 billion in U.S. investment and an $11 million drone shipment were announced.
U.S. domestic news highlights
- Brooklyn power outage: Con Ed customers (including >1,000 in Bushwick) experienced extended outages during extremely cold weather; many sought shelter in hotels or warming centers.
- NYC mayor controversy: Mayor Zoran Mamdani faced criticism after defending a knife suspect involved in a police shooting during a mental‑health incident (suspect identified as Jabez Chakraborty in the report).
- Telehealth/weight‑loss drugs: HIMS removed a compounded pill form of the GLP‑1 Wegovy after FDA warnings; regulators are concerned about safety, quality and legality of compounding GLP‑1 drugs.
- Military flyover: F‑22 Raptors were pulled from the Super Bowl flyover at the last minute for unspecified operational needs amid increased global missions.
- TPUSA All‑American Halftime Show: reported viewership of 6.1 million on the YouTube live stream plus ~1 million on Charlie Kirk’s channel; lineup included Kid Rock, Brantley Gilbert, Lee Brice, and Gabby Barrett.
Notable quotes
- Savannah Guthrie (plea regarding her mother): “We believe our mom is still out there. We need your help… If you see anything, you hear anything… report to law enforcement. We are at an hour of desperation.”
- Ghislaine Maxwell (public position summarized): she will “give a full account” only if guaranteed clemency for her sentence.
- VP J.D. Vance on Armenia agreement: “We’re not just making peace for Armenia. We’re also creating real prosperity for Armenia and the United States together.”
Where to get more
- For deeper coverage of the Nancy Guthrie case: Daily Wire’s “Finding Nancy Guthrie” series (Spotify, Apple, Daily Wire).
- Full story updates and related reporting are available at dailywire.com.
Sponsors/ads mentioned
- Mint Mobile (extended holiday 50% off unlimited offer for new customers).
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- BrickHouse Nutrition / Lean (weight‑loss supplement; promo code: WIRE).
If you want, I can produce a one‑page timeline of the Nancy Guthrie case or compile all quotes and source links from the segment into a quick reference sheet.