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

Ex-Twitter Execs Testify

Congress held its first hearing on Twitter’s alleged censorship of conservative viewpoints on Wednesday. Several former high-level executives testified, including the Former Head of Trust & Safety at Twitter, Yoel Roth, as well as legal counsel Vijaya Gadde and Jim Baker. The hearing centered around Twitter’s decision to censor the New York Post’s 2020 story about Hunter Biden’s “laptop from hell”:

Yoel Roth on the Hunter Biden laptop story:

"Twitter made a mistake … I have been clear that in my judgment at the time, Twitter should not have taken action to block the New York Post's reporting."

Read more, via @alanagoodman:https://t.co/ziaOkl63Pu pic.twitter.com/ljW4DwwcIf

— Washington Free Beacon (@FreeBeacon) February 8, 2023

Former FBI official/Twitter counsel Jim Baker can't answer if he talked to the FBI about Hunter's laptop: "I don’t recall speaking to the FBI sitting here today." pic.twitter.com/SJoZR5ivWS

— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) February 8, 2023

Chinese Spy Balloon Part Of Larger Program?

U.S. Intelligence has reportedly linked the Chinese spy balloon that was shot down this past weekend to a vast surveillance program being conducted by the Chinese military against numerous foreign nations. According to a Washington Post report, the balloon surveillance program has targeted military assets in several rival countries including Japan, India, Vietnam, Taiwan, and the Philippines.

Syrian Rescue Teams Continue Search

Rescue teams in Turkey and Syria continued searching rubble Wednesday following the world’s deadliest earthquake in over a decade. More than 11,000 have been confirmed dead. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited the especially hard-hit Hatay province, where more than 3,300 people died and entire neighborhoods were destroyed. Residents there have criticized the government’s response, saying rescuers were slow to arrive.

Did The U.S. Bomb The Nord Stream Pipelines?

Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Seymour Hersh reported today on substack that U.S. Navy diving teams bombed the Nord Stream pipelines in coordination with Norway in September. According to Hersh, the plan to attack the Nord Stream was initiated prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. A White House spokesperson responded within hours, calling the report “false and complete fiction.” A CIA spokesperson said the claim was “completely and utterly false.”

Zelenksy Meets With British Prime Minister, King

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky traveled to London today to meet with the British prime minister, as well as King Charles III. Zelensky is requesting dozens of fighter jets from the West in order to fight the Russian aggressors. Zelenksy will also meet with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Paris on Wednesday.

Gender-Neutral God?

The liturgical commission of the Church of England has begun looking into changing prayers and other parts of the liturgy by referring to God in a gender-neutral way. Currently, the Christian church refers to God in the masculine form, but leaders told the media that might need to be changed to better reflect God’s essence.

“Christians have recognized since ancient times that God is neither male nor female, yet the variety of ways of addressing and describing God found in scripture has not always been reflected in our worship,” a church representative told British media.

AMC Theatre Introducing New Ticket Pricing Structure

Many critics, including celebrities, are weighing in on the new AMC Theatres pricing structure, which would charge more for better seats at the movies. For example, “Lord of the Rings” actor Elijah Wood recently commented on the situation, saying he believed charging more for preferable locations was unfair to individuals with less discretionary income.

“The movie theater is and always has been a sacred democratic space for all,” Wood tweeted. The pricing change, he said, would “essentially penalize people for lower-income and reward for higher income.”

A spokesman for AMC responded to the criticism, saying every seat “delivers an amazing moviegoing experience,” but the tiered pricing allows customers to choose a specific seat.

LeBron Breaks Scoring Record

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James broke the NBA’s all-time scoring record Tuesday night in a loss to the Oklahoma city Thunder. Kareem Abdul Jabar, the now former record holder, was in attendance for the historic night. James now stands alone with 38,390 points in his career. Here’s the radio call of the bucket that put him on top:

Here is another look at the radio call from the @Lakers when LeBron James broke all time points record in @NBA history, radio broadcast courtesy of 710LA ESPN Radio pic.twitter.com/olK8liUyVl

— Braydyn Lents (@LentsBraydyn) February 8, 2023

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Republican Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee proposed this week the allocation of $100 million in state funds to help women facing a “crisis pregnancy,” including resources for crisis pregnancy centers. 

Lee made the comments during his State of the State address on Monday, saying that the funding was a necessary part of the state’s commitment to pro-life values. If approved by the state legislature, the grants will be awarded to various nonprofit organizations. 

“This year, I’m proposing a $100 million grant program to partner with nonprofits that serve mothers, fathers, and families during a crisis pregnancy,” Lee said during his speech. “Our Office of Faith-Based Initiatives has a unique ability, and an important opportunity, to engage nonprofits and community organizations. I believe it’s time to equip them with the resources they need to play a bigger role as we endeavor to better serve children and families.”

“We can have a healthy debate about the policy specifics, but we can also agree that America is rooted in a commitment to human dignity,” he added. “There was a significant shift in this country last year when it comes to protecting the lives of the unborn. We now all have an opportunity and a moral obligation to support strong Tennessee families.”

The proposed funding, which will go to the state legislature for approval, comes as a broad Tennessee abortion ban took effect after the overturning of Roe v. Wade in June 2022, giving the Volunteer State some of the strongest pro-life protections in the nation. 

According to the governor’s press secretary, Jade Byers, the resources will go to nonprofits that provide direct services for crisis pregnancies, adoption support, counseling around pregnancy, workforce assistance for new moms, housing assistance for mothers needing a place to stay, and other “wraparound services” to support mothers. 

Several of the nonprofits that will be eligible for grants are crisis pregnancy centers, of which there are about 60 in Tennessee. The $100 million in funding would appear to be more money than the combined funding for such centers from all states in 2021-2022, according to the Associated Press. 

Lee has also proposed using state funds to pay for infants’ diapers for their first two years on behalf of mothers who use TennCare, a health coverage program for lower-income individuals.

“In light of the Dobbs decision last year, Tennessee has in place maximum legal protection for unborn children under our law and the opportunity to significantly boost support for mothers, children and families facing a crisis pregnancy, and Gov. Lee is making it a top priority,” Byers told The Daily Wire in an email.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti joined 23 state attorneys general on Tuesday in sending a letter to Yelp, asking about its alleged discrimination against pregnancy resource centers.