Wednesday Afternoon Update: Taxpayers Funding Taliban? Plus, GOP Debt Ceiling Offer And Alabama Shooting Update

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

Taxpayers Funding Taliban?

On Wednesday, Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction John Sopko warned before a House hearing that U.S. taxpayers may be aiding the Taliban in Afghanistan. Here with more is Daily Wire reporter Tim Pearce.

Sopko told Congress that since the Taliban takeover in August 2021, the U.S. government has sought to support the Afghan people without providing benefits for the Taliban. Those efforts have failed, however. Sopko said, “it is clear from our work that the Taliban is using various methods to divert U.S. aid dollars.”

“Unfortunately as I sit here today, I cannot assure this committee or the American taxpayer we are not currently funding the Taliban,” he said.

🚨 John Sopko, Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction: “As I sit here today, I cannot assure this committee or the American taxpayer we are not currently funding the Taliban.” pic.twitter.com/D4PIlzUVZ7

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) April 19, 2023

Sopko said one of the hurdles to a solution is that key U.S. Agencies, such as USAID, don’t comply with oversight requests.

Inspector General John Sopko torches the Biden administration for their “unprecedented” refusal to cooperate with investigators over Biden’s botched Afghanistan withdrawal pic.twitter.com/nkbTCW6ndy

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) April 19, 2023

GOP Debt Ceiling Offer

The U.S. House Republicans will propose lifting the debt limit by $1.5 trillion or until March 31, 2024, whichever comes first. The proposal comes after months of stalemate between Congress and the Biden White House. The president has demanded that the GOP offer a compromise, but has refused to meet with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to discuss any potential action to prevent the U.S. from defaulting on its debt.

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Pentagon Throws Cold Water On Critics Of Classified Docs Leaker’s Age

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin threw cold water on critics who question why the alleged classified documents leaker, National Guard Airman Jack Teixeira, would have access to U.S. secrets, given that he’s only 21  years old. Austin said that age is not a concern, as evidenced by the average age of military members.

“The vast majority of our military is young,” he said, according to Just The News. “It’s not exceptional that young people are doing important things in our military. That’s really not the issue.”

Teixeira was arrested last week in Massachusetts after being identified by The New York Times and The Washington Post as the Discord leaker. He has been charged on two counts, and now a U.S. court is determining whether the Airman should be kept in jail as he awaits trial.

Alabama Shooting Update

Authorities have arrested two suspects charged with killing four and leaving 32 injured at an Alabama Sweet 16 party Saturday night in Dadeville. The two suspects are ages 16 and 17 and will be tried as adults. The two teenagers from Tuskegee are charged with four counts of reckless murder each. Dadeville’s Police Chief promised justice for the victims while speaking to the press.

New York City Parking Garage Collapse Kills One Person

A Manhattan parking garage collapsed on Tuesday, killing one person and injuring five others. According to the City Department of Buildings records, the financial district area garage had six open building violations, three of which were classified as “hazardous.” Officials say they believe it was a structural collapse, but the local district attorney has not confirmed. A witness says she first thought the noise was coming from a freight elevator.

Florida Bans Sexuality And Gender Identity Teaching For All Grades

The state of Florida has expanded its ban on teaching about sexuality and gender identity to all grade levels in public schools. The decision comes after a law signed last year by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis banned such topics for K through third-grade students. The board voted Wednesday to adopt a new rule that says Florida teachers in grades 4 through 12 “shall not intentionally provide classroom instruction … on sexual orientation or gender identity” unless it is required by the state or a part of a sexual education course that requires parental permission, according to The Washington Post.

The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

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