The following is an edited transcript of an interview between Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief and Morning Wire co-host John Bickley and former ESPN SportsCenter anchor Sage Steele on her battle with the network over vaccine mandates and her plans for the future. Listen to the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/podcasts/morning-wire/sidelines-to-spotlight-sage-steele-s-new-chapter-sunday-extra" target="_blank" rel="noopener">full interview here</a>.
JOHN: Joining us now to discuss her journey from ESPN SportsCenter anchor to “canceled” to now host of her own show is Sage Steele. Sage, thank you so much for joining us.
SAGE: Thank you for having me.
JOHN: You’ve now launched “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bill-maher-launches-new-podcast-network-hires-conservative-as-his-first-host" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Sage Steele Show</a>,” which we’d like to ask you about, but let&#8217;s start with you parting ways with Disney and ESPN. For those who haven&#8217;t tracked that sequence of events, can you tell us exactly what happened there?
SAGE: That&#8217;s a big, long answer. It was almost a two year process to be honest with you. I was on a podcast on a day off, giving my opinions and views on my own experiences and things that were happening at that time. That was in September or October of 2021. I was suspended for it, punished, silenced, and assignments were taken away from me and I was told that if I didn&#8217;t apologize publicly, I would lose my job.
Listen, there were years and years leading up to the point where I spoke differently from others. I didn&#8217;t follow the same narrative. I decided to stand up only because of the hypocrisy I saw on the other side where all of my peers were able to go on the network whenever they wanted and say what they wanted [because it was the accepted narrative], even if it had nothing to do with sports on ESPN platforms. And of course, I&#8217;d lived a lot of it behind the scenes.
Then, once you’re punished, at some point you have a decision to make. For me, I knew that it was enough. I also knew it was bigger than me, and that&#8217;s kind of what was happening throughout society in America — where if you don&#8217;t follow a certain narrative, then you&#8217;re silenced and punished and canceled. Also, once you get canceled so many times, it&#8217;s easier to say, “Wait a minute.” So I took a stand and did something I never thought I&#8217;d do, which is file a lawsuit against the company that I loved and ended up working for, for almost 17 years. It broke my heart, but I know it was the right thing because it&#8217;s truly about standing up for yourself and others and for freedom of speech.
JOHN: Now, vaccines played a central role in your <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/longtime-espn-anchor-who-criticized-covid-mandates-leaving-network-to-exercise-first-amendment-rights" target="_blank" rel="noopener">split with ESPN</a>, correct? Can you explain that for us?
SAGE: Yes. So at Disney, of course ESPN is owned by Disney, we were required to be fully vaccinated by September 30, 2021. I waited until literally the very last day. I was devastated about it and didn&#8217;t agree with being forced. There&#8217;s a difference between the vaccine and the vaccine mandate. I had an issue with the mandate because I wasn&#8217;t comfortable with the vaccine yet. I just wanted more time for more research to be done. I&#8217;d done my homework and I think the average is six to nine years for the FDA to approve a vaccine. And this was shoved out there pretty quickly as we know. It became super political on both sides and I just didn&#8217;t feel comfortable with doing it.
So, I actually went onto that podcast that day directly from getting the shot. I was pretty emotional, probably, and was running a little bit hot, but I was pretty measured with my comments. And I basically said, “Listen, I just don&#8217;t agree that anyone should be forced to do something to their body. I think it&#8217;s sick and scary for any company to do that, but I love my job. I need my job, and I complied in order to keep my job.” And that&#8217;s what I said.
Since then I&#8217;ve obviously thought so much about it. If I had said the opposite — if I had said, “Listen, all these anti-vaxxers are being quite selfish, they don&#8217;t care about their neighbors or their coworkers or their families, just get it” — I would have been celebrated. The other comments I made about race and being biracial and people telling me I should identify as black, even though I&#8217;m black and white, if I had said the other idea, I feel like I would have been celebrated. That&#8217;s where the hypocrisy was and that&#8217;s why I stood up.
JOHN: I should note for disclosure purposes — and also because it proved very consequential — that The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dhillonlaw.com/lawsuits/the-daily-wire-challenges-biden-administration-vaccine-mandate/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sued the federal government</a> over its vaccine mandate for big companies. We put ourselves at severe risk by doing so, but <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/we-said-do-not-comply-we-won" target="_blank" rel="noopener">we won that lawsuit</a>. And it&#8217;s something that we felt like we had to do. Your story certainly resonates with that move.
SAGE: Can I hug you for that? Because it&#8217;s been people like you and groups like yours who stand up — it just meant the world to me. And I have to say, doing it alone — and I&#8217;m a single mother of three kids, high school and college age kids — it&#8217;s not cheap to stand up. It&#8217;s scary when you&#8217;re on your own and you&#8217;re financially responsible for everybody. Along with throwing away the career that I loved, as I was told I was doing. But sometimes it&#8217;s bigger than us. And so people like you made me feel not quite as alone. It&#8217;s amazing what happens when you do take a stand and step out — how many thousands, millions of people — you realize you&#8217;re so not alone. There&#8217;s such fear and we just can&#8217;t lead with that fear anymore.
JOHN: About that, how have you seen people embrace you? And what&#8217;s this next phase in your career?
SAGE: I cannot tell you how excited I am about what&#8217;s next. Being able to have true, deep, genuine conversations, kind of a talk show format, but not an interview, it’s more of a conversation. There&#8217;s a huge difference. I&#8217;m all about freedom of speech and diversity of thought; that&#8217;s what I lead with. Anyone who knows me will back that up. That’s why, when Bill Maher offered me a job while I was on his Club Random podcast, I thought he was joking. And then he did it again. Of all people, Bill Maher is someone with whom I see things completely differently. I&#8217;m definitely more conservative; he is definitely far Left. He doesn&#8217;t believe in marriage and kids; he’s an atheist and thinks it&#8217;s all crazy. And I&#8217;m the opposite in every single category. I love that we can sit and talk. Most importantly, he saw where my heart is, which is to truly be accepting of everyone and welcome diverse thoughts. And to give me a show to do that? It&#8217;s so much bigger than me. This is about trying to show America that this can exist: We can lead with kindness and be strong in our beliefs. It&#8217;s a beautiful thing that Bill Maher saw this controversial conservative, former ESPN star and said, “No, no, no, I&#8217;m going to give her a shot, even though I completely feel differently about huge important issues in our country.” I think it&#8217;s a win for everybody and I&#8217;m so honored.
JOHN: During the COVID pandemic, we saw censorship on a level I don&#8217;t think we&#8217;ve ever seen before, at least not in recent decades. Do you feel like there&#8217;s progress being made, or are we still under this heavy-handed censorship complex?
SAGE: I think there is. Obviously you do this every single day and pay super close attention to it. I&#8217;m probably a step back from you, but watching it in a different way as a journalist now, my journalism career is changing and evolving. I feel like there&#8217;s progress and to me the biggest reason for it is Elon Musk. I&#8217;m so grateful for him taking that huge chance. I don&#8217;t care how many billions of dollars you have, that is a risk he has taken. It&#8217;s been fascinating to watch him, what he tweets and what he says. I think it gives the majority of America hope because I truly believe that most Americans think like we do — like we don&#8217;t all have to believe the same things, but you must be respectful of everyone&#8217;s opinion and their right to have it. So, because of Elon Musk, it is changing.
I have seen and read about so many other people taking stands. It&#8217;s fascinating to learn what&#8217;s going on with Google and all the suppression over the last 12 years with the election process. That stuff’s being exposed. I feel like on the old Twitter, now X, that we would never have been able to hear about that, not as quickly and efficiently and accurately. So, to me, there is progress and we have to continue. I believe there&#8217;s a groundswell for people like us who just want all things available for us to review and allow us to make our own decisions. That&#8217;s what had been taken away and people didn&#8217;t realize it. Now it&#8217;s being exposed and that&#8217;s the win.
That&#8217;s what I want to talk about on my show with a variety of guests. Yes, some will be athletes, but also people in Hollywood, some politicians, actors, all the above, because I think we probably have a lot more in common than we believe. It doesn&#8217;t all have to be political. I want to hear their “whys” and most importantly though, when it all hits the fan, how do they push through? How do they push through those adverse moments in their lives despite making it all look perfect on TV or on the internet? What I have found is most people believe like us, but they&#8217;re fearful — fearful in Hollywood in particular to speak their truth. So, I hope and pray that I can make people comfortable — comfortable enough to do that. And then, when people open up and speak openly, I think everybody wins and others realize, “Hey, I&#8217;m not alone and we&#8217;re right to stand up and speak our own truths. It doesn&#8217;t have to fit a certain narrative.”
JOHN: As you mentioned, Bill Maher is far-left on many issues. Is he putting any restrictions on your topics for your show?
SAGE: Zero. Nothing. It&#8217;s beautiful. I&#8217;m so not used to this world. I&#8217;m like, “Wait, what?” I&#8217;m waiting for someone from the Disney offices in Burbank to reach up and cut me off. It&#8217;s just a whole new world. Bill and I agree on some of the core issues. That&#8217;s what we found out in that podcast I did with him on Club Random — about immigration, he thinks it&#8217;s completely out of control; about transgender, the transgender sports, women&#8217;s sports issue, out of control and ridiculous and scary; and of course the vaccine, vaccine mandates, nuts. So those are three core issues that have obviously been so divisive. But again, when you look at my stance on things, how I feel about things based on myself and being a mother and not having a certain platform, and then you look at Bill Maher with his massive platform and his very Left-leaning liberal approach to pretty much everything in life. But it&#8217;s a great lesson, that when we are respectful, when we talk and lead with kindness, we realize we actually have a lot more in common. And he&#8217;s like, “Go girl. Say what you want, ask what you want, do what you want.” There&#8217;s a trust there already, and it&#8217;s something I&#8217;m so grateful for because I&#8217;m not used to that.
JOHN: Final question before you go: What have you been surprised by and what are you looking most forward to in this next phase?
SAGE: Well, thank you. I was just so shocked and honored that someone on “the other side of the aisle” saw the need for more conversation, and for Bill Maher to believe that I could be the one. I&#8217;ve never been given that kind of platform before. But it&#8217;s not about me or Bill; it&#8217;s about what has to happen. It does take courage though, right? For someone like Bill to say, “Oh, I&#8217;m going to go right into these waters and give a voice to someone with whom I feel so differently.” Kudos to him for seeing the big picture beyond what he believes. I am so excited to have these conversations and make them continue. Because if we don&#8217;t do this – I&#8217;m not trying to be dramatic – I believe we lose America and I do believe it&#8217;s now or never. So here we go with Club Random and Bill and me and a whole bunch of other guests. I hope you guys take a chance and listen.
JOHN: We certainly will. Sage, thank you so much for joining us. We&#8217;d love to talk to you again.
SAGE: I would love to. I listen to y&#8217;all every morning. So thank you.
JOHN: That’s certainly nice to hear. Thanks again for coming on.
SAGE: Thank you. God bless.
Listen to the full Morning Wire interview <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/podcasts/morning-wire/sidelines-to-spotlight-sage-steele-s-new-chapter-sunday-extra">here</a>.

Shaq’s Fun House

INTERVIEW: Former ESPN Anchor Sage Steele Talks Getting Canceled After Vax Comments, Surge Of Support & Launch Of Her New Show 

Bill Maher

COVID

ESPN

Morning Wire

Readers Pass

Sage Steele

Sports

Vaccine Mandate

According to a new report from the Media Research Center, Google has allegedly been engaging in election interference for at least 16 years. The media watchdog group has been studying how Google’s search algorithms are used for censorship. Daily Wire reporter Megan Basham spoke with Morning Wire’s Georgia Howe about the allegations. Catch the full interview on <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/podcasts/morning-wire/texas-law-scotus-ruling-google-s-alleged-election-interference-3-20-24" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Morning Wire</a>.
Georgia: So Megan, if these claims are true, we’re talking about four presidential cycles and another four midterms, right?
Megan: Yes, that’s a lot of elections, Georgia. The report just released by <a href="https://newsbusters.org/blogs/free-speech/gabriela-pariseau/2024/03/18/41-times-google-has-interfered-us-elections-2008" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MRC’s Free Speech America</a> arm says Google interfered in US elections 41 times since 2008. And when you take a look at Google’s donations to political parties in just the 2018 midterm elections, for example, you can see just how aligned the company is with one side of the political aisle. 96% of its employee’s political donations went to Democrats. So according to the MRC, the company, “utilized its power to help push to electoral victory the most liberal candidates … while targeting their opponents for censorship.”
In 2012, for instance, it allowed users to engage in a practice called a “Google Bomb” to target Republican Presidential Candidate Rick Santorum. It’s kind of complicated, but it’s basically a way to smear a candidate. Google users manipulate the algorithms by associating his name with undesirable search terms on various web pages. So when you would search Santorum’s name, disparaging and even obscene results would come up.
When the practice impacted the White House’s webpage for Obama, Google fixed it. But, the platform refused to resolve the issue when Santorum’s team complained. In some instances, Google’s interference backed one Democrat over another, leaning towards the more progressive candidate, though interestingly, not in the case of Bernie Sanders vs Clinton. In 2008, Google suspended the accounts of some pro-Hillary Clinton blogs who were critical of Barack Obama. Several of those blogs were listed at justsaynodeal.com.
<h4><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/podcasts/morning-wire/texas-law-scotus-ruling-google-s-alleged-election-interference-3-20-24" target="_blank" rel="noopener">LISTEN: Catch the full interview on Morning Wire</a></h4>
Georgia: I’m guessing when it came time for the Clinton — Trump election, they leaned in favor of Clinton.
Megan: Definitely. Turns out the Alphabet company is also pretty good with numbers. According to data scientist and research psychologist Dr. Robert Epstein, who testified before Congress by the way, the impact of Google’s search algorithm was to “shift at least 2.6 million votes” to Clinton in 2016, though of course she still lost to Trump. But according to this it would have been by a wider margin without the Google effect.
What they are essentially alleging is Google manipulated search results to convince voters to pull the lever for Clinton. For example, everyone has used Google’s search bar before, and when you start to type in some text, Google begins to autofill suggestions. During the 2016 election, it would exclude potentially harmful autofill results for Hillary Clinton and would instead suggest things like “Hillary Clinton crime reform” or “Hillary Clinton India”. On the flip side, it would not filter results for Donald Trump or Bernie Sanders.
Google has repeatedly claimed these allegations are false. But when you to listen closely to this Project Veritas undercover recording from 2019 of Jen Gennai, the then Head of Responsible Innovation for Google, you hear a different story:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
#11 In 2019, Project Veritas released footage of Google executive, Jen Gennai, discussing “preventing the next Donald Trump situation.”
She remarked, “We’re also training our algorithms, like, if 2016 happened again, would we have, would the outcome be different?” <a href="https://t.co/4SnvqnyIx3">pic.twitter.com/4SnvqnyIx3</a>
&mdash; KanekoaTheGreat (@KanekoaTheGreat) <a href="https://twitter.com/KanekoaTheGreat/status/1620195679674179585?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 30, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Irish accent aside, she said, “We’re also training our algorithms if 2016 happened again, would we have, would the outcome be different?” So suggesting they had already begun refining their results to alter election outcomes.
She went on to say: “Elizabeth Warren is saying that we should break up Google. And like, I love her, but she’s very misguided, like that will not make it better. It will make it worse, because now all these smaller companies who don’t have the same resources that we do will be charged with preventing the next Trump situation. It’s like a small company cannot do that.”
So again, a top Google executive saying Congress should not interfere with Google’s almost total dominance of the search engine industry because only Google can prevent someone like Donald Trump from being elected.
Georgia: So what is Google saying about this?
Megan: They haven’t responded at all yet. But some well known names in the tech world are backing MRC’s findings though. Elon Musk, for instance, posted on his platform, X: ““Google interferes to help Democrats thousands of times every election season!” Musk wrote on X. “This is to be expected when their censorship (aka ‘Trust &amp; Safety’) teams have far Left political views.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
This article understates the magnitude of the problem – Google interferes to help Democrats thousands of times every election season!
This is to be expected when their censorship (aka “Trust &amp; Safety”) teams are have far left political views. <a href="https://t.co/y36yzdzIUQ">https://t.co/y36yzdzIUQ</a>
&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1769771195035984073?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 18, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
And of course Google’s new AI tool came under fire recently for producing extremely biased results.
It&#8217;s also worth noting that a few weeks ago, another media analysis company, AllSides, studied Google’s news aggregator and found that <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/02/23/business/google-news-bias-skewed-even-further-left-in-2023-63-from-liberal-media-sources-only-6-from-the-right-analysis/">63 percent</a> of the news it recommended came from Left-leaning outlets and only 6 percent from right leaning outlets. And only 16 percent from outlets rated “center.”
Georgia: One of my first “wakeup moments” that caused me to be interested in politics was in 2015 or 2016 when I noticed how positive the suggested searches were for Clinton compared to Trump. Thanks, Megan.
Megan: Any time.

Google

New Report Alleges Election Interference By Google Over A 16 Year Period

2016 Election

2020 Election

Conservative Media

Donald Trump

Hillary Clinton

Social Media Bias

Twitter Files

The following is an edited transcript of a recent interview between <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/author/dr-houman-david-hemmati" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dr. Houman David Hemmati</a> and Morning Wire host Georgia Howe on the rise in cases of tuberculosis and measles. Catch the full interview on <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/podcasts/morning-wire/schumer-s-israel-critique-inflationary-economic-trends-3-15-24" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Morning Wire</a>.
Georgia Howe: Dr. Hemmati, thanks so much for coming on.
Dr. Hemmati: It&#8217;s a pleasure.
Georgia: Now, the California Department of Public Health recently <a href="https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/OPA/Pages/CAHAN/Substantial-Increase-in-Tuberculosis-in-California-Recommendations-for-California-Healthcare-Providers.aspx#:~:text=were%202%2C110%20cases.-,Since%202020%2C%20TB%20cases%20in%20California%20have%20been%20increasing%20each,patients%20with%20TB%20are%20hospitalized." target="_blank" rel="noopener">sent out an alert</a> to all doctors about a “Substantial Increase in Tuberculosis.” What did that letter say?
Dr. Hemmati: That letter, which was sent to all doctors, said that the state is experiencing a surge in tuberculosis cases. That&#8217;s number one. Number two, those tuberculosis cases are largely originating from people who have come here from outside the country. And number three, and what is particularly alarming, is that this type of tuberculosis coming into California, and presumably the rest of the United States, has about a 13% or higher death rate.
Georgia: Is there any way to screen people? What&#8217;s the normal procedure for checking people for tuberculosis?
Dr. Hemmati: That&#8217;s a great question. Anytime someone wants to come into the U.S. on a visa or green card a standard part of the process, among other medical assessments, is to perform a tuberculosis blood test and, in many cases, in addition to that, a chest x-ray to simply rule it out. However, when someone doesn&#8217;t have those — and especially if they&#8217;re coming from endemic nations, which we&#8217;re surrounded by, especially to the south — then there&#8217;s a high chance that they could be bringing it in undetected.
Georgia: Now, why is TB such a threat? Can you describe a little bit about how it progresses and why it becomes so intractable?
Dr. Hemmati: Yes. So tuberculosis is caused by a bacteria, not caused by a virus like COVID. It&#8217;s a particularly unusual type of bacteria that can reside in the lungs, sometimes asymptomatically and at other times with no symptoms at all. It can stay like that, even with no symptoms, for years or decades, and at any point basically pop up and cause a horrific infection that chews up the lungs and causes the infected person to spew large amounts of bacteria every time they cough. This is why it has a high death rate, because it literally chews through the lung tissue and leaves nothing behind other than a gaping hole. 
The problem with tuberculosis is that we only have a few medications in our arsenal to try to defeat it. And those medications, even when they do work, can take many months to years of therapy in order to kill the bacteria. The problem now is that we&#8217;re seeing a lot of multidrug resistant tuberculosis — bacteria for which none of the drugs we have available work or work well enough. This is why I think we&#8217;re suddenly seeing such high death rates — death rates we have never been seen before in this country.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/podcasts/morning-wire/schumer-s-israel-critique-inflationary-economic-trends-3-15-24" target="_blank" rel="noopener">LISTEN: Hear the full interview with Dr. Hemmati on Morning Wire</a>.</h3>
Georgia: How easily is it transmitted?
Dr. Hemmati: That’s a great question. You generally have to be in relatively close proximity with a person who&#8217;s actively coughing in order to get tuberculosis, which is pretty rare. It is transmitted in the air from relatively close contacts, but it doesn&#8217;t mean less than six feet. You can be in the same room, in the same general vicinity. It&#8217;s not necessarily easy to get, but once you get it, you have it and you have it for good. Incidentally, the predominant use of the N95 mask is really for prevention of tuberculosis. Whenever we would see someone who had tuberculosis or who was presumed to have a case of tuberculosis in the hospital, we would have to wear the N95 mask simply to be around them. Without a mask like that, being in close proximity puts you at risk.
Georgia: The CDC is also investigating a measles outbreak at a migrant center in Chicago. Can you give us some insight into what’s happening there?
Dr. Hemmati: It is very likely related to immigration. And the reason why I say that is that we&#8217;ve seen measles outbreaks in migrant housing centers, including one just this last week in Chicago. So when you have people coming in the country who are not being screened for having been infected with measles, all of a sudden you are bringing in people who could be carrying this disease and could be spreading it within their community of people who have zero vaccination rates. This can pose a major public health threat.
Georgia: Should the CDC be testing people at the border as they coming across? What would be the solution for this?
Dr. Hemmati: Well, the solution we&#8217;ve already had for decades is to test anyone coming into the country for measles. Without getting that testing done and getting a lot of different vaccinations checked as well, you simply couldn&#8217;t get a green card to immigrate to the U.S. Problems occur when that process is circumvented and the system is simply overwhelmed by people who are doing a runaround, then you get people coming in who are not tested. And, at this point, with the large numbers who are streaming through our borders, it&#8217;s basically impossible to test every single person, especially since so many are considered “gotaways” and are never even processed through the system.
Georgia: Dr. Hemmati, thank you so much for coming on.
Dr. Hemmati: Thank you. It&#8217;s a pleasure.

The Militarized Borderlands Of The Southwestern U.S. And Mexico

Tuberculosis And Measles On The Rise Amid Migrant Crisis

Border Crisis

California

Disease

Doctors

Health

illegal immigrant

interview

Migrants

The following is an edited transcript of a recent interview between Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief John Bickley and investigative journalist Peter Schweizer on a special <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/podcasts/morning-wire/blood-money-china-s-covert-assault-on-america-sunday-extra" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sunday Edition of Morning Wire</a>. They discuss Schweizer’s new book “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Blood-Money-Powerful-Blind-Americans/dp/0063061198/ref=sr_1_1?crid=29T170ZKWKBNZ&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.ziXJAoc3va71UZCFZRlCYX5AXdPIM1nnKqNHXd4XM6L8PUTaeTgvubWS_xjtztu5DgRuO2Yc5vvKpxTMuta0aKyb8blYLIeiU3FXBORZ3FNkLCcTiZDE3I9RKjUI75X1Yqnr99t3tnwQ7FXe3OGm85PTWg9e7FAFNV1OOCyuklSz03DqeL2b-cDpG1PEzyLCgT_LhQaW3DTbBrrdX6FV9beIxyWAI6cQrwBgyFqywRc.9nGJcU4tJM4HGuMVAO9CB3BPYaxsO8kvX6PR9AOTytc&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;keywords=blood+money&amp;qid=1709932850&amp;sprefix=blood+money%2Caps%2C87&amp;sr=8-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Blood Money</a>” and China&#8217;s covert strategy of &#8220;disintegration warfare&#8221; against the United States.
JOHN: Joining us now to discuss his new investigative book “Blood Money,” which shines an alarming light on China’s attempt to engage in what they call “disintegration warfare” against the U.S., is bestselling author Peter Schweizer. Peter, thank you for coming on.
PETER: Absolutely. Great to be with you.
JOHN: Now what you lay out in “Blood Money” is clearly sending some shockwaves through many circles. Let’s start with the big picture, with the premise of the book. What did your research about China’s relationship to the U.S. lead you to conclude?
PETER: I think there are two stages to the story, John. It’s best demonstrated by a picture. The picture is America on fire and China holding an empty can of gasoline. Some of our leaders are aware of it but they&#8217;re not saying anything. So it&#8217;s really about two things. Number one, China has a strategy called “disintegration warfare,” which is designed to literally disintegrate the United States — get us to turn on each other, social division, social chaos, death, et cetera. The second part of the equation is that our political class in Washington really has not talked about it and will not confront China on these points. Those, I think, are the two important elements to this story.
JOHN: You make a point of emphasizing that every claim in your book is backed up by verifiable documentation and sources – and indeed the footnotes run some 100 pages. You’re famous for digging up information no one else was able to find. What were some key materials you unearthed for this book?
PETER: We made use of a lot of leaked documents from the Department of Homeland Security, FBI, and the Department of Justice. We also made use of documents that were hacked, not by us, but were hacked by other parties and were released by journalists in Mexico. These are internal communications from the Mexican police. What we find is that these materials can be very valuable, especially if you know what you&#8217;re looking for. A lot of times when hacked or leaked materials are released they can be thousands of pages, so people are looking for low hanging fruit. We find it much better, and you can be more successful, by actually going in knowing what you&#8217;re looking for, knowing that you&#8217;re panning for gold. So you know where to look for the gold. Those were very, very important tools.
The third component were materials and documents from China itself. We were able to get access to — not classified by any means — but restricted Chinese military documents and government documents from the ministry of propaganda. We got access to those by essentially spoofing a domestic account with a domestic Chinese phone number to gain access to documents that gave us very interesting insights into what they are saying about TikTok. And it&#8217;s quite different, obviously, than the debate we&#8217;re having in the United States.
<div id="attachment_707969" style="width: 391px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-707969" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-707969 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/81JL3vN6voL._SL1500_-1-381x576.jpg" alt="Blood Money: Why the Powerful Turn a Blind Eye While China Kills Americans, by Peter Schweizer. (Harper) Hardcover – February 27, 2024." width="381" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/81JL3vN6voL._SL1500_-1-381x576.jpg 381w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/81JL3vN6voL._SL1500_-1-199x300.jpg 199w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/81JL3vN6voL._SL1500_-1-768x1160.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/81JL3vN6voL._SL1500_-1.jpg 993w" sizes="(max-width: 381px) 100vw, 381px" />Courtesy: Harper</div>
JOHN: I found it really striking in the introduction to the book, where you lay out some of these influential documents from the Chinese military that lay out a strategy and talk about this disintegration of warfare. Can you unpack some of the information you learned from those documents?
PETER: Disintegration warfare, is predicated on the idea that the best way to defeat your enemy is by not fighting them. In other words, you are the supreme strategist, as Sun Tzu, the ancient Chinese scholar, would have said. The supreme strategist is the one who defeats his enemy without actually firing a shot. And that&#8217;s the strategy. You know, we focus on aircraft carriers and missiles with regards to the military balance with China and I&#8217;m not saying we should neglect that, but that&#8217;s not their play. Their play is to look at our weaknesses, what they call our soft underbelly – which are the divisions we have in this country – and to exploit them, to turn American against American, and to play off of our decadence. And I would say the strategy is working quite successfully.
If you just look at fentanyl, for example, it is now the <a href="https://www.getsmartaboutdrugs.gov/media/dea-administrator-record-fentanyl-overdose-deaths" target="_blank" rel="noopener">leading cause of death</a> for people under the age of 45 in the United States. The vast majority of people dying don&#8217;t even know they&#8217;re taking fentanyl. And this is a Chinese operation. People want to talk about the Mexican cartels, but they&#8217;re really the junior partners in this. The Chinese are running this along every link in the chain. And yet, this is a strategy they call a “murder with a borrowed knife.” In other words, try to kill somebody, but use somebody else&#8217;s knife to do it. So while our focus is on Mexico and the drug cartels, this is actually a Chinese operation designed to undermine us. It&#8217;s a great example of disintegration warfare.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/podcasts/morning-wire/blood-money-china-s-covert-assault-on-america-sunday-extra" target="_blank" rel="noopener">LISTEN: Hear the full interview with Peter Schweizer on Morning Wire</a></h3>
JOHN: In “Blood Money” you track how China controls every chain in the production, delivery and the money laundering involved with fentanyl. Can you describe some of that process?
PETER: Fentanyl starts with precursors in China. A lot of people know that China provides the vast majority of the precursors the cartels use to make fentanyl. But what people probably don&#8217;t know is that those precursors are shipped – 90% of them – to a port in Mexico called Manzanillo. And people wonder why can&#8217;t they stop shipments in this port? Well, the problem is the international terminal in Manzanillo is actually run by a Chinese company that&#8217;s close to the Chinese military.
The precursors come in from China, they&#8217;re then shipped to a small city in northern Mexico, where, according to our federal government, there are 2,000 Chinese nationals who just happen to live in this Mexican city who basically create the fentanyl out of these precursors. They do it for the cartels. Now that the cartels have the fentanyl, they need to put them into pill form. Because, again, people who are dying from fentanyl overdoses, they think they&#8217;re taking a Vicodin or an Adderall when they&#8217;re actually taking a look-alike pill that is laced with fentanyl.
Plus, they need pill presses. Where do the cartels get the pill presses? Well, they are imported from China, and according to the Department of Homeland Security, the Chinese are selling them to the drug cartels at cost. Meaning they&#8217;re not trying to make a boatload of money. They&#8217;re selling it to the cartels at cost. They have little molds that make them look exactly like the real pills, even though they&#8217;re fake pills.
Now that they have the pills, John, they need to distribute them in the United States. If you&#8217;re a drug cartel, you need secure communications. So what do the Mexican cartels use? They use Chinese apps and Chinese communication devices. They&#8217;re encrypted in China and they know that the Chinese will not share those with you and U.S. law enforcement.
Then the final component is, if you are a drug cartel like the Sinaloa cartel in Mexico, and you&#8217;ve made all this money, you have to launder the money. Now, in the old days of cocaine, you would have laundered the money in Latin American banks. Today, the cartels are laundering their money in Chinese state-owned banks. And, again, according to our federal government, they are oftentimes using Chinese students in the United States on education visas to do so. So again, the cartels are the junior partners here. This is a Chinese operation.
JOHN: Unbelievable. Peter, thank you so much for coming on and good luck with this book.
PETER: Thanks, John.
To listen to the full interview with John Bickley and Peter Schweizer, tune in to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/podcasts/morning-wire/blood-money-china-s-covert-assault-on-america-sunday-extra" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Morning Wire</a>.

flags of USA and China painted on cracked wall

Peter Schweizer On China’s Covert Assault On America

Peter Schweizer On China's Covert Assault On America

Books

China

Drugs

Fentanyl

Mexico

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/did-not-have-the-cojones-black-conservative-scholar-allegedly-plagiarized-by-harvard-president-blasts-university-for-keeping-her" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Carol Swain</a>, the author and legal scholar whose work was allegedly plagiarized by Harvard President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/embattled-harvard-president-claudine-gay-now-under-fire-for-alleged-plagiarism" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Claudine Gay</a>, blasted Harvard University in an op-ed published Sunday, saying the school is part of a system “that holds minorities of high pedigree to a lower standard.” 
In her <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/claudine-gay-and-my-scholarship-plagiarism-elite-system-unearned-position-24e4a1b1?mod=opinion_lead_pos7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">opinion piece</a> for The Wall Street Journal, Swain addressed Gay’s alleged plagiarism that researchers Christopher Rufo and Christopher Brunet brought to light last week, writing that the Harvard president’s failure to cite her work harmed her and “academia as a whole.” 
“Ms. Gay’s damage to me is aggravated because her early work was in the area where my research is considered seminal. Her scholarship on black congressional representation, electoral districting and descriptive representation builds on terrain where I plowed the ground,” Swain wrote.
“When scholars aren’t cited adequately or their work is ignored, it harms them because academic stature is determined by how often other researchers cite your work,” she added. “Ms. Gay had no problem riding on the coattails of people whose work she used without proper attribution.”
In her dissertation, Gay is accused of lifting passages from other scholars’ works at least three times. Along with allegedly pulling from Swain’s 1993 book, “Black Faces, Black Interests: The Representation of African Americans in Congress” and an article she wrote in 1997, Gay also allegedly <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/harvard-president-claudine-gay-responds-to-mounting-plagiarism-allegations-as-calls-for-ouster-intensify" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lifted</a> “nearly verbatim” work from Lawrence Bobo and Franklin Gilliam in their paper called “Race, Sociopolitical Participation, and Black Empowerment.”
Harvard has stood by its president amid the scandal, saying it conducted an independent review of Gay’s work, which “revealed a few instances of inadequate citation.” The Ivy League school added that her failure to cite the works she pulled from didn’t violate the university’s standards. 
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Swain, who previously taught at Vanderbilt University and Princeton University, said the backlash to Gay’s alleged plagiarism should be much more severe but lamented that many of the others Gay is accused of plagiarizing “aren’t as incensed” as she is because “they are elites who have benefited from a system that protects its own.” Swain then slammed Harvard for standing by Gay as its president since Gay’s work provides no “ground-breaking originality.” 
“In a world where the privilege of diversity is king, Ms. Gay was able to parlay mediocre research into tenure and administrative advancement at what was once considered a world-class university,” she wrote. “Harvard can’t condemn Ms. Gay because she is the product of an elite system that holds minorities of high pedigree to a lower standard. This harms academia as a whole, and it demeans Americans, of all races, who had to work for everything they earned.”
Swain also addressed the plagiarism controversy at Harvard on a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/podcasts/morning-wire/anti-semitism-plagiarism-harvard-s-dual-crisis-saturday-extra" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Saturday Extra edition of The Daily Wire&#8217;s &#8220;Morning Wire&#8221;</a> over the weekend.  Swain <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dr-carol-swain-on-plagiarism-and-anti-semitism-at-harvard" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> Gay’s alleged plagiarism and her recent troubling comments before Congress on anti-Semitism have been a “low point for American higher education.” She then slammed Harvard for attempting to “redefine plagiarism so that it can retain its first ever black president – who was clearly promoted based on diversity, equity, and inclusion standards.”

Carol Swain/Claudine Gay

Scholar Allegedly Plagiarized By Harvard President Scorches University: ‘Elite System’ Holding Minorities To ‘A Lower Standard’

Scholar Allegedly Plagiarized By Harvard President Scorches University: 'Elite System' Holding Minorities To 'A Lower Standard'

Education

Harvard

Harvard University

Minorities

Plagiarism

U.S.

The following is a transcript of a recent interview between Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief John Bickley and Dr. Carol Swain on a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/podcasts/morning-wire/anti-semitism-plagiarism-harvard-s-dual-crisis-saturday-extra" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Saturday Extra edition of Morning Wire</a>. Dr. Swain addresses the dual scandals facing Harvard and other Ivy League schools — a double standard for anti-Semitism and academic plagiarism.
JOHN: Joining us to discuss the Harvard presidential scandal is Dr. Carol Swain, Senior Fellow for the Institute for Faith and Culture. Dr. Swain, you were a tenured professor in the Ivy League – at Princeton – and you’ve been very outspoken on this situation, as your own work appears to have been plagiarized. First, what do you make of the Harvard board unanimously deciding to support Claudine Gay after her congressional testimony and now allegations of plagiarism?
CAROL: I see it as a low point for American higher education that Harvard University would try to redefine plagiarism so that it can retain its first ever black president – who was clearly promoted based on diversity, equity, and inclusion standards. And I would argue that her record, even if she had not plagiarized her articles, would not normally have supported tenure in the Ivy League. And I say this as someone who was tenured early at Princeton, and the standard in the Ivy League used to be that you had to have a major path-breaking publication. And the book that she lifted a couple of passages from, “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Black-Faces-Interests-Representation-Americans/dp/0761834079/?_encoding=UTF8&amp;pd_rd_w=OFkGr&amp;content-id=amzn1.sym.cf86ec3a-68a6-43e9-8115-04171136930a&amp;pf_rd_p=cf86ec3a-68a6-43e9-8115-04171136930a&amp;pf_rd_r=139-7687216-7118362&amp;pd_rd_wg=86Wyn&amp;pd_rd_r=a7c579f0-c9a7-481d-bffc-501d443632ea&amp;ref_=aufs_ap_sc_dsk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Black Faces, Black Interests: The Representation of African Americans in Congress</a>,” was a book that won three national prizes, including the highest prize a political scientist can win. It was cited by many law court decisions, and the U. S. Supreme Court, and it was considered the seminal work in the area of minority representation and representation in Congress. And so that&#8217;s the book that she really lifted passages that were not that significant, but her entire research agenda was on minority representation on Congress. And even though she has one cite of me in her bibliography, normally, when you draw on the research of a leading scholar in a particular area, you have to engage that work. You have to let people know why you&#8217;re asking the questions that you are. She didn&#8217;t do that. She did not engage my work either to refute it, to affirm it, or to acknowledge it. And I would argue that that harmed me in my career – even though I wasn&#8217;t aware this was taking place – because in academia, your statute depends on how many times you are cited. If someone is in the area where you are the path breaker, and they are not engaging with your ideas, then it has long-term consequences. And so her work, in my opinion, is derivative of mine. I believe she got away with it because I was falling out of favor in academia, because I was becoming increasingly conservative.
JOHN: Now you are one of several professors whose work was improperly used in Gay’s writings, allegedly. University of Pittsburgh’s George Reid Andrews has acknowledged that Gay “did borrow a few of my phrases” – as did University of Chicago economist Jens Ludwig. Both said they didn’t think it really rose to the level of plagiarism, but Anne Williamson, of Miami University, Ohio, said “It does look like plagiarism to me,” and said she was actually “shocked” by the passages Gay lifted from her work. Have you reviewed these passages under question?
CAROL: I&#8217;ve looked at the sections from my own work and the articles that have pulled out passages in other people&#8217;s work side by side, and I would argue that it is plagiarism, and that a journalist would lose their job over it. And it&#8217;s particularly troubling because it wasn&#8217;t just her dissertation – it also included the published works that she presented for tenure. And I would encourage people to look at that senior thesis she wrote at Stanford. It won a prize — her dissertation won a prize. Was the senior thesis plagiarized? That&#8217;s where they need to look next.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/podcasts/morning-wire/anti-semitism-plagiarism-harvard-s-dual-crisis-saturday-extra" target="_blank" rel="noopener">LISTEN: Morning Wire Saturday Extra — &#8220;Anti-Semitism &amp; Plagiarism: Harvard’s Dual Crisis&#8221;</a></h3>
JOHN: The New York Post is now reporting that Harvard actually threatened them legally when a reporter reached out about these allegations back in October – which is surprising. Harvard has issued a statement addressing, briefly, the plagiarism charges. They said they did their own review and did find some instances that were problematic, and are now requesting four corrections in two articles. Is that an adequate response?
CAROL: It&#8217;s horrible. What they should do is, if they want to keep her on their faculty, certainly she should make those corrections, but normally you don&#8217;t get a do over in life. Most people are held accountable. We all make mistakes. She made a mistake, and I believe that if they want to keep her on the faculty of Harvard, okay, just give her mercy, allow her to make the corrections, but she should not be the president of Harvard University with that record of plagiarism — and the equity that we associate with Neo-Marxism and DEI is like affirmative action on steroids, and that is what has advanced her, and I believe what is keeping her in her position is that Harvard doesn&#8217;t want to embarrass itself by firing its first ever black president. So they would rather hurt their brand than to get rid of a woman that should be fired – and she should have been fired already.
JOHN: Some people say refusing to remove Gay was Harvard&#8217;s way of thumbing their nose at the Supreme Court&#8217;s recent affirmative action decision against Harvard. What do you think about that?
CAROL: Absolutely, and I was born in 1954, the year of the Brown vs. Board school desegregation case, where the Supreme Court ordered integration of public education in all deliberate speed. And the response, in many places, was massive resistance. And they resisted up until the late 1960s in Bedford County, Virginia, where I went to school. And so I see the same thing happening, is that just like the elites resisted the Brown vs. Board of Education desegregation case, the elites at these institutions have decided that they&#8217;re going to resist the Supreme Court&#8217;s decision to end race-based discrimination. And so I believe that we need to hold them accountable – that white people, Asian people, Christians, any group that&#8217;s being disfavored in violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Protection Clause, they need to document what is taking place, they need to file lawsuits, and we need to shut it down. It shouldn&#8217;t take 10 years or 20 years of them continuing to discriminate against people or finding proxies to continue doing what they&#8217;re doing.
JOHN: Now, one question about the other issue at hand here. the double standard for anti-Semitism on campus. Is there a double standard? If the protests and chants against Jews and Israel were taking place against blacks or even LGBT people, would Harvard and some of these other Ivy League schools have pointed to “context” as necessary to determine whether or not that was problematic?
CAROL: If the Jewish students were black, it wouldn&#8217;t just be Harvard and the Ivy league, but all of America, every institution – the Biden administration, every government would have shut it down immediately. The police would have shut it down if it had been black students being harassed and being threatened by white students. And that is the double standard. I, myself, I&#8217;m just shocked at how Jewish Americans are being treated in America today and the hatred towards Israel. And to me, if there&#8217;s a silver lining, it is that the Jewish people on the college campuses, some of them are awakening to the fact that the progressives are not their friends.
JOHN: You&#8217;ve been an advocate for viewpoint diversity in higher education – in fact you just published a book that addresses this issue directly – “The Adversity of Diversity: How the Supreme Court&#8217;s Decision to Remove Race from College Admissions Criteria Will Doom Diversity Programs.” What are your thoughts on how having more representation across the political spectrum could have helped Harvard avoid this controversy?
CAROL: I can tell you that I&#8217;m an advocate of education. I spent 28 years in academia. I took early retirement from Vanderbilt in 2017, pretty much in the heat of a controversy because of an opinion piece that I published criticizing Islam created a firestorm, and I left academia. But I saw the changes taking place, and it started right after President Obama was elected. I saw the Critical Race Theory that had been mostly confined to certain departments of the university that it started rapidly infecting every department. And I saw changes that made academia very uncomfortable for people like me. And I saw the decline of education to the point that they did not even give lip service to universities being marketplaces of ideas where you would have divergent voices allowed to speak. All of that started to die at American colleges and universities, and as a consequence, these institutions have allowed themselves to become indoctrination centers. And if we want to educate young people, if we want strong leaders, if we want people that are qualified to take positions of responsibility in society, we have to expose them to divergent ideas, or you can not develop critical thinking skills unless you are sort of made uncomfortable, unless you hear new ideas. That&#8217;s not taking place in the indoctrination centers we have today. And I also know that if you are conservative on a university campus, if you are deeply orthodox – whether it&#8217;s Christian, Jewish – it&#8217;s set up in such a way that if you don&#8217;t fit in, the universities are very uncomfortable places. And so there are students who live in fear. There&#8217;s no way you&#8217;re going to get a quality education if you&#8217;re so afraid you&#8217;re going to offend someone and you can&#8217;t ask questions. That&#8217;s not what higher education should be about. And so I believe that we have to make changes. And I also believe that changes are already happening. I&#8217;ve spoken this year at several universities, and I believe that universities are realizing that the value of the product that they&#8217;re producing has declined to the point that many young people are deciding that they don&#8217;t necessarily need or want a college education. And I have met parents who are very wealthy and grandparents who are telling me that the money they saved up for their offspring&#8217;s education, that they&#8217;re giving them an option: they can take the money and start a business, or they can go to college. And so, universities, higher education, these institutions are suffering because, right now, they&#8217;re not offering a quality product.
JOHN: There’s’ no doubt that the perception of universities has been shifting dramatically in recent years. Dr. Swain, thank you for coming on.
CAROL: Thank you.

USA, Massachusetts, Cambridge, Harvard University and Charles River

Dr. Carol Swain On Plagiarism And Anti-Semitism At Harvard

Anti-Semitism

Ivy League

The attacks from Hamas have had a broad and profound effect on Israel and the world. Many say it&#8217;s the worst attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust. In a special episode, The Daily Wire’s “Morning Wire” spoke directly to individuals who lived through some of the most brutal atrocities. 
On October 7, Iran-backed Hamas launched a devastating terrorist attack on Israel, <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/International/live-updates/israel-gaza-hamas/?id=103804516" target="_blank" rel="noopener">killing</a> more than 1,300 people and injuring roughly 3,200 more, targeting Israeli families, including infants. Israel <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/08/middleeast/israel-gaza-attack-hostages-response-intl-hnk/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">declared</a> war against Hamas last Sunday and has been responding militarily since. Daily Wire contributor Natalie Mann traveled the country to gather some first-hand accounts. 
“I’m not believing what I see, it’s not real,” Avi, an ambulance driver who was one of the first responders to the Tribe of Nova music festival, where 260 people were <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/07/middleeast/israel-gaza-fighting-hamas-attack-music-festival-intl-hnk/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">murdered</a>, told The Daily Wire. “We come here with the ambulance, we come to the party, and I see just every, everything is bodies, everything. A lot of blood, a lot of shooting,” he said. 
In all, Avi said he collected 100 bodies in the span of four hours, saying that everywhere he went, there were more bodies. After his encounters, Avi said he holds no sympathy for Hamas and views them as Nazis. 
“Morning Wire” also spoke to 67-year-old Doron Admoni, who is from one of the hardest-hit areas of Kibbutz Kfar Aza, just a kilometer and a half from the barrier with Gaza. Admoni’s wife, Michal, 66, and his 25-year-old son, Guy, were killed by Hamas in the attacks. At the time, Admoni was in the United States visiting his other son. 
He said the last message he received from his wife was her expressing her worries over the family dog running away. Shortly after, he received a message from a friend in the kibbutz explaining the situation. After 15 minutes, Admoni says he could feel that his wife and son were “not with us anymore.” 
“No chance for them,” Admoni said. “And, now we know exactly that Guy and Michal [were] killed at home. They found them. And I know that Guy supported his mom. And he never leave her. And they kill them when they are together.”
“And now we have to see how we continue the life, our life. That&#8217;s all I must do. I must be strong and, rebuild the family from the beginning now,” he said. 
Another Israeli that “Morning Wire” spoke to is Elinor, who was from the same kibbutz as Admoni. Hamas terrorists invaded Elinor’s home, but she, her husband, and her children were able to flee into a safe room. Elinor said a siren went off around 6:30 a.m. last Saturday, prompting her and her family to enter the room. 
“I think it took at least 7 minutes when the siren kept going on and on and on and on and on. And my husband looked at me and he whispered and says, ‘Something&#8217;s different.’ He says, ‘I smell something else,’” Elinor recounted.
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“Suddenly we heard this huge bomb and we were sure the terrorists [were] in our house,” she said. “We heard them walking around the house for sure. We heard them on the roof. And every once in a while, they just shot. I don&#8217;t know if they shot someone or just to terrify us. They kept us in stress for so many hours and they terrified us in every single way they could have done it.”
Asked what message she would want the world to hear from her experience over the past week, Elinor said, “They butchered us, family after family. House after house. … I just want to be again Eleanor, that&#8217;s it. Not Eleanor from Kfar Aza, where I&#8217;m saying where I am from and everybody&#8217;s looking at me and mourn for me.”
&#8220;Morning Wire&#8221; also spoke to Mark Joffe, whose adult son manages their thrift store WhatsApp group from his home in Tel Aviv. The text group has hundreds of members and became a primary source of communication and information during the 23 hours they were held up in their safe rooms. 
“People joined it from all over. It had about 450 members in it very quickly. And it became the main way of people reporting what was going on where. It was a very unofficial and a very disturbing sort of line of, ‘They are here, they are coming in. They&#8217;re on my roof. Shots are being fired outside my house. Come and help.’ This sort of thing,” Joffe said. 
While Joffe and his family survived, he said it was a game of Russian roulette as to who survived and who didn’t. 
You can hear the full accounts of Avi, Admoni, Elinor, and Joffe by listening to the full episode <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/podcasts/morning-wire">here</a>.

Kibbutz Kfar Aza

‘They Butchered Us’: Israelis Speak Following Deadly Hamas Attacks

Israelis Speak Following Deadly Hamas Attacks

Hamas

Israel

Terrorism

The Daily Wire

World

Come for Morning Wire’s Afternoon Update’s straight news, but stay for the Rapid Reactions. The following five stories, and more, can be heard on today’s Morning Wire Afternoon Update podcast. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/podcasts/morning-wire/biden-administration-appeal-twitter-threatens-legal-action-afternoon-update-7-6-23" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Click here to listen</a>. 
Hurricane Idalia
Hurricane Idalia made <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/unprecedented-event-idalia-smashes-into-florida" target="_blank" rel="noopener">landfall as a Category 3 strength storm</a> in Florida’s Big Bend at 7:45 a.m. this morning, smashing into the town of Keaton Beach, with 125 mph winds. Called “an unprecedented event” by the National Weather Service in Tallahassee, Idalia is the most powerful storm to hit Florida’s Big Bend in over 125 years, triggering evacuation orders affecting tens of thousands of people. FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell told CNN that the state’s response has helped restore power rapidly:
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FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell: “I gotta tell you, the amount of mutual aid the State of Florida brought in to support power restoration is significant…What we saw during Hurricane Ian is that they were able to restore the power rather quickly, and I expect the same to… <a href="https://t.co/077gQyYjR4">pic.twitter.com/077gQyYjR4</a>
&mdash; DeSantis War Room 🐊 (@DeSantisWarRoom) <a href="https://twitter.com/DeSantisWarRoom/status/1696904013394960687?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 30, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis gave updates mid-day:
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Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) says the eye of Hurricane Idalia has moved out of Florida, but the storm’s bands are still impacting the state.
Power restorations are underway, but DeSantis says more outages could be reported. <a href="https://t.co/rkT6M1kjQZ">pic.twitter.com/rkT6M1kjQZ</a>
&mdash; The Recount (@therecount) <a href="https://twitter.com/therecount/status/1696933838235259270?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 30, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Rapid Reaction: It&#8217;s amazing what a difference competent, prepared leaders make in government. This isn&#8217;t DeSantis&#8217; first rodeo.
Biden Admin Focused On Everything But What&#8217;s Important
In the midst of the Biden administration’s chaotic military withdrawal from Afghanistan, top Pentagon officials were working to get the Secretary of Defense to sign a major climate change initiative – that’s according to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pentagon-frantically-worked-to-finalize-climate-plan-during-botched-afghanistan-withdrawal-emails-show" target="_blank" rel="noopener">emails obtained by The Daily Wire</a>.
<a href="https://onelink.to/dwapp">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILY WIRE APP</a>
The emails show that in the two weeks between the Taliban takeover of Kabul and the final U.S. military flight out of Afghanistan, Pentagon officials were scrambling on an unrelated matter: getting Biden’s Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to finalize a Climate Adaptation Plan. He signed it just two days after the withdrawal, declaring climate change a major national security threat. The Pentagon confirmed to The Daily Wire that Austin spent time during the withdrawal considering the climate initiative. His critics say his full attention should have been on getting Americans and our allies safely out of Afghanistan, where 13 service members had just been killed by a suicide bomber.
Rapid Reaction: On the other hand, having incompetent, unprepared leaders results in chaos. The Biden administration is staffed with such &#8220;leaders.&#8221;
Chicago Journalists Robbed While Reporting On Robberies
A local news <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/chicago-news-crew-robbed-at-gunpoint-while-reporting-on-robberies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">crew reporting</a> in Chicago was robbed at gunpoint by three armed men in ski masks while coincidentally reporting on a string of robberies. Here with more is Daily Wire Investigative Reporter Mairead Elordi:
<blockquote>Spanish-speaking channel Univision Chicago says that a reporter/photographer team was out filming at 5:00 a.m. on Monday in Chicago’s West Town neighborhood when the incident occurred. As Luis Godinez, the Channel’s Vice President of News, Told the Chicago Tribune, “They were approached with guns and robbed.” The burglars mainly stole personal items, as well as the news photographer&#8217;s camera. Godinez says the footage they shot was in the stolen camera, and the story never made it to air.</blockquote>
Rapid Reaction: Until Chicagons stop voting Democrat, this sort of crime will continue.
CNN Names New CEO
A new <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/cnn-appears-set-to-name-new-ceo" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> suggests that CNN is set to name a new CEO in the coming days after the network fired its last CEO over the summer following a damning profile piece and a town hall debacle involving former President Donald Trump.
As early as Thursday, CNN is expected to name former New York Times Company CEO and BBC director general Mark Thompson to be the network’s next chairman and CEO. The report said that Thompson has a reputation for “restructuring legacy media assets and pursuing innovative growth strategies” and that he could not be more different than the network’s last CEO, Chris Licht, who departed from the company in June.
Rapid Reaction: Something tells me the new CNN will be even more liberal than it was under Zuckerberg — and snobbier, too.
To listen to the audio version of Afternoon Update, click here. And for more in-depth discussion of the biggest stories of the day, listen to the latest full episode of Morning Wire every morning.
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DeSantis at New College of Florida

Rapid Reaction: What A Difference Competent Leaders Make In Times Of Crisis

Rapid Reaction: Government Can Be Competent — If Leaders Are Prepared

Biden Admin

Chicago

Florida

General

Podcast

Come for Morning Wire’s Afternoon Update’s straight news, but stay for the Rapid Reactions. The following five stories, and more, can be heard on today’s Morning Wire Afternoon Update podcast. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/podcasts/morning-wire/biden-administration-appeal-twitter-threatens-legal-action-afternoon-update-7-6-23" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Click here to listen</a>. 
1. House GOP Subpoenas FBI
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/jordan-subpoenas-doj-and-fbi-leaders-in-big-tech-collusion-probe" target="_blank" rel="noopener">subpoenaed</a> both FBI Director Christopher Wray and Attorney General Merrick Garland in relation to the committee&#8217;s ongoing censorship investigation. The Committee is specifically seeking communication between the FBI, DOJ, and private companies. In a letter, the Committee asked both federal agencies for voluntary cooperation, while noting that historically their compliance has been “inadequate.”
Rapid Reaction: Have you ever seen the movie &#8220;Angels in the Outfield?&#8221; In a scene at the beginning of the film, the protagonist&#8217;s father tells him that they&#8217;ll be a family again when the Los Angeles Angels &#8220;win the pennant.&#8221; That sets up the premise of the film — the main character Roger praying for an LA win and actual angels helping the baseball team win the MLB World Series. It never would have happened unless the angels interceded.
Anyway, that is sort of what it&#8217;s starting to feel like with the GOP. Congress will only enact actual political pressure, begin impeachments, and wield the &#8220;power of the purse&#8221; with the help of divine power. Until then, the GOP leaders will keep sending strongly worded letters&#8230; Great.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Angels In The Outfield (1994) Roger’s Dad" width="500" height="375" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4kFEWRVO0RM?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>
2. Court Ends Mail Order Abortion Pills
Mail-order <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/federal-appeals-court-makes-decision-on-the-mailing-of-abortion-pills" target="_blank" rel="noopener">access to a drug commonly</a> used for abortion could end in the U.S. following a Wednesday Appeals Court Ruling — but it cannot take effect unless the Supreme Court weighs in on the matter. The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals decision overturns a part of a lower court ruling which would have revoked the FDA’s two-decade approval of the drug mifepristone. The decision did leave a part of the original ruling in place, that would end the drug’s distribution by mail, limit its use to the seventh week of pregnancy, and require it be administered in the presence of a doctor. Those restrictions won’t take effect right away because the Supreme Court previously intervened to keep the drug available during the legal fight.
Rapid Reaction: Any legal ruling that helps save babies is a win. Let&#8217;s hope that SCOTUS does the right thing here — legally and morally.
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3. Woke Lunacy In Hawaii To Blame For Wildfires?
A Hawaiian water official has been “reassigned” after allegedly refusing to transfer water resources that would have helped firefighters battle the Maui Wildfires. The Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources deputy director, M. Kaleo Manuel, denied requests from Maui firefighters and various entities to open up reservoirs and streams as the fires grew more out of control. Even after firefighters told the department they’d used all the on-hand water and were desperate for any help, Manuel reportedly delayed their request. Here’s Manuel:
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Here is M. Kaleo Manuel, the Hawaii water official who refused to release water resources and let landowners fight the Maui fire, explaining his &quot;philosophy&quot; about water:
&quot;Native Hawaiians treated water as one of the earthly manifestations of a god&#8230;We&#39;ve become used to looking… <a href="https://t.co/hjsWqdVtxf">pic.twitter.com/hjsWqdVtxf</a>
&mdash; Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) <a href="https://twitter.com/charliekirk11/status/1692044616345014589?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 17, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Rapid Reaction: Writer John Nolte had the best reaction.
&#8220;Hawaiians voted for politicians who allowed this anti-science equivalent of a sun worshipper to take control of their water supply,&#8221; he tweeted. &#8220;You can’t help people who vote this way.&#8221;
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Hawaiians voted for politicians who allowed this anti-science equivalent of a sun worshipper to take control of their water supply. 
You can’t help people who vote this way. 
They are fanatics. <a href="https://t.co/H7i2TZxSnR">https://t.co/H7i2TZxSnR</a>
&mdash; John Ocasio-Rodham Nolte (@NolteNC) <a href="https://twitter.com/NolteNC/status/1692171955078582735?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 17, 2023</a></blockquote>
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4. Chess Cracks Down On Transgenderism 
The world’s top chess federation has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/chess-federation-bans-trans-identifying-men-from-womens-events" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ruled</a> that men that identify as women cannot compete in its official events for females until an assessment of gender change is made by its officials. The decision was announced Monday by Switzerland-based International Chess Federation  FIDE and led to the federation fielding criticism from various transgender advocacy groups. The federation says that for now, transgender players are allowed to participate in the “open” section of its chess tournaments, and the assessment of gender change could take up to two years.
Rapid Reaction: Men and women are different — always have been, always will be. Perhaps it makes sense that a game based on critical thinking, rules, and tradition is fighting back on this issue.
5. Britney Spears And Husband Divorce
And, Britney Spears and Sam Asghari are getting <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/britney-spears-shares-cryptic-posts-following-news-of-split-from-husband" target="_blank" rel="noopener">divorced</a> after 14 months of marriage. Asghari filed a petition to end the marriage with the Los Angeles Superior Court earlier this week, citing “irreconcilable differences.” He is also requesting spousal support. The date of separation for the couple is July 28, the petition states. Spears and Asghari got married in June of last year. The pair first met in 2016 when Asghari co-starred with Spears in the music video for her single “Slumber Party.”
Rapid Reaction: First reaction: Who cares? Second reaction: The Daily Wire&#8217;s Matt Walsh was prescient on this topic (per usual).
&#8220;Remember when you guys all shouted &#8216;Free Britney!&#8217; because you saw a fake documentary and I told you she’s clearly an unstable lunatic and was in a conservatorship for a reason and you got really mad at me but literally everything that’s happened since then proves me right?&#8221; he tweeted in reaction to the latest story.
To listen to the audio version of Afternoon Update, <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/morning-wire/id1576594336">click here</a>. And for more in-depth discussion of the biggest stories of the day, listen to the latest full episode of Morning Wire every morning.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Abortion protesters

Rapid Reaction: Abortion Pill Restrictions & Maui Fire Update

Britney Spears

Chess

Jim Jordan

Matt Walsh

Transgender

Come for Morning Wire’s Afternoon Update’s straight news, but stay for the Rapid Reactions. The following four stories, and more, can be heard on today’s Morning Wire Afternoon Update podcast.<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/podcasts/morning-wire/biden-administration-appeal-twitter-threatens-legal-action-afternoon-update-7-6-23" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> Click here to listen</a>. 
What&#8217;s Going On In Georgia?
Confusion<a href="https://nbcmontana.com/news/nation-world/georgia-court-appears-to-accidentally-leak-list-of-donald-trump-criminal-charges-online-2020-election-fraud-special-counsel-jack-smith-interferences-brad-raffensperger-indictment-arraignment-felony-state-crime"> sprang up on Monday</a> after the Fulton County Court in Georgia published a document on its website appearing to show that former President Donald Trump was being charged over a slew of crimes — including RICO violations — only for that document to be taken down almost immediately afterward. 

The grand jury in Fulton County, where district attorney Fani Willis is expected to bring charges this week, is reportedly still meeting today and tomorrow to discuss any potential indictments against Trump for his actions relating to the 2020 election. The Trump team and his supporters used the incident to castigate Willis and claim it was further proof that the justice system was rigged against the potential 2024 GOP nominee.
Rapid Reaction: At this point, why would anybody give Fulton County the benefit of the doubt? The district attorney&#8217;s office has yet to explain what that document posted online was. The grand jury is still hearing evidence. Meanwhile, somebody on Willis&#8217; team is apparently leaking<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/13/politics/coffee-county-georgia-voting-system-breach-trump/index.html"> evidence to CNN</a>. You can disagree with Trump&#8217;s election theories while still admitting that the wielding of state and federal power against him is troubling — even anti-American.
Biden Has &#8216;No Comment&#8217; On Hawaii
President Joe Biden is catching heat for his remarks, or lack thereof in the wake of the tragedy unfolding in Maui. While in Rehoboth Beach on Sunday afternoon, the president was asked by the press for his reaction to the blaze that has killed more than 90 people and caused billions of dollars in property damage. He responded by saying he had “no comment.”  Here’s the clip:
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&quot;Any comment on the rising death toll in Maui?&quot;
BIDEN: &quot;No. No comment.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/oORpRuLUpz">pic.twitter.com/oORpRuLUpz</a>
&mdash; RNC Research (@RNCResearch) <a href="https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1691089298429280256?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 14, 2023</a></blockquote>
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The president did authorize federal emergency aid for the Aloha State as it recovers from the devastating wildfire.
Rapid Reaction: Paging, Mr. Empathy. Biden has been propped up by the Democratic Party and its media allies as a decent and kind politician who cares for the plight of the common man. Anybody who has paid attention to his career has known that is a bogus characterization. 

Yet, now as president, his low emotional quotient has been on full display. Hawaii is just his latest example of tone deafness. See also his treatment of the<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-ultimate-disrespect-gold-star-families-trash-biden-admin-over-afghanistan-withdrawal"> Afghanistan</a> withdrawal survivors as well as the<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dont-let-bidens-all-time-offensive-response-to-the-nashville-shooting-get-buried"> Nashville shooting victims</a>.
What did he do on Monday? Well, his communications team tweeted out some statements on Hawaii, but Biden got lunch with his veep:
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The only thing on President Biden&#39;s schedule today is lunch&#8230; <a href="https://t.co/pm0RJvl9nE">pic.twitter.com/pm0RJvl9nE</a>
&mdash; The Maine Wire (@TheMaineWire) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheMaineWire/status/1691083530443345920?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 14, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Oversight Transcript Alleges That Biden Team Tipped Off About Hunter Interview
The House Oversight Committee released a transcript of a former FBI agent claiming that<a href="https://dailycaller.com/2023/08/09/joe-biden-talking-points-burisma-executive-hunter-dc/"> Joe Biden</a>’s 2020 transition team and members of the Secret Service were notified of the bureau’s plans to interview Hunter Biden in December 2020 — and that that led to the interview of Hunter getting shut down, per The Daily Caller. The anonymous agent’s testimony corroborated other FBI and IRS whistleblower complaints.
Rapid Reaction: Will the Bidens ever be held accountable? Daily Wire Editor Emeritus Ben Shapiro broke down on his podcast, &#8220;The Ben Shapiro Show&#8221; the latest in this never-ending saga. Watch and listen here:<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-1787-joe-biden-s-big-hunter-coverup"> Joe Biden’s Big Hunter Coverup</a>
Things Are Super Expensive
A new report from Moody’s Analytics shows that the typical American household is paying $709 more per month for the same goods and services as it was two years ago, CNN<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/11/economy/inflation-rate-spending/index.html"> reported</a>. That cost increase reflects the high rate of inflation that has plagued much of the Biden presidency
Rapid Reaction:<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bidenomics-gas-stove-crackdown-would-save-americans-9-cents-per-month"> That&#8217;s Bidenomics, baby!</a>
Political Upset In Argentina
Argentine voters rejected the country&#8217;s two main political forces in a primary election on Sunday, and put their support behind libertarian candidate Javier Milei.  Milei got just over 30% of the vote and now heads for the general election set for October 22nd. This shakeup comes after power was traded between two mainstream political coalitions for the last decade.
Rapid Reaction: In reaction to this upset, author and political strategist Ryan Girdusky  tweeted,  &#8220;Political earthquake in Argentina … arguably as big as Bolsonaro being elected in Brazil.&#8221;
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Nearly 90% in and an anarchic-capitalist is leading the presidential primary in Argentina <a href="https://t.co/ekqgoD9jVa">https://t.co/ekqgoD9jVa</a>
&mdash; Ryan James Girdusky (@RyanGirdusky) <a href="https://twitter.com/RyanGirdusky/status/1690929187891052544?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 14, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Milei&#8217;s candidacy has largely been a protest campaign against the Argentine elite, as<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/argentine-presidential-primary-voters-propel-far-right-outsider-to-surprise-win-ec24e5b4?mod=e2fb&amp;mod=e2tw"> described</a> by The Wall Street Journal. He was never supposed to win.
“If we don’t change today, the only destiny will be to turn into the biggest slum in the world,”  Milei told his supporters earlier this year. “I don’t want your vote so you give me the power, but to give you back your freedom so you can be the architects of your own destiny and we can end this state that makes us poor, with inflation and crime, and put the country on the path to growth.”
Perhaps, in other words, he wants to put &#8220;Argentina First.&#8221;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/will-trumps-next-major-announcement-be-a-line-of-pet-rocks-former-prez-needs-to-rekindle-2016-spirit-to-win-it-all" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> Sound familiar</a>?
To listen to the audio version of Afternoon Update, <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/morning-wire/id1576594336">click here</a>. And for more in-depth discussion of the biggest stories of the day, listen to the latest full episode of Morning Wire every morning.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Joe Biden

Rapid Reaction: Biden Enjoys Lunch With Kamala Harris While Hawaii Suffers

Rapid Reaction: Biden Enjoys Lunch With Kamala While Hawaii Suffers

Argentina

Ben Shapiro

Economy

Come for Morning Wire’s Afternoon Update’s straight news, but stay for the Rapid Reactions. The following four stories, and more, can be heard on today’s Morning Wire Afternoon Update podcast. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/podcasts/morning-wire/biden-administration-appeal-twitter-threatens-legal-action-afternoon-update-7-6-23" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Click here to listen</a>. 
1. Congress To Subpoena Joe And Hunter
Rep. James Comer (R-KY) told Fox’s Maria Bartiromo that he will be subpoenaing Joe and Hunter Biden to testify about their alleged scheme to sell Biden influence. The announcement comes one day after the House Oversight Committee released a bombshell report detailing evidence that the Biden family received at least $20M from foreign countries including Russia. Comer says this was always going to end with the Bidens coming before the Committee.
&#8220;We are going to subpoena the family. We are putting the case together to win in court,&#8221; he <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-family-will-face-subpoenas-comer-says" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. &#8220;We&#8217;ve shown the bank records. If I had subpoenaed Joe and Hunter Biden the first day I became chairman of the committee, it would&#8217;ve been tied up in court and the judge would&#8217;ve eventually thrown it out because at that time, the narrative was they never took any money while he was vice president.&#8221;
Rapid Reaction: That is a fair explanation for why the Bidens weren&#8217;t subpoenaed earlier. Yet, well done is better than well said. Historically, Republicans said a whole lot more than they&#8217;ve actually done. Comer has done an excellent job exposing the corruption, but, to borrow a phrase from Mike Howell of The Heritage Foundation, the real standard this Congress will be held to will be tangible results that de-weaponize the government and end the persecution of Biden&#8217;s political opponents. Read more on that <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/selling-access-to-our-enemies-for-decades-the-latest-on-james-comers-biden-crime-family-investigation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.
2. Biden Unfreezes Billions For Iran
Five Americans imprisoned in Iran have been moved from a notorious prison in the country into house arrest, as part of a planned swap between Tehran and Washington. According to one of the prisoner’s lawyers, the deal will include the release of roughly $6 billion in Iranian government assets that were held up by U.S. sanctions. If the proposed agreement goes through, it will need to abide by existing sanctions that only allow Iran to use the money to buy food, medicine, or for other humanitarian purposes. Read more <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-reaches-deal-with-iran-to-free-americans-in-exchange-for-iranian-prisoners-6b-in-funds" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.
Rapid Reaction: The U.S. is effectively giving billions of dollars to Iran? Where have I seen something similar to this before? Oh, right, under the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/lion-ted-unloads-missiles-fired-at-u-s-troops-by-iran-paid-for-by-the-billions-obama-gave-them" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Obama-Biden administration</a>. When folks said this would be Obama&#8217;s third term, they weren&#8217;t kidding.
3. Jack Smith Sets Trial Date — Right Before Primary Elections Start
Special counsel Jack Smith <a href="https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2023-08-10/government-proposes-date-for-trump-2020-election-trial" target="_blank" rel="noopener">proposed</a> a January 2, 2024, start date today for former President Donald Trump’s trial regarding his alleged effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Smith’s office has estimated that its case would take no longer than four to six weeks to present to jurors.
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Rapid Reaction: The former president put it best in New Hampshire this week as he predicted what the coming campaign would like:
<blockquote>How can my corrupt political opponent, Crooked Joe Biden, put me on trial during an election campaign — that I am winning by a lot — but forcing me, nevertheless, to spend time and money away from the campaign trail in order to fight bogus made up accusations and charges? &#8230; &#8220;I&#8217;m sorry I won&#8217;t be able to go to Iowa today, I won&#8217;t be able to go to New Hampshire today because I&#8217;m sitting in a courtroom on bulls*** because [Biden&#8217;s] attorney general charged me with something.&#8221;</blockquote>
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Former President Trump: &quot;I&#39;m sorry I won&#39;t be able to go to Iowa today, I won&#39;t be able to go to New Hampshire today because I&#39;m sitting in a court room on bullshit because his attorney general charged me with something.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/Ox2n9rrH7v">pic.twitter.com/Ox2n9rrH7v</a>
&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1689005551139627008?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 8, 2023</a></blockquote>
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And that&#8217;s exactly what this trial date would do to Trump&#8217;s campaign if it is not delayed.
To read more about why Smith&#8217;s indictment is &#8220;dangerous bulls***,&#8221; as explained by Daily Wire Editor Emeritus Ben Shapiro, click <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/jack-smiths-indictment-against-trump-is-dangerous-bulls" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.
4. Hawaii Wildfires
Thousands of people have been <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/historic-hawaiian-town-of-lahaina-wiped-out-by-fire-270-structures-damaged-36-dead" target="_blank" rel="noopener">displaced</a>, and at least three dozen people are dead after wildfires ravaged the Hawaiian island of Maui and overwhelmed firefighters. 
The blazes erupted on Tuesday and continued to wreak havoc on the community on the western part of the island while flames raged in other areas. The fires have already engulfed thousands of acres and have killed at least 36 people. The cause of the fires is still unknown, and President Joe Biden has declared a FEMA disaster.
Rapid Reaction: The Left is already <a href="https://twitter.com/JunkScience/status/1689644761362333696?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">blaming this on climate change</a>. They never let a crisis go to waste. Typical, but it is always gross and ignorant when it happens.
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To listen to the audio version of Afternoon Update, <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/morning-wire/id1576594336" target="_blank" rel="noopener">click here</a>. And for more in-depth discussion of the biggest stories of the day, listen to the latest full episode of Morning Wire every morning.
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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Joe Biden, Hunter Biden

Rapid Reaction: Subpoena The Bidens? Sounds Good, But Well Done Is Better Than Well Said.

Rapid Reaction: The Bidens Will Face Subpoenas? Sounds Good, But Well Done Is Better Than Well Said.

Congress

Hawaii

Come for Morning Wire’s Afternoon Update’s straight news, but stay for the Rapid Reactions The following five stories, and more, can be heard on today’s Morning Wire Afternoon Update podcast. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/podcasts/morning-wire/biden-administration-appeal-twitter-threatens-legal-action-afternoon-update-7-6-23" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Click here to listen</a>. 
1. DOJ Lets Sam Bankman-Fried Off The Hook For Campaign Finance Fraud
The Department of Justice <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/27/business/sam-bankman-fried-campaign-finance-charge.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">will</a> not pursue campaign finance charges against the disgraced former crypto-king Sam Bankman-Fried after the DOJ learned that the U.S. hadn’t obtained permission from the Bahamas to extradite Bankman-Fried on that charge. Bankman-Fried, who ran the multi-million dollar crypto-investing firm FTX, was charged on eight counts, including fraud, money laundering, and campaign finance violations. He was a major Democrat donor. The change in his indictment came late Wednesday night.
Rapid Reaction: Is it any wonder trust in the U.S. government is slow when the infamous SBF gets treated like this by the DOJ? As TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk said, &#8220;There&#8217;s a very real chance that one of the worst scammers in American history will get a slap on the wrist.&#8221;
&#8220;Between the kid glove treatment of Hunter Biden and the unraveling case against SBF vs. the entrapment of MAGA supporters and the relentless pursuit of Donald Trump, the American public is getting a crash course in how their federal &#8216;justice system&#8217; really works,&#8221; he added.
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Did you know that over the past two months, 6 of the 13 charges against FTX fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried have been dropped? There&#39;s a very real chance that one of the worst scammers in American history will get a slap on the wrist.
Then, we have the plea deal for Hunter Biden,…
&mdash; Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) <a href="https://twitter.com/charliekirk11/status/1684603934365847552?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 27, 2023</a></blockquote>
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2. Radical Gender Ideology Hearing
A congressional subcommittee <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/barbaric-pseudoscience-chloe-cole-calls-for-lawmakers-to-protect-children-from-transgender-procedures" target="_blank" rel="noopener">heard</a> testimony on Thursday about radical gender ideology and sex-change surgeries and other procedures. The testimony was emotional for both those who supported so-called “transgender care” for minors and those opposed to it. Among those who testified were Chloe Cole, a detransitioner who received sex-change procedures at the age of 15, an NCAA athlete, as well as a trans-identifying attorney and a mother who has a trans-identifying child.
&#8220;I didn&#8217;t need to be lied to, I needed compassion, I needed to be loved, I needed to be given therapy to help me work through my issues, not affirming my delusion that by transitioning into a boy, it would solve all my problems,&#8221; Cole said.
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Gender transition therapy victim Chloe Cole: &quot;I didn&#39;t need to be lied to, I needed compassion, I needed to be loved, I needed to be given therapy to help me work through my issues, not affirming my delusion that by transitioning into a boy, it would solve all my problems.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/jtHF5vtL2o">pic.twitter.com/jtHF5vtL2o</a>
&mdash; NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) <a href="https://twitter.com/NEWSMAX/status/1684586945186500614?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 27, 2023</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;That story is the exception, not the rule,&#8221; attorney Shannon Minster said. &#8220;Vast majority of young people who receive these treatments are getting them after careful assessment and because they really need them.&#8221;
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.<a href="https://twitter.com/ChoooCole?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ChoooCole</a>&#39;s face when Mr. Minter lies and says her story is &quot;the exception, not the rule&quot; <a href="https://t.co/fdtz2d1w8M">pic.twitter.com/fdtz2d1w8M</a>
&mdash; Media Research Center (@theMRC) <a href="https://twitter.com/theMRC/status/1684584006052990976?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 27, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Rapid Reaction: Consider how insane this moment in American history is: A sizable chunk of the Democratic Party believes that not only can men and women change their sex and gender through bodily mutilation, but that minors should be allowed to do so. The Democrats are so adamant in this belief that states are pushing for laws that <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/california-state-senator-warns-parents-to-flee-state-after-gender-affirmation-bill-advances" target="_blank" rel="noopener">strip parental authority away</a>. And now, Congress has to host hearings on the matter in hopes of exposing how barbaric this practice really is.
It&#8217;s a bizarro world out there, for lack of a better term.
3. Supreme Court Strikes Down Gas Pipeline Ban
The Supreme Court has <a href="https://www.kxan.com/news/national-news/ap-supreme-court-allows-construction-to-resume-on-the-mountain-valley-pipeline/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">struck down</a> a ruling from a lower court that prohibited the construction of a 300-mile natural gas pipeline &#8212; being built through Virginia and West Virginia &#8212; from moving forward. This morning, the high court vacated stay orders put in place by the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals. That ruling was opposed by both the fossil fuel industry and the Biden administration. West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin said he is relieved the high court upheld a law passed by Congress and signed by the president. The senator went on to say, “The Supreme Court has spoken and this decision to let construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline move forward again is the correct one.”
Rapid Reaction: Thank goodness for the conservative Supreme Court — and thank goodness for former President Donald J. Trump&#8217;s appointments. As <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/meads-joe-bidens-energy-policy-is-the-embodiment-of-america-last" target="_blank" rel="noopener">previously covered</a>, the Biden administration has effectively done everything to make the U.S. dependent on foreign nations&#8217; energy. It&#8217;s backward and hurting our economy and national security. This is a win for all Americans.
4. Trump Indictment Coming?
<a href="https://townhall.com/tipsheet/spencerbrown/2023/07/27/trump-j6-indictment-expected-n2626281">Former President Donald Trump’s attorneys</a>, Todd Blanche and John Lauro, were reportedly told by the prosecutors in Special Counsel Jack Smith’s office to “expect an indictment” for their client over the events leading up to and during the January 6 Capitol riot. However, Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/110787141696035682">denied</a> this report on Truth Social and said it was a “productive meeting.”
Rapid Reaction: The Witchhunt continues &#8212; what else is there to say at this point? Perhaps the better question is — what is the GOP going to do about this double standard? Another letter? More on that <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=what%27s+the+GOP+doing+dailywire&amp;rlz=1C5GCEM_enUS998US998&amp;oq=what%27s+the+GOP+doing+dailywire&amp;aqs=chrome..69i57j69i64l2.3838j1j4&amp;sourceid=chrome&amp;ie=UTF-8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.
5. Bowe Bergdahl Conviction Vacated
Bowe Bergdahl, the American soldier who was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bowe-bergdahl-has-desertion-conviction-vacated-by-judge" target="_blank" rel="noopener">captured</a> in Afghanistan and later traded for five Taliban leaders in a prisoner exchange, has had his desertion conviction tossed out.  A federal judge said the original case could have been clouded by a conflict of interest.
According to U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton, Judge Jeffrey Nance did not disclose his application to be an immigration judge under then-President Donald Trump. Walton argued that Bergdahl’s trial could then be construed as a conflict of interest because of Trump’s vocal criticisms of Bergdahl and that Nance’s neutrality was “undermined” because “he might be inclined to appeal to the president’s expressed interest in the plaintiff’s conviction and punishment when applying for the immigration judge position.”
Rapid Reaction: It&#8217;s easy to forget how terrible former President Barack Obama&#8217;s foreign policy really was. The Bergdahl swap typified his fecklessness on the world stage.
To listen to the audio version of Afternoon Update, <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/morning-wire/id1576594336" target="_blank" rel="noopener">click here</a>. And for more in-depth discussion of the biggest stories of the day, listen to the latest full episode of Morning Wire every morning.

Sam Bankman-Fried

Rapid Reaction: Major Dem Donor Let Off The Hook For Alleged Campaign Finance Fraud

Bowe Bergdahl

Supreme Court

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