--:-- [Theme music fades out]
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): This episode is brought to you by LifeLock. Between two-factor authentication, strong passwords, and a VPN, you try to be in control of how your info is protected. But many other places also have it, and they might not be as careful. That's why LifeLock monitors hundreds of millions of data points a second for threats. If your identity is stolen, they'll fix it. Guaranteed or your money back. Save up to 40% your first year. Visit LifeLock.com slash podcast for 40% off. Terms apply.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): A new study is shining a light on some of the best places in the U.S. to find a job. Which cities have the hottest job markets, and what are economists predicting going forward? I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley. It's April 8th, and this is your Saturday edition of Morning Wire.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): An Arizona judge has ruled that the city of Phoenix must clean up the thousand-person homeless encampment downtown. Whatever the city is doing is not working. It is a humanitarian disaster there. We discussed the lawsuit and why the city says it can't enforce the local ban on public camping. And Major League Baseball looks dramatically different this year with a series of game-changing new rules. We discussed the changes in a controversy involving women's basketball and the First Lady. Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): Hey guys, Regan here. And right now, you can save over 70% off GenuCell's most popular package. Just in time for warmer weather, GenuCell is including both their ultra retinol and dark spot corrector in their most popular package. All orders are upgraded to free shipping and every subscription order includes a complimentary spring spa box with three free spa essentials. Visit GenuCell.com slash wire and use code wire at checkout to claim the special offer. That's GenuCell.com slash wire.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): A new study ranking the hottest job markets in the country is turning some heads, showing a geographic and political correlation behind the best places to find work. Here with more on the city's leading the way and what experts predict for the future of the job market is Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Well, every year, the Wall Street Journal releases their popular annual rankings on the country's hottest job markets. They rank each market on a number of criteria, including unemployment rates, weekly wages, labor force participation, etc. And this year, our home city of Nashville, Tennessee, came in at number one. I'd like to think Daily Wire contributed to that.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): Yes, I know John particularly would like to take a lot of credit.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: But the study does say that the main factors are research in tourism in the city, post-COVID, a robust healthcare industry, and new hubs for a number of large California-based tech companies. The fact that Tennessee has no state income tax plays a role as well.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Rounding out the top five were Austin, Texas, Jacksonville, Florida, Dallas, Texas, and Raleigh, North Carolina. While the fastest climber in the top 10 was Orlando, which came in at number seven. Notably, though, nine of the top 10 are in the southern part of the country. As the journal put it, quote, to find the best job markets in America, head to the South.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Now, you mentioned the geographic trends on the list, but there's also, it seems like a political element to this as well. It definitely appears that way. Going through the list of the top 10, you see states like Texas, Florida, Tennessee, Georgia, Utah, and North Carolina, which are all considered red or at the very least purple states that do vote overwhelmingly Republican.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: And when you look at the same rankings for smaller cities there a similar trend once more Eight of the 10 are in red states led by Elkhart, Indiana. Now that political correlation is something we seen in other areas as well We talked on the show about how red states overwhelmingly added the most new residents last year, and we're home to the hottest housing markets as well. So it's not just the labor market.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Now, the job market has been surprisingly resilient over the past few years. That's been surprising to some economists. You're right. Despite broader economic turmoil and persistent inflation, the job market has been one of the few bright spots in the economy.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Nationwide unemployment is still around 3.5%. That's the lowest point we've seen in about 50 years. And there are still nearly 10 million job openings across the country. That tight labor market has given workers considerable leverage over the last two years to negotiate for pay raises and seek out better jobs if they don't like the one they're in.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: But there are signs the job market could be showing some cracks. Right. So tell us more about that.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Well, on Friday, the Labor Department released their much-anticipated March jobs report, which showed a dip in job growth after two consecutive strong months in January and February. But looking ahead to the spring and summer, there is growing concern among economists that the red-hot job market we've seen across the last two years may see a major cooldown.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: One obvious reason is high inflation, which continues to drag on businesses and cut into profits. But there are other signs as well. First, the number of job openings, while still relatively high, just dipped below 10 million for the first time since April of 2021 last month. So things are beginning to tighten on that front.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: We've also seen a gradual monthly decline over the last year in the number of Americans who are voluntarily quitting their jobs in search of other work. That's typically a good indicator of how confident people are in the labor market.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: And then there's the turmoil in the banking market, which really spooked business owners. and according to economists, will likely play a role in dissuading business owners from making hires in the short term.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: But it's worth noting, a loosening of the job market, according to economists at least, is not the worst thing when it comes to the country's overall economic health. The Fed actually wants unemployment to rise in their bid to lower inflation and a looser job market does, while painful for many people, typically result in more modest wage growth, which can help curb inflation.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): All right, well, Cabot, thanks so much for reporting.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Anytime.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): That was Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): Coming up, Phoenix must remove more than 1,000 homeless tents downtown.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): Do you love Morning Wire? Well, you can shop the collection at dailywire.com slash shop. Start today with your favorite podcast and coffee from your very own Morning Wire mug. Or read the news you need to know with Morning Wire t-shirts, hoodies, and tote bags. That's dailywire.com slash shop.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): A judge in Arizona ruled this week that the city of Phoenix must remove the tents belonging to over 1,000 homeless people downtown. The massive downtown homeless encampment is an illegal public nuisance, the judge ruled. Daily Wire investigative reporter Maraid Elordi is here with the details for us.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Hi, Georgia. So a group of property owners and businesses sued the city of Phoenix for its failure to enforce bans on public camping, which they claim has led to a rapid increase in the number of homeless people living in an encampment downtown that locals call the zone. It's estimated that more than 1,000 homeless people now live there, as we mentioned.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: The business owners claim the encampment prevents them from operating. Locals also claim that the city has essentially made the homeless encampment area off-limits to law enforcement, which presents safety concerns. For example, residents claim that public defecation and urination, drug use, and violence are common and that it spills over onto their private property.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Here, sandwich shop owner Joe Falaci speaking to News Nation: You know the shelter started letting people camp on their property then it just happened and it just exploded because the city has no control.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Business owners also say that the encampment scares customers away from the area. No, that's why they call it the zone. You know, it's a bunch of zombies walking around on drugs and it's very scary.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: In the suit, the business owners also allege that the city has actually transported people to the zone to live there indefinitely.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Scott Blaney ruled last week that Phoenix must get rid of the public nuisance the huge encampment is causing and remove the tents as soon as is practicable. Phoenix has until July 10th to do so, at which point a trial in the case is set to begin.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: And what's the city saying about this suit?
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Well, during the lawsuit, Phoenix officials claimed that their hands were tied by a Ninth Circuit precedent from 2019 that ruled it is cruel and unusual punishment to arrest people for involuntarily sleeping on the streets.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: The city was also facing a suit from the ACLU of Arizona, which filed a lawsuit against the city in November, seeking to prevent the cleanup, saying that the cleanups criminalize, punish, and scatter people living outdoors.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Ultimately, the judge presiding over the business owner's suit did not buy this defense, since many of the homeless people in the zone are there by choice and have refused to go to a homeless shelter.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: After the judge's ruling, a city spokeswoman said that Phoenix is, committed to addressing the needs of all residents and property owners, and that they continue to work to address the complex issues surrounding those experiencing homelessness, including connecting people with indoor shelter.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Again, the city has until July 10th to clean the area.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): Well, we'll see if Phoenix cleans up in time.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Thanks, Georgia.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): That was Daily Wire investigative reporter Maraid Elordi.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): The 2023 Major League Baseball season began last week, and there have been several major rule changes that are transforming America's pastime. Here to discuss the changes and some other news in the sports world is sports writer and Crane & Company co-host David Cohn.
--:-- David Cohn: Hi, John.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): So baseball's new rules are in place in America's most tradition-grounded sport. It looks a whole lot different now.
--:-- David Cohn: It certainly does. Due to all these, as Georgia noted, significant rule changes, the biggest impact they're having is shortening the game by almost a third.
--:-- David Cohn: So the first big schematic change is that overloading players to one side of the infield, which is known as the shift, is now a violation. This defensive strategy became more prevalent over the past decade. And because it led to fewer hits, Major League Baseball has made the change.
--:-- David Cohn: The rule now states at the time a pitch is thrown, all four infielders are required to be on the infield dirt with two players on each side of second base.
--:-- David Cohn: Now to the second notable change, the introduction of a pitch clock, much like a shot clock in basketball. The pitch clock is aimed at speeding up the pace of play.
--:-- David Cohn: The new rule states that pitchers have 15 seconds to deliver the pitch with the bases empty and 20 seconds with a runner on base. Hitters need to be in the batter's box with at least eight seconds on the pitch clock.
--:-- David Cohn: If a pitcher has not started the motion to deliver before the expiration of the clock, he'll be charged with a ball. If a batter delays entering that batter's box, he'll be charged with a strike.
--:-- David Cohn: And this rule has really stirred a lot of discussion, right?
--:-- David Cohn: It has, and it's drawn both praise and criticism. But one thing that can be argued is the effect it had on game length According to MLB executives the pitch clock shaped 26 minutes off of spring training games last month and the numbers are similar for the first week of regular season play.
--:-- David Cohn: The last big change, no pun intended, is the size of the bases. We mentioned this last week. All bases except home plate have been enlarged from 15 to 18 inches.
--:-- David Cohn: Here, Major League Baseball hopes bigger bases will reduce injuries while leading to more stolen base attempts.
--:-- David Cohn: Okay. So, so far, is there any data to indicate whether or not these rules have increased viewership?
--:-- David Cohn: As a matter of fact, yes, viewership for Major League Baseball is up across the board. Now, the sample size is still small and data will certainly continue to be analyzed. But opening day's nationally televised games were up 10% on Fox from last year, 11% on ESPN, up 42% on MLB TV, and up 4% for Sunday night baseball.
--:-- David Cohn: Of course, some of that might be curiosity to see how these changes impact the game.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): Absolutely.
--:-- David Cohn: While we have you here, there's a bit of controversy this week in women's college basketball.
--:-- David Cohn: Can you update us on all that?
--:-- David Cohn: Absolutely, yes. The women's final four was held last weekend, and it was a fantastic tournament, John. In fact, the championship game drew nearly 10 million viewers, which is more than every NBA playoff game last season, save for the NBA finals.
--:-- David Cohn: Now, Kim Mulkey, who had already led Baylor to three national championships, ushered LSU to its first basketball title when they defeated Iowa, who was led by Caitlin Clark, the national Player of the Year and tournament record breaker.
--:-- David Cohn: But much of the controversy is centered around LSU star forward Angel Reese. In the final game, Reese began following Caitlin Clark around the court, taunting her with championship ring gestures as time was expiring in the title game.
--:-- David Cohn: Then Reese stated that the first lady, Jill Biden, was not invited into the LSU locker room before the title game because President Joe Biden did not pick the Tigers to win the tournament.
--:-- David Cohn: The final bit of drama happened when the first lady said she was going to tell her husband, Joe, that she thinks Iowa should be able to come to the White House along with LSU to celebrate the championship, quote, because they played such a good game, unquote.
--:-- David Cohn: Now, this has prompted some pushback because it's only customary for the first place finishers to visit the White House.
--:-- David Cohn: And Reese responded by calling the suggestion a joke and then stating Iowa can have that spotlight. We'll go to the Obamas. I'm going to see Michelle. I'm going to see Barack.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): Wow.
--:-- David Cohn: Well, a lot of heated responses to that exchange in the sports world.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): David, thanks for coming on.
--:-- David Cohn: Thank you.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): Thanks for listening to Morning Wire. We created this show to bring more balance to the national conversation. If you love our show and stand with our mission, consider subscribing, leaving us a five-star rating, and most importantly, sharing our podcast with a friend.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): And if you're a Morning Wire super fan and you want to represent our show, you can shop our merch selection at dailywire.com slash shop. We have a pretty elite Morning Wire mug. We have t-shirts. We have tote bags. Pretty soon we're restocking our hoodies. And you can find all of that at dailywire.com slash shop.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): That's all the time we've got this morning. Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back later this afternoon with an extra edition of Morning Wire.
