--:-- [Upbeat music fades out]
--:-- Georgia Howe: I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley. It's Monday, September 11th, and this is your Morning Wire afternoon update.
--:-- John Bickley: President Biden commemorated the 22nd anniversary of 9-11 from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska on Monday.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The president received criticism for not attending a memorial ceremony at one of the 9-11 attacks, including from family members of those lost that day.
--:-- John Bickley: White House officials defended the president's absence, telling Fox News reporter Peter Doocy that 22 years after Pearl Harbor, presidents weren't still going to Hawaii every year.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Meanwhile, folks like South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham are warning that the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 have left us vulnerable to another 9-11 style attack, especially due to the porous southern border.
--:-- Lindsey Graham: My real fear, 22 years after 9-11, is that our withdrawal from Afghanistan has put every jihadist on steroids.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Activists demanding that Congress renew a five-year authorization of PEPFAR, federal legislation that supports AIDS, research and assistance, were arrested after they protested and sat in House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's office.
--:-- [Sound effects: Protest chants]
--:-- Georgia Howe: Pass PEPFAR now! McCarthy, pass PEPFAR now! McCarthy pass PEPFAR now
--:-- [Sound effects: Police sirens]
--:-- Georgia Howe: Seven individuals were handcuffed and arrested by Capitol Police.
--:-- John Bickley: Elon Musk X Corp asked a federal court in California to overturn a first online content moderation law, arguing it pressures social media platforms to censor based on recommendations by state officials.
--:-- Georgia Howe: X, formerly known as Twitter, filed a lawsuit against the new California law, AB 587, which requires social media companies to publicly disclose moderation practices around categories the state could label as misinformation, disinformation, extremism, radicalization, and hate speech.
--:-- John Bickley: The state could impose fines for non-compliance. Musk has repeatedly stated that free speech is paramount since purchasing the social media company last fall.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Updated COVID boosters from Pfizer and Moderna received an all-clear today from the Food and Drug Administration.
--:-- John Bickley: The shots were formulated using the XBB.15 subvariant that will likely be available later this week after the CDC signs off on them.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The shots will be available to anyone five years of age or older.
--:-- John Bickley: The news comes as the U.S. has seen an uptick in case numbers nationwide.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Meanwhile, California Governor Gavin Newsom now says in hindsight that he would not have handled his state's response to COVID-19 with harsh lockdowns and other measures.
--:-- Gavin Newsom: It was hardly I, it was we. I think all of us in terms of our collective wisdom we evolved. We didn't know what we didn't know. We experts in hindsight. We all geniuses. All of it is legitimate in terms of reflection.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Newsom has previously defended his actions as being led by science while blasting red states as irresponsible.
--:-- John Bickley: Virginia father Scott Smith has been pardoned two years after being arrested at a school board meeting in Loudoun County, Virginia.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Smith's daughter was raped in a school restroom by a male wearing a skirt.
--:-- John Bickley: And Smith was subsequently arrested at the school board meeting after raising his voice at school board members after what he alleged was their attempt to cover up the assault.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The male student went on to assault another student before justice was brought for Smith's daughter, despite officials being aware of the initial incident.
--:-- John Bickley: Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin announced the pardon of Scott Smith yesterday on Fox News.
--:-- Glenn Youngkin: This was a gross miscarriage of justice, and I was so pleased to speak with him on Friday and be able to issue a full pardon for him.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Smith released a statement Sunday vowing to pursue legal action against the Loudoun County School District and to continue fighting for parents and their children.
--:-- John Bickley: Pennsylvania authorities are still searching for convicted murderer Danilo Cavalcante and say that he's escaped the search area and changed his look.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now police are asking for help from his acquaintances.
--:-- John Bickley: His choice is to go to prison for the rest of his life. He chooses not to do that. Unfortunately, that is not what's going to prevail in the long run.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Cavalcante who was in the country illegally escaped prison on August 31st.
--:-- John Bickley: Nike has permanently closed its Portland Nike factory store.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The shoe giant, which began in Oregon, had previously requested that Portland provide more police protection in the city's business district.
--:-- John Bickley: Portland has been plagued by an increase in crime.
--:-- Georgia Howe: In response, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler said, quote, ultimately the city cannot offer Nike or any other private business dedicated off-duty officers due to PPB's staffing shortage.
--:-- Ted Wheeler: [Not quoted]
--:-- John Bickley: And Novak Djokovic won his record-setting 24th Grand Slam title on Sunday after winning the 2023 U.S. Open tournament.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The victory comes after Djokovic was banned from last year's tournament due to his refusal to take the COVID-19 jab.
--:-- Novak Djokovic: No one has played tennis in my family before. So it was quite a choice, I must say, but incredible resilience, just belief from my parents, from all the people around me all these years. You know, my wife, my kids, my team, everyone that is there. This is your trophy as much as is mine. This is your success. I love you.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Those are your drive home updates this afternoon. To learn more about these stories, go to dailywire.com.
--:-- John Bickley: And for more in-depth discussion of the biggest stories of the day, listen to the latest full episode of Morning Wire every morning.
