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--:-- Georgia Howe: Welcome to Morning Wire. I'm Georgia Howe, and I'm here with Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley. It's Tuesday, December 21st.
--:-- John Bickley: Thanks for joining us, Georgia. Today, we're going to dive into the latest developments on the Biden administration's vaccine mandate for private employers.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's right. The latest round in the fight over employer vaccine mandates went in the Biden administration's favor. On Friday, a federal appeals court lifted a stay on the mandate for private employees.
--:-- John Bickley: But opponents of the mandate are already fighting back. We'll discuss what the latest ruling means for the 85 million people impacted by the mandate and hear from Daily Wire's legal counsel about what's next in the courts.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Yeah, I think he's looking for someone to blame and continuing of the trend to divide America. What did he have to say? And why is the White House message angering people on the left and on the right?
--:-- John Bickley: And after a string of box office disappointments, Marvel's Spider-Man No Way Home has done what all the other big budget films have failed to do, break pre-pandemic records.
--:-- Georgia Howe: We'll look at how much money the highly rated film brought in and what might explain its massive domestic and international success.
--:-- John Bickley: This and more coming up. Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned.
--:-- [Music transitions to a commercial break]
--:-- [Announcer voice]: This show is sponsored by CrowdHealth. You deserve healthcare freedom. Introducing CrowdHealth, a community of people who care about health, healthcare freedom, and each other. 100% of your monthly contribution pays for actual healthcare costs. No enrollment periods, limiting doctor networks, or messy contracts. Just go to joincrowdhealth.com and enter code DAILYWIRE for a special offer. CrowdHealth is not health insurance. It's a community-powered alternative. Terms and conditions may apply.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: A significant development in the courts over the weekend on President Biden's vaccine mandate for private employers. A federal court of appeals lifted the stay on the order, which impacts some 85 million Americans.
--:-- John Bickley: Here with updates about the lifting of the stay is Daily Wire General Counsel Josh Herr, who's been consulting with the Dillon Law Group and Alliance Defending Freedom on the Daily Wire's own lawsuit against the Biden administration.
--:-- Josh Herr: Thanks for joining us again, Josh.
--:-- Josh Herr: Sure. What happened on Friday is the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, which is the court where the Daily Wire filed its lawsuit and where all of the cases from around the country were consolidated, lifted the Fifth Circuit's stay that had blocked enforcement of the mandate.
--:-- Georgia Howe: In other words, the mandate is now allowed to go forward as if it will go in effect in January.
--:-- Josh Herr: That's right. So this is a setback for those like the Daily Wire fighting the mandate.
--:-- John Bickley: Yeah, it's a setback, and it's surprising for a few reasons. It's surprising that the Sixth Circuit did not show any deference to its sister circuit's previous order.
--:-- Josh Herr: It's also surprising given the makeup of the Sixth Circuit, which is known for being more conservative.
--:-- John Bickley: But in this case, the judge who drafted the opinion is an Obama appointee.
--:-- Josh Herr: So this is a setback, yes, but by no means is it a permanent defeat. What it means is that companies will have to comply with the mandate unless the Supreme Court intervenes.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And that's very possible. Dozens of parties, including the Daily Wire, have already appealed the decision and or filed emergency motions for the Supreme Court to stay the mandate.
--:-- Josh Herr: OSHA has to respond to those by December 30.
--:-- John Bickley: Why did the Sixth Circuit decide to lift the stay?
--:-- Josh Herr: In short, the order said that the courts have to defer to OSHA scientific analysis and that none of the legal or constitutional challenges have merit.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The dissenting opinion is interesting though and where to look to see where the appeal to the Supreme Court might go.
--:-- Josh Herr: Well, apart from casting doubt on OSHA's power to issue such a sweeping mandate, the dissent focused on whether or not the OSHA mandate is, quote, necessary.
--:-- John Bickley: In order for OSHA to issue an emergency rule like this, it has to show that it is necessary to prevent a grave danger.
--:-- Josh Herr: The order interpreted necessary to mean reasonably needful, but the dissent argues that that is actually the standard for a regular OSHA regulation, not one that bypasses ordinary procedure for an emergency.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And that necessary actually means that the mandate has to be indispensable to achieving OSHA's goal in this, quote, emergency.
--:-- Josh Herr: Got it. And that's exactly what the Daily Wire argued in our brief that we filed with the Supreme Court yesterday.
--:-- John Bickley: That the data we have just does not support the notion that a vaccine mandate for employers with 100 plus employees will accomplish the government's goal of preventing transmissions.
--:-- Josh Herr: For example, out of the hundreds of studies the administration relies on for its claim that workplaces are spreading COVID, 95% of those studies don't even address workplace transmission.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Really?
--:-- Josh Herr: Our brief also points out to the court that the mandate's 100 employee rule is actually completely arbitrary and nonsensical.
--:-- John Bickley: It doesn't make sense that a company that employs 100 truckers or 100 remote workers who don't even see each other are treated the same as, say, a team of 99 call center workers who are packed into one room.
--:-- Josh Herr: Right. There's no distinction between those two in this OSHA mandate.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So what's next for the case?
--:-- Josh Herr: The appeals go to Justice Kavanaugh, who actually already set a deadline of 4 p.m. on December 30 for the administration to respond.
--:-- John Bickley: If the court chooses to intervene, we can expect that to most likely happen in the first week of the new year.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Well, the outcome of this case impacts tens of millions, so the stakes really couldn't be higher.
--:-- John Bickley: Josh, thanks for the updates.
--:-- Josh Herr: Sure thing.
--:-- [Music transitions to a commercial break]
--:-- [Announcer voice]: This show is sponsored by CrowdHealth. You deserve healthcare freedom. Introducing CrowdHealth, a community of people who care about health, healthcare freedom, and each other. 100% of your monthly contribution pays for actual healthcare costs. No enrollment periods, limiting doctor networks, or messy contracts. Just go to joincrowdhealth.com and enter code DAILYWIRE for a special offer. CrowdHealth is not health insurance. It's a community-powered alternative. Terms and conditions may apply.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: As COVID cases surge around the country, President Biden issues a grim warning to the unvaccinated.
--:-- John Bickley: Yeah, I think he's looking for someone to blame and continuing of the trend to divide America.
--:-- Georgia Howe: What did he have to say? And why is the White House message angering people on the left and on the right?
--:-- John Bickley: And after a string of box office disappointments, Marvel's Spider-Man No Way Home has done what all the other big budget films have failed to do, break pre-pandemic records.
--:-- Georgia Howe: We'll look at how much money the highly rated film brought in and what might explain its massive domestic and international success.
--:-- John Bickley: This and more coming up. Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned.
--:-- [Music transitions to a commercial break]
--:-- [Announcer voice]: You're listening to Morning Wire. If you like this episode and are interested in hearing more, subscribe to Morning Wire on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you're listening. and give us a five-star review.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: The White House tells unvaccinated Americans to prepare for a winter of severe illness and death.
--:-- John Bickley: You can get this show and all of the content you love wherever you are, all on the Daily Wire app.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Even if you're not a Daily Wire member, you'll be first to know what's trending with mobile notifications for the latest news.
--:-- John Bickley: And you'll get content from all your favorite Daily Wire shows.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Download the Daily Wire app and keep up with the facts no matter where your day takes you.
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--:-- [Announcer voice]: You're listening to Morning Wire. If you like this episode and are interested in hearing more, subscribe to Morning Wire on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you're listening. and give us a five-star review.
--:-- [Music transitions back to the show]
--:-- Georgia Howe: As COVID cases climb nationwide, the White House has a new message for the unvaccinated. Get the shot or prepare for a winter of death.
--:-- John Bickley: That's according to President Biden, who addressed the spike in cases late last week.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The comments come ahead of today's White House address, where the president will announce new steps to combat the spread of the Omicron variant over the winter.
--:-- John Bickley: Here with more is Daily Wire's Cabot Phillips.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So Cabot, a pretty harsh message from the Biden administration. What can you tell us?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, the comments came Thursday after the president met with his COVID response team to address the nationwide surge in cases that we've seen.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Over the last month, hospitalizations are up 45 percent and the rolling weekly average on new cases is now over 125,000, though total deaths are still much lower than they were at their peak.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Now, for the vaccinated, he offered encouragement and said that as long as they go get their booster shots, they'd be fine ahead of the winter.
--:-- Georgia Howe: But for the unvaccinated he had a very different more threatening message For unvaccinated we are looking at a winter of severe illness and death for unvaccinated For themselves their families and the hospitals they soon overwhelm
--:-- Cabot Phillips: But there's good news. If you're vaccinated, you have your booster shot, you're protected from severe illness and death.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Many were quick to respond by pointing out that the vaccinated are still getting sick and are still getting hospitalized as well.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So the message was considered misleading by some.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And it's also worth pointing out, there were a lot of people on the left who stressed that this sort of negative messaging would be unlikely to sway those hesitant to get the vaccine and might actually have the opposite effect.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, it's a pretty dark message from the president.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Yeah. How different is that from what we saw earlier in the year?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: This new message, sort of threatening the unvaccinated, is definitely part of a larger messaging shift from the administration.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So when the vaccine was first being developed, President Biden took a positive approach, touting its effectiveness and incentivizing people to get the shot with everything from cash prizes to free beer and complimentary childcare.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: But as time went on and millions of Americans remained unvaccinated, the message really started to shift from trying to convince the unvaccinated to trying to pressure them.
--:-- Georgia Howe: In September, he announced the federal vaccine mandate, as well as the mandate for employers with more than 100 workers.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: On the day of that announcement, he said, quote, we've been patient, but our patient is wearing thin and your refusal has cost all of us.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And then this week, he went a step further saying the unvaccinated faced a winter of death.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So kind of a slow change there in the message, but it's undeniable at this point.
--:-- Georgia Howe: What do we know about the timing? Why now?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Well, a big part of the renewed vaccine urgency is the Omicron variant. President Biden and Dr. Fauci have both been sounding the alarms for weeks that America's hospitals are about to be overwhelmed and that the holiday season will lead to mass transmission of the variant.
--:-- Georgia Howe: But again, detractors have been quick to point out that every available study so far suggests that even though the Omicron is indeed quite contagious, it's far more mild than the Delta variant and it's yet to kill anyone in America.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So we'll have to see if this new message is effective at driving more vaccinations or if it turns people off.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Well, we'll be tuning into his speech this afternoon.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Cabot, thanks for the reporting.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Anytime.
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--:-- [Announcer voice]: You're listening to Morning Wire. If you like this episode and are interested in hearing more, subscribe to Morning Wire on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you're listening. and give us a five-star review.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: Spider-Man No Way Home accomplished what no other movie has managed to achieve in the COVID era. It put up such massive box office numbers, it's breaking pre-pandemic records.
--:-- John Bickley: This weekend, it scored the second highest opening of all time, just behind 2019's Avengers Endgame.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Here to analyze why the latest Spider-Man has been such a stunning commercial success is Daily Wire entertainment reporter Megan Basham.
--:-- Megan Basham: So Megan, I know it's really important to start out by saying there will be no spoilers in this segment.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Yes, that is important.
--:-- Megan Basham: I've had mobs come after me before about spoilers, so none here. We will keep it just to what you can see in the trailers.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So No Way Home's box office was so big. It's really the first movie performing like a pre-COVID box office hit, correct?
--:-- Megan Basham: Yes, that's exactly correct. Several films in this last year were sort of promoted as the ones that would really prove that the movies were back. thinking about Black Widow, The Eternals, a couple others.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, they weren't flops, but they required that little asterisk of COVID when you compared their numbers to the pre-COVID releases.
--:-- Megan Basham: Spider-Man, in contrast, needed no asterisk.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So this movie was so big over opening weekend, it earned more in just three days than any other movie in the pandemic era brought in over their entire theatrical runs.
--:-- Megan Basham: Yeah exactly As John said it had the number two opening weekend of all time but its performance was equally stunning on an international level.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So globally, it had the third highest opening weekend of all time behind those last two Avengers movies.
--:-- Megan Basham: But you have to keep in mind, Spider-Man did that without China, the world's largest film market. Those other two movies had Chinese releases.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Okay, so I know you are a Rotten Tomatoes critic. Maybe you can put on your reviewer hat for a minute. Why do you think No Way Home has been so huge?
--:-- Megan Basham: I think that's definitely a factor, but I don't think you quite reach that second biggest box office of all time on that alone.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So what I think we're seeing is several streams of appeal. The number one was that this was just flat out an entertaining movie that oozed fan service.
--:-- Megan Basham: Again, not going to spoil it for anyone, but if you grew up as a Spider-Man fan, No Way Home took great care to celebrate that Spider-Man you knew as a child.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And that hasn't necessarily been the case with the other Marvel releases of late, where characters have undergone some major transformations from the original comic books and early films.
--:-- Megan Basham: Right. I know several Marvel executives have been promising that going forward, the movies will include more progressive characters and themes.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Right. That's exactly right. Marvel head Kevin Feige in particular has given a lot of interviews lately stressing that Marvel will be introducing, for example, more LGBT representation.
--:-- Megan Basham: And both Black Widow and The Eternals were kind of heavily promoted with that emphasis on identity politics.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, Spider-Man quite overtly did not go in that direction. In fact, one of the main themes of the movie was anti-cancel culture.
--:-- Megan Basham: In the film, we see Spider-Man and his friends fall victim to it. And the strong subtext is that it's unjust and un-American.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And from there, the movie, it positively champions the idea of redemption and second chances.
--:-- Megan Basham: Well, I'm looking forward to seeing it.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Megan, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Megan Basham: Of course, anytime.
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--:-- [Announcer voice]: You're listening to Morning Wire. If you like this episode and are interested in hearing more, subscribe to Morning Wire on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you're listening. and give us a five-star review.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: And the CEO of the airline Ryanair said people shouldn't be able to fly if they're not vaccinated against COVID-19.
--:-- John Bickley: CEO Michael O'Leary said unvaccinated people, quote, shouldn't be allowed in the hospital.
--:-- Georgia Howe: You shouldn't be allowed to fly. You shouldn't be allowed on the London Underground.
--:-- John Bickley: And you shouldn't be allowed in the local supermarket or your pharmacy either.
--:-- Georgia Howe: If you like this episode and are interested in hearing more, subscribe to Morning Wire on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you're listening. and give us a five-star review.
--:-- John Bickley: That's all the time we've got this morning. Thanks for waking up with us.
--:-- Georgia Howe: We'll be back tomorrow with the news you need to know.
--:-- John Bickley: If you like this podcast, subscribe to our Morning Wire newsletter available exclusively to Daily Wire members.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Get the Morning Wire newsletter delivered straight to your inbox when you join at dailywire.com slash subscribe.
--:-- John Bickley: Use code MORNINGWIRE to try a Reader's Pass membership and get your first month for only 99 cents.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for listening to Morning Wire.
