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--:-- Georgia Howe: The NFL is back, and FanDuel's got everything you need to play your game. From same-game parlays to live betting. Right now, new customers bet $5 and get $300 in bonus bets if you win. 21-plus in president select states. 18-plus in Kentucky and Wyoming. Must be first online real money waging. $5 deposit required. Bonus issued is non-withdrawable bonus bets that expire seven days after receipt. Restrictions apply. See full terms at FanDuel.com slash sportsbook. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: Kamala Harris says she's ready to serve as president amid growing concerns about Joe Biden's ability to handle a second term. Every vice president understands the responsibility they may have to take over the job of being president. I am no different. What's driving the speculation and how would replacing Biden actually play out? I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley.
--:-- John Bickley: It's Tuesday, February 13th, and this is Morning Wire. With the help of several Republicans, the Senate advances a bill that includes foreign aid for Ukraine and Israel. The establishment's obsession with funding Ukraine will force them to throw Donald Trump under the bus again and again and again. And Americans are facing spiking home and auto insurance premiums. And in one state, consumers are struggling to get any insurance coverage at all. Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: [Producer Brandon speaking] Hey, guys, producer Brandon here. If you haven't tried Black Rifle Coffee yet, now is the perfect time to snag a bag. Right now, you can get 20% off your order at blackriflecoffee.com with promo code WIRE. When you shop with Black Rifle Coffee, your money goes towards giving back to veteran and first responder causes. That includes everything from getting much-needed equipment to first responders to helping veterans fight cancer and much, much more. Black Rifle Coffee just announced a massive new partnership with the UFC that started with a huge donation to the Hunter 7 Foundation. Head over to blackriflecoffee.com and use promo code WIRE.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: This is terrible for Democrats, and anybody with a functioning brain knows that. That was Democratic strategist Paul Begala referencing the special counsel report detailing President Biden's mental decline. Following that report, a growing number of politicos are predicting that Biden will not be the Democratic nominee come this summer. Meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris has for the first time publicly expressed her willingness and readiness to serve as president.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So Cabot, a story that really turned a lot of heads this week. What can you tell us?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, during an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Harris was asked if concerns over Biden's age mean that she must convince voters that she's ready to serve. Her response was an emphatic, I am ready to serve. There's no question about that. She then added that everyone who works with her, quote, walks about fully aware of my capacity to lead. Now, that might sound like an offhand comment, but to this point, those sorts of questions have been shrugged off with answers focused on Biden's abilities to lead. We've rarely seen a sitting vice president openly acknowledge that they're ready to take over when asked about the fitness of their boss. It is a subtle but very important shift in messaging that has Washington buzzing this week.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Now, given that this is essentially the primary duty of a vice president to step in if necessary, How significant is it that she's stating this openly, that she's ready to step up?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Well, the fact she made the comments publicly certainly caught a lot of people off guard. But the sentiment itself is hardly surprising While the job of VP is often a thankless task devoid of any real sway Harris has been steadily gaining more of a forward role in the administration In the last year, she's been put in charge of the first-ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention. She's launched an abortion advocacy campaign tour. And in recent months, she's taken on a much more visible role in the media, mainly arguing on behalf of the White House strategy in Gaza. That increased presence benefits Biden as it helps him stay away from thorny topics, and avoid media interviews, which he's done very few of. But it also benefits her if she were trying to raise her profile in case the president were to step aside or be replaced. And that's no longer on the fringe at this point.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Right. Now, again, this wouldn't even be a conversation if there weren't legitimate concerns about the president's mental fitness. But we're in uncharted territory here. Joe Biden would be 86 years old by the time he left office. And a new ABC poll this week shows that 86% of Americans say he's too old for re-election. Harris is well aware of that sentiment among voters and is sort of signaling to Democrats, hey, I'm here and I'm ready if you want an alternative. But it is a delicate balancing act to strike. Her latest comments come just days before she gave a fiery statement defending Biden's mental acuity. The way that the president's demeanor in that report was characterized could not be more wrong on the facts and clearly politically motivated, gratuitous.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So the obvious question, what would have to happen for Harris or any other Democrat to replace Joe Biden on the ticket?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Well, at this point, it's too late for anyone to mount a serious primary challenge as filing deadlines to appear on the ballot have mostly passed. It is, however, possible, though highly unlikely, that Biden is replaced at the Democratic National Convention. Delegates there are not obligated to support Biden, even if voters in their state chose him. But there's no precedent for that in modern history, and a convention coup is really just a pipe dream at this point. If someone like Harris were to become the nominee, the only feasible scenario appears to be President Biden voluntarily bowing out. If that happened, the question would then become whether he endorsed a successor or allowed the nominating process to play out at the convention. But even then, Harris would be far from a shoo-in, given her unpopularity with voters. Right. Well, that has been a persistent issue for her. What do her numbers look like?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So right now, Kamala Harris is one of the only people in Washington with a lower favorability rating than Biden. Most recent polling from NBC, for example, shows that just 28% of Americans view her favorably. Harris also failed to gain any sort of traction among Democrat voters as recently as 2020 in the primary. Remember, she was forced to drop out of the Democratic race before a single vote was cast. That unpopularity would certainly be considered by Democrat leaders if Biden were to step down.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: The Senate expects to pass a $95 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan this week. Afterward, it will head to the House where it's expected to face strong opposition from conservatives and Trump allies who want tough action on the border. Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce is here to talk about the foreign aid package and its chances of landing on President Biden's desk.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Okay so can you first break down this bill for us?
--:-- Tim Pierce: Sure. It largely composed of aid to Ukraine which happens to be the most controversial part. The bill approves another billion for Ukraine along with another billion for Israel and $5 billion to support partners in the Indo-Pacific with an eye on China. It looks primed to pass the Senate. 18 Republicans voted with Democrats on Sunday to clear a procedural hurdle and set it up for a vote later this week.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Here's Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on why he supports the measure. I know it's become quite fashionable in some circles to disregard the global interests we have as a global power. To bemoan the responsibilities of global leadership, this is the idle work for idle minds, and it has no place in the United States Senate.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Right, about that, what's driving the opposition to Ukraine aid? in general and then specifically this bill?
--:-- Tim Pierce: Well, there are a few reasons. One is that the United States has greater domestic problems it needs to sort out first. Here's Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio. I've never seen the level of emotion from my even Republican colleagues about this fight for Ukraine as I have over any other issue. So you talk about the fentanyl crisis, you talk about the southern border, and yeah, people care, but it's not top of mind.
--:-- Tim Pierce: There are some Republicans for whom Ukraine is the most important issue confronting the country. And I just say, even if you're pro-Ukraine funding, and obviously I'm not, don't we have 10 more important issues confronting this nation between the border problem, the debt problem? Why are we so obsessed with this?
--:-- Tim Pierce: But at the very least, a lot of Republican lawmakers want to leverage Ukraine aid that's more popular with Democrats to get some border security measures. An attempt at a border security foreign aid bill died last week because, by the estimation of a lot of Republicans, the border part was too soft. Conservatives in the House were a big reason why that bill tanked. So getting the current bill with no border security through the House seems unlikely. But with Ukraine on its back leg from Russia's latest push, there may be some pressure on Speaker Mike Johnson to bring it to the floor.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Yeah, if that happens, we'd expect Johnson to face some blowback from House conservatives. Now, as for Israel, the relationship between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Biden has really become strained as of late. What's going on there?
--:-- Tim Pierce: Yeah, they've never had a good relationship, but whatever they had has gotten worse recently. Biden said last week he thought Israel went over the top in its response to October 7th. Then on Monday, the Israeli military went forward with an operation into Rafa in southern Gaza, despite Biden's attempts to warn the Israelis off. Israeli soldiers ended up rescuing two hostages held by Hamas, and Netanyahu said the operation was among the most successful in his country's history. But Biden is reportedly upset that Israel went forward in spite of him.
--:-- Tim Pierce: There could be some politics at play here. Biden is under pressure from the progressives in his party to cut off Israel and take up for Palestinians. On top of that, Muslim Americans in Michigan are upset by Biden's support for Israel. And that's got the president worried enough that he sent advisors to the battleground state to speak with Muslim leaders there. That state's primary comes at the end of this month.
--:-- Georgia Howe: A home and auto insurance crisis is spiking rates and draining Americans' wallets. In some states, like California, families are struggling to find coverage at all. Daily Wire investigative reporter Maraid Elordi is here with the details.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: Hi Georgia, so home insurance prices have been climbing for months but in some places the situation is really coming to a head now the national average for home insurance was up 21 from 2022 to 2023 just to give you an idea the average premium in 2019 before the pandemic was 1175 and year it was about
--:-- Mairead Elordi: But some states are seeing much steeper increases Florida has seen the worst spike, with prices soaring 68% over the last two years. The risk of hurricanes and flooding play a major role in the insurance nightmare there. New Mexico, Colorado, Idaho, and Texas all rose more than 45% in just two years. And in California, some homeowners are being denied coverage altogether, and some insurance companies have stopped offering anyone new policies.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: So why would these insurance companies not want to accept new customers? Well, the government in California says they can't raise prices, so the companies see it as a losing bet. Wildfire damage is an increasing problem in California, as well as increasing costs of building and repairs. So these companies say it's not worth it to offer coverage if they can't afford to pay it out.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: State Farm froze new policies in California back in May, and in August, farmers' insurance restricted its new policies. Just last month, another insurance company, Hartford Financial Services Group, said it won't offer new California homeowners' policies starting this month. This has led to homeowners struggling to find coverage for their homes.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: Because of insurance companies pulling back, many homeowners in places where wildfires strike have resorted to California's last resort insurance program called FAIR. Steve Forbes explained why this is a problem. There is a last resort expensive bare bones insurance seller that covers mainly fire losses. Because the state's perverse counterproductive regulations, fair plan enrollments have exploded, almost doubling since 2019.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: What's happening in California should be a wake-up call for the all too many politicians and regulators who indulge in make-believe policies that end up inflicting unnecessary harm. Regulators have suppressed prices for years. Despite widespread wildfires, average premiums in the state of California are one-third lower than in other states with serious fire risks.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: Now, what about auto insurance? Well, auto insurance rates are rising like crazy as well. Drivers are paying an average of $212 per month for car insurance. That's an increase of 26% and the highest annual increase in nearly 50 years. Inflation is a huge factor here as well, especially with car parts becoming more expensive. For example, bumpers used to be $300 to $500, but now they're over $3,000 to $4,000 because they have cameras and sensors. Same with side mirrors. Those are now very high tech.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: You've seen increases in repair costs, parts, labor, medical costs. All those things have been going up. And auto insurance premiums tend to trail the rest of the inflationary trends. Other factors are a mechanic shortage and natural disasters, which often affect cars as well as homes. One more minor part of the picture is self-driving cars, which are particularly expensive to insure.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Well, it seems like an unsustainable situation. Right. Mairead, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: Thanks, Georgia. Thanks for waking up with us.
--:-- Georgia Howe: We'll be back this afternoon with more news you need to know. But don't just take my word for it. Use code WIRE for $30 off orders of $150 or more at gdefy.com. That's G-D-E-F-Y dot com with promo code WIRE for $30 off your order. Experience the miracle that is G-Defy, where comfort meets innovation.
