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--:-- John Bickley: In an effort to suppress the new Omicron variant, officials are declaring new and increasingly severe public health mandates in big cities around the country. Where are we seeing the new rules, and how are citizens responding? I'm John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Friday, December 24th, and this is your Christmas Eve edition of Morning Wire.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Amid spikes in crime and rising costs, California, the nation's most populous state, is experiencing one of the nation's most significant population shifts. Is the California dream over and the California exodus real? We'll look at the numbers and which factors might be impacting who's moving in and out of the state. And to celebrate Christmas Eve, we'll take a look at the most popular gifts of 2021, what they tell us about the cultural trends this year, and how the economy is affecting the gift-giving season. Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: 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 the Omicron variant continues to spread ahead of the holidays, cities nationwide are renewing past mask mandates and implementing new vaccine mandates for businesses and government employees. Here are the details of Daily Wire's Cabot Phillips.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So Cabot, which cities are starting to crack down the most? We're seeing the strictest crackdowns in cities that already had some of the strictest measures before this, most notably Chicago, New York, D.C., and Boston. In Chicago, for example, Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced a vaccine mandate for basically everyone in the city, every adult as well as children as young as five. So any adult or child wanting to eat in a restaurant, go to a movie, or work out at a gym will now have to show proof of a vaccine.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: I have not been this concerned about COVID-19 since the early days of the pandemic. Now, detractors said comments like that are needlessly fear-mongering as there's now a vaccine and far more data available on the virus. But in D.C., we saw similar measures. The mayor, Muriel Bowser, declared a state of emergency and announced that all government workers in the city, including contractors, would be required to have a booster shot and the indoor mask mandate would also be reinstated for businesses through at least the end of January.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: And in Boston, we saw similar measures with Mayor Michelle Wu announcing sweeping vaccine mandates for people at gyms, restaurants, movie theaters, and government employees across the city. Now, workers there in Boston used to have the option to remain unvaccinated if they were tested weekly, but that exemption has now been lifted as well. Wow, so just complete vaccine mandate there.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah. We also saw similar measures on college campuses Tell us about that Yeah some Ivy League schools are implementing really stringent vaccine requirements Harvard for example announced this month they requiring that students not only get fully vaccinated but also get booster shots if they want to return to campus. Harvard's COVID cases are at an all-time high right now, and the administration said the Omicron variant is, quote, likely already present on campus.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Princeton, Brown, Boston University, and New York University have also mandated booster shots. And Johns Hopkins University announced that it's requiring faculty, staff, and students to get booster shots of a Pfizer or Moderna COVID vaccine by February 1st. I actually talked to Dr. Marty McCary of Johns Hopkins about those mandates. He had some strong feelings. Nothing is more insane and anti-science than requiring young, low-risk, healthy students who had COVID already to get a booster shot. And there will be unintended harm from that indiscriminate booster recommendation.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Those are some pretty serious measures. So what sort of pushback have we seen? Yeah, there's already been a good amount of pushback, both politically and legally. On the political front, vaccine and mask mandates are becoming less popular in polling. So we're seeing a growing number of politicians, especially Republicans, really looking to capitalize on that by pushing back and promising to reverse such mandates if they're elected.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: And legally, multiple public sector unions now say they're planning to file lawsuits against these additional measures. For example, Boston First Responders United, a public union there, has said that they're, quote, going to fight this through every legal means possible. There's also been a good amount of pushback from business owners, especially in the restaurant industry. Owners said they're already short-staffed due to the labor shortage, and now they have to add extra employees to monitor the vaccine status of patrons.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: They've also pointed out how a mandate will cut into their profits by just forcing them to turn away a portion of their customer base. And it's coming at a bad time. A lot of these businesses are really struggling to recover after those initial lockdowns. And a lot of people have also just pointed out how states like Texas and Florida, which resisted most vaccine and mask mandates, have far fewer COVID cases and hospitalizations than New York, Illinois, and Massachusetts.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: The leaders in these cities blame Omicron for the new measures. What do we know so far about this new variant? Well, it is fast becoming the most dominant strain in America. and one thing no one disputes is that it is incredibly contagious. Infection rates are way up across the country, there's no question. But there is a debate over whether these lockdowns are really necessary given how minor the symptoms are for most people who catch it.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: According to one study from the National Institute for Communicable Diseases, Omicron patients are 80% less likely to be hospitalized than those with Delta. And some doctors actually say Omicron could end up being kind of a blessing in disguise because of the fact it's so transmissible, but not nearly as deadly. It could serve as sort of a natural immunizer without killing as many people as originally feared. But we'll just have to wait and see.
--:-- Georgia Howe: We will. Cabot, thanks for the reporting. Anytime. That's Daily Wire's Cabot Phillips.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: Coming up, a closer look at the California exodus. Inflation is destroying the dollar. Birch Gold Group can help protect your IRA or 401k with a precious metals IRA. Text WIRE to 989898 to claim a free info kit on physical gold and silver. There's zero obligation. Text the word WIRE to 989898 to protect your savings today.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, states across the country have experienced significant population shifts. The country's most populous state California has seen some of the most significant changes Here to discuss is Daily Wire Ian Howarth. Ian, you're one of the thousands who left California earlier this year. What can you tell us about this so-called California exodus? Is it real?
--:-- Ian Howarth: In some ways, yes. The idea that people are fleeing California has been disputed as recently as this summer. Back in July, for example, the University of California announced that, quote, despite California losing a congressional seat for the first time in history due to slow population growth and some high-profile technology companies and billionaires leaving the state, there is no evidence of an abnormal increase in residents planning to move out of the state.
--:-- Ian Howarth: But there is one important factor that has been ignored, which plays into the Exodus claims, and that's the number of people entering California. Interesting. So people aren't moving into the Golden State as much. How do the numbers break down? So this comes down to two factors. The first is that current residents are migrating to other states. The second is the other side of that equation. Far fewer people are moving to California.
--:-- Ian Howarth: In the past, people moving to the state would counterbalance or even outweigh the number of people leaving. But that doesn't seem to be the case anymore. According to the California Policy Lab, every single county in California has seen fewer people moving in from out of state since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. In terms of raw numbers, the number of people moving to California from other states is down a massive 38%. Whoa, nearly 40%.
--:-- Ian Howarth: Yeah. And in the same time period since the spring of 2020, the number of Californians leaving the state has gone up 12%. So in terms of numbers, we're talking 60,000 more people leaving California than coming in in the first quarter of 2020. By the third quarter of 2021, that number has more than doubled with 150,000 more people leaving than coming in.
--:-- Ian Howarth: So while this is apparently in line with the rate of people leaving California before the pandemic, the same is not true for people moving to California. And that's presumably why California is losing a congressional seat this decade. Yeah, and as we said before, for the first time in the state's history.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So do we have any data on why people are leaving? Are there certain counties or areas that have been hit harder by population loss? Well, beyond the anecdotes, which we've all heard, the hard data we have suggests people are fleeing high taxes and the high cost of living, as well as some quality of life issues like homelessness and crime.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And when it comes to specific regions of California, the San Francisco Bay Area is the most volatile area for sure. Compared to 2020, an amazing 45% fewer people have moved into the Bay Area from outside California. San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Clara counties have all lost population to migration for the first time in at least six years. But there are many other counties with similar problems.
--:-- Georgia Howe: El Dorado County, home to what used to be a massive tourist destination pre-COVID in South Lake Tahoe, has seen an increase in people leaving and a decrease in people moving in. Ironically, Yolo County saw an 11.3% increase in people moving out and a 33.9% decrease of people moving in. So it seems like Yolo means something. You only live once. So get out of California if you can.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That probably won't end up on the welcome side. We'll have to do a follow-up on where people are actually moving to. Ian, thanks for the update. Thanks, John. Merry Christmas. You too. Daily Wire's Ian Howard.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: With Christmas just a day away, last-minute shoppers are feeling the pinch of a weaker dollar and long shipping delays as they try to get their hands on the season's most popular gifts. Here to give us some insight into which gifts are most in demand this year, as well as the bigger picture on how the economy is affecting the Christmas shopping season, is Daily Wire's Charlotte Pence Bond.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Thanks Georgia So various sites and organizations release lists of top gifts but a really interesting place to look is Google Shopping Holiday 100 which was released last month. It predicts the most popular items of the year for the holiday season using some pretty reliable data, Google searches. And so what items made it onto Americans' Christmas lists this year?
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Well, according to those Google searches, coffee makers, gaming devices, and fitness equipment were top items this year, suggesting that people are continuing to spend more time at home. But there are some signs that Americans are beginning to venture out and interact. Beauty products, perfume, and cologne were also popular searches. Even some outdoor sports items were big.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Google inquiries for best perfume went up 40% around the world in 2021, prompting the Google gift blog to call 2021 the year of the fragrance. So it sounds like people are really ready to be within six feet of each other again. Like I mentioned, gaming was also huge. The top gaming console was the Nintendo Switch OLED, but the Nintendo 64 and the Game Boy were also high up on the list, even though those aren't exactly new.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Queries for wireless gaming headset increased by 100%, and searches for the phrase single-player games increased 600%. The timing of these searches is also pretty interesting. The term Christmas gift ideas went up 30% from the middle of October to the final full week of October. So people are really starting to ramp up their search for gifts at that time.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Keep in mind, the supply chain crisis was in full swing at that point and dominating the news. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg commented on this in the middle of October. Well, I think there's always been two kinds of Christmas shoppers. There's the ones who have all their lists completed by Halloween. And then there's people like me who show up at the mall on Christmas Eve.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: If you're in that latter bucket, obviously there's going to be more challenges. That's right. We did a segment about that, and I think I did some panic shopping right after. Now, the holidays are typically a big shopping season. Are we seeing strong sales this year? Well, not exactly. Last week, the Commerce Department announced its advanced monthly sales for retail and food services in November.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: It showed that sales at retail shops and restaurants in the U.S. went up by 0.3% seasonally adjusted. Keep in mind, growth is expected, but this was lower than expected growth. There were some other interesting indicators in the report, too. It showed electronic store sales down 4.6% in November from the month prior. And general merchandise store sales down 1.2%.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: This could be in part to people getting out and shopping early, but again, inflation has really hit hard in the last few months, so shoppers might be starting to slow down on their spending. But some industries were up significantly since last year. Food and drinking services were up around 37%, and clothing sales were up around 35%, probably because people are leaving the house and getting back to restaurants again.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Well, I think I may be contributing to this clothing trend. Charlotte, thanks for reporting. Enjoyed it. That's Daily Wire's Charlotte Pence Bond.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: Another story we're tracking this week. The first pill for treating COVID was authorized Wednesday by the FDA. Pfizer's oral medication, Paxlovid, was 89% effective at reducing serious illness and death and has been shown to be effective against the Omicron variant.
--:-- Georgia Howe: If you liked this episode and are interested in hearing more, subscribe to Morning Wire on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, wherever you're listening, and give us a five-star review. That's all the time we've got this morning. Thanks for waking up with us. And from those of us at Morning Wire, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. We'll be back Monday, January 3rd with the news you need to know.
--:-- Georgia Howe: If you like this podcast, get the Morning Wire newsletter delivered straight to your inbox when you join at dailywire.com slash subscribe.
