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--:-- 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 congressional hearing to investigate the origins of the COVID pandemic got heated on Wednesday. We now know U.S. tax dollars went to a lab in China, a lab that was not up to code, a lab that was doing gain-of-function research, and that's where this thing most definitely came from. What did we learn in the hearing, and why was CDC Director Robert Redfield kept out of important meetings? I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief John Bickley. It's Thursday, March 9th, and this is Morning Wire.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: The pandemic forced millions of women out of the workforce. Now, females are back in record numbers. What's driving the trend, and how is it affecting families? And when Elon Musk took over Twitter, he allowed some journalists to review and report on internal documents in the name of transparency. Now the FTC is asking questions about those journalists and must decision-making at Twitter. Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: The American Heart Association recommends four to five servings of fruits and vegetables every single day, but that's no small task, especially given your busy schedule. Balance of Nature fruit and veggie capsules are a convenient way to consume essential nutritional ingredients on the daily. Go to balanceofnature.com and use promo code WIRE for 35% off your first order as a preferred customer. That's balanceofnature.com, promo code WIRE.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: Based on my initial analysis of the data, I came to believe, and I still believe today, that it indicates that COVID-19 more likely was the result of an accidental lab leak than a result of a natural spillover event. That was Dr. Redfield, the CDC director, a virologist, and the head of the Coronavirus Task Force, testifying before the House subcommittee on the coronavirus pandemic on Wednesday.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: The panel gaveled in amid growing controversy over new revelations from U.S. intelligence pointing to a lab leak origin, not a spillover from the animal kingdom. Here to discuss is columnist David Marcus. Hi, Dave. So what was the purpose of Wednesday's hearing?
--:-- Guest David Marcus: Good morning. It was the beginning of an effort by the committee to determine how COVID originated. And really, both parties stressed that the reason such a determination is needed is that it will help us confront potential future viruses.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: But that was about all they seemed to agree or focus on, as Republicans really hammered the fact that for so long, the lab leak was treated as a fringe conspiracy theory. And Democrats tried to argue basically that that was all water under the bridge, with some even taking shots at former President Trump's early handling of COVID.
--:-- Guest David Marcus: Now, one witness, former CDC director Robert Redfield, had some pretty damning testimony about how the lab leak theory was effectively sidelined in the early days of the pandemic.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: Redfield's interesting because he was on the scene very early and had very early concerns about a potential leak. because as a virologist, he couldn't understand how an animal virus like a SARS or MERS could have mutated to have human infection This was around the time that Dr Anthony Fauci received a memo from Dr Christian Anderson also suggesting a lab leak
--:-- Guest David Marcus: But within three days a host of scientists including Anderson were calling the lab leak theory a crackpot theory So the committee wanted to know what happened.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: For Redfield's part, he was cut out of those deliberations and felt that was highly inappropriate.
--:-- Guest David Marcus: Dr. Redfield, you ran the CDC and you were on the Coronavirus Task Force. Is that right?
--:-- Guest Dr. Redfield: Correct.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: That was formed on January 29th, 2020, is that right?
--:-- Guest Dr. Redfield: Correct.
--:-- Guest David Marcus: Two days later, Dr. Fauci gets an email from Dr. Anderson, which says what?
--:-- Guest Dr. Redfield: Virus looks engineered, virus not consistent with evolutionary theory. Is that accurate?
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: That's my understanding.
--:-- Guest David Marcus: Next day, I know as a member of the task force, as a head of CDC, did he share that email with you?
--:-- Guest Dr. Redfield: No.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: Okay. Next day, February 1st, Dr. Gary sends Dr. Fauci another email. That email says, I don't know how this happens in nature, but it would be easy to do in a lab. Did he share that email with you, Dr. Redfield?
--:-- Guest Dr. Redfield: You didn't see either one of those emails, even though you're head of CDC, even though you're on the coronavirus task force that had been formed just two days, three days earlier.
--:-- Guest David Marcus: Three days later, Dr. Anderson and Dr. Gary, who told us it came from a lab and emails to Dr. Fauci, that Dr. Fauci wouldn't let Dr. Redfield see. Three days later, they changed their position 180 degrees. The question is why?
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: Did the committee get any answers as to what had changed in those three days?
--:-- Guest David Marcus: So Jim Jordan asked that of another witness science writer Nicholas Wade who by the way the Democrats tried to smear as a racist for a book he published about IQ so Jordan asked why this theory was abandoned by and Anderson Mr. Wade why would they change their position that fast when the only intervening event is a conference call with Dr. Fauci the guy who wouldn't let Dr. Redfield see the very emails.
--:-- Guest Nicholas Wade: Well, if you're looking at the timeline on May 21st, two of the signatories of the original email to Dr. Fauci, that's Dr. Anderson and Dr. Gary, were awarded a $9 million grant for that. So there's 9 million reasons why they changed their mind.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: New polling shows that 76% of Americans support a congressional inquiry into COVID origins. Did we get any sense of when the American people might know for sure where this virus came from?
--:-- Guest David Marcus: Redfield said something very interesting about that, which was that he doesn't believe that science will answer that question ultimately, but rather intelligence. Thus far, the materials used by various agencies to reach their competing assessments are highly classified. The former CDC director surmised that as more of that becomes public, we'll get a better picture.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: And look, that's going to be another focus for the committee. This investigation has bipartisan support, but did this hearing turn partisan or contentious at any points?
--:-- Guest David Marcus: The Republicans were far more curious, let's say. The main point advanced by the Democrats was really that we still just don't know. But, of course, that's a far cry from how the lab leak theory was presented in 2020, when Redfield himself was called a racist by his hometown Baltimore son for even suggesting it.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: Right. Well, this virus turned the world upside down. So figuring out how it started seems worth significant effort. Yeah.
--:-- Guest David Marcus: Dave, thanks for joining us.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: Thanks for having me.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: Coming up, women make a comeback in the workforce. Happy plants make a happy home. Sometimes it's hard to know which plants will do best, but that's no problem. Because with FastGrowingTrees.com, you get customized recommendations based on your specific needs. Plus, their plant experts are always available to help keep your plants growing healthy through the season and beyond. Fast Growing Trees Plant Finder helped the Morning Wire team find the perfect plant for our office. Join over 1.5 million happy Fast Growing Trees customers. Go to fastgrowingtrees slash morningwire now to get 15 off your entire order That fastgrowingtrees slash morningwire
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: After millions of women especially mothers were forced out of the workforce during COVID lockdowns, new data shows a remarkable comeback underway. Here with the latest on what's behind the shift and what it means for the economy more broadly is Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips. So Cabot, what can you tell us?
--:-- Guest Cabot Phillips: Well, there has been a major return of women to the workforce. Remember, during the pandemic, women, especially those with children, were disproportionately forced out of their jobs. But according to the latest jobs report from the Labor Department, women have made a huge comeback. There are now more women in the workforce today than there were before the pandemic. And for the fourth straight month, there were actually more jobs added by women than men, which never happened during the first two years of lockdowns.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: Now, how large was the discrepancy between men and women losing their jobs during the lockdowns?
--:-- Guest Cabot Phillips: Yeah, it was sizable, to say the least. Not only were women more likely to be forced out of work when schools closed, but they were also more likely to work in industries that were hit the hardest during COVID, like education, retail, hospitality, and leisure. Now, we still don't know the exact number, but women accounted for anywhere from 2 to 4 million more jobs vacated than men during the first year of COVID.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: In April of 2020, the female unemployment rate was 16.2%, while among men it was 13.5%. And at its lowest point, female workforce participation dropped down to 57%. That's the lowest point since 1988. So it was definitely a noticeable discrepancy.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: So why are women coming back into the workforce now?
--:-- Guest Cabot Phillips: So there are a few reasons. Obviously, schools have opened up, so child care is less of an issue. But there's also the reality that wages are up. Remember, despite all the other economic uncertainty, unemployment is at a 50-year low. So workers have more leverage to demand higher pay than normal. There are currently about 11 million job openings in America. That's roughly 1.7 jobs for every person seeking work. And that means employers are much more likely to allow new employees to work part-time, or more importantly, especially for many young mothers, to work remotely.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: That's one key reason we've seen the highest unemployment jump coming among women with children under the age of five. They are much more likely than other demographics to prioritize jobs that allow them to work from home. And those jobs are in abundance right now.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: Right, but there's also inflation, and that's pushing everyone to work a lot more.
--:-- Guest Cabot Phillips: I was just getting there, Georgia. The reality for many families is that higher costs of living have left them with no choice but to reenter the workforce. As inflation has skyrocketed over the last two years, a lot of families feel that they aren't able to get by on one salary anymore, and that's absolutely played a role in this trend.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: And look, it's worth noting, there are many people who say that this story is actually discouraging, not encouraging, because it means the families are being forced to pay others to raise their children out of financial necessity. And it's a bit of a double-edged sword.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: Cabot, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Guest Cabot Phillips: Anytime.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: The Federal Trade Commission has demanded that Elon Musk provide the names of all journalists who had access to internal Twitter documents. This comes in the wake of a new Twitter files drop that detailed more alleged government efforts to suppress online speech. Here to tell us more about the FTC's demands and how lawmakers are reacting to them is Daily Wire culture reporter Megan Basham. So Megan, what information does the Federal Trade Commission want from Twitter and why?
--:-- Guest Megan Basham: Well, the Wall Street Journal broke the news that the FTC is asking questions about journalists reporting on Twitter's content moderation. They broke that news on Tuesday. So the agency has asked for the identities of journalists that Elon Musk allowed to review the company's records that have kind of colloquially come to be known as the Twitter files.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: And those files have revealed among other things how the FBI CIA and DOJ were working with Twitter to censor some users and posts particularly related to COVID and the 2020 election
--:-- Guest Megan Basham: The FTC also wanted to know why Twitter fired James Baker who was the company general counsel. Now, Baker was a former FBI attorney, and he's been at the center of the Twitter files because he specifically pushed to censor various posts from Donald Trump. And he was also instrumental in Trump's account being banned and in Twitter's decision to suppress the Hunter Biden laptop story.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: Musk actually discovered that Baker had been quietly vetting the Twitter files before they could be reviewed by journalists. And at that point, Musk fired him.
--:-- Guest Megan Basham: So some are now asking if the FTC's demands that Musk explain his decision to fire Baker and also provide info on those journalists is an attempt at intimidation.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: Now, the FTC says it's trying to make sure staff reductions don't harm consumers. and they also say they're trying to make sure that users' privacy is protected.
--:-- Guest Megan Basham: Now, all of this is sure to feature prominently in hearings that will begin today by the House's subcommittee on the weaponization of the federal government. This was Chair Jim Jordan talking about it on Fox News Tuesday night.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: The most egregious part, in my judgment, was the idea that they're going after journalists. And they even named personally some journalists in there who were part of the Twitter files. I don't know that I've ever seen this kind of attack on First Amendment freedom of the press like we see in what the FTC is doing.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: Now, do we know specifically what the subcommittee is going to focus on today?
--:-- Guest Megan Basham: Well, we know that the Twitter files are going to feature pretty prominently because two of the journalists who broke stories on those records, Matt Taibbi and Michael Schellenberger, will be testifying. And I think what's key to note here is that Taibbi and Schellenberger are far from right-wing figures. Taibbi was an editor at Rolling Stone, and he's been a frequent MSNBC guest. Schellenberger has a similar background.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: So it's going to be tough for Democrats to discount their testimony as politically biased.
--:-- Guest Megan Basham: Just last week, Taibbi revealed that the Global Engagement Center, which is a division of the State Department that works with the FBI and CIA, gave Twitter a list of 5,500 users it's suspected of being Chinese accounts engaged in, quote, state-backed coordinated manipulation.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: Well, Twitter looked into it and found that most of them were real American accounts. In fact, some were CNN journalists. Taibbi also found that the GEC was funding a misinformation organization called the Digital Forensic Research Lab that had asked Twitter to consider suspending another 40,000 accounts. is suspected of being Hindu nationalists out of India spreading foreign disinformation again.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: Well, again, Taibbi found that many were just ordinary Americans sharing ordinary domestic policy views. So one of the people whose accounts were incorrectly flagged, a Cuban immigrant, told Taibbi, they do this in places that don't believe in free speech.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: It'll be interesting to see what comes out in the hearings this week.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: Megan, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Guest Megan Basham: Anytime.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: Well, that's all the time we've got this morning. Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back this afternoon with more of the news you need to know.
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