--:-- [Theme music fades out]
--:-- Georgia Howe: I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley. It's Tuesday, July 19th, and this is the one-year anniversary of Morning Wire. It is, and thank you to all who have been here with us from the beginning.
--:-- John Bickley: With midterms rapidly approaching, the fundraising race is heating up, and politicians on both sides of the aisle are setting records. Which party is ahead, and are we still on track for a red wave?
--:-- Georgia Howe: And parents are suing TikTok for allegedly leading to the death of their children. Right now, the costs are being borne by everyone but these platforms. They're being borne by parents who have to bury their children.
--:-- John Bickley: We discuss the claims against the platform and hear from a lawyer for the parents. Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
--:-- [Producer Colton speaks up]
--:-- Colton: Hey, everyone. The American tradition of gathering around the dinner table holds an immense amount of power. President Ronald Reagan believed that all great change in America begins around the dinner table. Well, all great meals in America begin with Good Ranchers.
--:-- Colton: Good Ranchers' product and business model were created with the intention of bringing families together through shared meals. They deliver 100% American meat, born, raised, and harvested in the U.S. right to your door. Go to goodranchers.com slash wire to get $30 off your order, plus free shipping. That's goodranchers.com slash wire.
--:-- [Discussion resumes]
--:-- Georgia Howe: In the wake of the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, the battle over abortion has been heating up in the legislature. Now, some Democrats are supporting bills that target pro-life charities.
--:-- John Bickley: Here to give us the details on efforts to penalize and defund crisis pregnancy centers is Daily Wire culture reporter Megan Basham.
--:-- Megan Basham: So for those who aren't up to speed on this topic, as you mentioned, Georgia, last week, Warren gave several impromptu interviews where she very vocally criticized crisis pregnancy centers. Now, these are pro-life charities that offer free sonograms, prenatal care counseling, all as part of their efforts to help women make the decision to have their babies.
--:-- Megan Basham: They also give away diapers, clothing, car seats, strollers, really just anything associated with baby care. What they don't do, of course, is provide abortions or make abortion referrals. Warren's concern is that women seeking abortions may unwittingly go to these centers, not realizing that they don't offer abortions, and then be persuaded by pro-life advocates to carry their pregnancies to term.
--:-- Megan Basham: This was Warren talking to a local Boston news station about those organizations last week. In Massachusetts right now, those crisis pregnancy centers that are there to fool people who are looking for pregnancy termination help outnumber true abortion clinics by three to one. We need to shut them down here in Massachusetts, and we need to shut them down all around the country.
--:-- Megan Basham: Now, what's received less attention is the fact that Warren and New Jersey Senator Bob Melendez have introduced a bill in the Senate called the Stop Anti Disinformation Act. And what it would do is grant the Federal Trade Commission new powers to crack down on pro pregnancy centers.
--:-- Megan Basham: Among those powers fines of up to 50% of the revenues for the center's parent organizations if they're caught disseminating abortion, quote, disinformation. But what that bill doesn't specify is what exactly qualifies as disinformation.
--:-- Megan Basham: So a number of legal scholars are already saying that even if this bill has the votes to become law, it isn't going to pass constitutional muster because it's a pretty clear violation of the First Amendment. Nevertheless, you still have, as you might expect, Planned Parenthood and NARAL going on record supporting this legislation.
--:-- Megan Basham: Now, I could see legislation like this being unpopular with a lot of moderate Democrats, though. Is there any sign that a push like this could pick up broader support? You know, I think the jury is still out on that, but it is worth pointing out that while Warren may be the most outspoken Democrat going after crisis pregnancy centers, she's really not the only one trying to blunt their effectiveness legislatively.
--:-- Megan Basham: So Congresswomen Carolyn Maloney of New York and Suzanne Bonamici of Oregon, also both Democrats, co-sponsored the Stop Abortion Disinformation Act in the House. And then last Thursday, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer vetoed funding for these centers in her state's education budget.
--:-- Megan Basham: So these were centers that provided prenatal services for women on college campuses. Whitmer argued that they might make it harder for women to get the health care they need. Supporters of the funding, however, argued that these centers let pregnant college women know that they do have options besides abortion.
--:-- Megan Basham: And they provide women resources that allow them to continue earning degrees while carrying their babies. And then last month, a group of Democrats in Congress, including Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, sent a letter to Google urging the company to block crisis pregnancy centers from showing up in search results for abortion.
--:-- Megan Basham: And that request also included ads and map results. Now, are Republicans doing anything legislatively to show support for crisis pregnancy centers? Yeah, you are starting to see that. One example would be Missouri's Republican Senator Josh Hawley.
--:-- Megan Basham: He introduced some legislation that he says will, quote, put an end to the attacks crisis pregnancy centers have been experiencing since that draft of the Dobbs opinion leaked early in May. So those attacks have included things like vandalizing and firebombing crisis pregnancy center buildings.
--:-- Megan Basham: Hawley's bill would attach felony charges that would include seven-year prison sentences and fines of up to $25,000 for those kinds of attacks. It would also provide a minimum of $20,000 in legal assistance for pregnancy centers that are targeted with violence and vandalism.
--:-- John Bickley: All right. Well, Megan, thanks so much for reporting.
--:-- Megan Basham: Anytime.
--:-- John Bickley: That was Daily Wire culture reporter Megan Basham.
--:-- [Discussion resumes]
--:-- John Bickley: Coming up, both the Democrats and Republicans set fundraising records. 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. Use code MORNINGWIRE to try a Reader's Pass membership and get your first month for only 99 cents.
--:-- John Bickley: As midterm elections get closer, both GOP and Democrat candidates and incumbents across the country are reporting massive fundraising hauls. Republicans are favored on the 2022 generic ballot as inflation and recession fears continue to rise, but Democrats are capitalizing on social issues such as gun control and abortion.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Here to discuss the latest in the fundraising race is Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Hello Tim. What's happening in the money race ahead of midterms?
--:-- Tim Pierce: Hey John. It's difficult to name a clear winner and loser in the cash race ahead of November elections because there are a lot of different donation streams and both sides have historically had different fundraising strategies.
--:-- Tim Pierce: But we've gotten a few numbers that are worth mentioning. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and his allied super PAC have smashed their own fundraising records this cycle.
--:-- Tim Pierce: McCarthy brought in $19.2 million in the second quarter of 2022, bringing his total fundraising for this cycle up to $124 million, which is a record. His allied PAC, the Congressional Leadership Fund, brought in $43.5 million in the second quarter, another record.
--:-- Tim Pierce: And the Congressional Leadership Fund, along with its sister group, the American Action Network, have together raised $226 million this election cycle, smashing their old record of $215 million with many months left before the election.
--:-- Tim Pierce: So those are obviously some big numbers, but this is, of course, relative. How do these figures compare to Democrats' fundraising?
--:-- Tim Pierce: Yeah, Democrats have also been posting some strong numbers as well. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi outraised McCarthy in the last three months, bringing in $41.8 million.
--:-- Tim Pierce: But her allied PACs are running behind the House Republican allied PACs in fundraising. In the second quarter of 2022, the Democrats' House Majority PAC brought in less than half of what the GOP's Congressional Leadership Fund brought in, nearly $20 million.
--:-- Tim Pierce: It's important to remember that in the background of all this is control of the House next year. The Democrats have a very thin margin of error to retain control of the House. Republicans need to flip just five seats to take control.
--:-- Tim Pierce: And they're in a good position to do that with their strong fundraising, as well as with the unpopularity of Democratic leadership in the White House.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Now, what about the Senate? How's fundraising going there?
--:-- Tim Pierce: Democrats in key Senate matchups massively outraised their GOP competitors in the last three months. In Georgia, Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock outraised Republican challenger Herschel Walker $17.2 million to $6.2 million in the second quarter of 2022.
--:-- Tim Pierce: In Ohio, Democratic Congressman Tim Ryan outraised Republican J.D. Vance $9.1 million to $2.3 million. And in Nevada, Democratic Senator Catherine Cortez Masto outraised her Republican challenger, the former State Attorney General Adam Laxalt, $7.5 million to $2.8 million.
--:-- Tim Pierce: So I guess the big question here is will the Democrats' fundraising be able to break up the red wave? That is the question. We'll just have to see.
--:-- John Bickley: Right. Thanks, Tim, for reporting.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Thanks for having me.
--:-- John Bickley: That was Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce.
--:-- [Discussion resumes]
--:-- Georgia Howe: Multiple sets of parents are suing social media platform TikTok after claiming that one of the challenges on the app led to the death of their children. The lawsuit pits parent responsibility against what some claim is the platform's deliberate targeting of children.
--:-- John Bickley: Here to give us the details is Daily Wire's Charlotte Pence Bond.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: So Charlotte, a really tragic story here and some pretty sweeping implications. First, tell us about this lawsuit.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Yes, this is a very disturbing story. Two sets of parents have filed a lawsuit against TikTok after their daughters, who were ages eight and nine, died after allegedly trying to perform what's called the blackout challenge.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: We don't want to spread too much information about this challenge, but it's one where people are told to share videos of essentially strangling themselves until they lose consciousness.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Now, what are the parents claiming in the lawsuit? The lawsuit mainly takes issue with the way TikTok is set up and say it entices young users to become addicted and then promotes content that can convince them to harm themselves.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: The parents allege that TikTok doesn't have warnings that are good enough to deter young users or inform their parents about the addictive nature of the app or these potentially deadly challenges.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: What's interesting here is that the lawsuit goes after the design of TikTok because they say it promotes this type of dangerous content. The parents say the app is deliberately designed to be addictive and the company should pay damages for the deaths of their children.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: I spoke with Matthew Bergman a lawyer for the families and founder of the Social Media Victims Law Center. There are over 12 children in the United States that we know of who have died from the TikTok blackout challenge and 40 children in the Pacific region who have died of it as well.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: And the goal of this lawsuit is to hold this company accountable for designing a product with an algorithm that directs young children to content that causes them to engage in this very dangerous and in many cases fatal activity.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: TikTok has prepared documents that have been leaked that show that their goal is first and foremost engaging young users with their product for as long and as intensely as they possibly can.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: And they've designed algorithms expressly designed to addict kids. And how has TikTok responded? A spokesperson for the company told the New York Times that TikTok wouldn't be providing a comment on continuing litigation.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: However, the spokesperson did reference a statement from December in which the company responded to a People magazine report about another child who allegedly died while doing the same challenge.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: The statement said, this disturbing challenge, which people seem to learn about from sources other than TikTok, long predates our platform and has never been a TikTok trend, and included a link to a CDC report about children and teens dying from a choking game in the late 90s and early 2000s.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: The statement also said, we remain vigilant in our commitment to user safety and would immediately remove related content if found. Our deepest sympathies go out to the family for their tragic loss.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Now, what about the claim that the app is deliberately targeting kids? Right. You might remember that earlier this year, several bipartisan attorneys general from around the nation actually started an investigation into TikTok over its promotion to kids.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: They were specifically trying to find out if TikTok is breaking state consumer protection laws and placing children in harm's way. And this year, the app is expected to make $12 billion on advertising due to its popularity among young people.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: It also recently just announced it's going to be creating a rating system that's supposed to help stop minors from viewing videos that are not appropriate for them. It will also impact what is shown on the For You pages, and users will have the option to adjust their For You pages, which is something the lawsuit points to pretty heavily, that these For You pages can direct kids to harmful content.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: I asked Matthew Bergman about this. I just wish they'd make a lot bigger changes so that a lot more children would be saved.
--:-- John Bickley: Well, this is a complicated case, and of course, there's going to be arguments that social media regulation is a double-edged sword, but this is something for parents to be aware of.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Charlotte, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Thanks for having me.
--:-- John Bickley: That was Daily Wire's Charlotte Pence Bond.
--:-- [Closing music starts playing]
--:-- Georgia Howe: Other stories we're tracking this week. A mass shooter opened fire Sunday in a mall in Greenwood, Indiana, killing three people and injuring two others. The shooting spree was ended when an armed civilian killed the suspect.
--:-- John Bickley: Last week, an armored truck was robbed in California and millions of dollars worth of gems and jewels were stolen.
--:-- Georgia Howe: England braces for extreme heat as temperatures reach up to 104 degrees Fahrenheit, the hottest ever recorded in Great Britain.
--:-- John Bickley: Dr. Anthony Fauci told CNN that he plans to retire before the end of Biden's term, but will continue to serve until the end of the COVID pandemic.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for listening to Morning Wire. We created this show to bring more balance to the national conversation. If you love our show and you stand with our mission, consider subscribing, leaving us a five-star rating, and most importantly, sharing our podcast with a friend.
--:-- John Bickley: That's all the time we've got this morning. Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back tomorrow with the news you need to know.
