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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: Pressure mounts on President Biden to take action in response to the killing of three U.S. soldiers by Iran-backed militants. Make no mistake, Iran is supporting these groups. They're resourcing them, training them, certainly not discouraging these attacks at all.
--:-- John Bickley: What response is the Pentagon considering and is further escalation inevitable? I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley. It's Tuesday, January 30th, and this is Morning Wire.
--:-- Georgia Howe: President Biden and Democrats have leaned into their climate change messaging. But is it resonating with voters? We have an exclusive look at new polling that suggests Republicans have the advantage on the issue heading into the election.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: Days removed from a drone attack in Jordan that claimed the lives of three American service members and injured dozens more, President Biden is under mounting pressure to retaliate. Here with more is Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Well, according to officials, on Sunday, an enemy drone headed towards one of our military installations in Jordan was mistaken for an American drone that was also flying at the time. That allowed it to bypass our air defense systems and land a direct hit on a barrack where troops were sleeping, killing three and injuring more than three dozen more, some of whom are in critical condition.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The attack took place at a U.S. military installation known as Tower 22, which is strategically located in northwest Jordan, just miles from the borders of Syria and Iraq. So what sort of response are we expecting to see from the White House?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Well, according to Pentagon officials, there are a few options. President Biden could take a somewhat softer approach and launch retaliatory strikes on the militia group deemed responsible for the attack. But he's also reportedly considering going after the Iranians more directly, striking some of their forces scattered across the region, or even launching a strike within Iran itself.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: A new poll out this week shows that while many Americans may be concerned about the effects of climate change, they aren't willing to do much personally or financially to combat it. The survey from Capital Research Center shows that 42% of Americans would not give a single dollar to help the climate, while a further 16% said they'd cap such giving between $1 and $10.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Here to discuss these somewhat counterintuitive polling results is Daily Wire contributor David Marcus.
--:-- David Marcus: Morning, John. So what stands out here is that fighting climate change is a big policy issue for Democrats and something that pulls pretty well as an abstract issue. But for example, 51% of people surveyed by CRC say that cost increases for appliances and cars meant to bring the products in line with green energy standards are making their lives worse, a two-to-one margin over those who say it makes their lives better.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Meanwhile 67 say they want reliable energy at the cheapest cost to consumers. There seems to be a disconnect here where people are saying yes we want to help the environment but not at too burdensome a personal cost.
--:-- David Marcus: Fighting climate change has long been a central policy plank for Democrats. How might numbers like this change their approach on the issue, or are they already too locked into their position?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Democrats are pretty locked in on this issue. We just saw the fifth anniversary of Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez famously warning that we only have 12 years before the planet is destroyed by climate change. So make that seven years now. It goes fast, right?
--:-- David Marcus: So look, they can't suddenly say, well, maybe it's not such a huge emergency. But the political road is bumpy here. Electric vehicles are not replacing gas-powered cars at the rate the Biden administration hoped. There's been real backlash, even outrage over policies to ban gas stoves. So the Democrats are going to have to be very careful about what they ask the American people to sacrifice on this issue, because this poll shows that voters are reticent to give up very much.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Yeah, if anything at all. Now, for the Republican side, is there a danger for them in reading too much into this kind of polling and appearing too detached from or careless about the climate issue?
--:-- David Marcus: Yeah, so Republicans need to be somewhat careful before they pounce, so to speak, on poll results like this, because, again, as a top line issue, Americans do care about the environment. Nobody's against the environment. And a lot of young voters, including many young conservative voters, take climate change quite seriously.
--:-- Georgia Howe: But that having been said, Republicans have a much more gradual and market driven approach to environmental issues. They don't want to disrupt people's economic lives any more than absolutely necessary. And this poll suggests that that really could be a winning message.
--:-- David Marcus: Thus far, polling puts climate change fairly low among voters' top concerns, such as the border and the economy, which really dominate in recent polls. Is it actually possible for Democrats to impact this, to force the issue heading into the election?
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's hard to answer, in part because we don't know exactly what the presumptive matchup between Trump and Biden is going to look like. There may well be no debates. This is setting up to be a very bifurcated process in which the campaigns may have historically low interaction. And hey, nature could have a say here too. In 2012, when Superstorm Sandy hit the East Coast just days before the presidential election, it thrusts the climate issue, rightfully or wrongfully, to the forefront of that election.
--:-- David Marcus: But at the end of the day, I think this is a poll that will make Republicans feel like they have the right side of this issue, at least for now. And it may also be an indication that Americans can hang on to their gas-guzzling cars and blazing hot gas stoves for just a little while longer. A lot of folks will be relieved to hear that, no doubt.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Dave, thanks for joining us. Thanks for having me.
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--:-- Announcer (Voiceover): A UN agency that handles international aid sent to Gaza is under fire after a dozen of its workers were found linked to the Hamas' October 7th terror attack on Israel. At least nine countries, which include top donors to the agency, have suspended aid after the revelations. Here to talk about the UN Relief and Works Agency and its ties to terrorism is Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce.
--:-- Tim Pierce: So, Tim, we've got possibly a dozen aid workers directly linked to October 7th, but it might actually be more extensive than that. What's the scale of the problem?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Right. Israeli intelligence identified a dozen workers with the agency, known as UNRWA, who took part in October 7th. But that's just the start. According to intelligence reports, ties to terror are endemic within the agency's Gaza operation. The Wall Street Journal reports that out of UNRWA's 12,000 workers in Gaza, Israeli intelligence found that about 10 of them have ties to either Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
--:-- Tim Pierce: About half of UNRWA workers have a close relative who is a member of a terrorist group. And a final stat here that suggests the terror problem inside UNRWA is particularly acute. Israeli intelligence determined that 23% of the agency's male employees have ties to Hamas. The average for Palestinian society in Gaza is just 15%.
--:-- Georgia Howe: What's the agency's response been?
--:-- Tim Pierce: Well, so far, they've cut ties with some employees. Here's a U.N. spokesperson addressing the reports over the weekend. An urgent and comprehensive independent review of UNRWA will be conducted as it has been announced by Philippe Lazzarini, the Commissioner General of UNRWA, back on 17 January. Any employee of UNRWA who is involved in acts of terror will be held accountable, including through criminal prosecution.
--:-- Georgia Howe: UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said Sunday that UNRWA has terminated most of the dozen October 7th linked workers. According to Israeli intelligence, that includes six who took part in the attack, two who took captives back to Gaza, and two more who were seen near where innocent Israelis were murdered. The others helped with the attack plans and logistics.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Guterres said nine workers have been fired and one is dead. The last two, he said, the agency needed to verify their identities. Now, UNRWA is a UN-funded organization, so there's been a massive pressure campaign since then to pull funding. Tell us about that backlash.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's right. So far, at least nine countries have put a hold on their aid funds. That includes the United States, which was the top UNRWA backer in 2022 at over $340 million. Alongside the U.S., Australia, Austria, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the U.K. have paused at least part of their aid. The EU has stopped its funding as well. That's over 60% of UNRWA's 2022 funding and essentially all of its top donors. It's caused a financial crisis at the aid agency.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Guterres said in his statement that the agency only has enough funds to continue operations through February. He's now pleading for more international support. While he admits that some of the behavior is abhorrent, Guterres said tens of thousands of men and women who work for UNRWA should not be penalized. He said the dire needs of the desperate populations they serve must be met.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Israeli officials are furious over this. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the aid agency should be abolished. Now, there are about 100 hostages still in Gaza. Where do the negotiations on that stand?
--:-- Tim Pierce: There's no deal in sight yet, but the talks haven't failed either. And that's given some hope that a deal can eventually be reached. One of the big question marks and concerns here is that nobody knows what kind of shape the hostages are in. Those hostages include Americans, by the way.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Here's National Security Spokesman John Kirby on Monday. We know there's more than 100 hostages that Hamas or PIJ, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, is holding. We don't have perfect visibility on exactly where they are, what condition they're in. We're trying to get as much information as we can. We don't have any reason to suspect that the remaining six American hostages are not still alive. But again, we don't have perfect information.
--:-- Tim Pierce: The hang-up on talks appears to be Hamas' demand for an end to the war. The last offer on Israel's site to leak was a two-month ceasefire. That in itself could be risky if international opinion swings hard against Israel after a two-month lull in fighting. It really just emphasizes how much Israel is willing to risk to get its people back.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And still just a terrifying situation for those hundred people and their families. Yeah, it is.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Thanks for reporting. Thanks for having me.
--:-- Georgia Howe: 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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