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--:-- Georgia Howe: Good morning, I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley. It's Tuesday, June 21st, and this is Morning Wire.
--:-- John Bickley: Global politics have been shaken up by a series of surprising election results in France and Colombia. How will the election results impact the United States' relationship with Europe and Latin America?
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's right, John. We'll be discussing that and more on today's show.
--:-- John Bickley: Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
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--:-- John Bickley: This week, a pair of stunning election results in France and Colombia sent shockwaves around the world as one country elected a former Communist Party member as president and the other saw right-wing members dominate parliamentary elections.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Here with the details and how it all could impact U.S. foreign relations is Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So, Cabot, we'll get to the French elections, but first, let's talk about Colombia. That race got a lot of attention. It did, and for good reason. Colombian voters just elected Gustavo Petro, the first leftist president in the nation's history.
--:-- Georgia Howe: But what's really drawing attention is Petro's background and what he campaigned on.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Throughout the 70s and 80s, he was a member of M19, a communist military group that used guerrilla warfare and terror tactics against the Colombian government in the name of social justice.
--:-- Georgia Howe: According to Petro, he had his political awakening after seeing his father crying over the death of Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So what did his campaign look like? Petro focused heavily on social and environmental reform. He promised government jobs for Colombians who couldn't find work. He promised free college tuition for students and cash subsidies for working in lower-class families, all of which, he said, will be funded by massive tax increases on wealthy corporations and individuals in the country.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And it's also worth noting some of that support came from here in the U.S. with progressive House members offering their support.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: For example, squad member Ilhan Omar tweeted congratulations to Petro saying, quote, the future of Colombia is bright.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, obviously, his opponents view things very differently. They say his policies will bankrupt the country and take them down the path of their neighbor Venezuela.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Now, there's also been a lot of concern over how this race could impact the region and also America's standing in South America.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So tell us about that.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, there were two main things that jumped out on that front. First, he promised to outlaw new oil contracts to fight climate change. Now, keep in mind, oil accounts for nearly half of Colombia's exports and 10% of its national income.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Second, and most important from a geopolitical standpoint, Petro vowed to strengthen relations with Venezuela.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: And keep in mind, all of this comes at a time when the U.S. is already losing influence in the region.
--:-- Georgia Howe: We talked last week on the show about the summit of nations and how multiple South and Central American countries sort of shunned the U and refused to meet with President Biden.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So a lot up in the air in South America right now and people aren't exactly optimistic about the relationship Petro will now lead between Colombia and the U.S.
--:-- Georgia Howe: All right, so let's shift gears and talk about France. We had another surprising result there. What can you tell us?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: On Sunday night, France held an election for parliament, and there were two really notable outcomes. First, President Emmanuel Macron's leftist coalition, suffered a series of surprising defeats. And as a result, they lost majority control of Parliament.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The big winner in France this week was Marine Le Pen, whose right-wing nationalist party picked up 81 seats.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Keep in mind, they held just eight seats before this week. So now, for the first time, they'll have enough members to have representation on important committees in Parliament that could help them shape French foreign affairs and economic decisions.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And more importantly, the right-wing party now has enough seats to file a motion that could result in a vote of no confidence against Macron.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So Marine Le Pen's party went from relatively insignificant to now having a real chance to hold some sway in France.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Definitely seems that way. Cabot, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Anytime.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That was Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: All of us here on the Morning Wire team have had the chance to try meat from Good Ranchers and I gotta say, they are absolutely delicious, which is perfect because Good Ranchers is giving away two free ribeyes, which is $100 value to Morning Wire listeners through July 4th.
--:-- Colton: All you gotta do is go to goodranchers.com slash wire to get two 18-ounce prime center-cut ribeyes free with your order and celebrate an American holiday with 100% American meat.
--:-- Georgia Howe: FINA, the International Swimming Federation, has released new transgender policies that effectively ban males who transition after puberty from competing against female athletes.
--:-- David Cohn: So FINA is the International Swimming Federation. It's the world's most authoritative governing body on water sports.
--:-- Georgia Howe: It's comprised of over 200 national federations, and it's recognized by the International Olympic Committee, so the IOC.
--:-- David Cohn: Now, FINA is responsible for overseeing competitions in water sports, six specifically, Georgia. That's swimming, artistic swimming, open water swimming, diving, high diving, and water polo.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So FINA just announced a new gender policy. What did they decide about transgender athletes competing in opposite-sex events?
--:-- David Cohn: Yeah, so this is a significant announcement for sure. Now, let's start in the male category. So FINA ruled that females can compete in the male category, but in the disciplines of water polo and high diving, a waiver assuming risk must be signed.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, for the female category, it gets very interesting. Only males who have transitioned medically before the age of 12 or before the second stage of puberty, known as Tanner 2, and whichever one of those comes second, only those individuals may compete in the female category.
--:-- David Cohn: And even then they must keep their testosterone levels below a certain metric Now according to FINA these guidelines were designed by a working group made up of athletes scientists, and even human rights professionals, and they were asked to analyze statistical, scientific, and even medical data.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The statement they released was 24 pages long, but essentially, FINA acknowledged that biological sex is a key determinant in athletic performance.
--:-- David Cohn: And then the group overwhelmingly voted to approve the policy with a 71% yes vote.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So FINA is saying that males have a biological advantage if they experienced even the early stages of puberty.
--:-- David Cohn: Exactly. And that would mean someone like Leah Thomas would be banned from their women's events. Under these new policies, that's correct unless an open category is created.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Right. So tell us about that.
--:-- David Cohn: Keyword being possible because nothing has been finalized, but FINA did close their statement by saying they have plans to set up a new working group that will spend the next six months looking at the most effective ways to establish this quote-unquote open category.
--:-- Georgia Howe: This category would be for those individuals, like you're talking about, who do not meet the requirements to compete as males or females, but who still wish to compete at an elite level.
--:-- David Cohn: My colleague Jake Crane and many others have been longtime advocates of this approach.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So we'll see if FINA sticks by its commitment and actually creates this category.
--:-- David Cohn: So this is a pretty controversial issue. What's the response been to this announcement?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Responses right now are all over the board, naturally.
--:-- David Cohn: Many transgender advocates are calling for an immediate reversal to these new policies, while many others who support biological-based competition categories are worried that certain language here from FINA will actually encourage children to transition at younger and younger ages.
--:-- Georgia Howe: A spokesperson for FINA's president addressed that final issue, saying that FINA is, quote, not saying everyone should transition by age 11 and is not encouraging that at all.
--:-- David Cohn: Instead, what the federation is saying, and I quote, it is not feasible for people who have transitioned to compete without having an advantage.
--:-- Georgia Howe: One high-profile response from the transgender community actually came from former Olympian Caitlyn Jenner, who's been very vocal against allowing biological males to compete against females.
--:-- David Cohn: Jenner applauded FINA's decision, tweeting, if you go through male puberty, you should not be able to take medals away from females, Period.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So I think, David, a few points to watch for here. One, will FINA walk back anything that they've put forward over the next few days or weeks?
--:-- David Cohn: Two, will the NCAA, the organization responsible for collegiate competitions, will they operate within these new guidelines from FINA?
--:-- Georgia Howe: I mean, after all, it's the NCAA that allowed Leah Thomas to compete against women and dominate many of the events we're talking about.
--:-- David Cohn: And then finally, what will we see from other sports around the world, such as weightlifting, fighting, track and field? Will they follow suit?
--:-- Georgia Howe: I mean, already we're seeing that FIFA, the Soccer Federation, is already considering going in the opposite direction.
--:-- David Cohn: So we keep track of that. It'll be interesting to see if they stick with this stance.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And if so, if this becomes a new trend in women's sports.
--:-- David Cohn: David thanks for coming on.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thank you for having me.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That was sports writer and Crane & Co. co-host David Cohn.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: Farmers and ranchers across the country are struggling under the weight of spiking production costs. From diesel fuel to fertilizer, everything farmers need to produce crops is more expensive than it was just a couple of years ago.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Well, we've been reporting on Morning Wire. Americans are feeling the pinch of gas prices and the rising costs of basic goods like food and other necessities.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Inflation is at a 40-year high, and one industry that's being hit especially hard is farming.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: The higher cost of farming inputs will certainly impact the food supply over the next few months and even years since crops take time to plant, grow, and harvest.
--:-- Georgia Howe: What items are costing farmers more money? Is it mainly fuel?
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Fuel, yes, and fertilizer. The national average for diesel fuel right now is $5.78 per gallon. That means a farmer is now up to $865 to fill a tractor's gas tank, which is more than double last year's price of $3.85.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Adding to the high costs are reduced supplies. Russia is the largest exporter of fertilizer, and a lot of natural resources needed to make fertilizer come from Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: So the conflict there has increased costs and made supplies more difficult to come by.
--:-- Georgia Howe: An April report from Barron's noted that the costs of certain fertilizer ingredients have almost doubled since last year, and some farmers are even worrying that the cost of inputs could go up as much as 40% this year and another 20% or higher into 2023.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: The Ag Economy Barometer by Purdue University and CME Group shows how farmers are feeling about the agricultural economy.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That survey showed that 44% of farmers are most worried about the high costs of production.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Shelby Myers, an economist with the American Farm Bureau Federation, said it's important to remember that farmers not only face higher costs in growing their crops, but then the cost to distribute and deliver the goods also affects the final price that gets passed on to consumers in the supermarket.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And farmers are price takers. So that means that they don't get to negotiate the price they pay for their inputs, nor do they get to negotiate the price they receive for their crops.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: The global markets dictate that.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So when consumers see that the commodity prices are high, it's important to remember so are input prices.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: And many farmers will struggle to break even this year.
--:-- Georgia Howe: All right, so production costs are going up very steeply. What does this mean for food prices?
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Well, one local farmer recently told me that consumers could see smaller produce on their grocery store shelves because of a lack of fertilizer.
--:-- Georgia Howe: He said farmers can face a situation where without enough fertilizer, their fruit doesn't grow to market size.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: And another way Americans will see the impact is, of course, an increase in costs.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Many are saying these high prices we're seeing aren't going away anytime soon, and it's poised to get worse.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Well, I know that's not the news a lot of Americans want to hear right now, but it's just the reality we're facing.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Charlotte, thanks for coming on.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Thanks for having me.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That was Daily Wire's Charlotte Pence Bond.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for listening to Morning Wire. We created this show to bring more balance to the national conversation.
--:-- Georgia Howe: If you love our show and you stand with our mission, please consider subscribing, leaving us a five-star rating, and most importantly, sharing our podcast with a friend.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's all the time we've got this morning. Thanks for waking up with us.
--:-- Georgia Howe: We'll be back tomorrow with the news you need to know.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Take care of your family, stay informed.
