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--:-- Georgia Howe: Welcome to Morning Wire. I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley.
--:-- John Bickley: Thanks for waking up with us.
--:-- Georgia Howe: It's Tuesday, April 5th. Today, we're talking about Elon Musk's surprise move to buy a nearly 10% stake in Twitter. How will the richest man in the world leverage his ownership stake of Twitter?
--:-- John Bickley: We'll get into that in a minute. But first, let's talk about the abortion pill issue. The Supreme Court is considering overturning Roe v. Wade, and abortion pills are taking center stage. What are abortion pills? How do they work? And will states put restrictions on them?
--:-- Georgia Howe: We'll get to that in a minute. But first, let's talk about the violence in Boston schools. Public schools in Boston are dealing with a string of violence after the city got rid of school police officers last fall.
--:-- John Bickley: Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: Tesla CEO Elon Musk sent shockwaves in the social media world Monday, revealing that he spent nearly $3 billion to purchase almost 10% stake in Twitter. This makes him the largest single shareholder in the company. Musk's announcement sent Twitter's stock price soaring 25%.
--:-- John Bickley: Here to give us some background on what might have led to Musk's decision and how the world's richest man could influence the company's policies going forward is Daily Wire culture reporter Megan Basham.
--:-- Megan Basham: Thanks for having me on the show.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So, Megan, while Musk's announcement is causing headlines, it wasn't exactly a surprise, was it?
--:-- Megan Basham: No, it really wasn't. Because, if you've been paying attention, Musk has been hinting about this for a few weeks now.
--:-- Georgia Howe: To set the context for those of you who maybe don't live on Twitter like I do, the platform has been especially aggressive in censoring political speech and even legitimate news stories.
--:-- Megan Basham: So along with kicking former President Trump off the platform, back in 2020, shortly before the presidential election, it notoriously banned the New York Post's reporting on Hunter Biden's laptop and it suspended the paper's Twitter account.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Then just last month, the platform suspended satire site The Babylon Bee for a joke that called Biden's transgender assistant health secretary Rachel Levine man of the year.
--:-- Megan Basham: Here's Babylon Bee CEO Seth Dillon talking about that.
--:-- Seth Dillon: Maybe this is a watershed moment. I'm not sure. But it's an important issue where we're talking about basic truths, you know, men being men, women being women, and the fact that you're not allowed to just state the truth.
--:-- Megan Basham: You know, this is the point that I keep making repeatedly. And I've said this, you know, since this incident happened, speaking the truth is not hate speech.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Well, and Musk is known for being a fan of the Babylon Bee, correct?
--:-- Megan Basham: That's right. He is. And he famously went on the Bee's podcast last year.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Certainly, Musk has been critical of Twitter's speech policing policies for a while.
--:-- Megan Basham: So back in December, Twitter announced that Parag Agrawal was taking over as CEO from founder Jack Dorsey. Now, Agrawal has been fairly critical of free speech.
--:-- Georgia Howe: He said in interviews that he thinks speech is too easy on the Internet and that Twitter should make more of an effort to emphasize speech that's part of a healthy public conversation.
--:-- Megan Basham: In response, Musk posted a meme that depicted Agrawal as Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So then on March 25th, Musk posted a Twitter poll saying free speech is essential to a functioning democracy.
--:-- Megan Basham: And he asked his 80 million followers if they believe Twitter rigorously adheres to this principle.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Well, more than 70% of the 2 million plus respondents said, no, Twitter does not adhere to the principle of free speech.
--:-- Megan Basham: The next day he tweeted, quoting here, given that Twitter serves as the de facto public town square, failing to adhere to free speech principles fundamentally undermines democracy.
--:-- Georgia Howe: What should be done? Is a new platform needed?
--:-- Megan Basham: Well, as you might expect, a lot of people again responded and many pointed out that other social media startups like Getter, Parler, Gab, well, they've had a lot of trouble getting off the ground.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Instead, a lot of those people suggested that Musk should just buy Twitter. Why not, right?
--:-- Megan Basham: Well, it appears Musk agreed with them.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Well, now that Musk is Twitter's largest shareholder, is there any indication of how he might wield that power?
--:-- Megan Basham: There is some. And I think it's important to note here that unlike Google, Facebook, Amazon, Snap, some of those companies, Twitter's founders don't have special voting control over its future.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So what that means is that it is very susceptible to outside pressure from shareholders, shareholders like Musk.
--:-- Megan Basham: The business news show Squawk Box asked stock analyst Dan Ives what he thinks Musk's buy signals.
--:-- Dan Ives: Musk is not going to do this just to take a passive stake. He's going to ultimately try to either really change Twitter in terms of more active stake, or, you know, eventually could lead to a buyout.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And I think that's how he's going about it.
--:-- Megan Basham: So I think we can see by this that the finance world is fully expecting that Musk is going to take some action to ensure that speech flows a little freer on that platform.
--:-- Georgia Howe: All right. Well, Twitter's next shareholder meeting is in May, so could be interesting.
--:-- Megan Basham: Yeah, definitely could be.
--:-- Georgia Howe: All right, Megan, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Megan Basham: Thanks for having me on the show.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's Daily Wire culture reporter Megan Basham.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: Coming up, the battle over abortion pills heats up. You can get this show and all of the content you love wherever you are, all on the Daily Wire app.
--:-- John Bickley: Even if you're not a Daily Wire member, you'll be first to know what's trending with mobile notifications for the latest news.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And you'll get content from all your favorite Daily Wire shows.
--:-- John Bickley: Download the Daily Wire app and keep up with the facts no matter where your day takes you.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: Abortion pill regulations come under increased scrutiny as states prepare for a Supreme Court ruling affecting Roe v. Wade.
--:-- John Bickley: Here to give us the latest is Daily Wire's Charlotte Pence Bond.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Thanks for having me on the show.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Well, the abortion pill issue has been pretty back and forth over the past several years. But part of the reason this is becoming a hot topic now is that during COVID, the requirement for women to get the first of the two pills in person after being seen by a physician was lifted by a federal judge.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: The Trump administration challenged that and eventually won in the courts. But then in April, the FDA said it was going to allow the pills to be sent through the mail and prescribed via telemedicine during the pandemic.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The FDA permanently loosened the rules in December. So now abortion pills can be sent through the mail or even potentially bought or acquired online.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Are there risks associated with this for the mother?
--:-- Georgia Howe: There are some.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: So abortion pills, which are sometimes referred to as medical abortion or chemical abortion, are approved by the FDA for the first 10 weeks of pregnancy.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The process usually involves two sets of pills. The first one, mifepristone, kills the fetus by blocking progesterone. And the second one, misoprostol, induces labor.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: So women take these pills and they basically experience a miscarriage, which can have medical risks, especially if the woman hasn't been evaluated by a doctor.
--:-- Georgia Howe: One of the main concerns is ectopic pregnancy, which happens when a fertilized egg attaches outside of the uterus.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: On an ultrasound, a doctor can see that and not give out an abortion pill. Ruptured ectopic pregnancies can be life-threatening, and pro-life activists have fought to have safeguards in place to protect against this.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Another concern about these drugs being sent through the mail is that this could provide cover for sexual abuse.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: For example, if a very young girl becomes pregnant, it's important for her to be seen in person so a medical provider can screen for abuse.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So walk us through what some states are doing in response to this. Can they do anything since this is the FDA we're talking about here?
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Yeah, they're certainly going to try. Some are introducing bills to limit the availability of the pills.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Right now, 19 states require the person administering the pills to be physically present when the drugs are given.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: And Planned Parenthood has said that 24 states have introduced new restrictions on abortion pills this session.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Legislators in 13 states have also proposed bills that would make it so that doctors have to educate women about abortion pill reversal treatment just in case they have regrets.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: We're also hearing about some controversial legislation affecting the end of pregnancy or even post-pregnancy.
--:-- Georgia Howe: What can you tell us there?
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Right. Maryland and California are under intense scrutiny right now for some new bills that some pro-life activists say would allow infanticide.
--:-- Georgia Howe: In California, a bill was introduced saying people shall not be subject to civil or criminal liability or penalty based on their actions or omissions with respect to their pregnancy or actual potential or alleged pregnancy outcome, which includes miscarriage, stillbirth, or abortion or perinatal death.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: So the concern there is that parents can't be investigated for an infant's death within that first week.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Here's California Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, one of the sponsors of the bill, speaking in January.
--:-- Buffy Wicks: The legislation I'm introducing will make it crystal clear that in California, we will not criminalize women for stillbirths, pregnancy loss or abortions.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So it sounds like we should expect the battle over abortion to continue to escalate.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Right.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Charlotte, thanks for the reporting.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Thanks for having me on the show.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's Daily Wire's Charlotte Pence Bond.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: Public schools in Boston are seeing an alarming increase in violence after the city removed police from schools last year.
--:-- John Bickley: The recent spate of violence has prompted concerns about the new safety system, which no longer includes cops on campus.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Daily Wire investigative reporter Maraid Elordi is here with details for us.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Thanks for having me on the show.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So, Maraid, what's the situation like in Boston schools these days?
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Sure, so back in September when schools started, Boston got rid of the regular police officers who have patrolled the city's public schools for decades.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The schools replaced them with so-called school safety specialists.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Since then, there has been an unprecedented string of violent attacks in schools.
--:-- Georgia Howe: This has prompted a discussion about public safety and that decision to not have police stationed on campus during school hours.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: From a data perspective, overall police responded to a total of 177 incidents at 62 schools in Boston between the beginning of this school year and Thanksgiving break.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's according to 911 call data from the Boston Public School System.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: More than a quarter of those 911 calls were for incidents involving fighting or assault.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, what do these attacks look like? Do we have any examples?
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Yeah, well, some of them are very serious. In early November, a 16-year-old female student was arrested for knocking her principal unconscious.
--:-- Georgia Howe: In another incident just this month, a teacher and student were shot in the parking lot of Tech Boston Academy.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: The victims were a 31-year-old man and a 17-year-old boy. They both suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Here's Officer Gregory Long.
--:-- Gregory Long: This is a very concerning and disturbing set of circumstances. Schools are supposed to be a safe haven for our students and our teachers, not a place where they're subjected to brazen and random acts of violence.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: More than a week later, two teenage males, a 17-year-old and a 16-year-old, were arrested in connection with the shooting.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So these schools are seeing some very dangerous behavior.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Correct.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And what has the city done to address it?
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Well, police leadership and the Boston mayor both addressed that shooting when it happened.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said the situation was unacceptable and said the city would do everything it takes to ensure that each school is safe and welcoming.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Other than that, though, we haven't heard a lot of specifics about how the city will address the concerning trend of violence in schools this year.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And just to clarify, the decision to remove police was the result of activist pressure in 2020?
--:-- Maraid Elordi: That's right. Massachusetts' 2020 police reform bill was the turning point that prompted Boston's public schools to stop hiring police officers to be on-site during school hours.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The law doesn't explicitly remove officers from schools, but it does require school police to receive hundreds more training hours in order to stay on campus.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Most of them opted to go without police and just hire school safety specialists without handcuffs or arrest powers instead.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Hopefully we'll see some more concrete action soon.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Thanks, Georgia.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's Daily Wire investigative reporter Maraid Elordi.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: Other stories we're tracking this week. Several states sued the Biden administration on Monday for their plans to end Title 42.
--:-- John Bickley: Missouri, Arizona and Louisiana argued that the termination is bad policy and is profoundly illegal.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And for an update on Ukraine, Daily Wire's Ian Howarth.
--:-- Ian Howarth: Thanks for having me on the show.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The world has continued to react in horror to the awful images of what appear to be murdered civilians in Ukraine.
--:-- Ian Howarth: Over 400 civilian bodies have reportedly been found near the capital city, Kiev, with Ukraine accusing Russia of both war crimes and genocide.
--:-- Georgia Howe: On Monday, President Joe Biden echoed this sentiment, calling Putin himself a war criminal.
--:-- Ian Howarth: Meanwhile, the U.S. is pushing to have Russia removed as a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for listening to Morning Wire.
--:-- John Bickley: 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 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.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for waking up with us.
--:-- John Bickley: We'll be back tomorrow with the news you need to know.
--:-- Georgia Howe: If you like this podcast, subscribe to our Morning Wire newsletter, available exclusively to Daily Wire members.
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