--:-- [Theme music fades out]
--:-- John Bickley: Welcome to Morning Wire. I'm John Bickley, and I'm joined by my co-host Georgia Howe.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Good morning, everyone. It's Wednesday, May 4th.
--:-- John Bickley: 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.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The Supreme Court has confirmed the authenticity of the draft decision overturning Roe v. Wade, and the chief justice is now calling for an investigation. What was President Biden's response, and what are the chances that any of the justices will change their decision on Roe?
--:-- John Bickley: I'm John Bickley with Georgia Howe. Crime in several major cities has residents staying home and businesses shutting down. Enough is enough. We're mad as hell and we can't take it anymore because all we want is safe streets. What policies have led to this rise in lawlessness and what is being done to control it?
--:-- Georgia Howe: And in other Supreme Court news, all nine justices ruled unanimously on a religious freedom case. We have the details on the case of the banned Christian flag.
--:-- John Bickley: Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
--:-- John Bickley: This show is sponsored by Good Ranchers. You know what you need this summer? You need new burgers. How about American Wagyu burgers from Good Ranchers? Good Ranchers American Wagyu is raised here in the States and produces the rich and buttery Wagyu texture that you crave. Visit GoodRanchers.com slash wire to get a box of amazing American meat and get two pounds of free American Wagyu burgers and free shipping added to your order. Just use code WIRE at GoodRanchers.com slash WIRE. Good Ranchers, American meat delivered.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The leaked Supreme Court opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade has sent Washington scrambling. The White House released a statement promising to be ready when any ruling is issued. President Biden also said he will work to codify access to abortion into law legislatively. Daily Wire culture reporter Megan Basham is here to catch us up on how Washington is responding to this bombshell leak.
--:-- Megan Basham: So, Megan, first off and most importantly, we now know that this document is authentic, correct?
--:-- Megan Basham: Yes, that is correct. So Chief Justice John Roberts put out a very rare written statement early Tuesday morning that confirmed that this is an actual draft of the Supreme Court. But he did emphasize that it's not final and doesn't necessarily represent the final decision reached by any member of the court.
--:-- Megan Basham: So in a second statement released at the same time, Roberts called the leak, quote, a singular and egregious breach. He went on to say that if this, again, quoting betrayal of confidences was intended to undermine the integrity of our operations, it will not succeed.
--:-- Megan Basham: So you have to say a pretty strong statement from the chief justice there. Yeah, it is. Yeah, and he also directed the marshal of the court to launch an investigation into who leaked that draft. Along with that, we're hearing a lot of calls for an FBI investigation into the leak and a possible congressional probe into just what happened there.
--:-- Megan Basham: So we hear Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Monday talking to reporters about how this leak represents an attack on the court. What's unique about today is this is the first time we've had somebody on the inside try to attack the institution.
--:-- Megan Basham: Fortunately I think the Chief Justice has taken that seriously and will find the leaker It seems to me excuse the lecture to concentrate on what the news is today Not a leaked draft, but the fact that the draft was leaked.
--:-- Megan Basham: Now, as Georgia mentioned, President Biden put out a statement as well. He did. But, you know, curiously, he did not mention the leak or how it might undermine the integrity of the court. Biden's statement stayed very focused on the politics of this development, saying that he directed various White House offices to, quote, prepare options for an administration response to the continued attack on abortion and, as he put it, reproductive rights.
--:-- Megan Basham: He finished by emphasizing that voters will need to elect pro-choice officials in November if the court does indeed overturn Roe. He reiterated that message to reporters on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews on Monday.
--:-- Megan Basham: I think the codification of the road makes a lot of sense. So the idea that we're going to make a judgment that is going to say that no one can make the judgment to choose to abort a child based on a decision by the Supreme Court, I think goes way overboard.
--:-- Megan Basham: Now, I think we have to pause and say that this comment from the president is not actually correct. The opinion in the draft does not say that no one will be able to make the judgment to choose to abort a child. What it will do is send that question back to the states to decide legislatively.
--:-- Megan Basham: The president also said it could impact other decisions in American private lives, including who you marry. So statements like these seem to illustrate just how quickly this development is being leveraged as a political narrative to motivate voters.
--:-- Megan Basham: Yeah, it really does. Much of the discussion today seems to be operating under the assumption that this opinion, if not a final draft, still reflects the final outcome of the case. It does. And I think that's because most legal experts are saying that it's unlikely that the justices will have changed their minds on the ultimate fate of Roe here.
--:-- Megan Basham: So this was Sarah Perry, a senior legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation, addressing that question in an interview with Morning Wire. Well, it could change. The justices are within their right to sort of vote change and to trade based on how they believe that they're going to rule in one case or another on related issues.
--:-- Megan Basham: But this opinion seems to lead us to the connection that we are ultimately looking at the conservative block of five with Chief Justice Roberts still sort of in flux voting against the liberal three. This is a breakdown that we anticipated.
--:-- Megan Basham: So we're unlikely to see any significant changes. In fact, at this point, it looks to be the only vote as being in flux would considerably be that of Chief Justice Roberts. And from the beginning, for our part, he was always sort of the wild card in the entirety of this court's consideration of the abortion law in Mississippi.
--:-- Megan Basham: So it sounds like we're watching history unfold here and we'll be tracking it closely. Thanks for bringing us these updates, Megan.
--:-- Megan Basham: Absolutely. My pleasure.
--:-- John Bickley: Crime continues to increase in major U.S. cities, including a spate of shocking incidents in just the last few weeks, causing residents to stay home and businesses to shut down. Cities like New York, San Francisco, Portland, and even New Orleans have suffered significantly in recent weeks. Daily Wire investigative reporter Maraid Elordi is here with more details for us.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Yeah, that's correct. Violent crime has been spiraling in cities for months now. In just the last few weeks, though, we've seen a disturbing string of violent incidents that has really alarmed many residents in several cities.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: In New York City, for example, major crime has surged by more than 40% this year compared to this time last year, according to the NYPD. The worst recent incident was the mass shooting in a Brooklyn subway station last month, in which 10 people were injured.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: On Sunday, a father from Virginia was visiting a relative on the Upper West Side when he was shot dead while sitting in a parked car. This happened in broad daylight. When the man's brother was notified about the shooting, he went into cardiac arrest and is still hospitalized.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Due to the spike in robberies, luxury shops in New York have started deadbolting the doors and dimming the lights, pretending to be closed during business hours and taking customers by appointment only.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: The effect of all this is that New Yorkers are saying they're afraid to leave their apartments. They're skipping the subway when possible and choosing their route home carefully.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: John Castamatides, the billionaire owner of a grocery chain in Manhattan, said some of his workers were held at gunpoint and robbed. He said people are scared stiff. There's 3,000 criminals, 3,000, that's all there is, in the streets of New York that should be in jails for a long time.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Politicians that are Democrats or Republicans, they have to stand up and say enough is enough. Let's keep our 8.5 million people safe.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: So we've talked about New York. Are we also seeing the same on the West Coast?
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Well, Portland has been pretty consistent recently as far as its crime and drug problem, but there's been pushback to addressing the issue. On Saturday, black-clad protesters attacked the campaign event of a local gubernatorial candidate in downtown Portland.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Police took 20 minutes to respond, even though the assault occurred near police headquarters. The candidate, Republican Stan Poulium, is campaigning on more funding for police.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: We're just here to support our candidate for governor, and a group of goons showed up throwing fireworks and paint bombs at us. Welcome to Portland.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Crime is not any better in San Francisco. A recent poll showed that 68 percent of San Francisco voters would vote to remove the city's DA, Chesa Boudin.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: So that's an indicator of how citizens there feel about the city's approach to crime. Police Officers Association President Lieutenant Tracy McRae did not sugarcoat the situation when she was asked what it would take for the city to change.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: She said it will take years to correct this if it can be corrected at all.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Now, you also mentioned New Orleans. We don't always see New Orleans in the headlines for crime. What happened?
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Right. New Orleans made headlines for a gang-related mass shooting that injured six people on Friday. It reportedly took a half hour for 911 calls about the shooting to even be answered.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: The gang member who is the apparent target of the shooting, Nairobi Davis, was previously released after being charged with multiple murder counts.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Since last week's shooting, residents have been sounding the alarm about the city's weak on crime policies.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Well, hopefully city leaders are listening to those citizens.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Thanks, Georgia.
--:-- John Bickley: The Supreme Court ruled 9 to reject the city of Boston claim that flying a Christian flag in front of its city hall violates the Constitution The Supreme Court released its unanimous decision on Monday. Daily Wire's Tim Pierce is here to tell us more.
--:-- Tim Pierce: So, Tim, for listeners who are just hearing about this case, it dates back to 2017 when a local Boston group applied to fly a Christian flag outside of the city hall and they were rejected. That group claimed religious discrimination.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Yeah, that's right, Georgia. In 2017, a local group called Camp Constitution applied to fly a Christian flag outside of Boston City Hall for a day. Since 2005, Boston had been allowing applicants to fly flags of other countries or movements or special events on a flagpole outside the City Hall.
--:-- Tim Pierce: The city had signed off on about 50 different flags over 12 years. When CAM Constitution applied to fly an explicitly Christian flag, however, city officials worried that it would violate the Constitution's Establishment Clause, banning a state religion.
--:-- Tim Pierce: So the city refused to fly a so-called Christian flag because officials didn't want to look like they were endorsing Christianity. But under the same program, the city had flown the flags of other countries, such as Cuba and China, as well as flags for gay pride.
--:-- Tim Pierce: CAM Constitution co-founder Harold Shurtleff disagreed with Boston and sued the city for violating its First Amendment rights.
--:-- Tim Pierce: During Supreme Court oral arguments in January, justices appeared to be concerned that Shurtleff's line of debate could result in Boston flying symbols such as the Nazi swastika.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Despite their concerns, every justice ultimately sided with Shurtleff, with Justice Brett Kavanaugh writing a concurring opinion.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Under the Constitution, a government may not treat religious persons, religious organizations, or religious speech as second class.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Now, had the city previously signed off on any other explicitly religious flags? We don't know all of the flags that have been approved, but we do know that the city at one point flew the Bunker Hill Association flag, which looks strikingly similar to the Christian group's flag.
--:-- Tim Pierce: It also features a Christian cross in the upper left, but the Bunker Hill flag commemorates the Battle of Bunker Hill, so the cross is more incidental in that case and not central to the flag's message.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Now, do we know anything about the rejection rate for flags? So, for example, is the city fairly choosy with what they choose to allow?
--:-- Tim Pierce: Actually, the city has never once denied a group before this case. They have flown 284 flags over the years, and this was just the first flag they denied.
--:-- Tim Pierce: So you're saying the odds of getting a morning wire flag on Boston City Hall are pretty good?
--:-- Tim Pierce: Probably so.
--:-- Tim Pierce: All right, Tim, thanks for reporting.
--:-- John Bickley: Another story we're tracking this week. In an interview released Tuesday morning, billionaire Bill Gates told NBC he now regrets his friendship with convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. He made the comments while promoting his new book, How to Prevent the Next Pandemic.
--:-- Bill Gates: I certainly made a huge mistake, not only meeting him in the first place, but I met with him a number of times. I had a goal of raising money for global health. I didn't realize that a meeting with him almost downplayed the incredibly awful things he did.
--:-- John Bickley: 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, please consider subscribing, leaving us a five-star rating, and most importantly, sharing our podcast with a friend.
--:-- John Bickley: Well, 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.
--:-- [Theme music starts playing]
--:-- John Bickley: If you like this podcast, subscribe to our Morning Wire newsletter, available exclusively to Daily Wire members. 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.
--:-- [Theme music continues to play as the episode ends]
