--:-- Georgia Howe: Welcome to Morning Wire, I'm Georgia Howe, and I'm here with Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief John Bickley.
--:-- John Bickley: Thanks for having me, Georgia.
--:-- Georgia Howe: It's Tuesday, May 2nd, and we've got a lot to cover today. First Republic Bank has been officially taken over by JPMorgan Chase. We'll break down what this means for the economy and interest rates.
--:-- John Bickley: That's right, Georgia. We'll be joined by Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips to discuss the details of the takeover and its implications.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Thanks for having me, John.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So, Cabot, let's start with the basics. What happened to First Republic Bank, and why did JPMorgan Chase agree to take it over?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Well, Georgia, it's hard to overstate the scale of this purchase and the ramifications it could have for the banking industry. Remember, back in March, First Republic collapsed after a run on the bank saw depositors withdraw $100 billion in the span of just a few days.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's staggering. And what about the deal itself? What does it mean for JPMorgan Chase and the economy?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: The deal will give JPMorgan Chase control of most of First Republic's assets, including $200 billion worth of loans and securities. They'll also assume all $92 billion worth of deposits, both insured and uninsured. And as part of the purchase, JPMorgan will share First Republic's financial losses with the FDIC, which is offering $50 billion in financing of its own.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So, what does this mean for the economy as a whole? Is this a sign of stability or a sign of more trouble to come?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: The big thing is that it offers some form of stability to the banking industry at a time of peril. Over the last two months, we've seen three of the four largest bank collapses in U.S. history. For context, those three banks alone held more than half a trillion dollars in assets.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's a lot of money. And what about interest rates? Are we expecting more banks to fall if they go any higher?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: According to the Fed, they're confident that First Republic was the last domino to fall and that banks are secure. With that in mind, Fed officials are meeting tomorrow to decide their next move and they are expected to raise rates again.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And what about the potential for a recession? We've been hearing about it for a while now.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, it's important to note that by the technical definition of the word, we already entered a recession last year when there were two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth. There's little disagreement, though, that our economy is still heading toward recession in the near future.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks, Cabot. We'll continue to follow this story and bring you updates as more information becomes available.
--:-- John Bickley: That's right, Georgia. And now, let's move on to another story. The U.S. Supreme Court is under increasing fire, and critics are calling for restrictions on the court. We'll discuss the latest developments with Daily Wire reporter Amanda Prestigiacomo.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Thanks for having me, John.
--:-- John Bickley: So, Amanda, let's start with the update about the Dobbs leak. What did Justice Alito say about that?
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Justice Alito spoke pretty candidly to the Wall Street Journal about the leak and about broader attacks on the court's legitimacy. He suggested he'd rather not speak publicly about this as his general precedent, but is doing so because there are practically no defenders of the court and individual justices anymore.
--:-- John Bickley: And what about Justice Clarence Thomas? He's been accused of accepting lavish vacations and using the private jet of Texas real estate billionaire Harlan Crow.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: That's right. Thomas is accused of accepting lavish vacations and using the private jet of Texas real estate billionaire Harlan Crow and not disclosing it. There was also a property deal from Crow that wasn't disclosed by Thomas.
--:-- John Bickley: And what about the allegations of impropriety? Are there any concerns about Justice Thomas's impartiality?
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: There are certainly concerns about Justice Thomas's impartiality, and some are calling for his impeachment. New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has explicitly called for Thomas's impeachment.
--:-- John Bickley: And what about the response from the Supreme Court? Have they addressed these allegations in any way?
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: In a rare unanimous statement, all nine justices sent a letter pushing back on attempts from Senate Democrats to implement new ethics oversight measures, saying they already voluntarily abide by these codes.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks, Amanda. We'll continue to follow this story and bring you updates as more information becomes available.
--:-- John Bickley: That's right, Georgia. And now, let's move on to another story. Trust in the news media is continuing to plummet among Americans, and a new polling from the Associated Press shows that America's trust in news media continues to spiral downward. We'll discuss the trend with Daily Wire contributor David Marcus.
--:-- David Marcus: Thanks for having me, John.
--:-- John Bickley: So, David, let's start with the numbers. What does this new polling show, and is this problem growing worse?
--:-- David Marcus: There's nothing to cheer about in these numbers for the legacy press. Some of the standout lowlights include the fact that three quarters of U adults say the news media is increasing political polarization and very nearly half hold little or no trust in the ability of the media to fairly and accurately report the news.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And what about the reasons behind this distrust? Are there any specific stories or incidents that might be contributing to this trend?
--:-- David Marcus: We've seen Joe Biden holding a cheat sheet just last week that happened to predict almost the exact question asked by an LA Times reporter. There have been stunning revelations about government actions revealed in the Twitter files that the mainstream media is just basically zero coverage at all from legacy outlets.
--:-- John Bickley: And what about the potential for a further movement away from traditional legacy media to more online or social media driven news options?
--:-- David Marcus: The AP sure thinks so and warns that such a trend could further polarize the nation. But there are others who argue that this kind of decentralization of news media is exactly what can save it.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks, David. We'll continue to follow this story and bring you updates as more information becomes available.
--:-- John Bickley: That's right, Georgia. And that's all for today's show. Thanks for waking up with us, and we'll be back later this afternoon with more news you need to know.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for listening to Morning Wire.
