--:-- [Upbeat music fades out]
--:-- 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.
--:-- [Music transitions to a serious tone]
--:-- John Bickley: A showdown over COVID policies between federal and state governments has intensified. With President Biden taking aim at Republican governors, we'll look at the Republican response and the growing political divide over how to manage the Delta variant. I'm John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Friday, August 6th, and this is Morning Wire.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Universities across the country are taking steps to limit the spread of COVID, including masking mandates and now imposing fines on unvaccinated students. What do these changes mean for students? And what are the legal implications?
--:-- John Bickley: Anne, a Democratic lawmaker has introduced a bill that would give most U.S. residents a monthly check from the government. We'll do a deep dive on experiments with universal basic income. Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned.
--:-- [Music transitions to a serious tone]
--:-- Georgia Howe: A showdown between federal and state governments has intensified as President Biden accused Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Texas Governor Greg Abbott, both Republicans, of failing to handle the COVID-19 pandemic in their states.
--:-- John Bickley: I say to these governors, please help. But if you aren't going to help, at least get out of the way when the people are trying to do the right thing. Use your power to save lives.
--:-- [Music transitions to a serious tone]
--:-- Ash Short: Governor DeSantis fired back at the president in a speech on Wednesday saying his state was not a, quote, biomedical security state.
--:-- Ash Short: Joe Biden suggests that if you don't do lockdown policies, then you should, quote, get out of the way. But let me tell you this. If you're coming after the rights of parents in Florida, I'm standing in your way. I'm not going to let you get away with it.
--:-- Ash Short: So President Biden is blaming Florida and Texas for a rise in nationwide COVID cases. Is this fair?
--:-- Ash Short: Well, he's not wrong that Florida and Texas have a lot of new cases. But according to doctors we've spoken to, using total cases as a measure of a state's success can be misleading. People can test positive for COVID-19 without feeling sick or showing any symptoms.
--:-- Ash Short: A more reliable measure of a state's success is the rate of new hospitalizations and, most importantly, deaths. Now, that being said, hospitalizations are up in Florida. There were over 10,000 new patients admitted on Monday of this week. That's the highest single-day number since the pandemic started.
--:-- Ash Short: But 95% of those new patients are unvaccinated. And what about deaths? Where does Florida and Texas rank? Here's where singling out those states doesn't really make sense.
--:-- Ash Short: The states with the most deaths per 100 residents are New York and New Jersey both Democrat states. In fact, when it comes to deaths, Texas and Florida are much further down the list, ranking 25th and 26th out of 50 states.
--:-- Ash Short: That's over the course of the pandemic, right?
--:-- Ash Short: Right. What about more recently? Well, the daily average of COVID-19 deaths in Florida is currently the highest in the nation, but it's followed by California, which isn't getting mentioned by the Biden administration.
--:-- Ash Short: And to be clear, this is a current snapshot and is subject to change. What makes Texas and Florida's placement on the overall list so important is that these states resisted many of the lockdown restrictions and lifted mandates far earlier than states like New York and New Jersey.
--:-- Ash Short: For example, most of Florida's schools have been operating in person during the pandemic. DeSantis highlighted this when he responded to Biden this week.
--:-- Ash Short: If you're trying to deny kids a proper in-person education, I'm going to stand in your way and I'm going to stand up for the kids in Florida. If you're trying to restrict people, impose mandates, if you're trying to ruin their jobs and their livelihoods and their small business, if you are trying to lock people down, I am standing in your way and I'm standing for the people of Florida.
--:-- Ash Short: Well, yeah. DeSantis also took aim at the situation on the border where thousands of illegal immigrants are being allowed into the U.S. without being vaccinated, many testing positive for COVID-19.
--:-- Ash Short: This could explain, at least in part, why California and Texas are seeing surges right now since they're on the border. So why don't you do your job? Why don't you get this border secure?
--:-- Ash Short: And until you do that, I don't want to hear a blip about COVID from you.
--:-- Ash Short: Thanks, John.
--:-- John Bickley: With all of these caveats, why is Biden focusing on these two governors, particularly DeSantis?
--:-- Ash Short: Well, as always, it's important to keep the broader political implications in mind here. Governor DeSantis is widely considered to be a Republican frontrunner for the 2024 presidential race.
--:-- Ash Short: So it's in the best interest of Democrats to knock him when they get the chance. But obviously, he's more than willing to push back.
--:-- Ash Short: Ash, thanks for your insights. Glad I could help.
--:-- John Bickley: Daily Wire editor, Ash Short.
--:-- [Music transitions to a serious tone]
--:-- Georgia Howe: Up next, universities announce plans to fine unvaccinated students. Watch Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas tell his story in Created Equal, a documentary that follows his journey from the segregated South to the highest court in the land and the contentious confirmation battle he fought to get there. Streaming now for Daily Wire members at dailywire.com.
--:-- Chrissy Clark: Universities are grappling with how to return to on-campus learning as the CDC warns of a Delta variant spike. In response, some colleges have decided to fine unvaccinated students.
--:-- Chrissy Clark: Joining us today to discuss is Daily Wire reporter Chrissy Clark. Chrissy, thanks for joining us. Good morning.
--:-- Chrissy Clark: So we've heard that some colleges are mandating COVID vaccines, but now they're also imposing fines on unvaccinated students?
--:-- Chrissy Clark: Yeah, and two universities have just made headlines over this. Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee will charge unvaccinated students and staff $1,500 each semester to cover the costs of weekly testing.
--:-- Chrissy Clark: Wow. Birmingham Southern College in Alabama will charge $500. And Birmingham Southern's president said the school lacks federal funds to pay for testing itself.
--:-- Chrissy Clark: And what's odd about this is that the university received almost $4.5 million in PPP loans. The Small Business Association requires that universities spend at least 60% of their loan on payroll expenses, but that still leaves the school with $2.6 million.
--:-- Chrissy Clark: So they received federal funds for COVID expenses, but they still want unvaccinated students and staff to pay out of pocket?
--:-- Chrissy Clark: Yeah. And what other strategies are colleges suggesting?
--:-- Chrissy Clark: Well, each school is handling unvaccinated students differently. Following the CDC guidance, most schools are either forcing or highly encouraging unvaccinated students to wear face coverings.
--:-- Chrissy Clark: These students will also be subjected to off-campus quarantine if they're exposed to the virus. Some universities are even requiring vaccinated students to wear masks indoors.
--:-- Chrissy Clark: Masking for unvaccinated students sounds difficult to enforce. Would that be based on an honor system, or would professors have access to student health records?
--:-- Chrissy Clark: Yeah, practical enforcement is going to be a major issue for these schools. That's why several of them are considering universal masking.
--:-- Chrissy Clark: And how are the students reacting to that?
--:-- Chrissy Clark: Well, there's a divide. Some students want their universities to make it as difficult as possible for unvaccinated students to return to campus.
--:-- Chrissy Clark: These students are hopeful that fines will force unvaccinated students to get vaccinated. Others think fines are unfair and that it's not right to impose a consequence for not getting a vaccine that is still under emergency authorization.
--:-- Chrissy Clark: Right. Are financial penalties becoming more common?
--:-- Chrissy Clark: Right now, the fines are less popular than vaccine mandates.
--:-- Chrissy Clark: After the CDC said that it was fearful of the COVID Delta variant spike, a slew of universities announced new vaccine mandates.
--:-- Chrissy Clark: And these mandates are just for students who want to return to on-campus learning, correct?
--:-- Chrissy Clark: Well, it depends on the school. The initial handful of schools that announced mandates such as Rutgers, Cornell, and Indiana University are requiring the vaccine for students that want to return to campus.
--:-- Chrissy Clark: But on July 30th, the University of Michigan said that all students and faculty, including those who work or learn remotely, will be required to get the vaccine to even enroll in classes or keep their jobs.
--:-- Chrissy Clark: Wow. Is that legal to fire staff over this?
--:-- Chrissy Clark: Well, it's not clear. There hasn't been an official ruling one way or the other.
--:-- Chrissy Clark: Like you guys reported a few weeks ago, students at Indiana University sued over the vaccine mandate, but a judge denied their preliminary injunction.
--:-- Chrissy Clark: And since every university allows some sort of vaccine exemption for religious or medical reasons, the courts could rule that these schools have a rational basis for vaccine requirements.
--:-- Chrissy Clark: Interesting. Chrissy, thanks for joining us. Thanks for having me.
--:-- John Bickley: Daily Wire reporter Chrissy Clark.
--:-- [Music transitions to a serious tone]
--:-- Georgia Howe: Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar introduced a bill last Friday that would give most people living in America a regular government check. Meanwhile, state and local governments nationwide are experimenting with universal basic income programs. Here to tell us about those proposals and how they've fared in the past is Daily Wire reporter Ben Johnson.
--:-- Ben Johnson: Morning, Ben. Good morning.
--:-- Ben Johnson: So, Ben, start us off by explaining what is a universal basic income.
--:-- Ben Johnson: Sure. Universal Basic Income, or UBI, is a program in which the government sends regular checks to everyone with no strings attached. They're not contingent on whether the person works or even needs the money.
--:-- Ben Johnson: Okay, so what's in this new proposal? Ilhan Omar's Support Act is not quite a universal basic income, but it's close. It would have the government give most U.S. residents $1,200 a month, plus $600 for each child.
--:-- Ben Johnson: In certain circumstances, illegal immigrants would be eligible for the checks. Really?
--:-- Ben Johnson: Yeah, but the program isn't truly universal because it's means-tested. Only people earning less than $75,000 a year, or $112,500 per family, would qualify.
--:-- Ben Johnson: So a limited UBI?
--:-- Ben Johnson: Yes. Several states and cities are actually testing pilot programs now, right?
--:-- Ben Johnson: That's right. Several fuller limited UBI pilot programs are currently underway. In July, the state of California unanimously voted to establish a program for certain qualifying pregnant women and young adults who aged out of foster care.
--:-- Ben Johnson: Each participating city will have to set the amount up to a month but cities have to raise half their monthly payment from non sources.
--:-- Ben Johnson: At the same time, Newark New Jersey and Ulster County New York are both giving some citizens a month free and clear $500 a month.
--:-- Ben Johnson: Wow. Now, we have seen this tested other places before. How's that worked out?
--:-- Ben Johnson: Right. The federal government tested a UBI during the Nixon administration in the 1970s. People in Seattle and Denver received checks based on their income level, bringing them up to a minimum salary.
--:-- Ben Johnson: But the programs were abandoned. Data showed that husbands worked fewer hours and were less likely to go to school to learn new job skills.
--:-- Ben Johnson: Researchers also found that couples in the program were more likely to divorce, and they were actually incentivized to do so because separate households could qualify for larger checks.
--:-- Ben Johnson: So many unintended consequences.
--:-- Ben Johnson: And other nations have tried this as well, right?
--:-- Ben Johnson: Yes. Finland and Ontario, Canada both had pilot UBI programs in 2017 and 18. They wanted to test whether people would use their checks to learn new skills and change their lives.
--:-- Ben Johnson: Researchers saw a net decrease in employment of 17% after UBI payments. In Finland, the results were more of a mixed bag with no significant change in employment.
--:-- Ben Johnson: It was more complicated, though, because the payments were paired with decreased tax rates and UBI payments replaced existing unemployment benefits.
--:-- Ben Johnson: Now, over in the Netherlands, an economist actually found a UBI would increase the poverty rate by 3%. So by that measure, UBI did not achieve its stated goal.
--:-- Ben Johnson: Okay, so have these tests produced any positive results?
--:-- Ben Johnson: One. Virtually every UBI case is reported lower levels of stress. For example, in Ontario, 86% of participants said they felt less anxiety.
--:-- Ben Johnson: That's a key argument that proponents point to. But physical health outcomes can actually worsen.
--:-- Ben Johnson: For example, after the Alaska Permanent Fund gave an oil dividend to all state residents, researchers found that unhealthy eating, substance abuse, and gambling increased among indigenous tribes.
--:-- Ben Johnson: Yet it still remains popular. When a lot of people hear UBI, they think Andrew Yang and his plan for $1,000 guaranteed monthly income.
--:-- Ben Johnson: Right. And most of the people who support a UBI are on the fringes of the Democratic Party, although a few libertarians like Charles Murray have also endorsed the idea.
--:-- Ben Johnson: For the most part, this is a highly theoretical discussion that takes place on the far left of the political spectrum.
--:-- Ben Johnson: Right. And thus far, UBI's theory hasn't produced fruitful, real-life results. We'll see if Representative Omar's bill goes anywhere.
--:-- Ben Johnson: Thanks, Ben.
--:-- John Bickley: Anytime.
--:-- [Music transitions to a serious tone]
--:-- Georgia Howe: Other big developments that we're tracking this week. The Mexican government is suing gun companies in the U.S. The complaint was filed in a Massachusetts court on Wednesday and argues that gun companies market and sell guns while knowing that the guns are trafficked and used for illegal acts in Mexico.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Foreign ministry officials have estimated up to 10 billion in possible damages. The Biden administration is developing a plan to require almost all foreign visitors to the U.S. to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
--:-- Georgia Howe: A White House official told the press that Working groups are developing a policy and planning process to be prepared for when the time is right to transition to this new system.
--:-- Georgia Howe: If you like this episode and are interested in hearing more, subscribe to Morning Wire on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you're listening, and give us a five-star review.
--:-- Georgia Howe: 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.
--:-- Georgia Howe: If you like this podcast, get the Morning Wire newsletter delivered straight to your inbox when you join at dailywire.com slash subscribe. Use code Morning Wire to try a Reader's Pass membership and get your first month for only 99 cents.
