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--:-- John Bickley: This episode is brought to you by LifeLock. Between two-factor authentication, strong passwords, and a VPN, you try to be in control of how your info is protected. But many other places also have it, and they might not be as careful. That's why LifeLock monitors hundreds of millions of data points a second for threats. If your identity is stolen, they'll fix it. Guaranteed or your money back. Save up to 40% your first year. Visit LifeLock.com slash podcast for 40% off. Terms apply.
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--:-- John Bickley: Russia has intensified its attacks on Ukraine and ignored a ceasefire that would have granted safe passage to fleeing Ukrainians. As more Ukrainian cities are surrounded by Russian forces, what comes next in the invasion? And what actions are being taken by the U.S., the European Union, and NATO? I'm John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Monday, March 7th, and this is Morning Wire.
--:-- Georgia Howe: As inflation hits 40-year highs and gas prices continue to rise sharply, more members of Congress move to ban Russian oil. Will President Biden cut off Russian oil if it means even higher gas prices? And most of the Western world has united behind sanctions against Russia. Now, Hollywood is joining the fight. We'll tell you how movie studios are punishing the authoritarian regime.
--:-- John Bickley: Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know. You can get this show and all of the content you love wherever you are, all on the Daily Wire app. Even if you're not a Daily Wire member, you'll be the first to know what's trending with mobile notifications for the latest news, and you'll get content from all your favorite Daily Wire shows. Download the Daily Wire app and keep up with the facts no matter where your day takes you.
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--:-- John Bickley: The Russian invasion of Ukraine continues, and reports indicate that Russian forces are ramping up their attacks, even targeting civilians. Here with the latest from the conflict is Daily Wire's Ian Howarth.
--:-- Ian Howarth: Well, we entered the weekend with some levels of hope regarding this growing humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. Last Thursday, leaders from Ukraine and Russia announced that they had agreed to a temporary ceasefire to support humanitarian corridors to allow food and medicine to be brought in and for civilians to get out. But it looks like Russian forces have completely ignored this agreement. More territory has been taken by Russia in recent days, and multiple Ukrainian cities are now surrounded.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Right, we saw some alarming reports over the weekend. What do we know?
--:-- Ian Howarth: Well, for example, the mayor of one surrounded city, the port of Maripol, said that thousands of residents had gathered on Saturday to escape the city under the supposed safety corridor, but Russian shelling began regardless. And these humanitarian corridors have failed over and over. Again in Maripol, the Ukrainian National Guard said that Russian forces encircled the port and continued to shell the area on Sunday.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Meanwhile, Russian media has blamed Ukrainian forces for not upholding the ceasefire. And the continued violence and increasing levels of violence is only fueling the scale of humanitarian disaster we're witnessing.
--:-- Ian Howarth: In addition to those suffering on the ground, either due to a lack of supplies, injuries, or death, We're also looking at a truly massive number of refugees trying to escape under truly horrendous conditions. The UN estimates that 1.5 million have now fled. Almost 1 million of these refugees have gone to Poland alone.
--:-- Georgia Howe: 1.5 million, that's a stunning number in just over a week.
--:-- Ian Howarth: Yeah, made worse by the limited means to escape. On Sunday, Russia attacked one civilian town and destroyed its airport with eight cruise missiles. And the continued threat from the air is only making the debate over the issue of a no-fly zone over Ukraine more central.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Yeah, tell us about that.
--:-- Ian Howarth: Zelensky has been asking for NATO to impose a no zone over Ukraine to counter the Russian air threat But this looks unlikely anytime soon, right?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Yeah, correct. Zelensky asked for a no zone which would mean NATO forces would actively prevent Russian planes from entering Ukraine in airspace with the use of force if necessary Putin has said he would consider this an act of war, and the concern among many here is that a Western-enforced no-fly zone would escalate the conflict beyond Ukraine into what could become a world war.
--:-- Ian Howarth: Here's Senator Marco Rubio on what could happen. Basically, a no-fly zone, if people understood what it means, it means World War III. And at least right now, this looks like the common view. NATO's Secretary General said that NATO planes would not operate over Ukrainian airspace, and the United States UN ambassador reiterated Biden's position on American military intervention. President Biden has been very, very clear that American troops will not be put on the ground or in the air.
--:-- Georgia Howe: All right, so if we're not making progress in terms of economic sanctions and NATO isn't getting involved, what about other strategies? Any updates there?
--:-- Ian Howarth: Well, one interesting story from over the weekend involves the Prime Minister of Israel, Naftali Bennett, who seems to be at least trying to act as an intermediary between Russia and Ukraine. Bennett has spoken with Putin and Zelensky with the support of the US government, as well as having coordinated with Germany and France.
--:-- Georgia Howe: As we all know, the situation on the ground isn't good. There's a great amount of human suffering, and it could get even worse if things continue on the current path. Naturally, I can't expand further on the matter. We'll continue to assist, even if the chances are slim. As soon as there's even a small opening and we have access to all sides, then I see this as our moral duty to make every possible effort, to try and find a diplomatic solution.
--:-- Ian Howarth: But right now, beyond a diplomatic miracle, the war looks like it's going to continue to be Ukraine's problem when it comes to physically stopping the Russian advance. And as you've highlighted, meanwhile, we have this human toll that's really just continuing to escalate.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Yeah, exactly. Thanks for the update, Ian.
--:-- Ian Howarth: Thanks, John.
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--:-- John Bickley: Daily Wire's Ian Howarth. Coming up, gas prices hit the highest level since 2008. This show is sponsored by Birch Gold Group. The market's slow decline has now worsened, and you need to make sure that your savings are protected with alternative investments. Hedge your savings today before it's too late with Birch Gold. Text the word WIRE to 989898 to claim a free info kit on physical gold and silver. Again, text WIRE to 989898 to protect your savings with Birch Gold today.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: This week, for the first time since 2008, the price of gasoline hit $4 a gallon, marking a drastic increase of 43 cents in just one month. Here with more on what exactly is causing the spike, and if there's any end in sight, is Daily Wire's Cabot Phillips.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So, just how much of a price increase are people seeing at the pump? Well, it's pretty drastic to say the least. Nationwide, the average price is now a hair over $4 a gallon. That's the highest on record since 2008 when prices jumped to 411.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, oftentimes the nationwide average can kind of be skewed by states like California and Hawaii, which always have higher prices while other states don't necessarily feel a huge hit. But if you look at the data, every region is seeing a major spike. West Coast states are at $4.31. Midwest states are at $3.47. And even in the Gulf Coast, where prices are typically the due to their proximity to oil reserves, prices are also at 331.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So people across the country are feeling the pain. And I hate to remind people of how much cheaper gas used to be, but for the sake of context, a gallon of gas at the end of 2020 was $2.12.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Yeah. So things have nearly doubled in just over a year And remember the average household goes through about 90 gallons of gasoline a month meaning people are paying about more for gas this year than last year That's a steep increase that a lot of people are finding hard to handle.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, it's definitely going to be noticeable. So is this all just a byproduct of the war in Ukraine? That's definitely the message President Biden and his administration are pushing. They've really positioned rising gas prices as the cost of holding Russia accountable. And to a certain extent, they're right. Prices have gone up about 47 cents since the war started 12 days ago.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Even though we rely on Russia for only about 8% of our oil imports, Europe and Asia are hugely reliant on them. So now that more countries are unwilling or simply unable to purchase Russian oil, the global price is soaring, which impacts the price for everyone. It's just supply and demand.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: But we saw prices for gas going up before the war started. Yeah, that's why it's a bit disingenuous for the president to blame all of this on Russia. Gas prices were already going up pretty rapidly well before the conflict because of record inflation, supply chain backups, and also a shift away from domestic energy production after President Trump left office.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And on that note, it's worth pointing out America imported more Russian oil in 2021 than at any point in over a decade.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, we looked at those numbers in a previous segment and it's notable. Is there any indication President Biden will cut off Russian oil imports? Yeah, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are ramping up pressure on that front. They say it's outrageous to import Russian oil and essentially line the pockets of Putin during the war. The Biden administration is definitely feeling pressure to take action.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Right now, though, they're not taking any concrete steps at this point to ban Russian oil. Cecilia Rouse, the chair of the Council of Economic Advisors, was asked about that last week. She said, quote, we don't import a lot of Russian oil, but we are looking at options that we can take right now if we were to cut the U.S. consumption of Russian energy. So basically a maybe.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, exactly. Do we expect the problem to be solved anytime soon? The short answer there is no. There isn't a clear fix to the problem right now. And exports across the board say things are actually going to get a good bit worse before they get better. The question now just becomes how much worse. Some projections have prices at $4.25 a gallon by Memorial Day, while Tom Kloza from the Oil Price Information Service said he expects the price to top out around $4.50 a gallon in the coming months. Yikes.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So, yeah, buckle up, everybody. Not the news you want to hear on a Monday. Definitely not.
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--:-- John Bickley: Why'd you guys give me this one? Sorry, Cabot. Cabot, thanks so much for reporting.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Anytime. That's Daily Wire's Cabot Phillips.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: The economic penalties Russia is incurring from the rest of the world are ramping up. Along with formal sanctions, American companies like McDonald's, Dell Computers, and Apple have suspended sales in the country. Now Hollywood is joining the backlash, with multiple major studios pulling their releases from Russia. Here to tell us specifically how studios are responding is Daily Wire entertainment reporter Megan Basham.
--:-- Megan Basham: So Megan, which studios are pulling films out of Russia? Well, it all kicked off with Disney. So last Monday, the company said it was pulling its new Pixar animated movie, Turning Red, from the Russian market because of the war with Ukraine. So in a statement, the company said that, quoting here, given the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and the tragic humanitarian crisis, we are pausing the release of theatrical films in Russia.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The next day, Warner Brothers announced that it too was going to pause releases in Russia. And that one's a biggie because it means Russian audiences aren't going to get one of the most anticipated blockbusters of this year, Robert Pattinson's new Batman reboot.
--:-- Megan Basham: So after that it just really seemed like every major studio was scrambling to put out their own announcements Paramount Universal Sony all those big names So a couple of the other tent poles that aren't going to be opening in Russia now include Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Morbius, which if you're not familiar, that's a superhero movie based on a Marvel character. Though in this case, Sony is releasing that movie, not Marvel. And then finally, at the end of all that, the Motion Picture Association put out a statement supporting Ukraine and condemning Russia.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, is this unprecedented? Has Hollywood done anything like this before with other human rights crises?
--:-- Megan Basham: It is a bit unprecedented. And I think that's part of what has some critics slamming the studios here for hypocrisy. I mean, we know that China has notoriously committed genocide and forced sterilization on its Uyghur population. And that didn't stop Disney from filming in the area where it was happening and actually thanking local authorities. China's also a great parallel for Russia in this case because of the way they've been encroaching on Taiwan. Now, those encroachments haven't been as overtly warlike as what we're seeing with Russia, of course, but it's still understood that China is attempting to seize those territories.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Yet that hasn't stopped studios from releasing movies in China and even sometimes formally partnering with Chinese production companies. They've also famously altered some content to avoid offending CCP censors.
--:-- Megan Basham: So why do you think these studios are taking a stand on Russia when they haven't done the same with China? Well, if I were going to play the cynic, I'd say it's probably just a matter of simple economics. Hollywood doesn't have nearly as much to lose by pulling out of Russia as they do out of China. So Russia, to give you some perspective, accounted for just 2.8% of global ticket sales last year, whereas China, by contrast, represents 34% of the global box office.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So there is just a lot more for Hollywood to lose there.
--:-- Megan Basham: But studio defenders point out that open war is somewhat different than human rights violations. And while Putin probably isn't going to stop the invasion of Ukraine so Russians can see the Batman, a movie like this can help demonstrate to his people that he's turning the nation into an outcast on the world stage. So it might help in that campaign to sway the opinions of the population here. Defenders also point out that while studios may not be applying this policy uniformly to bad actors, it's better for them to take a stand here than stay silent. And there's also one other thing. So with the swift banking system down, it's not entirely clear that studios would even have been able to get their box office earnings out of Russia anyway. At least not anytime soon.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Well, it'll be interesting to keep an eye on Twitter just to see how much these cultural sanctions affect things.
--:-- Megan Basham: Megan, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Megan Basham: Of course, my pleasure. That's Daily Wire entertainment reporter Megan Basham.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: Another story we're tracking this week. Several news networks have stopped broadcasting from Russia. Among the networks are ABC, CBS, CNN, Bloomberg, BBC, and CBC. The move comes after Russia's parliament passed a fake news law threatening to arrest journalists whose reports don't align with Russian propaganda. Journalists could face up to 15 years in prison.
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--:-- John Bickley: If you liked 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. 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. If you liked 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.
