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--:-- Host Georgia Howe: 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.
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--:-- Host Georgia Howe: Republican presidential candidates faced off for a second time last night and tried to separate themselves from the pack. I'm the only one up here who's gotten in the big fights and has delivered big victories. I vote Donald Trump off the island right now. We discuss the highs and lows of the second Trump-less debate. I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley. It's Thursday, September 28th, and this is Morning Wire.
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--:-- Host Georgia Howe: A New York judge has ruled that former President Donald Trump is liable for fraud in a move that could shut down the former president's ability to do business in the state. And overdose deaths hit record numbers. What's driving the tragic spike in cases? Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
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--:-- Host Georgia Howe: Republican presidential candidates took the stage in California last night for the second primary debate looking to gain ground on frontrunner Donald Trump. Here to discuss is Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips. Cabot in at times chaotic event last night at Reagan Library. A lot happened. Walk us through this debate.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, there's a lot to get to. So Trump is a big, as we've discussed. And the seven candidates on stage last night know that, and we're clearly looking for a way to stand out before it's too late. The night kicked off with a discussion on the economy, particularly the United Auto Workers strike, which has dominated the headlines this week. Rather than focusing on the strike itself, though, candidates devoted much of their focus on President Biden, blaming him for creating the economic situation that they say led to the strike in the first place.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: Here's South Carolina Senator Tim Scott on that front.
--:-- Tim Scott: I'll say this. Joe Biden should not be on the picket line. He should be on the southern border working to close our southern border.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: But one of the standout answers on the strike came from North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, who didn't get a lot of airtime. The reason why people are striking in Detroit is because Joe Biden's interference with capital markets and with free markets. We're subsidizing the automakers, particularly we're subsidizing electric vehicles. That's why they're striking, because they need two thirds less workers to build an electric car.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: Now, we also saw a number of dust-ups between the candidates. Tell us about some of that.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, dust-ups is a nice way of putting it. It was interesting. The debate started a bit more friendly than last month's showdown, but about halfway through, that all changed, and things got very heated. In one moment that quickly went viral online, Nikki Haley had this to say about Vivek Ramaswamy.
--:-- Nikki Haley: Honestly, every time I hear you, I feel a little bit dumber for what you say.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: But that was just the tip of the iceberg. At other moments, Haley went after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, accusing him of banning fracking in his state, which he vehemently denied. At another point, Senator Tim Scott took aim at Haley for installing $50,000 curtains in her ambassador's residence, which she also denied. Then there was another heated moment between Ramaswamy and Scott over the former's business ties to the Chinese Communist Party.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: Throughout the night moderators really struggled to keep the conversation on track as candidates routinely talked over one another and blatantly ignored requests to stay on topic. It was chaotic at times to say the least.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, it really was. One of the issues candidates were clearly eager to discuss was immigration, which dominated much of the evening. What were some of the things they had to say on that front?
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: Yeah, nearly everyone on stage was in agreement that the southern border is in crisis and must be secured. When asked about the war in Ukraine, for example, Governor DeSantis quickly turned to the border crisis.
--:-- Ron DeSantis: Our own country is being invaded. We don't even have control of our own territory. We have got to defend the American people before we even worry about all these other things.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: And I favor ending birthright citizenship for the kids of illegal immigrants in this country. And then there was Chris Christie, who used the border conversation to take aim at former President Trump.
--:-- Chris Christie: He said he was going to build a wall across the whole border. He built 52 miles of wall and said Mexico would pay for it. Guess what? I think if Mexico knew that he was only going to build 52 miles, they might have paid for the 52 miles.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: So a huge night in the GOP primary. Now the question becomes just how voters will react and if anyone on stage can move the needle and close the gap with Trump. Time is running out. Right. Iowa is coming up fast.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Thanks for reporting.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: A New York judge ruled this week that Donald Trump committed fraud in his business dealings by inflating the values of his assets. The summary judgment came in response to New York Democrat Attorney General Letitia James' fraud case against the former president. Joining us to discuss the ruling is former federal prosecutor Andy McCarthy. Andy, thanks so much for joining us.
--:-- Andy McCarthy: Georgia, it's my pleasure.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: Can you break down this case and ruling in layman terms for us?
--:-- Andy McCarthy: Well, looking at the decision two things can be true. One is that you can show that Trump over a period of about, well, more than a decade, he persistently overstated the value of his assets. But at the same time, he's being prosecuted under what's really a monstrous statute in the sense that there is no requirement in the law that you show any intent to defraud. And there's no evidence in the case that anyone who gave Trump a benefit on the basis of the inflation of his assets ended up losing his or her or its shirt.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: So just to be clear on the claims, the state is saying that in one example that Trump inflated the value of the Mar-a-Lago property specifically, with the result being that he was able to borrow against that value fraudulently, correct?
--:-- Andy McCarthy: Yeah. And with respect to Mar-a-Lago in particular, what the Trump people say is how can you possibly value Mar-a-Lago as the court did at only between 18 and 27 and a half million dollars when the Trump people had an expert who said that it may be worth as much as $1.5 billion dollars.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: What does that actually mean for Trump's ability to do business, at least in New York?
--:-- Andy McCarthy: It means for the time being, his certificates to do business are being withdrawn. So essentially, the court is putting him out of business.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: Is there a precedent for this case?
--:-- Andy McCarthy: Obviously, the law as written allows for this type of thing. I think there are precedents in New York for the governmental authorities picking out someone that they don't like and really putting the screws to them.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: Thanks so much for coming on today.
--:-- Andy McCarthy: It's my pleasure.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: That was former federal prosecutor Andy McCarthy. Both New York and San Francisco are on track to see record numbers of deaths from drug overdoses. Daily Wire investigative reporter Maraida Lordi is here with the details.
--:-- Maraida Lordi: Hi, Georgia. Yes, that's right. New York City saw a total of 3,026 New Yorkers die from a drug overdose in 2022. So that's a 12% increase from 2021 and the highest number since the city started tracking deaths in 2000. The overdose death rate jumped to more than 43 deaths per 100,000 New Yorkers.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: These stats are from city data released on Monday. More from the data, Black New Yorkers had the highest overdose death rate at 62 deaths per 100,000 residents. They also had the biggest rate increase from 2021 to 2022.
--:-- Maraida Lordi: So out of the five boroughs, the Bronx had the highest overdose death rate last year with about 74 deaths per 100,000 residents. As far as which age groups bore the brunt of the deaths, middle-aged adults from 55 to 64 had the highest death rate of any age group.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: So is this a function of more New Yorkers using drugs, or is it just stronger drugs that are more likely to cause overdose?
--:-- Maraida Lordi: Well, it's both. So according to the National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics, drug-related deaths have been climbing steadily in the 2000s. But there's a distinct acceleration in the mid-20-teens, and that coincides with the period when fentanyl started flooding the streets.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: By last year, fentanyl was present in 81% of overdose deaths in New York City. More than half of the total deaths also involved cocaine.
--:-- Maraida Lordi: Even with the growing crisis, which started in the 90s and more rural areas and later spread to cities, overdose deaths in New York City were always under 1,000 until 2016. That's when they spiked to over 1,400. And when the pandemic hit in 2020, deaths spiked again to over 2,100 fatal overdoses. And now we're at over 3,000.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: So what's the city's current strategy for addressing this?
--:-- Maraida Lordi: Well, New York Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vassan is urging all New Yorkers to carry naloxone or Narcan, the opioid overdose reversing medication. He also urged drug users to not take drugs alone and to seek treatment. And the city's investing in, quote, harm reduction programs.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: So harm reduction is a catchphrase that refers to programs that aim to make it easier to do drugs in a safer manner. For example, New York has sites providing clean syringes. And in 2021, New York City became the first city to allow medically supervised drug consumption sites.
--:-- Maraida Lordi: Now, as we mentioned at the top, San Francisco is also seeing record fatal overdoses. How does San Francisco compare to New York?
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: That's right. Well, San Francisco is on track to see 845 overdose deaths this year, which would beat the record 725 deaths the city saw in 2020. And San Francisco also just beat its own record for the deadliest month since at least 2020 in August, which had 84 accidental drug overdose deaths.
--:-- Maraida Lordi: Fentanyl was involved in 66 of those deaths. So far this year, a total of 563 people are suspected to have died from a drug overdose in San Francisco.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: It's jaw-dropping to look at the numbers.
--:-- Maraida Lordi: Maureen, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: Thanks, Georgia. Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back this afternoon with more of the news you need to know.
