--:-- [Upbeat music fades out]
--:-- Host 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 more serious tone]
--:-- Host John Bickley: After 20 years, Walter Reed Military Hospital ended its contract with a local friary, replacing priests with a secular staffing firm for pastoral care. We have to fight back. They're counting on us to be uninformed, to be indifferent and apathetic and afraid. What is the hospital saying? And are critics correct in saying that this is part of a larger trend to push religion out of public life?
--:-- [Co-host Georgia Howe chimes in]
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: I'm Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Friday, April 21st, and this is Money Wire.
--:-- Host John Bickley: A higher credit score usually means lower interest rates and payments, but a new rule will make good credit homebuyers subsidize the less qualified borrowers. We've seen this before. People were subsidized, whether it was autos, whether it's been homes, and then they default. It's another subsidy to try and buy votes.
--:-- [Music transitions to a news segment]
--:-- Host John Bickley: and Fox News abruptly settled its lawsuit this week with Dominion Voting Systems. We discuss what it means for Fox and for other media outlets moving forward. Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
--:-- Announcer: Hey, everyone. Producer Brandon here. Warmer weather is finally here. And the best way to prepare for all your outdoor adventures is with a good night's sleep. Made from the finest 100% organic cotton threads on Earth, Bowling Branch sheets guarantee a better night's sleep. Save 15% off your order with promo code WIRE at BowlingBranch.com. That's Bowling Branch, B-O-L-L-A-N-D, branch.com, promo code WIRE.
--:-- [Music transitions back to the news segment]
--:-- Host John Bickley: After more than two decades of ministering to patients at Walter Reed Medical Center, priests from Holy Name Friary received a cease and desist order, barring them from coming to the hospital. Critics of the move say it's yet another example of the Biden administration pushing religious life out of public places. Here to tell us more is Daily Wire culture reporter Megan Basham.
--:-- Megan Basham: So, Megan, why would these priests be barred from ministering to patients at Walter Reed?
--:-- Host John Bickley: Well, senior White House spokesman John Kirby was asked about it during a press briefing, and he said that that was a question better directed at the Department of Defense. And then the Defense Health Agency said that the priest's contract had simply ended. So they decided to award it to a secular defense contractor, Matt Global, going forward.
--:-- Megan Basham: This happened right at the start of Holy Week. So the priests continued to provide pastoral care for a few more days between Palm Sunday and Easter until they received that cease and desist letter on April 4th. Now, the friars sent Morning Wire a comment by email. They said they respect the process, but that this was disappointing after 20 years of service.
--:-- Host John Bickley: However, the response from the archdiocese was a little bit more biting. Archbishop Timothy Broglio called the move incomprehensible. And he said that a for-profit defense contractor has, quote, no way of providing Catholic priests to the medical center. And he called it a glaring violation of service members and veterans right to the free exercise of religion.
--:-- Megan Basham: Now the hospital claims that they do have a Catholic chaplain on staff capable of providing pastoral care to Catholic patients but they didn provide details of the contracts or the decision process or why they chose to send a cease and desist order during Holy Week.
--:-- Host John Bickley: The new contractor's website claims it offers a variety of services, including, quote, administrative and religious staffing. Now, has there been much inquiry into why the military decided to replace the friary with a secular staffing firm?
--:-- Megan Basham: Well, a couple of letters have been sent. One of those came from Florida Senator Marco Rubio and about 10 others in Congress, and they sent that to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. They demanded to know why the friars are being replaced with a secular contractor that is, quote, unable to fill the needs assigned.
--:-- Host John Bickley: And then another letter from 24 Republicans also to Austin was spearheaded by Congresswoman Mary Miller of Illinois. That group called the move an unconscionable attack on the Christian faith by the Biden administration. They also said it was morally wrong and a violation of the First Amendment, and they demanded to see the contract terms, award letter, and all of those internal emails and documents related to it for review.
--:-- Megan Basham: So this was Miller speaking to the Evangelical Group, the Family Research Council. It may be an abrupt change for the priests who were going into Walter Reed, but it's not an abrupt change in light of what we've seen out of the Biden administration. They are wholly against Christian Americans. We know now that the FBI has been spying on Catholics, thinking that they're some kind of domestic terrorist.
--:-- Host John Bickley: And, you know, they're just so emboldened. So Miller seems to be saying that this is part of a larger pattern. What evidence is there for that?
--:-- Megan Basham: Yeah, and I'd say that's something that you're hearing from a growing number of critics. They say that the administration is building a record of targeting religious liberty. The Wall Street Journal, for instance, published an op-ed last week detailing a number of examples. It included introducing regulations in nine federal agencies that will make it harder for faith-based organizations to work with the government to provide social services.
--:-- Host John Bickley: And the Department of Health and Human Services is interpreting the Affordable Care Act in such a way to require Christian hospitals and doctors to perform abortions and things like transgender surgeries that go against their religious convictions. Now, that one's being fought in the courts.
--:-- Megan Basham: And then, as Miller referenced there, internal documents released by the House Judiciary Committee last week revealed that the FBI was working to develop sources in Catholic churches. The reason they gave was to address radicalization.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Now, FBI Director Christopher Wray said that he was aghast when he saw the documents and that they don't reflect FBI standards. But there's still a lot of open questions on why that effort was ever undertaken in the first place.
--:-- Megan Basham: Well, and this does mark a formal separation of the premier U.S. military hospital from traditional Catholic ministry, which is a big cultural change. The church has always worked very closely with hospitals.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Megan, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Megan Basham: Anytime.
--:-- Host John Bickley: That was Daily Wire culture reporter Megan Basham.
--:-- [Music transitions to a new segment]
--:-- Host John Bickley: Coming up, a new rule means higher mortgage fees for people with good credit. Download the Cinch app to order. Use promo code WIRE to get your first tank exchange for just $10. Visit cinch slash offer for details.
--:-- Host John Bickley: A controversial new rule from the Biden administration will soon force homebuyers with good credit to subsidize high low homebuyers Joining us with the details is Daily Wire Senior Editor Joel Needler.
--:-- Joel Needler: So Joel, what does this new rule do?
--:-- Host John Bickley: Well, John, it looks like the Biden administration is interested in increasing equity for homeowners, but not necessarily the kind of home equity you find in a bank. On Wednesday, the Federal Housing Finance Agency released a statement affirming their plans to modify existing federal mortgage fees to require homeowners with good credit scores to subsidize the mortgages of high-risk buyers.
--:-- Joel Needler: The rule alters the formula used by the Federal Housing Finance Agency to calculate something called a loan-level pricing adjustment. LLPA has effectively raised the mortgage rates offered to certain kinds of borrowers. Ironically, this policy was introduced after the 2008 housing crisis to mitigate potential losses from high-risk loans.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Back then, if you were considered a risky homebuyer, you would face higher fees in order to become a homeowner. But with this new rule, the formula is inverted. Right. The risky homebuyer will no longer carry the extra burden. That's now transferred over to the homebuyers with good credit scores.
--:-- Joel Needler: Those with credit scores above 680 or who made sizable down payments on their home would have their rates raised. Those with credit scores below 620 would pay a smaller fee than they do now.
--:-- Host John Bickley: And how much extra will you pay if you have good credit?
--:-- Joel Needler: So according to a press release from the agency, the new rule will affect all new loans on or after May 1st. Some reports say it adds about $40 on average to a monthly mortgage payment. So $40 a month for the life of your mortgage, that really adds up.
--:-- Host John Bickley: How is the Biden administration selling this new idea?
--:-- Joel Needler: Well, like with many other initiatives in this administration, this is another attempt to achieve equity. The director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Sandra Thompson, stated, and I'm quoting here, challenges and barriers continue to limit sustainable housing opportunities for minority, low-income, and senior borrowers, as well as families living in rural areas and on tribal land.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Maybe unsurprisingly, this new policy has received a lot of pushback. What are some of the criticisms?
--:-- Joel Needler: Well, David Stevens, the Federal Housing Commissioner under President Obama, called the change a confusing approach that won't work and is not a fan of the good credit penalty, saying, quote, to do this at the onset of the spring market is almost offensive to the market, consumers, and lenders.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Some are simply calling this a plan to redistribute wealth, punishing people who play by the rules and offering favorable loan terms to people who probably cannot repay. Similar to 2008, critics say it's very risky to introduce perverse incentives into the market.
--:-- Joel Needler: Here's what Travis Spencer from Real Estate Mindset had to say. In what world is it fair for me to pay for other people's mistakes and for me to be penalized for doing the right thing?
--:-- Host John Bickley: All right, so this is going into effect on May 1st. Yes, in just about a week. There may be a few days left in the comment period, but unless they change course, it's set to go into effect next Monday.
--:-- Joel Needler: Joel, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Thanks for having me.
--:-- Host John Bickley: That was Daily Wire Senior Editor, Joel Needler.
--:-- [Music transitions to a new segment]
--:-- Host John Bickley: Fox News settled its lawsuit this week with Dominion voting systems, narrowly avoiding what some observers had promised would be the media trial of the century. The defamation lawsuit alleged that Fox News had deliberately lied about Dominion, echoing claims from Donald Trump in the wake of the 2020 election. Here to discuss the fallout is Daily Wire contributor David Marcus.
--:-- David Marcus: Morning. Oh, it was so close that jurors had already been sworn in. So this thing really went down to the wire. The main thing that Fox was looking to avoid was potentially embarrassing testimony from on talent about the handling of the period after the 2020 election
--:-- Host John Bickley: We know from court filings that it was a very tense time as some hosts seemed to promote Trump's claims against Dominion, basically saying the system was used to steal the election, while others were sharing texts about how they didn't believe the story was true.
--:-- David Marcus: The settlement will keep those personalities off the stand, and Fox hopes allow the company to turn the corner on this controversy. There have been reports that Dominion wanted an on-air apology as part of the settlement, but they didn't get that.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Has Fox News acknowledged any wrongdoing, or are they just shelling out the money?
--:-- David Marcus: I think a potential apology on live TV was something a lot of Fox's critics on the left have been salivating over. But that would have almost defeated the purpose of the settlement. Fox was very careful in its statements about the payout. The closest they came to a mea culpa was saying that they acknowledged the court's rulings, finding certain of their claims about Dominion to be false.
--:-- Host John Bickley: But that was never really at issue. The question was always whether Fox was knowingly presenting false information or whether there was a genuine editorial disagreement about how to handle former President Trump's claims.
--:-- David Marcus: Now, $787 million is the largest known defamation settlement in American history by a media company. What accounts for the magnitude of that number?
--:-- Host John Bickley: So Dominion had originally asked for $1.6 billion in damages and would end up with about half of that. Their argument was that this amounted to an existential attack on their company based on untruths. A reputation for integrity is important for any company, of course. But when you're in the business of American elections, even the appearance of bias or political motivation could lead election officials to use another company.
--:-- David Marcus: They wanted it shouted from the rooftops that they are a reputable vote counting company. And 787 million bucks, that says it pretty loudly.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Now, of course, Fox is not the only cable news outlet to pay out big bucks for a defamation settlement. Back in 2020, CNN agreed to pay Nick Sandman.
--:-- David Marcus: That was the student falsely portrayed as a racist instigator against a Native American protester. How similar are those two cases?
--:-- Host John Bickley: The Sandman versus CNN lawsuit, he also settled with The Washington Post, really hinged on the fact that these outlets didn't wait for any context before using enormous corporate power to defame this miner, who it turned out was pretty much just minding his own business.
--:-- David Marcus: The big lesson here is that there can be a huge price to pay when outlets don't do their due diligence and run their preferred narratives instead. And these will be cautionary tales for everyone in the industry.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Which was going to be my next question. So you think this settlement will give some other outlets pause before airing questionable claims?
--:-- David Marcus: Oh, yeah, I do.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Is the sense now that Fox News will be able to put this behind them and move on, or will this be a lingering stain?
--:-- David Marcus: It will at least move out of the immediate news cycle. Attitudes towards news media are so polarized right now that I'm not sure this will move many more needles than the Sandman case did.
--:-- Host John Bickley: And it's worth noting Fox is still facing a similar lawsuit from Smartmatics for airing disparaging claims against that voting system. They're suing for even more than Dominion did, $2.7 billion.
--:-- David Marcus: But again, bottom line, this sends a pretty stern message to everyone in the industry to act with more care.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Yeah, it certainly does.
--:-- Host John Bickley: David, thanks for joining us.
--:-- David Marcus: Thanks for having me.
--:-- Host John Bickley: That was Daily Wire contributor David Marcus.
--:-- [Music transitions to a final segment]
--:-- Host John Bickley: Another story we're tracking this week. The involuntary manslaughter charges against actor Alec Baldwin have been dropped. The charges stemmed from the accidental fatal shooting of Rust film cinematographer Helena Hutchins. Baldwin is currently in Montana, where he'll resume shooting the troubled Western film.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Well, that's all the time we've got this morning. Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back this afternoon with more of the news you need to know.
