--:-- [Theme music fades out]
--:-- John Bickley: Welcome to Morning Wire, I'm Editor-in-Chief John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Monday, November 27th.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for waking up with us. We've got a lot to cover today, so let's dive right in.
--:-- John Bickley: The brief ceasefire between Israel and Hamas held firm over the weekend as Israeli hostages were exchanged for Palestinian prisoners. All of these hostages have been through a terrible ordeal. This is the beginning of a long journey of healing for them.
--:-- Georgia Howe: What do we know about the people set free? And how will the conflict advance moving forward?
--:-- John Bickley: I'm joined now by Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips. Hey Cabot.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Hey John.
--:-- John Bickley: So a lot of developments out of Israel over the weekend. What's the latest there?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Well, the biggest news is the pause in fighting. The temporary ceasefire, the result of weeks of negotiating between the U.S., Israel, Hamas, and Qatar, officially went into effect on Friday. That kicked off a four-day period in which both sides stopped fighting, clearing the skies of drones and planes, and allowing for the exchange of prisoners and hostages.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Yeah, I bet. So about the hostages, what do we know about those set free?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Well, over the weekend, we saw three separate groups of hostages released, one each day. First, on Friday morning, Hamas released 24 people, including 13 Israelis, a Filipino, and 10 ties. Then on Saturday, a second group was set free. That group included 13 more Israelis and another four ties. And finally, Sunday, we saw the release of 17 more hostages, including a four-year-old American girl.
--:-- Georgia Howe: According to the family of those hostages, some had not seen the sun for weeks and thought they were being prepared for execution when Hamas terrorists finally brought them out of captivity.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: I can't imagine. Yeah, it wasn't until they saw Red Cross workers that they said they realized they were being set free. Now, those hostages were brought out of Gaza into Egypt before returning to Israel, where they received medical care and were reunited with their families.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Tell us about the prisoners who were set free on the other side. There been a lot of debate there.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, So in exchange for the release of those hostages the Israelis released a total of around 100 Palestinian prisoners mostly women and teenage boys. But like you mentioned, it's worth noting there was quite a bit of controversy regarding who exactly was set free.
--:-- Georgia Howe: While pro-Palestinian activists claimed the prisoners were essentially hostages themselves and had been wrongly detained in the first place, we now know that a large number were in prison for violent attacks on Israeli civilians and service members.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: For example, one of the prisoners was a 24-year-old woman who attacked an Israeli border agent with a knife eight years ago as a teenager. Another woman set free was convicted of a similar crime seven years ago when she attacked an Israeli police officer with a butcher knife on her way to school.
--:-- Georgia Howe: A number of other prisoners, including teenage boys and women, were charged with attempted suicide bombings, assaulting Israeli service members and police officers, joining terror groups, etc.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: But despite that fact, the prisoners received a hero's welcome upon their release, with Palestinians gathering in large crowds, setting off fireworks, dancing in the streets, and chanting Allahu Akbar or God is great.
--:-- Georgia Howe: All right, so looking ahead, what do we expect to see after this brief ceasefire ends?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So Israel has agreed to extend the pause further if Hamas agrees to continue releasing hostages. But regardless, whenever this ceasefire comes to a close, Israel has made clear they will resume their effort to destroy Hamas.
--:-- Georgia Howe: As the country's defense minister put it, quote, There will be a short pause and then we will continue operating with full military power. We will not stop until we achieve our goals, the destruction of Hamas and bringing home the hostages from Gaza to Israel.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: The country's military has now warned civilians who fled northern Gaza not to return to their homes, saying they're preparing to begin the next phase of their war, which will likely include an increase in ground forces and more just brutal urban warfare.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Remember, while Israel has gained control of Hamas strongholds and political facilities in the north, the terror group is still operating in the area out of their sprawling network of underground tunnels.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: That system spans countless miles and it will be very difficult to secure.
--:-- Georgia Howe: One more thing before we go. We saw another high-profile anti-Israel demonstration last week, this time on Thanksgiving Day.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, about an hour and a half into the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, a few dozen anti-Israel protesters jumped a police barricade, where some glued themselves to the parade route, while others held a large banner saying, quote, genocide then, genocide now, Palestine forever.
--:-- Georgia Howe: More than 30 of those demonstrators were ultimately arrested, and the parade did resume shortly after.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: But this was yet another example of a highly publicized anti-Israel protest, something that's become increasingly common in cities and on college campuses nationwide.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Yeah, it has. Well, this conflict is certainly far from over, so we'll be keeping on top of this. Cabot, thanks for joining us.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Anytime.
--:-- [Theme music fades in]
--:-- John Bickley: Stores across the country were a bit quieter than years past Black Fridays, but combined with online sales, Americans still spent big bucks on the retail holiday. Here to discuss is Daily Wire reporter Amanda Prestigiacomo.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Thanks for having me on.
--:-- John Bickley: So Amanda, my mom and I were shopping downtown in Boston this past Saturday, and we were commenting on how much calmer things were than we were expecting. Were sales still strong this past weekend?
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Yeah, generally they were still strong. We know that shopping was up compared to last year, both in person and online, but it was nowhere near the in-person chaos we used to see before the pandemic.
--:-- John Bickley: But for online numbers which are easier to track that shows that spending was up 7 from last year totaling billion on Black Friday.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: As for in traffic scenes at some malls were busy for sure but generally the days of people camping out overnight for deals and those insane Walmart stampedes, those are probably things of the past.
--:-- John Bickley: And the main reason for that is this shift toward online shopping.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: There were also disruptions this year for some in-store shoppers from pro-Palestinian protesters, both outside and inside shopping centers.
--:-- John Bickley: Here's some audio of that taking place in Los Angeles.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: You know, still all told, it's estimated that 182 million people will shop online and in stores between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday.
--:-- John Bickley: And according to one survey, consumers expect to take advantage of these sales to the tune of $560 plus each.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Now, analytics show that Americans particularly like to buy their electronics online, like smartphones, TVs, smartwatches, and gaming items.
--:-- John Bickley: What's interesting about those preliminary online numbers is how many people are shopping just on their phones as opposed to desktops or laptops.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: In fact, purchases by phone made up 54% of all online sales, and that was up 10.4% just from last year.
--:-- John Bickley: Now, one question I have is how inflation is affecting spending habits. Obviously, things cost more, so that's going to mean higher spending. But on the other side, you have people trying to save money.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Do we know if Americans are buying the same volume of stuff that they used to?
--:-- John Bickley: So these predictions of the total amount spent during Black Friday, they're not adjusted for inflation.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: So while the rate of inflation is slowing down, it probably means you're spending more and getting less stuff.
--:-- John Bickley: But to offset that, we have seen an increase in what's called buy now, pay later purchases.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Americans who on average are struggling with debt right now, they seem to be opting for these short-term loans and payment plans to try to avoid high interest rates while still acquiring what they want or what they need.
--:-- John Bickley: Adobe Analytics found that purchases financed using this method were significantly up from last year, and that totaled around $79 million of those Black Friday online sales.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: There's also been this drop in brand loyalty. So retail giants like Target, Macy's, and Kohl's have seen a decrease in their store credit card businesses.
--:-- John Bickley: This is, again, likely due to these tough economic times. Consumers are switching up their retailers and just trying to find the best possible prices wherever that might be.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: This also plays into online shopping, where it's easier to find the best deal at just the click of a few buttons.
--:-- John Bickley: Now, speaking of online shopping, today is Cyber Monday. Do we have any expectations of how that's going to shake out?
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: It's been projected that Americans will spend up to $10 billion online just Saturday and Sunday.
--:-- John Bickley: Now, as for today, Cyber Monday, we're expected to hit a record $12 billion.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Well, I'm going to get myself an air fryer.
--:-- John Bickley: Amanda, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: You're welcome.
--:-- [Theme music fades in]
--:-- John Bickley: Riots broke out in Ireland last week after the stabbing of three children and an adult staffer outside of a school in Dublin on Thursday after word spread that the alleged assailant was an immigrant from Algeria.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Here to discuss the events is Daily Wire contributor David Marcus.
--:-- David Marcus: Thanks for having me on.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So what do we know about this violent attack and this explosive response to it?
--:-- David Marcus: Morning So this began with an incident on Thursday afternoon when there was a knife attack outside of a school in Dublin Five were injured including three children a school worker and the man who is a person of interest in the attack who as of Sunday was yet to be arrested but is under guard in the hospital.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So word quickly spread that the attack was committed by an immigrant, and that's what lit the fuse for the riots on Thursday night, which saw hundreds of protesters or rioters violently clashing with police.
--:-- David Marcus: There were fires set, and according to authorities, nothing like this had occurred in Ireland for decades.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The protests died down over the weekend, but left in their wake some real questions about how Ireland should proceed with immigration policy, as well as threats from Leo Varadkar, the prime minister, or Tayshia, as it's known in Ireland, to stiffen hate speech laws.
--:-- David Marcus: Yeah. Now, some big figures in Ireland have come out in support of the protesters, though not the violence. That includes Conor McGregor, the famous MMA fighter from Ireland.
--:-- Georgia Howe: What did he say and why has it gotten so much attention?
--:-- David Marcus: As you mentioned, McGregor is one of the most famous athletes in Ireland, if not the most famous. He's also very much a symbol of the country. Where you see McGregor, you see the Irish flag. He's been very vocal since the attack, going so far as to say, quote, Ireland, we are at war, unquote.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The country has seen a huge upswing in immigration since the 1990s, and now about 20% of the population is foreign-born.
--:-- David Marcus: Ireland had been viewed as something of an exemplar of successful immigration policy, but that's fraying, not just as a result of violence, but more broadly, we're starting to see concerns about the nation's cultural identity emerge.
--:-- Georgia Howe: As people ask themselves, what does it mean to be Irish?
--:-- David Marcus: Right. Now, Bharadkar has referred to immigrants as the newest and most vulnerable Irish people.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Has he addressed these concerns about Irish cultural identity?
--:-- David Marcus: The short answer is no.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And Ireland's an interesting case because this is a country that has spent centuries trying to maintain its national and cultural identity in the face of England's dominance.
--:-- David Marcus: This is why we see the Irish language widely used in government, as we just mentioned, and why Irish sports are widely promoted as opposed to soccer or rugby.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So the question is how to assimilate new arrivals without losing Irish culture.
--:-- David Marcus: And it's a problem being faced by nations all over Europe.
--:-- Georgia Howe: We saw this week tightening of borders in several nations, such as Austria and Denmark, and they're facing similar concerns to Ireland.
--:-- David Marcus: When you look at the decades of immigration anxiety, along with now the conflict in Israel and its attendant terror threats, it does feel like Europe is reaching a boiling point on this issue.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Yeah, it really does. We have seen some criticism of the media in the wake of the protests. Is the media putting its thumb on the scale here?
--:-- David Marcus: It certainly appears so, and the Irish government may be doing that as well, most likely in an attempt to tamp down the reaction to the attack.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The media and government in Ireland have taken a hard line against the protesters and calls for more hate speech laws to protect immigrants brings to mind things like the Biden administration putting forward a strategy to defeat Islamophobia last month in the midst of surging anti-Semitism.
--:-- David Marcus: These approaches may be well-intentioned, but a lot of people in the West are looking at them and seeing a disconnect between reality and what is being addressed.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And they're starting to want real answers.
--:-- David Marcus: Yeah, it feels like the clash of cultures is really coming to a head in several countries.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Absolutely.
--:-- John Bickley: That's all the time we've got this morning. Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back later this afternoon with more news you need to know.
--:-- [Theme music fades in]
