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--:-- Georgia Howe: Italy faces a migrant crisis of its own as thousands of foreign men descend on a small coastal island. How does Italy's crisis compare to the U.S. and what is their leadership doing about it? I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley.
--:-- John Bickley: It's September 30th, and this is a Saturday edition of Morning Wire. Rite Aid announces hundreds of store closures amid a desperate bankruptcy struggle. It all comes down to money. If you can't stay in business, that means you don't have enough money to pay the bills. That means you have not enough money coming in. Which regions are most affected? And why are so many of the top pharmacy chains in the country suddenly failing?
--:-- Georgia Howe: And Taylor Swift brings her Midas touch to the NFL, but not everyone is happy about it. Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Like the U.S., yet another Western country is being inundated with a flood of migrants from the south. Almost 124,000 migrants have arrived on Italy's shores so far this year, up from about half that number last year. On one small Italian island, 7,000 migrants arrived in just a single day, and it's unclear how Italy will cope. We're joined now by Radomir Talcote, Managing Director of the Legatim Institute in London. Hi, Radomir.
--:-- Radomir Talcote: So what's happening in Italy? So this story seems to be developing day by day, John, as a growing number of migrants arrives on Italy's shores. For example, just last week, the island of Lampedusa saw its population of 7,000 swamped by 7,000 migrants. That number happened in just one day. This seems like quite the symbol of mass migration into the West, frankly.
--:-- John Bickley: The island's arrival center that was built to house 400 people, 17 times that number have arrived. Many more are to come. We're seeing similar situations all along the Italian coast, with smaller islands struggling the most. It feels like a similar story to the U.S.-Mexico border, and the numbers are really staggering.
--:-- Radomir Talcote: Yeah, sounds like it. What effects are these migrants having on the areas that they land? Well, the situation's been described by locals as apocalyptic. There are reports of masses of garbage piling up, of fighting, breaking out among the migrants. And bear in mind that this is one of the most tranquil places in Italy, so this is seriously frightening for the locals.
--:-- John Bickley: The interesting thing here is that even open borders advocates in the British press are quiet on this, because the numbers seem completely unsustainable. And what about the Italian government with its new conservative PM? How is it responding?
--:-- Radomir Talcote: Well, the fact is Italy's Prime Minister, Georgia Maloney, was elected to stop this crisis above all else, and she's failing to. So why is that The reality is she confronted by a bureaucratic blob in Rome in the European Union in Brussels and in the UN that we can assume is threatening her with human rights law and of course international moral sanction And it's very unlikely she'll be receiving any backup from Biden's White House.
--:-- John Bickley: So what's her response? Deck chair shuffling, basically. Italy's Coast Guard is moving people to islands which are less saturated for now to ease that demand on the local processing facilities. And Italy is trying to get Tunisia, where the majority of the migrants depart, to limit the number of departures with little success so far. All right, so no progress thus far. Is there any evidence that Italy's government actually has the capacity to reverse this?
--:-- Radomir Talcote: Well, the government this week suggested an extended detention period from 135 days to 18 months, a move that drew predictable criticism from various NGOs, but the Italian people don't seem to think that's a serious solution. So what have leaders said? Prime Minister Maloney has called for a kind of a united European Union approach to the problem. That led EU President Ursula von der Leyen to pledge some kind of 10-point plan. The German prime minister responds by expressing concern and so on and so forth.
--:-- John Bickley: But the really interesting thing for me is this. Why are so many migrants coming across the sea into Italy? That's partly because the more socially conservative countries in Eastern Europe face down the left and build proper border fences so they can't use that route anymore. And do we think there will be consequences down the road for other European countries?
--:-- Radomir Talcote: Yeah, it seems highly likely. Most observers expect these migrants to go through Italy to other European countries. For instance, in 2022, Germany took in the highest number of asylum seekers. That's nearly quarter of a million. France and Spain took in the second and third highest numbers. We discussed on a previous show that the UK government tried and failed to tackle the boats landing on our coastline, many coming from France. Prime Minister Sunak made stopping the boats one of his cornerstone policies, and frankly, he hasn't done it.
--:-- John Bickley: Meanwhile, Sir Keir Starmer, the leader of the Labour Party and possible next prime minister, has said he wants to take a share of the EU's migrants. That's led to accusations that he wants to make the UK a kind of illegal migrant dumping ground. So all in all, it's fair to say that few people trust Europe's political class to really deal with this crisis.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Yeah, it's hard to see this turning around soon. Radha, thanks for joining us. Thank you.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That was Radhamir Taukot of the Legatum Institute. Rite Aid is reportedly planning to close hundreds of stores as it considers how to get ahead of billions of dollars in debt in a slew of opioid-related lawsuits. Other drugstore chains are also closing hundreds of their stores as they battle retail theft and other issues. Daily Wire investigative reporter Maraida Lordi is here with the details.
--:-- Maraida Lordi: So Maraida, first off, what's going on with Rite Aid? Hi, Georgia. Yeah, so Rite Aid is battling some pretty significant financial woes right now. Rite Aid is reportedly looking at shuttering about 400 to 500 of its more than 2,100 stores in a bankruptcy process. That's according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. Rite Aid's bondholders reportedly want to close even more stores. So as part of this bankruptcy process, Rite Aid has proposed either selling the stores or handing them over to creditors. We should note though the company said it not made any final decisions yet as it negotiates with stakeholders
--:-- Georgia Howe: So what exactly is or are Rite Aid financial problems Well so Rite Aid is over billion in debt and they dealing with more than a thousand federal lawsuits accusing Rite Aid of knowingly filling illegal opioid prescriptions. So basically pointing the finger at Rite Aid for contributing to the opioid crisis. One of those lawsuits is from the Justice Department, and they're alleging Rite Aid filled hundreds of thousands of illegal prescriptions, including ones with obvious red flags. And even more damning, the chain intentionally deleted internal notes about suspicious prescribers, according to the Justice Department. Rite Aid has denied these allegations about the opioid prescriptions.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Meanwhile, Rite Aid has struggled to compete with bigger chains like CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart's pharmacies. And then last year, Rite Aid said it would close 145 unprofitable stores as part of a plan to significantly reduce costs. Now, you mentioned Walgreens, CVS, and Walmart. We've reported before on this show that those chains are also closing stores. Are they facing the same kind of issues?
--:-- Maraida Lordi: Well, there is a lot of overlap. CVS and Walgreens both operate about 9,000 stores each. And while they're not considering bankruptcy, both CVS and Walgreens are working on closing some of their stores as well. They've also been hobbled by opioid-related suits in recent years. In 2021, a federal jury in Ohio found that CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart substantially contributed to the opioid crisis. The three chains reached a settlement in 2022 and agreed to pay a combined total of $13.8 billion. Another issue is rising retail theft for these chains. CVS said in 2021 that it'll close 900 stores by 2024. Those closures were set to start in spring of last year at a rate of about 300 per year. Walgreens said in June it plans to close 150 locations across the country and even more abroad in order to cut costs.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Well, we've reported before on this show about rampant theft plaguing these stores, especially in certain cities. Are there any regional trends to these closures or is it nationwide?
--:-- Maraida Lordi: Well, looking at Rite Aid specifically, there aren't any obvious regional trends. Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, and Maine are losing a large portion of their stores, and so are Georgia, Kentucky, West Virginia, and Tennessee. But other states are largely spared, with California, Washington State, Michigan, and New Hampshire losing few, if any. Shoplifting has been more prevalent in coastal cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York, but there really isn't a clear correlation in store closures, at least in the case of Rite Aid.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Nationwide, theft costs in the retail sector was $112.1 billion last year. That's 19% higher than in 2021. And that data is according to a National Retail Federation report. But there are also factors disrupting the chain pharmacy business as well. Those include a rise in independent pharmacies, pharmacies in grocery stores, and online prescription filling.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Well, I love the idea of independent pharmacies, but there's something really convenient about those 24-hour Walgreens.
--:-- Maraida Lordi: Right.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Taylor Swift mania has come to the NFL. The pop star's rumored relationship with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelsey is driving ratings and jersey sales. Here now to tell us how Swifties are disrupting football is Daily Wire culture reporter Megan Basham.
--:-- Megan Basham: So Megan, last Sunday, Taylor Swift made an appearance at Arrowhead Stadium to watch Kelsey play the Bears. Going just by social media reactions, her presence seems to have melted the internet.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Yeah, no kidding. And it doesn't seem like she was too much of a distraction for the Chiefs They won 41 to 10
--:-- Megan Basham: And this was Aaron Andrews of Fox Sports asking quarterback Patrick Mahomes about seeing Swift in the stands Listen you a guy that can deal with some pressure Forget the pressure from Kansas City Chiefs fans Do you realize how much pressure there was on you today from the Swifties to get Travis Kelsey a touchdown with Taylor in the house today?
--:-- Megan Basham: Yeah, I heard that. I heard she was in the house. Did you feel it? Did you feel the pressure, Patrick? I felt a little bit of pressure. And so I knew I had to get it to Travis. And of course, it's on the route that Travis, he does his own thing and just makes up a route. and not throw it to him. So I think he wanted to get in the end zone just as much as all the Swifties wanted him to.
--:-- Georgia Howe: But regardless of how much influence her presence had on the game itself, it has definitely had a sizable impact, as John mentioned there, on jersey sales and on ratings. So this game was last week's most watched by a long shot. It drew over 24 million viewers, and Swift reportedly caused ratings among 18 to 49-year-old women to go up 63 percent. and the game was the top-ranked program among young women in that time slot, which is really pretty unusual.
--:-- Megan Basham: So StubHub also said that ticket sales for the Chiefs have tripled. And then as far as jerseys go, an NFL spokesperson says that Kelsey's saw a nearly 400% spike. It now ranks in the top five for the entire NFL.
--:-- Georgia Howe: You have to say the Swift effect is very, very real. Right. But how do regular football fans feel about all these Swifties infiltrating their event or space? You know, I'd say there are a number who seem to find the pandering to her specific fans a little bit of an annoying distraction from the game.
--:-- Megan Basham: My husband, for example, was among those. He was watching Arizona play Dallas Sunday night, and they kept cutting in to show entirely unrelated shots of Swift at Kansas City. And apparently he didn't appreciate that too much.
--:-- Megan Basham: And then you're also hearing a lot of people saying that this whole thing could be a publicity stunt cooked up by managers, agents to drive up ratings and ticket sales exactly as it has. So Sarah Haynes on The View floated this theory. She said that she and her co-hosts weren't interested in talking about it this week because, and I'm quoting her, it feels like you're giving air to a publicity stunt and she does not need more expensive concert tickets that are hard to get.
--:-- Megan Basham: And a lot of others in that vein have mentioned that her concert film is also about to release. And then on the sports side of things, Marty Mush of Barstool Sports called the whole thing scripted. And he pointed out that news about Kelsey and Swift dating leaked right as Kelsey's documentary was releasing. And Kelsey is reportedly looking to some kind of media career after football. So there is a lot of speculation that the timing of this could be professionally beneficial for both of them.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, that said, the Today Show did have on some PR pros that I saw, and they were analyzing whether this relationship is real. And for what it's worth, they decided that it was.
--:-- Megan Basham: Right. I saw some analyses that said they were definitely in the friend zone, but that just might be Taylor's vibe. I don't know. My sister says I'm not a real Swifty, so I'm not really an authority on that. Me either. Sorry.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Megan, thanks for reporting. anytime. Thanks for listening this morning. Our mission here at Morning Wire is to bring more balance to the national conversation. If you stand with that mission and enjoy this show, please consider subscribing, giving us a five-star rating, and most importantly, sharing our podcast with a friend. That's all the time we've got this morning. Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back later this afternoon with an extra edition of Morning Wire. Thank you.
