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--:-- John Bickley: Good morning, I'm John Bickley, Editor-in-Chief of the Daily Wire, and this is Morning Wire.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And I'm Georgia Howe, co-host of Morning Wire. It's Wednesday, July 13th.
--:-- John Bickley: The House held its 7th January 6th committee hearing Tuesday, focusing on the testimony of White House attorney Pat Cipollone and the involvement of right-wing groups.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Are Americans tuning into the hearings? And if so, are they having an impact on public opinion?
--:-- John Bickley: I'm joined by Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley with Georgia Howe.
--:-- Georgia Howe: President Biden met with the president of Mexico Tuesday. How do the two countries plan to tackle the record levels of illegal immigration and high inflation affecting both nations?
--:-- John Bickley: And Arizona goes all in on school choice, allowing parents to send their kids to the school they want using state funds. Will Arizona's new law inspire other states to follow suit?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
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--:-- Colton: Hey, everyone. Producer Colton here. The American tradition of gathering around the dinner table holds an immense amount of power.
--:-- John Bickley: President Ronald Reagan believed that all great change in America begins around the dinner table.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: Good Ranchers' product and business model were created with the intention of bringing families together through shared meals.
--:-- Colton: They deliver 100% American meat born, raised, and harvested in the U.S. right to your door.
--:-- John Bickley: Go to goodranchers.com slash wire to get $30 off your order, plus free shipping.
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--:-- John Bickley: The House January 6th Committee took center stage again on Tuesday morning in their continuing effort to prove that Donald Trump committed crimes in the run-up to Joe Biden's inauguration.
--:-- Georgia Howe: This latest episode in the ongoing series of hearings focused in on what the committee called extremist groups and their relationship with Trump's inner circle.
--:-- John Bickley: Here to discuss is columnist David Marcus.
--:-- David Marcus: Hey, Dave. What did we learn in yesterday's hearing?
--:-- John Bickley: Good morning. Tuesday's hearing was really centered on trying to show that Trump or his associates colluded with extremist organizations like the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys to plan and execute the attack on the Capitol.
--:-- David Marcus: The key allegation is that Trump knew there would be an attack and, in fact, incited it.
--:-- John Bickley: They went back over the claim that Trump should have known he lost.
--:-- David Marcus: You know, some new testimony from White House counsel Pat Cipollone about an angry meeting in the Oval Office with Sidney Powell and Rudy Giuliani, who claimed that Trump won.
--:-- John Bickley: Now, we heard live testimony as well as videotaped depositions.
--:-- David Marcus: Who did the committee call yesterday and why?
--:-- John Bickley: Well, we heard from a January 6 rioter who blamed Trump for his actions, as well as a former oath keeper who testified about how his group operated.
--:-- David Marcus: The connection to Trump that the committee had teased seems to be communications between General Michael Flynn and political operative and Trump ally Roger Stone and the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers.
--:-- John Bickley: Neither witnesses spoke to that, but the convicted rioter did indicate that Trump was why he traveled to Washington, D.C.
--:-- David Marcus: A lot was made of a tweet sent by Trump early in the morning after that tense meeting.
--:-- John Bickley: What was the tweet and what does the committee claim it proves?
--:-- David Marcus: Right. So after the meeting, Trump tweeted that there would be a rally on January 6th and that it would be, quote, wild.
--:-- John Bickley: The committee argued that right-wing media personalities and social media users took this to mean an invitation to violence.
--:-- David Marcus: And they had some clips and random posts to back this up.
--:-- John Bickley: But, you know, obviously most observers at the time and most people who attended the rally did not take this to be a call for insurrection.
--:-- David Marcus: So it's not clear that the committee proved their point there.
--:-- John Bickley: How did these new revelations play in the media?
--:-- David Marcus: There's been a lot of ink spilled on these hearings.
--:-- John Bickley: Was this latest hearing viewed as a success for the committee?
--:-- David Marcus: So a pattern has emerged where the morning of each hearing there's a leak of some testimony usually to CNN, and specifically having to do with the dots the committee is trying to connect.
--:-- John Bickley: So in this case, the relationship between, you know, the Proud Boys and Flynn or Stone.
--:-- David Marcus: And most of the media says, boy, if they can connect these dots, it's really going to be damning.
--:-- John Bickley: And of course they do because it's all scripted.
--:-- David Marcus: So it's not clear that any of this has produced an aha moment for the American people.
--:-- John Bickley: But the steady hammering may be having an effect.
--:-- David Marcus: There hasn't been a knockout punch. Shots to the body could be having some impact.
--:-- John Bickley: On that point, is polling showing that minds are changing?
--:-- David Marcus: This has been over a month now of hearings.
--:-- John Bickley: Is the needle moving with the American public?
--:-- David Marcus: No. Even CNN's polling master, Harry Enten, threw cold water on the idea that hearts and minds are changing.
--:-- John Bickley: He showed that the polls really haven't moved.
--:-- David Marcus: I mean, slightly, but nothing significant.
--:-- John Bickley: And more broadly, this just isn't an issue on the top of voters' minds.
--:-- David Marcus: I mean, nobody's staring at a $12 package of bacon at the grocery store and thinking to themselves, I'm really worried about January 6th.
--:-- John Bickley: It's just the political reality.
--:-- David Marcus: Yeah, it's not the answer the committee or Democrats are hoping for.
--:-- John Bickley: No, I would think not.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for joining us today, David.
--:-- David Marcus: Thanks for having me.
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--:-- John Bickley: That was Daily Wire contributor David Marcus.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Coming up, Texas defends its own borders.
--:-- John Bickley: More than 3 million businesses worldwide that use Indeed to hire great talent fast.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: Need to hire. You need Indeed.
--:-- John Bickley: The president of Mexico visited President Joe Biden in the White House on Tuesday to discuss major topics such as immigration, energy, and inflation.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The U.S. and Mexico have drifted apart on key issues recently.
--:-- John Bickley: Here to discuss is Daily Wire's Tim Pierce.
--:-- Tim Pierce: So, Tim, what, if anything, can we expect to come out of this meeting?
--:-- John Bickley: Hey, Georgia. So the meeting yesterday is what some consider a makeup meeting after Mexico's president, López Obrador, refused to attend Biden's summit in Los Angeles last month.
--:-- Tim Pierce: The two presidents addressed a variety of issues, but immigration was a top priority.
--:-- John Bickley: Former President Trump had been able to strong-arm López Obrador into policing immigration to a certain extent by threatening trade restrictions.
--:-- Tim Pierce: But Biden has tried a softer approach, which hasn't quite secured as much cooperation.
--:-- John Bickley: Biden and Lopez Obrador held a joint press conference prior to the meeting where both men praised the other and the U.S.-Mexico alliance.
--:-- Tim Pierce: López Obrador spoke for about 30 minutes, and while his remarks were overall congenial, he did take a few digs at Biden, such as joking that American drivers were now crossing into Mexico for cheap gas.
--:-- John Bickley: On immigration, Biden and Lopez Obrador mainly worked out details for labor migration pathways, which both administrations believe needed to curb illegal migration.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Migration along the southern border since Biden took office has hit record numbers, which unfortunately fuels a variety of illegal industries, including drug and human trafficking.
--:-- John Bickley: Just last month, 53 migrants died while attempting to cross illegally in a tractor trailer.
--:-- Tim Pierce: The event was the deadliest human smuggling incident on record.
--:-- John Bickley: As far as raw immigration numbers, each new month sets a new record.
--:-- Tim Pierce: In May, the most recent month we have numbers for Border Patrol agents had roughly 239 encounters with illegal migrants.
--:-- John Bickley: And that even spurred Texas Governor Abbott to take some additional actions to secure the border.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Tell us about that.
--:-- John Bickley: Yeah, that is a pretty big development.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Last week, multiple Texas border counties called the immigration surge a, quote, invasion.
--:-- John Bickley: Here's Terrell County Judge Dale Lynn Carruthers.
--:-- Tim Pierce: My county is vast, and I'm here to let you know that the invasion is real.
--:-- John Bickley: We are trying to protect the sovereignty of Texas.
--:-- Tim Pierce: I am a constitutional judge, and we are standing behind the Constitution.
--:-- John Bickley: In response, Abbott ordered Texas state law enforcement to begin arresting migrants at the border and transporting them to legal points of entry where they'll be processed by Border Patrol before being released into the U.S.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Critics say this policy won't have any real impact on stopping immigration and that it will be just a continuation of a catch-and-release policy.
--:-- John Bickley: All right, so a new, somewhat more aggressive strategy.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Is that actually legal, though?
--:-- John Bickley: Not really.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Only the federal government has the power to manage immigration.
--:-- John Bickley: That's actually why Governor Abbott faced pressure to declare the situation an invasion, because that would, in theory, allow states to use war powers and send the National Guard to the border.
--:-- Tim Pierce: But realistically, it's likely that Abbott will face a legal challenge over this.
--:-- John Bickley: All right. Well, it'll be interesting to watch.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Tim, thanks for reporting.
--:-- John Bickley: Thanks for having me.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That was Daily Wire's Tim Pierce.
--:-- John Bickley: Arizona recently passed a groundbreaking school choice law that could have other states following suit.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, any K-12 student in Arizona can take part in the school choice program.
--:-- John Bickley: Here to tell us more about the new law is Daily Wire's Charlotte Pence Bond.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Hi, Charlotte. What can you tell us about Arizona's school choice law?
--:-- John Bickley: Right. So this is a huge win for those who are in favor of more school choice.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Basically, this law allows any school-aged child in the state to use the empowerment scholarship account to fund their education at whichever education option they choose.
--:-- John Bickley: How the law works is parents can apply for an empowerment scholarship account, which have also been called education savings account or ESAs, and they can put around $7,000 towards school expenses like tuition for private schooling, homeschooling costs, educational therapy, and tutoring.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: According to the Goldwater Institute, 7K is enough to cover 100% of the median private elementary school tuition in Arizona.
--:-- John Bickley: So this law puts private education within reach of even the poorest families.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: In 2011, Arizona was actually the first state to put forward an ESA policy, but at that time, the ASAs only applied to students who had special needs.
--:-- John Bickley: Since then, legislators in the state have continued to broaden the policy, and this initiative has been on the docket in Arizona for some time now.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Here's Governor Doug Ducey at his State of the State address earlier this year.
--:-- John Bickley: This session, let's expand school choice any way we can.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Greater open enrollment, new transportation models, more charter schools, and more educational freedom for families, especially those in failing schools or who can't afford to pick up and move to a new neighborhood.
--:-- John Bickley: Let's think big and find more ways to get kids in the school of their parents' choice.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Now, there's been some strong pushback to these laws.
--:-- John Bickley: What's the argument against school choice?
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Yes, there are a variety of criticisms.
--:-- John Bickley: One of the main criticisms is that ESAs primarily help the wealthy because there's no restriction on wealthy families using the funds to supplement their child's private school education.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: They also say that public schools will lose students and rural communities could suffer because the local public schools are often the main employers in these remote areas.
--:-- John Bickley: Critics have also argued that there are no quality controls over ESA education.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: If parents have free reign over how to educate their kids, the state then can guarantee what or whether that child is learning.
--:-- John Bickley: They also say there will be less opportunity to monitor kids for potential abuse or neglect.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Arizona Majority Leader Benjamin Thoma addressed some concerns in an op-ed for Fox News.
--:-- John Bickley: He argued that fears about students abandoning public schools in huge numbers are overblown.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: He pointed out that over 250,000 students are eligible right now for ESAs, but only around 11,000 took advantage of the program even after it had been around for 10 years.
--:-- John Bickley: So the argument there is that when communities provide excellent public schools, students tend to stay in them.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: According to a report from the Goldwater Institute, students who have historically used ESAs have disproportionately come from poorest areas of the state, suggesting that low-income families are most inclined to take advantage of the program.
--:-- John Bickley: So do we expect this to become a trendsetter?
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Will school choice become more popular in other states?
--:-- John Bickley: Well, there are other states with less expensive school choice laws on the books now, but historically, it hasn't been a major issue for voters.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: That said, we've been hearing for some time now that this is the year of the parent, and we're seeing education rising to the top of voter concerns for the first time.
--:-- John Bickley: So it's possible this will be a motivating issue for voters come November.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Regardless, I think a lot of states will have their eye on Arizona as this law gets rolled out, and we could start seeing similar legislation popping up in other states.
--:-- John Bickley: Yeah, I certainly wouldn't be surprised.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Charlotte, thanks for coming on.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Thanks for having me.
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--:-- John Bickley: Other stories we're tracking this week.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Footage of the Uvalde shooter's rampage at Robb Elementary School was released Tuesday.
--:-- John Bickley: The disturbing footage shows the shooter roaming down a hallway and entering a classroom, as well as the police massing in the hallway, where they remained for over an hour until officers finally breached the room.
--:-- Georgia Howe: California Governor Gavin Newsom signed new legislation Tuesday allowing victims of shootings to sue the manufacturer of the guns used in the crime.
--:-- John Bickley: This week, NASA released the clearest and deepest photos of the universe ever seen, taken by the James Webb Space Telescope, the world's most powerful telescope.
--:-- Georgia Howe: For the first time in 20 years, the U.S. dollar and the euro now have the same value.
--:-- John Bickley: This after the euro dropped 12 percent.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The Biden administration's Health and Human Services Department issued new guidance Monday, mandating that physicians and hospitals perform abortions if they are deemed necessary, even if abortion is illegal in that state.
--:-- John Bickley: Two brothers ages 10 and 14 turned themselves into police Monday for beating a 73-year-old man to death in Philadelphia.
--:-- Georgia Howe: By 2023, India will overtake China as the most populated country in the world, with an anticipated population of more than 1.4 billion people.
--:-- John Bickley: German farmers have joined their Dutch neighbors in protesting the World Economic Forum's climate policies.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Similar protests have erupted in Poland and Italy.
--:-- John Bickley: The leader of the Syrian Islamic State was killed by a U.S. drone strike, the U.S. military confirmed on Tuesday.
--:-- Georgia Howe: There were no civilian casualties.
--:-- John Bickley: Escaped felon Casey White was charged with felony murder for the death of Vicki White, the prison guard who helped him escape in May.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for listening to Morning Wire.
--:-- John Bickley: We created this show to bring more balance to the national conversation.
--:-- Georgia Howe: If you love our show and you stand with our mission, please consider subscribing, leaving us a five-star rating, and most importantly, sharing our podcast with a friend.
--:-- John Bickley: That's all the time we've got this morning.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for waking up with us.
--:-- John Bickley: We'll be back tomorrow with the news you need to know.
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