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--:-- John Bickley: Good morning, I'm John Bickley, and this is Morning Wire.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And I'm Georgia Howe, co-hosting with John today.
--:-- John Bickley: Welcome to the show. We've got a lot to cover today, so let's get right into it. Carl's Jr. is advertising their Western bacon cheeseburger, but we're not here to talk about that. We've got some big news to share with you.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's right. A federal court has blocked the Biden administration's vaccine mandate for employers with 100 or more employees.
--:-- John Bickley: That's right. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals dealt a major blow to the mandate, calling it a "staggering overreach." The court said the rule is probably unconstitutional and that even if Congress wanted to, it probably couldn't implement a mandate like this because it doesn't have the power to do so under the Constitution's Commerce Clause and under the non-delegation doctrine.
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--:-- John Bickley: We spoke to Josh Herr, the Daily Wire's General Counsel, about the ruling. Josh, thanks for joining us.
--:-- Josh Herr: Thanks for having me, John.
--:-- John Bickley: Can you walk us through the ruling and explain its significance?
--:-- Josh Herr: This is a pretty huge victory for the businesses that would have been subject to the mandate, who were all at risk of being fined potentially millions of dollars a week if they refused to fire employees who didn't share their personal medical information with their employer.
--:-- John Bickley: What's really interesting about this decision from a legal perspective is that the court started by saying that the rule is probably unconstitutional. It ruled that the Occupational Safety and Health Act, which created OSHA, was not intended to make sweeping pronouncements of public health affecting every member of society.
--:-- Josh Herr: But beyond that, it said that even if Congress wanted to, it probably could not implement a mandate like this because it doesn't have the power to do so under the Constitution's Commerce Clause and under the non-delegation doctrine.
--:-- John Bickley: That argument is one that the Daily Wire raised in its briefs, and it probably led to some interesting constitutional questions in that case and in other courts both for the vaccine mandate and potentially other cases in the future.
--:-- Josh Herr: The Fifth Circuit Court actually didn't even need to deal with the constitutional issues to rule that the mandate was in fact illegal. It ruled that even on its own terms, the mandate was staggering overbroad, arbitrary, and capricious, and that it makes no sense, calling it a one-size-fits-all sledgehammer that makes hardly any attempt to account for differences in workplaces and workers.
--:-- John Bickley: So does this OSHA mandate have any chance of surviving?
--:-- Josh Herr: It appears to be dead for now, but the legal battle is far from over. The Biden administration is effectively telling businesses to ignore the court, so for the time being, the mandate is dead in the water.
--:-- John Bickley: The administration has to try to convince the court that the stay needs to be lifted, and based on the court's opinions in this order, that's going to be a heavy lift.
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--:-- John Bickley: We're going to take a break and come back with more news. Stay tuned.
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--:-- John Bickley: Welcome back to Morning Wire. We're talking about the COVID pandemic and the latest developments. Joining us is Dr. Marty McCary, a professor at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.
--:-- Dr. Marty McCary: Thanks for having me, John.
--:-- John Bickley: Where do we stand right now with COVID in the U.S.? Are we still actually in a pandemic?
--:-- Dr. Marty McCary: We're about to move into the endemic phase, which means it's just going to circulate at low levels for a long time. And the reason I say about to be is that it's staggered. In different parts of the country, we're in different phases.
--:-- John Bickley: In the Southeast, in many parts of the country now, we're at basically endemic low levels and we'll be there forever, maybe. And in the Northeast, where people are moving inside because of cold weather, we're going to see a bump in cases as a part of the viral season.
--:-- Dr. Marty McCary: But we'll see that continue into January. So this will soon be like the flu going forward. That's right. Or maybe even less of a strain on the population and hospitals.
--:-- John Bickley: We saw some reports last week that showed that the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines continue to prevent hospitalizations and most serious infections. But their effectiveness does taper off over time. What can you tell us about these results?
--:-- Dr. Marty McCary: It appears to be true. And if you're old and high risk, that's a concern. And the boost may really sort of be helpful. But if in a young person your intrinsic immune strength may be enough to supplement the vaccine.
--:-- John Bickley: So it may be that in older high-risk people they get three doses doses total In immediate moderate young adults they get two And then healthy people like kids and adolescents and people in their 20s, they get one. That may be adequate.
--:-- Dr. Marty McCary: Speaking of children, you co-wrote an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal about vaccines and young children. Can you summarize some of those arguments you made there?
--:-- John Bickley: Sure. Here's the deal with kids. First of all, we've only ever studied 1,500 kids in that 5 to 11 age group. So when people say they want to see more data, they have all the right to say that right now.
--:-- Dr. Marty McCary: Now, we do think it can be helpful in preventing COVID, which in a kid with a risk factor, the answer in my book is go ahead and get the vaccine. That is if a kid's obese or has some comorbid condition.
--:-- John Bickley: In a kid who's already had COVID, no, there's no scientific basis for vaccinating somebody with natural immunity. And for everyone else in between, I would say it's, You know, it's a close risk-benefit ratio, but maybe one dose may be reasonable.
--:-- Dr. Marty McCary: You mentioned natural immunity. This is something that's often overlooked. Can you explain the importance of natural immunity?
--:-- John Bickley: Well, natural immunity is very effective. The studies out of Israel show that on a population level, it's 27 times more effective than vaccinated immunity.
--:-- Dr. Marty McCary: Now, I wouldn't encourage anyone to get the infection, but we got to be honest with the data. And that also means with natural immunity, we can rely on it.
--:-- John Bickley: Right. You know, a question that a lot of people have been asking for a while is, can we return to normal? How would you respond?
--:-- Dr. Marty McCary: We've got to get back to normal and restore the human connection. No one should be dying of COVID right now. Nobody.
--:-- John Bickley: Once we get Merck's drug approved in about three weeks, and that is no one who's ever received Merck's new drug, molnipiravir, Pfizer's new drug, has ever died of COVID. That's how profoundly effective they are.
--:-- Dr. Marty McCary: They cut COVID deaths to zero. So that will officially mark the end of the pandemic phase and move into the endemic phase.
--:-- John Bickley: And by the way, it completely obliterates any medical argument for a vaccine mandate when you have an effective treatment that's that profound.
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--:-- John Bickley: After 13 years, Britney Spears' conservatorship has finally come to an end. Joining us to explain how the pop star was able to regain control of her estate and her life is Daily Wire entertainment reporter Megan Basham.
--:-- Megan Basham: Thanks for having me, John.
--:-- John Bickley: So, Megan, for those few people who maybe haven't been tracking this story, can you start by reminding us exactly what this conservatorship entailed and how it came about?
--:-- Megan Basham: Sure. So starting in 2007, the singer began behaving erratically. She shaved her head, she attacked a photographer with an umbrella, and she had a standoff with police where she allegedly refused to surrender her sons to ex-husband Kevin Federline.
--:-- John Bickley: Then in 2008, she was admitted to two psychiatric hospitals for evaluations. And it was about that time that a court established a temporary conservatorship controlled by her father, Jamie Spears.
--:-- Megan Basham: Now it included two parts. One for control over her estimated $60 million estate, and then the second one granted decision-making powers over her as a person.
--:-- John Bickley: So that's the kind of arrangement that you typically see for people who have, say, dementia or psychiatric disorders.
--:-- Megan Basham: Right. I mean, pretty all-encompassing for all of their decisions. Exactly. It was.
--:-- John Bickley: And I think it's important that we point out that during those 13 years, She released three albums She had a long and very profitable Las Vegas show So the question became whether someone who could do all that really met the criteria for a conservatorship
--:-- Megan Basham: And I would say three things really sort of move the needle on this issue. So first in April, the New York Times released a documentary titled Framing Britney Spears, and it brought Britney's plight and the free Britney movement into focus.
--:-- John Bickley: And that attention seemed to embolden the pop star to speak up more in her own defense. So at a hearing this past summer, Britney Spears gave some very emotional testimony.
--:-- Megan Basham: And for the first time, the public was able to see a transcript. Here's what Spears said. She said, I've lied and told the whole world I'm okay and I'm happy, but now I'm telling you the truth, okay? I'm not happy. I can't sleep. I'm depressed. I cry every day.
--:-- John Bickley: She said her father and his team forced her to wear an IUD to prevent her from having any more children. And I think that revelation in particular really appalled a lot of people.
--:-- Megan Basham: Right. I mean, that was the thing that was the most heartbreaking for me to hear.
--:-- John Bickley: So you said there were three things that contributed to this conservatorship ending. What was the third?
--:-- Megan Basham: So shortly after that hearing, the judge allowed Spears to choose her own attorney to represent her. And she picked former prosecutor Matthew Rosengard.
--:-- John Bickley: Now, Rosengard didn't have a lot of experience in probate law, which is what this conservatorship would fall under, but he does have a reputation for being a fierce advocate for his clients.
--:-- Megan Basham: And he aggressively moved to have Jamie Spears suspended as conservator. And we have to say he waged war in the press very effectively while initiating investigations into alleged abuse.
--:-- John Bickley: I'm so pleased and proud to say Jamie Spears is no longer a conservator. Jamie Spears has been suspended and he will be formally removed shortly
--:-- Megan Basham: So is the issue resolved? Britney's free now?
--:-- John Bickley: Britney is free, but I wouldn't say the issue is entirely resolved. So Rosengart is saying that Spears' battle is going to continue.
--:-- Megan Basham: He filed a 110-page petition last month requesting to depose Jamie Spears. Now, he's claiming Britney's father illegally placed secret recording devices in her bedroom to spy on her without her consent.
--:-- John Bickley: Now, I mean, it's still really shocking that this was even possible. Is this something that's legal for families to do to their family members?
--:-- Megan Basham: It is legal, but a few senators are calling to investigate just that. So we're seeing bipartisan calls from people as far apart politically as Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ted Cruz.
--:-- John Bickley: That tells you something, to re-examine conservatorships in light of this case.
--:-- John Bickley: Megan, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Megan Basham: Yeah, anytime.
--:-- John Bickley: That was Daily Wire entertainment reporter Megan Basham. If you liked this episode and are interested in hearing more, subscribe to Morning Wire on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you're listening, and give us a five-star review.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's all the time we've got this morning. Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back tomorrow with the news you need to know.
--:-- John Bickley: If you like this podcast, subscribe to our Morning Wire newsletter, available exclusively to Daily Wire members. Get the Morning Wire newsletter delivered straight to your inbox when you join at dailywire.com slash subscribe. Use code MORNINGWIRE to try a Reader's Pass membership and get your first month for only 99 cents.
