--:-- [Theme music fades out]
--:-- John Bickley: This episode is brought to you by LifeLock. When you visit the doctor, you probably hand over your insurance, your ID, and contact details. It's just one of the many places that has your personal info. And if any of them accidentally expose it, you could be at risk for identity theft. LifeLock monitors millions of data points a second. If you become a victim, they'll fix it, guaranteed, or your money back. Save up to 40% your first year at LifeLock.com slash podcast. Terms apply.
--:-- Georgia Howe: A new rule by the Biden administration could affect the bottom line of 150 million Americans in their private 401ks. These funds that are ESG oriented, they're losing hundreds of millions, if not billions, again, for hardworking Americans who largely don't even realize that it's happening. Now, 25 states have banded together to stop what they say is an illegal rule that will hurt Americans' retirement savings.
--:-- John Bickley: I'm Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Wednesday, February 1st, and this is Morning Wire. Ukrainian officials are asking other countries for more military aid following Russian attacks that killed several civilians. I think the U.S. military aid has been so robust in general that I think it's inconceivable that Russia could ever conquer Ukraine.
--:-- Georgia Howe: We speak to an expert about the latest developments in the conflict and where it's headed in the future. And the U.S. Surgeon General is sounding the alarm over social media and its effects on children's brains. You're pitting a child against the world's greatest product designers, and that's just not a fair fight.
--:-- John Bickley: Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know. The American Heart Association recommends four to five servings each of fruits and vegetables every single day. Now, that's no small task, especially given your busy schedule. Balance of Nature fruit and veggie capsules are a convenient way to consume essential nutritional ingredients on the daily. Go to balanceofnature.com and use promo code WIRE for $25 off your first order as a preferred customer, plus a free fiber and spice supplement. That's balanceofnature.com, promo code WIRE.
--:-- Georgia Howe: A coalition of 25 states has filed a lawsuit against a Biden administration rule that allows 401k and pension managers to consider ESG factors in their investing decisions. The states say the rule, which went into effect Monday, puts social issues ahead of profits and that ESG has already cost Americans a good chunk of their retirement savings. Here to tell us more about the lawsuit is Daily Wire culture reporter Megan Basham.
--:-- Megan Basham: So, ESG has become a political lightning rod. First off, what is this new rule that sparked this lawsuit?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Yes, it has. And I imagine that our regular listeners are going to remember that we've talked before about how some red states have already been pushing back against these big money managers who invest public pension funds based on ESG metrics like climate change and racial diversity and things like that. So Texas, Florida, Louisiana, some others had started pulling their state funds out of companies like BlackRock and Vanguard over these policies.
--:-- Megan Basham: This was West Virginia State Treasurer Riley Moore on Fox News last week talking about how he thinks this kind of investing damages the economy in broader ways as well. But at the end of the day, these folks, BlackRock certainly being the leader, has created artificial scarcity in the marketplace, which has driven up, obviously, energy costs and played a big part in driving inflation in our economy right now. West Virginia certainly being a fossil fuel state, we're not going to stand by and let that happen. We're not going to let them play games with our money.
--:-- Megan Basham: So the Trump administration had also put some rules in place blocking ESG investing and voting when it comes to public funds. Basically, what they said was that financial managers can only consider financial interests, not social goals. Well, in November, the Department of Labor announced a new rule that would specifically allow investment firms to consider climate change and those other ESG factors when they're selecting retirement investments and voting proxies at shareholder meetings. So basically, it was reversing the Trump administration's orders.
--:-- Megan Basham: Right. So that brings us to this lawsuit. Right. It does. So at that point, 25 states led by the attorneys general of Texas and Utah filed a lawsuit in a federal district court in Texas, arguing that this rule undermines key protections for retirement savers. They say that the new Department of Labor rule violates the 1974 Employee Retirement Income Security Act, ORISA. And that law is supposed to protect retirement incomes of around two-thirds of the nation's workers. So really broad there.
--:-- Megan Basham: Sean Reyes, the attorney general of Utah, said in a press release, the Biden administration is promoting its climate change agenda by putting everyday people's retirement money at risk. And he called that a political agenda. So how is the Biden administration responding to that claim?
--:-- Megan Basham: Well, they say that weighing ESG impact like climate change, it actually is part of a sound financial decision-making process. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh says this new rule, and I'll quote him, helps plan participants make the most of their retirement benefits. Essentially what they're arguing is that factoring in carbon emissions is just good business practice in the long run because they believe that the market will reward greener companies eventually.
--:-- Megan Basham: So is this shaping up to be a party line partisan fight? You know, mostly, but I do think we're going to see the ground shift a little bit on that. Senate Republicans are looking at a resolution to overturn the Department of Labor rule. And West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin already said on Tuesday that he is planning to cross the aisle to join Republicans in that. That's not really much of a surprise, given that West Virginia's economy relies pretty heavily on coal. But Indiana Senator Mike Braun said he believes that Republicans may actually be able to pick off a couple other Democrats on this as well.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Well, just in the past year, ESG has gotten onto a lot more people's radar. Megan, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Megan Basham: Anytime.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That was Daily Wire culture reporter Megan Basham. Coming up, Ukraine calls for more military aid as the Russian shelling continues. The U.S. blew through the $31.4 trillion debt ceiling last month, and still the White House refuses to reduce spending. If you're worried about the future of this nation's economy, you need to consider diversifying into gold with Birch Gold. Birch Gold makes it easy to convert an IRA or 401k into an IRA and precious metals. Text WIRE to 989898 to claim your free info kit on gold and talk to one of their precious metal experts. Text WIRE to 989898 today.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Russian shelling has killed more civilians in Ukraine over the last few days. This, as Ukraine's foreign minister, is asking Western allies to send more military assets, particularly fighter jets and long-range missiles. Joining us to discuss the latest on the conflict and the role Western aid has played in it is James Carafano, Vice President for the Heritage National Security and Foreign Policy Institute.
--:-- James Carafano: So, Jim, many countries, including the U.S., have really ramped up military aid to Ukraine. Some have loaned tanks, others sent artillery shells, some have called on others to send help. How has this aid changed things militarily for Ukraine?
--:-- James Carafano: Well, I can state pretty definitively there would not be a Ukraine today if it was not for a U.S. military aid. I don't think that's up for dispute. Every day Russia sticks in this fight, they're significantly diminishing their military capability. And so in terms of the bar in the future that the West has to present to provide a conventional deterrent of NATO against Russia, that bar gets significantly lower every day. And it will be very difficult for the Russians to change it because of the sanctions. Rebuilding their military is going to be very hard. And you have to remember that their second biggest export after oil is arms. And now Russia is going to be faced with a very difficult choice between exporting arms and rebuilding their own military.
--:-- James Carafano: So however you slice it, Western military aid has significantly diminished the threat of further Russian intervention or conventional threats against Western Europe. Now, the U.S. just sent 31 tanks to Ukraine. What are the chances the U.S. actually sends aircraft or long-range missiles?
--:-- James Carafano: Look, at some point, this war is going to devolve into a frozen conflict. You know, people can talk about negotiations and everything else, but at some point, the Russians are going to stop. I don't know where that is. I don't know what the line is, but, you know, for example, the Russians talk about a spring offensive. Well, if they do that, that's mostly conscripted manpower against Ukrainian artillery and tanks. That's not going to end well, particularly into the aviation systems. Where are you going to base them? Where's the logistics? Pilot training, all the other stuff. That's going to take a lot of time to unfold.
--:-- James Carafano: So I think these are really things that are going to impact kind of the long-term security of Ukraine. Obviously, Ukraine is going to need an air force to provide for protection of its airspace in the long term. But I don't think their thing is going to impact the immediate war. What about diplomacy? Is there any chance of ending this war diplomatically now?
--:-- James Carafano: Well, I think the war will end physically and the diplomacy will follow as opposed to that way around. You know, both sides have constraints on themselves, which I think we don't recognize. And both the Ukraine and the Russians have limitations on their side. This Ukrainian government would last about five minutes if they capitulated and made a deal with Russia. They're certainly not going to give away territory. They may accept a ceasefire line, but they're not going to be making big gives here if the government wants to stay in power.
--:-- James Carafano: From the Russian perspective, Putin has a delicate game to play. He doesn't want to quit the war because it makes him look weak. On the other hand, if he overplays his hand and every day he stays in this war, he's actually diminishing his power in his country one more day. But the war is actually quite popular in Russia. He has to do something to demonstrate that he's tough. But it's a war that he literally cannot win.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Well, with the recent corruption arrests and removals we've seen, there appear to be lots of reasons to be concerned. Should we be worried about how future aid will be used?
--:-- James Carafano: Well, I actually take the recent arrests and dismissals as a very positive sign. On the one hand, I think what's very important is the military aid, which is the bulk of the aid and which is really crucial. There's no signs that that's being diverted or misused. I think people have to remember that this government was voted in to fight corruption and that most of the corruption in Ukraine is actually the result of oligarchs with ties to Russia. And actually, the one thing we don't talk about is the one thing the Ukrainians have been able to do is really diminish the influence and bypass the oligarchs. And that, I think, is contributing actually to more than anything else to limiting corruption.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Well, fascinating and important stuff, Jim. Thanks so much for talking with us.
--:-- James Carafano: Thank you.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That was Heritage National Security and Foreign Policy expert James Carafano.
--:-- [Theme music starts]
--:-- Georgia Howe: Based on the data I've seen, believe that 13 is too early. Early adolescence, where kids are developing their identity, their sense of self. It's a time where it's really important for us to be thoughtful about what's going into how they think about their own self-worth and their relationships. And the skewed and often distorted environment of social media often does a disservice to any of those children.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That was U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy speaking to CNN on Monday about the impact social media has on a developing adolescent. In January, neuroscientists at the University of North Carolina found that social media use was associated with changes in brain function among adolescents. Here to give us the details is Daily Wire's Charlotte Pence Bond.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Hi, Georgia. Neuroscientists at the University of North Carolina scanned the brains of young people ages 12 to 15. They wanted to see how brain development was affected by the amount of time they spent on social media when they were younger. The researchers asked them how often they checked social media, which included Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat. They were on average around 12 to 15 years old when they were asked that. So the usage was broken down into three categories, high or habitual checking, moderate, and low or non-habitual. Habitual checking was more than 15 times a day, moderate was one to 15 times, and low was zero times.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Then the researchers scanned their participants' brains each year for three years while the teens were completing an electronic exercise. At first, the kids who checked social media more often were less reactive to social feedback compared to kids who checked social media less. But over time, the pattern reversed, and the kids who were less active on social media became less sensitive to potential social cues as the other kids.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: The bottom line is this. Kids who looked at their feeds a lot around the age of 12 became more sensitive to possible feedback from their social cohorts over time. Those who checked social media less often were not as sensitive. Here's Eva Telzer, an author of the study. So we know that the adolescent brain is highly sensitive to rewards. It's highly sensitive to social feedback. And so how might this interact with the ways that they're engaging in these online platforms in social media and digital media contexts? And does the brain then get shaped by those experiences? Because the brain itself is highly plastic and sensitive to its environment.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: The adolescent period is a huge time of brain development, second only to that that we see in infancy. Now, is there direct evidence that higher reactivity to social feedback is associated with mental problems? It's just a hypothesis at this point, but there's a huge amount of research suggesting that social media use is harming teens. A 2017 study pointed out that depressive symptoms, suicide-related outcomes, and suicide rates shot up between the years of 2010 and 2015. This was particularly true for girls. A study from 2016 also found that social media use was significantly associated with increased depression in young adults ages 19 to 32.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Well, that's my cohort, and I think it does have a big effect on us even as adults. Charlotte, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Thanks for having me on.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That was Daily Wire's Charlotte Pence Bond. Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back this afternoon with more of the news you need to know.
--:-- [Theme music continues]
--:-- Georgia Howe: Used car prices are dropping, but before you walk into a dealership, you've got to check out Cars Inc. Carzing is an online car shopping website with millions of listed vehicles. By partnering with credit agencies, lenders, and dealerships, Carzing provides you with everything you need before stepping foot into a dealership. Visit carzing.com slash wire today to skip the guesswork and find the best deals near you. That's carzing.com slash wire.
