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--:-- Georgia Howe: I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley. It's Tuesday, March 29th, and this is Morning Wire.
--:-- John Bickley: Good morning, Georgia. Thanks for waking up with us.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for having me, John. Did the slap heard round the world revive the floundering Oscars? We have the latest numbers on the struggling program.
--:-- John Bickley: That's right. Plus, the Academy launches a formal review into Will Smith's slap. And liberal cities across America move to clean up homeless encampments. We look at New York's ambitious new plan.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Yes, we want them in shelters. The shelters are extremely safe for people who are homeless.
--:-- John Bickley: Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
--:-- Georgia Howe: On Monday, it was reported that Russian oligarch and owner of Chelsea FC football club Roman Abramovich was the victim of a suspected poisoning during a March 3rd meeting in Kiev, Ukraine.
--:-- John Bickley: Here with more on the story is Daily Wire sports reporter Joe Morgan.
--:-- Joe Morgan: Thanks for having me on, John.
--:-- John Bickley: So Abramovich is a Russian billionaire who owns the London-based soccer club Chelsea FC. Following the invasion of Ukraine by Vladimir Putin, Abramovich attempted to sell the soccer club for $2.24 billion.
--:-- Joe Morgan: That's billion with a B, John. With many believing he was attempting to unload his assets before the government froze them. Before he was able to sell, the UK sanctioned Abramovich along with six other Russian oligarchs with close ties to Putin.
--:-- John Bickley: Right. And the Wall Street Journal reported Monday that Abramovich and two others had possibly been poisoned.
--:-- Joe Morgan: Correct. Possibly. The Journal reported that following a March 3rd meeting aimed at peace in Ukraine, Abramovich and two senior members of the Ukrainian team started experiencing symptoms that included peeling of the skin on their faces and hands, red eyes, and painful tearing of the eyes.
--:-- John Bickley: The Wall Street Journal reported that Abramovich was blinded for a few hours, actually.
--:-- Joe Morgan: And there are reports that hardliners in Moscow maybe were involved.
--:-- John Bickley: Yeah, I mean, it's not clear, but Russia does have a history with this type of attack, and Abramovich has been involved in peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.
--:-- Joe Morgan: The journal reported that Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has met with Abramovich and has asked the U.S. not to sanction him as the Russian billionaire has been part of the negotiations, as we've discussed.
--:-- John Bickley: One of the sources cited by the Wall Street Journal, Bellingcat, reported that all three individuals consumed only water and chocolate leading up to the development of symptoms and began to experience symptoms the night after the meeting.
--:-- Joe Morgan: Are these symptoms life-threatening?
--:-- John Bickley: No, it appears that all three of the victims will be okay. As reported by the BBC, Abramovich was seen at the Tel Aviv airport on March 14th, so he appears to be doing okay.
--:-- Joe Morgan: Amazingly, Abramovich has decided to remain involved in the negotiations for peace.
--:-- John Bickley: It's worth noting that leading up to the sanctions imposed by the UK, Abramovich has denied having close ties to Putin.
--:-- Joe Morgan: When Abramovich announced his plans to sell Chelsea FC, he said that all proceeds from the sale would go to a charity set up for the, quote, benefit of all victims of the war in Ukraine.
--:-- John Bickley: I quoting here the foundation will be for the benefit of all victims of the war in Ukraine This includes providing critical funds towards the urgent and immediate needs of victims as well as supporting the long work of recovery
--:-- Joe Morgan: This is a pretty intense story.
--:-- John Bickley: Yeah. Thanks for coming on, Joe.
--:-- Joe Morgan: Yeah, I appreciate it, John.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Daily Wire sports reporter, Joe Morgan.
--:-- John Bickley: Coming up, could Will Smith's slap cost him his Oscar?
--:-- Georgia Howe: You can get this show and all of the content you love wherever you are all on the Daily Wire app even if you're not a Daily Wire member you'll be first to know what's trending with mobile notifications for the latest news and you'll get content from all your favorite Daily Wire shows download the Daily Wire app and keep up with the facts no matter where your day takes you thanks to a dramatic moment when best actor winner will smith slapped comedian chris rock while he was presenting an award, the Oscars generated a lot of headlines.
--:-- John Bickley: How is the Academy responding and did the slap help the show with its recent ratings crisis?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Here to give us a breakdown of how the Oscars performed, as well as some analysis, is Daily Wire culture reporter Megan Basham.
--:-- Megan Basham: So Megan, first, I guess we have to address the slap.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Yes, there's definitely no getting away from that. So let's just go ahead and play the clip of the infamous joke that actually caused Will Smith to storm up on stage and assault Chris Rock.
--:-- Megan Basham: Jada, I love you. G.I. Jane 2, can't wait to see it. All right? It's Jowazin. That was a nice one. Okay. I'm out here. Uh-oh. Richard? Oh, wow. Wow. Will Smith just smacked the s*** out of me. Get my wife's name out your mouth. Wow, dude.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So that was definitely one of the most memorable Oscar moments ever.
--:-- Megan Basham: We've had a few statements by the Academy since the incident. What have they said?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Yeah, you know, the response from the Academy has been pretty interesting. So first, it put out a statement saying it doesn't condone violence.
--:-- Megan Basham: Well, that drew criticism from a lot of people, particularly comedians, as you might expect, suggesting that that was just far too tepid a statement.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So now the Academy has launched a formal review to, and I'm quoting here, explore further action and consequences in accordance with our bylaws, standards of conduct, and California law.
--:-- Megan Basham: So what they're reportedly going to be weighing is whether to strip Smith of that brand new Oscar over breaching their code of conduct that was originally put in place in 2017 as a reaction to the Me Too movement.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, I doubt that they will because it seems like what they really want is for this controversy to just blow over.
--:-- Megan Basham: To give you one example, on ABC's coverage of their telecast, out of more than 20 articles on the website, they don't mention it at all.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Right, that's a pretty notable omission.
--:-- Megan Basham: Now, I'll be honest, as I was watching it, I had to rewind it a few times because I actually thought that this has to be a publicity stunt for ratings.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Well, you're not the only one who thought that. There are some conspiracy theorists out there who are still saying that.
--:-- Megan Basham: But after reviewing the clip, maybe like 50 times as if it was the Zabruder film, I can tell you, I'm pretty sure it was real.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Well, so speaking of ratings, was there a bump from last year?
--:-- Megan Basham: Yeah, there was something of a bump, but I don't think it's enough that the Academy or ABC, the network that the Oscars air on, are really breathing sighs of relief right now.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So the early ratings are showing that this year's telecast was up by 5 million viewers. That sounds like a lot but it was still the second least watched Oscars in history
--:-- Megan Basham: And you have to remember that in February of 2020 that was before the pandemic was underway and it had already hit a previous low mark. So this is an ongoing issue, and there's no indication that the Academy has found any significant way to shore up that audience.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, getting to the cause of the slump, we hear a lot about how the Oscars have increasingly become a platform for politics, and maybe that's driving away a lot of potential viewers.
--:-- Megan Basham: Is there evidence for that?
--:-- Georgia Howe: You know, I don't think there's any way you can deny that that's a factor. We know that winners have been taking that opportunity at the platform to make political statements for decades.
--:-- Megan Basham: But in the past, the ceremony itself wasn't nearly as overtly partisan as it's become in recent years.
--:-- Georgia Howe: I mean, at one point, the host seemed to take a jab at the entire state of Florida last night. For you people in Florida, we're going to have a gay night.
--:-- Megan Basham: So what they're referring to there is recent legislation that polling shows a majority of American support, including exclusive polling conducted for the Daily Wire.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, those comments are a pretty good way to alienate a huge chunk of your audience.
--:-- Megan Basham: And also, there have been a lot of what you might call activist campaigns attached to the Oscars in, say, the last five years or so. Think Me Too, Oscars So White.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That was a demand for more diversity.
--:-- Megan Basham: So a lot of those causes have explicitly politicized the show.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Realistically, though, I don't know that quieting down about politics would do enough to solve that ratings problem.
--:-- Megan Basham: Because the most significant issue the Oscars are facing is that the way we consume entertainment has really just fundamentally changed.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Our viewing habits, for example, are much more fractured than they used to be.
--:-- Megan Basham: When you look at this year's Best Picture nominees that were announced in February, only one of the 10 had made more than $40 million domestically. That was Dune.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Even the movies that look like they should have very broad appeal, Steven Spielberg's remake of West Side Story would be one.
--:-- Megan Basham: Well, it still didn't perform particularly well.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So again, that downward trend was well underway before COVID.
--:-- Megan Basham: So it may simply be the end of an era.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Megan, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Megan Basham: Of course, anytime.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That was Daily Wire culture reporter Megan Basham.
--:-- John Bickley: New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced that he will be clearing the city streets of homeless encampments within the next two weeks.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The mayor appears to be responding to New Yorkers' frustration with makeshift shelters that now feel like a permanent fixture on city streets.
--:-- John Bickley: Daily Wire investigative reporter Maraid Elordi is here to tell us more.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: So Maraid, what exactly is Mayor Adams' plan here?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Yeah, so Adams said in a Friday interview that it's time for the homeless encampments to go. We're going to dismantle those encampments, give people wraparound services.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: I'm not going to have an inhumane city that allows people to live in an inhumane, dangerous environment. No restrooms, no showers, no ways to take care of themselves.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The mayor called it, quote, inhumane to have people living in dangerous environments like cardboard boxes on highways and in the subway.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: And he said he will direct city agencies to do a block-by-block analysis to identify where encampments are, then execute a plan to give services to the homeless New Yorkers living there.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Adams noted that the city can't force anyone to sleep in a homeless shelter, but he expressed hope that they can get at least some people off the streets.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: As for the timeline, Adams said he's looking to carry out his plan within a two-weeks period.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Adams also criticized his predecessor Bill de Blasio saying the former mayor had ignored the homeless problem.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: About a month ago Adams also said he will make an effort to remove homeless people from New York subway system due to recent violent incidents in the subway No more smoking no more doing drugs no more sleeping no more just doing whatever you want No, those days are over. Swipe your MetroCard, ride the system, get off at your destination.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So will it now be illegal for people to sleep on the street in New York?
--:-- Maraid Elordi: No, and Mayor Adams specifically stated that they can't prevent someone from sleeping on the street. That's protected by law in New York.
--:-- Georgia Howe: But he did say you can't build a shelter.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: So he's really trying to thread the needle here working around local laws.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And how serious is the homelessness problem in New York?
--:-- Maraid Elordi: We often hear about West Coast homelessness. Right. Well, the last estimate done by the city in 2021 said about 1,100 were living on the streets.
--:-- Georgia Howe: But according to the New York Times, that official number was widely seen as dubious.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Recent estimates indicate there are about 50,000 homeless New Yorkers in the city, although that includes people in shelters, too.
--:-- Georgia Howe: In January, New York cleared out at least 133 separate encampments. More than half of those were in Manhattan, just to give a sense of the scale of the issue.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: So the strategy that Adams is suggesting of clearing out encampments, is that expected to work long term?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Well, that remains to be seen, but this is definitely a trend.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Several other liberal cities, which have traditionally been pretty lax about street sleeping, have also moved to get rid of encampments in recent months.
--:-- Georgia Howe: For example, Los Angeles announced a ban on camping in 54 specific locations in October.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: One L.A. mayoral candidate, Democrat Joe Buscaino, has actually campaigned on banning outdoor sleeping in public spaces in most instances.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Portland, Oregon banned camping on certain roadways in February.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: One caveat there, the mayor in Portland did indicate that the city could allow some massive homeless encampments that would be managed by the city.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Seattle removed multiple encampments at the beginning of this month, despite significant backlash from activists.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: On the East Coast, Washington, D.C. Mayor Bowser launched a pilot program in 2021 to permanently clear out camps.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Boston Mayor Wu ordered a massive encampment cleanup in January.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: So this is definitely a trend, but it remains to be seen whether it will be enough to turn things around.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Right. It's really a difficult problem.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Thanks, Georgia.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks, Maraid. That's Daily Wire investigative reporter Maraid Elordi.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Other stories we're tracking this week. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed the parental rights and education bill into law Monday.
--:-- John Bickley: The law bans teachers from giving classroom instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity in kindergarten through third grade.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And a group of Olympians, coaches, and swimming championship alumni are calling on the NCAA to protect our women athletes and to rectify the situation created by allowing biological men to compete with women.
--:-- John Bickley: The group of 36 former elite athletes associated with the University of Arizona wrote in an open letter addressed to the NCAA Board of Governors, quote, we feel we are witnessing irrevocable damage to the sport.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The letter accuses the NCAA of having successfully failed everyone.
--:-- John Bickley: Thanks for listening to Morning Wire.
--:-- Georgia Howe: We created this show to bring more balance to the national conversation.
--:-- John Bickley: 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.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's all the time we've got this morning.
--:-- John Bickley: Thanks for waking up with us.
--:-- Georgia Howe: 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.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Use code MORNINGWIRE to try a Reader's Pass membership and get your first month for only 99 cents.
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