--:-- Georgia Howe: I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley. It's Wednesday, August 21st, and this is your Morning Wire afternoon update.
--:-- John Bickley: Vice President Kamala Harris' running mate, Tim Walls, will accept the Democratic nomination for vice president at the convention tonight.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Ahead of Walls, several big-name Democrats are expected to take the stage, including Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and former President Bill Clinton.
--:-- John Bickley: Former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio, will appear together in Asheboro, North Carolina, to give remarks about national security.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is reportedly set to drop out of the presidential race this week, and according to ABC News, is leaning toward endorsing Trump.
--:-- John Bickley: This comes after former President Trump suggested he's open to including RFK in his administration if he wins in November. Trump praised Kennedy in an interview with CNN yesterday, calling him brilliant and a very smart guy.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Would you also consider putting him in the administration?
--:-- John Bickley: You're asking me a very unusual question. I haven't been asked that question yet. I like him a lot. I respect him a lot. I probably would if something like that would happen.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Just yesterday, Kennedy's running mate, Nicole Shanahan, suggested in an interview that they had been considering dropping out and backing Trump.
--:-- John Bickley: According to ABC, Kennedy has not made a final decision regarding any potential endorsements.
--:-- Georgia Howe: A new job growth report shows job numbers representing the last year and a half have been significantly inflated.
--:-- Tim Pierce: [as Daily Wire reporter] The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today that job growth could be revised downward by 818,000 jobs for the 12 months ending in March. This adjustment would mark the largest revision in 15 years, reducing the average monthly job growth from 242,000 a month to 174,000.
--:-- Ben Shapiro: [as Daily Wire editor emeritus] The revisions are part of an annual review process that will be finalized next year. Critics have pointed to the timing of the announcement, alleging political motivations behind the data release.
--:-- Ben Shapiro: Now, why is that coming out right now? Because the goal is to jog the Federal Reserve to lower the interest rates and thus to blow more money into the economy, recapitulating inflation and to do that off the basis of weak job growth. So that is the game. The game is you hide the job failures until now. Then you let that news out of the bag just early enough that the Federal Reserve can lower the interest rate and then artificially boost spending in the economy.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The Biden-Harris administration's attempt to push EVs on Americans hit yet another setback. Ford Motor has just revealed that it's canceling plans for a large electric SUV.
--:-- Tim Pierce: The automaker also says it anticipates taking $1.9 billion in write-downs and special charges. The problem? Softer-than-expected demand.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Along with giving up on the new SUV, Ford is pushing back the launch of its new electric pickup by two years to 2027.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Voters in Arizona and Montana will decide this November whether or not to enshrine abortion access in their state constitutions.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The Arizona Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday to keep an abortion measure on the ballot.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Meanwhile, Montana Secretary of State Christy Jacobson certified a similar initiative.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Both measures would allow abortion until fetal viability around 24 weeks or later in order to, quote, protect the mother's life or health.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And the on-again, off-again relationship of Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez appears to be officially over.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Lopez filed for divorce on Tuesday, ending a two-decade relationship between the two that included two weddings and the infamous celebrity nickname Bennifer.
--:-- Georgia Howe: All right, those are your drive home updates this afternoon. Be sure to tune in again tonight to ElectionWire's live coverage of the DNC.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The show goes live at 7:45 p.m. Central and will be hosted by Cabot Phillips and Michelle Tafoya.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Watch speeches by former President Bill Clinton and VP candidate Tim Walz.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Plus, we'll have some live fact-checking and expert analysis.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Be sure to tune in. You can watch live on dailywire.com.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Don't watch the DNC alone. Join ElectionWire all week.
