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--:-- John Bickley: President Biden announces a first wave of sanctions against Russia as Putin moves troops into breakaway districts in Ukraine. Putin has bigger plans. He has more aggression in mind, and it will take a united Europe to lead the effort to confront that. Will sanctions and a unified response by NATO be enough to quell a full invasion of Ukraine?
--:-- John Bickley: I'm John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Wednesday, February 23rd, and this is Morning Wire.
--:-- Georgia Howe: President Biden is making his list of Supreme Court nominees, and he's quietly reaching out to Republicans for their support. But there's already controversy around his advisory board and the prominent role race is playing in the process.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And in Washington state, a new education policy can prohibit teachers from informing parents about their child's gender identity. What's the intent of the policy, and why are some teachers concerned?
--:-- John Bickley: Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
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--:-- John Bickley: Russian military aggression towards Ukraine has escalated rapidly in recent days, culminating in a dramatic move by the Russian regime and a major shift in messaging and response from the White House.
--:-- John Bickley: Here to tell us more is Daily Wire's Ian Howarth. Ian, a lot has happened with Ukraine over the last 24 hours. What's the latest?
--:-- Ian Howarth: Well, first off, the White House is now calling the movement of Russian troops in eastern areas of Ukraine an invasion. After they've been hesitant for some time to use this language, this changed on Tuesday morning.
--:-- Ian Howarth: First, the Biden administration's principal deputy national security advisor said that this was, quote, the beginning of an invasion. And then the White House confirmed with Fox News that they were indeed defining what is going on as an invasion.
--:-- Ian Howarth: So this really is a significant change in messaging.
--:-- John Bickley: Yeah, it is. And the Ukraine-related news has now really started pouring out of Eastern Europe. Ukraine's government confirmed that two soldiers were killed in a shelling attack by pro-Russian separatists on Saturday.
--:-- Ian Howarth: Putin gave a press conference on Monday in which he claimed that Ukraine was entirely created by Russia, which isn't true, by the way.
--:-- Ian Howarth: And when Liev's mayor was asked during an interview what Putin's objective was, his response was pretty clear. Completely destroy Ukraine.
--:-- Ian Howarth: You must know Russia was, is and will always source of threat for Ukraine and democratic countries in the world.
--:-- John Bickley: But the big news from yesterday, of course, is Biden's first press conference since the White House confirmed that Russia was invading Ukraine.
--:-- Ian Howarth: Right. So what can you tell us about that speech?
--:-- Ian Howarth: Well, first, it was pretty brief, less than 10 minutes, and he didn't take any questions from journalists before leaving.
--:-- Ian Howarth: But he did touch on a few key points. The first was that Putin rewriting of Ukraine history was quote bizarre and that Russia's latest military action violates international law.
--:-- Ian Howarth: Who in the Lord's name does Putin think gives him the right to declare new so-called countries on territory that belong to his neighbors? This is a flagrant violation of international law and demands a firm response from the international community.
--:-- Ian Howarth: The second is that the U.S. would respond to this invasion by imposing sanctions, which he said would go far beyond those imposed in 2014 when Russia invaded Crimea.
--:-- Ian Howarth: So he announced sanctions. Who exactly would the sanctions target?
--:-- Ian Howarth: Well, one is going to be a full set of blocking sanctions against two Russian financial institutions, which would look to cut off the Russian government from Western funding.
--:-- Ian Howarth: He also said he would target some individuals. Starting tomorrow and continuing in the days ahead, will also impose sanctions on Russia's elites and their family members. They share in the corrupt gains of the Kremlin policies and should share in the pain as well.
--:-- Ian Howarth: And Biden also confirmed Germany's announcement that the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project would not go ahead.
--:-- Ian Howarth: And beyond sanctions, did Biden discuss any other actions?
--:-- Ian Howarth: He did. Biden announced additional defensive moves and support for Ukraine, such as authorizing U.S. forces and equipment already stationed in Europe to strengthen Baltic allies.
--:-- Ian Howarth: But he was also careful to emphasize that these were defensive moves and make a clear distinction between defending Ukraine, which is not a member of NATO, and other NATO states.
--:-- Ian Howarth: Let me be clear. These are totally defensive moves on our part. We have no intention of fighting Russia.
--:-- Ian Howarth: We want to send an unmistakable message, though, that the United States, together with our allies, will defend every inch of NATO territory.
--:-- Ian Howarth: And Biden concluded by claiming that Putin would be surprised that Western countries were working in unison and that Russia should be judged on its actions, not its words.
--:-- Ian Howarth: The U.S., Biden said, was ready to respond with, quote, unity, clarity, and conviction, regardless of Russia's next move.
--:-- John Bickley: Well, things related to Ukraine have been less than clear and unified at this point, but we'll see what comes next.
--:-- John Bickley: Thanks, Ian.
--:-- John Bickley: Daily Wire's Ian Howarth.
--:-- John Bickley: 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.
--:-- John Bickley: President Biden has reportedly begun the interview process to find the successor to Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer.
--:-- John Bickley: Here with more on who the president is considering and what he's doing to win Republican support for the eventual nominee is Daily Wire's Cabot Phillips.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So Cabot, what do we know about the interview process so far?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Well, for the last month, White House officials have been pretty tight-lipped about things. But this week, The Wall Street Journal reported that President Biden had formally begun interviewing candidates.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Now, during the 2020 campaign, he drew a lot of attention for promising to nominate a black woman to the court if an opening were made available.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: And earlier this month, he said he'd follow through on that promise. And that person will be the first Black woman ever nominated to the United States Supreme Court.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: According to the president's team, he is on track to make this pick actually by the end of February. So very soon, just ahead of his March 1st State of the Union address.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So we should have more concrete answers here in the coming days.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: And what do we know about the potential nominees?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So according to President Biden, he's narrowed the list down to four main contenders. And he's done a, quote, deep dive on each of them.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Among the four are Leandra Kruger, a member of California Supreme Court, and Juliana Michelle Childs, a federal judge from South Carolina.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: But the presumptive favorite right now, according to multiple reports from within the White House, is D Circuit Court Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Now the D Circuit Court is often considered a breeding ground for Supreme Court picks because it often hears cases with national implications.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: And Jackson is also just 51 years old, meaning she could serve for decades to come, which obviously is a big plus for Democrats.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: And one more nugget here, pretty interesting, if you look at the political betting markets, which actually have a pretty good track record predicting things like this in the past. Judge Jackson is far and away the favorite.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So there seems to be growing consensus around her as the pick.
--:-- John Bickley: Yeah, we're still waiting on the pick. But there's already been some controversy this month surrounding just the nomination process, specifically with who the president has tasked with helping him make this pick.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, the president set up a board of advisors to help with his decision. And among the members he appointed was Minion Moore.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: In some ways, Moore is not a surprise. She's a veteran of the Clinton administration and close confidant of Vice President Harris.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: But she's also a board member of the Black Lives Matter Global Foundation and has been a vocal supporter of the defund the police movement and critical race theory.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So with a resume like that, obviously a lot of people on the right are concerned about what kind of nominees she may recommend.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: But more broadly, we've definitely seen some backlash to the president's decision in general to only interview black women for the job.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: For example, one recent ABC poll found that 76% of Americans want him to, quote, consider all possible nominees for the job, while just 23% supported the nomination of a judge based largely on skin color.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So once the decision is made, what happens next?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: That is when the fun begins. The nomination would first be sent to the Senate Judiciary Committee, who, after having time to research the pick themselves, would hold a hearing with the nominee to grill them on their judicial philosophy and qualifications, all that fun stuff.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: And then after that, the Senate holds a vote to confirm or oppose the nomination.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Now, technically, Democrats don't need any Republican support as all they need is a simple majority, which would be there based on the tiebreaker vote from Vice President Kamala Harris.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: However, the White House reportedly wants bipartisan support for their pick in a supposed effort to show people that the court isn't a political institution.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: But from what we're told, those efforts aren't making a ton of progress right now.
--:-- John Bickley: So whatever happens, the next few weeks are going to get pretty interesting.
--:-- John Bickley: Yeah, sounds like it.
--:-- John Bickley: Cabot, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Anytime.
--:-- John Bickley: That's Daily Wire's Cabot Phillips.
--:-- John Bickley: A new policy in Washington state requires teachers to hide students' gender transitions from their parents, unless the students say it's okay for their parents to know.
--:-- John Bickley: Now teachers say the effects of these policies on children are starting to show.
--:-- John Bickley: Daily Wire investigative reporter Maraid Alordi did some digging on this and is here to tell us what's going on.
--:-- Maraid Alordi: So, Maraid, if a student says, I want to change my gender, but you can't tell my parents, there's not much the teacher can do.
--:-- Maraid Alordi: Yeah, that's right. Teachers in Washington state pretty much have their hands tied.
--:-- Maraid Alordi: So this policy comes down from the state's Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, or OSPI, the main agency overseeing public education in Washington state.
--:-- Maraid Alordi: In its guidelines on how to handle transgender students, OSPI warns that, quote, sometimes transgender students may not want their families to know that they're transgender or that they use a different name, pronouns, and gender designation at school.
--:-- Maraid Alordi: The agency goes on to add that, quote, often this is because they are concerned about a lack of familial acceptance and that this could impact their safety and well-being at home.
--:-- Maraid Alordi: What ages are we talking about here? What grade levels does this apply to?
--:-- Maraid Alordi: These guidelines apply to K through 12, so potentially all the way down to kindergarten.
--:-- Maraid Alordi: Yeah, and the result is that when a student claims their parents won't accept them if they change their gender, teachers have to essentially obey the child and hide what's going on from the child's own parents.
--:-- Maraid Alordi: OSPI says that students have the right to be treated consistent with one gender identity, and I'm quoting here, schools are strongly encouraged to ask the student which name, pronouns, and gender designation should be used when communicating with parents and guardians before such communications take place.
--:-- Maraid Alordi: They say this is to avoid unintentionally outing the student at home.
--:-- Maraid Alordi: So strong encouragement from the state to hide what's going on with children from their parents.
--:-- Maraid Alordi: That's right.
--:-- Maraid Alordi: So now, how is this affecting real teachers and students in Washington?
--:-- Maraid Alordi: Well, it's already causing situations where parents don't know their child has transitioned at school.
--:-- Maraid Alordi: Some teachers actually don't agree with the idea of hiding kids' gender transitions from their parents, and they're starting to sound the alarm.
--:-- Maraid Alordi: One teacher I talked to actually broke down on the phone when she was describing how helpless she felt.
--:-- Maraid Alordi: One anecdotal tidbit this teacher shared is that she's overheard students asking each other, what are you going to be, regarding their gender identity.
--:-- Maraid Alordi: She also shared that teachers at her school in Washington were told by school counselors to use students' preferred pronouns and names and were instructed not to tell parents.
--:-- Maraid Alordi: Last year, this teacher said that she made the mistake of calling up a parent and telling them that their child wanted to adopt a new name and gender identity, asking the parent whether that was okay.
--:-- Maraid Alordi: And the parent responded, definitely not, we're Christians.
--:-- Maraid Alordi: The teacher later got reprimanded by the principal and counselor for telling the parent.
--:-- Maraid Alordi: At the beginning of this year, the school made a point of spending time going over the guidelines on parental notification around gender identity in detail.
--:-- Maraid Alordi: So clearly cracking down on this, really enforcing this.
--:-- John Bickley: Exactly.
--:-- John Bickley: Now, I had the chance to ask Washington's OSPI about this.
--:-- John Bickley: They told me disclosing a student's new gender identity to parents could violate privacy laws if the student hasn't given permission.
--:-- John Bickley: Based on their guidelines, the school makes the call on whether the student's family is, quote, harming them.
--:-- John Bickley: Now, Washington state is not the only state with a controversy around students and gender identity, right?
--:-- Maraid Alordi: That's right.
--:-- Maraid Alordi: North Carolina is another one. It now allows students to change their name and sex on state records without parental consent.
--:-- Maraid Alordi: This has heightened concerns among some about schools tacitly encouraging children to change their identities behind parents' backs.
--:-- Maraid Alordi: Parents in California, New York, Texas, and Florida have actually accused schools of pushing their kids to change genders.
--:-- Maraid Alordi: So the bottom line is that this is poised to become an even bigger issue around the country.
--:-- Maraid Alordi: And it sounds like parents and even some teachers are starting to really push back on some of these policies.
--:-- John Bickley: Thanks, Maraid.
--:-- John Bickley: Daily Wire investigative reporter, Parade Alordi.
--:-- John Bickley: Other stories we're tracking this week.
--:-- John Bickley: On Tuesday, a Georgia jury found the three white men convicted of murdering Ahmaud Arbery, guilty of federal hate crimes.
--:-- John Bickley: Prosecutors argued that the three men were motivated by, quote, pent-up racial anger, whereas the defendants argued the men had recognized Arbery from security footage.
--:-- John Bickley: On Monday, Columbia's constitutional court decriminalized abortion up to 24 weeks of pregnancy.
--:-- John Bickley: The decision will allow women to seek out an abortion without being prosecuted.
--:-- John Bickley: Mexico's Supreme Court made a similar move in September, and Argentina's Congress legalized abortion in 2020.
--:-- John Bickley: And Britney Spears has reportedly secured a $15 million book deal with Simon & Schuster for a tell-all memoir.
--:-- John Bickley: 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.
--:-- John Bickley: That's all the time we've got this morning.
--:-- John Bickley: Thanks for waking up with us.
--:-- John Bickley: We'll be back tomorrow with the news you need to know.
