--:-- Georgia Howe: I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief John Bickley. It's Friday, December 1st, and this is your Morning Wire afternoon update.
--:-- John Bickley: The COP28 United Nations Climate Summit kicked off in Dubai on Thursday. The first day of the two-week summit started with a warning from UN Chief Antonio Gutierrez, who said we are, quote, living through climate collapse in real time.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The day ended with the creation of a loss and damage fund, which would be used to help poor and developing nations with the effects of climate change. The UAE and Germany pledged $100 million, the UK gave $75 million, and the US pledged $17.5 million. The fund will be operated by the World Bank.
--:-- John Bickley: On Thursday, the Environmental Protection Agency issued a sweeping edict that all lead pipes in the US must be replaced within the next 10 years. The ambitious plan is expected to cost $15 billion. The goal is to reduce the amount of lead in drinking water in homes, schools, and public buildings.
--:-- Michael Reagan: We have close to 10 million lead pipes in use today in this country. Due to a lot of systemic racism and racist policies like redlining and housing disparities, a lot of our Black and brown communities live in these areas, these homes, these communities that have aged infrastructure where the lead pipes haven't been replaced. Therefore, we're seeing a disproportionate impact on these communities.
--:-- Georgia Howe: An airplane crossed the Atlantic Ocean this week powered only by fat and sugar. The Virgin Atlantic flight took off from London and landed in New York without using any fossil fuels. It was powered by, quote, sustainable aviation fuel, which was made up of raw materials such as corn, animal fat, algae, municipal trash, and sewage.
--:-- John Bickley: The flight was a one-time stunt used to prove these sorts of flights are possible, but it will take years of research and development before sustainable aviation fuel could become more common.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Dozens of seniors in New York, including a 94-year-old Army veteran named Frank Tomorrow, were evicted from their senior center, which was then converted into a migrant shelter. City officials have estimated that tens of thousands of migrants have entered the city since last spring, which is costing around $5 million per day.
--:-- Frank Tomorrow: I had lived in the center for five years and intended to spend the rest of my days there until I and other members were notified that we were being kicked out. After I was evicted, my family found out that the center was turned into a migrant shelter. It isn't fair. These people, they're coming in and they're getting the cream of the crop. I don't think it's fair at all. I was satisfied where I was until they drew me out. It was scary. I didn't know where I was going.
--:-- John Bickley: Congress expelled and battled Representative George Santos today after two federal indictments against him in a damning ethics report. The expulsion of the New York Republican required a two-thirds majority, which was easily surpassed by the GOP-led House.
--:-- Georgia Howe: A recent report by the House Ethics Committee accused the congressman of creating a complex web of unlawful activity for his own professional and financial interests. Charges against him include fraud, money laundering, and identity theft. Some Republican leaders feared an expulsion could set a bad precedent since he is yet to be convicted of any crimes.
--:-- John Bickley: Elon Musk will not vote for Joe Biden. The moderator of the New York Times Dealbook Summit tried to pin down the Tesla and ex-owner on which presidential candidate would get his vote.
--:-- Elon Musk: I think I would not vote for Biden. You'd vote for Trump. I'm not saying I'd vote for Trump, but I mean, this is definitely a difficult choice here. Would you vote for Nikki Haley? Nikki Haley, by the way, wants all social media names to be exposed, as you know. No, I think that's outrageous. Yeah, no, I'm not going to vote for some pro-censorship candidate.
--:-- Georgia Howe: During the interview, Musk reiterated the importance of the First Amendment and said that the old Twitter used to be a sock puppet for the government.
--:-- John Bickley: The nine-year-old boy who was labeled a racist by Deadspin writer Karen J Phillips spoke out about his experience on The Jesse Waters Show along with his father, Holden Armenta.
--:-- Holden Armenta: He said it was scary when he was singled out for wearing a Native headdress and painting his face at a Kansas City Chiefs game. My son says the time for an apology from the Deadspin writer has passed. The damage is already done. It's, you know, worldwide. Now there's comments all over. There's disrespect towards Native Americans and towards my family. We never in any way, shape, or form meant to disrespect any Native Americans or any tribes. The tribe we're from doesn't even wear that type of headdress. This specific headdress is it's a costume piece. That's exactly what we had purchased it for and wore it for. It's a nine-year-old boy supporting his team.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor passed away on Friday morning at the age of 93. O'Connor made history as the first woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court when she was appointed by former President Ronald Reagan in 1981. She retired in 2006 after serving nearly a quarter of a century on the nation's highest court. She died in Phoenix, Arizona from complications related to dementia and a respiratory illness.
--:-- John Bickley: Those are your drive home updates this afternoon. To learn more about these stories, go to dailywire.com. And for more in-depth discussion of the biggest stories of the day, listen to the latest full episode of Morning Wire every morning.
