--:-- Georgia Howe: Welcome to Morning Wire, I'm Georgia Howe.
--:-- John Bickley: And I'm John Bickley, Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Comedian Dave Chappelle is set to host Saturday Night Live this weekend.
--:-- John Bickley: This is Dave Chappelle. He tells jokes for a living.
--:-- Georgia Howe: We'll tell you why not all the writers are laughing about the choice of the controversial comedian.
--:-- John Bickley: I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley.
--:-- Georgia Howe: It's November 12th, and this is your Saturday edition of Morning Wire.
--:-- John Bickley: Have you booked your holiday travel yet?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Higher prices and longer lines could gobble up your budget.
--:-- John Bickley: And Washington Commander's owner Dan Snyder faces legal problems and Brittany Greiner is moved to a penal colony.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That and more on our Saturday Sports News Roundup.
--:-- John Bickley: Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: And as for the coffee itself, well, Black Rifle is very selective about where they source their coffee beans and very disciplined when it comes to ensuring the freshness of every single bag.
--:-- John Bickley: And right now, you can go to blackriflecoffee.com and use promo code WIRE for 10% off your first order or when you sign up for a coffee club subscription.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's blackriflecoffee.com with promo code WIRE for 10% off your first order, or when you sign up to become a Coffee Club member.
--:-- Megan Basham: After sparking staff walkouts at Netflix in 2021, comedian Dave Chappelle is reportedly facing another round of industry boycotts, this time at Saturday Night Live.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Daily Wire culture reporter Megan Basham is here now to tell us about the latest controversy surrounding Chappelle.
--:-- Megan Basham: So Megan, it seems like Hollywood, or at least some of it, may not be ready to re-embrace Dave Chappelle.
--:-- Georgia Howe: What's going on?
--:-- Megan Basham: Yeah, maybe not, because there are reports that some staff writers at SNL are still pretty upset about what Chappelle said in that special, and that was titled, for those who forgot, The Closer.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So also, just to further refresh everyone's memories a little bit here, since it has been over a year, what he did was make some jokes about transgender people.
--:-- Megan Basham: And in particular, his comments about trans activists attacking Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling drew quite a bit of outrage.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And it canceled it because she said in an interview, and this is not exactly what she said, but effectually, she said gender was a fact.
--:-- Megan Basham: And then the trans community got mad and they started calling her a TERF.
--:-- Georgia Howe: I didn't even know what the f*** that was.
--:-- Megan Basham: But I know that trans people make up words to win arguments.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So I looked it up. TERF is an acronym. It stands for trans-exclusionary radical feminist.
--:-- Megan Basham: This is a real thing. I'm team TERF. I agree. I agree, man. Gender is a fact.
--:-- Georgia Howe: You have to look at it from a woman's perspective.
--:-- Megan Basham: So just a small sample there.
--:-- Megan Basham: But because of that, Netflix saw a staff walkout over its decision to air the special, despite complaints from some trans activists and their supporters.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And that ultimately ended with Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos telling employees that if they didn't feel like they could work on material they disagreed with, then they'd just have to work somewhere else.
--:-- Megan Basham: So that brings us to Saturday Night Live.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So the show booked Dave Chappelle to host for the third time this Saturday and word is that some of the staff writers are boycotting
--:-- Megan Basham: After Chappelle appearance was announced one of the writers who identifies as trans and non posted an Instagram selfie from SNL 30 Rock studio with this message and I'll just quote, transphobia is murder and it should be condemned.
--:-- Georgia Howe: But that said, Chappelle's reps say he didn't see any evidence of a boycott when he visited 30 Rock for show meetings last week.
--:-- Megan Basham: SNL is not responding to media requests for comments so far.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, what about the SNL cast? Any word from them?
--:-- Megan Basham: Well, reports are that they're happy to perform alongside Chappelle, and there may be some pretty good reason for that.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So at the end of last season, we saw one of the largest cast member turnovers ever in the show's history.
--:-- Megan Basham: Eight stars left.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And that included three of the biggest names of recent years, Kate McKinnon, Aidy Bryant, and Pete Davidson.
--:-- Megan Basham: The last time we saw a turnover that big for the cast was in 1995.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, along with that, the show has also been struggling in ratings recently.
--:-- Megan Basham: In fact, last year's season opener was the lowest premiere in the show's history.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And like a lot of late night comedy, SNL has also suffered from some criticism that it's too political, too partisan.
--:-- Megan Basham: People say it almost exclusively makes jokes at the expense of the right.
--:-- Georgia Howe: In fact, you've even heard some left-wing critics arguing that the show has been too soft on President Biden.
--:-- Megan Basham: So SNL creator Lorne Michaels has not said much about those accusations, but he has said that season 48 is going to be a year of reinvention.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And apparently booking a lightning rod like Chappelle, who counts some conservatives among his fans, may be part of that reinvention.
--:-- Megan Basham: Now, has Michaels ever addressed the fact that SNL seems to be pretty partisan?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Or has he justified at all why they make fun of the right so much more than the left?
--:-- Megan Basham: He did, actually.
--:-- Georgia Howe: In 2014, he said it's because Republicans are better able to take a joke.
--:-- Megan Basham: He basically said that they tend to find caricatures of themselves funny, while Democrats tend to take it personally.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Coming up as travel season fast approaches, travel costs are going up.
--:-- Georgia Howe: GoodRanchers.com slash wire.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Good Ranchers, American meat delivered.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Amid higher jet fuel costs and airline staffing shortages, brace yourself for a difficult holiday travel season.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: That's according to airline CEOs.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Here to give us the details is Daily Wire's Charlotte Pence Bond.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Charlotte holiday travel is notoriously hectic, and people are likely excited to be fully traveling again.
--:-- Georgia Howe: But what can travelers expect this season in particular?
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: In a nutshell, high prices and long lines.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That doesn't sound good.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Right. Delta CEO Ed Bastian recently said that travelers booking flights in advance for the holidays are up a lot more than last year.
--:-- Georgia Howe: An average round-trip ticket is going to be around $380, which is 38% more than it was in 2021.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Haley Berg a top economist for the travel app Hopper she said that the cost of flights are already 40 higher or more than they were last year and at least 20 to 30 up from 2019
--:-- Georgia Howe: There are also some shifts in how people are traveling.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Chief commercial officer for United Airlines Andrew Nocella said people are booking flights on different days around the holidays rather than all on the same day.
--:-- Georgia Howe: People who work remotely can be a little more flexible than they used to be if they worked in an office.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Yeah, that makes sense.
--:-- Georgia Howe: What are some reasons for the high costs?
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: It seems that prices would go down as restrictions on travel loosened up.
--:-- Georgia Howe: You would think. Even though more people are traveling now than during the pandemic, a lot of airlines aren't doing as many flights as they used to.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: The cost of jet fuel has almost doubled.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And of course, there were recently still staffing shortages.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: It's a good idea to try and buy your flights early and also to be flexible because a lot of money can be saved if you travel on those surrounding days or on the actual holiday.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Booking an earlier flight can also help avoid delays.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: And if your flight is canceled, you can also try calling the international number of an airline, which can go around the domestic line.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's an interesting trick there.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: So those staffing shortages you're talking about, those were huge this summer.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Do we expect to see cancellations like that again?
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Hopefully not. Airlines are addressing the lower levels of staff by cutting back on flights, and they've been trying to hire more people.
--:-- Georgia Howe: In a recent interview, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg addressed the tax dollar spending that went to airlines during the pandemic and how it impacted staffing.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: These dollars, these taxpayer dollars that went to rescue the airlines, they did have strings attached.
--:-- Georgia Howe: If you took that taxpayer money, you couldn't turn around and fire people left and right.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: But there were still a lot of early retirement where people, including pilots, they were very hard to replace.
--:-- Georgia Howe: They were nudged into early retirement, or at least encouraged to do that, in a way that left the airlines without some of the resilience and readiness they needed.
--:-- David Cohn: Three major stories rocked the sports world this week, involving Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder, WNBA star Brittany Griner, and Kyrie Irving of the Brooklyn Nets.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Here with the latest is sports writer and Crane & Company co-host David Cohn.
--:-- David Cohn: Hey, David. Hey, how are you?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Good. So let's start with Dan Snyder and the Washington Commanders. What's the latest there?
--:-- David Cohn: The Attorney General for the District of Columbia, Carl Racine, announced this week that his office is suing Dan Snyder, the Commanders Organization, the NFL, and Commissioner Roger Goodell for colluding to deceive district residents and for not fully cooperating with an investigation into toxic workplace culture.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Remember, it was Racine's office which launched an investigation into the team around the time a U.S. House committee was also investigating the organization regarding this workplace cultural misconduct.
--:-- David Cohn: Some are questioning whether Carl Racine has jurisdiction over this matter, considering the commanders are technically located in Landover, Maryland.
--:-- Georgia Howe: But it's worth noting the team is being investigated on multiple fronts, John, including by the attorneys general of Virginia and D.C. now, Congress, as well as the NFL.
--:-- David Cohn: So a lot of eyes on this organization.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Exactly. Now, as for Dan Snyder's future in the NFL, he and his wife have retained the services of Bank of America Securities to consider potential transactions.
--:-- David Cohn: This could potentially include the sale of the franchise.
--:-- Georgia Howe: When asked if Snyder is considering a full sale of the organization or just looking for minority stakes a commander spokesperson stated we are exploring all options
--:-- David Cohn: It worth noting Forbes currently has the Washington franchise valued at $5.6 billion.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So if somebody buys this, it's not going to be cheap.
--:-- David Cohn: It's not going to be me.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, there was also news released this week about Brittany Griner, that's the WNBA star who was imprisoned in Russia.
--:-- David Cohn: What can you tell us on that front?
--:-- Georgia Howe: The process has begun for Brittany Griner to be transferred from the Moscow prison, where she is currently incarcerated, to a Russian penal colony, the conditions of which are said to be much harsher and prisoners are often forced into labor.
--:-- David Cohn: This is a move that her family has feared since she was convicted on drug charges in August.
--:-- Georgia Howe: It remains unclear how the move will affect negotiations between U.S. officials and Russia regarding her release.
--:-- David Cohn: The Biden administration is believed to have offered convicted Russian arms dealer Victor Bout in a two-for-one deal, including Brittany Griner and fellow American prisoner Paul Whelan.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Russia has apparently demanded more in return, and they have also instructed U.S. officials to keep any negotiations private.
--:-- David Cohn: Yeah, there's been a lot of attempts to get more information about that, and it's hard to get.
--:-- Georgia Howe: In other basketball news, we have Kyrie Irving.
--:-- David Cohn: He's been suspended by the Brooklyn Nets for what many are calling anti-Semitic behavior.
--:-- Georgia Howe: What are the details of Irving's suspension?
--:-- David Cohn: Yeah, this situation continues to unravel.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Kyrie Irving tweeted a link recently to a controversial movie which many believe promotes anti-Semitic sentiments.
--:-- David Cohn: The backlash from this action has been intense, and Irving initially offered no apology.
--:-- Georgia Howe: He has now been suspended indefinitely by the Brooklyn Nets until he fulfills six conditions set forth by the organization.
--:-- David Cohn: The first of which is to issue an apology.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Conditions two through five are really to complete sensitivity training with the Jewish community and meet with the Anti-Defamation League.
--:-- David Cohn: Also, a $500,000 donation towards causes and organizations that work to eradicate hate.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And then step number six, after he completes one through five, is to meet with NETS owner Joe Tsai.
--:-- David Cohn: to demonstrate the lessons learned and that he understands the gravity of the harm done.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So far, Kyrie Irving has only apologized.
--:-- David Cohn: We don't know about any of the other conditions.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, Mark Stein reports that the list could possibly have been crafted with the knowledge that Irving is unlikely to complete all six conditions, which could lead to his release by the franchise.
--:-- David Cohn: Nets owner Joe Sy is clearly disappointed.
--:-- Georgia Howe: He said, Kyrie appears to support a film based on a book which is full of anti-Semitic disinformation.
--:-- David Cohn: This is bigger than basketball.
--:-- Georgia Howe: John, even corporate sponsors are retaliating.
--:-- David Cohn: Nike co-founder Phil Knight said this week, Kyrie stepped over the line and that's why we ended the relationship.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Definitely several situations in the sports world to keep an eye on.
--:-- David Cohn: David, thanks for coming on.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thank you.
--:-- John Bickley: Another story we're tracking this week.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Tennessee lawmakers filed a bill Wednesday that would ban gender transition medical treatments and procedures for children in the state.
--:-- John Bickley: The Protecting Children from Gender Mutilation Act would bar doctors from prescribing puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and performing gender-related surgeries on minors for the purpose of medical transition.
--:-- Georgia Howe: It would also allow patients and their families to sue for damages.
--:-- John Bickley: That's all the time we've got this morning.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for waking up with us.
--:-- John Bickley: We'll be back tomorrow with the news you need to know.
