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--:-- Host: Georgia Howe: Dozens are confirmed dead after catastrophic flash floods sweep through central Texas. We speak with a helicopter pilot on the front lines of the rescue and recovery operation.
--:-- Host: Georgia Howe: I had to come. If it was my babies, I'd want somebody looking, so that's why I'm here. I'm Georgia Howe. John is on vacation this week, so Cabot Phillips is filling in. It's Monday, July 7th, and this is Morning Wire.
--:-- Host: Georgia Howe: President Trump's big, beautiful bill is now the law of the land. But what exactly is in it and what does it mean for Americans? That's the one big, beautiful bill. It helps Wall Street and Main Street. And just weeks after Mom Donnie's stunning win, New Yorkers are sounding the alarm. The guy who wants to defund the police, take over the stores. And when everything falls apart, it always does. It always works that way. It never has worked any other way. anarchy and dictatorships prevail.
--:-- Host: Georgia Howe: Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
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--:-- Host: Georgia Howe: Catastrophic flooding has killed at least 70 people in Central Texas, including 27 children. Officials describe the disaster as a once-in-a-century event. Here to talk about the tragedy unfolding in Texas is Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce.
--:-- Tim Pierce: So for people just catching up, Tim, what happened over the weekend in Texas? Dozens are still missing in central Texas after flash floods caused rivers to surge. Kerr County, west of Austin, was the hardest area hit. There, the Guadalupe River rose 26 feet in just 45 minutes.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Here's a time-lapse of what that looked like. This was early morning on Independence Day, an especially popular time for camping by the river. In many cases, people didn't realize the danger until water was already by their beds. That's what happened in the case of Julian Ryan. He died from blood loss after he cut his arm, punching out a window to save his family. His family made it through, thankfully.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Here was Ryan's fiance afterward. He looked at me and the kids and my mother-in-law and he was like, sorry, I'm not going to make it. I love y'all.
--:-- Tim Pierce: The case that has grabbed the most attention, at least nationally, is Camp Mystic. That's a Christian all-girls camp in Kerr County. Every year, hundreds of girls go there to camp and have fun by the river and take part in a spiritual retreat. The flood caught the camp by surprise, and dozens of campers and counselors were killed. And at least 11 girls are still missing as of this recording. It's absolutely agonizing for those parents.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Now, you spoke to someone involved in the recovery. Tell us about that.
--:-- Tim Pierce: That right Hundreds of volunteers have turned out in the impacted areas helping officials comb through mud and debris searching for the missing persons And because of the flood damage to roads helicopters have been particularly indispensable We caught up with one volunteer pilot Gary Haven the founder of women fitness brand Curves International He been working with a disaster response charity Operation Hilo for years This time he been volunteering near Marble Falls about 100 miles north of Curveville Here's what he said about the volunteer effort.
--:-- Gary Haven: There's about half a dozen helicopters with all volunteers with that organization, and we're doing a mission. You can't get to the flood areas. The roads have been washed out, so helicopters are the only way. So we've got a fire department, all sorts of emergency rescue people, and they're all out now combing the Pacific Creek. It's called Cow Creek, where we have three people missing. It's an awful job. They trudge along in the debris because a lot of times the bodies will be caught in the debris, and it's miles. And, of course, from the helicopter, we search the riverbanks and fly low and slow. So, you know, and hopefully we also get to find people that are alive and bring them back.
--:-- Gary Haven: Haven said they've also gotten some outside help from the federal government and Elon Musk. Musk sent Starlink devices to the impacted areas for use by first responders. And from the Trump administration, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has been on the ground to provide assistance wherever it's needed. Trump also signed a disaster declaration on Saturday to open up more resources. And of course, many are praying for the families of those who have been lost. and for the safety of those still missing.
--:-- Gary Haven: Pope Leo, who is the first American pope, gave a special invitation to pray on Sunday. I would like to express sincere condolences to all the families who have lost loved ones, in particular their daughters who were at summer camp in the disaster caused by the flooding of the Guadalupe River in Texas in the United States. We pray for them. And we join him in that.
--:-- Gary Haven: Now, was this flood a complete surprise or was there warning? Yeah, there's been a lot of finger pointing over the early warning system and why people camping by the river were caught unprepared, especially in the case of places like Camp Mystic. The National Weather Service and the Texas Division of Emergency Management both warned of severe flooding risk. People should have received those as alerts on their phones, but the most serious alerts came late at night when most people were already asleep. Even then, this was a once-in-a-century flood. So it's understandable if people didn't fully realize what was coming. Now the question is what more steps should have been taken? Well, no doubt there will be an investigation into that.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Thanks for reporting. Thanks for having me.
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--:-- Host: Georgia Howe: After months of heated debate, President Trump's so-called big, beautiful bill is now the law of the land. And Cabot, you have been tracking this story from the beginning. How did President Trump get this across the finish line?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, President Trump had initially given a July 4th deadline for passage, which looked implausible at the end of last week. That's because Speaker Mike Johnson had promised members a 72-hour period to review the changes made by the Senate. But when it became clear that that timeline would push the vote past the deadline he changed course and instead started the vote on July 3rd where it passed 218 to 214 That allowed President Trump the opportunity to sign his signature legislation from the White House lawn on Independence Day complete with a big band blaring patriotic tunes and a flyover from B-2 bombers.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Are we ready? Are we ready? Yeah! We are ready. Yeah!
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Now, throughout this entire long process, President Trump has made clear that he views this bill as a means of codifying many of his top campaign promises and giving the American people what they voted for in November. We've delivered no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, and no tax on social security for our great seniors. Now, we've heard a lot of debate about this bill, but what's actually in it? So among other things, it will allow taxpayers to write off interest payments on car loans and establish new Trump accounts for babies born between 2025 and 28. Those will include a one-time $1,000 federal contribution to an investment fund on every child's behalf. From there, families can contribute up to $5,000 annually and then withdraw those funds once they're 18.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: And of course, it puts $46 billion towards construction of the border wall and tens of billions of dollars more towards deportation efforts. Now, a lot of the debate has centered around Medicaid. What did we see in the final bill on that front?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, in order to offset the massive, again, trillions of dollars worth of tax cuts, The bill does include about a trillion dollars in cuts to entitlements over the next decade, specifically Medicaid. Democrats say this will force millions of Americans off of Medicaid and cut funding to hospitals nationwide. But on the other side, Republicans say Medicaid has become bloated in recent years with folks who are taking advantage of the system. They note that Medicaid enrollment exploded during the COVID pandemic when continuous enrollment was implemented. As a result, around 8 million people were added to the program in the last four years alone. And over that same time frame, disenrollments were put on pause.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: The GOP says it's now time to bring Medicaid back to pre-pandemic levels and ensure that able-bodied young people in particular are not taking advantage of the system. Now, what would the work requirement look like? Well, for context, in recent years, 40 states have passed laws expanding Medicaid eligibility to include low-income, able-bodied adults. That means those who were able to work but were not. Republicans say millions of Americans gained the system by remaining enrolled even when their income exceeded the minimum threshold or again, by not even attempting to find work. So they included a provision that says able-bodied Medicaid applicants between the ages of 18 and 64 must work at least 80 hours a month or be actively seeking a job in order to qualify.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: And that once you're enrolled, you've got to prove every six months now that you are still qualified. Here's National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett making the case for that provision. The work requirement is that you need to be looking for work or even doing volunteer work, and you don't need to do it until your kids are 14 or older. And so the idea that that's going to cause a massive hemorrhaging in availability of insurance doesn't make a lot of sense.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Now, more broadly, the Trump administration says that the best way to get health insurance is to get a job. And they say this bill will result in economic growth and add millions of new jobs, thus reducing the number of people who need to be enrolled in Medicaid in the first place. So it sounds like we're returning to pre-pandemic requirements. In many ways, yeah.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: All right. Well, thanks for reporting. Absolutely.
--:-- Host: Georgia Howe: New York City elites are panicking about the prospect of Zoran Mamdani becoming mayor and enacting his radical socialist policies. From high-ranking Democrats and finance and tech figures to bodega owners and cops, they are all sounding the alarm. Daily Wire investigative reporter Mairead Elordi is here with more.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: Hi, Cabot. So the big players in New York City are all scrambling about what to do about Momdani right now. Bill Ackman, the billionaire hedge fund manager, is throwing his full endorsement and financial weight behind current mayor Eric Adams. Ackman called Momdani a socialist slash communist and said his policies would be, quote, catastrophic for New York City.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: Previously Ackman was considering funding a new challenger just to beat Momdani and he said he was ready to spend hundreds of millions of dollars backing a challenger By the way Mamdani identifies as a democratic socialist but he has been criticized as even being a communist Here he is discussing whether billionaires should exist I don't think that we should have billionaires because frankly it is so much money in a moment of such inequality And ultimately, what we need more of is equality across our city and across our state and across our country. And I look forward to work with everyone, including billionaires, to make a city that is fairer for all of them.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: You can see why a lot of New Yorkers might be concerned by that. And it's not just high-level business leaders. Cops and small business owners are also sounding the alarm, right?
--:-- Mairead Elordi: Yes. So one group that's very concerned is New York City bodega owners. They're afraid that Mamdani's proposal for grocery stores run by the government will put them out of business. Here's Fernando Mateo, spokesperson for the United Bodegas of America.
--:-- Fernando Mateo: Most bodega owners are immigrants. And they come here to try to make a living and do the right thing by the city. A bodega is not just where you sell food. There are also community centers. So if you're able to infiltrate government into the private sector, you're basically ruining the dreams and the spirits of all these small business people who have risked everything they have, borrowed everything they could borrow to open their small business.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: Cops may quit in droves if Mamdani wins too. The NYPD is already having trouble recruiting and retaining officers. More than 1,500 cops have quit this year. And with Mamdani's anti-police stances, union officials are warning it will only make it harder to keep cops on the streets. The president of the Police Benevolent Association, Patrick Hendry, called Mamdani anti-cop and said he has an extremist attitude and it's going to scare other cops and they will go out the door.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: Now, Mamdani is already facing some personal controversy since winning the primary. Give us some details on this college application scandal.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: Right. So the New York Times reported Thursday that Mamdani identified as both Asian and Black or African American on his college application to Columbia University when he applied as a high school senior in 2009. He was ultimately rejected from the Ivy League school. Mamdani was born in Uganda, but told the outlet he doesn't identify as either Asian or Black, but rather as, quote, an American who was born in Africa. He said he was trying to capture the fullness of my background.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: Of course, at the time, Colombia was using affirmative action and factoring race into their admissions process. So that raises questions about why Mamdani checked multiple boxes for his race. Alumni of Colombia immediately came out to slam Mamdani. One accused him of trying to exploit this country's legacy of slavery that oppressed African slaves.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: Mamdani is, of course, under intense scrutiny now, not just by Republicans, but by lots of Democrats and New Yorkers who would otherwise usually support the Democratic nominee. And he can blame his radical policies for that.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: Yeah, worth noting, fewer than 30% of registered Democrats in the city turned out for the primary. We'll see if and how the other 70% vote in the general.
--:-- Host: Georgia Howe: Mairead, thanks so much for reporting. Thanks, Cabot. Thanks for waking up with us.
--:-- Host: Georgia Howe: And if you're watching on YouTube, please like and subscribe. We'll be back later this evening with more news you need to know.
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