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--:-- Georgia Howe: Big banks, tech, and real estate companies are cutting staff at a concerning rate.
--:-- John Bickley: You know, we've seen a lot of tech layoffs, but SNAP's doing some of the deepest cuts we've seen. They're laying off approximately 20% of their global workforce.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Is America in the midst of a white-collar recession?
--:-- John Bickley: I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley. It's Thursday, September 15th, and this is Morning Wire.
--:-- Georgia Howe: A new investigation finds that medical school applicants must pass an ideological litmus test if they hope to attend a top school.
--:-- John Bickley: We speak to the Ivy League professor who authored the report.
--:-- Georgia Howe: We found example after example of these kinds of discriminatory questions that suggest that a political ideology needs to be in the applicant's mind.
--:-- John Bickley: And the Biden administration has proposed changes to Title IX rules adding sexual orientation and gender identity.
--:-- Georgia Howe: What's been the reaction to the proposals and when would they go into effect?
--:-- John Bickley: Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Do you like to be the first to know about trendy news and current events? If so, you've got to get the Daily Wire Plus app.
--:-- John Bickley: Not only will you receive mobile notifications whenever something's happening, but you'll also have access to the best commentary to break it all down.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Download the Daily Wire Plus app and keep up with the facts no matter where your day takes you.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Just days after the stock market suffered its biggest single-day loss in over two years, a number of large companies announced a series of mass layoffs, adding to what economists have termed the white-collar recession.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Here are the latest on which industries are being hit the hardest and how it could impact the average household, is Daily Wire's senior editor, Cabot Phillips.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So after initial COVID lockdowns came to an end, there was a nationwide hiring push, unlike anything we'd seen in decades, as companies in every industry scrambled to staff up after being forced to thin the ranks during the pandemic.
--:-- Georgia Howe: But now that hiring surge has completely turned as the U.S. heads into a recession and the economic outlook continues to show ominous signs.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Companies are responding not only by pulling job listings and implementing hiring freezes, but also with mass layoffs.
--:-- Georgia Howe: On that note, a survey last month of hundreds of CEOs found that over half were planning to reduce their company's headcount this coming year.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So not what you want to hear from business leaders. Which industries are being most impacted by these mass layoffs?
--:-- Georgia Howe: We're seeing the most drastic layoffs in the tech industry, where over 41,000 workers have been laid off this year alone.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: On that note, this week, tech giant Patreon announced they'd be laying off 17% of their workforce and closing a number of offices. That news came the same day Netflix announced a new round of layoffs, bringing the total number of employees they'd fired over the past three months to nearly 400.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Last month, we saw similar news out of the social media giant Snapchat, which fired 20% of its employees, 20%.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: And remember, over the summer, Tesla founder Elon Musk said the company would likely need to cut 10% of its workforce to remain profitable in coming years.
--:-- Georgia Howe: But beyond the tech industry, we've seen notable firings at Goldman Sachs.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: While they typically do have a seasonal performance-based layoff, they paused it during the pandemic, and now it's back in full force.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Goldman Sachs is as much of an institution as you're going to find in the American economy, but their profit last quarter dropped 50% from the year before, which we should note wasn't totally unexpected.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: But if they go through with these cuts, it would be the first significant layoffs we've seen on Wall Street since before the pandemic.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And that's not the only warning sign we've seen from the banking industry this week.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: This week we found out that for the first time since 2018 there was a decline in the amount of money Americans deposited into their bank accounts, with deposits falling at US banks by a record $370 billion compared to the previous quarter.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That is the single largest decline on record and appears to be indicative of the fact, in large part, at least, that people simply had less money to save because the cost of living is going up so much and inflation has decimated wage gains.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Well, yet some more concerning news from the economy.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Cabot, thanks for the reporting.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Anytime.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips.
--:-- Megan Basham: A new report reveals that top medical schools are weeding out applicants who voice skepticism about diversity, equity, and inclusion policies.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The report contends that the application process for doctors has been compromised by viewpoint discrimination.
--:-- Megan Basham: Here to tell us more about this report, who conducted it and what it discovered is Daily Wire culture reporter Megan Basham.
--:-- Megan Basham: So Megan, to start, how did this report come about?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Hey, John. Well, the research was conducted by a nonprofit called Do No Harm.
--:-- Megan Basham: And that's a group comprised of people in the healthcare industry who want to protect it from what they say is radical, divisive, and discriminatory ideology.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So it was founded by Dr. Stanley Goldfarb, And he's a nephrologist who previously served as associate dean at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.
--:-- Megan Basham: Now, Goldfarb's group sees a serious problem with what you might commonly call wokeness in health care.
--:-- Georgia Howe: In the past, they've filed complaints with the Department of Education, arguing that schools are in violation of the Civil Rights Act because of race-based discrimination on things like awarding scholarships.
--:-- Megan Basham: Just recently, they sued a medical journal for excluding white candidates from a fellowship program.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, this report, though, is focused on viewpoint discrimination.
--:-- Megan Basham: Okay, so tell us about that. What were the parameters of the investigation and what did it find?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Yeah, so Do No Harm reviewed the admissions process for 50 of the top-ranked medical schools.
--:-- Megan Basham: And that included Harvard, Duke, Columbia, just really top schools.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And they found that they were asking leading questions about identity politics, basically in order to screen out dissenters.
--:-- Megan Basham: So it's said that these questions were used to detect a candidate's support for concepts like systemic racism.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Do No Harm said it was clear that affirming that view increased the applicant's chance of acceptance into medical schools and, I'll quote, signals to all applicants that they are expected to support this new cause.
--:-- Megan Basham: So one example question they offered came from the University of Minnesota, and it said, again, quote, our country is reckoning with its history, racism, racial injustice, and especially anti-Black racism.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Please share your reflections on, experiences with, and greatest lessons learned about systemic racism.
--:-- Megan Basham: And then there was another one from the University of Pittsburgh that said, We are interested in combating all forms of systemic barriers and would like to hear your thoughts on opposing specifically systemic racism anti plus discrimination and misogyny How will you contribute End quote
--:-- Georgia Howe: And the report found that three out of four of the nation's top 50 schools were using questions like this as part of their admissions process 80% of the top 10 schools were.
--:-- Megan Basham: And if an applicant didn't affirm that systemic racism is a problem that DEI policies need to address, they were screened out.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Well, Do No Harm didn't quantify it with hard numbers, but Morning Wire talked to Dr. Goldfarb.
--:-- Megan Basham: And he said it was very clear that these questions served as an ideological litmus test.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Yes. If they're not aligned with these ideas, the presumption is they're going to fall down on the scale of the applicants and have less chance of entering medical school.
--:-- Megan Basham: Otherwise, there would be no point in asking these questions.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So every one of the medical schools that we talked about had questions like this.
--:-- Megan Basham: So the report concluded many questions cross a clear line from asking applicants to describe their background and life experiences to demanding their explicit support and enthusiasm for a worldview and agenda that is fundamentally political in nature.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, is this just happening at the elite medical schools or others?
--:-- Megan Basham: No, it's not. So Do No Harm reviewed the applications process for many schools outside of that top 50 ranking.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Didn't provide numbers, but it said that the practice was common there as well.
--:-- Megan Basham: So another conclusion from the report said that top medical schools have woven their commitment to woke politics into their application process and that they're really asking future doctors to prove their commitment to divisive ideologies or they risk being rejected from medical school.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Well, I'm curious to find out what kind of effect these policies are having on the medical profession.
--:-- Megan Basham: Megan, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Yeah, anytime.
--:-- Megan Basham: That was Daily Wire culture reporter, Megan Basham.
--:-- Ash Short: The Biden administration's proposed changes to Title IX, a statute that prohibits discrimination based on sex, have brought a record number of comments from parents, many concerned about women's sports and their children's safety.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The proposed rules would expand the protections under Title IX to include sexual orientation and gender identity.
--:-- Ash Short: Here to discuss the situation is Daily Wire senior editor Ash Short.
--:-- Ash Short: So Ash, what has parents so concerned?
--:-- Georgia Howe: So the Biden administration proposed changes to the policy on the 50th anniversary of Title IX, largely as an attempt to undo the changes former education secretary Betsy DeVos implemented relating to how allegations of sexual assault are litigated on campus.
--:-- Ash Short: The Biden administration really inflamed parents, though, when they announced that Title IX would now cover sexual orientation and gender identity rather than biological sex, which would have implications for things like girls' bathrooms and sports.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And at the end of last week, the education department had received more than 184,000 public comments setting a record.
--:-- Ash Short: Most of those comments addressed the proposals relating to gender identity.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That 184,000 number already set records. There was actually some controversy around the real total.
--:-- Ash Short: Politico reported on Tuesday of last week that the regulations.gov tally was showing a staggering 349,000 public comments.
--:-- Georgia Howe: But by Friday, that tally was quietly revised down to 184,000, causing some to ask where those surplus 160,000 comments went and what they contained.
--:-- Ash Short: Now, of the comments that we can see, what are parents saying?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Parents are primarily angry at what the proposed regulations would do to women's sports.
--:-- Ash Short: Parents pointed to Aliyah Thomas as an example of what will happen if male athletes are allowed and encouraged to join women's sports.
--:-- Georgia Howe: They say that Title IX was created to give women access to college sports and allowing men to participate would effectively void the original intention of the statute
--:-- Ash Short: The main outrage is the gender identity provisions, but those bleed into other areas as well, such as parental rights and freedom of speech.
--:-- Georgia Howe: As we've learned through various reports, schools have been integrating transgender inclusion into K-12 education, which in some cases has involved encouraging students to experiment with dressing as the opposite sex.
--:-- Ash Short: In many cases, schools have adopted policies to keep students' sex confusion confidential from parents.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The wholesale adoption of gender ideology on campus has also resulted in concerns about speech, as many students don't feel able to express their true feelings about things like males entering female restrooms, for example.
--:-- Ash Short: Now, this whole Title IX revision project was initiated to undo some changes made by the Trump administration regarding campus sexual assault.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's something that you've been covering for about a decade.
--:-- Ash Short: What new rules is the Biden administration proposing there?
--:-- Georgia Howe: It's not so much new rules as undoing the due process protections put in place by the Trump administration and allowing schools to return to the Obama era model of the single investigator.
--:-- Ash Short: That basically means that when schools get a complaint about sexual assault, they appoint one administrator to act as an investigator, judge, jury, and executioner.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Critics say this isn't fair and that many of these Title IX administrators go in with a strong bias against male students.
--:-- Ash Short: A recent lawsuit filed against Brown University involved a student who recorded one such investigator to show how she misrepresented what he said in her report that was used to punish him.
--:-- Georgia Howe: I know from my own sources that the parents of students who claim they were falsely accused and the lawyers who have represented them have been submitting public comments regarding the need for due process.
--:-- Ash Short: The Biden administration, however, claims that there is also a strong constituency who are demanding the new changes.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, if these new changes are approved, when would they go into effect?
--:-- Ash Short: The public comment period ended on Monday, so the next step is for the administration to take those comments into consideration.
--:-- Georgia Howe: If they go ahead and approve these rules, they would go into effect for the 2023 to 2024 school year.
--:-- Ash Short: All right. Well, Ash, thanks so much for reporting.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Anytime.
--:-- Ash Short: That was Daily Wire senior editor Ash Short.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Other stories we're tracking this week.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Ahead of a looming rail workers strike, Amtrak canceled all of its long-distance routes starting Thursday.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Nearly two-thirds of Americans, including most Democrats, say President Joe Biden's attacks on MAGA Republicans are dividing the country.
--:-- Georgia Howe: According to the poll, 62% of Americans agreed that the White House's attacks increased division in the country, while just 29% disagreed.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Indiana's abortion ban goes into effect on Thursday, the first of its kind since the Dobbs decision.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The measure provides exceptions for incest, rape, and specific medical situations.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The CDC says that the rate of new monkeypox cases is slowing across the country.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Jim Beam announced plans Wednesday to ramp up bourbon production using renewable energy.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The company says the $400 million expansion project will increase capacity by 50% while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for listening to Morning Wire.
--:-- Georgia Howe: We created this show to bring more balance to the national conversation.
--:-- Georgia Howe: If you love our show and you stand with our mission, please consider subscribing, leaving us a five-star rating, and most importantly, sharing our podcast with a friend.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's all the time we've got this morning.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for waking up with us.
--:-- Georgia Howe: We'll be back tomorrow with the news you need to know.
