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--:-- John Bickley: Welcome to Morning Wire. I'm John Bickley.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And I'm Georgia Howe.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: Inflation hit its highest level in more than three decades, and as we approach the holiday season, shows no signs of slowing down. The concern about the rising inflation is paramount for the president, and I don't see it getting better before it gets worse. What's causing the prolonged inflation spikes? And what's the Biden administration doing to stop it?
--:-- John Bickley: I'm John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Thursday, November 11th. Happy Veterans Day.
--:-- Georgia Howe: This is Morning Wire.
--:-- John Bickley: The Kyle Rittenhouse trial took several dramatic turns on Wednesday when Rittenhouse took the stand. At one point, the 18-year-old defendant broke down in tears, and in a particularly tense moment, the judge heavily criticized the prosecutor. We'll discuss the case with a reporter who's been on the scene for the trial in Kenosha.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And another COVID controversy inserts more politics into the sports world. Star NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers has come under fire from the sports media, which has accused him of lying to the public by saying he was immunized from COVID despite choosing not to get the shot. Rodgers has responded to his critics.
--:-- John Bickley: Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
--:-- Georgia Howe: This show is sponsored by Birch Gold Group. Inflation is destroying the dollar. Birch Gold Group can help you protect your IRA or 401k with a precious metals IRA. Text WIRE to 989898 to claim a free info kit on physical gold and silver. There's zero obligation. Text the word WIRE to 989898 to protect your savings today.
--:-- John Bickley: With the holidays approaching, new data from the Labor Department shows that inflation was even worse than expected last month. with prices on common consumer goods rising at the fastest rate in more than three decades.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Here with the details on what's causing the spike and how it's going to impact your wallet is Daily Wire's Cabot Phillips.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So Cabot, you've been tracking this rising inflation story for a little while now. Tell us what's new in this data.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, it's worse than anything we've seen since December of 1990. That's according to the Labor Department's Consumer Price Index, which is just a fancy way of saying the price of stuff people buy every day. They found that over the last year, the average price of everything from gasoline and groceries to healthcare and rent has gone up 6.2%. Over the summer, we saw similar price increases, but they were mainly isolated to certain products like used cars, meat, and computers. But at this point, it's all products. If you're a consumer, there's not really any way of avoiding the price increases because everything is now more expensive.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So beyond higher rent and grocery prices, how is this impacting the average family? To put it bluntly, it means you're not making as much money as you think you are. Even if you got a 6% salary bump this year, you're essentially still making less money than you were last year because your money doesn't go as far. It's worth basically 6.2% less now.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Coming out of the pandemic, one of the few encouraging economic signs was that wage rates were up across the board as employers worked to fill newly open positions. But now those wage gains are basically being erased because of inflation. So those new higher wages are just not keeping up with inflation. Exactly.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: And that reality is in pretty stark contrast with the messaging we seen so far from the Biden administration on the topic. Their messaging to this point has been that rising inflation rates would only really impact the wealthy. White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain, for example, tweeted in October that inflation was, quote, a high-class problem. And Press Secretary Jen Psaki said inflation was only up because the unemployment rate had gone down and the economy is turning back on. But that's just not the case, as people can see right now.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: And a lot of Americans can really attest that this is not a high-class problem alone. And are they correct when they say that COVID is to blame for this inflation? Yes and no. Most economists agree that a certain level of inflation is normal after an economic recession like the one we're coming out of. As millions of people quickly return to the workforce, supply and demand can get thrown off, which does impact inflation rates. But economists also point to a few other causes that the Biden administration seems to be ignoring, mainly the role of government spending in all of this.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Over the last two years, well over $6 trillion has been poured into the economy as part of COVID relief. That's about a third of our country's entire GDP. And anytime a market is flooded with that much new cash, money for everyone becomes worth less. It's Econ 101.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: A lot of people are also blaming the Federal Reserve, saying they haven't done enough to address the issue. Remember, one of the main jobs of the Fed is to keep inflation in check. Typically, they aim for around 2%. And obviously, we're seeing rates that go well beyond that.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So looking ahead, do we anticipate things are going to get better anytime soon? That is the million-dollar question, or I guess trillion-dollar question. Officials from the Federal Reserve have repeatedly said not to panic, that inflation rates were right where they expected them to be coming out of the pandemic and would drop back down soon. But they've now had that same message for months. And obviously, things aren't getting better. They're getting worse pretty fast.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: And there actually seems to be more evidence than not that things are only going to continue in that direction as winter approaches and energy costs start to take off. Right. I mean, this was a major concern with all of the COVID spending last year. People are really feeling it now.
--:-- John Bickley: That's Daily Wire's Cabot Phillips.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Coming up, Kyle Rittenhouse takes the stand.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: Kyle Rittenhouse's defense team began making its self-defense case on Wednesday, one day after the prosecution rested. The trial took some dramatic turns on Wednesday when Rittenhouse testified in his own defense and broke down in tears on the witness stand, while the judge lost his patience with the prosecution.
--:-- Daily Wire Investigative Reporter: Yeah, definitely. So yeah, we got to hear Rittenhouse himself testify for the first time yesterday. As he described the moment he felt surrounded by protesters before he fired his first shot, he broke down and began sobbing, at which point the judge called a break to let him collect himself. Right, video of that went viral.
--:-- Daily Wire Investigative Reporter: So you know this is the first time we heard from Kyle directly and that actually led to a confrontation between the judge and the prosecutor. What happened there?
--:-- Daily Wire Investigative Reporter: Right So the prosecutor Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger began quizzing Rittenhouse about his decision to remain silent after the shootings but before the trial Rittenhouse's lead defense attorney, Mark Richards, objected, and Judge Bruce Schroeder sent the jury out of the room and actually raised his voice at Binger as he reprimanded him, telling him that Rittenhouse's silence is, quote, basic law and that you can't impugn guilt based on silence.
--:-- Daily Wire Investigative Reporter: I was astonished when you began your examination by commenting on the defendant's post-arrest silence. That's basic law. It's been basic law in this country for 40 years, 50 years. I have no idea why you would do something like that.
--:-- Daily Wire Investigative Reporter: The judge also admonished Binger for bringing up a piece of video evidence that the judge had banned from the trial. Binger had tried to question Rittenhouse about a video from before the shootings in which Rittenhouse is heard saying that he wished he had his gun to shoot several hooded people running out of a CVS holding items. The judge shouted at Binger and warned him. Don't get brazen with me. So I don't want to have another issue as long as this case continues. Is that clear?
--:-- Daily Wire Investigative Reporter: The judge clashed several times with Binger during the first week of the trial as well. He has also not been thrilled with the media coverage of the trial and actually warned jurors on the first day that some coverage may be, quote, irresponsible or deliberately biased.
--:-- Daily Wire Investigative Reporter: Yeah, that statement turned some heads. Do we know what exactly he was referring to?
--:-- Daily Wire Investigative Reporter: Well, it's not clear exactly what Schroeder was thinking of, but a lot of the media coverage of this trial has opted not to highlight certain parts of the video footage that have been available for months. For example, the prosecution was originally arguing that Rittenhouse chased the first man he shot, Rosenbaum, before the two switched places and Rosenbaum chased Rittenhouse. Several mainstream outlets highlighted that claim from the prosecution. However, video evidence casts significant doubt on the claim that Rittenhouse chased Rosenbaum at any point.
--:-- Daily Wire Investigative Reporter: It was also widely reported that Rittenhouse crossed state lines with the illegal firearm. That, too, was not accurate. Right. There's been lots of inaccurate reporting on this case out there.
--:-- Daily Wire Investigative Reporter: So we've seen the judge, you know, berate the prosecution. Did the judge come down hard on the defense for anything?
--:-- Daily Wire Investigative Reporter: Well, he overruled a few of their objections, but he didn't raise his voice at any point at the defense. It seemed like most of the headline-grabbing moments were with the prosecution. Meanwhile, Rittenhouse's lawyer is asking for a mistrial now for what he says is the prosecution crossing the line in questioning. The judge says he's taking it under advisement, but it seems unlikely he'd actually take that step.
--:-- John Bickley: Daily Wire investigative reporter Maraid Elordi.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers has had a tumultuous few days. After testing positive for COVID last week, Rodgers spoke at length regarding his decision to remain unvaccinated and infuriated the media in the process. Here to tell us more is Daily Wire reporter Joe Morgan.
--:-- Joe Morgan: So Joe, lots to cover here. Yeah, Georgia, there really is. So just to take a step back, Rogers tested positive for COVID last Wednesday. Due to the nature of his mandatory quarantine, we then knew that he was unvaccinated. The reason why this is newsworthy is because most of the public believe Rogers was vaccinated based on him saying he was, quote, immunized back in August. Once it was made known that he was in fact unvaccinated, the media pounced, calling Rogers a liar and saying that he endangered those around him.
--:-- Joe Morgan: Rogers has not worn a mask during in-person press conferences, which is a violation of NFL rules for unvaccinated players. And Rogers has since given his side of the story, though, correct?
--:-- Joe Morgan: Oh, yeah. So Rogers is not one to shy away from explaining the way he views things. So on Friday Rogers hopped on the Pat McAfee show He has a weekly appearance on the show and spent 45 minutes discussing his reasons for not being vaccinated questioning the NFL rules for the unvaccinated, and even questioning why the vaccine has become so political.
--:-- Joe Morgan: First of all, I didn't lie in the initial press conference. During that time, it was a very, you know, witch hunt that was going on across the league where everybody in the media was so concerned about who was vaccinated and who wasn't and what that meant. And at the time, my plan was to say that I've been immunized. It wasn't some sort of ruse or lie. It was the truth.
--:-- Joe Morgan: Roger said that he learned that he has an allergy to an ingredient in the mRNA vaccines and that he was not comfortable taking the Johnson & Johnson shot due to some people having bad reactions to the J&J. He decided to go an alternative route and says the NFL was well aware of his status. He petitioned the NFL to accept his immunization status and was denied.
--:-- Joe Morgan: So really, the NFL did know and considered him unvaccinated the entire time. So did the Packers organization, which ultimately are responsible for, you know, really adhering to these COVID protocols during the season. OK, so this wasn't a surprise to anyone. No, it really wasn't, except to the public.
--:-- Joe Morgan: So Rogers has been considered unvaccinated by the NFL since the whole beginning of the season. Yeah, that's right, which would mean he's subject to many restrictions, including wearing a mask at all times while at the Packers facility and while giving in-person press conferences. Rogers said that he followed all the protocols, quote, to a T, minus the one that requires mask wearing while giving a press conference in a room full of masked and vaccinated reporters.
--:-- Joe Morgan: He then went on to discuss the political nature of the vaccine, questioning why the left was so against the vaccine with President Trump in office and really now so gung-ho on the vaccines with President Biden in office. When Trump in 2020 was championing these vaccines that were coming so quick, what did the left say? And I'm talking about every member of the left. Don't trust the vaccine. Don't get the vaccine. You're going to die from the vaccine. And then what happened? Biden wins and everything flips. Shouldn't that initially give you a little bit of pause and go, hold on a second. Isn't it about health and not about like politics?
--:-- Joe Morgan: And I'm assuming that this appearance got Rodgers in some hot water with the media. Yeah, I mean, they flew off the handle. So ex-players and members of the media called him a liar and expressed how disappointed in him they were. Hall of Famer Terry Bradshaw said he was disappointed in him, and Howard Stern said he should be out of the league altogether.
--:-- Joe Morgan: Rodgers went on McAfee's show on Tuesday and apologized to, quote, anybody who felt misled by those comments. He also said that it's time for him to get back to football as the Packers prepare for the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday. Rogers is able to return to the team on Saturday, so he's hopeful that he'll be able to play.
--:-- Joe Morgan: As for the Packers, they were fined $300,000 by the NFL on Tuesday, and Rogers was fined $14,650 for his infractions.
--:-- John Bickley: That's Daily Wire sports reporter Joe Morgan.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Those are our big stories for the day. 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. That's all the time we've got this morning. Thanks for waking up with us.
--:-- John Bickley: We'll be back tomorrow with the news you need to know. If you like this podcast, subscribe to our Morning Wire newsletter, available exclusively to Daily Wire members. Get the Morning Wire newsletter delivered straight to your inbox when you join at dailywire.com slash subscribe. Use code Morning Wire to try a Reader's Pass membership and get your first month for only 99 cents.
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