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--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): The NFL is back, and FanDuel's got everything you need to play your game. From same-game parlays to live betting. Right now, new customers bet $5 and get $300 in bonus bets if you win. 21-plus in president select states. 18-plus in Kentucky and Wyoming. Must be first online real money waging. $5 deposit required. Bonus issued is non-withdrawable bonus bets that expire seven days after receipt. Restrictions apply. See full terms at FanDuel.com slash sportsbook. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.
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--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): A new drug is being called a game changer in the fight against COVID. This is a drug that instantly slashes COVID deaths in half or more. We'll talk to Johns Hopkins Dr. Marty McCary about the new pill, the role of herd immunity, and predictions for whether we're going to see a third wave. I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley. It's Thursday, October 7th, and this is Morning Wire.
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--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): The Biden administration has reversed a Trump-era policy that blocked sending federal funds to abortion-referring family planning clinics. Are taxpayer dollars now being used to push abortions? And Attorney General Merrick Garland has come under fire from Republicans for, quote, weaponizing the Justice Department and intimidating parents who are critical of school boards and teachers. Senator Marsha Blackburn joins us to discuss concerns about what she says is the incredibly dangerous precedent set by Garland's DOJ. Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned.
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--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): We have the news you need to know. This show is sponsored by BetOnline. Football season is back and BetOnline is the number one spot for all your sports betting needs. Right now, new BetOnline users can earn up to $1,000 in bonus cash just for signing up. With the earliest betting lines and the largest selection of prop bets available online, sign up now and start this season off a winner with BetOnline.
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--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): A new medication from Merck, along with a growing body of data relating to natural immunity, has experts questioning the Biden administration's position on universal vaccination. Johns Hopkins doctor Marty McCary joins us to discuss the latest drug breakthrough and what he considers to be a more data-driven strategy for achieving herd immunity. Dr. McCary, thanks for coming on.
--:-- Dr. Marty McCary: My pleasure.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): So the biggest news this week on the COVID front is this new Merck drug. What can you tell us about it?
--:-- Dr. Marty McCary: This is the biggest game changer in the history of COVID since the vaccines. This effect of molnupiravir, which is Merck's new drug to treat COVID, is profound. This is not a small signal in the data. This is not a debatable survival benefit. This is a drug that instantly slashes COVID deaths in half or more. It's safe. It's a pill. It's taken over a five-day course. It's cheap. It doesn't need to be refrigerated, and it works against all variants. So the FDA needs to allow people to take this before they fully authorize it. We need to get this pill to people today.
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--:-- Dr. Marty McCary: The data on natural immunity are now overwhelming. You know, the test of time has allowed us to study it. In the past, it was just a battle of different theories. Turns out the hypothesis that our public health leaders had that vaccinated immunity is better and stronger than natural immunity was wrong. They got it backwards. And now we got data from Israel showing that natural immunity is 27 times more effective than vaccinated immunity, and that supports 15 other studies.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): Well, in light of that, you recently wrote an op-ed about how we could take a more science-based approach to vaccine deployment. Tell us about that.
--:-- Dr. Marty McCary: Back when we were doling out the vaccine with a limited supply, we were rationing, basically. Many of us were saying, hey, don't give it to people already immune since we have such a limited supply. Save more lives by getting first doses out to the vulnerable. If we would have done that, we would have saved tens of thousands of more American lives. And what's even more tragic is they continue to cling on to this hypothesis that they've had in public health that natural immunity is unreliable and undependable. Well, that doctrine is still ruining lives. How about some flexibility? How about recognizing natural immunity and allowing those who have circulating antibodies to get credit? That's how they do it in parts of Europe, and that's how they do it in Israel. People aren't dying because of it now.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): How about some flexibility? How about recognizing natural immunity and allowing those who have circulating antibodies to get credit? That's how they do it in parts of Europe, and that's how they do it in Israel. People aren't dying because of it now.
--:-- Dr. Marty McCary: We have enough vaccine to go around, but it's ruining the lives of people who are getting fired. Nurses who are heroes are now getting laid off. Soldiers are getting dishonorably discharged. They've got immunity. It's just not the type that our public health officials have sanctioned. This is a failure of government, not a failure of science.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): So for those people who are still holding out because they're maybe not sure about the safety of the vaccine, tell us a little bit about the safety profile.
--:-- Dr. Marty McCary: When I talk to doctors nationwide, it's pretty clear that vaccine-related complications are exceedingly rare and the vaccines we have are safer than any other vaccine we've ever had in the past. I think if you're on the fence about getting vaccinated, you want to do it right now, like today, because we are getting to a point where it's so contagious, it's ripping through the population very quickly.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): Now, there's also been a decline in COVID cases and hospitalizations. Do you think that decline is going to continue or are you thinking we're going to see another surge?
--:-- Dr. Marty McCary: I think we're done with the surges. What we may see is a bump in cases seasonally, depending on pockets of the country where there's low immunity rates. What we're seeing is that when very few people in the population are susceptible, that is almost everybody has either had COVID or the vaccine, you do see this rapid decline. It's basically a part of herd immunity kicking in. And remember, breakthrough infections are real. They will happen, but they have downgraded COVID from a major public health threat to a mild common cold-like illness.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): All right. Well, Dr. McCary, thank you so much for coming on today.
--:-- Dr. Marty McCary: Good to be with you, Georgia.
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--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): That was Johns Hopkins, Dr. Marty McCary. Coming up, President Biden reverses a Trump administration pro-life policy. You can get this show and all of the content you love wherever you are, all on the Daily Wire app. Even if you're not a Daily Wire member, you'll be the first to know what's trending with mobile notifications for the latest news, and you'll get content from all your favorite Daily Wire shows. Download the Daily Wire app and keep up with the facts no matter where your day takes you.
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--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): The Biden administration just reversed a Trump-era policy that blocked federal funds from going to family planning clinics that refer women to get abortions. Bringing us the latest updates is Daily Wire's Charlotte Pence bond.
--:-- Charlotte Pence bond: So, the Department of Health and Human Services just announced a new rule that would revoke the requirements of the 2019 regulations put into place during President Trump's time in office. This would mainly include removing restrictions on non-directive options counseling and referrals for abortion services.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): So what exactly does that mean?
--:-- Charlotte Pence bond: So essentially the Trump rule let clinics direct people towards an abortion or refer them to an abortion. The new rule means that abortion-referring clinics, like Planned Parenthood, can now access funds through Title X, and it's set to go into effect on November 8th.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): So it would basically allow these clinics getting funds from the government to refer people for abortions?
--:-- Charlotte Pence bond: Yes. And remind us, what is Title X?
--:-- Charlotte Pence bond: So the Title X Family Planning Program is a federal grant program for clinics to get money from the federal government. It has an annual budget of around $286.5 million, and the majority of people served by Title X providers are low-income, female, and under 30 years old.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): Okay. The Trump rule in 2019 affected organizations like Planned Parenthood. Rather than complying with the Trump rules, Planned Parenthood's affiliates and some other centers just didn't take the funding. They even challenged the rule in the courts, but they lost.
--:-- Charlotte Pence bond: It used to be fairly well-established and agreed-upon policy across party lines that taxpayer money shouldn't go to abortions, but some far-left Democrats have recently tried to change that. Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia, who has been one of the moderate faces of the Democratic Party in recent months, he said that the new reconciliation bill would be quote, dead on arrival if it didn't include the Hyde Amendment, which doesn't allow taxpayer money to go to most abortions.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): He's at odds with progressives in his party, but President Joe Biden said this week he would sign a reconciliation bill if it had the Hyde Amendment.
--:-- Charlotte Pence bond: So even though just this week, the White House said the president does not support the Hyde Amendment, he will still sign a bill with the Hyde Amendment in it.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): But it's important to note some progressives are adamant about keeping the Hyde Amendment out of the bill.
--:-- Charlotte Pence bond: So what's the reaction been to the Biden administration's reversal of this Trump policy?
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): Well, those who support abortion are clearly celebrating the move. Planned Parenthood's president said it was, quote, a huge victory for patients and a huge victory for sexual and reproductive health care.
--:-- Charlotte Pence bond: But the organization was still not satisfied, saying, quote, it's disappointing the final rule will allow providers to refuse to counsel or refer patients for abortions due to their own personal beliefs.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): So Planned Parenthood isn't satisfied because they actually want these organizations, even religious groups, to be required to refer abortions.
--:-- Charlotte Pence bond: Yeah. How has the pro-life side responded?
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): Well, pro-life advocates, they've condemned the rule. And they actually point to polling, John, that shows the majority of Americans are not in favor of using taxpayer funds for abortion.
--:-- Charlotte Pence bond: Well, Charlotte, thanks for the reporting.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): Daily Wire's Charlotte Pence Bond.
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--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): On Monday, Attorney General Merrick Garland directed the FBI and U.S. attorneys to investigate what it is calling a disturbing spike in harassment against teachers and school board members. But some Republican senators are saying the DOJ is being weaponized against parents who simply want accountability from schools for their children. Joining us now is Senator Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee.
--:-- Senator Marsha Blackburn: Hi, Senator Blackburn. Thanks so much for talking to us.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): You got it. So you sit on the Senate Judiciary Committee and that oversees the DOJ. Can you tell us a little bit about this memo that just came out?
--:-- Senator Marsha Blackburn: The memo that DOJ issued to the FBI, which of course sends it to their field offices, is to start collecting the names of individuals that are showing up and protesting at the school board meetings.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): So they going after parents who are showing up and questioning the actions of the school board?
--:-- Senator Marsha Blackburn: And of course all of these school board members are elected and the parents are questioning curriculum. Many of them are concerned about CRT. They concerned about the 1619 project. They're concerned about mask mandates. So they're showing up, they're asking questions. And now some of the school boards and the teachers unions who wrote the letter requesting that DOJ take this action, they want to have these individuals followed as domestic threats.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): So we're talking about thousands of parents here that are showing up at these meetings. So who are they determining is a threat and who are they determining is a parent exercising their rights?
--:-- Senator Marsha Blackburn: Well, we should realize that all of these parents have a First Amendment right to show up and to question. This is their right. But for any parent that shows up to question and to appear at a school board meeting to speak or to listen, to be termed a domestic threat or domestic terrorist, this is outrageous.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): What will this look like in practice. I mean, do you envision parents being arrested? What does it mean to be put on a list?
--:-- Senator Marsha Blackburn: Well, we don't know. We don't know because the DOJ just doesn't seem to have many answers, but they sure did get that memo out immediately when the teachers union wanted that memo sent.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): Well, that's interesting that you say that because I was going to ask, who is behind this push to target parents?
--:-- Senator Marsha Blackburn: We hear that it is the teachers unions. They've been upset with the activism of parents, the requirement of accountability. We've seen it time and again, all during COVID, as parents showed up to ask questions.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): What it appears is that the Biden administration is saying, if you object to a government takeover of your child, if you don't accept our progressive agenda, then we are going to put you on a list and you are not going to like being on this list.
--:-- Senator Marsha Blackburn: And how are members of the House and the Senate pushing back on this? It sounds like you're taking this on as an issue.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): We are taking it on. Those of us at Senate Judiciary are working on a letter to DOJ right now, and we will have that to them shortly.
--:-- Senator Marsha Blackburn: Senator Blackburn, thank you so much for coming on today.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): That was Marsha Blackburn, Republican senator of Tennessee. Another story we're tracking this week. Senate Democrats are considering a rule change that would end the filibuster and allow a simple majority to vote to fund the government without any Republican support. On Tuesday, President Biden told reporters that it was, quote, a real possibility. But in the meantime, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell seems willing to offer Democrats a deal that would fund the government until December.
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--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): If you like 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. 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 MORNINGWIRE to try a Reader's Pass membership and get your first month for only 99 cents.
