--:-- [Upbeat music fades out]
--:-- Georgia Howe: Good morning, and welcome to Morning Wire. I'm Georgia Howe, and I'm here with Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief John Bickley. It's Tuesday, February 15th.
--:-- John Bickley: Good morning, Georgia. 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.
--:-- Georgia Howe: As the Freedom Convoy continues in Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau takes a dramatic step, invoking emergency powers to crack down on protesters. Breaking the law. This is not a peaceful protest. We'll discuss the president's aggressive move and the response from the truckers and political leaders who oppose him.
--:-- John Bickley: A recall of the San Francisco school board president and two other board members is being held today. What led to the recall, and what does it mean for the culture war being fought over our nation's schools? And how did Americans respond to a more traditional and mostly politics-free Super Bowl? And will the healthy viewership boost NBC's record-low Olympics ratings? Plus, the latest on the crisis in Ukraine. Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned.
--:-- [Upbeat music starts playing]
--:-- Georgia Howe: Police have cleared trucks blocking a major trade route at the U.S.-Canadian border, but the trucker protest known as the Freedom Convoy continues in Ottawa. Now, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has declared a national emergency, allowing him to temporarily suspend civil rights. The federal government is ready to use more tools at its disposal to get the situation fully under control. The situation has been evolving quickly as the protest continues to spread to other areas in Canada and other nations. Here to catch us up on the latest developments is Daily Wire reporter Megan Basham.
--:-- Megan Basham: So, John said the Ambassador Bridge from Detroit into Ontario has now been cleared and that fewer than a dozen people were arrested, but that doesn't really mean this whole thing is over. No, it doesn't. And it may not even mean that the blockades are over. So right now, there are reports that the truckers are blocking other bridges into the country, including one that goes from Washington to British Columbia.
--:-- John Bickley: Because of that, as I said, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that he's going to evoke a 1988 emergency act against those protesters blocking the crossings and against the convoy currently occupying Parliament Hill. It allows the federal government to override the province's authority with temporary security measures intended for national emergencies. It's only been used once before in peacetime when a group of militants kidnapped a British diplomat.
--:-- Megan Basham: So the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance says one of those measures is going to include cracking down on the crowdfunding platforms that are supporting those truckers. We are broadening the scope of Canada anti laundering and terrorist financing rules The illegal blockades have highlighted the fact that crowdfunding platforms and some of the payment service providers they use are not fully captured under the Proceeds of Crime and Terrorist Financing Act.
--:-- Georgia Howe: But a lot of pundits are speculating that this could end up creating some bad optics for Trudeau because this protest has been generally peaceful and it has a lot of support. Already, the premiers of Alberta, Manitoba, Quebec, Saskatchewan, they're all saying they oppose this emergency act.
--:-- Megan Basham: Here's the premier of Quebec. I was very clear with the prime minister that the federal emergency act must not apply in Quebec. And I think that at this moment, it would not help the social climate.
--:-- John Bickley: Also, Trudeau has reportedly had some trouble getting on-the-ground authorities to cooperate. There are reports circulating on social media that police are fist-bumping the protesters on Parliament Hill instead of removing them. And Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported, and I'm just going to quote here, the tow trucks operators on contract to the city of Ottawa are taking a hard pass on request to haul vehicles out of protest areas.
--:-- Megan Basham: Now, are the truckers getting any results from their protesting at this point? Yeah, you have to say that they are. So already several members of Trudeau's party have broken with him, and Ontario is no longer going to require people to show proof of vaccination to enter indoor spaces.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, we've seen some pretty shocking claims in the media about these protests. For example, yesterday we saw Politico calling the protest far right. They printed claims that they've seen Nazi flags, Confederate flags. What are leaders on the ground saying about that?
--:-- Megan Basham: When I spoke to one of the street captains on Sunday, a man named David Paisley, he actually told me he thinks that a lot of that could be manufactured. He even speculated that he thinks these are false flag operators. So I've been here since the beginnings, and I have never seen a Confederate flag anywhere. I've never seen a Nazi flag.
--:-- John Bickley: These photos of this individual with the Confederate flag, they had a full ski mask, goggles, no identifiable logos on them. You'll see if you look at pictures of the actual protesters here, people have company names, their faces are exposed, the trucks have their companies on them, phone numbers. Like, no one's hiding here.
--:-- Megan Basham: And so this individual who's fully hidden, fully garbed, it all is a very, it is all very suspect. I also think it's important to note that while a lot of this media coverage has characterized the protesters as anti-vax, An estimated 90% of those Canadian truckers are already vaccinated. So what they're really protesting is vaccine mandates and passports, not the vaccine itself.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, what are American authorities saying about this? So far, Biden has really just urged Trudeau to use any means at his disposal to get this situation under control. But on the other side of the aisle, Republicans like Kentucky Senator Rand Paul are saying they're standing behind the truckers.
--:-- John Bickley: I'm all for it. Civil disobedience. And civil disobedience is a time-honored tradition in our country, from slavery to civil rights to you name it, peaceful protest. Clog things up, make people think about the mandates.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Well, I guess we're going to continue to see where this freedom convoy goes from here. Megan, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Megan Basham: Yeah, anytime.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's Daily Wire reporter Megan Basham. Coming up, San Francisco holds a significant recall election. This show is sponsored by Indeed. You trust Morning Wire for the news you need to know, but do you have a trusted source for your day hiring needs? That indeed instead of spending hours on other job sites hoping to find qualified candidates you need one powerful hiring partner that can help you do it all. Start hiring right now with a sponsored job credit to upgrade your job post at Indeed.com slash wire. Offer valid through March 31st. Indeed.com slash wire. Terms and conditions apply. Need to hire? You need Indeed.
--:-- [Upbeat music continues]
--:-- Georgia Howe: After making headlines for radical policies over the past year, the San Francisco School Board is facing a recall election of its president and two members today. Here to discuss what got us to this point is Daily Wire's Charlotte Pence Bond.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: So the San Francisco School Board has certainly been the center of attention around the country for specific actions the board has taken. Specifically, the board was planning to rename schools that were supposedly offensive and named after people like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln. But they then decided not to after backlash.
--:-- Georgia Howe: There's also some other drama with the board. They got rid of merit-based admissions at a high school because most of the students were Asian, so they changed it to a lottery system. Their decision was later changed in court. One of the board members who's being recalled, Allison Collins, she also tweeted some anti-Asian sentiments in the past, so that was a bad look for the board in the midst of the admissions issues.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Right, that case gained national attention. Yeah, it did. The parents who started this recall attempt have said it came out of issues with the board doing things like handling a budget crisis incorrectly and also not focusing on getting public schools open in the pandemic.
--:-- Georgia Howe: But San Francisco is a pretty liberal place, right? And even there, the policies aren't popular. It looks like it. In November, San Francisco Mayor London Breed had this to say about it. They have become a distraction, and if they really genuinely cared about our kids, they would get out of the way and allow us to move forward with people who understand financial management, who understand the need to put children before anything, before politics.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: So it looks like even the liberal mayor isn't behind these specific members. Is there anyone pushing for them not to be recalled at this point?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Well, some people who are against the recall point out how it's basically using taxpayer money to hold the election when the normal election is scheduled for November. Having an election at an unusual time means that fewer San Franciscans and less diverse San Franciscans will have our voices heard.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: So do we have any idea of what to expect from this recall? It's hard to say. Each of the individual members will be voted on, so all of them could be stripped of their roles or a few of them could be. If the members are removed, Mayor Breed selects and appoints new members for the rest of the four-year term.
--:-- Georgia Howe: All right, well, we'll see which way voters go in the election today. Thanks, Charlotte.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Daily Wire's Charlotte Pence Bond.
--:-- [Upbeat music continues]
--:-- Georgia Howe: After a highly competitive postseason, the NFL season came to an end Sunday night, with the Los Angeles Rams defeating the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20 in Super Bowl 56. Here to discuss some of the notable aspects of the event, including America's appetite for sports, is Daily Wire sports reporter Joe Morgan.
--:-- Joe Morgan: Yeah, John, there really is. I mean, for starters, the game itself was the major story, but there's much more to discuss besides the final score. The game was hosted at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. L.A. is still in a state of emergency due to COVID-19, making it a fascinating time to allow 70,000 fans into a stadium. In order to enter the stadium, fans were required to show either proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test. Once inside, masks were required to be worn. But that's not what happened, right?
--:-- John Bickley: No, not at all. The rule was blatantly disregarded and by some famous figures Who were some of the big names?
--:-- Joe Morgan: Well, as we saw on NBC telecast celebrity after celebrity was shown maskless including Ellen DeGeneres Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck. And then of course there was Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti Garcetti who famously told the media that he was holding his breath when pictures maskless at the NFC Championship game were taken, was once again pictured speaking closely with a group of people, not a mask in sight.
--:-- John Bickley: But on one level, this is a good thing, right? We're seeing society sort of moving past the pandemic.
--:-- Joe Morgan: Yeah, for sure. But as critics were pointing out over the last few days, the very same people calling for masks for children for 10 hours a day at school are disregarding their own rules.
--:-- John Bickley: Now, there's also the political angle with the NFL. We've had a lot of political messaging, players kneeling for the national anthem from the NFL over the last few years. Was there any of this at the Super Bowl?
--:-- Joe Morgan: You know, not as noticeable as we've seen in previous years. There was actually quite the Americana field of the game, if you will. Now, the Black National Anthem was sung prior to the game, but there was a beautiful rendition of the National Anthem and God Bless America, accompanied by a massive American flag. There was also a military flyover.
--:-- John Bickley: So for the most part, the NFL has backed away from the quote-unquote woke signaling, trying to allow viewers to just enjoy the game of football.
--:-- Joe Morgan: And what about the ratings? How has the NFL done this year? What about this game?
--:-- John Bickley: Yeah, the ratings are great. The league just saw their highest regular season numbers in six years, averaging 17.1 million viewers per game. The four divisional playoff games averaged 37.1 million viewers, which is a 21% increase over last year. For the Super Bowl, the preliminary numbers look great. While we're still waiting for the official numbers, the expectation is that Super Bowl 56 brought in a viewing audience of around 117 million viewers, which would make it the most watched Super Bowl of all time.
--:-- Joe Morgan: So very solid numbers, not like the Olympics. Not like the Olympics at all.
--:-- John Bickley: What are the latest numbers? Can you unpack those for us?
--:-- Joe Morgan: Sure. To put it simply, the Beijing Olympics have bombed through the first few days Wednesday of last week, actually. The ratings for primetime were down 55%.
--:-- John Bickley: I think it's interesting to see how Americans have come together in protest of the games being held in China while also turning their attention back to football, which seems to be connected to the NFL pulling back on at least some of their political messaging.
--:-- Joe Morgan: Yeah, that's an interesting comparison. Thanks, Joe.
--:-- Joe Morgan: Yeah, you got it. Daily Wire sports reporter Joe Morgan.
--:-- [Upbeat music continues]
--:-- Georgia Howe: Another story we're tracking this week. For the latest on the Ukraine-Russia crisis, Daily Wire's Ian Howarth.
--:-- Ian Howarth: Yesterday afternoon, Ukraine's President Zelensky said that he's expecting Russia to invade Ukraine on Wednesday. He spoke to his country's citizens in a video posted to social media, in which he said, We are told that February 16th will be the day of attack. We will make it a union day. The decree has already been signed.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Soon after, however, Ukrainian officials said he was being ironic. And on Sunday, Biden was the latest leader to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin. After the hour-long call, the White House said the war is still a, quote, distinct possibility, while the Kremlin is accusing the U.S. of creating, quote, unprecedented hysteria.
--:-- Ian Howarth: Meanwhile, the U.S. is sending more fighter jets to Poland.
--:-- 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.
--:-- [Upbeat music fades out]
--:-- Georgia Howe: This show is sponsored by GoodRancher.com. Biggest offer ever. $30 off of your first order plus free express shipping. Visit GoodRancher.com slash wire today.
--:-- [Upbeat music continues]
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for listening to Morning Wire.
