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--:-- Host (John Bickley): I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley. It's June 10th, and this is a Saturday edition of Morning Wire. A new public health initiative to give out free crack pipes and Narcan to drug addicts is stirring up controversy in New York City. And a first-in-the-nation publicly funded Christian charter school is testing the limits of the Constitution in Oklahoma. They are wanting to see this tested. They want to push the limits of government funding for religious education. Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): According to sworn testimony from a high-ranking intelligence official, the United States has recovered multiple craft of, quote, non-human origin and illegally withheld details of a decades-long reverse engineering program from Congress. Here with more on the whistleblower and the reaction among lawmakers is Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips. Capit, some explosive claims here on a topic that's really started to gain traction in Washington. What can you tell us?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, when this story first broke, I think a lot of people thought it was some kooky tabloid fodder from a government employee looking for their 15 minutes of fame. Right. But when you dig into the credentials of this whistleblower and the response from the intelligence community, it's hard to ignore. We'll start with the man behind the claims, David Grush. Grush was a decorated combat officer in Afghanistan and served as the senior intelligence officer for the National Reconnaissance Office. And more importantly, he served in the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, where he headed up the agency's analysis of UFOs. In this role, Grush was briefed on top-secret government programs that he says involved the attempted reverse engineering of, quote, intact and partially intact vehicles that were of non-human origin.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: According to Grush, whose story was first published in the debrief, the Pentagon concluded the craft were non-human based on, quote, material science testing and the possession of unique atomic arrangements and radiological signatures. Here he is speaking publicly for the first time on News Nation this week. When you say crash retrieval, what do you mean? Non-human, exotic origin, vehicles that have either landed or crashed. We have spacecraft from another species. We do, yeah. How many? Quite a number.
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--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): A number of other officials vouched for his story on the record. One of those people is Jonathan Gray, a high-ranking official at the National Air and Space Intelligence Center, who's currently working on investigating UAPs for the government. Gray said he's been briefed on these same programs for a decade and confirmed Grush's account, stating, quote, the non-human intelligence phenomenon is real, and adding that government UFO programs, quote, should no longer remain secret. Carl Nell, a retired Army colonel who worked with Grush on the UAP task force, also corroborated his claims saying the Pentagon has come to the quote indisputable realization that at least some of these technologies derive from non intelligence.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So why are these whistleblowers going public now? Well, a big reason is that the government has really legitimized the subject of UFOs in recent years. Back in 2017, the Pentagon admitted for the first time to the public that they'd spent decades investigating what they call UAP, Unidentified Aerial Phenomena. And in 2022, they launched the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office, or ARO, to compile evidence from the intelligence community and different branches of the military. And importantly, last year, Congress overwhelmingly passed a measure to ensure legal protection for government whistleblowers like Grush, who came forward with top-secret information on UFOs.
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--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): According to Grush, he went forward because the Pentagon has for decades been illegally hiding its UFO findings from Congress, intentionally keeping them in the dark. In response, he filed an official complaint with the inspector general for the intelligence community, alleging they had, quote, purposely and intentionally thwarted legitimate congressional oversight of the UAP program. He also said that he faced retaliation from within the government for telling Congress what he knew, which would be against the law under this new Whistleblower Protection Act. As a result of that complaint, the inspector general's office interviewed people currently working on these alleged crash retrieval programs, and they reportedly verified Grush's account.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: According to the inspector general, his complaint was deemed, quote, credible and urgent, and sent to the Director of National Intelligence and also Congress for further investigation. So this thing is making its way to the highest levels of government. Yeah, it is. What sort of reaction has this story garnered? Yeah, it has certainly made waves in Washington. House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer announced this week that Congress is already organizing a hearing on the matter.
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--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): Tennessee Rep Tim Burchett sits on the Oversight Committee. Here's what he had to say about the hearing on Fox. We're not alone and we'll get some answers. And I talked to that man yesterday and I'm hoping that he'll be hearing as well. For their part, the Pentagon released a statement saying there is, quote, no information to substantiate the claims, while the White House refused to comment, directing all inquiries on the matter to the DOD.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: And it's worth noting, there are plenty of people skeptical about Grush's claims. They say the most likely explanation is not extraterrestrial, but likely some form of misinformation campaign from the government. Regardless, the search for answers is on in Washington. Yeah, and a lot of people very much interested in this topic.
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--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): Newly installed drug-themed vending machines in New York City were cleaned out overnight after being installed on Monday. City officials say the vending machines, which include various paraphernalia, including crack pipes and Narcan, will help prevent overdoses. Daily Wire investigative reporter Maraid Elordi is here with the details for us.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Hi, Georgia. Yes, so New York City officials announced Monday that the city has installed the first of four of these vending machines. According to a city health department official, the big blue vending machines will be installed in some of New York's most drug-infested neighborhoods. The vending machines will offer free drug paraphernalia, including, quote, safer smoking kits that include a crack pipe, mouthpiece, and lip balm for smoking crack and crystal meth.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: The machines also offer the emergency overdose drug naloxone, which has a brand name Narcan, and drug test strips that detect fentanyl. People can also pick up other non-drug related items from the machines like condoms, tampons, nicotine gum, and first aid kits. The first vending machine does not include syringes for drugs like heroin but future machines may include them. Drug addicts can access the free items by punching in their New York City zip code.
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--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): So is the idea that free pipes and lip balm is going to make it safer to smoke crack? Right, that is the idea. City officials held a press conference Monday, and during that, the city health commissioner, Dr. Ashwin Vossen, said that public health vending machines are, quote, an innovative way to meet people where they are and to put life-saving tools like naloxone in their hands.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: He noted that New York City is in the throes of an overdose crisis that kills one New Yorker every three hours. City officials claim similar vending machines in Philadelphia and Nevada, as well as Denmark and Australia, have proven effective at lowering the overdose rate and spread of diseases. Vassan also said that New York has a, quote, rising tide of fentanyl that is compounded by other deadly substances and drugs.
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--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): He mentioned one of those substances, xylazine, known as tranc or the zombie drug, which is a veterinary drug that causes skin lesions that look like flesh is being eaten off and can slow a person's heart until it stops. Xylazine previously proliferated on the streets of San Francisco and Philadelphia, but it has recently hit the streets of New York with, quote, astonishing speed, according to law enforcement.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Now, the whole enterprise of handing out drug paraphernalia to drug addicts has upset a lot of people. What are the critics saying? Critics say drug addicts need help beating their addiction rather than just cleaner ways to indulge it. They say if the government makes it easier to use drugs, addicts will just use them more often. And that may in fact be a valid criticism.
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--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): The vending machines were apparently cleaned out within hours after being installed, and addicts have been reported asking for the machines to be refilled multiple times daily. One of the machines is right next door to a supportive housing facility operated by a housing and health care charity. Officials say it's the site of many medical emergencies. Neighbors say this machine will only add to those incidents.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: We don't need this on our block. The only people that need it in this community are the people in this building. They should put it in the lobby. Last year when this plan was announced, Councilman David Carr, a Staten Island Republican who represents neighborhoods who might get a vending machine, said it's irresponsible to simply place vending machines filled with syringes and Narcan in neighborhoods without providing addicts the support and real assistance they need.
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--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): Now, what do the overdose rates look like in New York right now? Fatal overdose data for 2022 is still being compiled, but officials estimate 2022 may have been the deadliest year on record for drug overdose deaths. There were 1,370 fatal overdoses in the city in just the first half of 2022. In all of 2021, there were 2,668 overdose deaths in New York City, a record number. In 2020, that number was 2,100. About 84% of those deaths involved an opioid and 80% of them involved fentanyl, according to the New York City Department of Health.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Well, the city is certainly correct that there is a crisis. Maraid, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Thanks, Georgia.
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--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): Oklahoma has officially given the green light to the nation's first religious charter school to be funded with taxpayer dollars. But critics say it's a violation of the separation between church and state. Daily Wire culture reporter Megan Basham joins us now to tell us about the school and the legal challenges it might face.
--:-- Megan Basham: So St. Isidore of Seville Virtual School will be a Catholic online charter school, and it will be run by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and the Diocese of Tulsa. The Oklahoma Charter School Board voted 3 to approve it this week. But of course, as a charter school, it won't collect tuition. It will be funded by taxpayers.
--:-- Megan Basham: As John said, this sets a historical precedent. Now, there are religious schools that receive some public money through specific programs, but none up to this point have been fully publicly funded. And that's what's sparking all the controversy. Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt told local TV station KOCO that to not approve the charter school just because it's religious would have been unconstitutional discrimination.
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--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): I don't believe the government should get in the way of parents sending the kids to the school of their choice. And so this is a Catholic charter school that came about that said, hey, we want to set up a great school in Oklahoma. We think it's a great idea. The United States Supreme Court said you cannot discriminate based on religion if we're going to be funding through a charter school system.
--:-- Megan Basham: Now, I imagine those who oppose this have a response to that. Yes, they certainly do. At the school board meeting where this decision was issued, several groups spoke out against it on the basis of church and state separation. And Oklahoma's own attorney general has called it unconstitutional and blamed three, quote, rogue actors on the school board for approving it.
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--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): He indicated that if the school board is sued, he's not going to represent them. This was what he told local Fox affiliate KOKH. Although those in the political narrative are saying, oh, this is a great victory for political liberty. In fact, it's the opposite. It's what we've done as of yesterday. We took a stake and drove it in the heart of religious liberty.
--:-- Megan Basham: And he said this will open up the floodgates for a host of other religious charter school applications that Oklahomans won't want to support. So now granting the Catholic charter, if there's a satanic application, we have to grant it. If there's a shiree law applicant, we have to grant that. And I think although Oklahomans in general would support any Christian activity, this is not about Christian and non-Christian. This is about, you know, the rule of law.
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--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): Americans United for Separation of Church and State has called it a, quote, sea change for American democracy. And they've already promised to bring legal action. The group's president, Rachel Laser, said of it, and I'll just quote, it's hard to think of a clearer violation of the religious freedom of Oklahoma taxpayers and public school families.
--:-- Megan Basham: But there is some reason to think that the Supreme Court could take a friendly view of this school. SCOTUS ruled in 2020 and 2022 that religious schools cannot be excluded from government-funded scholarship or tuition programs. And in that 2022 opinion that involved a tuition aid program in Maine, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that states are not required to subsidize private education. But once they open that door, they can't discriminate against religious schools by denying them the same access to funds.
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--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): Megan, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Megan Basham: Anytime. Thanks for listening to Morning Wire. We created this show to bring more balance to the national conversation. 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. Also, you may have heard John and I are officially on Twitter. I'm also sharing some behind-the-scenes content on Instagram, which John has not caved and joined yet, but you can find all those links in the description. That's all the time we've got this morning. Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back this afternoon with an extra edition of Morning Wire. Thank you.
