--:-- [Upbeat music fades out, and the hosts, John Bickley and Georgia Howe, introduce the show]
--:-- John Bickley: Good morning, I'm John Bickley.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And I'm Georgia Howe.
--:-- John Bickley: Welcome to Morning Wire.
--:-- Georgia Howe: We're your daily source for the news you need to know.
--:-- John Bickley: Today, we're covering a lot of ground. General Mark Milley testified in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee about the Afghanistan withdrawal and his phone calls with China.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's right. And we'll also be talking about New York City's vaccine mandate for teachers and school employees.
--:-- John Bickley: And Disney is facing a massive lawsuit over its Marvel movies.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So, let's dive right in. General Milley was put on the defensive over two issues: the much-criticized Afghanistan withdrawal and his phone calls with China.
--:-- [Music transitions to a more serious tone]
--:-- John Bickley: General Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was asked about the Biden administration's withdrawal from Afghanistan.
--:-- Ash Short: Well, mostly. It's interesting because Milley in particular admitted that the United States' credibility was likely damaged by the Biden administration's withdrawal.
--:-- John Bickley: That's right. And General Milley admitted that the US credibility was damaged.
--:-- Ash Short: But Biden's Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said he felt differently. He said, "I think our credibility remains solid."
--:-- John Bickley: That's a pretty stark difference in opinion.
--:-- Ash Short: Yeah. Not everyone on the panel defended the withdrawal, though. General Kenneth McKenzie, commander of U.S. Central Command, said he recommended the U.S. keep 2,500 troops in Afghanistan.
--:-- John Bickley: That's right. And General Milley agreed with that sentiment.
--:-- Ash Short: But it appears President Biden didn't follow that advice.
--:-- John Bickley: And we know that President Biden has said no advisors told him to keep troops there.
--:-- Ash Short: That's right. He said that in an interview with George Stephanopoulos.
--:-- John Bickley: But Senator Tom Cotton pointed out that President Biden's statement seems to contradict the testimony of his own advisors.
--:-- Ash Short: Yeah. That's right.
--:-- [Music transitions to a more serious tone]
--:-- John Bickley: Now, let's talk about General Milley's phone calls with China.
--:-- Ash Short: Well, earlier this month, Bob Woodward published a book that made some pretty explosive claims about a phone call Milley made to his Chinese counterpart, General Li Zhoujiang.
--:-- John Bickley: According to Woodward, Milley was worried Trump would "go rogue" and spark a war with China.
--:-- Ash Short: So he called his counterpart twice and assured him the U.S. would not strike.
--:-- John Bickley: But General Milley defended his calls, saying they were coordinated with the defense secretary and acting defense secretary at the time.
--:-- Ash Short: And he said he did not believe Trump would attack China.
--:-- John Bickley: But that seems to contradict Woodward's account.
--:-- Ash Short: Yeah. That's right.
--:-- [Music transitions to a more upbeat tone]
--:-- John Bickley: Now, let's talk about New York City's vaccine mandate for teachers and school employees.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: So, back in August, New York City's Mayor Bill de Blasio and other officials announced that all employees of the city's Department of Education would need to have at least one shot of the COVID vaccine by September 27th.
--:-- John Bickley: That's right. And the mandate applies to all public school staff, which is about 148,000 workers.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: And on Monday, a U.S. appeals court in Manhattan said the vaccine mandate can go forward.
--:-- John Bickley: That's right. And a Department of Education spokesperson said the mandate will go into effect on Friday.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: But an attorney who brought the lawsuit for the teachers said that he and another lawyer are asking the Supreme Court to get involved.
--:-- John Bickley: And where's the resistance to the mandate coming from?
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: Well, union leaders are saying the mandate will lead to staff shortages because it will result in thousands of teachers and staff being fired.
--:-- John Bickley: That's right. And Mayor de Blasio said that 87% of all DOE workers had gotten at least one dose.
--:-- Charlotte Pence Bond: But he sounded confident that the mandate would be successful.
--:-- John Bickley: And we'll be keeping an eye on this story.
--:-- [Music transitions to a more serious tone]
--:-- John Bickley: Now, let's talk about Disney's lawsuit over its Marvel movies.
--:-- Megan Basham: So, under the 1976 Copyright Act, authors or their estates can regain ownership of creative work after a certain number of years.
--:-- John Bickley: But it depends on the terms under which they created that material.
--:-- Megan Basham: So basically, if I pay someone to write a story, whether as an employee or as a work-for-hire assignment, then I own it.
--:-- John Bickley: But if they create the work on their own and then sell it to me, they can eventually regain some rights.
--:-- Megan Basham: So this past spring, the heirs of several Marvel comic book writers filed a suit claiming that they qualify as that latter group.
--:-- John Bickley: And the biggest names here are Steve Ditko, who co-created Spider-Man, and Larry Lieber, Stan Lee's younger brother, who worked on Iron Man and Thor.
--:-- Megan Basham: If Disney loses this lawsuit, it will have to start sharing profits generated from all of those big-name characters starting in June 2023.
--:-- John Bickley: That's right. And Disney has filed a countersuit to defend its sole ownership of these superheroes and all the money they generate.
--:-- Megan Basham: And the lawyer representing the creators says that they were all freelancers or independent contractors, not employees.
--:-- John Bickley: That's right. And this case has big implications for the future of intellectual property.
--:-- Megan Basham: Yeah. It's really that this intellectual property trend comes with some pretty big hazards of its own.
--:-- John Bickley: And we'll be keeping an eye on this story.
--:-- [Music transitions to a more upbeat tone]
--:-- John Bickley: That's all the time we have for today. Thanks for waking up with us.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And don't forget to subscribe to Morning Wire on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you're listening.
--:-- John Bickley: And give us a five-star review.
--:-- Georgia Howe: We'll be back tomorrow with the news you need to know.
--:-- John Bickley: Thanks for tuning in.
