--:-- [Theme music fades out]
--:-- John Bickley: This episode is brought to you by LifeLock. When you visit the doctor, you probably hand over your insurance, your ID, and contact details. It's just one of the many places that has your personal info. And if any of them accidentally expose it, you could be at risk for identity theft. LifeLock monitors millions of data points a second. If you become a victim, they'll fix it, guaranteed, or your money back. Save up to 40% your first year at LifeLock.com slash podcast. Terms apply.
--:-- John Bickley: Early Thursday morning, Russia launched a broad military assault on Ukraine. In response, President Biden addressed the nation on Thursday, accusing Russian President Vladimir Putin of being the aggressor and warning that there will be consequences. What options does the U.S. and its allies have now to deter the aggression? No one expected the sanctions to prevent anything from happening. I'm John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Friday, February 25th, and this is Morning Wire.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Frustrated New York parents are pulling their kids out of public schools at a staggering rate. What's driving the mass exodus, and where are students going? And a bipartisan proposal that would ban members of Congress from owning individual stocks seems to have won over a long, skeptical Nancy Pelosi. What is the loophole in the new bill that could save elected officials millions in taxes? Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know. This show is sponsored by Birch Gold Group. Inflation is destroying the dollar. Birch Gold Group can help 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.
--:-- Georgia Howe: After weeks of rising tensions in Eastern Europe, Vladimir Putin launched a nationwide invasion of Ukraine in the early hours of Thursday morning. Here to give us an overview of what happened in the first phase of the attack and the West response is Daily Wire's Ian Howarth. Ian, a dramatic 24 hours. What can you tell us?
--:-- Ian Howarth: Well, there's a lot going on here and things on the ground are changing fast. As Georgia mentioned, early Thursday, Putin launched what he called a specialized military operation in Ukraine's Donbass region, an area occupied by Russian-backed rebels since the last Russian invasion in 2014. Putin pledged to demilitarize and denazify Ukraine, billing this as a defensive move aimed at preventing supposed acts of genocide in Ukraine. These are claims he's made before and always without any evidence.
--:-- Ian Howarth: Almost immediately, reports of explosions around the country came streaming in. ...who resist. Oh, I tell you what, I just heard a big bang right here behind me. I thought we shouldn't have done the live shot here. President Biden issued a statement condemning it as an unprovoked and unjustified attack, then held a call with Ukraine's President Zelensky, after which martial law was imposed across Ukraine, with the U.S. Embassy in Kiev telling U.S. citizens to shelter in place. Ukraine has also ordered fighting-age men not to leave the country. And there's already been a lot of casualties. Unfortunately, yes. The number keeps going up, but Ukraine's leadership has reported dozens of deaths and more than 100 wounded.
--:-- Ian Howarth: By midday Thursday, the official number was at least 57 people killed and 169 wounded. Another significant development is that Russian forces have seized the Chernobyl nuclear site. Right Chernobyl Why is that such an important development? Well beyond the nuclear material that still there it provides an easy access road between Belarus who are fighting with Russia and Ukraine capital Kiev So it a huge strategic victory for Russia as well as being incredibly dangerous given that shelling has dislodged nuclear material and increased radioactivity has been recorded in the area.
--:-- Ian Howarth: Now, President Biden addressed the nation yesterday afternoon. What were the big takeaways? Well, the main takeaway was his announcement of another round of sanctions targeting Russian banks and elites. The US is freezing every asset held in America to try and strangle Russia economically and technologically. But it's important to note that this won't include disconnecting Russia from the swift global payment system, with Biden saying that Europe didn't want to move forward with that option.
--:-- Ian Howarth: Putin is the aggressor. Putin chose this war. And now he and his country will bear the consequences. Today, I'm authorizing additional strong sanctions and new limitations on what can be exported to Russia. The president presented these sanctions as hugely impactful, even when compared to the military action of Russia. You're confident that these devastating sanctions are going to be as devastating as Russian missiles and bullets and tanks? Yes, Russian bullets, missiles and tanks in Ukraine. Yes, I am. But then Biden did appear to undermine the strength and breadth of these sanctions. First, he implied that they were never designed to stop Putin from acting in the short term, though that was certainly the impression given in recent weeks. This is going to take time. It's not going to occur. He's going to say, oh, my God, these sanctions are coming. I'm going to stand down. He's going to test the resolve of the West to see if we stay together, and we will.
--:-- Ian Howarth: He also refused to explain why Putin hadn't been sanctioned personally. You recently said the idea of personally sanctioning President Putin was on the table. Is that a step that you're prepared to take? And if not... It's not a bluff. It's on the table. Sanctioning President Putin? Yes. Why not sanction him today, sir?
--:-- Ian Howarth: And finally, there's the issue of a worldwide coalition. Biden celebrated the fact that this was a united response of allies, but China hasn't condemned Russia and has agreed to buy Russian imports. When asked about China, Biden refused to comment. Are you urging China to help isolate Russia? I'm not prepared to comment on that at the moment.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So there's a lot to unpack here, which is to be expected in the first few days of a nationwide invasion. Yeah, that's for sure. Well, thanks for the overview and update Ian. Thanks, John. That was Daily Wire's Ian Howarth.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Coming up, New York City parents are pulling their kids out of public schools. 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 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.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Frustrated parents are pulling their kids out of public school in New York City, where families continue to grapple with strict COVID restrictions. Meanwhile, enrollment in New York's private and parochial schools has seen a sharp rise. Daily Wire investigative reporter Maraid Elordi is here to tell us more. So Maraid, what do the numbers look like? How significant is this shift?
--:-- Mairead Elordi: It was huge. K-12 enrollment in New York City dropped dramatically over the pandemic. Enrollment sank almost 6% during the past year alone. Total enrollment is now just 821,000 students, down from well over a million in 2019. The younger grades, kindergarten and grades 1 through 6, lost the most kids. High schools lost students too, but not as many. This exodus is even affecting some of New York's more affluent school districts. In one wealthy Manhattan district enrollment is down a full 10 this year and a shocking 17 since two years ago That district lost more than 2 students over just two years Some individual schools have lost hundreds of students and some have lost a third or fourth of their student body over the past two years.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: So do we know where these students are going? Well, we're seeing enrollment increase at non-public schools, including parochial, private, and charter schools. Public charter schools in New York City, which are not controlled by the state, have historically seen their students do much better academically than their public school peers in areas like math and English. So the demand for those schools is sky high. We should note, too, that despite the demand for more charter schools, the New York state legislature will not budge on lifting the cap on new public charter schools, even though the majority of the students served by those schools are minority kids living in low-income areas.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: Part of the reason for that hesitancy is financial. Public school funding is largely based on student enrollment, so an exodus of students from public to private and charter schools means less taxpayer our money to run public schools. And do we know why parents are pulling their kids out right now? Well, as of now, we don't have hard data on parents' opinions, at least not that has been published. But anecdotally, parents are really unhappy with COVID restrictions. And that makes sense. New York City had some of the strictest pandemic restrictions in the country.
--:-- Mairead Elordi: And has the state or any education officials responded to this? Yes, but they haven't offered any specifics. Earlier this month, a New York Education Department spokesperson did acknowledge that the past two years have been tumultuous for families and that they are, quote, confident that families will return to classrooms as we turn the corner on COVID.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, New York City isn't the only city that closed down schools for COVID. Are we seeing similar trends in other states? Right. And no, New York is definitely not the only place where public schools are losing students. Nationwide, public school enrollment dropped 3% in 2020. The drop-off was especially steep in the early grades. Then in the 2020 to 2021 school year, another estimated 1.5 million students left public K-12 schools. In many cases, parents were frustrated with teachers unions and delays in returning to in-person learning.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Well, it's definitely a trend that's getting harder to ignore. Maraid, thanks for reporting. Thanks, Georgia. That's Daily Wire investigative reporter Mairead Elordi.
--:-- Georgia Howe: A new bipartisan proposal which would prohibit members of Congress from trading individual stocks is gaining support among the body's members. But some critics are raising flags about a provision within the bill that allows the representatives to avoid paying taxes on the sale for their existing portfolio. Here to discuss is Eric Eggers from the Government Accountability Institute and the Drill Down podcast. Welcome, Eric. Good morning, John.
--:-- Eric Eggers: Good morning, John.
--:-- John Bickley: So Eric, Elizabeth Warren's bipartisan bill banning stock trading on Capitol Hill is gaining a lot of support in Congress. Even House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has suggested she now welcomes the stock trading ban. Tell us about this bill.
--:-- Eric Eggers: Okay, so ever since key people on Capitol Hill seem to have been out in front of the March 2020 market crash in terms of their trades, there's been this heightened focus on the financial activities of members of Congress. Basically, people don't think it's a good look for members of Congress to be buying or selling stocks in companies they either might help regulate or otherwise have information on that others don't.
--:-- Eric Eggers: So previous legislative efforts, like a proposal that would have forced members of Congress to put their portfolio holdings into a blind trust, were met with actual significant pushback. Maybe most notably back in December, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that members of Congress shouldn't be treated any differently than any other potential investors. We are a free market economy. They should be able to participate in that.
--:-- Eric Eggers: So Nancy Pelosi has been opposed to it pretty consistently. Why so? So she's couched previous opposition as being reflective of at least some of the members that she represents. But it also been previously reported that her husband Paul Pelosi frequently makes big trades involving tech companies and has made as much as million according to their most recent financial disclosures
--:-- Eric Eggers: But now we have this new bill. What's in the bill and who are its sponsors? So the new proposal is by Democrat Senator Elizabeth Warren and Republican Senator Steve Daines, and it would force members of Congress to convert any individual stocks they might own into index funds or other broad-based investments, which might sound reasonable. But there's also provision within the bill that would allow congressional members to defer any capital gains taxes on those stock sales until they sell off the new asset.
--:-- Eric Eggers: And if the member of Congress happened to die before they sell off the new investment, then that would actually avoid paying taxes on those stock gains altogether, potentially saving themselves or at least their members of their family millions of dollars. Well, why isn't this fair? Members of Congress are being forced to sell their stocks. Should they also then be forced to pay a tax on it too? That's a great point. And that's actually the main argument for this provision.
--:-- Eric Eggers: But some experts have pointed out other angles. For instance, I spoke with Robert Willans. He's a former Lehman Brothers executive and current adjunct professor in finance at Columbia University. He said, while the provision in the bill is reasonable due to the forced nature of the sale, there's also an advantage besides the tax avoidance because basically, and I'm quoting here, they avoid taxes and they get a more strategically beneficial portfolio balance without paying for it.
--:-- Eric Eggers: Got it. What about ordinary Americans? Do they have access to this type of option? Largely, they don't. And that's kind of the point. While members of the executive branch have actually benefited from this ability for some time, it hasn't been available for members of Congress. But now it might be thanks to the provision in Warren's bill, which some are pointing out is ironic because it's not exactly the kind of hard-on millionaire policy that Warren's been known for.
--:-- Eric Eggers: So what's next for this bill? Well, some congressional observers suggest that Pelosi's support might signal a faster likelihood of passage. So we'll keep our eyes on this one, but it could become law relatively soon.
--:-- John Bickley: All right. Well, Eric, thanks for coming on. Hey, it's my pleasure.
--:-- John Bickley: Other stories we're tracking this week. L.A. County is set to lift its indoor mask mandates for most businesses and venues for vaccinated people, though mask mandates will remain in effect in schools. The county is still requiring that establishments verify that all customers five and older are fully vaccinated. Colorado Governor Jared Polis announced Wednesday that Colorado will accept cryptocurrency as payment for state taxes and fees. It's the first state to do so. The state will accept digital coin payments and deposit dollar equivalents into the state's treasury. Colorado is also the first state to use blockchain technology for government infrastructure.
--:-- John Bickley: And Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin approved a request this week from D.C. and the Capitol Police related to the trucker convoy. The Pentagon will deploy 700 unarmed National Guard to D.C. as it anticipates trucker convoys scheduled to protest against COVID policy starting next week. According to the Pentagon, the personnel will help with traffic.
--:-- John Bickley: 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.
