Morning Wire XX
[0] With U .S. forces having now withdrawn from Afghanistan, hundreds of Americans and thousands of American allies remain in the Taliban -controlled country.
[1] We'll talk with a U .S. veteran whose team has already helped hundreds of American allies escape Afghanistan.
[2] I've been with these guys for over a decade fighting with them, flying on the MI17, and doing different kinds of work throughout the country, whether it's counter drug or countertare.
[3] And they're the most dedicated people I've ever seen.
[4] I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire Editor -in -Chief John Bickley.
[5] It's Thursday, September 2nd, and this is Morning Wire.
[6] A Chicago judge blocked a mother from seeing her son because she had not received the COVID vaccine.
[7] What was the judge's rationale for issuing the order and then reversing it?
[8] And is this setting a dangerous new precedent with vaccines?
[9] And movie theater chains appear to be on the verge of imposing vaccine mandates for moviegoers.
[10] What's driving the push for mandates?
[11] and what has happened to theaters and other countries that have imposed them?
[12] Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire.
[13] Stay tuned.
[14] We have the news you need to know.
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[18] Though U .S. forces have now been fully withdrawn from Afghanistan, hundreds of Americans and thousands of American allies remain.
[19] Over the last few weeks, some U .S. veterans have taken initiative to rescue Americans and our Afghan allies from the country.
[20] So, John, you recently spoke to one of these veterans who's helping to head up these rescue efforts.
[21] I did.
[22] Before we hear from him, can you give us a little context?
[23] Sure, I'd love to.
[24] So on Tuesday, I spoke with Travis Peterson.
[25] He's a retired master sergeant in U .S. Air Force.
[26] He served there for 21 years.
[27] He also served with a six special operations squadron and conducted drug and counter -terrorism operations in Afghanistan.
[28] So Peterson helped form a nonprofit called Ark Salas, which is a group of former special ops advisors like him and private U .S. citizens.
[29] Okay.
[30] Their mission is helping protect and rescue Afghan allies and their families who are left behind.
[31] So they've worked together to get people safely out of the country with every means available.
[32] And he actually couldn't even tell us about some of those means.
[33] Oh.
[34] I asked him about the organization, and here's what he told me. So Arc Salas, myself, and two others developed it about three weeks ago prior to the fall of Kabul.
[35] And our goal was to evacuate the families of the commandos, so the commandos could stay and fight and stand for Kabul.
[36] Unfortunately, Kabul fell a lot quicker than anticipated.
[37] So it went from a movement of getting the families to safety to getting the commandos and their families to safety.
[38] how many people did your team rescue off the ground and back to safety i think we did four or five runs with uh 737 from stanton group i would go in the 200 300 range somewhere around there amazing and those are all people who are exposed and now probably on the enemy list from the taliban absolutely all of my commandos and all my pilots and flight engineers And that's what I'm doing this for.
[39] It was for those guys specifically.
[40] And then it just kind of turned into a mass evacuation of anybody that we could grab.
[41] So you launched this three weeks ago, have rescued hundreds of people.
[42] Is there an ultimate goal?
[43] Is there an end in sight for this mission?
[44] What's next?
[45] We will keep going as long as we can, for as many as we can.
[46] There's still 500 ampsets on Kabul right now.
[47] American citizens that cannot get out.
[48] and our government left them behind.
[49] Now, multiply that with all of the Afghans that helped us for the last 20 years that fought side by side with me saved my life numerous times, countless times, and I owe them this, and I'm talking to them daily, hourly, by the minute, from their command structure all the way down to their lowest guy, trying to comfort them.
[50] They know that death is coming for them.
[51] They know it's the very next day or the hour.
[52] They know their children, their wives, they're going to be burnt alive.
[53] They know what's happening, and it's disgusting.
[54] So what can be done going forward?
[55] How can we best help the people left behind?
[56] I mean, there's so many things that can be done if this administration would just get out there and do something about it.
[57] It's this simple.
[58] We need a couple borders opened up with safe passage.
[59] They give them safe passage into these borders.
[60] I can get them in, get them out to another country that has already accepted asylum procedures for these guys.
[61] We've coordinated with Bahrain, Sri Lanka, Czech Republic, numerous countries that will take these people in.
[62] All we need to do is get them out of Afghanistan.
[63] It's that freaking simple.
[64] What I tell all of my guys, all the commandos, is that we're with them, the world is with them.
[65] Everybody's watching.
[66] Everybody's watching.
[67] Hundreds rescued.
[68] What an incredible operation these guys have taken on.
[69] It really is.
[70] Coming up, a Chicago judge.
[71] blocks a mother from seeing her young son, then reverses the order.
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[75] A Chicago judge blocked a mother from seeing her young son this month because she had not received a COVID vaccine.
[76] The judge's decision during a child support hearing is said to be the first ruling of its kind, and some worry, it sets an alarming precedent.
[77] Daily Wire investigative reporter Marade McCartle has the details for us.
[78] So Marade, a judge decided that this mom couldn't see her own son because she hadn't gotten a vaccine.
[79] What happened here?
[80] That's right.
[81] This is a huge case, and it's getting a lot of attention.
[82] So Rebecca Furlett is a mom of an 11 -year -old boy.
[83] She lives in Chicago and shares custody of her son with her ex -husband.
[84] In early August, the parents were taking part in a child support hearing on Zoom when Cook County Judge James Shapiro suddenly asked the mom if she had been vaccinated against COVID.
[85] She said no, and asked the judge what that had to do with the hearing, which she said was just supposed to be about child support expenses.
[86] Then the judge stripped her of all her visitation rights.
[87] The ruling was reversed on Monday after nearly three weeks, and the judge said, Ferlick, can see her son again.
[88] So her visitation rights were stripped and only due to her not being vaccinated.
[89] That's right.
[90] How did the judge explain that move?
[91] The judge didn't really offer much of an explanation.
[92] He just said that Ferlet had to get vaccinated in order to see her son again.
[93] Ferlet said she has not received a COVID vaccine because she has had adverse reactions to vaccines in the past and was advised by her doctor not to get the shot.
[94] The mom's attorney emphasized that the vaccination issue was not even raised by the ex -husband, although he supported the judge's decision.
[95] So the order has been fully reversed now.
[96] Yes, Ferlett appealed the ruling, and the judge reversed the order on Monday and is allowing her to see her son again.
[97] The mom said that she is still afraid she will be called a, quote, endangerment to her son, Ferlitt's attorney criticized the judge for, quote, very much exceeding his judicial authority in this case.
[98] This seems like a pretty extreme case.
[99] Is there any legal precedence for this?
[100] No, this is the first case like this, but it set off alarm.
[101] bells for some people who worry that it could set a dangerous precedent of parents having their children taken away from them because they're unvaccinated.
[102] Right.
[103] Apparently, this particular judge has a habit of asking people in his courtroom about their vaccination status.
[104] He's asked people in other cases if they've been vaccinated.
[105] Yes.
[106] In a video of a different virtual court hearing, Judge Shapiro admitted that he has ordered some parents and some kids to get vaccinated.
[107] The judge said that it is, quote, stupid not to get the shot and said that, quote, the only people not getting vaccinated are dying.
[108] So we've got a non -medical professional ordering a medication.
[109] That brings up some interesting legal questions.
[110] It does.
[111] Should we expect to see more judges bringing up vaccination status in cases?
[112] We'll have to see, but there were two cases in New York where judges ordered defendants to get vaccinated.
[113] In one case, as a form of rehabilitation and in the other as a condition of release.
[114] Rehabilitation.
[115] Right.
[116] And both defendants were accused.
[117] accused of petty crimes unrelated to health.
[118] In Furlitt's case, though, the order prompted serious backlash.
[119] People clearly don't like worrying that their child will be taken away over a vaccine.
[120] This may just be one rogue judge trying to use children as leverage to push adults to get vaccinated, but many people are concerned that he's setting a very disturbing precedent that other judges hopefully will not copy.
[121] Fascinating case.
[122] Thanks, Marade.
[123] Anytime.
[124] Investigative reporter, Marade McCartle.
[125] The list of places where you might soon have to show proof of vaccination is growing.
[126] Along with several cities and large employers, some concert venues and sports arenas have started independently requiring it as well.
[127] Now, the biggest movie theater chains may be about to join the mandate movement.
[128] Here to tell us just how likely this is and how many movie theaters could be affected is Daily Wire Entertainment Reporter Megan Basham.
[129] Good to talk to you, Megan.
[130] Always great to chat with you, Georgia.
[131] So to start, can you give us the general lay of the land here?
[132] How likely is this to actually happen?
[133] Yeah, well, I have to say it is pretty likely.
[134] CinemaCon just wrapped up in Las Vegas on Thursday.
[135] And that's the annual meeting of the National Association of Theater Owners.
[136] From what I'm hearing, vaccine mandates were apparently one of the big topics up for discussion.
[137] So the head of that group is a man named Nathan Finian, and he told the Hollywood trade publication, The Wrap, that most theater owners are open to it.
[138] So he called it a mixed bag because they know that these mandates are going to keep some potential ticket buyers away.
[139] But he also said that theater owners are hoping that vaccine mandates could be a net positive for them because some of the people who are afraid of going to the movies right now out of fear of the Delta variant, well, they'll come back if they're confident everyone else in the audience is vaccinated.
[140] You know, he said by and large the organization thinks mandates are going to spur people's interest in getting vaccinated.
[141] And then in the long run, that that's going to bring them back to the movies.
[142] At the same time, you have studio executives telling outlets like the Hollywood Reporter that they would also like to see these mandates.
[143] And how much of the movie theater business does the National Association of Theater Owners represent?
[144] A huge proportion of it.
[145] It includes the biggest chains in the business, your Cinemarks, Regal, AMC, as well as hundreds of these independent operators all around the country.
[146] So basically, they account for more than 35 ,000 screens in all 50 states, which means if they agree to impose these vaccine requirements, it's pretty much going to affect just about every American who likes going to the movies.
[147] So going back to that hypothesis that vaccine mandates will bring people back to theaters, is there any evidence for that?
[148] Actually, there's some pretty good evidence against it.
[149] I think that big business and big Hollywood, they can be pretty insulated communities.
[150] And my guess is that they're probably hearing far more from the side that wants mandates and thinks they're a good idea than they are the side that's resistant to them.
[151] So you'll see, for example, the Hollywood reporter, as I mentioned, they're quoting these executives saying they want the mandates.
[152] You're seeing the Atlantic running opinion essays that it would be such a great thing to do.
[153] But then you look at the reality.
[154] So last month, when France started requiring vaccination proof or a negative COVID test to get into the movies, their box office revenues immediately dropped 70%.
[155] Oh, wow.
[156] Yeah, and Italy saw something very similar, a 40 % drop after they started mandating these vaccines.
[157] So it's rebounded somewhat since then, but overall, it's down significantly.
[158] And some people might assume that because Hollywood tends to lean left, that theater owners are just going to go kind of with what's politically popular in their business.
[159] Is that true?
[160] You know, on many other topics I might say this, but unlike some of these other mandate stories we're seeing, I don't get the sense that this is political posturing.
[161] When you hear from these theater owners, you get the impression that they really are scared to death.
[162] It finally looked like they were about to turn this corner in the early summer.
[163] Viewer started going back to movies.
[164] They wanted to see them on the big screen.
[165] But then the Delta variant hit and attendance dropped again.
[166] In the meantime, they're also, of course, fighting off the streaming revolution.
[167] So I think the fact that they're even talking about it on the record illustrates just how desperate they are to get back to business as normal.
[168] And I really think that what you're seeing is a fight for survival.
[169] Yeah, I mean, that's understandable.
[170] The question remains, though.
[171] it's really the right way to go about it.
[172] Yeah, yeah.
[173] Thanks again for being here, Megan.
[174] Always happy to do it.
[175] Daily Wire Entertainment reporter, Megan Basham.
[176] Other stories were tracking this week.
[177] A Texas abortion law went into effect on Wednesday that could essentially ban most abortions after six weeks once a fetal heartbeat can be detected.
[178] Abortion providers tried to get the courts to stay the law, but a lower court and the Supreme Court decided not to rule on their requests.
[179] And a petition to recall the San Francisco school board has received 70 ,000 signatures, putting the issue on track to successfully appear on the ballot.
[180] According to recent polling, 60 % of San Francisco adults support recalling the school board, including 69 % of public school parents.
[181] 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.
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