Morning Wire XX
[0] After 20 years, Walter Reed Military Hospital ended its contract with a local friary, replacing priests with a secular staffing firm for pastoral care.
[1] We have to fight back.
[2] They're counting on us to be uninformed, to be indifferent and apathetic and afraid.
[3] What is the hospital saying?
[4] And are critics correct in saying that this is part of a larger trend to push religion out of public life?
[5] I'm Daily Wire Editor -in -Chief John Vickley with Georgia Howe.
[6] It's Friday, April 21st, and this is MoneyWire.
[7] A higher credit score usually means lower interest rates and payments, but a new rule will make good credit homebuyers subsidize the less qualified borrowers.
[8] We've seen this before.
[9] People were subsidized, whether it was autos, whether it's been homes, and then they default.
[10] It's another subsidy to try and buy votes.
[11] And Fox News abruptly settled its lawsuit this week with Dominion voting systems.
[12] We discuss what it means for Fox and for other media outlets moving forward.
[13] Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire.
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[15] We have the news you need to know.
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[24] After more than two decades of ministering to patients at Walter Reed Medical Center, priests from holy name friary received a cease and desist order, barring them from coming to the hospital.
[25] Critics of the move say it's yet another example of the Biden administration pushing religious life out of public places.
[26] Here to tell us more is Daily Wire Culture reporter Megan Basham.
[27] So, Megan, why would these priests be barred from ministering to patients at Walter Reed?
[28] Well, a senior White House spokesman John Kirby was asked about it during a press briefing, and he said that that was a question better directed at the Department of Defense.
[29] And then the Defense Health Agency said that the priest's contract had simply ended.
[30] So they decided to award it to a secular defense contractor, Matt Global, going forward.
[31] This happened right at the start of Holy Week.
[32] So the priests continued to provide pastoral care for a few more days between Palm Sunday and Easter, until they received that cease and desist letter on April 4th.
[33] Now, the friars sent Morning Wire a comment by email.
[34] They said they respect the process, but that this was disappointing after 20 years of service.
[35] However, the response from the Archdiocese was a little bit more biting.
[36] Archbishop Timothy Brolio called the move incomprehensible, and he said that a for -profit defense contractor has, quote, no way of providing Catholic priests to the medical center.
[37] and he called it a glaring violation of service members and veterans right to the free exercise of religion.
[38] Now, the hospital claims that they do have a Catholic chaplain on staff capable of providing pastoral care to Catholic patients, but they didn't provide details of the contracts or the decision process or why they chose to send a cease and desist order during Holy Week.
[39] The new contractor's website claims it offers a variety of services, including, quote, administrative and religious staffing.
[40] Now, has there been much inquiry into why the military decided to replace the friary with a secular staffing firm?
[41] Well, a couple of letters have been sent.
[42] One of those came from Florida Senator Marco Rubio and about 10 others in Congress, and they sent that to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
[43] They demanded to know why the friars are being replaced with a secular contractor that is, quote, unable to fill the needs assigned.
[44] And then And another letter from 24 Republicans also to Austin was spearheaded by Congresswoman Mary Miller of Illinois.
[45] That group called the move an unconscionable attack on the Christian faith by the Biden administration.
[46] They also said it was morally wrong in a violation of the First Amendment, and they demanded to see the contract terms, award letter, and all of those internal emails and documents related to it for review.
[47] So this was Miller speaking to the evangelical group, the Family Research Council.
[48] It may be an abrupt change for the priests who were going into Walter Reed, but it's not an abrupt change in light of what we've seen out of the Biden administration.
[49] They are wholly against Christian Americans.
[50] We know now that the FBI has been spying on Catholics, thinking that there's some kind of domestic terrorists.
[51] And, you know, they're just so emboldened.
[52] So Miller seems to be saying that this is part of a larger pattern.
[53] What evidence is there for that?
[54] Yeah, and I'd say that's something that you're hearing from a growing number of critics.
[55] They say that the administration is building a record of targeting religious liberty.
[56] The Wall Street Journal, for instance, published an op -ed last week detailing a number of examples.
[57] It included introducing regulations in nine federal agencies that will make it harder for faith -based organizations to work with the government to provide social services.
[58] And the Department of Health and Human Services is interpreting the Affordable Care Act in such a way to require Christian hospitals and doctors to perform abortions and things like transgender surgeries that go against their religious convictions.
[59] Now, that one's being fought in the courts.
[60] And then, as Miller referenced there, internal documents released by the House Judiciary Committee last week revealed that the FBI was working to develop sources in Catholic churches.
[61] The reason they gave was to address radicalization.
[62] Now, FBI director Christopher Ray said that he was aghast when he saw the documents and that they don't reflect FBI standards.
[63] But there's still a lot of open questions on why that effort was ever undertaken in the first place.
[64] Well, and this does mark a formal separation of the premier U .S. military hospital from traditional Catholic ministry, which is a big cultural change.
[65] The church has always worked very closely with hospitals.
[66] hospitals.
[67] Megan, thanks for reporting.
[68] Anytime.
[69] That was Daily Wire Culture reporter, Megan Basham.
[70] Coming up, a new rule means higher mortgage fees for people with good credit.
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[81] A controversial new rule from the Biden administration will soon force homebuyers with good credit to subsidize high -risk, low -income homebuyers.
[82] Joining us with the details is Daily Wire's senior editor, Joel Needler.
[83] So, Joel, what does this new rule do?
[84] Well, John, it looks like the buy.
[85] Biden administration is interested in increasing equity for homeowners, but not necessarily the kind of home equity you find in a bank.
[86] On Wednesday, the Federal Housing Finance Agency released a statement affirming their plans to modify existing federal mortgage fees to require homeowners with good credit scores to subsidize the mortgages of high -risk buyers.
[87] The rule alters the formula used by the Federal Housing Finance Agency to calculate something called a loan -level pricing adjustment.
[88] LLP has effectively raised the mortgage rates offered to, certain kinds of borrowers.
[89] Ironically, this policy was introduced after the 2008 housing crisis to mitigate potential losses from high -risk loans.
[90] Back then, if you were considered a risky home buyer, you would face higher fees in order to become a homeowner.
[91] But with this new rule, the formula is inverted.
[92] Right.
[93] The risky home buyer will no longer carry the extra burden.
[94] That's now transferred over to the home buyers with good credit scores.
[95] Those with credit scores above 680 or who made sizable down payments on their home would have their rates raised.
[96] Those with credit scores below 620 would pay a smaller fee than they do now.
[97] And how much extra will you pay if you have good credit?
[98] So according to a press release from the agency, the new rule will affect all new loans on or after May 1st.
[99] Some reports say it adds about $40 on average to a monthly mortgage payment.
[100] So $40 a month for the life of your mortgage that really adds up.
[101] How is the Biden administration selling this new idea?
[102] Well, like with many other initiatives in this administration, this is another attempt to achieve equity.
[103] The director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Sandra Thompson, stated, and I'm quoting here, challenges and barriers continue to limit sustainable housing opportunities for minority, low -income, and senior borrowers, as well as families living in rural areas and on tribal land.
[104] Maybe unsurprisingly, this new policy has received a lot of pushback.
[105] What are some of the criticisms?
[106] Well, David Stevens, the Federal Housing Commissioner under President Obama, called the change a confusing approach that won't work and is not a fan of the good credit penalty, saying, quote, to do this at the onset of the spring market is almost offensive to the market, consumers, and lenders.
[107] Some are simply calling this a plan to redistribute wealth, punishing people who play by the rules and offering favorable loan terms to people who probably cannot repay.
[108] Similar to 2008, critics say it's very risky to introduce perverse incentives into the market.
[109] Here's what Travis Spencer from real estate mindset had to say.
[110] In what world is it fair for me to pay for other people's mistakes and for me to be penalized for doing the right thing?
[111] All right.
[112] So this is going into effect on May 1st.
[113] Yes, in just about a week.
[114] There may be a few days left in the comment period, but unless they change course, it's set to go in effect next Monday.
[115] Joel, thanks for reporting.
[116] Thanks for having me. That was Daily Wire senior editor, Joel Needler.
[117] Fox News settled its lawsuit this week with Dominion voting systems, narrowly avoiding what some observers had promised would be the media trial of the century.
[118] The defamation lawsuit alleged that Fox News had deliberately lied about Dominion, echoing claims from Donald Trump in the wake of the 2020 election.
[119] Here to discuss the fallout as Daily Wire contributor David Marcus.
[120] Hey, Dave, how close were we to a trial in what did Fox avoid by agreeing to this whopping $787 .5 million settlement.
[121] Morning.
[122] Oh, it was so close that jurors had already been sworn in.
[123] So this thing really went down to the wire.
[124] The main thing that Fox was looking to avoid was potentially embarrassing testimony from on -air talent about the handling of the period after the 2020 election.
[125] We know from court filings that it was a very tense time, as some hosts seem to promote Trump's claims against dominion, basically saying the system is used to steal the election, while others were sharing texts about how they didn't believe the story was true.
[126] The settlement will keep those personalities off the stand, and Fox hopes allow the company to turn the corner on this controversy.
[127] There have been reports that Dominion wanted an on -air apology as part of the settlement, but they didn't get that.
[128] Has Fox News acknowledged any wrongdoing, or are they just showing out the money?
[129] I think a potential apology on live TV was something a lot of Fox's critics on the left have been salivating over.
[130] But that would have almost defeated the purpose of the settlement.
[131] Fox was very careful in its statements about the payout.
[132] The closest they came to Amaya Colpa was saying that they acknowledged the court's rulings, finding certain of their claims about dominion to be false.
[133] But that was never really at issue.
[134] The question was always whether Fox was knowingly presenting false information or whether there was a genuine editorial disagreement about how to handle former President Trump's claims.
[135] Now, $787 million is the largest known defamation settlement in American history by a media company.
[136] What accounts for the magnitude of that number?
[137] So Dominion had originally asked for $1 .6 billion in damages and would end up with about half of that.
[138] Their argument was that this amounted to an existential attack on their company based on untrudes.
[139] A reputation for integrity is important for any company, of course, but when you're in the business of American elections, even the appearance of bias or political motivation could lead election officials to use another company.
[140] They wanted it shouted from the rooftops that they are a reputable vote -counting company, and 787 million bucks, that says it pretty loudly.
[141] Now, of course, Fox is not the only cable news outlet to pay out big bucks for a defamation settlement.
[142] Back in 2020, CNN agreed to pay Nick Sandman.
[143] That was the student falsely portrayed as a racist instigator against a Native American protester.
[144] How similar are those two cases?
[145] The Sandman v. CNN lawsuit, he also settled with the Washington Post, really hinged on the fact that these outlets didn't wait for any context before using enormous corporate power to defame this miner, who it turned out was pretty much just minding his own business.
[146] The big lesson here is that there can be a huge price to pay when outlets don't do their due diligence and run their preferred narratives instead.
[147] And these will be cautionary tales for everyone in the industry.
[148] Which was going to be my next question.
[149] So you think this settlement will give some other outlets, before airing questionable claims.
[150] Oh, yeah, I do.
[151] Is the sense now that Fox News will be able to put this behind them and move on, or will this be a lingering stain?
[152] It will at least move out of the immediate news cycle.
[153] Attitudes towards news media are so polarized right now that I'm not sure this will move many more needles than the Sandman case did.
[154] And it's worth noting Fox is still facing a similar lawsuit from Smart Maddox for airing disparaging claims against that voting system.
[155] they're suing for even more than Dominion did, 2 .7 billion.
[156] But again, bottom line, this sends a pretty stern message to everyone in the industry to act with more care.
[157] Yeah, it certainly does.
[158] David, thanks for joining us.
[159] Thanks for having me. That was Daily Wire contributor, David Marcus.
[160] Another story we're tracking this week.
[161] The involuntary manslaughter charges against actor Alec Baldwin have been dropped.
[162] The charges stemmed from the accidental fatal shooting of Rust Film Cinematographer Helena Hutchins.
[163] Baldwin is currently in Montana where he'll resume shooting the troubled Western film.
[164] Well, that's all the time we've got this morning.
[165] Thanks for waking up with us.
[166] We'll be back this afternoon with more of the news you need to know.