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[0] More shocking details emerge about the fatal shooting of a cinematographer by actor Alec Baldwin.
[1] Why did multiple crew members walk off set in the days leading up to the accident?
[2] And will Baldwin be held responsible?
[3] I'm John Bickley with Georgia Howe.
[4] It's Monday, October 25th, and this is Morning Wire.
[5] President Biden makes a last -ditch effort to win over support for his multi -trillion dollar spending bill.
[6] Who's standing in the way of the president's agenda?
[7] and what are the bill's chances of getting passed?
[8] And congressional Democrats have revised their controversial plan to monitor all bank transactions of at least $600 by raising the threshold for IRS surveillance to $10 ,000 per year.
[9] Why does Congress want to know how you spend your money?
[10] And could this affect your financial privacy?
[11] Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire.
[12] Stay tuned.
[13] We have the news you need to know.
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[19] Late Thursday, news broke that actor Alec Baldwin fatally shot a cinematographer on the set of a new Western with what he believed to be a gun loaded with blanks.
[20] The director of the film, titled Rust, was also struck and has been treated and released from the hospital.
[21] Here to tell us what happened and what happens next is Daily Wire Entertainment reporter Megan Basham.
[22] So, Megan, this was obviously a really tragic and shocking story, but I think what most people are wondering is how it even happened.
[23] Well, as we mentioned there at the top, Baldwin was on the set of the movie Rust, that's a western, rehearsing a scene at Bonanza Creek Ranch in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
[24] This was just before about two in the afternoon.
[25] The set armorer, that's the weapons master, the person responsible for firearm props.
[26] Well, they had set three guns that were supposed to be loaded with blanks on a cart for the scene.
[27] None were supposed to have live rounds.
[28] These are typically called cold guns.
[29] While the assistant director gave one of them to Baldwin to start rehearsing, the second time Baldwin pulled the gun from a holster he was wearing, he pulled the trigger, and that struck and killed 42 -year -old Helena Hutchins, the director of photographer.
[30] and injured director, Joel Sousa.
[31] Obviously, production on the film has now been paused as the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office investigates further.
[32] Right.
[33] And I think a lot of people saw this headline and their first thought was how could something like this possibly happen on a movie set?
[34] I mean, I was shocked that there was ever a loaded gun on set.
[35] Is that standard?
[36] No, it's not.
[37] Live rounds are never supposed to be used on the set.
[38] And obviously, that was not the case here.
[39] When you look at it, it seems like a whole chain of protocols broke down in this case.
[40] For example, the Actors' Equity Association guidelines state, and I'm quoting here, before each use, make sure the gun has been test fired off stage.
[41] Now, it doesn't sound like that was done.
[42] We're also hearing reports that the assistant director actually said cold gun when he handed Baldwin the prop, indicating at that point it was safe to fire.
[43] Well, according to NBC, that assistant director actually has a, quote, unsafe history.
[44] They quoted several sources who said this particular assistant director had allowed dangerous working environments in the past.
[45] Now, perhaps not coincidentally, there are also reports that crew members walked off the set a few days before due to poor working conditions.
[46] One of those who walked off was actually the prop's master who would have been in charge of overseeing this gun safety.
[47] The day of the accident was reportedly the new prop master's first day on the job.
[48] Wow.
[49] Yeah, and most shocking, three crew members, told the New York Times that there had been at least two previous accidental discharges in the days leading up to that day.
[50] That actually led a supervisor to complain about the safety practices on the set.
[51] Now, what about the legal ramifications?
[52] Is this all going to fall on Alec Baldwin?
[53] Well, that's something that a lot of legal experts are discussing right now.
[54] Baldwin not only shot the gun, he's also a co -producer for the movie, so it is possible he could face some charges.
[55] The fatal shooting could be ruled in accident.
[56] could be ruled negligence, could be classified as recklessness or involuntary manslaughter.
[57] A Los Angeles Times report quoted several legal experts saying they very well think Baldwin and others involved with this film could at least face civil liabilities.
[58] They said that everyone on a film with weapons like that should have been versed in fundamental safety rules and events suggest that those rules weren't followed.
[59] To give you one example, USC law professor Gregory Keating told the Times something like this, quote, doesn't happen without negligence.
[60] It's really just a matter of who's negligent and how the responsibility gets parceled out.
[61] Then it gets murky because the facts are murky.
[62] Now, that all said, it's really too soon to tell.
[63] We aren't going to know what charges, if any, could be filed until the sheriff's office completes its investigation.
[64] Wow.
[65] I mean, it's still hard to believe.
[66] And if you're an actor and someone hands you a prop and says, cold gun, it's really hard to say that it's your fault.
[67] Yeah, that is true, but we also have to consider that as the producer, if safety protocols were sloppy, that's where he could have more responsibility.
[68] Right.
[69] Megan, thanks for coming on.
[70] Yes, of course.
[71] That's Daily Wire Entertainment reporter, Megan Basham.
[72] Coming up, President Biden tries to convince Senator Joe Manchin to get behind his flagship spending bill.
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[77] As Joe Biden approaches the one -year mark of his presidency, his multi -trillion dollar social spending bill has yet to pass, and its fate now hangs in the balance in Congress.
[78] Now, the president is making a final push to sway those in Congress who stand in its On Sunday, President Biden hosted West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin at his home in Delaware in a last -ditch effort to gain support for the social spending bill.
[79] Here are the details as Daily Wire Managing editor, Cabot Phillips.
[80] So, Cabot, give us a little background here.
[81] Why is Joe Manchin so important right now?
[82] Well, at the moment, he's so important because the Senate is split evenly down the middle.
[83] And in order to pass a heavily partisan bill like the one they're discussing right now, Democrats have to have all 50 members on board because no Republicans are going to support this thing.
[84] Right.
[85] The bill in question right now is President Biden's social spending bill, as you mentioned.
[86] Republicans view that bill as essentially a far -left wish list.
[87] It's got things like free college tuition, strict climate change measures, Medicare expansion, and corporate tax increases.
[88] Now, the initial price tag on that bill was $3 .5 trillion, but Manson said he wouldn't vote yes on anything higher than $1 .5 trillion.
[89] He called the original price tag fiscal insanity.
[90] So he's holding out right now, and the Democrats cannot move forward until he's on board.
[91] You know, we've seen a few times this year that Mansion has been at odds with his own party.
[92] Yeah.
[93] What factors keep landing him in this position?
[94] So he's in a really unique position with his constituency.
[95] He's a Democrat senator in a state where just 29 % of people voted for Joe Biden, West Virginia.
[96] So he's kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place.
[97] Vote with the party and risk upsetting your kids.
[98] constituents, aka your re -election chances, or vote on behalf of what people in your state want and upset basically the entire Democrat Party.
[99] That's a tough spot.
[100] Yeah.
[101] Look, we saw some reports last week about Manchin potentially going independent.
[102] Is there any substance to these claims?
[103] Yeah, last week, there were reports that he was threatening to leave the Democrat Party if they wouldn't lower the price tag on the bill.
[104] Manchin said he told party leaders that if they had a problem with him being a centrist, he'd be happy to file as an independent, but still caucus with the Democrats.
[105] So doing them a kind of a favor?
[106] Kind of, yeah.
[107] Now, it is unlikely that happens, though, given that such a move would probably cost him his spot as chair of the Senate Energy Committee.
[108] And also, a lot of Democrat leaders don't want him to leave the party.
[109] That would just further disenfranchise him.
[110] And remember, they need his vote.
[111] But just the fact that this is being talked about shows how big the divide has become between the party's moderate and progressive leaders.
[112] So if a deal is struck this week between Mansion and Democratic leadership, do we expect this bill to pass in the coming days?
[113] That's the thing.
[114] It's not likely.
[115] Even if they come to terms on a price tag soon, which is still not a given, there's still going to be a ton of other stuff for them to iron out.
[116] Usually the price tag on a bill like this is one of the first things they agree upon.
[117] So it's still early on in the process.
[118] Democrat leaders like Nancy Pelosi have said that they hope to pass the bill this week.
[119] But from what we're hearing out of D .C., that's probably just possible.
[120] string.
[121] It'll likely be at least a few more weeks before anything substantive has passed.
[122] And that's assuming a deal is struck, which, again, still is not a guarantee.
[123] In situations like this, it's just important to remember that things in D .C. move at a very different pace than they might in other industries.
[124] Yeah, they certainly do.
[125] That's going to be the key takeaway for a lot of people here.
[126] Cabot, thanks for the update.
[127] Anytime.
[128] That's Daily Wire managing editor, Cabot Phillips.
[129] After a national backlash, Democratic leaders in Congress have scaled back their proposal to have banks report to the IRS all accounts with at least $600 of transactions per year.
[130] But critics say their new reporting threshold would still sweep up nearly every single working American exposing their personal financial details to the federal government.
[131] The Daily Wires, Ben Johnson, has the details of their updated plan.
[132] Good morning, Ben.
[133] Good morning, John.
[134] So originally, Democrats proposed adding a provision to the reconciliation bill, requiring banks to report any bank accounts with 600 in transactions a year, a very small amount.
[135] Where does this proposal stand now?
[136] Right.
[137] Starting next year, banks would have to report all private or commercial accounts and have more than $10 ,000 a year in transactions.
[138] That's deposits and or withdrawals to the IRS.
[139] The new proposal would eliminate wages from an employer and federal benefits like Social Security from reporting requirements.
[140] But that privacy doesn't apply to people who are self -employed, like many hairstylists, contractors, or family farmers.
[141] So they raised the reporting requirements from 600 to 10 ,000, but how many people's accounts are we still talking about allowing the IRS to effectively monitor?
[142] Unfortunately, that would still include most Americans.
[143] The $10 ,000 annual threshold means if you pay at least $834 a month in bills, your account would be reported to the IRS.
[144] The American Bankers Association said in a statement, quote, Virtually all Americans will be subject to this new reporting.
[145] Senator Mike Crapo of Idaho crunched the numbers.
[146] This is from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
[147] The total is the average American runs over $61 ,000 through their account.
[148] Housing, $20 ,000, transportation, $9 ,000, personal insurance, and et cetera, $7 ,000.
[149] The list goes on.
[150] The average American will be picked up by this plan.
[151] How does the administration rationalize this proposal?
[152] Officially, the Treasury Department says it's trying to collect potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in unpaid taxes, especially from people who work off the books.
[153] Politically, the Biden administration needs to find more revenue to pay for its multi -trillion dollar spending plans.
[154] Republicans say the proposed reporting requirements is a slippery slope because the IRS will scoop up enormous amounts of financial data, but not enough to know what those numbers actually mean.
[155] so the IRS would likely ask for more specific details about individual transactions, which could trigger more IRS audits.
[156] The Biden administration has said that audits of people who make less than $400 ,000 a year won't rise proportionally compared with wealthier Americans, but it's also said the IRS plans to massively increase audits of wealthier Americans.
[157] That's even more likely since the president has proposed hiring 87 ,000 new IRS agents, doubling the size of the IRS.
[158] Right.
[159] That will also mean more audits for the middle class, fueling.
[160] perhaps in part by these new reporting requirements.
[161] So in the end, this plan could go far beyond just reporting the amounts of transactions and withdrawals in a year.
[162] Exactly.
[163] Many privacy and overreach concerns here.
[164] Thanks for sharing these details with us.
[165] Thanks for having me. That's Daily Wire reporter, Ben Johnson.
[166] Other stories we're tracking this week?
[167] In an effort to combat the growing supply chain crisis, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis encouraged cargo companies stranded outside the ports in Los Angeles, to reroute their cargo ships to ports in Florida.
[168] The governor highlighted capacity at all of Florida's ports, as well as incentives for companies who decide to ship their cargo through Florida.
[169] The governor stressed that all the ports in his state are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
[170] And COVID vaccination for children ages 5 through 11 may be available as early as the first week of November, according to Dr. Anthony Fauci.
[171] An FDA advisory panel is due to meet Tuesday to discuss authorizing the Pfizer vaccine for children.
[172] The vaccine has already been authorized for children ages 12 to 18.
[173] If you like this episode and are interested in hearing more, subscribe to MorningWire on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you're listening, and give us a five -star review.
[174] That's all the time we've got this morning.
[175] Thanks for waking up with us.
[176] We'll be back tomorrow with the news you need to know.
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