Morning Wire XX
[0] Winter is coming, and so are sky -high heating bills.
[1] No matter how you heat your home, oil, natural gas, or electricity, you'll be paying more.
[2] What's causing the price hikes?
[3] And is there a solution?
[4] I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire Editor -in -Chief John Bickley.
[5] It's Saturday, November 13th, and this is the 100th episode of Morning Wire.
[6] The entertainment world has been rocked by multiple tragedies, including the Alec Baldwin -on -set shooting and the fatal Travis Scott.
[7] performance.
[8] We'll look at the latest developments in the investigations and legal claims in both tragedies, and one silver lining for the silver screen.
[9] And a humanitarian crisis is escalating on the border of Poland and Belarus, as thousands of migrants from the Middle East and Africa are being funneled into the region.
[10] We'll discuss the political causes and fallout of the growing migrant crisis in Eastern Europe.
[11] Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire.
[12] Stay tuned.
[13] We have the news you need to know.
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[20] As winter approaches, a new report from the Department of Energy says heating bills for the vast majority of Americans are about to skyrocket in the coming months.
[21] Here to discuss is Daily Wires Cabot Phillips.
[22] So Cabot, what sort of price increase are we talking about here?
[23] It's going to be pretty drastic.
[24] By this point, most Americans have noticed prices going up on pretty much everything this year, but we're about to see a spike in energy prices that's going to make everything else look tame in comparison.
[25] Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm is already warning about what's coming.
[26] This is going to happen.
[27] It will be more expensive this year than last year.
[28] but we have the same problem in fuels that the supply chains have, which is that the oil and gas companies are not flipping the switch as quickly as the demand requires.
[29] That concern stems from the winter fuels outlook, a report issued each year by the Department of Energy.
[30] And this year, their predictions are pretty shocking.
[31] For families who rely primarily on natural gas, that's about half of all households in America, prices will be up around 30 percent compared to last year.
[32] For those relying on electricity for heating, that's about 40 % of Americans.
[33] Prices will be up 6 to 15%.
[34] And for those relying on propane and heating oil, prices are expected to go up around 50 % compared to last winter.
[35] So however you heat your house, get ready for a bigger bill this year.
[36] So the obvious question here is what's causing this?
[37] I mean, is this just related to inflation?
[38] Inflation is definitely playing a role to some extent.
[39] Anytime the government starts printing trillions of dollars and new money, the value of currency, obviously goes down.
[40] We saw the impact of that this year with wholesale prices on all products up 8 .6 % on average compared to last year.
[41] But it's not just inflation that's causing energy prices to skyrocket.
[42] There's also a simple market explanation.
[43] For the last two years, energy companies have seen their profits crater as global demand for oil and natural gas went down during lockdowns.
[44] And even though demand is through the roof right now, as the economy's open back up, those companies are hesitant to flood the market with too much oil and gas because it means the price will go down and their profits will go down.
[45] And they're worried that they wouldn't be able to climb out of the hole that COVID put them in if they did that.
[46] So it's just simple supply and demand.
[47] And do we know who is going to be most impacted by this spike?
[48] Yeah, there's even more bad news there.
[49] It's predicted to hit rural and low -income communities the worst.
[50] That's because those are the communities most likely to rely on heating oil and propane, which again are the most volatile right now.
[51] From a regional standpoint, the south and west will be slightly better off just because it won't be as cold there.
[52] But the Midwest and Northeast are going to be hit especially hard.
[53] A few senators in New England, where prices are expected to rise the most, have already responded.
[54] Susan Collins of Maine, a Republican, and Jack Reed of Rhode Island, a Democrat, have sent a joint letter to the White House urging them to provide relief for the energy market.
[55] And on that note, what sort of government response are we seeing?
[56] Well, last week, the Biden administration did allocate over $3 billion in funding through the low -income energy assistance program.
[57] This money will be given to a few million households throughout the winter to help subsidize their energy costs.
[58] Now, usually this type of funding isn't given out each year until a final budget has been approved by Congress, which has not happened yet.
[59] But they're expediting the process this year because of the emergency circumstances.
[60] It just kind of gives you a feel for how seriously experts are taking this.
[61] There's also been talk in D .C. of another $5 billion being added to the Democrats' social spending bill to offer more help for covering energy.
[62] Democrats say this is the best way to help people and that heating is an essential human right that must be covered at all costs.
[63] But a lot of Republicans, they view it differently.
[64] They worry it won't ultimately address the root causes of why energy is so expensive in the first place.
[65] They also say this is more the role of charity.
[66] For example, we've already seen multiple charitable organizations, especially in the Northeast, announced that they're ready to help.
[67] Jeffrey Conrad from Catholic Charities of Buffalo said his group is already gearing up to help people in the community with their energy bills.
[68] He says, quote, it's what our faith is based on.
[69] It's helping your neighbor.
[70] So it's not just a government stepping in here.
[71] Right.
[72] Cabot, thanks for reporting.
[73] Anytime.
[74] That's Daily Wires, Cabot Phillips.
[75] Coming up, more fallout from the Alec Baldwin and Travis Scott tragedies.
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[80] There have been significant developments in several.
[81] several entertainment stories we brought you in recent weeks.
[82] Here to catch us up on the latest in entertainment news is Daily Wire Entertainment reporter Megan Basham.
[83] Megan, let's start with something you've been closely tracking.
[84] Theater chains trying to stay alive after the COVID lockdowns.
[85] What's the latest on that?
[86] Well, I'm glad we're starting with some good news because, for once, when it comes to movies, I do actually have some.
[87] Oh, that's good to hear.
[88] Isn't it?
[89] So the latest data shows that audiences are returning to theaters.
[90] And unlike that spike we saw in the early summer that the Delta variant unfortunately brought to a pretty swift halt, this time it looks like the recovery is going to stick.
[91] So to give you one example, the CEO of AMC set on an earnings call earlier this week that admissions revenues for October 2021 are now almost 90 % of what they were in October 2019.
[92] So before the pandemic.
[93] That's surprising.
[94] It is, but also really great news.
[95] And Cinnamark 2 has revealed that it.
[96] It had a great October, with box office receipts more than double what they were in May. So movie lovers can rejoice.
[97] Yeah, there's still a lot of us out there.
[98] On a heavier note, how about the Alec Baldwin -on -set shooting tragedy?
[99] Any updates?
[100] Yes, there are several new developments.
[101] So probably the most important thing to point out to start is that police still have not brought any charges.
[102] So we're still waiting to see if they will.
[103] But in the meantime, there is a lot of finger pointing going on.
[104] Now, a lot of people have emphasized the fact that the assistant director, David Hall's, has been fired from previous film sets for disregarding safety.
[105] But his attorney is now out saying that that is irrelevant because it wasn't Hall's job to check the guns.
[106] Okay.
[107] However, the person whose job it was to check the guns, 24 -year -old armor Hannah Gutierrez -Reed, while she's saying she's being framed.
[108] She used the word framed?
[109] Yeah, her lawyer did.
[110] Okay.
[111] And even more slightly explosive here, he also claimed it was sad.
[112] sabotage.
[113] We are convinced that this was sabotage and Hannah is being framed.
[114] That was his statement Wednesday.
[115] He also claimed the scene of the shooting was tampered with before police arrived.
[116] So since then, the head electrician on the set has filed a suit against Baldwin, who, again, was the executive producer on the film.
[117] This electrician is claiming that Baldwin created unsafe conditions by hiring an insufficient number of crew.
[118] He's saying Baldwin did that to save money.
[119] So Baldwin isn't saying much beyond kind of putting his activist hat back on.
[120] He's calling for police officers to be on quoting here every film or TV set that uses guns in order to monitor weapons safety.
[121] Okay, and finally, can you catch us up on the latest in the Travis Scott concert disaster?
[122] Any further developments?
[123] Well, very similar to the Rust case.
[124] This investigation is ongoing, but stories are starting to come out now about a possible pattern of behavior and cutting safety corners.
[125] And we've talked about the fact that Scott pleaded guilty to two previous charges related to inciting concert crowds.
[126] The Houston Fire Chief is publicly saying Scott should have stopped the show before he did.
[127] And there's actually video floating around of Scott making light of injuries at previous concerts.
[128] So the police chief has now revealed that he actually met with Scott and his team before the concert and shared some concerns.
[129] But outside experts are saying the show did not have nearly enough security personnel.
[130] And all of this highlights kind of a potential conflict of interest problem.
[131] Because Houston PD was in part responsible for providing crowd control.
[132] So some people, like the Harris County judge, well, they're wanting to see an outside independent organization heading up this investigation, not the Houston PD.
[133] It does.
[134] And several lawsuits have already been filed against Scott, the venue, and promoter live nation.
[135] Well, there's a lot to keep track there with all these.
[136] stories.
[137] Thanks for the updates, Megan.
[138] Sure.
[139] Anytime.
[140] That was Daily Wire Entertainment reporter Megan Basham.
[141] Thousands of migrants have set up camp between the border of Poland and Belarus and escalating tensions between Belarus and the European Union.
[142] The crisis has become more serious each day with Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko now threatening Europe with eliminating gas resources.
[143] Here to tell us more is Daily Wire's Charlotte Pence Bond.
[144] So Charlotte, what's happening in Europe?
[145] While thousands of migrants from the Middle East and Africa are showing up at the border between Poland and Belarus, creating a pretty big problem for the European Union.
[146] This is due in some part to Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko escalating his strategy of funneling migrants from the Middle East toward Poland in an effort to provoke a confrontation at Poland's border.
[147] Peter Stano, lead spokesperson for external affairs of the EU, claimed Lukashenko is misleading people and, quote, bringing them to Belarus under the false promise of having easy entry into the EU.
[148] And why would Lukashenko want to do that?
[149] Well, the EU says this is all because of sanctions placed on Belarus by the European Union due to Lukashenko's 2020 election, as well as an incident that took place earlier this year, when the president forced a civilian plane with a dissident journalist on board to land in the Belarusian capital of Minsk so he could be arrested.
[150] It caused a pretty big stir in the international community, primarily because this was a civilian plane, and Lukashenko reportedly ordered a Belarus jet fighter to force the Ryanair plane to land.
[151] Lots of countries imposed additional sanctions on Belarus following that incident, and the EU is now pushing for even more sanctions against the country.
[152] Now, is the migrant crisis at the border a new problem?
[153] Yes and no. The migrants were more dispersed at first, but due to Lukashenko's actions, they've all been relocated to a small stretch of the border near the village of Kushnitsa.
[154] Now Lukashenko is refuting the EU's claims and says these people just came to Belarus lawfully.
[155] But Polish government social media accounts have shown Belarusian military guiding hundreds towards Poland.
[156] And the crisis has been building for a while now.
[157] Earlier this year, Poland, Latvia, and Lithuania had an influx of migrants and the EU sent additional authorities to assist Lithuania and Latvia.
[158] Poland has taken strict actions against migrants and some human rights organizations have claimed they aren't taking in applications for asylum.
[159] But for now, the EU is standing by Poland, more concerned about security than a humanitarian crisis.
[160] We should also point out that Belarus is a close Russian ally and former Soviet Republic.
[161] Russian President Vladimir Putin and Lukashenko spoke on Tuesday about the crisis and focused on the actions of Poland.
[162] The Polish prime minister has actually pointed to Putin as the, quote, mastermind of the assault.
[163] So the accusation here is that Lukashenko is using these migrants to retaliate against the EU.
[164] And there are people who suspect that Putin's fingerprints are kind of all over this move.
[165] Exactly.
[166] Charlotte, thanks for reporting.
[167] That's Daily Wires, Charlotte Pence -Bahn.
[168] Other stories we're tracking this week, actor Matthew McConnor Hay is under fire from supporters of vaccine mandates for saying he is currently against mandating COVID vaccines for children.
[169] The actor, who himself is vaccinated, said that he still wants to, quote, find out more information before giving his own kids the shot.
[170] The U .S. Surgeon General responded to the actor's comments saying, quote, COVID is not harmless in our children.
[171] Vaccines are remarkably safe as well.
[172] And San Francisco Mayor London Breed has joined San Francisco parents in their call to recall three members of the San Francisco School Board, citing unpopular moves to rename schools, paint over murals deemed offensive, as well as opposition to unpopular school closures.
[173] While prominent progressive school board members have attempted to tie the growing recall effort to Republican activists, Mayor Breed is a Democrat.
[174] 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.
[175] That's all the time we've got this morning.
[176] Thanks for waking up with us.
[177] We'll be back next week with the news you need to know.
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