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[0] Virginia voters head to the polls today to select their next governor.
[1] With polls showing the race a dead heat, many are calling it the first test of Biden's presidency.
[2] Does Republican Glenn Yunkin have a fighting chance of flipping Blue Virginia red?
[3] We'll break down the final pre -election polls and the issues defining the highly competitive race.
[4] I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire Editor -in -Chief John Bickley.
[5] It's Tuesday, November 2nd, and this is Morning Wire.
[6] Thousands of New York firefighters called in six.
[7] last week, just days ahead of the city's vaccine mandate deadline.
[8] What's behind this mass sickout and is New York looking at a potential staffing crisis for first responders?
[9] And the Kyle Rittenhouse trial is underway.
[10] On trial for homicide, the defense will argue that Rittenhouse shot three men in self -defense during last summer's riots in Wisconsin.
[11] We'll take a close look at the controversial case and the claims by both the prosecution and the defense.
[12] Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire.
[13] Stay tuned.
[14] We have the news you need to know.
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[20] After months of intense campaigning and nationwide attention, it's finally Election Day in Virginia with voters set to pick between Republican Glenn Yonkin and Democrat Terry McAuliffe.
[21] Though months of polling have showed McCallif with a sizable lead, the race is now considered a toss -up.
[22] Here with the last -minute updates in polling data is Daily Wire's Cabot Phillips.
[23] So, Cabot, you've been watching this race really closely.
[24] What's the latest?
[25] Well, when it comes to elections, there's an old saying that you only have to be in the lead for a day.
[26] And that's basically what Republicans are hoping for in Virginia.
[27] All summer and into the fall, Terry McCullough was up big.
[28] but things have totally shifted.
[29] The final three polls before Election Day all had Yonkin up.
[30] One of them from Fox News showed him up eight points.
[31] Now, it is worth pointing out that about 15 % of registered voters in Virginia submitted their ballots through early voting, so they're already out of the way.
[32] And that typically helps Democrats, and especially so in a race like this, where all the momentum shifted to Republicans so late in the game.
[33] Now the question becomes, how big of a lead McCullough built with early voters, and how much of his base turns out today.
[34] But again, it's worth pointing out that even a close loss for Yonkin would still be viewed as a win for Republicans more broadly as midterms approach next year.
[35] Now, can you give us a bit more about this shift?
[36] This is a race that most people had written off just a couple months ago.
[37] Yeah, we've talked about it before on this show.
[38] Virginia has been solidly blue for the last decade.
[39] It hasn't gone red in a presidential race since George W. Bush was on the ticket, and there hasn't been a Democrat governor since, From an electoral standpoint, the closeness of this race is all about Yonkin's performance with independence.
[40] They were going from McCullough over the summer, but now appeared to be breaking hard for Yonkin this month.
[41] The last three polls had him leading by 7, 18, and 22 points with independence.
[42] Now, that's crucial if he's going to win in a place like Virginia.
[43] And from a policy standpoint, the shift has been about one thing, and that's education.
[44] Now, what else do we need to know on that front?
[45] Well, this election has really been a case study in how one issue, in this case, education, can change an entire campaign.
[46] Yonkin called for an end to COVID lockdowns and mask mandates.
[47] He also promised to ban critical race theory in classrooms.
[48] McAuliffe went the opposite route, supporting mask mandates and vowing to support a vaccine mandate for school employees.
[49] He also made the now infamous comment that, quote, I don't think parents should be telling schools what to teach.
[50] and he actually doubled down on that comment this week.
[51] I love Billion Jack McCall of my parents, but they should not have been picking my math or science book.
[52] We have experts who actually do that.
[53] After that initial comment, the race totally shifted.
[54] In September, McCullough felt a 33 -point lead among voters who listed education as their top priority.
[55] Now it's Yonkin up in nine with those voters.
[56] So that's a 42 -point swing in just two months.
[57] Right.
[58] I mean, that's pretty staggering.
[59] And what were the final days of campaigning like?
[60] It's worth pointing out where each candidate has been campaigning in the final days before the race.
[61] McCullough was in Southeast Virginia, near Virginia Beach and Norfolk, two strongholds for Democrats.
[62] Yonkin was in Northern Virginia, in Alexandria and Arlington, two places Democrats usually dominate.
[63] I spoke to a few Virginia campaign experts who say the fact that McCullough is campaigning in an area where he really should have locked down support already shows how his campaign might be nervous about enthusiasm among their base.
[64] And on the flip side, they say Yonkin, spending his final days in mostly blue counties, shows they're probably confident their base is going to turn out.
[65] And now they're just trying to focus on peeling off independence and maybe a few Democrats up in Northern Virginia.
[66] Well, hopefully by tonight, we're going to know whose strategy worked.
[67] Cabot, thanks for the update.
[68] Any time.
[69] That's Daily Wires, Cabot Phillips.
[70] Coming up, thousands of New York firefighters call out sick ahead of the vaccine mandate deadline.
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[75] In New York City, some 9 ,000 city employees have been put on unpaid leave as a result of the city's COVID -19 vaccine mandate.
[76] Just last week, more than 2 ,000 of the city's firefighters called in sick ahead of the mandate's deadline.
[77] City officials claim the sick leave was used as a protest of the city's vaccine mandate, but the head of a powerful union says firefighters needed time off to deal with the side effects of vaccine doses.
[78] Here to discuss the ongoing struggles in the Big Apple is Daily Wire Senior Editor Ash Short.
[79] Ash, what's going on in New York City?
[80] Well, city officials like Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro claimed firefighters were taking, quote, irresponsible bogus sick leave due to, quote, anger at the vaccine mandate.
[81] But Andrew Ansbrough, President of the Uniformed Firefighters Association, said firefighters were taking sick leave due to side effects of the COVID -19 vaccines.
[82] He said hundreds of firefighters for feeling flu -like symptoms.
[83] Well, I guess the second dose has made a lot of people temporarily sick, so that might make some sense, right?
[84] Right.
[85] And since, as the union says, Mayor Bill de Blasio only gave the fire department nine days to comply with the mandate, a lot of people were going to have to get those shots all around the same time.
[86] Jim McCarthy, president of the New York Chapter of the Uniform Firefighters Association, asked for more time to allow firefighters to get the shot or file their medical and religious exemptions.
[87] Some have even decided to retire rather than comply with the mandate.
[88] So just nine days to comply.
[89] Right.
[90] The deadline to get the vaccine was Monday.
[91] Do we know what sort of impact this will have on safety in the city?
[92] what kind of potential staff shortages we might be looking at?
[93] Well, city officials said about 84 % of New York police officers had gotten at least the first dose by the deadline, as well as 75 % of firefighters.
[94] This means that a good chunk of police and firefighters could be placed on unpaid leave for failing to comply with the mandate.
[95] Ansbrough, the union president, said he didn't know how many firefighters would ultimately be affected once the deadline passed, but he thinks the impact might be significant.
[96] Due to the manpower shortage, the engine company behind this has been closed for the day.
[97] But this is going on around the city that we're already short staff and members can no longer work the tours that they have.
[98] For the mayor to turn around and say we can run this department with 25 to 35 % less members is ignoring the fact that we can't even keep firehouses open today.
[99] Beyond firefighters and police are any other services or industries experiencing problems due to the vacuum?
[100] As a matter of fact, yes.
[101] Last week, the trash started piling up in New York City.
[102] Residents complained and claimed sanitation employees were protesting the vaccine mandate.
[103] But again, they may have been complying with the mandate and taking sick days to recover from vaccine side effects.
[104] It's hard to know what's really driving this.
[105] Either way, the trash started accumulating on the streets.
[106] What a mess.
[107] Yeah.
[108] Ash, thanks for keeping us up to date.
[109] Anytime.
[110] That's Daily Wire Senior Editor.
[111] Ash Short.
[112] The trial of Kyle Rittenhouse began on Monday, in which the 18 -year -old is arguing that he shot three men in self -defense during rioting in Wisconsin last year.
[113] Some legal experts say Rittenhouse has a strong case for self -defense.
[114] Daily Wire investigative reporter Marade Alorty is here with more details for us.
[115] So, Marade, there's been a lot of conflicting information surrounding this trial.
[116] Can you break down the facts of the case for us?
[117] Certainly.
[118] So Kyle Rittenhouse is an 18 -year -old from a northern suburb of Chicago, about 15 miles from Kenosha, Wisconsin.
[119] On August 25th of last year, when he was 17, Rittenhouse responded to calls on social media to go to Kenosha to protect businesses from looting and vandalism due to rioting sparked by the wounding of Jacob Blake, a black man by a white police officer.
[120] He armed himself with a Smith -and -West on M &P 15, which is an AR -15 -style rifle that police say his friend illegally bought for him, as well as a medical kit.
[121] While Rittenhouse was portrayed, he was controlling the downtown Kenosha area, he got into several altercations that resulted in him fatally shooting two people and injuring a third person.
[122] Both Rittenhouse and the three men he shot are all white.
[123] Before the shootings, Rittenhouse spoke to a reporter and said that, quote, if there's somebody hurt, I'm running into harm's way, that's why I have my rifle.
[124] And how did the shootings unfold exactly?
[125] So from what we understand so far, first, Rittenhouse was chased by a group of rioters.
[126] One man, a Kenosha resident, charged at Rittenhouse, throwing what appeared to be something inside a plastic bag and tried to take his rifle.
[127] At that point, Rittenhouse fired four times at the man who died shortly after.
[128] The other shootings happened later in a different location.
[129] Rittenhouse claims and cell phone video seems to corroborate that he was running away from protesters toward police at this point.
[130] That's when Rittenhouse tripped and fell.
[131] While on the ground, one man kicked him, Rittenhouse fired at him twice but missed.
[132] Right after that, Rittenhouse still on the ground, more protesters began to attack him, with one man hitting him with a skateboard, and attempting to take his rifle.
[133] Rittenhouse fired the man once and killed him.
[134] Then another man came up to Rittenhouse with a handgun and Rittenhouse shot him too, injuring his arm but not killing him.
[135] So those are the basic facts of the case, as we know it right now.
[136] Tell us about the status so far of this trial.
[137] Yeah, so jury selection for Rittenhouse's trial started on Monday in Kenosha.
[138] He was arrested the day after the shootings and charged with several counts of homicide and attempted homicide, as well as unlawful possession of a firearm.
[139] His friend was also arrested and charged with illegally supplying him with a firearm.
[140] Legal experts say his self -defense case is strong, but if he loses, the judge in his case, Judge Bruce Schroeder, has a reputation for harsh sentences.
[141] However, the judge is also known for giving defendants a lot of leeway to make their case beforehand.
[142] Prosecutors tried to bar the defense from referring to the men written house shot as, quote, rioters, looters, or arsonists.
[143] But the judge denied that request, saying that the defense can refer to them that way if they provide evidence to support it.
[144] The judge also told prosecutors they can't refer to the men shot as, quote, victims.
[145] Now, most of what you've described of the actual events from that night, we know from video footage, but then there's also some additional context and some allegations that have come out since then.
[146] Yes, right.
[147] The prosecution has tried to tie Rittenhouse to the Proud Boys, a right -wing Wens group, suggesting racial motives.
[148] But as lawyers deny Rittenhouse as a member, another detail being discussed is the criminal records of the men written house shot.
[149] All three had criminal records.
[150] Joseph Rosenbaum, the first man, Writtenhouse, killed, was a registered sex offender convicted of felony child sex abuse and was accused of molesting or raping five different boys between the ages of nine and 11.
[151] Rittenhouse's lawyers wanted to argue that Rosenbaum tried to steal Rittenhouse's gun because as a sex offender, Rosenbaum couldn't legally possess a gun himself.
[152] Another thing that's attracted attention is a video of Rittenhouse appearing to punch a teenage girl who was fighting with his younger sister a couple of months before the shootings.
[153] Prosecutors also wanted to show a video from a few weeks before the shooting, in which Rittenhouse is apparently heard saying he wished he had his gun to shoot some men he thought were shoplifting from a CVS.
[154] So a really messy case.
[155] We'll definitely be following the story closely.
[156] Mairee, thank you.
[157] Of course.
[158] That's Daily Wire investigative reporter, Marade Allorty.
[159] Other stories we're tracking this week.
[160] Since a new Texas law banning abortions after fetal activity went into effect, the number of abortions performed in the state has fallen by nearly 50 percent compared to the previous year.
[161] Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin found that in September 2021, 2 ,164 abortions were performed in the state.
[162] That's about half of the 4 ,313 abortions performed in September 2020.
[163] And this week, Austin residents have the chance to vote to expand police funding in a special election.
[164] In the past year, the Austin City Council voted to cut about.
[165] one -third of the city's police budget, the most aggressive police budget cut in the country.
[166] Over the following year, the city experienced a 71 % surge in crime.
[167] Some argue that additional funding will not be enough to fill police vacancies caused by attrition due to low morale.
[168] 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.
[169] That's all the time we've got this morning.
[170] Thanks for waking up with us.
[171] We'll be back tomorrow with the news you need to.
[172] to know.
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