Morning Wire XX
[0] Blocked bridges, injured capital police, and dozens of arrests as ceasefire protests get out of control in several U .S. cities.
[1] I'm Daily Wire, editor -in -chief John Bickley with Georgia Howe.
[2] It's Friday, November 17th, and this is Morning Wire.
[3] Weight -loss drug, OSMPIC, continues to show some promise for obesity and related health concerns, but the side effects may be deadly for some patients.
[4] For me, that could happen, no tune of entitlement.
[5] Oh, am I sure she wanted to get a target?
[6] What are the latest claims from patients and how is the drug manufacturer responding?
[7] And New York Mayor Eric Adams is being investigated by the FBI.
[8] What are the feds looking for and what's the mayor saying?
[9] Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire.
[10] Stay tuned.
[11] We have the news you need to know.
[12] Pro -Palestinian protests have shut down bridges in major cities in the U .S. and Canada.
[13] And a violent protest in Washington, D .C., threatened several.
[14] several top lawmakers.
[15] Plus, a new social media trend inspires 9 -11 apologists.
[16] Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce is here to talk about the protests and the controversy online.
[17] Hi, Tim.
[18] First, what can you tell us about these blocked bridges?
[19] Sure, protesters shut down bridges in at least three major cities, Boston and San Francisco in the U .S. and Montreal and Canada.
[20] The protesters blocked traffic and carried signs in support of Gaza Palestinians and called for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
[21] Each protest shut down traffic for at least an hour.
[22] In San Francisco, protesters parked dozens of cars on the Bay Bridge and threw their keys into the Bay.
[23] Authorities arrested and estimated 50 people associated with that protest and had to tow the cars out of the way to open up traffic.
[24] Here's what a bit of that protest sounded like.
[25] In Boston, the protesters blocked off the Boston University Bridge between the city in Cambridge for over two hours.
[26] And then in Montreal, protesters carried park benches and picnic tables onto a bridge there and blocked traffic for an hour and caused major traffic congestion.
[27] No arrests were made in either the Boston or Montreal protests.
[28] Now, there was another protest in Washington, D .C. on Wednesday night that ended up threatening some lawmakers.
[29] What do we know about that incident?
[30] So protesters surrounded the Democratic National Committee's headquarters in D .C. and called for President Biden to push Israel for a ceasefire.
[31] Capitol Police responded and evacuated the area and several lawmakers from the DNC over concerns of violence at the protest.
[32] Here's what some of that sounded like.
[33] Protesters blame police for getting violent, but police said the protesters blocked off exits with dumpsters and pepper -sprayed officers.
[34] When the mob tried to grab a bike rack, police jumped in and began clearing the area.
[35] At least one person was arrested for assault of a police officer.
[36] Capital Police said six officers were treated with injuries from pepper spray to hits in the face.
[37] According to reports, top House Democrats, minority leader Hakeem Jeffries, Whip, Catherine Clark, and caucus chair Pete Aguilar, were all evacuated from the DNC during the protest, as were several other Democratic lawmakers.
[38] Congressman Brad Sherman of California said he was evacuated after, quote, pro -terrorist anti -Israel protesters grew violent, pepper -spraying police officers and attempting to break into the building.
[39] Speaking of pro -terrorism, that's apparently become somewhat of a trend on TikTok.
[40] Yeah.
[41] What can you tell us about these 9 -11 posts?
[42] Right.
[43] Over the past few days, numerous videos on TikTok have featured apologists for the 9 -11 terror attacks based off a 2002 letter to America written by Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the 9 -11 terror attacks.
[44] Here's a sample.
[45] This morning I read Letter to America, which is Osama bin Laden's letter to America explaining why he attacked Americans.
[46] It's wild and everyone should read it.
[47] However, be forewarned that this has left me very disillusioned, and I feel the same exact way I felt when I was deconstructing Christianity.
[48] I feel a little bit just confused like I have entered into another timeline.
[49] What is this?
[50] For its part, TikTok said in a statement on Thursday that these terror apologist videos, quote, clearly violate our rules on supporting any form of terrorism.
[51] The platform said it is working to take them down, but also downplayed their significance.
[52] The statement said, quote, the number of videos on TikTok is small and reports of it trending on our platform are inaccurate.
[53] Well, still very troubling, to say the least.
[54] Tim, thanks for joining us.
[55] Thanks for having me. That was Daily Wire reporter, Tim Pierce.
[56] A 56 -year -old woman has died after taking Ozempik, her family claims, sparking new debate around the growing demand for weight loss injectables.
[57] Here to discuss is Daily Wire reporter Amanda Prestige Acomo.
[58] So Amanda, let's get into these latest claims.
[59] about Ozzympic.
[60] What is this family saying happened here?
[61] Hey, Georgia.
[62] So the family claims Trish Webster and Australian woman saw an ad for Zemphic last year and was able to get a doctor to prescribe it to her off -label since Webster did not have diabetes.
[63] According to her husband, Webster wanted to lose weight to fit into a dress for her daughter's wedding, and she thought the drug could help.
[64] After a few months, she switched to another weight loss injectable called Saxenda to lose even more weight.
[65] Now, sex senda, like Ozempic, is manufactured by Novo Nordisk.
[66] It was within five months that Webster lost about 35 pounds, but she suffered from gastrointestinal symptoms that her family claims were related to these drugs.
[67] On January 16th, she died of acute gastrointestinal illness.
[68] Her husband says he found her unresponsive with, quote, brown stuff coming out of her mouth.
[69] He told 60 Minutes Australia, it was just pouring out, and I turned her onto the side because she couldn't breathe.
[70] Now, what's the drug company saying?
[71] So Novo Nordisk is saying that they stand by the safety and efficacy of OZempic when used as directed.
[72] The company also stood by its drug when a Louisiana woman who says she suffered from gastrointestinal injuries from OZempe filed a lawsuit claiming the company failed to adequately warn patients about those potential risks of severe stomach problems as a side effect.
[73] Novo Nordisk said her apparent vomiting and pain from OZempic are documented side effects on the drug's label.
[74] I'll add that in addition to some of these known gastrointestinal side effects and the potential risk of thyroid tumors and thyroid cancer, some doctors are warning that we just still don't know enough about potential longer -term effects.
[75] Here's Canadian physician Dr. Peter Attia talking about just that during an appearance on the him and her podcast.
[76] I think what I'm limited by is the duration of the studies, right?
[77] Like, you know, we've seen patients on these drugs for a year, for two years.
[78] The point is, at least to me, there's a whole lot we don't understand yet.
[79] And when you're dealing with uncertainty, you just have to, I think, decide, is this really worth the risk?
[80] Well, that said, these drugs are becoming extremely popular still.
[81] Do we have any data about how many Americans are currently using them?
[82] So, according to the Washington Post, there were nine million active prescriptions for a Zempec and similar drugs in the last quarter of 2022.
[83] Now a year later, that number is undoubtedly higher.
[84] and that's largely because there's much more awareness now than even just a year ago.
[85] New data show that there are around 4 ,000 active ad campaigns mentioning semaglutide.
[86] That's the main ingredient in Ozempic and Wagovi on just Instagram and Facebook alone.
[87] So for some contacts, that completely eclipses active campaigns for Viagra, a hugely popular drug promoted online.
[88] Someaglutide -related ad campaigns more than doubled that of Viagra.
[89] Additionally, according to e -commerce analyst company pattern, searches for OZemPEC have exploded on Amazon, though, of course, you can't purchase OZEMPIC through Amazon.
[90] So year -over -year, searches for OZempec and semaglutide on this site were up more than 550%.
[91] This rush on OZempec has actually caused Belgium to announce just this past week that the drug is not to be prescribed for weight loss until the summer.
[92] This was done to address the shortage of the drug for people who actually have typed to diabetes.
[93] Unsurprisingly, this huge demand is sparking other drug companies to promote similar weight loss injectables.
[94] It was just earlier this month that the FDA approved Tresepotide for weight loss.
[95] That will be sold under the brand named Zepbound by pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly.
[96] It appears this drug is going to be marketed as a more affordable weight loss injectable option, costing about 20 % less than OZempic.
[97] You know, though, of course, that could still leave you with a price tag of around $1 ,000 a month.
[98] So a very expensive drug, and some of those costs, it sounds like, are still not known.
[99] Amanda, thanks for reporting.
[100] You're welcome.
[101] That was Daily Wire reporter, Amanda Presta Giacomo.
[102] New York City Mayor Eric Adams is reportedly facing a criminal probe from the FBI.
[103] The FBI's investigation is looking into whether Adams pressured the fire department to approve a new consulate building in Manhattan.
[104] Daily Wire investigative reporter, Marade Allorty, is here with the details.
[105] So, Mairead, what exactly are the allegations being investigated?
[106] Hi, Georgia.
[107] So the FBI is looking into whether Adams pressured the New York Fire Department to sign off on the Turkish government's new consulate building despite safety concerns.
[108] After he won the Democratic primary for mayor in July 2021, Adams allegedly contacted the fire commissioner at the time, Daniel Nigro, and pushed him to allow the Turkish government to use a Manhattan high -rise building, at least temporarily, even though fire officials had cited safety issues and declined.
[109] to sign off on it being occupied.
[110] This was an unusual move from a mayor.
[111] The Turkish president ultimately presided over the grand opening of the 35 -story building in September 2021 during a visit.
[112] Last week, FBI agents seized the mayor's electronic devices, although it's not confirmed that this seizure was part of the probe.
[113] Adams was confronted by FBI agents while walking on the street with his security team.
[114] The agents got into Adams' SUV with him and took two cell phones and an iPad.
[115] Those devices were later returned to Adams a few days.
[116] later.
[117] So why would Adams want to help out the Turkish embassy?
[118] What's in it for him?
[119] Well, the probe has looked at whether Adams' campaign conspired with the Turkish government to obtain illegal campaign donations.
[120] Adams has a long relationship with the Turkish consulate general, which paid for part of Adams' 2015 trip to Turkey.
[121] The FBI is also looking at a Brooklyn construction company owned by Turkish immigrants.
[122] The construction company allegedly organized a fundraising event for Adams that brought in $43 ,600.
[123] According to the New York Post, Adams received $6 ,000 from donors who serve on a Foundation's board that is backed by the Turkish president's son.
[124] The FBI's probe is not yet public and no charges have been filed against Adams, but the New York Times reported the probe this week.
[125] The probe is reportedly part of a broader public corruption investigation by the FBI and Manhattan federal prosecutors.
[126] Okay, so no charges formally filed against Adams.
[127] Has he responded yet?
[128] He has.
[129] Adams defended himself saying, I have nothing to hide, and that he has not been accused of wrongdoing, and I will continue to cooperate with investigators.
[130] Now, is this related to the other probe into the woman who ran Adams' fundraising?
[131] It is, yes.
[132] About two weeks ago, FBI agents also searched the home of Adams' chief fundraiser, Brianna Suggs.
[133] She was a campaign consultant for Adams.
[134] Adams' campaign attorney said Adams remains committed to cooperating and acknowledged the FBI phone seizure, saying that agents approached Adams, and he immediately complied with the FBI's request and provided them with electronic devices.
[135] The investigation comes at a really difficult time for Adams as the city is currently struggling with the 130 ,000 illegal migrants who arrived since last year.
[136] Well, we'll see what comes of it.
[137] Marade, thanks for reporting.
[138] Thanks, Georgia.
[139] That was Daily Wire investigative reporter, Marade Allorty.
[140] Thanks for listening to Morning Wire.
[141] We created this show to bring more balance to the national conversation.
[142] And if you love our show and stand with that mission, consider subscribing, giving us a five -star rating, and most importantly, sharing our podcast with a friend.
[143] That's all the time we've got this morning.
[144] Thanks for waking up with us.
[145] We'll be back later this afternoon with more news you need to know.