Morning Wire XX
[0] More police officers were intentionally killed in 2021 than any year since 1995.
[1] As violent crime surges in U .S. cities, President Biden meets with New York City's mayor and members of law enforcement.
[2] How many more officers have to lose their lives before this system changes?
[3] Is New York City ready to abandon their soft -on -crime policies?
[4] I'm John Bickley with Georgia Howell.
[5] It's Friday, February 4th, and this is Morning Wire.
[6] There's a standoff between the federal government and several.
[7] GOP state governors over National Guard troops and vaccination.
[8] And an NFL coach is suing the league over racial discrimination.
[9] We'll take a look at the incriminating texts that he says prove his case.
[10] Plus, the top leader of ISIS in Syria is killed in a U .S. operation.
[11] Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire.
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[18] President Biden met with New York City Mayor Eric Adams Thursday to discuss the city's recent struggle with violent crime.
[19] The meeting comes after six police officers were shot across the country in the span of just 48 hours last week, and already this week, two more were shot and killed on a college campus in Virginia.
[20] The deaths come just weeks after a report, court showing that more law enforcement officers were feloniously killed in 2021 than in any single year in the past decade.
[21] Here to discuss the tragedies is Daily Wire Senior Editor Ash Short.
[22] So, Ash, what can you tell us about the shootings over this past week?
[23] Well, last week, six officers were shot across multiple states, two in St. Louis, one in Milwaukee, and three in Houston.
[24] They've all survived.
[25] But on Tuesday of this week, two campus officers were shot and killed during an active shooter situation at Bridgewater College in Virginia, and that's in addition to the two very high -profile police killings in New York.
[26] So give us some context here.
[27] How did these shootings happen?
[28] In St. Louis, the two officers had pulled over a vehicle that matched the description of one involved in a homicide the night before.
[29] As they approached the vehicle, the suspects inside started shooting at them, striking both officers.
[30] One officer, who was hit in the leg was in very unstable condition late last week, but he is reportedly showing amazing improvement this week.
[31] In Milwaukee, a sheriff's deputy was shot multiple times in his arms and torso after pursuing a passenger who fled on foot during a traffic stop.
[32] And the officers in Houston were shot by a suspect who fled the scene and barricaded himself in a house, leading to another gunfight with police.
[33] That suspect surrendered after being shot in the neck.
[34] And then there's the incident in Virginia.
[35] Police officer John Painter and campus safety officer JJ Jefferson were both killed after being shot by a suspect carrying a gun on Bridgewater's campus.
[36] This case was particularly devastating because the officers were close friends.
[37] They were known as the dynamic duo on campus and Painter was even the best man at Jefferson's recent wedding.
[38] The suspect was treated for a non -life -threatening gunshot wound following the attack, but it is unclear whether it was self -inflicted or a result of a shootout with police.
[39] Well, and then in late January, there were the two NYPD officers that were killed on duty.
[40] And that was, of course, back in the news this week because the city had those two massive funerals within one week.
[41] Right.
[42] NYPD officer Jason Rivera was laid to rest last Friday after he and his partner, Wilbert Mora, were ambushed in Harlem while responding to a domestic disturbance call.
[43] At the funeral service, Officer Rivera's wife gave a movie.
[44] eulogy that went viral after she blasted Manhattan's district attorney for being soft on crime.
[45] Her address got a standing ovation.
[46] We are not safe anymore.
[47] I know you were tired of these laws, especially the ones from the new DA.
[48] I hope he's watching you speak through me right now.
[49] Mora, Rivera's partner, also died from his injuries and his funeral was held on Wednesday of this week.
[50] So the DA, Alvin Bragg, he's facing criticism from police and citizens, but what about political pressure?
[51] Has the governor or the mayor weighed in?
[52] Yeah, they have.
[53] Governor Kathy Hochel has reportedly reached out to the DA and is actively monitoring the situation.
[54] In one interview, she suggested she may use her powers as governor to reverse some of the DA's soft -on -crime policies.
[55] That said, she stopped short of calling for Bragg's removal.
[56] Mayor Eric Adams also met with Bragg and the city's four other DAs last week.
[57] Afterwards, the group released a joint statement saying, quote, safety and justice must go hand in hand.
[58] It's unclear at this point whether the city will take concrete steps to reverse the DA's reforms, which many police officers are blaming for the recent violence.
[59] Right.
[60] Well, just looking at the recent crime trends, it makes sense that some of these policies should get some scrutiny.
[61] Yeah, they should.
[62] Ash, thanks for reporting.
[63] Of course.
[64] That's Daily Wire senior editor, Ash Short.
[65] Coming up, the Biden administration moves forward with its vaccine mandate for the National Guard, despite several states pushing back.
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[71] Seven Republican governors asked the Biden administration to exempt members of the National Guard from the COVID -19 vaccine mandate.
[72] The Defense Department rejected the appeal and says unvaccinated servicemen could be removed from the guard.
[73] Here with more is Daily Wire reporter Ben Johnson.
[74] Good morning, Ben.
[75] Good morning, John.
[76] So a major story here that pits the states against the federal government.
[77] First of all, who's involved in this vaccination dispute?
[78] Well, President Biden has imposed a vaccination mandate on all the members.
[79] of the National Guard and threatened to withhold the pay and benefits or even to fire anyone who doesn't comply.
[80] Republican governors in seven states, Alaska, Oklahoma, Texas, Idaho, Mississippi, Nebraska, and Wyoming notified the Defense Department last December they would not enforce the mandate on guardsmen in their states.
[81] They say the president doesn't have the power to impose the mandate on National Guardsmen because under Title 32 of the U .S. Code, the National Guard is under the command of the governor under normal circumstances.
[82] Usually they're deployed during natural disasters like hurricanes and tornadoes.
[83] Here's Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts who opposes the vaccine mandates.
[84] We got about 20 % of our National Guard that is not vaccinated.
[85] And the real world implication is that this policy is going to be self -defeating.
[86] That if your point is you want to have forced readiness, yet I lose maybe 20 % or even 10%, you know, a significant portion of our National Guard readiness, that is actually going to be counterproductive.
[87] So some consolidated pushback from the states, How did the Biden administration react?
[88] Officials say the National Guard is part of the military, so they retain control, and the Guard had better fall in line.
[89] Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin wrote a letter to the governor saying, quote, failure by a member to do so will lead to a prohibition on participation in drills, training, and other duty conducted under Title 32, and will jeopardize the member status in the National Guard.
[90] Officials say since the Guard's federally funded, the administration can withhold funding.
[91] So he's threatening to fire them if they're unvaccinated?
[92] That's right.
[93] How many people would be affected if the Biden administration actually carries through with this letter?
[94] We know it affects tens of thousands of people nationwide.
[95] In December, 23 ,000 members of the Air National Guard and Air Reserve alone were unvaccinated.
[96] Texas has the largest number of National Guardsmen in the country, 20 ,000 members, and state officials said in court filings approximately 40 % of its personnel was unvaccinated.
[97] 40%.
[98] Wow.
[99] 40%.
[100] Of course, while seven states have raised objections, this is a national issue.
[101] For instance, 47 % of Ohio's Army National Guard, and about a third of the 11 ,500 National Guardsmen in Indiana have not been vaccinated.
[102] But nearly half there.
[103] I mean, this is a significant proportion here.
[104] It is, and, you know, firing that many people could substantially reduce the number of guardsmen who were available to respond to national disasters or other disturbances.
[105] Yeah, it's definitely a concerning development.
[106] Thanks, Ben.
[107] Any time.
[108] That's the Daily Wire reporter, Ben Johnson.
[109] A bombshell lawsuit was filed by a former NFL head coach against the league for racial discrimination in its hiring process, along with allegations that one NFL owner incentivized the coach to lose games.
[110] Here are the details of the lawsuit is Daily Wire Sports reporter Joe Morgan.
[111] Joe, I know there's a lot here.
[112] What can you tell us?
[113] Yeah, this is a big one, John, with quite a lot to unpack.
[114] So it's a 58 -page lawsuit, which I did read.
[115] so I will do my best to explain all of this.
[116] In the class action suit filed a Manhattan federal court on Tuesday, former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores is suing the NFL in several teams, naming the Denver Broncos, the New York Giants, and the Dolphins for racial discrimination in the NFL's hiring process.
[117] Flores was fired as head coach of the Dolphins in January following two winning seasons as head coach of Miami.
[118] It was the first back -to -back winning seasons for the organization since the 2003 season.
[119] The firing was head -scratching to those who followed football at the time.
[120] The first part of this is really interesting because Flores accuses Dolphins owner Stephen Ross of incentivizing Flores to lose games in order to better the team's draft stock.
[121] Paying him to lose.
[122] Paying him to lose.
[123] He actually makes the claim that Dolphins owner pressured Flores to, quote, tank during the 2019 season to the point that Ross offered Flores $100 ,000 for each loss during the season.
[124] That's a good deal.
[125] He also claims, quote, Mr. Ross began to pressure Mr. Flores to recruit a prominent quarterback in violation of league tampering rules.
[126] This was at the end of the 2019 season.
[127] Wow.
[128] Flores claims that as a result of refusing to recruit the quarterback, he was, quote, treated with disdain and held out as someone who was noncompliant and difficult to work with.
[129] And this is a direct quote from the lawsuit, John.
[130] This is reflective of an all too familiar angry black man stigma that is often casted upon black men who are strong in their morals and convictions while white men are coined as passionate for those very same attributes.
[131] So there is a racial component in this part of the lawsuit?
[132] Yeah, very much so.
[133] But there's also more to the lawsuit, which really goes after the league for their hiring process.
[134] So Flores alleges that the New York Giants interviewed him while already intending to hire Buffalo Bill's offensive coordinator Brian Dable in order to satisfy the Rooney Rule requirements.
[135] And walk us through that, the Rooney Rule requirement.
[136] What does it say?
[137] Yeah, so the Rooney Rules, the NFL policy requiring every team with a head coaching vacancy to interview at least one or more diverse candidates.
[138] Right.
[139] The suit shows text messages between Flores and New England Patri's head coach Bill Belichick, in which Belichick informs Flores that the Giants have decided to hire Dable.
[140] Flores worked under Belichick in New England.
[141] Belichick apparently believed he was texting Dable instead of Flores.
[142] Flores had yet to interview with the Giants, so it appears that New York had already decided who their next head coach would be, only interviewing Flores in order to satisfy the Rooney Rule requirement.
[143] Flores joined ESPN on Wednesday to discuss the lawsuit, saying he was humiliated after receiving the text from Belichick.
[144] Disbelief, humiliation, that was a tough pill to swallow.
[145] Flores also alleges that in a 2019 interview for the Denver Broncos, 's head coaching position, quote, then general manager John Elway, president and chief executive officer Joe Ellis, and others showed up an hour late to the interview.
[146] The suit claims the Flores was only granted the interview due to the Rooney Rule as well.
[147] It is worth adding that the Giants, Dolphins, and Broncos have strongly denied the allegations with Dolphins owner Stephen Ross and John Elway putting out statements on Thursday.
[148] So one of the big premises of this lawsuit is that the NFL's affirmative action hiring process is actually backfiring here.
[149] Yeah, that's pretty much what the suit is saying.
[150] And it shouldn't, I mean, this goes without saying, John, but it shouldn't matter what color your skin is when being considered for a head coaching job.
[151] The Rooney Rule does make it so that NFL teams might be tempted to simply check a box when interviewing a minority head coach.
[152] And now, I'm sure there will be calls for additional rules similar to the Rooney Rule after this all gets cleared up.
[153] But critics say that this will only address the symptom and not the root cause of the problem.
[154] Yeah, this is a fascinating story and a pretty complicated lawsuit.
[155] Thanks, Joe.
[156] Absolutely.
[157] Daily Wire Sports reporter, Joe Morgan.
[158] Other stories we're tracking this week?
[159] On Thursday morning, the White House released a statement announcing a Wednesday raid that killed the top leader of ISIS in Syria.
[160] Last night, operating on my orders, the United States military forces successfully moved a major terrorist threat to the world, the global leader of ISIS.
[161] According to the president, steps were taken to minimize civilian casualties.
[162] However, at least 13 people, including women and children, were killed when the terrorist leader detonated an explosive vest.
[163] San Francisco PD will no longer work with district attorney Chesa Boudin's office on investigating officer -involved shootings.
[164] The move comes after it was revealed in court testimony that an investigator with the DA's office was pressured to sign an affidavit against an officer that he claims omitted evidence.
[165] 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.
[166] All right, that's all the time we've got this morning.
[167] Thanks for waking up with us.
[168] We'll be back tomorrow with the news you need to know.
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