Morning Wire XX
[0] As violent conflicts between Israel and the Palestinians intensify, Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday.
[1] We're urging all sides to take urgent steps to restore calm.
[2] Why are they meeting now and what's at stake?
[3] I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire Editor -in -Chief John Bickley.
[4] It's Tuesday, January 31st, and this is Morning Wire.
[5] Long -time retailers are abandoning down.
[6] downtown Chicago due to increasing crime.
[7] So why is Mayor Lori Lightfoot dancing in the streets?
[8] And the Project Veritas Pfizer video has been viewed nearly 30 million times.
[9] So the Pfizer statement that they sort of always disclose everything in a timely fashion is not really consistent with their track record.
[10] We sort out fact from fiction with Johns Hopkins, Dr. Marty McCarrie.
[11] Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire.
[12] Stay tuned.
[13] We have the news you need to know.
[14] Hey guys, producer Brandon here.
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[20] On Monday, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken arrived in Israel for a highly anticipated meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a surge of terrorist violence grips the region and the threat of a nuclear Iran grows.
[21] Here is more on what the leaders discussed and how the two sides hoped to contain the Iranian regime as Daily Wire's senior editor, Cabot Phillips.
[22] Cabot, an important meeting with our closest ally in the Middle East.
[23] First, why is this meeting so significant?
[24] Well, a visit like this is always newsworthy, but the timing here made it all the more important, as the region just experienced its bloodiest week in years.
[25] On Thursday, the Israeli military conducted a counterterrorism raid in the Palestinian city of Janine.
[26] The Israelis say that they killed six terrorists during the raid, but the Palestinians say that nine were killed, one of whom was an elderly woman, a claim the Israeli government says will be looked into.
[27] Now, following that operation, there were multiple retaliatory terrorist attacks against civilians in Jerusalem.
[28] The worst was a shooting outside of a synagogue where a lone gunman killed seven worshippers and injured three more, including a 15 -year -old boy.
[29] And then the next day, a 13 -year -old Palestinian boy shot and injured two more civilians in Israel.
[30] Those attacks prompted widespread celebration among Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.
[31] Now, what was Blinken attempting to accomplish in this meeting?
[32] Well, there were two parts to the visit.
[33] First, the focus on containing Iran.
[34] That's where Netanyahu and the Biden administration agree.
[35] And second, on a topic where the two are at odds.
[36] Palestinian statehood and a so -called two -state solution.
[37] We'll start with Iran.
[38] The two sides addressed joint efforts to combat the regime's attempt to develop nuclear weapons and also their shipment of drones to Russia for use against Ukraine.
[39] Over the weekend, the Israelis launched a drone attack of their own, blowing up a military facility in an Iranian town known for missile production.
[40] And this all comes a week after the U .S. and Israel held their largest joint military exercise in history, and a clear message directed Iran that America is not turning its back on the Middle East.
[41] Pensions are high to say the least.
[42] To that point, here's blinking at a press conference following their meeting.
[43] We agree that Iran must never be allowed to acquire a nuclear weapon.
[44] Just as Iran has long -supported terrorists that attack Israelis and others, the regime is now providing drones that Russia is using to kill innocent Ukrainian civilians.
[45] All right, so agreement on Iran and disagreement on the two -state solution.
[46] Yeah, the Biden administration has long been clear that they want to see Israel and the Palestinians reach an agreement that would ultimately result in Palestinian statehood.
[47] Blinken said anything that, quote, moves this away from that vision would be detrimental to Israel's long -term identity as a Jewish and democratic state.
[48] But many Israelis view it differently.
[49] They say Palestinian leaders have shown no willingness to respect international law or borders and would only use statehood to further their anti -Israel agenda.
[50] The argument here is effectively that sovereignty is a responsibility that it must be earned in this case rather than a right.
[51] A lot of complex political issues at work here.
[52] Cabot, thanks for reporting.
[53] Anytime.
[54] That's Daily Wire's senior editor, Cabot Phillips.
[55] Coming up, stores close permanently on magnificent mile in Chicago due to rising crime.
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[64] A growing number of businesses are abandoning magnificent mile in downtown Chicago, including anchor department stores like Macy's due to rising crime and frequent break -ins.
[65] Mayor Lightfoot faces a competitive race to maintain her office as citizens and fellow Democrats become increasingly frustrated with the level of crime.
[66] Daily Wire investigative reporter, Marade Allardy, is here with the details for us.
[67] So, Marade, what's going on in Chicago?
[68] Hi, Georgia.
[69] Well, Chicago is essentially in crisis right now when it comes to crime.
[70] A lot of Chicago's marquee businesses have abandoned their stores because of rampant shoplifting.
[71] Chicago's magnificent mile shopping district is now a third empty, thanks to the crime uptick.
[72] One of the major departures was Macy's, which was considered an anchor store to the downtown commercial area.
[73] Other stores that have permanently closed are The Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Timberland, and Uniclo.
[74] For comparison, the vacancy rate in 2016 was just 3%.
[75] Now it's 30%.
[76] Meanwhile, violent crime is making the city more and more unsafe for families and everyday people.
[77] Over the weekend, Mayor Lightfoot was seen on video dancing along to a drumline during Chicago's Lunar New Year parade.
[78] A local Chicago paper responded by calling Lightfoot, quote, detached from reality for blissfully dancing and asking voters to return her to office.
[79] Now, when you say that crime is up, what are the actual numbers?
[80] Crime in Chicago soared 61 % overall in the first three weeks of 2023 compared to the same period last year, according to Chicago police.
[81] Police got more than 4 ,800 crime reports compared to just over 3 ,000 in the first three weeks of last year.
[82] Chicago saw 695 murders in 2022, which is down from the last couple years during the pandemic, but still one of the city's highest murder totals since the 1990s.
[83] The last two weekends have been bloody.
[84] Two people were shot and killed last weekend in Chicago, and 13 more were injured, including a three -year -old boy.
[85] Last weekend, seven people were killed and nearly two dozen injured.
[86] Meanwhile, shoplifting and other violent crimes are also high.
[87] Chicago saw over 2 ,800 shootings last year.
[88] Violent crime rose just 1 .5 % last year, but robberies rose 23%.
[89] It's also worth noting that just last month, Lightfoot blocked the public from accessing police scanner channels.
[90] Lightfoot said the measure was to stop criminals from abusing the information, but local media outlets say it harms their ability to accurately report on crime.
[91] Other critics say it's a method of covering up the city's crime problems.
[92] It's about officer safety.
[93] If it's unencrypted and there's access, there's no way to control criminals who are going to also get access, listen in, and adjust their criminal behavior.
[94] Now, Chicago's mayoral election is coming up.
[95] Does it look like Lightfoot is going to be able to hold on to her office?
[96] Well, just four years ago, she handled one election and was celebrated as the city's first black and openly gay mayor.
[97] But this time around, Lightfoot is facing a crowded primary with at least eight challengers.
[98] Some of her challengers actually formally supported her, but have since changed their tune.
[99] The election is on February 28th, but Chicago residents have already started voting early.
[100] Right now, it looks like no candidate will get half the vote.
[101] And if that happens, a runoff election will be held on April 4th between the top two candidates.
[102] All right.
[103] Well, Marade, thanks so much for reporting.
[104] That was Daily Wire investigative reporter, Marade Allorty.
[105] An undercover video produced by Project Veritas has been viewed more than 27 million times since it was released last week.
[106] The viral video appears to show a Pfizer employee discussing something called directed evolution of the COVID virus.
[107] Pfizer ultimately is thinking about mutating COVID.
[108] Well, that is not what we say to the public.
[109] We're storing, like, you know how the virus is mutating?
[110] Yeah.
[111] Well, one of the things we're exploring is, like, why do we just mutate ourselves?
[112] So we could put up so we can create, I'm going to develop new vaccines, right?
[113] So we have to do that.
[114] If we're going to do that, though, that's a risk.
[115] People were quick to compare the term directed evolution to gain of function research.
[116] Amid swirling questions, Pfizer issued a press release on Friday night that while it did not address the video directly, did respond to the allegations.
[117] Pfizer insisted that, quote, it has not conducted gain of function or directed evolution research.
[118] Joining us to sort through the rumors and the truth is Johns Hopkins, Dr. Marty McCarrie.
[119] Dr. McCarrie, thanks for coming on.
[120] Good to be with you, Georgia.
[121] So first off, what is directed evolution?
[122] And should we be concerned about what we heard in that video?
[123] I was not concerned by the Pfizer executives' comments on that video because most of what happened, with viruses and vaccine development is on a computer screen.
[124] That is, it's not actually old -fashioned chemistry where you're pouring substances and virus particles in a laboratory.
[125] You're trying to figure out what the shape is of a spike protein on a future variant of the COVID virus.
[126] And that's done on computer simulators.
[127] Once you predict the shape, or you get the genetic code from a place in the world where they've sequenced the new variant, you can then develop an antibody by just dialing in the mRNA sequence.
[128] And that's the so -called promise of MRNA technology.
[129] But many believe that the enthusiasm for MRNA vaccines has outpaced its formal study, including that of vaccine -related complications.
[130] Pfizer has been fined many times either every year or every few years for the last few decades, including one of the largest fines in criminal history in the United States.
[131] We also know that during the COVID pandemic, there's been some data that's just taken too slow for them to release.
[132] We know Moderna never really released its bi -valent trial data when the FDA was reviewing that for authorization, something that really upset the FDA advisors.
[133] And with Pfizer, there is a pregnancy trial of the COVID vaccine that closed in summer of 2021, and we have never seen the results of it.
[134] They've never been made public.
[135] Now, the FDA is attempting to formalize some new recommendations around the COVID vaccines.
[136] What are those new recommendations?
[137] Well, the FDA is suggesting that maybe people should get a COVID vaccine every year.
[138] And there's a lot of pushback by the FDA's own advisors, the external experts.
[139] These are people who supported vaccine mandates and school mask requirements.
[140] Even they are now saying, hey, wait a minute, annual COVID boosters is just going too far.
[141] There's no data right now to support it.
[142] So why are we trying to decide that people are going to need an annual COVID booster?
[143] And what is the latest word on the safety of these MRNA vaccines?
[144] I think the COVID vaccines are relatively safe, but we are seeing a complication rate, something we call a category of severe adverse events occur somewhere between 1 in 800 vaccine administrations, according to the Freeman study that came out in September in the U .S., and one in 5 ,000 vaccine administrations, which is what the German study showed.
[145] So that is relatively high when you're talking about a virus that poses no substantial risk of death to a young healthy individual.
[146] And we also know that myocarditis may be occurring subclinically.
[147] That means in two or three percent of people, according to one study, they may have a low level of heart injury and myocarditis, but they feel fine and they don't notice anything.
[148] So I would say for a young healthy person, it does not make sense.
[149] sense to go down this path of infinite boosters every year.
[150] All right.
[151] Well, thanks so much for weighing in today.
[152] That was Johns Hopkins, Dr. Marty McCarrie.
[153] Another story we're tracking this week.
[154] Pro -life activist and Catholic father of seven, Mark Halk, was acquitted Monday in federal court of face act charges brought on by the Biden DOJ.
[155] Here with more as Daily Wire reporter, Amanda Prestizakamo.
[156] Mark Halk was accused of violating the face act after he allegedly shut an abortion clinic escort to the ground who was allegedly hassling his 12 -year -old son.
[157] This happened back in 2021 outside of a Philadelphia Planned Parenthood.
[158] Local authorities declined to press any charges, but the Biden DOJ stepped in and decided to make a federal case of it.
[159] The pro -life activist infamously had his home -rated by reportedly dozens of federal agents last year.
[160] He was arrested by armed fads in front of his wife and his seven young children.
[161] Halk was facing 11 years behind bars and hundreds of thousands of in fines if convicted.
[162] Here's Peter Breen, one of Haukes' attorneys, reacting to the win on Monday.
[163] Our hope here is that a message was sent to Washington, D .C., to stop this harassment of sidewalk counselors who are just trying to provide alternatives to those who are facing an abortion decision, and so no one else will have to suffer the same way that Mark and his family have had to suffer here.
[164] That's all the time we've got this morning.
[165] Thanks for waking up with us.
[166] We'll be back later this afternoon with more news you need to know.
[167] Now.