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[0] The Biden administration and the CDC are experiencing a crisis of confidence when it comes to their messaging on COVID.
[1] How has their narrative changed in recent weeks?
[2] And how is the media responded to the significant pivot?
[3] It is so sad, but it's true.
[4] The CDC has turned into a punchline.
[5] I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire editor -in -chief John Bickley.
[6] It's Tuesday, January 11th, and this is Morning Wire.
[7] New York City will now allow non -Marches.
[8] citizens to vote in local elections.
[9] What are the parameters of this new measure?
[10] Plus, other controversial policies making headlines in the Big Apple.
[11] And Pope Francis is in the news again over some politically charged comments.
[12] This time, drawing criticism and praise from both the left and the right.
[13] Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire.
[14] Stay tuned.
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[20] With the Omicron variant driving a surge in COVID cases, President Biden is struggling to deliver on his campaign promise of ending the pandemic.
[21] Here to explain how the Biden administration and the media is responding to the struggle is Daily Wire's Ian Howarth.
[22] So, Ian, let's first discuss the administration's handling of this.
[23] The Washington Post, for example, just reported that the CDC director has hired a media consultant to try to get this messaging under control.
[24] So what is their strategy exactly?
[25] It seems to be shifting with a really noticeable change in messaging when it comes to COVID -19 on the highest of levels, from ending the virus to living with it.
[26] President Joe Biden entered office on the back of his promise to, quote, shut down the virus, but is now facing an ongoing surge in COVID cases and more COVID deaths since entering office than during the Trump administration.
[27] So with that in mind, the goalposts have been shifted, with this change in messaging filtering through all the wings of the federal government.
[28] And one clear example of this shift is the positions shown by the CDC.
[29] First off, there's the change when it comes to the demonstrably true notion that those with underlying health conditions are higher risk for COVID.
[30] The head of the CDC, Rochelle Walenski, is now admitting that the vast majority of people who died in COVID -19 had multiple comorbidities.
[31] The overwhelming number of deaths over 75 % occurred in people who had at least four comorbidities.
[32] So really, these are people who were unwelled to begin with.
[33] And just for clarification, she was speaking about vaccinated people here.
[34] So she says just over 75 % of vaccinated people who died had at least four comorbidities.
[35] Right.
[36] And as many might remember, the variable that is underlying health conditions was widely ignored or rejected by many leading voices.
[37] And that's not the only data -related mission from Walensky in recent days.
[38] This weekend, Fox News's Brett Baer asked her as she knew how many of the 800 ,000 -plus COVID deaths in the U .S. were with COVID, as opposed to from COVID.
[39] Wollenski effectively said the CDC didn't know.
[40] Do you have that breakdown?
[41] Yes, of course.
[42] With Omicron, we're following that very carefully.
[43] Our death registry, of course, takes a few weeks to collect.
[44] And, of course, Omicron has just been with us for a few weeks, but those data will be forthcoming.
[45] And last but certainly not least, Walensky also admitted that COVID -19 vaccines do not prevent transmission, despite the continued messaging that getting vaccinated will stop the spread of the virus.
[46] Our vaccines are working exceptionally well.
[47] They continue to work well for Delta with regard to severe illness and death.
[48] They prevent it.
[49] But what they can't do anymore is prevent transmission.
[50] So any more, that's an interesting word choice there.
[51] Now, what about the media?
[52] Are we seeing any pushback to the change in narrative from the White House, or are they largely supportive?
[53] Yeah, that's actually an interesting piece of this puzzle.
[54] There are certainly members of the media who are helping support the changing narrative, but there are others who, in a similar way to the widespread realization that Biden's withdrawal strategy from Afghanistan was a disaster, pointing out that institutions like the CDC are collapsing in terms of public trust.
[55] CNN's Brian Stelter was one surprising example of this.
[56] There's a huge credibility crisis for the CDC.
[57] It just causes people, if they hear all these mixed messages and all that's confusion and it's all too complicated, they just move on and ignore it.
[58] Leading experts like Johns Hopkins, Dr. Marty McCarray, have also highlighted the crisis of confidence in the CDC.
[59] My fear is that pharma may be calling the shots right now, not the CDC.
[60] And this is all playing into an even wider change in attitude towards issues like the side effects of COVID -19 vaccination.
[61] Just a few months ago, for example, the idea that these vaccines were having an impact on women's menstrual cycles was pretty much rejected as a conspiracy theory, but now multiple news outlets are reporting new studies which show just that.
[62] So it'll be interesting moving forward, especially with the midterms coming up, which many people think is actually sparking these changes, to track the change in narrative and the resulting impact on institutions like the CDC and the Biden administration more broadly.
[63] Right.
[64] And it's interesting seeing the CDC now saying some things that other people have been censored and de -platform for saying.
[65] Ian, thanks for the update.
[66] Thanks, Georgia.
[67] That's DailyWire's Ian Howarth.
[68] Coming up, New York City will allow non -citizens to vote.
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[73] More than 800 ,000 non -citizens living in New York City will now be able to vote in local elections under new legislation called Our City Our Vote.
[74] The measure, which went into effect on Sunday, makes New York the first major city in the country to allow non -American citizens to vote.
[75] Here with more on the controversial new law is Daily Wire's Cabot Phillips.
[76] So, Cabot, give us some background here.
[77] We've never really seen anything like this, right?
[78] No, definitely not like this.
[79] There have been towns and cities in Maryland and California.
[80] that have passed similar laws, but not on this scale.
[81] Non -citizens, including many illegal immigrants, green card holders, and so -called dreamers, make up roughly one in nine voting -age New Yorkers.
[82] So this could have a huge impact on the city's electoral landscape overnight.
[83] Yeah, it would seem so.
[84] The measure would allow those who've been, quote, lawful permanent residents in the city for at least 30 days to vote in the mayor's race, city council races, and other local elections.
[85] But more broadly, they still wouldn't be allowed to vote in statewide or federal.
[86] elections.
[87] The city's new mayor, Eric Adams, had hinted in the past that he might veto the legislation, but ultimately he decided to let the measure pass on Sunday when the 30 -day veto window expired.
[88] He issued a statement saying that while he, quote, initially had some concerns about the bill, he believes the law will, quote, bring millions more into the democratic process.
[89] I think it's imperative that people who are in a local municipality have the right to decide who's going to govern them.
[90] And I support the overall concept of that bill.
[91] So obviously a contentious issue, what were the main arguments from each side?
[92] Yeah, supporters of the bill, mainly progressive Democrats, say everyone living in the city, including non -citizens, should have a say in who controls the government.
[93] They say that because permanent residents and green card holders pay some form of taxes and are involved in the local community, they should be entitled to a vote whether they're technically an American citizen or not.
[94] Now, opponents of the bill, mainly Republicans and some moderate Democrats, say that, it's simply illegal.
[95] They point out how the Constitution says the right to vote belongs only to, quote, citizens of the United States who are 18 years of age or older.
[96] And even some Democrats have opposed the measure on that front.
[97] Councilman Common Yeager from Brooklyn, for example, said, quote, it's unconstitutional under state law.
[98] It's very clear we do not have the legal authority to do this.
[99] Well, sure, sounds like we should expect some legal challenges.
[100] Definitely.
[101] Republicans have already hinted that it's going that route soon.
[102] And on that note, some states, including Arizona, Alabama, Colorado, and Florida, have all already passed laws of their own that preemptively restrict non -citizens from voting.
[103] So there is a good chance you would see more states follow that direction if other cities go the way of New York.
[104] Now, this isn't the only controversial policy that we've seen in the city this month.
[105] Tell us about New York's new criminal justice proposals.
[106] Yep, last week, the city's new district attorney Alvin Bragg issued his day one policies and procedures memo.
[107] It included new guidance on jail time for convicted criminals.
[108] The new policy says the city will only seek prison time for those convicted of serious felonies like murder, rape, or domestic abuse.
[109] The majority of other charges, though, including drug crimes, resisting arrest, and prostitution will all no longer result in incarceration, while the DA also urged prosecutors to stop seeking bail requirement for all those awaiting trial.
[110] So a zero bail type approach.
[111] Right, and kind of codifying that.
[112] These policies were especially controversial given the city's crime surge in the last year or two.
[113] Shootings, grand larceny, and homicides have all nearly doubled since 2019, which has many New Yorkers furious saying this type of legislation won't actually help curb that problem.
[114] Well, all these policies have consequences, so we'll see how New Yorkers respond as they go into effect.
[115] We will.
[116] Cabot, thanks for the reporting.
[117] Anytime.
[118] That's Daily Wires, Cabot Phillips.
[119] Pope Francis is ruffling feathers again with statements he made Monday about cancel culture and COVID vaccines.
[120] Here to give us the details on the Pope's comments and the reactions they're getting is Daily Wire reporter Megan Basham.
[121] So, Megan, I know one of the topics that the Pope talked about on Monday is cancel culture, and it probably surprised some people to hear him weigh in on that topic.
[122] Yes, and, you know, not just to weigh in on it, but to weigh in at such a formal venue.
[123] So we've seen Francis make waves with these kind of off -the -cuff remarks a number of times he did something like that last week when he expounded on his belief that people who choose to adopt pets rather than have children are being selfish.
[124] Right.
[125] That was a remark that definitely launched a thousand think pieces.
[126] But in that case, he was speaking sort of extemporaneously to a general audience.
[127] Now, his comments on Monday were not that.
[128] This was an annual address to the Vatican diplomatic corps.
[129] So you can think of it sort of like a State of the Union speech.
[130] Now, what that means is that Francis carefully considered the subjects he was going to talk about and what he would say beforehand.
[131] And what that tells us is that he considers cancel culture a big enough threat to make it a key focus of his remarks.
[132] Here's a bit of his speech translated to English via a Vatican interpreter.
[133] Under the guise of defending diversity, it ends up canceling all sense of identity with the risk of silencing positions that defend a respectful and balanced understanding.
[134] of various sensibilities, a kind of one -track thinking is taking shape, one constrained to deny history, or worse yet, to rewrite it.
[135] Wow, so under the guise of defending diversity, cancel culture ends up canceling all sense of identity.
[136] So that's a strong statement.
[137] It is.
[138] It definitely is.
[139] And I think we need to look at it in the context of things like the European Union's move to canceled the word Christmas.
[140] He called it watered down secularism and a form of ideological colonization, something he repeated yesterday.
[141] And he also said yesterday that cancel culture leaves no room for freedom of expression.
[142] Right.
[143] But on the other hand, he also talked about COVID vaccines.
[144] He did.
[145] And, you know, it was kind of interesting because he made it clear that he feels getting vaccinated as a moral imperative.
[146] But then he actually seemed to tie the subjects of cancel culture and COVID vaccines together.
[147] So what he said was that we live in a world of strong ideological divides and that this divide has discouraged some people from getting vaccinated.
[148] In particular, he pointed to a lack of, quoting here, clear communication that generates confusion, creates mistrust, and undermines social cohesion.
[149] Now, I know he just made these comments yesterday, but what kind of response is he getting so far?
[150] Well, I will say people don't seem to be getting nearly as mad about this as they were about that dogs versus children thing.
[151] But there has been some criticism.
[152] Jay Richards, a prominent Catholic theologian and a Heritage Foundation fellow, he criticized Francis for thinking that vaccines immunize people against the coronavirus.
[153] On the other side, it's been interesting to see how some media outlets are framing his cancel culture comments.
[154] So in its reporting, Politico called it so -called cancel culture, seeming to question whether Francis was actually taking on a legitimate issue.
[155] And that seemed to be a bit of a theme.
[156] In their English captioning of the speech, I noted that Bloomberg omitted the Pope's word dangerous in reference to the kind of one -track thinking cancel culture produces.
[157] So, at least from the media class, there seems to be a sort of soft criticism of his choice of topic and words.
[158] Now, I fully expect we're going to see more direct pushback on both of those subjects in the next few days.
[159] Right, I'm sure we will.
[160] Megan, thanks for the analysis.
[161] Absolutely, my pleasure.
[162] That's Daily Wire reporter, Megan Basham.
[163] Another story we're tracking this week.
[164] House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said he'll remove at least three Democrats from committees if Republicans win the House in the 2022 midterm elections.
[165] Eric Swalwell, Elon Omar, and Adam Schiff.
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