Morning Wire XX
[0] The race for governor in Virginia reaches its final few days, and despite the state being reliably blue, the polls show a near -dead heat.
[1] What's driving the rise in support for the Republican candidate, and why is this race so important for both parties?
[2] I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire Editor -in -Chief John Bickley.
[3] It's Thursday, October 28th, and this is Morning Wire.
[4] An FDA advisory panel has recommended the Pfizer -COVID vaccine for emergency use in children aged 5 to 11.
[5] What were the results of the testing?
[6] And when will the vaccine be available for this age group?
[7] And college students are facing some of the most restrictive COVID guidelines and vaccine mandates around the country.
[8] Many students support the rules, but others say they violate their constitutional rights.
[9] We'll look at these COVID policies and some of the legal pushback.
[10] Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire.
[11] Stay tuned.
[12] We have the news you need to know.
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[18] The Eyes of America turn to Virginia next week, as voters will finally decide the winner in a statewide election with nationwide implications.
[19] The governor's race between Republican Glenn Yonkin and Democrat Terry McAuliffe once considered a surefire win for Democrats is now in a dead heat.
[20] Here with the latest is Daily Wire Managing Editor Cabot Phillips.
[21] So, Cabot, set the scene for us a little bit.
[22] Why is this race in particular getting so much coverage?
[23] Well, there are a few reasons, mainly that this is the first major election since President Biden took office.
[24] And a lot of people really view it as a referendum on the job he's doing.
[25] Remember, Virginia went to Biden by 10 points last November, so the fact that the state is now a toss -up gives some pretty good insight into Biden's popularity.
[26] A victory for Republicans or even a close loss would give them confidence heading into the 2020 midterms nationally.
[27] They haven't had a Republican governor since 2009 and haven't gone red in a presidential election since 2004.
[28] So no matter how you look at it, this appears to be a massive shift that could serve as a litmus test for the rest of the country.
[29] All right, so let's dig into this massive shift.
[30] Can you walk us through some of those polling numbers?
[31] Well, the last four polls in Virginia all show a statistical tie.
[32] Now, obviously, the accuracy of polls can vary, but one thing they're really good at capturing are trends.
[33] And the clear trend in the past two months has been voters flocking to the Republican, Glenn Yonkin.
[34] Polls in September all had McAuliffe up by five to ten points, but there's been a rush of independent voters breaking to Republicans.
[35] The polls also show a significant.
[36] number of suburban women going Republican.
[37] Remember, they were a key factor in Biden's victory and have been for Democrats in the last few terms.
[38] And a lot of experts have been shocked to see them peeling off from the Democrat Party.
[39] So what's happened since September?
[40] What's causing this shift?
[41] Yeah.
[42] If you look at the polling data, the two main issues voters care about the most right now are the economy and education.
[43] On the economic front, a lot of voters right now are blaming Biden for supply chain backups and the slow economic recovery.
[44] And that's reflecting more broadly on Democrats.
[45] So we're seeing a lot of independents who don't like what they're seeing out of D .C. when it comes to the economy.
[46] And basically, they're willing to switch it up in their own state.
[47] Makes sense.
[48] And what about education?
[49] Yeah, education has become the issue in this race in Virginia.
[50] 41 % of voters there now say it's what they care about most.
[51] And you just can't understate how much that has benefited Republicans.
[52] At the beginning of the year, outside of the Republican base, not a ton of voters really prioritized education issues like COVID lockdowns, LGBTQ policies, and critical race theory in classrooms.
[53] But as the year has gone on, there's been a massive increase in the number of independents and even Democrats who are really upset about how public schools have handled those issues, and it's reflecting poorly on Democrats who've largely stood by the schools.
[54] Maybe the biggest moment of the entire campaign came during a debate when Tara McAuliffe, the Democrat, said this about parents' role in education.
[55] I don't think parents should be telling schools what they should teach.
[56] Now, McColliffe is also calling on some notable figures in the party to campaign for him.
[57] What can we make of that?
[58] So Republicans say the fact he's doing that shows how nervous Democrats are.
[59] We've seen everyone from Kamala Harris to Joe Biden and former President Obama have all hit the trail with McCullough.
[60] President Obama addressed the education debate, but appeared to say it was all made up.
[61] We don't have time to be wasting on these phony trumped -up culture wars.
[62] This fake outrage, the right -wing media pedals to juice their ratings.
[63] Fake outrage.
[64] Well, the election is Tuesday, so we're going to keep a close eye on it.
[65] Cabot, thanks for the update.
[66] Anytime.
[67] That's Daily Wire Managing Editor, Cabot Phillips.
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[71] This week, an FDA advisory panel gave its support to the Pfizer vaccine for use in children five to 11 years old.
[72] Here to tell us the details about the decision and what this means going forward is DailyWire's Charlotte Pence Bond.
[73] Charlotte, welcome.
[74] Morning, Georgia.
[75] So tell us about this FDA panel recommendation.
[76] Sure, so an advisory committee for the Food and Drug Administration voted 17 to zero with one abstention in there in favor of allowing the Pfizer vaccine to be used in kids 5 to 11 years old.
[77] The dosage is a little different, though.
[78] The panel is in favor of giving children within the age group one -third of the amount of the vaccine dose given to people who are 12 years of age and older, in the form of two shots spaced by three weeks.
[79] Usually the FDA follows the advice of the panel, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is also planning to have its own panel of specialists meet next week to make their own suggestions.
[80] And what about the risks of this vaccine?
[81] We've heard a bit about myocarditis.
[82] That's the heart condition that occurs in teens.
[83] That's right.
[84] According to the CDC, myocarditis is inflammation of the heart muscle and pericarditis is inflammation of the outer lining of the heart.
[85] These have been seen more in young males and are considered a rare effect of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.
[86] The studies that the group looked at to decide on the Pfizer vaccine for young kids didn't find any myocarditis cases, but the sample size wasn't large enough to probably show it.
[87] For now, the FDA is saying that the benefits of getting the vaccine outweigh the risks.
[88] However, myocarditis is also linked to COVID infection in kids, so unvaccinated kids are still at risk if they end up contracting COVID.
[89] Basically, they can't necessarily risk of myocarditis by avoiding the vaccine, which is a common misconception.
[90] But again, the risk is low with both the vaccine and with COVID infection and most kids recover fully within a couple weeks.
[91] And what is the risk level for kids 5 to 11 of dying from COVID?
[92] Yeah, well, while of course any death, especially a child is tragic, the risk of dying from COVID is quite low.
[93] CDC provisional data shows that up to October of this year, out of the age group of kids from 5 to 11 years old, 167 have died from COVID.
[94] By comparison, the CDC reported 186 pediatric deaths from the flu during the 2017 -to -2018 season.
[95] Keep in mind, those numbers include a broader age range, and 2018 was considered a fairly bad flu season.
[96] What are the implications for something like this?
[97] Do we expect to see more mandates come from this?
[98] Well, that's definitely something people are going to be watching now.
[99] For example, Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom said earlier, this month that his state of California will be the first to force eligible students in private and public schools to be vaccinated to be able to go to school in person.
[100] There's been pushback, though.
[101] Last week, faculty and students at schools across California staged walkouts and defiance of vaccine and testing requirements set to take effect.
[102] And some are pointing out how this might not improve things much for kids at school.
[103] CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walenski said last week that she thinks kids should keep wearing face coverings in school even after they've received a COVID vaccination.
[104] And when can we expect to see these shots rolled out if they get approved?
[105] Well, there's not a firm date yet, but very quickly.
[106] Last week, the White House discussed its plan to get the shots across the country, including giving doses to doctors offices, amounting to over 25 ,000 pediatric offices and other locations.
[107] Well, there's a lot of debate already about adults and mandates.
[108] So I imagine with kids, it's all going to be heightened.
[109] Yeah, definitely.
[110] Charlotte, thanks for reporting.
[111] Thanks for having me. That's DailyWire's Charlotte Pence -Bahn.
[112] College students around the country are protesting their school's stringent COVID rules, which many feel are not supported by science and infringe on their freedoms.
[113] Now, some schools have backtracked on their policies.
[114] Daily Wire investigative reporter, Marade Ellorty, has more details on this.
[115] So, Marade, some of these COVID rules are pretty intense, what's happening on college campuses?
[116] Yeah, so some of these schools have COVID rules that are extremely restrictive.
[117] More than a thousand colleges have implemented vaccine mandate, but that's really just the beginning.
[118] Oakland University in Michigan proposed an extreme rule that involved a bio button that monitored a student's heart rate, temperature, and respiration.
[119] If the students started showing symptoms of COVID, the button would notify the school.
[120] So it tracks your condition.
[121] Yeah, your temperature and respiratory rate.
[122] Last year, another school, Albion College, also in Michigan, said students would have to use a location tracking app and would not be allowed to leave campus without approval.
[123] The app tracks a student's location and also contains the student's COVID test results.
[124] If the student tests positive, the app would alert people the student had recently been around.
[125] That's a pretty invasive solution there.
[126] It really is.
[127] Okay, so some students are pushing back on this.
[128] Yes, a lot of students and their parents who are paying the tuition, are not happy at all.
[129] Students at dozens of schools have organized protests or petitions objecting to what they're calling extreme infringements on civil liberties and privacy.
[130] In both the location tracking app case and the biobutton case, students and parents launched petitions against the rules.
[131] Oakland backed down, making the biobutton optional.
[132] Okay, so some colleges backing down from some of these policies.
[133] You mentioned more than 1 ,000 campuses now require vaccines.
[134] What about the legal opposition?
[135] Yeah, so in some cases, students have filed federal lawsuits against their schools over the vaccine mandates.
[136] The outlook for those lawsuits is not great, though.
[137] In August, a federal appeals court ruled in favor of Indiana University's vaccine requirement, and that decision has already been cited in some of the other cases.
[138] Even more strict is Amherst College in Massachusetts, which sparked opposition when it announced that not only must students be vaccinated, they have to wear a mask everywhere, even outside, except when they're alone in their dorm room.
[139] And students at the small liberal arts college are not permitted to leave campus to go to restaurants or bars in town.
[140] Not exactly the college experience many students we're hoping for.
[141] No. But there's some students who actually support the rules, right?
[142] Yes, a majority of college students actually do support your basic vaccine and mask mandates.
[143] That's according to a September Kaplan survey.
[144] Okay.
[145] But if you happen to be in the minority of students who don't want those, in many cases you're left out in the cold.
[146] But colleges appear to be testing students' patients with some of these other rules, like restricting going off campus and tracking vital signs.
[147] And that's why you see schools backing down after students protest.
[148] Is there any end in sight for these COVID policies?
[149] Not from anything that I've seen.
[150] All right.
[151] Well, Marade, thanks for the reporting.
[152] Of course.
[153] Investigative reporter, Marade Ellorty.
[154] Other stories were tracking this week.
[155] On Wednesday, authorities in New Mexico gave an update on the movie set tragedy in which Alec Baldwin shot and killed a cinematographer.
[156] The district attorney said, one has been ruled out regarding charges.
[157] And on Alec Baldwin's involvement, the sheriff had this to say.
[158] He's obviously the person that fired the weapon.
[159] So we're going to continue interviewing and getting the facts of his statements and the evidence and the case.
[160] So right now, he is an active part of this investigation.
[161] And the fallout over Dave Chappelle's Netflix special.
[162] Now, the comedian is firing back.
[163] Here's Daily Wire Entertainment reporter Megan Basham.
[164] On Monday, comedian Dave Chappelle posted a new video to Instagram addressing his critics.
[165] I said what I said, and boy, I heard what you said.
[166] My God, how could I not?
[167] You said you want a safe working environment at Netflix.
[168] Well, it seems like I'm the only one that can't go to the office anymore.
[169] Chappelle clearly isn't in a mood to mince words.
[170] He finished.
[171] But you cannot have this conversation.
[172] and exclude my voice from it that is only fair you have to answer the question am I canceled or not so we'll see what his critics have to say about that if you like this episode and are interested in hearing more subscribe to MorningWire on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you're listening and give us a five -star review that's all the time we've got this morning thanks for waking up with us we'll be back tomorrow with the news you need to know If you like this podcast, get the Morning Wire newsletter delivered straight to your inbox when you join at Dailywire .com slash subscribe.