Morning Wire XX
[0] The clock is rapidly counting down for the members of Congress to agree on a spending package and avoid a government shutdown.
[1] The omnibus will be 3 ,000 pages.
[2] We'll get it two hours before they want to pass it.
[3] No one will read it.
[4] We look at what the package covers and what's needed for it to pass.
[5] I'm DailyWire editor -in -chief John Bickley with Georgia Howe.
[6] It's Monday, December 19th, and this is Morning Wire.
[7] A massive scandal is brewing in Brussels as police raid the homes of multiple high -level EU officials.
[8] What are the officials being accused of and why are watchdogs calling this the biggest EU corruption scandal in recent memory?
[9] And Twitter CEO Elon Musk says his top priority is eliminating a problem that's been plaguing the platform for years.
[10] Child exploitation.
[11] What actions has Musk taken so far and what's next in his anti -exploitation campaign?
[12] Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire.
[13] Stay tuned.
[14] We have the news you need to know.
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[20] Members of Congress have one week to strike a deal on a trillion -dollar spending package that will keep the government running and prevent a shutdown.
[21] Here with more on the spending battle and what's being done to avoid another government shutdown is Daily Wire Senior Editor Cabot Phillips.
[22] All right, Cabot, can you give us a quick overview of where things stand and then we'll get into where each side is pushing?
[23] Absolutely.
[24] So Congress is meeting this week to hammer out the details on the final piece of legislation for this session.
[25] And it's also one of the largest and most important, the so -called omnibus bill that will fund the federal government from now until September.
[26] So for about the next eight months.
[27] And we're still waiting on the final details of the bill, but it's expected to total around $1 .7 trillion.
[28] About half of the package has already been agreed upon.
[29] Both sides have agreed on $850 billion in military spending, but it's the other $850 billion that will go towards government agencies, private sector contracts, and even the funding of aid to Ukraine, that is really holding things up right now.
[30] And as usual, with Congress, things are really coming down to the wire.
[31] And if a final agreement is not reached by Friday night, funding runs out, and a government shutdown becomes likely.
[32] Okay, so what has to happen for this bill to pass?
[33] Well, the packets will likely first be voted on in the Senate, where 60 votes are needed for passage.
[34] If it gets through there, it'll head to the House where a simple majority is needed.
[35] Now, the key figure here really is Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell.
[36] He's pushing for a deal to get done as soon as possible to avoid a shutdown.
[37] down, even if that means agreeing to a budget that is largely viewed as a win for Democrats.
[38] Now, if 10 Republicans in the Senate vote yes, it'll head to the House where it's almost guaranteed to pass.
[39] All right, so McConnell is pushing to pass it now while Democrats still control the House.
[40] Will enough Republicans cross the aisle and vote yes?
[41] That is the big question right now.
[42] In the House, Republican leaders, including Kevin McCarthy, are begging McConnell to pass a stopgap measure that would delay the final vote until the new year when Republicans would have control of the House, which will obviously give them.
[43] a lot more leverage to cut what they view as an overly bloated budget that gives billions to Democrats' special interests on climate change and health care.
[44] All right, so this is coming down to the struggle between the sort of establishment versus more conservative members of the Senate.
[45] Exactly.
[46] There are already a number of conservative members accusing McConnell of pressuring them to go along with his deal, even if it means upsetting their constituents.
[47] Likely of Utah, for example, said, quote, I don't see any reason why Republicans should jump to Democrats' aid.
[48] I don't know why any Republican, let alone 10, would want to why.
[49] to help them.
[50] But the most vocal opposition has definitely come from budget hawk, Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky.
[51] Here he is on Fox business earlier this week.
[52] If 41 of us said no and held our ground until there was a compromise, we could force Democrats to reduce spending.
[53] We have completely and totally abdicated the power of the purse.
[54] Republicans are emasculated.
[55] They have no power, and they are unwilling to gain that power back.
[56] It's worth noting many Republicans also have an issue with the sheer size of the bill and the time they have to review it.
[57] This package will end up being around 3 ,000 pages long, and according to Senator Paul, members will have just a few hours to read the final version before voting on it.
[58] In his view and the view of those Republicans that appear ready to hold out, the package should be broken up into a dozen or so smaller bills that will allow for members to debate the spending more thoroughly and then offer constituents more transparency about what's actually in the budget.
[59] But that's not going to happen this go -round, so now we wait and see what happens with this current $1 .7 trillion package.
[60] Well, deciding if and how to spend trillions of taxpayer dollars is no small matter.
[61] No, it's not.
[62] Cabot, thanks for reporting.
[63] Anytime.
[64] That's Daily Wire senior editor, Cabot Phillips.
[65] Coming up, the European Union is shaken by a massive corruption scandal.
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[72] The European Union has been rocked by what experts and watchdogs say could be the block's biggest corruption scandal in recent memory.
[73] Multiple officials at the EU have been arrested by Belgian authorities this month, and so far law enforcement has conducted dozens of raids and seized about 1 .5 million in cash.
[74] Here to discuss the scandal is Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce.
[75] So, Tim, what's going on in Europe?
[76] It's a pretty messy situation.
[77] The scandal blew up on December 9th.
[78] Brussels police arrested four people in connection with an alleged influence peddling operation.
[79] Those arrested included Eva Kiley, who is one of 14 vice presidents of the European Union.
[80] Corruption cases aren't uncommon in the EU Parliament, but Kiley's arrest suggests that this case, could be bigger than cleaning up a few greasy palms.
[81] The charges against the defendants are pretty serious, corruption, bribery, money laundering, and participation in a criminal organization.
[82] This case has the potential to be explosive.
[83] Some in the EU are talking about the need for institutional reforms to change the way the EU's governing body operates.
[84] Kylie's partner and co -parent, who works in the parliament, was also arrested.
[85] He is reportedly cooperating with authorities and may even be trying to take the blame.
[86] He reportedly told police, I did everything possible for money I didn't need.
[87] He also reportedly said, I will do everything possible so that my partner, referring to Kylie, is free and can take care of our 22 -month daughter.
[88] Now, what kind of evidence has law enforcement seized at this point?
[89] Police have confiscated stashes of cash equivalent to $1 .5 million.
[90] They have also taken a number of cell phones and laptops.
[91] Law enforcement haven't said specifically where all that cash came from.
[92] Charging documents say it came from a Gulf state.
[93] European media outlets have reported that the Gulf State is actually Cutter, where the World Cup just wrapped up yesterday.
[94] Cutter has also been the center of controversy over its poor human rights record, and several years ago, the United States accused it of bribing FIFA officials to win a bid to host the World Cup.
[95] The Qatari government has basically denied all of the allegations, calling them baseless and gravely misinformed.
[96] So it sounds like Qatar has a pretty long track record of at least being accused of corruption.
[97] What did Qatar specifically stand to gain from allegedly bribing Kylie and maybe some others?
[98] Well, that's not entirely clear.
[99] Prosecutors are still building their case.
[100] One deal that is under a lot of scrutiny, though, is Cutter's Open Skies Agreement with the EU.
[101] The agreement was struck last year and essentially gave airlines in the EU and Qatar open access to compete against each other within both the EU and Qatar.
[102] It ended up being quite a lucrative deal for Qatar because the deal gave Qatar Airways, which is state -owned, unlimited access to the EU market and potentially 450 million new customers.
[103] For comparison, Cutter's current population is just 3 million.
[104] The bribery case has caused the EU Parliament to delay final approval for the Open Skies Agreement and other deals until the investigation is over.
[105] Until that time, Open Skies will stay in effect, though.
[106] So you've only mentioned the one VP, that's Ava Kiley.
[107] Is she the biggest name involved?
[108] Yes, so far.
[109] But EU lawmakers are concerned that corruption could be a systemic problem and that crooked officials could have shaped EU policy for their own personal benefit rather than in the best interests of the bloc.
[110] For example, while the Open Skies Agreement was being negotiated, some of Europe's biggest airlines, such as Germany's Lufthansa and France's Air France, said that Qatari Airways may take advantage of the agreement with unfair business practices.
[111] Not all European states saw it that way.
[112] Smaller countries tended to favor the agreement because it meant they would have more options and presumably cheaper prices to fly.
[113] But regardless of the merits, EU lawmakers want to take a second look at its recent dealings with Qatar to make sure that they were done honestly.
[114] Aside from its relations with Qatar, this scandal could also change how the EU government works.
[115] Watchdogs and lawmakers are saying that this scandal shows that the EU needs stronger transparency rules and official mechanisms to check its lawmakers.
[116] All right.
[117] Well, Tim, thanks for reporting.
[118] Sure, anytime.
[119] That was Daily Wires, Tim Pierce.
[120] Twitter's child porn problem is back in the news as the company's new CEO, Elon Musk, continues to tackle long -standing issues for the platform.
[121] Here to discuss is DailyWire reporter Amanda Presta Giacomo.
[122] So Amanda, a very concerning aspect of Twitter for years now is finally being addressed at least more directly.
[123] What do we need to know here?
[124] While Twitter has allowed pornography on the platform for years, the company has recently taken heat for its issues with child porn and other non -consensual content.
[125] A bombshell report from The Verge this summer revealed that Twitter was unable to effectively detect and remove such content.
[126] Now, since Elon Musk has officially taken over the company, He suggested that these problems are even worse than we thought.
[127] He described the site as a, quote, crime scene and said removing child sexual exploitation materials is now his number one priority.
[128] Okay, so what kinds of steps is Musk taking to address this issue, and are we seeing any progress so far?
[129] Musk does seem to be taking this very seriously.
[130] He's working with advocates, researchers, and anti -trafficking organizations.
[131] And just last week, Twitter announced a 57 % increase in child sexual exploitation, suspensions in the month of November, a milestone for the company.
[132] One advocate who's been credited with helping to inform and direct Musk on the issue is Eliza Blue, who is herself a survivor of sex trafficking.
[133] Blue told me that Musk and his team are working to amp up detection and reporting systems and have already made real progress.
[134] They've added in new technology already that's helped to remove non -previously hashed and detected child sexual abuse material.
[135] they are doing quite a lot.
[136] Blue also told me that under Musk's leadership, accounts that post any child sexual exploitation material are removed from the site.
[137] Now, this, believe it or not, was not the practice under former leadership.
[138] Only individual violating posts were removed.
[139] Now the entire account is removed.
[140] All right, so some crucial new measures under Musk that sound like they really needed to be implemented long ago.
[141] Right.
[142] What about the criticism, the mainstream press has leveled against him, specifically that Musk has fired employees tasked with stopping child sexual exploitation materials.
[143] That certainly has been the refrain from the press, but Musk says it's actually the opposite that's true.
[144] Here's the CEO speaking to Blue in a recent Twitter Spaces interview about this criticism.
[145] Well, it would have been difficult to ask people that didn't exist since we reallocated resources within the company who's basically, as you know, had almost no resources.
[146] we shifted allocation within the company so that there were resources on child exploitation that they weren't before.
[147] Okay, so he's charging the previous leadership with having totally failed to prioritize this.
[148] Yeah, and it really does remain unclear if there was ever a special division dedicated to handling this issue before Must took over.
[149] Some reports suggest this fell under the umbrella of Twitter's trust in safety, which was headed by Yol Roth, and at least ostensibly seemed dedicated to policing politics.
[150] political speech, while other reports refer to anonymous Twitter employees specifically handling child safety.
[151] Well, I think we can expect more details to come out in this in the future.
[152] Now, what can we expect from Twitter going forward on this front?
[153] It really does seem like this is a top priority for Musk, so we'd expect more progress with respect to this issue.
[154] Blue, for one, told me she has high hopes for Twitter, where changes could become a game changer for how we tackle this issue in all online spaces.
[155] As far as child sexual expectation goes, I believe that Twitter will lead the way very quickly as far as innovating around the issue of removing child sexual abuse with child sexual exploitation at scale.
[156] Well, that's certainly hope so.
[157] Amanda, thanks for your reporting.
[158] No problem.
[159] That was Daily Wire reporter Amanda Presta Giacomo.
[160] Other stories we're tracking this week at one of the wildest world cup finals and the, the tournament's 92 -year history, Argentina beat France four to two on penalties after a three -three draw, winning the country's third World Cup title.
[161] Forecasters are warning of treacherous holiday travel as an Arctic air mass blows into the southern U .S. The National Weather Service says there will be a potential for record low temperatures in the days leading up to Christmas.
[162] James Cameron's big -budget sequel to Avatar, Way of the Water, one of the most expensive movies ever made, brought in over $130 million.
[163] over its opening weekend.
[164] That total falls a little short at the projections of 150 to 175 million, but industry insiders say they're optimistic it'll perform well over the holiday season.
[165] The film's budget was reportedly some $460 million.
[166] That's all the time we've got this morning.
[167] Thanks for waking up with us.
[168] We'll be back later this afternoon with more news you need to know.