Morning Wire XX
[0] Over 100 people are feared dead after record -breaking tornadoes tore through six states over the weekend.
[1] We'll talk about the frantic recovery efforts and hear from survivors on the ground.
[2] I'm John Bickley with Georgia Howe.
[3] It's Monday, December 13th, and this is Morning Wire.
[4] New data from the Labor Department shows that Americans are suffering the worst inflation in nearly 40 years.
[5] We'll dig into the numbers and hear how the Biden administration is attempting to change the economic narrative.
[6] And week two of the Galane Maxwell trial wrapped up on Friday.
[7] In a surprise move, the government rested more than a week early, without calling several scheduled witnesses.
[8] With the defense set to open its case, we'll talk to our reporter who's been on the scene at the courthouse.
[9] Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire.
[10] Stay tuned.
[11] We have the news you need to know.
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[18] At least 90 people are dead after dozens of tornadoes ripped through six states early Saturday morning, including Tennessee, Arkansas, Illinois, Mississippi, Missouri, and Kentucky.
[19] Now as recovery teams sift through the rubble, officials say that death toll is certain to rise above 100.
[20] Here with Moore's DailyWire's Cabot Phillips.
[21] Cabot, just an awful situation that unfolded over the weekend, particularly in Kentucky.
[22] What can you tell us?
[23] Yeah, so late Friday night and early Saturday, a massive storm system made its way across the Midwest, which was experiencing unusually warm weather, which created the perfect conditions for tornadoes.
[24] Six deaths have been reported in Illinois and another four in Tennessee, but like you said, it's Kentucky that was the hardest hit by far.
[25] One tornado in particular there traveled over 220 miles, which, if confirmed, would make it the longest traveled tornado in recorded history.
[26] Kentucky Governor Andy Bashir spoke with CNN on Sunday about the damage.
[27] This is the deadliest tornado event we have ever had.
[28] I think it's going to be the longest and deadliest tornado event in U .S. history.
[29] What do we know about the victims?
[30] We don't have a ton of details on that right now, as most of the resources are going towards.
[31] rescue efforts for victims who still might be alive.
[32] But what we do know is that the majority of the deaths in Kentucky occurred at a candle factory in the town of Mayfield.
[33] Workers were there overnight trying to meet the Christmas season demand and sadly were right in the path of that large tornado which decimated the factory.
[34] Last we heard just 40 of the 110 people working there had been accounted for.
[35] We saw a similar situation in Illinois where an Amazon warehouse was hit killing at least six, and those numbers are expected to go up as right now, it's tough to tell who's even missing.
[36] Governor Bashir, again, described that problem on Sunday.
[37] And it's going to take us time.
[38] I mean, you think you'd go door to door to check on people and see if they're okay.
[39] There are no doors.
[40] The question is, is somebody in the rubble of thousands upon thousands of structures?
[41] I mean, it is devastating.
[42] You don't typically think of December as being tornado season.
[43] And is this out of the ordinary?
[44] Yeah, on that point, a lot of people were quick to blame climate change for the storms, including FEMA chief Deanne Criswell.
[45] Here's what she told CNN about the role of global warming.
[46] This is going to be our new normal.
[47] And the effects that we're seeing from climate change are the crisis of our generation.
[48] Now, those comments did receive quite a bit of pushback from people who pointed out that tornado outbreaks in December have occurred numerous times over the last decade.
[49] and even according to the NOAA's National Severe Storm Laboratory, there's been no increase in the frequency or intensity of tornadoes over the last six decades.
[50] And they say, quote, we don't know if climate change pays a role.
[51] So kind of conflicting messaging back and forth there.
[52] The Daily Wire was on the ground in Mayfield over the weekend.
[53] Tell us about that.
[54] Yeah, we talked to Damien Roberts and Robert Miller.
[55] They were in a house that was partially destroyed in Mayfield and barely made it to safety.
[56] Listen to their story.
[57] Got real calm, and then I heard something like a freight train.
[58] And, you know, I've always watched documentaries and stuff.
[59] So the whole hull of power went out, and I've seen, like, the tornado looked blue from the electricity.
[60] And it was probably about two streets over that way.
[61] That's when we've seen it.
[62] Entire portions of the roof in their house were ripped off, and the interior room where they were hiding had pieces of debris lodged in the walls.
[63] There was a two -by -four buried a foot deep in one wall, and outside debris, including car parts, were on their kitchen floor by the end.
[64] of the night.
[65] They told us about running to help their neighbors in the aftermath.
[66] About three houses down, I heard someone screaming as a little old lady.
[67] I stuck under this rub.
[68] I about, I tore it, tore me up when I, but it was cool to help her get out, man, but it was definitely an adrenaline rest.
[69] They also told a heartbreaking story about seeing a young boy die while his family tried to perform CPR.
[70] So just devastating stuff, but one encouraging thing is just seeing how much people have been helping each other.
[71] Kentuckyans from across the state were pouring into the affected areas to just offer whatever help they could.
[72] Well, we're praying for everyone impacted by this Cabot.
[73] Thanks for the reporting.
[74] Anytime.
[75] That's DailyWire's Cabot Phillips.
[76] Coming up, inflation hits a 40 -year high.
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[81] New government data shows that the economy continues to struggle with record levels of inflation hitting ordinary Americans.
[82] But despite these numbers, the Biden administration is working to present these economic downturns in a positive light.
[83] Here to explain is Daily Wire's Ian Howarth.
[84] So, Ian, first off, what new data do we have?
[85] Well, the latest numbers show that the economic woes we're all experiencing in some way are only getting worse.
[86] On Friday, the government released a report that consumer prices had skyrocketed by 6 .8 % just over the last year.
[87] That's the highest inflation rate of its kind in almost 40 years.
[88] These huge cost spikes are being seen in basic necessities that millions of Americans depend on as they go about their daily lives.
[89] I'm talking about food, energy, housing, cars and clothing.
[90] Gas, for example, is up 58 % in a year.
[91] Used cars are up 31 % while new cars are up 11%.
[92] utilities in general are up 25 % and basic food items have increased too like eggs which are up 8 % coffee up 7 .5 % and milk up 7 % right we've been tracking those number increases for a few months now but what are we hearing from the white house about this well it's hard to disagree that these latest numbers stand in glaring contrast to the narrative being pushed by the Biden administration that they are steering the country through a successful economic recovery often this is involved celebrating increased wages, even though these wages are being outpaced by inflation, or by lauding, reduced unemployment rates, even though this is often because people aren't leaving or changing jobs at usual rates.
[93] Even after accounting for rising prices, the typical American family is more money in their pockets than they did last year.
[94] And last week, Biden shared a graphic on social media which tried to present his job numbers as a record for a new president, claiming that his administration has created nearly six million jobs.
[95] The key word here, though, is new.
[96] Biden came into office when the country was deep in the red after around 9 million people were forced out of their jobs due to COVID -19 policies.
[97] So to call the return around two -thirds of these jobs new is really a stretch.
[98] And a lot of people are a bit disoriented by the media covered they're seeing of all this.
[99] You know, they're feeling like the reality on the ground doesn't quite match with the headlines in the news.
[100] Yeah, that's true.
[101] There is definitely an effort to massage the narrative around these numbers.
[102] Last week, it was reported that the Biden administration was meeting with journalists behind the scenes to lobby the legacy media for more favorable coverage on the economy.
[103] CNN, for example, reported that, quote, the White House, not happy with the news media's coverage of the supply chain and economy, has been working behind the scenes trying to reshape coverage in its favor.
[104] And according to sources, Biden officials were briefing newsrooms across the country.
[105] And as if by magic, it looks like some of them were quick to oblige.
[106] CNBC's Jim Kramer was one example.
[107] To me, we have the strongest economy.
[108] And CNN's Don Lemmel was another.
[109] He celebrated the Biden administration for apparently causing the high gas prices we've seen across the country to ease up.
[110] Big economically elite for millions of Americans who have been dealing with soaring energy prices.
[111] Cost of the pump, finally easing up.
[112] With a national average for a gallon of regular falling to $3 .35 cents, the lowest since October.
[113] Just look at that.
[114] So there are two takeaways here.
[115] first is that by all available metrics, the economy is not in good shape.
[116] The second is that there is a distinct and coordinated effort to spin this failure into a success, regardless of how bad the outlook is as we approach the Christmas break.
[117] Right.
[118] Well, in the end, people's bank accounts are probably going to be the thing that tells the real story.
[119] Yeah, that's true.
[120] Ian, thanks for reporting.
[121] Thanks, Georgia.
[122] That's Daily Wires, Ian Howarth.
[123] The prosecution wrapped up its case in the Galane Maxwell trial in federal court on Friday.
[124] Three accusers, users of Maxwell and her former boss and lover Jeffrey Epstein took the stand to lay out their experiences with the powerful pair.
[125] David Marcus was on the scene at the courthouse reporting for the Daily Wire.
[126] So, David, why did the government rest its case so much earlier than expected?
[127] That's a great question, and nobody except prosecutors themselves know for sure, but it could be that they think they've already presented sufficient evidence to the jury to prove their case.
[128] It may also be that the remaining witnesses who won't be called speak more to Epstein's actions than to Maxwell's.
[129] That's a balance.
[130] It's been a struggle for the government in this trial.
[131] How effective has the prosecution been at tying Maxwell to Epstein's alleged abuse of young girls?
[132] The aura of Epstein hovers over the trial like a ghost.
[133] And the government has made a great case against him, but he's not the one on trial.
[134] Maxwell is.
[135] On Friday, for example, alleged victim Annie Farmer testified it was 90 % about Epstein, 10 % about Maxwell, who wasn't present for a lot of what was described.
[136] So, you know, what did she know and what did she facilitate?
[137] But Maxwell was accused by two witnesses in court last week of groping them when they were underage, right?
[138] Well, that's correct, but it's not what she's on trial for.
[139] She isn't accused of abuse.
[140] She's accused of trafficking young girls across state or international borders.
[141] We saw some flight logs from Epstein's private plane and some emails, but no smoking gun in that regard.
[142] What should we expect from the defense this week?
[143] Maxwell's attorneys will argue that her relationship with Epstein has been overblown, that she was basically an employee who had a brief romantic relationship with him.
[144] They'll likely try to paint her almost as another Epstein victim, who had no idea the scale and scope of his alleged abuses.
[145] But there have been some patterns.
[146] Testimony, for example, that Maxwell groomed the girls teaching them how to rub Epstein's feet.
[147] feet and pleasure him in, well, other ways.
[148] But even if the jury thinks her actions were terrible, the question remains, hasn't been proven she trafficked, which is to say, arranged for the transportation and movement of the girls.
[149] Have we seen any big names involved with Epstein brought up in the trial so far?
[150] Not much, no. And I think those looking for that will be disappointed.
[151] Implicating powerful figures in Epstein's orbit likely doesn't do much for either side in this case.
[152] And so, really, they have no reason to go down that rabbit hole.
[153] When do we think this thing might wrap up now?
[154] Any indication?
[155] I think it depends how confident the defense feels.
[156] The scuttle butt at the courthouse is that they have reason for cautious optimism.
[157] But guessing what a jury will do is like betting on hockey, you know, bouncing puck can throw everything off.
[158] That having been said, even with the Christmas break, this trial seems likely to conclude by the end of December or early.
[159] in January.
[160] Well, thank you so much, David.
[161] Sure thing.
[162] That was David Marcus, who will be in the courtroom all week for the Daily Wire.
[163] Other stories we're tracking this week.
[164] According to a new ABC poll, just 36 % of Americans support President Biden's handling of crime, down from 43 % in the same poll in October.
[165] The fluctuation in approval comes on the heels of a spate of smash -and -grab robberies in multiple states and a 30 % rise in homicide since 2020.
[166] As of December 10th, The WHO reports there have been no documented deaths associated with the Omicron variant worldwide.
[167] The first documented American case of the new variant was identified in San Francisco on November 29th.
[168] However, the California Department of Public Health reports that wastewater in at least one county in California contain traces of the variant as early as November 25th.
[169] And journalist Chris Wallace announced Sunday he's leaving Fox to join CNN Plus, a new streaming platform debuting in 2022.
[170] Wallace has been with Fox for 18 years and notably moderated the first 2020 presidential debate between President Biden and President Trump, for which Wallace was widely criticized.
[171] If you like this episode and are interested in hearing more, subscribe to Morning Wire on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, wherever you're listening, and give us a five -star review.
[172] That's all the time we've got this morning.
[173] Thanks for waking up with us.
[174] We'll be back tomorrow with the news you need to know.
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