Morning Wire XX
[0] Global politics have been shaken up by a series of surprising election results in France and Colombia.
[1] How will the election results impact the United States' relationship with Europe and Latin America?
[2] I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire Editor -in -Chief John Bickley.
[3] It's Tuesday, June 21st, and this is Morning Wire.
[4] The world's most authoritative governing body in swimming, Fina, released new transgender policies this week, banning males from competing against female athletes.
[5] We look at the new policies and both the backlash and support.
[6] And farmers are warning of even higher food prices and shortages as the price of fuel and fertilizer continued to rise.
[7] Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire.
[8] Stay tuned.
[9] We have the news you need to know.
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[17] This week, a pair of stunning election results in France and Colombia sent shockwaves around the world, as one country elected a former Communist Party member as president, and the other saw right -wing members dominate parliamentary elections.
[18] Here with the details and how it all could impact U .S. foreign relations is Daily Wire senior editor, Cabot Phillips.
[19] So, Cabot, we'll get to the French elections, but first let's talk about Colombia.
[20] That race got a lot of attention.
[21] It did, and for good reason, Colombian voters just elected Gustavo Petro, the first leftist president in the nation's history.
[22] But what's really drawing attention is Petro's background and what he campaigned on.
[23] Throughout the 70s and 80s, he was a member of M. a communist military group that used guerrilla warfare and terror tactics against the Colombian government in the name of social justice.
[24] According to Petro, he had his political awakening after seeing his father crying over the death of Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara.
[25] So what did his campaign look like?
[26] Petro focused heavily on social and environmental reform.
[27] He promised government jobs for Colombians who couldn't find work.
[28] He promised free college tuition for students and cash subsidies for working in lower -class families, all of which, he said, will be funded by massive tax increases on wealthy corporations and individuals in the country.
[29] And it's also worth noting some of that support came from here in the U .S. with progressive house members offering their support.
[30] For example, squad member Elon Omar tweeted congratulations to Petro saying, quote, the future of Colombia is bright.
[31] Now, obviously, his opponents view things very differently.
[32] They say his policies will bankrupt the country and take them down the path of their neighbor, Venezuela.
[33] Now, there's also been a lot of concern over how this race could impact the region and also America's standing in South America.
[34] So tell us about that.
[35] Yeah, there were two main things that jumped out on that front.
[36] First, he promised to outlaw new oil contracts to fight climate change.
[37] Now, keep in mind, oil accounts for nearly half of Colombia's exports and 10 % of its national income.
[38] Second, and most important, from a geopolitical standpoint, Pedro vowed to strengthen relations with Venezuela.
[39] And keep in mind, all of this comes at a time.
[40] when the U .S. is already losing influence in the region.
[41] We talked last week on the show about the summit of nations and how multiple South and Central American countries sort of shunned the U .S. and refused to meet with President Biden.
[42] So a lot up in the air in South America right now, and people aren't exactly optimistic about the relationship Petro will now lead between Colombia and the U .S. All right.
[43] So let's shift gears and talk about France.
[44] We had another surprising result there.
[45] What can you tell us?
[46] On Sunday night, France held an election for Parliament and there were two really notable outcomes.
[47] First, President Emmanuel Macron's leftist coalition suffered a series of surprising defeats, and as a result, they lost majority control of parliament.
[48] The big winner in France this week was Marine Le Pen, whose right -wing nationalist party picked up 81 seats.
[49] Keep in mind, they held just eight seats before this week.
[50] So now, for the first time, they'll have enough members to have representation on important committees in parliament that could help them shape French foreign affairs and economic decisions.
[51] And more importantly, the right -wing party now has enough seats to file a motion that could result in a vote of no confidence against McCrone.
[52] So Marine LePen's party went from relatively insignificant to now having a real chance to hold some sway in France.
[53] Definitely seems that way.
[54] Cabot, thanks for reporting.
[55] Anytime.
[56] That was Daily Wire Senior Editor Cabot Phillips.
[57] Coming up, Fina restricts trans athletes from female competitions.
[58] Hey, everyone, producer Colton here.
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[62] FINA, the International Swimming Federation, has released new transgender policies that effectively ban males who transition after puberty from competing against female athletes.
[63] The Federation's new gender inclusion policy comes just weeks after transgender swimmer Leah Thomas earned a first place medal in the NCAA Women's Swim Tournament.
[64] Here to tell us more is David Cohn, sports writer and co -host of Crane & Company.
[65] David, welcome.
[66] Thank you so much for having me. So first off, what is Fina?
[67] Sure.
[68] So FINA is the International Swimming Federation.
[69] It's the world's most authoritative governing body on water sports.
[70] It's comprised of over 200 national federations, and it's recognized by the International Olympic Committee, so the IOC.
[71] Now, FINA is responsible for overseeing competitions in water sports, six specifically, Georgia.
[72] That's swimming, artistic swimming, open water swimming, diving, high diving, and water polo.
[73] So FINA just announced a new gender policy.
[74] What did they decide about transgender athletes competing in opposite sex events?
[75] Yeah, so this is a significant announcement for sure.
[76] Now, let's start in the male category.
[77] So Fina ruled that females can compete in the male category, but in the disciplines of water polo and high diving, a waiver assuming risk must be signed.
[78] Now, for the female category, it gets very interesting.
[79] Only males who have transitioned medically before the age of 12 or before the second stage of puberty known as Tanner 2, and whichever one of those comes second, only those individuals may compete in the female category, and even then they must keep their testosterone levels below a certain metric.
[80] Now, according to FINA, these guidelines were designed by a working group, made up of athletes, scientists, and even human rights professionals, and they were asked to analyze statistical, scientific, and even medical data.
[81] The statement they released was 24 pages long, but essentially Fina acknowledged that biological sex is a key determinant in athletic performance, and then the group overwhelmingly voted to approve the policy with a 71 % yes vote.
[82] So FINA is saying that males have a biological advantage if they experienced even the early stages of puberty.
[83] Exactly.
[84] And that would mean someone like Leah Thomas would be banned from their women's events.
[85] Under these new policies, that's correct unless an open category is created.
[86] Right.
[87] So tell us about that.
[88] Fina mentioned the possibility of creating an open competition policy.
[89] What would that look like?
[90] Key word being possible, because nothing has been finalized, but Fina and did close their statement by saying they have plans to set up a new working group that will spend the next six months looking at the most effective ways to establish this quote -unquote open category.
[91] This category would be for those individuals, like you're talking about, who do not meet the requirements to compete as males or females, but who still wish to compete at an elite level.
[92] My colleague Jake Crane and many others have been longtime advocates of this approach.
[93] So we'll see if Fina sticks by its commitment and actually creates this category.
[94] So this is a pretty controversial issue.
[95] What's the response been to this announcement?
[96] Responses right now are all over the board, Georgia.
[97] Naturally, many transgender advocates are calling for an immediate reversal to these new policies, while many others who support biological -based competition categories are worried that certain language here from FINA will actually encourage children to transition at younger and younger ages.
[98] A spokesperson for FINA's president addressed that final issue saying that FINA is, quote, not saying everyone should transition by age 11 and is not encouraging that at all.
[99] Instead, what the Federation is saying, and I quote, it is not feasible for people who have transitioned to compete without having an advantage.
[100] And I think that's the main point there.
[101] Even Fina's president said this new policy is about fairness and following the science.
[102] One high -profile response from the transgender community actually came from former Olympian Caitlin Jenner, who's been very vocal against allowing biological males to compete against females.
[103] Jenner applauded Fina's decision tweeting, if you go through male puberty, you should not be able to take medals away from females, period.
[104] So I think, Georgia, a few points to watch for here.
[105] One, will FINA walk back, you know, anything that they've put forward over the next few days or weeks?
[106] Two, will the NCAA, the organization responsible for collegiate competitions, will they operate within these new guidelines from Fina?
[107] I mean, after all, it's the NCAA that allowed Leah Thomas to compete against women and dominate many of the events we're talking about.
[108] And then finally, what will we see from other sports around the world, such as weightlifting, fighting, track and field?
[109] Will they follow suit?
[110] I mean, already we're seeing that FIFA, the Soccer Federation, is already considering going in the opposite direction.
[111] So we'll keep track of that.
[112] Right.
[113] It'll be interesting to see if they stick with this stance.
[114] And if so, if this becomes a new trend in women's sports, David, thanks for coming on.
[115] Thank you for having me. That was Sports Writer and Crane & Co. co -host, David Cohn.
[116] Farmers and ranchers across the country are struggling under the weight of spiking production costs.
[117] From diesel fuel to fertilizer, everything farmers need to produce crops is more expensive than it was just a couple years ago.
[118] And farmers are warning that food shortages and even higher costs are on the horizon.
[119] Here to tell us more is DailyWire's Charlotte Pence -Bond.
[120] All right, Charlotte, we have some concerning news from the farming sector.
[121] First, what's impacting these farmers?
[122] Well, we've been reporting on Morning Wire.
[123] Americans are feeling the pinch of gas prices and the rising costs of basic goods like food and other necessities.
[124] Inflation is at a 40 -year high, and one industry that's being hit especially hard is farming.
[125] The higher cost of farming inputs will certainly impact the food supply over the next few months and even years, since crops take time to plant, grow, and harvest.
[126] What items are costing farmers more money?
[127] Is it mainly fuel?
[128] Fuel, yes, and fertilizer.
[129] The national average for diesel fuel right now is $5 .78 per gallon.
[130] That means a farmer is now up to $865 to fill a tractor's gas tank, which is more than double last year's price of $3 .85.
[131] Adding to the high costs are reduced supplies.
[132] Russia is the largest exporter of fertilizer, and a lot of natural resources needed to make fertilizer come from Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus.
[133] So the conflict there has increased costs and made supplies more difficult to come by.
[134] An April report from Barron's noted that the cost of certain fertilizer ingredients have almost doubled since last year.
[135] And some farmers are even worrying that the cost of inputs could go up as much as 40 % this year and another 20 % or higher into 2023.
[136] The ag economy barometer by Purdue University and CME group shows how farmers are feeling about the agricultural economy.
[137] That survey showed that 44 % of farmers are most worried about the high cost of production.
[138] Shelby Myers, an economist with the American Farm Bureau Federation, said it's important to remember that farmers not only face higher costs in growing their crops, but then the cost to distribute and deliver the goods also affects the final price that gets passed on to consumers in the supermarket.
[139] And farmers are price takers, so that means that they don't get to negotiate the price they pay for their inputs, nor do they get to negotiate the price they receive for their crops.
[140] The global markets dictate that.
[141] So when consumers see that the commodity prices are high, it's important to remember so are input prices, and many farmers will struggle to break even this year.
[142] All right, so production costs are going up very steeply.
[143] What does this mean for food prices?
[144] Well, one local farmer recently told me that consumers could see smaller produce on their grocery store shelves because of a lack of fertilizer.
[145] He said farmers can face a situation where without enough fertilizer, their fruit doesn't grow to market size.
[146] And another way Americans will see the impact is, of course, and increase in costs.
[147] Many are saying these high prices we're seeing aren't going away anytime soon, and it's poised to get worse.
[148] Well, I know that's not the news a lot of Americans want to hear right now, but it's just the reality we're facing.
[149] Charlotte, thanks for coming on.
[150] Thanks for having me. That was DailyWire's Charlotte Pence Bond.
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