Morning Wire XX
[0] Legacy media and Democrats are now walking back their views on pandemic -era policies that kept schools closed and kids at home.
[1] There's so many things we could have done differently.
[2] Now the New York Times is finally acknowledging what many have long said about the damage done by remote learning.
[3] I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire editor -in -chief John Bickley.
[4] It's March 23rd, and this is a Saturday edition of Morning Wire.
[5] Tyson Foods is facing backlash over its aggressive recruitment of Illyield.
[6] immigrant workers.
[7] That is the decimation of the American middle class via illegal immigration, and it's happening all over the country.
[8] What's the food giant offering to entice new workers, and how are investors reacting?
[9] And an autopsy reveals the true cause of Oklahoma teen next Benedict's death and shines a harsh light on media bias.
[10] Thanks for waking up with Morningwire.
[11] Stay tuned.
[12] We have the news you need to know.
[13] The New York Times this week admitted that school closed.
[14] during the pandemic significantly hurt children and did little to protect their safety.
[15] Here to discuss is Daily Wire reporter Amanda Presta Giacomo.
[16] Hey Amanda.
[17] So this report from the Times notably comes a stunning four years after the fact, but nonetheless addresses the harm of school closures.
[18] What did the report find?
[19] The report found that the more time students spent in remote learning the further they fell behind academically.
[20] And importantly, these extended school closures did little to stop the spread of COVID or protect children, which is why they were supposedly implemented.
[21] The Times even admitted that it was often Republican -led states that reopened schools by the fall of 2020, mitigating the damage done to children, while Democrats often enacted policies that did not fully reopen schools for at least another year later.
[22] Yeah.
[23] What sort of damage was done?
[24] Did the Times cite specific numbers?
[25] They did.
[26] The report cited studies from Stanford and Harvard, as well as data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress and their own analysis.
[27] On the state level, the more time spent in remote or hybrid instruction was associated with larger drops in test scores.
[28] On the district level, kids locked out of schools fell more than half agreed behind in math on average.
[29] A study from the American Economic Association, which reviewed testing data from over 2 million students, likewise found that remote learning was the primary driver of the widening learning gaps.
[30] For schools that remained in person, math gaps did not widen.
[31] The study also said that high poverty districts that went remote in the 2021 school year, they'll need to spend nearly all of their federal aid on helping students recover from those academic losses.
[32] It was also found that stopping extracurricular activities in sports hurt children both socially and emotionally.
[33] The Times report concluded that fear should not drive policy decisions come the next pandemic.
[34] Yeah, a pretty clear conclusion.
[35] There was a lot of extreme rhetoric pushed during the pandemic for those who questioned these school closure policies.
[36] Did the report address any of that?
[37] Was there a mea coppa?
[38] Definitely not.
[39] The Times basically ran cover for Democrats here and its own past coverage.
[40] So, for example, the report claimed that there was no easy decision at the time.
[41] Similar language was used when the Washington Post, also years later, finally acknowledged how harmful the school closure.
[42] were.
[43] The post in its reporting said that it's easy to criticize policy after the dust has settled and the disease has been contained.
[44] And it's worth mentioning that Republicans who led the charge for these policies to allow kids back into schools or stop mask mandates, they were accused of, and I'm not exaggerating here, not caring about dead children.
[45] Governor Rhonda Santis, for example, he was called the Angel of Death and nicknamed Death Santis by critics for those policies.
[46] And even the times fearmongered over his move to reopen schools, asserting, quote, there will be virus casualties.
[47] And DeSantis was really vilified over his anti -lockdown policies.
[48] Yeah, that's right.
[49] And we can't forget about some of the strongest opposition to reopening schools.
[50] And that came from teachers' unions who have wide support from Democrat politicians.
[51] When the Trump administration pushed for schools to reopen, for example, Randy Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, called the decision, reckless, callous, and cruel.
[52] And remember, the AFT influenced the Biden administration and the CDC into guidance that prolonged school closures.
[53] Republican Congressman Ronnie Jackson, a physician, addressed Wine Garden last year during an oversight hearing.
[54] He argued the data were available really early on to support reopening schools, but that was ignored.
[55] Early on, the data showed that children were unlikely to become infected, spread the infection, become ill or die from COVID -19.
[56] That's a fact.
[57] Data also showed that school closures, social distancing, masking, and testing provided no benefit to the students or their adult educators.
[58] That's also a fact.
[59] Data also showed that those very actions that I just described were highly detrimental to the academic achievement, the mental health and the physical health of our children.
[60] And most importantly, parents who push back on these policies were often treated pretty horribly.
[61] They were sometimes arrested at school board meetings and reportedly viewed as threats by the federal government.
[62] Yeah, revelations about that really shocked a lot of Americans.
[63] Amanda, thanks for reporting.
[64] You're welcome.
[65] Tyson Foods is recruiting illegal immigrants to become workers using perks like legal assistance to draw them in.
[66] The move is sparking backlash from investors.
[67] Daily Wire investigative reporter, Marade Allardy, is here with the details.
[68] So, Marade, what is Tyson Foods doing exactly?
[69] Hi, Georgia.
[70] So first off, for people who don't know, Jason is a huge company known for its chicken products and owns brands like Jimmy Dean and Hillshar Farms.
[71] The company is jumping on the opportunity for cheap labor with the influx of migrants.
[72] They've already hired dozens of migrants in New York who obtained work permits, and they're looking to hire many more.
[73] That's according to Bloomberg.
[74] The meatpacking company is working with tent partnership for refugees, which was founded by Chibani Yogurt founder Hamdi Ulukaya to hire some of the recently arrived migrants in New York.
[75] Tyson met with 17 migrants at Chabani's offices in Manhattan and hired them to work at Tyson's Humbold, Tennessee plant.
[76] Earlier this month, Tyson reportedly hired 70 more migrants.
[77] So what kinds of perks are they offering?
[78] Well, John mentioned the legal assistance.
[79] The company has set aside $1 .5 million for legal aid services and is providing workers with paid time off to attend court hearings.
[80] Tyson is also providing migrant workers with on -site childcare, transportation, and optional English classes.
[81] The new hires from New York are also getting temporary housing, a relocation stipend to move to Humboldt, and paid time off.
[82] And this is not the first time Tyson has worked to help illegal migrants.
[83] Last year, Tyson paid for 1 ,317 workers to become U .S. citizens.
[84] Garrett Dolan, a human resources leader at Tyson, told Bloomberg that the migrants are very, very loyal and wants stability.
[85] We should note, Tyson already employs about 42 ,000 immigrants and refugees, although it's not clear how many are in the country illegally.
[86] Dolan said they want to hire another $42 ,000 if we could find them.
[87] So this sounds like a mutually beneficial situation for both Tyson and the migrants, but it's also been very controversial.
[88] Why are people upset about this?
[89] The criticism is twofold.
[90] One, critics say it incentivized to illegal immigration in general, and two, the net effect is undercutting the wages of native -born Americans who have worked these jobs for years.
[91] They're calling it America last and said the company is selling out Americans.
[92] And adding to the outrage is the fact that Tyson is also closing a facility in Perry, Iowa and laying off 1 ,200 workers.
[93] The workers at that plant are a mix of immigrants and Americans.
[94] Tyson says any insinuation that we would cut American jobs to hire immigrant workers is completely false.
[95] But that hasn't stopped people from being upset.
[96] One man who worked at the Iowa facility for 30 years reacted to the decision to close the Perry facility.
[97] I can't tell you exactly what it's going to be like, but I know from what I've heard, a lot of people in tears, which I am almost right now, just thinking about it.
[98] Just so many people that have given their heart and soul out there and to have this happen just out of the blue, it's crazy.
[99] It's also caused some financial backlash.
[100] The Conservative Investment Fund American Conservative Values ETF divested its holdings in Tyson Foods and rated the stock as Refused to Buy.
[101] CEO Bill Flagg said, we believe Tyson's management has blundered into a political minefield and should have known better.
[102] The risk of alienating a significant percentage of their customers outweighs any potential economic benefit.
[103] Now, how many workers can Tyson actually absorb?
[104] Are they growing?
[105] Well, Tyson has a high turnover rate for frontline employees.
[106] Those are employees washing and packing chicken, for example, with four in ten of those workers leaving the company every year.
[107] Because of this, the company is looking to hire about 52 ,000 employees just over this year.
[108] Those frontline jobs start at 1650 an hour and include benefits.
[109] Tyson currently has a U .S. workforce of about 120 ,000 people.
[110] So because of this massive turnover, the illegal migrants flooding into New York are a really attractive pool for Tyson.
[111] New York has seen an influx of more than 180 ,000 illegal migrants over the past two years.
[112] By the way, we should also note that last year, Tyson was one of several food companies that faced a labor department probe over allegations of child migrant labor.
[113] Tyson has said it has zero tolerance for child labor and maintained.
[114] It does not allow minors to work at any of its facilities.
[115] Marade, thanks for reporting.
[116] Thanks, Georgia.
[117] An autopsy has revealed that Oklahoma teen Nex Benedict died of intentional drug overdose.
[118] The teen's death became national news after media outlets initially attributed the death to anti -trans violence.
[119] Here to discuss the incident is Daily Wire senior editor, Ash Short.
[120] So, Ash, what can you tell us about this story?
[121] Well, it's a tragic story, and as you mentioned, it sparked a huge media uproar.
[122] So next, Benedict, who was a 16 -year -old who identified as non -binary, died a day after a fight with several girls in a school bathroom.
[123] Her death was quickly attributed to anti -trans violence.
[124] But an autopsy now reveals that Benedict, who went by they -them pronouns, actually died from drug intoxication.
[125] Further, there's evidence that the drug overdose was intentional.
[126] Now, I remember the media heavily suggested that Benedict died after hitting her head on the bathroom floor.
[127] Was that not a part of her death?
[128] What was the real story there?
[129] The real story is that she said the girls had been bullying her and her friends.
[130] And on the day of the fight, the girls were making fun of the way Benedict and her friends laughed.
[131] Benedict told a police officer that she threw water in one of the girls' faces, which prompted the fight.
[132] Benedict went to the hospital after the fight, but is seen without any visible injuries.
[133] and body cam footage from her interview with police.
[134] Also noteworthy, Benedict has been described as non -binary, but her mother used female pronouns when discussing her daughter throughout the interview with police, so it's unclear what pronouns she used regularly.
[135] Benedict left the hospital that day, seemingly in good health, but her mother called the next day after finding the teen's breathing was shallow.
[136] An autopsy and toxicology report later determined Benedict died due to an overdose of Benadryl and Prozac.
[137] Now, the other students involved in the fight are not being charged or implicated in the death, correct?
[138] Right.
[139] In fact, the police officer who took Benedict's statement at the hospital warned her that because she instigated the fight, she could be the one to face charges.
[140] She was the one who initiated it essentially because you got freedom of speech.
[141] The action of physically, the moment she threw that water, you've now assaulted somebody.
[142] You made the first jab.
[143] Right in the mouth is freedom of speech.
[144] Yes.
[145] Unfortunately, you can say mean, hurtful things all day long.
[146] And you've got to let it roll off your shoulder.
[147] So what is the evidence that this death was related to Benedict being non -binary?
[148] Well, there isn't any direct evidence of that, yet that was the story many media outlets initially went with.
[149] They technically included lines about police saying physical trauma wasn't the cause of Benedict's death, but they still heavily focused on the idea that Benedict died a day after an altercation.
[150] The New York Times, for example, published an article on March 1st with a sub -headline saying Benedict died a day after a fight in a school bathroom.
[151] This is repeated in the first paragraph, and it isn't until the sixth paragraph that the Times includes a line about police saying Benedict's death was not a result of the fight.
[152] And a Washington Post article from February 21st was titled, Oklahoma non -binary teen died after school fight amid reported bullying.
[153] The article includes a quote early on from an activist group that heavily implies Benedict died as a result of the fight, saying, quote, Whether Nex died as a direct result of injuries sustained in the brutal hate -motivated attack at school or not, Nex's death is a result of being the target of physical and emotional harm because of who Nex was.
[154] Now, this isn't to say that bullying didn't play a part in Benedict's death, but it appears to be another example of the media taking a tragic death and using it to make a political statement with very thin evidence in flaming division needlessly in the process.
[155] Right, we've seen a few cases like that.
[156] Right.
[157] Right.
[158] And one of the most famous examples is the case of Matthew Shepard, who for years we were told died because he was gay.
[159] It was revealed much later that Shepard was most likely killed in a drug deal gone wrong and that he had been romantically involved with one of his killers.
[160] Right.
[161] Well, Ash, thank you so much for reporting.
[162] You're welcome.
[163] Thanks for waking up with us.
[164] We'll be back this afternoon with the next edition of Morning Wire.