Morning Wire XX
[0] Pfizer's new COVID pill reduced deaths by nearly 100 % in clinical trials, yet the FDA still hasn't scheduled a meeting to review the medication.
[1] It's remarkable and game -changing for the whole pandemic yet.
[2] The FDA has been sitting on this application now.
[3] It's a disgrace.
[4] What's behind the delay, and why aren't we hearing more about these life -saving treatments?
[5] I'm John Bickley with Georgia Hal.
[6] It's Friday, December 17th, and this is Morning Wire.
[7] Districts' attorneys in Los Angeles and San Francisco are facing recalls due to rising crime.
[8] Are California residents finally souring on soft -on -crime policies?
[9] And after much debate, Congress passes legislation that bans the import of any goods made with forced labor from Uyghur Muslims.
[10] What impact will the bill have and who was trying to stop it?
[11] Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire.
[12] Stay tuned.
[13] We have the news you need to know.
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[18] New oral medications for treating COVID -19 have shown spectacular results in clinical trials.
[19] Yet despite surging cases, these life -saving treatments still aren't being prescribed here in the U .S. Here to discuss is Johns Hopkins, Dr. Marty McCarrie.
[20] So first off, we have this new Omicron variant, which based on data from Europe, is probably going to spread extremely fast here in the U .S. So what I'm wondering is, how should we think about our risk level?
[21] I would consider Omicron to be like a common cold.
[22] Think of it as Omicold.
[23] And what you're going to see is a high level of contagiousness, but a low level of severity.
[24] And we have now population data that supports that.
[25] We're seeing in a laboratory that the cells that are infected with Omicron tend to be the upper airway cells and less so the lung cells.
[26] So that explains why we're not seeing as many deep infections.
[27] And if you think about the data we have so far, there's been one death worldwide.
[28] In the day that the UK reported almost 5 ,000 cases, there were only 10 hospitalizations attributed to Omicron.
[29] Okay, and I want to ask you about this new COVID treatment from Pfizer called Paxlovid.
[30] What do we know about it?
[31] And is it available at hospitals and pharmacies at this point?
[32] It's not yet available.
[33] The FDA, unfortunately, has not even scheduled their official meeting of outside experts to vote on it.
[34] It's a real tragedy because they're withholding this life -saving medication.
[35] And if you just look at deaths, Paxlovid, the new drug by Pfizer, to treat COVID, cut deaths in the treatment group to zero.
[36] That is, no one who got this drug died.
[37] And there were nine deaths in the placebo group.
[38] So this does appear to be a dramatic game changer of a medication.
[39] I just hope we can get it quickly.
[40] Now, there was also an interesting study that was published in Lancet Global Health, showing that the antidepressant drug fluoxamine may also be effective in treating COVID -19.
[41] What do we know about that?
[42] Yeah, so we've got now two observational studies and then two randomized controlled trials.
[43] All of that evidence supports fluvoxamine and fluoxamine as game -changing, life -saving medications for COVID patients with no evidence to the contrary.
[44] This medication, which has been around for years and cost about $10, does not have any of the controversy around ivermectin or hydroxychloroquine.
[45] All the data is favorable, but no pharma executive is going to get rich from this.
[46] It's off its patent.
[47] It's been around.
[48] expensive.
[49] We don't hear about it, but it's an amazing medication.
[50] If you put all these things together, Georgia, no one should be dying of COVID right now.
[51] And why do you think we're not hearing about these medications?
[52] There's been a general downplaying of therapeutics.
[53] Even for me to talk publicly about them, I do hear from physicians who say, don't talk about therapeutics because some people may then choose not to get vaccinated and rely on the therapeutics.
[54] Well, I don't believe in a paternalist approach to medicine.
[55] People are hungry for honesty right now, and we can be honest with the data that these therapeutics are incredibly effective.
[56] Well, Dr. McCarrie, we are out of time, but thanks so much for coming on.
[57] Thanks, Georgia.
[58] That was Johns Hopkins, Dr. Marty McCarrie.
[59] Coming up, Californians are starting to regret their state's soft -on -crime policies.
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[65] San Francisco and Los Angeles are facing a surge in violent crime, which many are blaming on soft on crime policies.
[66] Now, leaders responsible for those policies are starting to feel the backlash.
[67] Here to discuss the ongoing situation in the Golden State is Daily Wire Senior Editor as short.
[68] So, Ash, what are the crime statistics in California right now?
[69] Well, California as a whole has seen an increase in homicides since the start of the pandemic, with last year's 30 % increase in murders being the largest increase since 1960.
[70] Incredibly, those numbers appear to be climbing again this year.
[71] Los Angeles has so far seen 331 homicides this year, a 16 % increase over the total number of murders in the city this time last year.
[72] San Francisco's murder rate has also increased by 7 % year over year.
[73] And so the obvious question here is why are we seeing this?
[74] Well, increasingly, people are pointing to soft -on -crime policies.
[75] And in recent years, left -wing progressive district attorneys in San Francisco and Los Angeles have implemented policies like no -cash bail or zero bail, which puts criminals immediately back on the street.
[76] And they've put policies in place that make it harder to prosecute crimes like theft.
[77] Plus, district attorneys in these cities have also been reluctant to prosecute criminals.
[78] Basically, it's become a lot easier to break the law and as a result, criminals are taking advantage.
[79] A Fresno district attorney Lisa Smidkamp is an outspoken critic of soft -on -crime district attorneys.
[80] I think that George Gascon should not be referred to as a district attorney.
[81] What George Gascon is is a public defender in disguise.
[82] So he has never tried a case.
[83] He has never been in a courtroom.
[84] And he is destroying the beautiful county of Los Angeles.
[85] And he is, he is actually a menace to public safety.
[86] Now, we've done a couple segments on this show already about the wave of retail theft.
[87] But it sounds like this crime wave includes more serious crime as well, like murder.
[88] How are politicians responding?
[89] Well, some are still reluctant to acknowledge the increase in crime.
[90] For example, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon pointed out in a recent press conference that most crimes have decreased in the county, except for homicides, and said that his policies absolutely did not lead to the spike and smash and grab incidents.
[91] And how are Californian citizens responding to this?
[92] It's clearly more contentious among residents.
[93] The district attorneys in San Francisco and L .A. have both faced recalls.
[94] At least 50 attorneys have resigned or been fired from D .H. Fesa Boudin's office in San Francisco, some of whom have joined the recall effort to remove him from office.
[95] In Los Angeles County, dozens of cities have issued votes of no confidence in DA George Gascon.
[96] Neither politician has been removed yet, but a significant coalition of residents are clearly not content with the direction of the state.
[97] Now, is there a sense that other politicians are seeing these recalls and adjusting their stances on this?
[98] Actually, yes.
[99] The mayor of the mayor of San Francisco, London Breed, has definitely distanced herself from the defund the police movement, which she fully supported just a year ago.
[100] It's time that the reign of criminals who are destroying our city, it is time for it to come to an end.
[101] And it comes to an end when we take the steps to be more aggressive with law enforcement, more aggressive with the changes in our policies, and less tolerant of all the bullshit that is destroyed our city.
[102] Now, is this push primarily coming from conservative Californians who are just now coming out of the woodwork?
[103] No. At least in the case of San Francisco, the pushback is coming from voters who largely describe themselves as progressive.
[104] In the case of Mayor Breed, she is responding to a mood shift in her progressive base.
[105] They're still very progressive, but they're hitting a breaking point when it comes to crime.
[106] Ash, thanks for reporting.
[107] Thanks for me on.
[108] That's Daily Wire senior editor, As Short.
[109] On Thursday, the Senate voted unanimously to pass the Uighur forced labor prevention act, which will ban imported goods from China unless it can be proven they were not made using forced labor.
[110] The bill, which faced opposition from several major U .S. corporations, will now head to the White House for final passage.
[111] Joining us now to discuss is DailyWire's Cabot Phillips.
[112] So Cabot, we've got a new law.
[113] What can you tell us about it?
[114] Yeah, this is a big deal.
[115] one of the first tangible steps the U .S. has taken against China for their role in the U .Gar genocide.
[116] We've talked on the show about how the Chinese government has put up to 1 .5 million people in concentration camps where they're often sterilized, tortured, and used as slave labor and factories and farms.
[117] The Uighur forced labor prevention act will now require all businesses importing goods from the northwestern part of China, where most of those prison camps are, to prove that slave labor was not used during production.
[118] Senator Marco Rubio, who helped author the bill had this to say about why the law was necessary.
[119] The proof is now on the businesses, not the burdens on them to show that they are not operating using these work camps.
[120] And if you can't prove it, then your product doesn't enter the United States.
[121] It's that simple.
[122] The bill passed unanimously on Thursday, but there was some drama on Wednesday when the initial vote failed.
[123] What happened there?
[124] Well, Democrat Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon happened.
[125] In order for the bill to pass more quickly, it had to have unanimous support.
[126] And Senator Wyden knew that and tried to slip in a Democrat -backed child tax credit at the last minute, even though he knew all 50 Republican senators opposed that measure.
[127] He was essentially hoping that Republicans would go along with the tax credit because they wouldn't want to kill the larger forced labor bill.
[128] Okay.
[129] Supporters of the bill were furious on Wednesday pointing out that the child tax credit had nothing to do with the Uigh or genocide.
[130] They accused Wyden of trying to stop the bill for other reasons.
[131] For example, some pointed out how Nike, which has strongly opposed the bill all along, has been the number one donor to Wyden's campaign since he took office in 1980.
[132] He caught a lot of heat for killing the bill on Wednesday and seemed to respond to that heat by reversing course Thursday, removing the child tax credit, and allowing the bill to pass unanimously.
[133] You mentioned Nike, what sort of pushback do we see from them?
[134] They've reportedly been lobbying against this bill for months now, trying to push for looser restrictions.
[135] Okay.
[136] Their basic argument has been that with how large their supply chain is and how many workers they employ, it would be impossible to prove that there's no slave labor involved.
[137] And they're not alone in making that argument, actually.
[138] Coca -Cola sources sugar from the region, and they've pushed back against the bill behind the scenes.
[139] Same with Apple.
[140] They've spoken out against slave labor in China publicly, but behind the scenes, they were reportedly fighting the bill.
[141] So big picture, what sort of impact is this ban going to have?
[142] Well, from a foreign policy standpoint, this is another step towards showing China that America is serious about holding them accountable for human rights abuses.
[143] On Thursday, the U .S. Commerce Department also announced they'd be blacklisting 34 Chinese companies who, they say, helped develop technology for tracking religious minorities on behalf of the Communist Party in China.
[144] And from an economic standpoint, this could impact the price of tech products, sneakers, clothes, and soda as companies that operate in China will likely respond.
[145] bond by moving production plants or paying to monitor their supply chains more closely.
[146] But again, kind of a small price to pay to combat modern -day slavery.
[147] Indeed it is.
[148] Cabot, thanks for the reporting.
[149] Anytime.
[150] That was DailyWire's Cabot Phillips.
[151] Other stories were tracking this week.
[152] All remaining members of the American Christian missionary group who were kidnapped in Haiti in October have been safely released.
[153] The group included at least five children and one infant.
[154] The gang which abducted the group was initially demanded.
[155] $1 million per person.
[156] And in San Francisco and Oakland, California, some citizens are beginning to leave their vehicle trunks open so thieves won't break the windows.
[157] People have also put signs on their cars asking, please use the door, or please do not break glass, nothing inside.
[158] If you like this episode and are interested in hearing more, subscribe to Morning Wire on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you're listening, and give us a five -star review.
[159] That's all the time we've got this morning.
[160] Thanks for waking up with us.
[161] We'll be back tomorrow with the news you need to know.
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