Morning Wire XX
[0] Job growth in the U .S. slowed in September, even as the unemployment rate dropped.
[1] How do the latest job numbers play into the ongoing struggles with inflation and a cratering stock market?
[2] I'm Daily Wire Editor -in -Chief John Bickley with Georgia Howl.
[3] It's Monday, October 10th, and this is Morning Wire.
[4] Another high -profile University Hospital backs away from transgender treatments for minors.
[5] What's behind the move and is it part of a larger trend?
[6] And will New York elect a Republican governor?
[7] With the issue of crime dominating headlines in the Big Apple, the GOP candidate has moved within striking distance in the Democrat stronghold.
[8] Plus, the bombing of a bridge in Crimea deals a serious blow to Russia's campaign in Ukraine.
[9] Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire.
[10] Stay tuned.
[11] We have the news you need to know.
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[24] As inflation remains stubbornly high and recession woes continue, the U .S. labor market was dealt a blow this week with new data showing that job growth slowed considerably in the month of September.
[25] Here with more on what's driving the slowdown and how it's impacting the economy as Daily Wire Senior Editor Cabot Phillips.
[26] Cabot, you've been digging into these job numbers.
[27] What's the latest?
[28] So we just got the latest jobs report and showed some concerning signs.
[29] According to the Labor Department, in the month of September, the U .S. economy added 263 ,000 jobs.
[30] Now, that might sound great, but when you zoom out, it's actually a 16 % drop from the month before and a 34 % drop from the monthly average over the first half of the year.
[31] So a clear slowdown going on.
[32] And another element from the latest data that's a bit deceiving is the unemployment rate, which dropped to 3 .5%.
[33] Again, that's great on its face, but if you look at the reason for the drop, It's mainly because the labor force itself dropped.
[34] So put simply, more Americans stopped looking for work last month.
[35] So a lower unemployment rate, but also a reduced labor force, what's causing the slowdown?
[36] There, as always, are a lot of factors at play.
[37] The first is that as we enter a recession, employers are simply doing everything they can to prepare.
[38] And one obvious way of doing that is by keeping their payroll as low as possible.
[39] We've seen anecdotal evidence of this over the last few months with big companies announcing mass layoffs or hiring freezes, but this is much more concrete evidence that companies are not optimistic about the future.
[40] It's also a sign that employers are preparing for more rate hikes from the Fed. Chairman Jerome Powell has been pretty clear, as we talked about on the show, that their goal is to further slow down hiring to try and combat inflation.
[41] And one way of doing that is by just making it more expensive for businesses to borrow money.
[42] So unless something drastic happens, don't expect rates to drop anytime soon, which could be bad news for people looking for a job as employers simply pull back how much they're spending.
[43] So what sort of response have we seen from the Biden administration to this report?
[44] Well, President Biden is actually touting the report, saying it's further evidence that the economy is doing well.
[45] He's consistently pointed to the fact that we've now had job growth for 21 consecutive months.
[46] But critics have been quick to point out that those jobs weren't necessarily being created as much as they were being recovered after lockdowns ended, which obviously were a time when jobs around the country were really decimated.
[47] And all this comes as the stock market is really struggling.
[48] Yeah, after years of bullish growth on Wall Street, we are firmly entrenched in a bare market.
[49] The job report sent the markets tumbling even further on Friday, with the Dow Jones ending the day down 630 points.
[50] The Dow has now erased every gain it made over the last two years and is lower than it was in November of 2020.
[51] Wow.
[52] And, you know, this is bad timing for President Biden and Democrats, politically speaking.
[53] Yeah, this is another one of those tangible issues where voters can see.
[54] the impact of a struggling economy for themselves.
[55] All they have to do is look at their 401k or mutual funds.
[56] On that note, we've already seen some Republicans on the campaign trail increasingly referencing the market decrease since Biden took office.
[57] Their point is that people would have more money saved up if they simply buried everything they'd earned since 2020 in their backyard instead of investing it in the market.
[58] All right.
[59] So if you can, give us some reason for optimism about the economy.
[60] Yes.
[61] Let's get to some good news on this Monday morning.
[62] And that is the strength of the U .S. dollar.
[63] When you look at the real effective exchange rate, which just tracks the dollar compared to every other major currency, the dollar is at an all -time high.
[64] It just broke the previous record set 20 years ago.
[65] It's up 13 % this year alone, and is at its strongest point against the British pound since 1985, and the strongest point against the euro since 2002.
[66] But even when there's good news in this economy, there's still always another side to it.
[67] It's negative.
[68] And in this case, it's that as the dollar rises, it actually hurts domestic manufacturing.
[69] That's because our products become more expensive in other countries, which hurts our export rates, while simultaneously making foreign goods cheaper to import, which can undermine American -made products.
[70] So it really cuts both ways.
[71] It always does.
[72] Cabot, thanks for reporting.
[73] Anytime.
[74] That's Daily Wire Senior Editor, Cabot Phillips.
[75] Vanderbilt University Hospital announced on Friday that they are discontinuing gender surgeries for minors pending an internal review.
[76] The news comes after the hospital, hospital made national headlines when videos surfaced showing doctors discussing how much money could be made from transgender medicine.
[77] Joining us to discuss is Daily Wire investigative reporter Marade Allorty.
[78] So Marade, what's the latest out of Vanderbilt?
[79] Hi, Georgia.
[80] So on Friday, Vanderbilt University Medical Center released a letter stating that, quote, we are pausing gender affirmation surgeries on patients under 18 while they finish an internal review, which they said may take several months.
[81] And how did this particular gender clinic get into the news the first place.
[82] Well, an expose from the Daily Wires, Matt Walsh, revealed several shocking videos that showed a Vanderbilt doctor calling certain transgender surgeries huge moneymakers.
[83] Another surfaced video showed a health law expert calling conscientious objections to transgender surgeries problematic, saying people who didn't want to participate in these procedures shouldn't work at Vanderbilt.
[84] After the videos came to light, a groundswell of lawmakers called on Vanderbilt to halt its gender services for children.
[85] Tennessee's governor called for an investigation.
[86] There's also a planned rally for later this month at the State House over the issue.
[87] So the clinic is responding to a growing course of concern.
[88] Before Vanderbilt halted gender services, the clinic was performing so -called gender -affirming double mastectomies on girls under 18 and also offering puberty blockers and cross -sex hormones for minors.
[89] Now, is this a sign that the medical establishment is moving away from early medical intervention for gender -confused kids?
[90] Maybe.
[91] This is the second high -profile hospital to back away from this type of treatment in just the past week.
[92] University of Oklahoma Medical Center announced they were terminating their gender clinic last week.
[93] All of this is in response to a growing movement of parents who are extremely skeptical about these types of treatments.
[94] There was an interesting report in Reuters just a few days ago about the risk of permanent medical interventions that don't have long -term data.
[95] It's been rare to see that point of view printed in legacy media outlets, but with the explosion, of trans -identifying kids and the proliferation of these clinics, we are definitely seeing more people asking questions.
[96] That said, in the past few months, we've also seen W -Path, which is the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, put out official guidance that removes the minimum age requirement for transgender treatment, seemingly opening the door to more aggressive treatments at younger ages.
[97] So it's probably more accurate to say we're seeing a growing schism between the public and the medical establishment on this issue.
[98] Now, the statement from Vanderbilt says that they're pausing treatments pending review.
[99] Do we know what new information they're reviewing?
[100] Vanderbilt said its internal review will look at the new W -path guidelines, which, as I mentioned, advocate for early treatment.
[101] So it's very possible the hospital will resume these treatments in a few months, barring any laws passed in the state outlawing the treatments.
[102] However, we're also seeing a growing movement of detransitioners speak out, and their voices might become important as hospitals decide how to proceed going forward.
[103] These are people who thought they were transgender and medically transitioned, but now regret it and have transitioned back to their birth gender.
[104] Some of these detransitioners have begun lobbying against these treatments, which they say caused irreparable harm.
[105] For example, a group of detransitioners wrote a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland just last week.
[106] So it's becoming a contentious issue at the national level.
[107] Very contentious.
[108] Marade, thanks so much for reporting.
[109] Thanks, Georgia.
[110] That was Daily Wire investigative reporter, Marade Allorty.
[111] Just a month out from the midterm election, the race for Congress has taken center stage, but several governor's contests are playing out alongside the battle for the House and Senate.
[112] One in particular has been raising eyebrows as it tightens.
[113] Reliably blue New York State was not thought to be a battleground governor's race, and yet Republican candidate Representative Lee Zeldin has significantly narrowed the once double -digit lead of the incumbent Democrat Kathy Hokel.
[114] Here to discuss is columnist David Marcus.
[115] Hi, Dave.
[116] This kind of came out of nowhere.
[117] How close has this race gotten?
[118] The polls vary and all still show something of a hogle lead, but several surveys have shown Zeldon in striking distance, and people are starting to notice.
[119] This had been a very sleepy race for months, but Zeldon is well -funded, and he's been running a lot more ads and sort of barnstorming the state.
[120] The backdrop is a sense that New York City in particular is moving in the wrong direction, and that obviously has a huge impact on the state as a whole.
[121] whole.
[122] Hockel had been running very quietly, hoping to win on the big Democrat edge in voter registration.
[123] But she's also being much more aggressive now.
[124] This is a race.
[125] What are the issues that are driving the campaigns now that were just a few weeks out?
[126] That's easy.
[127] For Zeldon, it's crime, crime, crime.
[128] I mean, his ads feature a lot of the brutal viral videos of crime on the streets and in the subway that listeners have seen on social media.
[129] And Hokel has been and continues to be a champion of the bail reform laws that a lot of New Yorkers blame for rising crime.
[130] For Hockel, as with many Democrats across the country, abortion has become the centerpiece of her campaign.
[131] She's painted Zeldon's position as extreme and is running ads featuring women who need abortions for medical reasons that she alleges he would make illegal.
[132] How significant would a Republican victory in New York be?
[133] Oh, it'd be a very big deal.
[134] The last time a Republican won statewide in New York was 20 years ago when George Pataki won the governor's race, a win this year would be further evidence that the GOP is making inroads with new groups of voters.
[135] And look, there's frustration with the state government.
[136] Hokel took over after Andrew Cuomo resigned and disgrace.
[137] And now she has her own scandal involving COVID test tracks that she gave to a donor.
[138] Part of Zeldon's pitch is that Democrats have been in charge for two decades, and it's just time for a change.
[139] How much of this race will come down to New York City as opposed to the rest of the state?
[140] The city has about half the population, leans more Democrat than other areas.
[141] Is Zeldon focused much on the city?
[142] Yes, he is.
[143] The traditional magic number for Republicans to win statewide in New York is about 33 % of the New York City vote.
[144] Zeldon has said, if he tops that, he thinks he wins.
[145] So far, he's had a lot of focus on what we call the outer boroughs, places like Brooklyn and Queens, where there are significant pockets of Republicans, as well as Staten Island, which is a GOP stronghold.
[146] There are some wild card voting demographics, including Hispanic and Asian voters, who both candidates are courting pretty hard.
[147] New York was an early epicenter of the COVID pandemic and had some of the toughest restrictions in the country throughout.
[148] Most of that time was under Cuomo, not Hoagel.
[149] But are the lockdown still a big issue in the race or have voters moved on?
[150] Not as much of an issue as I might have expected, likely because things in New York have basically returned at least to a new normal.
[151] But it's interesting.
[152] There are four races in which sitting governors made starkly different choices about COVID.
[153] So Ron DeSantis and Brian Kemp in Florida and Georgia, respectively, opened their states.
[154] Team Cuomo slash Hockel and Gretchen Whitmer in Michigan locked down very hard.
[155] So far, all four of them are ahead in the polls.
[156] But Hockel's no shoe in anymore.
[157] And it may well be that COVID frustration is part of why.
[158] Well, some very interesting developments in New York.
[159] David, thanks for coming on.
[160] Thanks for having me. That was Daily Wire contributor, David Marcus.
[161] Another story we're tracking this week.
[162] A bomb damaged a 12 -mile bridge connecting Crimea to mainland Russia on Saturday in a major threat to Russia's supply lines into southern Ukraine.
[163] Here to give us a brief update on the bridge attack is Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce.
[164] Hey, Georgia.
[165] A bomb, either carried by a tractor trailer or planted beneath the bridge by boat, detonated and collapsed.
[166] part of a bridge that is the only ground link between Crimea and mainland Russia.
[167] The bridge has four lanes of traffic and two freight lines.
[168] The bomb collapsed the outer two lanes of traffic, and it appears to have significantly damaged at least one of the railroads.
[169] Russian officials said Sunday that commercial traffic had resumed on the remaining two lanes, but heavy trucks are banned, and trains are again running from Crimea to Russia, but officials said nothing about trains running the other way on the other track.
[170] Russian officials immediately blamed Ukraine.
[171] Keev did not claim outright responsibility for the attack, but Ukrainian officials openly celebrated the damage to the bridge.
[172] The bridge was completed in 2018 at a cost of nearly $4 billion and is the main artery of supplies for Russia's war effort in southern Ukraine.
[173] Well, thanks for waking up with us.
[174] We'll be back this afternoon with more of the news you need to know.
[175] And in case you missed it, check out the first episode of Election Wire, which covers all the latest election news and aired on this feed, YouTube and Dailywire .com, on Sunday.