California reels as the worst fires continue to grow, TikTok argues before SCOTUS as time is running out for the social app, and is the Biden administration trying to stop you from drinking and smoking? Get the facts first with Morning Wire.Balance of Nature: Go to https://balanceofnature.com and use promo code WIRE for an exclusive offer!Black Rifle Coffee: Get 20% off your first order or Coffee Club subscription with code DAILYWIRE: https://www.blackriflecoffee.comShopify: Go to https://Shopify.com/morningwire to start selling with Shopify today.
Chapter 1: What are the latest updates on the California wildfires?
As wildfires continue to ravage Los Angeles, displacing tens of thousands, outrage against city officials and lawmakers is growing.
Here to break it all down is Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips. Cabot, so these fires keep raging and the devastation's unthinkable. What's the latest from Los Angeles?
Yeah, by now everyone has seen the horrifying images coming out of Los Angeles. Just sheer devastation. More than 28,000 acres have burned. Thousands of homes and businesses have been leveled. More than 100,000 folks have been forced to evacuate. By Thursday, the death toll was at five, but those numbers are certain to rise.
First responders have been so overwhelmed by the task of fighting back the fires, they've hardly even begun the grim process of recovering and identifying those who did not escape. And beyond that terrible loss of life, from a financial perspective, this will almost certainly be the costliest set of wildfires in U.S. history.
Analysts from JP Morgan estimate that total losses will be close to $50 billion. That would be nearly five times more costly than any other blaze. The previous record holder was the Camp Fire back in 2018. That cost $12 billion. And to make matters worse, the Wall Street Journal estimates that less than half of the property damage will be covered by insurance.
So a long road to recovery in more ways than one. Yeah, and that recovery effort can't even begin yet because the fires have yet to be contained. Exactly. While firefighters were able to contain the smaller Woodley and Tyler fires, as well as a smaller blaze that erupted in the Hollywood Hills Wednesday night, by Thursday, the two largest fires, Palisades and Eaton, were 0% contained.
Now, thankfully, those strong Santa Ana winds, which peaked at 100 mph, And it really fed the flames, dissipated a bit on Thursday, offering fire crews a brief respite. But they're expected to pick back up by Saturday. So officials are racing to make a dent in the existing fires before then. In the meantime, first responders are still contending not just with the flames, but also with looters.
Fire officials urged evacuating residents to leave their houses unlocked with gates and doors open so crews could gain access. And sadly, that's left opportunities for criminals taking advantage of this tragedy.
At latest count, at least 20 looters have been arrested, but far more cases have been reported as helpless folks watched on security cameras as looters ransacked their homes before police could arrive. Now, just unthinkable to take advantage of a tragedy like this. So what do we know about the cause of these fires?
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Chapter 2: What actions are being taken against looters during the wildfires?
Well, it's very sad because I've been trying to get Gavin Newsom to allow water to come. You'd have tremendous water if they sent it out to the Pacific.
And while Republicans have been among the most vocal critics of Governor Newsom and L.A. Mayor Karen Bass, we've also seen plenty of outrage from more than a few Democrats in the state who say the pair failed to properly prepare for these wildfires, left L.A. vulnerable. We'll see just how much that pressure ramps up in the coming weeks. It's already at fever pitch at this point.
Kevin, thanks so much for reporting. Anytime.
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Chapter 3: What are the economic impacts of the wildfires?
The case that will decide TikTok's fate in the U.S. lands at the Supreme Court today. It's a moment that comes just after the court decided against a Trump appeal.
Here with the details is Daily Wire culture reporter Megan Basham. So Megan, before we get to TikTok, the Supreme Court last night refused to intervene in Donald Trump's hush money sentencing. What are the details of last night's decision?
So Donald Trump's attorneys made an 11th hour bid to the Supreme Court, hoping that they would delay that sentencing in his hush money case. Instead, what happened in a five to four decision, the justices rejected his request for an automatic stay. And Chief Justice John Roberts and Amy Coney Barrett, joined the liberal justices in denying Trump's appeal.
So what that does is it clears the way for today's sentencing by Judge Juan Merchan. Now, Merchan has indicated that he will not make jail time part of the punishment, and that did factor into the Supreme Court's decision not to issue a stay on the sentencing.
They said that the sentencing wasn't burdensome enough to stay and that Trump's arguments against the verdict could be heard in the regular appeals process. So this is not over yet.
Okay, so turning to today's Supreme Court docket, that's the fate of social media giant TikTok. This case has been a long time coming and about 150 million Americans use TikTok. They may not be able to access it past January 19th, which is just about a week from now. What are the legal arguments for banning TikTok?
So what this case really comes down to is national security versus free speech. You have on one side a lot of Republicans, including FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr and the attorneys general of 22 states who have backed the law that will require this ban to go into effect next week if ByteDance doesn't sell its American holdings in the company.
Now, they argue that TikTok poses a threat because of ByteDance's ties to China, given that Chinese business law allows the CCP to harvest the data of Americans, including location, browsing habits, personal details, things like that. And that kind of spying could be used to blackmail American officials. Just one example of the national security risks.
So they're also concerned about how the app's algorithm could be used to promote Chinese propaganda to American users. In fact, two different academic studies have found that TikTok has done exactly this. For example, one found that the app suppressed negative news related to Chinese treatment of the Uyghurs, and it promoted content that denied its human rights abuses.
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Chapter 4: How could policies have influenced the wildfire situation?
Chapter 5: What is the status of TikTok in the Supreme Court?
And the government has never banned a communication tool like this with this many users before. So they say it would set a precedent with unforeseen speech consequences. And then they deny that there's evidence that the app has been used for spying or propaganda. Now, it's worth noting the D.C. Court of Appeals didn't buy TikTok's argument.
It found that the government does have a national security interest in preventing foreign spying through the app.
Now, Donald Trump famously spearheaded the idea of banning TikTok back in around 2019, but he's since changed his tune on that. What's he saying now?
Chapter 6: What happened with Donald Trump's sentencing appeal?
Yeah, he has. He's now taking the position that the ban is going to unfairly benefit TikTok competitors like Facebook. And he also agrees that it could set a bad precedent that would cause issues for other foreign companies operating on U.S. soil. And he pointed out last month that the app helped him win over a lot of young voters.
You know, I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok because I won youth by 34 points. There are those that say that TikTok has something to do with that.
So he's filed an amicus brief asking the court not to uphold the law so that he can instead negotiate a solution. But other GOP leaders feel differently. And we do have to remember that this law passed with strong bipartisan support back in April.
Now, any chance that a last minute sale goes through and it makes this whole case moot?
It could. Yes. So Canadian business mogul Kevin O'Leary, who, you know, a lot of listeners might know as the judge on the show Shark Tank. Well, he said he's trying to close a last minute deal to buy it. And this is what he told Fox News on Thursday.
I wanted to let Trump know as well as others in his cabinet that we're doing this and we're going to need their help.
Well, a lot of split opinions on this. Megan, thanks for reporting. Anytime. With just days left in his term, Joe Biden is trying to push through what may be his least popular policy yet, a cigarette ban. And that's just the tip of the regulatory iceberg.
Daily Wire Deputy Managing Editor Tim Rice is here with a look at what some people are calling Prohibition 2.0. Hey, Tim. So walk us through what's going on here.
You know, John, in a way, this is kind of a full circle moment for Biden. Just three months into his term, he proposed banning menthol cigarettes. That was immediately unpopular, and the White House actually shelved the plan this past August out of fear that it would specifically alienate Black voters. But now that the election is already lost, Biden's plugging ahead.
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