Morning Wire - Biden Speaks With Netanyahu & EPA Bans Asbestos | Afternoon Update | 3.18.24

Episode Date: March 18, 2024

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This episode is brought to you by Shopify. Get a $1 per month trial period at Shopify.com slash morningwire. That's Shopify.com slash morning wire. I'm Daily Wire, editor-in-chief John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Monday, March 18th, and this is your Morning Wire afternoon update. A high-profile free speech case was argued before the Supreme Court today. Attorneys presented arguments claiming the Biden administration coerced social media platforms to remove content they found problematic.

but a majority of the justices appeared skeptical. Daily Wire reporter Amanda Presta Giacomo has the latest on the case, Murthy v. Missouri. During today's oral arguments, justices questioned whether government officials' communication with social media platforms broke any laws. Attorneys general in Louisiana and Missouri, along with a handful of social media users, filed the lawsuit alleging that U.S. government officials went too far in pressuring platforms to moderate content. The suit covers efforts made by the government to stop the spread of what they deemed a false information, such as posts about COVID and the presidential election back in 2021.

Justice Katanji Brown-Jackson seemed to land on the idea that in some cases, the government can restrict speech. Whether or not the government can do this depends on the application of our First Amendment jurisprudence. And there may be circumstances in which the government could prohibit certain speech on. the internet or otherwise. Justice Samuel Alito seemed to break with the majority of justices comparing social media platforms to the press. He brought up the government's constant pestering of those platforms. So it's treating Facebook and these other platforms like their subordinates. Would you do that to the New York Times or the Wall Street Journal or the Associated Press or any other big newspaper or wire service? Former President Donald Trump,

Trump has so far been unable to furnish a $464 million bond in the civil fraud judgment against him. Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce has more. The former president must post the bond in full by next week, a risk New York Attorney General Letitia James seizing Trump's assets. Trump's legal team has asked an appeals court to weigh in while explaining the difficulty in securing such a large bond. According to the filing, the legal team's efforts to secure the bond, which included reaching out to dozens of shurators, have come up empty and pre-executive. have come up empty and prove that the full amount is practically impossible to achieve.

Many of the bond companies Trump and his team have negotiated with won't accept hard assets, such as real estate as collateral, and have limited the former president to cash or cash equivalence. Trump's lawyers noted those companies usually require collateral of approximately 120% of the amount of the judgment, which would total about $557 million. President Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the first time. in over a month today. The White House says they discussed the situation in Rafa, as well as efforts to increase aid to Palestinians. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan addressed the call during today's White House press briefing. President and the Prime Minister spoke at length about Rafa today.

The president explained why he is so deeply concerned about the prospect of Israel conducting major military operations in Rafa of the kind of conducted in Gaza City and Kahn Yunus. First, more than a million people have taken refuge in Rafa. They went from Gaza City to Khan Yunus and then to Rafa. They have nowhere else to go. Monday's call comes as the White House considers how to respond if Israel ignores Biden's warning and invades Rafa. The Environmental Protection Agency has banned asbestos. The carcinogen, according to the agency, kills tens of thousands of Americans every year,

but is still used in various products such as chlorine bleach. and brake pads. The new rule would ban chrysotile asbestos the only ongoing use of asbestos in the United States. The news marks a major expansion of EPA regulation governing thousands of toxic chemicals in everyday products from household cleaners to clothing and furniture. As Trump warns of a coming bloodbath in the auto industry if Biden is re-elected, the Biden administration is expected to finalize regulations this week targeting gas-powered vehicle emissions. The regulations are designed to force automakers to expand the production of electric vehicles, which have continued to turn in disappointing sales numbers. The EPA is set to issue the policy as early as Wednesday.

And the owner of Sports Illustrated has inked a deal to help the once iconic magazine stay afloat. The deal comes two months after mass layoffs at the publication. Minute Media, known for the Players' Tribune and Fancited, say they plan to bring the publication back. The move comes after a major reputation blow last year when Sports Illustrated confirmed that several of its stories were written by AI. Those are your drive home updates this afternoon. To learn more about these stories, go to dailywire.com. And for more in-depth discussion of the biggest stories of the day, listen to the latest full episode of Morning Wire every morning.