Morning Wire - Fetal Tissue Investigation & Steamboat Willie Free Use | Afternoon Update | 12.15.23

Episode Date: December 15, 2023

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I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief John Bickley. It's Friday, December 15th, and this is your Morning Wire afternoon update. The Department of Health and Human Services has opened up an investigation into the University of Pittsburgh over accusations that it illegally harvested fetal tissue from aborted babies for experimentation. That's according to emails obtained by Judicial Watch and the Center for Medical Progress. The new emails show university officials confirming in November. November 2021 that they had been subpoenaed by the HHS Office of Inspector General. CMP President David DeLaden told the Daily Wire, quote, The University of Pittsburgh has been a center for some of the most barbaric government-funded

experiments on the body parts of late-term aborted babies. We now have the first confirmation with these FOIA documents that this is all subject of a formal federal law enforcement investigation of the Office of Inspector General. The potential upcoming presidential rematch of Donald Trump versus Joe Biden has a majority of voters very unhappy. According to an AP Nork poll, 56% of adults, regardless of political party, would be very or somewhat dissatisfied if Biden is the Democratic nominee, while 58% said the same about Trump. Probably, most importantly, 43% of independent voters said that they would be unhappy with each man winning his respective party's presidential nomination. Here's Neil Newhouse from public opinion strategies. These are probably the two most unpopular figures at this point in time

to be the potential nominees for president ever. Americans are unhappy because they think they should have more choices. They're looking at the candidates as two old white men who are aging out of existence. Non-restorant service workers earned 7% less in tips in November compared to the same period last year. That's according to data collected from 300,000 small businesses. Economists believe consumers are experiencing tipping fatigue now that shoppers are asked to add a tip when using credit cards to pay for a cup of coffee or even a bottle of water. The combat lower tip totals, Los Angeles and Chicago passed laws allowing workers who rely on

tips to earn the federal minimum wage. On the bright side, 15% of those surveyed by financial firm bank rate say they will increase their tips for housekeepers, nannies, and mail carriers during the holidays. Several data points are pointing to a stronger economy. Retail sales grew 0.3% in November, and that number is adjusted for seasonal shopping trends. The robust sales show consumers are not letting inflation slow down their spending. The unemployment rate fell and the Federal Reserve left the benchmark interest rates steady while saying there would be at least three rate cuts in 2024. That would mean lower mortgage rates will likely be in homebuyers' futures. Here's Jerome Powell explaining the positive outlook this week.

I have always felt since the beginning that there was a possibility that the economy could cool off in a way that enabled inflation to come down without the kind of large job losses that have often been associated with high inflation and tightening cycles. A jet blue plane attempting to take off in Colorado narrowly avoid. disaster when the tail of the plane struck the runway in a hasty ascent. The pilot was attempting to avoid a head-on collision with another plane that was slated to land on the same runway. Data collected from after the event indicates that the approaching plane was about 2.6 miles away from the departing flight when the JetBlue Airbus A320 began its ascent. The incident

occurred in 2022, but the results of the investigation were reported by the Associated Press this week. The near miss comes amid a severe shortage in air traffic control personnel. The original Mickey Mouse from the 1928 Steamboat Willie Short cartoon will enter the public domain on January 1st of 2024. That means the use of the original black and white Mickey Mouse will be free to use in merchandise because of the 95-year-old copyright expiring. Attorney Jake Watson explains the importance of copyright protections. Now, as you might imagine, this is incredibly significant because it allows, literally anybody to take the original work, to use it, and even to resell it without the permission of the copyright owner. The more modern version of Mickey will remain under the

control of Disney Corporation. McDonald's new spin-off chain, Cosmix, launched this week with a flagship location near Chicago. Patrons waited in four-hour lines, and traffic cops had to be deployed to manage the traffic flow. Cosmix is being described as McDonald's answer to Starbucks, offering a wide variety of beverages and light snacks. Fans took social media to share their reviews. Creamy avocado? Bro, that sauce. Try a drink.

It is pop rocks. Hasprong? It tastes different from the big one. Blueberry boost? This one's slight. I like the other one better. I can feel one. Ooh.

See? And finally a treat for Skygazers, the Jiminids meteor shower will occur over the next week, peaking this coming Wednesday and Thursday. NASA scientists say the asteroids will come from every direction and will be plentiful with 60 to 120 meteors every hour. While most meteors are caused by comets, the Jiminids follow asteroid 3,200 phaethon, which orbits the sun. Happy viewing. Those are your drive home updates this afternoon. To learn more about these stories, go to dailywire.com. And for more information,

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