Morning Wire - Judge Overturns Airline Mask Mandate | 4.19.22

Episode Date: April 19, 2022

A federal judge strikes down the airline mask mandate, Russia hits Lviv with missile attacks and Ukrainians in Mariupol refuse to surrender, and crime is on the rise in Los Angeles’s wealthier neighborhoods. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The airline mask mandate has been struck down by a federal judge. The science and data do not support continuing the mask mandate for transportation. We'll take a look at the ruling in how the Biden administration responded. I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire, editor-in-chief John Bickley. It's Tuesday, April 19th, and this is Morning Wire. Russia continues missile strikes on LeViv, while Ukrainian forces in Mariupol are refusing to surrender. We have the latest from Ukraine. And wealthy neighborhoods in Los Angeles are now being targeted for crime.

And the local police chief is warning residents to leave their expensive bags and jewelry at home. People being followed off of retail establishments, of restaurants and other locations, and being targeted for their high-end expensive jewelry. That was something we hadn't seen in decades. Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know. This show is sponsored by Good Ranchers. Meat and seafood prices are up 20% in the last year.

You can combat this out-of-control inflation with a Good Rancher's subscription. When you subscribe, your price is locked in for the life of your subscription. Get American meat, source from local farms delivered to your door at a consistent, affordable price. Visit good ranchers.com slash wire or use code wire at checkout to get $30 off and free shipping today. Lock in your price today with a Good Rancher's subscription and say goodbye to food inflation. On Monday, a federal judge struck down President Biden's mask mandate for public transportation, including airlines and taxis, declaring it unlawful and beyond the power of the CDC or the White House. Here with more on how the Biden administration and airlines are responding,

and what it means for travelers is Daily Wire's senior editor Cabot Phillips. Cabot first, what can you tell us about the case and this ruling? Yeah, this all stems from a lawsuit in Florida where two residents partnered with the Health Freedom Defense Fund challenged the Biden mask mandate in federal court as part of a lawsuit. They argued that the Biden administration was exerting power that they didn't have by forcing travelers to wear masks and, in turn, forcing airlines and transportation companies to enforce that mandate. And on Monday, U.S. District Judge Catherine Mizzell, a Trump appointee, ruled in their favor,

striking down the mandate. She issued a 59-page ruling explaining that the power to issue public health measures, like a mask mandate, has to be granted by Congress. And she said the Biden administration, had not been granted that power. Because of that fact, Judge Mazzle said, and I'm quoting here, the court must hold unlawful

and set aside the mask mandate as an agency action that is not in accordance with law. So, Judge Moselle, essentially telling other courts throughout the United States to no longer uphold the mandate. Now, we thought the Biden administration

might challenge this, but that's not exactly what happened. What can you tell us about that? Yeah, initially there was speculation the Biden administration and the DOJ would appeal the ruling because it seemed they were upset. said about the verdict. White House press secretary Jen Saki, for example, called the mandates

lifting disappointing. So this is obviously a disappointing decision. The CDC continues recommending wearing a mask in public transit. But just an hour after that statement Monday evening, a White House official reversed course and announced the Biden administration would allow the order to stand and would no longer be requiring the TSA to enforce the mandate. Soon after, Delta, Alaska, and United Airlines all announced that masks would be optional and other airlines followed suit quickly after that. Throughout the evening, social media was flooded with videos of pilots announcing midair that the mandate was lifted, often to the applause of passengers. The Transportation Security Administration will no longer enforce the federal mandate,

requiring masks in all U.S. airports and on board aircraft. Finally! So moving forward, it looks like the decision to wear a mask on planes and airports will be up to passengers. Certainly welcome news to many. Now, there have been a lot of questions about why the administration was still requiring the mandate in the first place? Definitely. So last week, the mandate had been set to expire,

and there was hope that President Biden would have let that happen, but he instead went the opposite route and opted to extend it until May 3rd. According to the CDC and the White House, the mandate was still necessary because new variants like the BA2 are still emerging, and cases in some cities are ticking up. On that note, here's U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Morty defending the mandate. There's something that's unique about travel, which is that, number one, you bring a lot of people together in a closed environment for a prolonged period of time, which inherently could be higher risk.

Many people don't have the option not to travel because it's not an option for people. It bears being cautious in those environments. Now, on the other side of this, critics in the mandate celebrated the ruling, saying it was unlawful and, more importantly, unnecessary in the first place. Throughout the past few months, they've noted repeatedly how virtually every other area of society is mask-free. and we just haven't seen the massive upticking cases that people predicted if that had happened. They also point to the fact that even airlines themselves have insisted that mandates aren't necessary

and that they put an unfair burden on their employees. Yeah, we talked a few weeks ago about the letter from the airline leaders arguing just that. Right, they did not mince words. So now it's going to be interesting to see if leaders in the medical community who opposed lifting this mandate all the way up until last night, like Dr. Fauci and other CDC officials

will now change their tune and fall online with President Biden's reversal. Right. Or continue calling for its re-implementation and challenging the president. So bottom line, there's still a chance the DOJ appeals the ruling, but for now it looks like masks on planes are a thing of the past. Yeah, I think a lot of people are going to be very happy about that. Definitely.

Kavit, thanks for the reporting. Anytime. That's Daily Wire senior editor, Cabot Phillips. Coming up, updates from Ukraine. You can get this show and all of the content you love wherever you are, all on the Daily Wire app. Even if you're not a Daily Wire member, you'll be first to know what's trending with mobile notifications for the latest news.

And you'll get content from all your favorite Daily Wire shows. Download the Daily Wire app and keep up with the facts no matter where your day takes you. With the war in Ukraine stretching on for nearly eight weeks now, Russian forces have continued to target civilian areas across the country with missile strikes. Here with the latest from the war in Ukraine is Daily Wire's Ian Howarth. So, Ian, what's going on in Ukraine? Well, what we're seeing now is a massive ramp up in missile strikes, especially in western areas of Ukraine. Now, in recent weeks, there were claims that Russian forces were withdrawing from Western Ukraine to focus on the east.

But a point we raised here on Morning Wire at the time is that this might be a precursor to a more ruthless air-based attack strategy, and this seems to have materialized. On Sunday, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy warned that without weapon supplies, Russia's change in strategy could have disastrous consequences. What is Putin done? he's consolidated his troops. He's brought in one of the most ruthless generals out of Syria with one of the worst reputations to start entering, to try to take over the Black Sea, to control Ukraine,

their inability to supply food to the world as well. This affects everybody. One Western city, LeViv, which was initially comparatively safe in the early days of the invasion, is being hit by missile strikes. Officials there are reporting that seven people were killed in one overnight attack, and these missile strikes are happening all over Ukraine, including the capital city, Kiev.

Russia is saying that they've hit over 300 targets across the country, including military facilities and a car service center. But we're also seeing plenty of reports that residential areas continue to be hit. And one outcome of the war that we've been focused on since the start is the human cost. What updates do we have there? Yeah, first the United Nations is now reporting that almost five million Ukrainians have fled the country. That's a significant fraction of the country is approximately 44 million people. And one issue that hasn't received as much focus is the subject of internal displacement. We often hear about the number of people leaving war-torn countries,

but there is also an increasing number of people moving while remaining inside Ukraine's borders. Thousands of people are moving from the areas of harshest fighting when they are able, and this is only complicating supply efforts. Meanwhile, people remain stuck in the now destroyed city of Maripol, which is now under complete Russian siege. Ukraine has called on Russia to allow for the opening of a so-called humanitarian corridor to allow people to leave, but plans fell apart as they have so many times in recent past. So the civilians there remain in real dangerous.

Shelling continues almost constantly. And this is all while the deadline Russia gave Ukraine to surrender the city has passed. Now, one major story from over the weekend was that a Russian warship in the Black Sea was sunk by Ukrainian missiles. So that was a pretty big victory for Ukrainian forces. Have there been any updates? Yeah, actually the head of Ukraine's navy was promoted after what was held by officials as a brilliant operation to sink the Russian warship. According to President Zelensky's office, the rear admiral responsible has now been elevated to vice admiral. According to US intelligence, the Russian flagship of its Black Sea Navy was around 60 nautical miles south of Odessa when explosions rang out on the vessel on Thursday.

While Ukraine and US officials are claiming that these were the result of two Neptune anti-ship cruise missile strikes, Moscow is claiming that the ship sank following an unrelated fire. Right. Well, it'll be interesting to see if those minor victories add up in the long term. Ian, thanks for reporting. Thanks, Georgia. That's Daily Wires, Ian Howarth. Crime is rising in many of L.A.'s well-to-do neighborhoods,

and police are struggling to deal with the increases. Here to talk about this concerning trend is Daily Wires Tim Pierce. So, Tim, L.A.'s relatively safer zip codes are starting to see a surge in crime. What can you tell us about this trend? Hey, thanks, John. It's an interesting and not too common phenomenon. Crime is rising in mid-dewealthy neighborhoods at a pretty good clip. An analysis by criminologist John Lott of the Crime Prevention Research Center found that areas with a median home value ranging from $750,000 up to $1 million saw an increase in crime over the past three years.

For example, homicides are up 12.5%. Aggravated assault is up 10.9% and motor vehicle theft is up a whopping 25%. An increase across many categories. How are residents reacting to this? A lot of people are scared. These are neighborhoods not used to dealing with this kind of crime. Residents are apparently leaving their expensive jewelry at home when going out, and police are warning people to use the buddy system

and watch out for suspicious characters when they leave retail stores and restaurants. Police say that local gangs are specifically targeting wealthy people in these previously secure communities. Would-be criminals are identifying potential targets by the price of their clothing and jewelry before looking for a chance to mug them. Pickpockets have made away with pricey handbags and sometimes thousands of dollars in cash and one snatch and grab.

What's causing this? Why do criminals feel so confident now to be going after more well-to-do targets? Well, according to Los Angeles Police Department chief Michael Moore, there is a perception among criminals and law enforcement that accountability for illegal behavior is low, and the opportunity for big scores is high. Moore told reporters in a press conference last week

that he has heard concerns from his own detectives about the rise in crime. Moore placed some of the blame for the reports on LA's progressive district attorney, George Gascon. I think that's been brought on by a lot of different factors. One has been, I believe, some earlier statements relative to the use or lack of the use of enhancements prohibiting it. And I'm encouraged by DA Gascon's movement on and changing some of his earlier directives to ensure that those enhancements are brought back. Moore also said that pandemic-related reforms to the city's criminal justice system have led to criminals being released from jail early. Let's be clear. We've had trials and we've had court

deliberations that have been deferred for months, individuals that have been arrested and released on either bail or zero bail, no bail, to be called back months and months from now. And they go and reoffend. Last month, Gascone claimed the jumping crime has happened in spite of his policies, not because of them. The reality is that there are many factors that are impacting this. You know, the unprecedented impact of the COVID in so many communities, the isolation, we have a public health crisis, a mental health crises. And there are many other things that are happening at the same time.

And I think that there is important that we separate those and the impact that that is having from the efforts to bring the system into a more equitable and just approach to the work. That seems to be a disconnect between the police and the prosecutor there. Thanks for the reporting, Tim. My pleasure. That's Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce. Other stories we're tracking this week. The UK will begin relocating asylum seekers to Rwanda

as part of what is being described as an economic development partnership. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Thursday that Rwanda has the capacity to resettle tens of thousands of people in the years ahead. According to the plan, those relocated to Rwanda will be given support, including up to five years of training, integration, accommodation, and health care. A new poll found that 57% of Americans agree with Florida's parental rights and education bill, while 31% said they disagree. The poll was completed on April 8th.

And the Florida Department of Education announced Friday that the state has rejected a record 41% of math textbooks under consideration for next school year's curriculum. A news release cited reasons, including references to critical race theory, common core standards, and the unsolicited edition of social-emotional, learning in mathematics. Thanks for listening to Morning Wire. We created this show to bring more balance to the national conversation. If you love our show and you stand with our mission, consider subscribing, leaving us a

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