What A Day - Achy Breaky World Economy

Episode Date: June 8, 2022

Congressmembers yesterday and today are hearing from the family members of the victims of recent mass shootings across the country. They’re there to essentially beg lawmakers to act on both gun violence and white supremacy.The World Bank issued a bad prognosis for the global economy yesterday, saying that a recession is going to be difficult to avoid for a number of countries. This is happening as a result of a lot of conditions: Russia’s war in Ukraine, international supply chain issues, inflation, and more.And in headlines: the NFL welcomed its first openly trans cheerleader, the U.S. is set to approve a new COVID vaccine, and the U.S. seized a Russian oligarch’s yacht.Show Notes:Donate to Crooked Media’s Pride Fund – https://crooked.com/pride/Sign up for Crooked Coffee’s launch on June 21st – http://go.crooked.com/coffee-wadFollow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/whataday/For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

it's wednesday june 8th i'm gideon resnick and i am priyanka arabindi and this is what a day where we are canceling all of our summer road trips because we can no longer afford the gas that's right me and the family are going on a big vacation three doors down at my friend allison's pool yeah if you have a pool in my area, I don't have a friend, Allison. Please reach out. I would love to visit your pool. On today's show, FDA advisors give the thumbs up to a new COVID vaccine made by the company Novavax, plus a Russian-owned yacht set sail under U.S. control. But first, yesterday and today, Congress members are hearing from the family members of the victims of recent mass shootings across the country,

who are there essentially to beg Congress to act both on gun violence and on white supremacy. Yesterday, Garnell Whitfield Jr., the son of 86-year-old Ruth Whitfield, who was the oldest victim in the Buffalo supermarket shooting just last month, spoke before the Senate Judiciary Committee's hearing on domestic terrorism. He challenged lawmakers to act, asking them the question that is on everybody's mind. What are you doing? Take a listen to this excerpt of him in his own words. You elected to protect us, to protect our way of life. I ask every one of you to imagine the faces of your mothers as you look at mine and ask yourself is there nothing that we can do? Is there nothing that you personally are willing to do to stop the cancer of white supremacy

and the domestic terrorism it inspires? Because if there is nothing, then respectfully, Senators, you should yield your positions of authority and influence to others that are willing to lead on this issue. Wow. Yeah, that much it matters to you. Thank you. Wow. Yeah, that's really powerful to hear. So that hearing isn't all that is happening this week on the gun violence front. What else do we need to know for now? Yeah, yesterday's Senate hearing was the first of two that are taking place this week, where lawmakers will be getting testimony from family members of victims and survivors of the recent mass shootings. Today, 11-year-old Mia Cerrio of Uvalde will be testifying before the House Oversight Committee to share her experience.

Just two weeks ago, she had to cover herself in her friend's blood in order to appear dead and to avoid being shot in her school. Jesus. Yeah, it is really horrifying. Also speaking will be the parents of Lexi Rubio, a 10 year old student at Robb Elementary who was killed, and Zanetta Everhart, a survivor of the mass shooting in Buffalo. Her son was shot in the neck and thankfully survived. Yeah, all of these are going to be essential that people pay attention and listen. Yeah. Also, yesterday, the actor Matthew McConaughey was at the White House press briefing as well,

talking about all this. What did he have to say? Yeah, he is a Uvalde native himself and a gun owner. He was speaking emphatically about the victims in Uvalde and the need for gun control. He spent most of the past week with families of the victims and he used the briefing to share their stories. He brought pictures of their artwork. And in one

case, the green Converse sneaker Maita Rodriguez wore to school every day that was used to identify her body. She had drawn a little heart on one of them, really just heartbreaking details that emphasize just how young these kids were. Yeah. So as Congress is weighing strengthening federal gun legislation, the Supreme Court is expected to announce a decision that could potentially weaken state's laws on guns. Can you tell us a little bit more about what that entails? Yeah. So this case concerns New York state specifically, but could have broader ramifications. New York has some of the country's most restrictive gun laws in a good sense. Just this past Monday, actually, the state

passed a number of gun control bills that included raising the age to buy semi-automatic weapons from 18 to 21 years old. The Supreme Court case to watch, however, deals with a law that limits people's abilities to carry weapons outside of their homes with unrestricted licenses unless they have, quote, proper cause. Sounds actually pretty great to me, but two people from upstate disagree. They were denied those unrestricted licenses because they didn't meet the standard of proper cause. And instead of accepting that decision, here we are before the Supreme Court, which, you know, might come out with a decision as early as today. Experts are nervous that the court could strike down New York's law.

If that happens, other states like California, Connecticut, Maryland, and Massachusetts may have to rewrite similar laws that they also have. And practically speaking, it could also result in a lot more guns out on the streets, which I don't think very many people want at this moment in time. That is the update on where things stand with gun regulations across the

country. At the moment, we will continue to keep you updated as we know more. So let's also talk about some economic updates we got yesterday, none of which are particularly good. Never are. No, the World Bank issued a bad prognosis for the global economy that said a recession is going to be difficult to avoid for a number of countries. Okay, so can you remind us why said a recession is going to be difficult to avoid for a number of countries. Okay, so can you remind us why exactly a recession is in the cards? Yeah, so the World Bank in this report was basically describing a lot of overlapping conditions that we have talked about before, right? Russia's war in Ukraine, these continuing international supply chain issues, rises in prices for goods, food, and energy,

and more recently, pandemic-fueled lockdowns in China. The World Bank put a number to the forecast as well, saying that global growth was expected to slow to 2.9% this year, down from 5.7% in 2021, with no immediate bounce back expected by the end of next year either. That does seem like a big drop. So tell us, what are the ramifications of all of this happening? Yeah, I mean, it could be akin to the so-called quote-unquote stagflation that defined the 1970s. Our listeners may need to consult with somebody older about that, I guess. I think we have some older listeners. I think some might know what that is.

I would hope so. That was in which economic growth stagnates and the inflation rate remains high. David Malpass, the president of the World Bank Group, wrote in the report, quote, the risk from stagflation is considerable with potentially destabilizing consequences for low and middle income economies. He added that, quote, there is a severe risk of malnutrition and of deepening hunger and even a famine in some areas. So the repercussions are really serious. This all could also lead countries to default on debts as developing nations owe money to foreign institutions at a record level, as Sri Lanka did recently. Okay, so this report came out on the same day that U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen

testified before the Senate Finance Committee about inflation. Let's listen. We currently face macroeconomic challenges, including unacceptable levels of inflation, as well as the headwinds associated with the disruptions caused by the pandemic's effect on supply chains and the effects of supply-side disturbances to oil and food markets resulting from Russia's war in Ukraine. I don't think I'd ever heard her voice before. And I like it. Tell me, what else did she have to say? Yeah, so she conceded that the use of the word, quote unquote, transitory to previously describe America's inflation may have been slightly off that she could have, quote, used a better word to describe it at the time. Just slightly. Yeah. Still, though, those comments have been used by Republicans to argue that the administration

is at fault for inflation and rising gas prices. Yellen also recently had to issue a statement regarding the way in which the COVID stimulus plan or the American Rescue Plan played into all of this. Another kind of big Republican talking point. Excerpts from an upcoming biography alleged that Yellen had concerns about the size of that financial package and that she had advised that it should be pared down. Her statement denied this. And when pressed during testimony yesterday, she said, quote, It can't be the case that the bulk of the inflation that we're experiencing reflects the impact of the ARP. Yellen also said that it was the American Rescue Plan that actually helped pull the U.S. out of deeper trouble towards the start of the ARP. Yellen also said that it was the American Rescue Plan that actually helped pull

the U.S. out of deeper trouble towards the start of the Biden presidency. Yeah, clearly there are several other things that you listed before this that are happening that that couldn't be the only factor at all. There are so many other moving parts of the story of the economy at the moment, but another that is really interesting is how stores are responding to both shifts in demand and to inflation. To that point, can you tell us what Target is up to? Yes. So we're in this kind of strange moment where all of a sudden you're seeing stories about how various stores have too much inventory of basically the wrong goods.

And by wrong there, I mean things that people are no longer buying as much of as they had before. Things like furniture, appliances, and other sort of essentials for staying at home. Target said yesterday that they are going to address this by lowering prices, canceling someuits, other stay at home essentials, maybe the time to go for a little shopping. I have always wanted champion sweatsuits that match. It's your time. It's your time. It's my moment. We'll follow how that all pans out as well as this other economic news. More on that soon, but that is the latest for now. Let's get to some headlines.

Louisiana became the 18th state to ban trans athletes from women's school sports yesterday after Democratic Governor John Bill Edwards neither approved nor vetoed the Fairness in Women's Sports Act. The governor essentially allowed the bill to become law by not taking any action on it, and it is now set to take effect on August 1st. The rule will apply to schools at every grade level that receive any kind of public funding. However, there was also some much-needed positive news about trans athletes on Tuesday. The NFL officially welcomed its first openly trans cheerleader. Justine Lindsey made history yesterday when she announced that she is the newest member of the Top Cats, a.k.a. the Carolina Panthers, cheerleading team. Black women like Lindsey are very underrepresented in professional cheerleading,

a field dominated by cis white women. And in her first interview since joining her squad, Lindsey told BuzzFeed News that she wants to open the door for more trans athletes in the future, saying, That's awesome. You know what? Happy for her. And on the flip side, think it's pretty pathetic

that John Bel Edwards just was like, shrug, not going to do anything, not going to say anything. It's bizarre to be a governor and that's your mode. You're like, I don't want to legislate. That's like your one big thing. You get to sign something or you get to veto something.

And he was just like, eh, it's fine. I don't get it. Anyways, here are 10 words that will send you back into the long, cold winter of 2020. The U.S. is set to approve a new covid vaccine here we are time is just on a loop an advisory committee to the food and drug

administration recommended that the agency authorize novavax's two-dose covid vaccine yesterday this shot is protein-based and uses a more traditional technology experts are hopeful that it'll be a good alternative for people who can't or who won't take the mRNA vaccines. An FDA report found Novavax's shots were 90% effective in protecting people against mild, moderate, and severe disease. However, the report's data was collected before Omicron had ever been detected in the U.S., so some experts told the FDA panel that they had concerns about how it would hold up against newer variants. Ultimately, the FDA panel voted almost unanimously to authorize the Novavax vaccine, citing its comparable efficacy to mRNA-based shots.

The FDA usually follows the recommendations of its advisors. So if it gives Novavax the green light, the CDC could quickly endorse it as well. But it could take weeks to get these shots out to the public because the FDA still needs to sign off on the company's manufacturing process. If we stay in the pandemic long enough, perhaps more vaccines will emerge. Will be on the way.

I guess that's... Crawling out of the woodwork. The glass half full situation. Hoping to avoid a scenario where everyone got to watch Mike Pence get executed, except him, Trump apparently wanted to join supporters on a march to the Capitol on January 6th, and Secret Service agents scrambled to make it happen.

Parts of the story had been known for a while. All the way back in April, the former president told The Washington Post, quote, I wanted to go so badly. Secret Service says you can't go. I would have gone there in a minute. That's like some shit you would say about a concert, like not about a fucking insurrection. What is wrong with you?

Right, he missed the headliner and he's upset. But yesterday, the Post reported out new information that was leaked from the congressional investigation, including Secret Service agents going as far as contacting DC police on January 6th about blocking intersections for Trump's motorcade, anything to cut through coup traffic. But police officials declined because their officers were busy monitoring protests. All this info is critical as congressional investigators try

to determine whether Trump tried to use the Secret Service to help block the peaceful transfer of power. Also in news about the blockbuster televised hearings of the January 6th committee on Thursday, which for legal reasons we have to refer to as the big game fox has announced it is taking a different path than cnn msnbc cbs abc and mbc it will not be broadcasting the hearings during prime time and instead we'll dump them on its preppy little cousin fox business and all the young sheldon viewers are going to be radicalized in the process, missing Young Sheldon on whatever one of those networks it's on. Yeah, they're going to be pissed off.

They're going to go to Fox News. This is not good for us, everybody. Be careful. Be careful what you wish for. Another Russian oligarch has learned a costly lesson about why you shouldn't invest too much in things that float. Their 350-foot super yacht, Amadea, was seized and sailed away yesterday by U.S. authorities just hours after officials in Fiji, where the boat was docked, gave them the

go-ahead. Earlier this year, the U.S. launched an operation aimed at seizing the assets of Russian oligarchs worldwide as a way to put pressure on Moscow to end the war in Ukraine. And this yacht in particular is quite the catch among the many others that have been seized. It is worth $325 million and features several amenities that every sailor needs, including a swimming pool, a helipad, and a live lobster tank. The FBI says that the yacht is owned by billionaire Suleiman Karamov, a Russian senator best known for owning Russia's largest gold mining company. Authorities have also said that time was of the essence because the yacht might have been

headed for Russia after its pit stop in Fiji. That is partly because the Justice Department found a text message on a crew member's phone that read, quote, we're not going to Russia, followed by an extremely suspicious shushing emoji. I want to be on the prosecutorial teams that are in charge of seizing yachts and, you know, having to coordinate like, ah, man, I got to be in Fiji. I got to supervise the capture of this yacht. See, I want to be on the team that is decoding emojis.

I'm sure there are some good ones in the insurrection text. I'd love to hear more about it this week. I would as well. Tell us about all the emojis that you've seen everywhere. And those are the headlines. We'll be back so we can play Judge Judy to an important legal question that America needs the answer to. Is a bee a fish? That is coming up after some ads. It's Wednesday, Wild Squad, and today we are trying a new segment where we visit the last place where justice can be served in America. A place where people with no legal experience, apart from knowing parts of Legally Blonde by heart, make all of the decisions.

A place called the Podcaster's Court. Oh, no. Insert some kind of amazing sound effect, please. Gideon, I'm going to tell you about a recent weird thing that happened in our nation's courts, and you will evaluate it on its merits based on your amateur legal expertise. Are you ready? I am ready. I have filed all of my briefs. Proceed.

Got it. A California appeals court just handed down a ruling that could lead to some very disappointing new aquariums. Bees can legally be considered fish. Lest you think that judges spend all day working themselves into a frenzy trying to understand bugs, the ruling has a very specific application. It allows protections from the California Endangered Species Act to be extended to four types of bumblebees, which is something that several environmental nonprofits have been calling for

based on a climate change-driven decline in bee populations. The way California's 3rd District Court of Appeals came to their conclusion is interesting, too. It hinges on the way that the Endangered Species Act defines fish, which is as a, quote, wild fish, mollusk, crustacean, invertebrate, amphibian, or part-spawn or ovum of any of these animals. Invertebrate is the key word here. The lawmakers who drafted the act might have been thinking of, say, lobsters,

but the appeals court judges say that this definition could also apply to bees, a.k.a. sky lobsters. So Gideon, as an amateur lawyer, what is your take on this? Yeah, I think that this is appropriate. You know, invertebrate, as you described, is the key word in this situation. Totally. I am an amateur lawyer as well as an amateur biologist,

in which case I can confidently say that a B would fit into that category. No harm, no foul. I think that this has been decided in the correct manner. Yeah, I'm with you. It's right there in the definition. This is by the book to a T. What can anyone say about this? Bees are fish, guys.

Bees are fish. Right. I don't want to call a fish a fish. You know, if that's the definition of fish, that's the definition of fish. You know what I mean? I'm going to a seafood restaurant and I'm going to have fried bumblebees, I guess.

I hope that you do. That probably would be terrible. Well, you don't know until you try. I mean, maybe without a stinger. I don't know. But like, that feels very not good. In this particular case, I will say that we should not be eating bumblebees. We should be saving bumblebees.

Oh, right. Because they're, right. That actually sounds disgusting. So they wouldn't be served. Yes. That was the Podcaster's Court. Good save. This court is adjourned.

I really hope we get a gavel sound somewhere. One more thing before we go. If you have not heard, Crooked is launching Crooked Coffee coming June 21st. It is launching with a medium and dark roast. The first blend, What a Morning, is going to be the favorite of all of you WOD Squad folks out there. I just know it. I just know it for a fact. Yeah, we can tell you

that already. And not because it's the only one that exists. Exactly. Not that at all. No, not that. The beans are premium, ethically sourced, and a portion of proceeds from every bag is donated to register her to help millions of women across the country vote. What could be better? To sign up for early access, go to crooked.com slash coffee. That is all for today. If you like the show, make sure you subscribe, leave a review. Don't spend a third of a billion on things that float and tell your friends to listen. And if you're into reading and not just unorthodox definitions of a bee like me, What A Day is also a nightly newsletter.

Check it out and subscribe at crooked.com slash subscribe. I'm Priyanka Arabindi. I'm Gideon Resnick. And save the sky lobsters. We are on a mission. We will make sure that those aerial lobsters are saved and not eaten. Sorry, I regret making the joke. I was not thinking. Well, let's draw it from the court. It'll be cut. It's fine. No one will ever know. Motion sustained. What a Day is a production of Crooked Media.

It's recorded and mixed by Bill Lance, Jazzy Marine, and Raven Yamamoto are our associate producers. Our head writer is John Milstein, and our executive producers are Leo Duran and me, Gideon Resnick. Our theme music is by Colin Gilliard and Kashaka.