The Biden administration gives Ukraine permission to hit targets inside Russia with us weapons. Ukraine came to us and asked for the authorization to use weapons that we're providing to defend against russian forces that are massing on the russian side of the border and then attacking into Ukraine. That went right to the president, and he's approved the use of our weapons for that purpose. How did Vladimir Putin react to the policy change? I'm daily Wire editor in chief John Bickley, with guest host Emily Jasinski, DC correspondent at Unherd. It's June 8, and this is a Saturday edition of Morningwire. He's one of the names on Donald Trump's vp shortlist. What is Senator Tim Scott doing to deliver the black vote? Black folks are simply saying, take us seriously or not at all. And school choice has picked up massive momentum in states across the country. Why are both critics and proponents of the movement pointing to Florida? Florida yet again was ranked number one for parent empowerment when it comes to education. Thanks for waking up with morning wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.

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Ukraine officially used us weapons in russian territory. This week, President Joe Biden gave Kyiv the green light to launch limited attacks inside russian territory. Last week, a major reversal from an administration wary of escalating the conflict. Here to talk about the new rules of engagement, as daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce. Hey, Tim. So what prompted this reversal of Biden's policy?

Well, it followed pressure from NATO and Ukraine to let some of the restraints off of military aid. NATO passed a resolution late last month that urged to support Ukraine by lifting some restrictions on the use of weapons provided by NATO allies to strike legitimate targets in Russia. Ukraine officials worked to organize international support as well. After Russia began to bombard Ukraine's second largest city, Kharkiv, the message worked on the Biden administration. Here's secretary of state Antony Blinken.

The hallmark of our engagement, our support for Ukraine over these more than two years, has been to adapt and adjust as necessary. And that's exactly what we're doing in response to what we've now seen in and around the Kharkiv region. Now, what kinds of limits are still in place on ukrainian use of us arms?

That us weapons can only be used defensively and to hit targets just inside the russian border. That will help Ukraine defend Kharkiv, which is located about 20 km from the russian border. But there aren't many other places on the battlefield where this new license by the US will impact the fighting.

Got it. Now, how has Russia responded so far?

Vladimir Putin actually threatened attacks on the US and its allies this week. The russian president said that what the US has done for Ukraine, Russia can do for others as well. Essentially, he threatened to provide long range weapons capable of hitting the US and other western countries to that point. Cuba announced on Thursday that russian warships are due to arrive in Havana next week. Cuba's foreign ministry said the ships don't pose a threat to the region, but Putin's recent rhetoric suggests otherwise.

Very concerning. How is this new capability of Ukraine Ukraine likely to actually impact the war?

But it will potentially give the ukrainian military leeway to move some of its troops from Kharkiv to other hotspots. But some experts say that this isn't likely to significantly reshape the war. In fact, even with more latitude to use western weapons, Ukraine is still facing a massive shortage of men and ammo. Some have pointed out that the russian attacks on Kharkiv are most likely a feint anyway, meant to draw troops from other parts of Ukraine's east, where Russia holds territory and wants to get more.

All right, so even with this additional capability, Ukraine's still really up against it. Tim, thanks for joining us.

Good to be on.

Republican Senator Tim Scott, on the short list to be Donald Trump's running mate in November, has launched a multi million dollar effort appealing to black voters for the 2024 election. Here with all the details is daily Wire investigations editor Brent Scher. Hey, Brent. So where is this money coming from?

Hi, John. So Scott announced on Thursday a plan to spend over 14 million on the effort, and it will be paid for through the pack that he formed when he suspended his presidential campaign. In an interview with Morning Wire, Scott argued that even a small shift in voting patterns of the black community could lead Republicans to sweeping victories, and not just at the top of the ticket.

The republican party has an opportunity to do what has not been done in 50 years, and that is to win a significant portion of the black vote. And, oh, by the way, 20% of the black vote coming to the Republican Party this race is over, but it's also over for the House and the Senate. We will have the trifecta and we will prove that our policies work. We've already done it, but we just didn't market it.

The money is targeting specifically swing states, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Nevada, and Arizona. The majority is going to voter outreach, but there's also $5 million set aside for ads.

And what are the polling numbers? How bad is it for Biden in this demographic?

It's definitely not good. An ABC News poll showed Biden down double digits with black voters compared to where he was in 2020. Now, to be clear, he's still winning a large majority. The ABC poll showed 74% still back Biden, but that's not good enough for today's Democrat party. Those kinds of numbers would spell doom for Biden. And Trump is trying to capitalize. He's still talking about his rally in the Bronx, which was filled with minority voters.

Right now, did Scott give any insight on what he thinks is working for Republicans this go round?

He thinks it's the same issues that every voter cares about, the economy and immigration. But he also says Biden just has the wrong message. In Biden's courtship of the black vote, he has a very negative perspective. In a speech to Morehouse College, the HBCU, he declared, and this is a quote, that american democracy has left black Americans a trail of broken promises. Tim Scott told me that kind of message might have worked 50 years ago.

It certainly is not the message to be sending to black Americans in the year 2024. He sounds like he's talking purely in the 1960s or seventies. The fact of the matter is that our country's made so much progress. But what he's really talking about is the challenges of his own reelection. His numbers are dismal. He's bleeding black support, and without a black base, there is no Democrat party.

Trump's message is completely different. He's saying you're going to be better off with him as president no matter what race you are.

It doesn't matter whether you're black or brown or white or whatever the hell color you are, it doesn't matter. We are all Americans and we're going to pull together as Americans. So Scott is pledging this money, 14 million. But it's also still possible that he actually ends up on the ticket with Trump, correct?

That's what the AP is reporting. Scott was among seven of the people sent vetting paperwork by the Trump campaign. Also on that list is Byron Donald, another black Republican. He stopped by the morning wire studio Thursday and said he believes Biden is blowing it with black voters largely on the economy.

Speaker two generational wealth is a big issue for minority people in our country anyway because they want to be able to have something, they want to be able to build a net worth for their family, build of family business with their kids. And you cannot do that with the Biden agenda.

You've got to think that the potential ability to deliver gains with black voters is something Trump is considering cause it could win him the White House. And Scott and Donald's, two of the leading black republican voices in the country, are both getting attention.

Yeah, clearly they are, and for good reason. Brent, thanks for reporting.

Yeah, of course.

That was daily wire investigations editor Brent Schur. State of Florida is number one when it comes to education freedom and education choice. And today's bill signing cements us in that number one position because we will be signing legislation which will represent the largest expansion of education choice not only in the history of this state, but in the history of these United States. That is a big deal. That was Florida governor Ron DeSantis recently touting the state's school choice programs. Florida's reforms have radically transformed its education system, and other states are now following Florida's lead. But critics say the school choice movement is forcing public schools to shut down. Here with more is daily wire culture reporter Megan Basham. So, Megan, school choice has become a major priority for a growing number of states. But as outlets like Politico and the Hill actually reported last week, Florida is the breakout leader here. What are the policies that made Florida the model? So a big one has been vouchers. Parents of every k through twelve student in Florida, regardless of income, can apply for around $8,000 in public funds to private school homeschool. Families can also access these voucher funds if they're willing to submit curriculum plans and conduct annual standardized tests.

And some of the funding can also be used to provide transportation to a public school outside of a family zone district. Overall, Governor Ron DeSantis directed more than a billion dollars in student scholarships from public schools to private options. So really just a broad range of choices that proponents frame as the money following the child rather than the school system. And given how aggressive it's been at implementing this philosophy, Florida is now being called the nation's biggest school choice laboratory. So that's a lot of education money that's on the move around the state. Do we know how many families in the state are actually availing themselves of these new options? Hundreds of thousands. So to give you just a sense of how significant the transformation has been in just a few years, the number of homeschooled students in Florida has nearly doubled. It's now at around 152,000 students. Hillsborough county, which has a high minority population, we might note, now has the most homeschoolers in the state, and it has seen a 74% increase since just 2017. Florida charter schools have also exploded. There are more than 68,000 new charter students in the state just since the 2019 2020 school year, and that's a ton when you consider that Florida's charters were already seeing some monumental growth even before that.

They're up 67% in the last ten years and represent around 13% of students in the state. Now, that's on par with private school enrollment, which has has also increased exponentially. So I imagine that all of this has been pretty disruptive to the public school system in Florida. Oh, yeah, very much so. Overall, the estimate is that 10% of students have left Florida's public schools, and as a result, a number of school districts are looking at teacher layoffs and even closing campuses. So Duval county, which is the 6th largest in Florida, has been one of the hardest hit by parents who are choosing to send their kids elsewhere. It's now lost tens of thousands of students since 2020. Now, as for why, there's a number of reasons, but one of them does appear to be ideological. To give you just one example, a lot of Duvall parents were outraged last year when they discovered that the district planned a survey to ask students as young as ten about their sexual activity and their gender identity. So there is reason to believe that could be partly driving this exodus. But on the other side of this question, you have critics who say that it's leaving the remaining students underfunded and underserved.

And they also say that private homeschool and charter options don't have that same oversight that public schools offer, so that it could leave some kids falling through the cracks. Though, of course, in response to that, school choice fans say that falling through the cracks is why parents are leaving public schools in the first place. So Florida has been the model then. And how many other states are following this blueprint? At this point, it's actually a majority of states, 29, that have some form of school choice, though, of course, in a lot of them, especially in blue states, it can be very limited and targeted almost exclusively at lower income families. But I will say that that is changing quickly. In 2023, more than 15 states passed or expanded school choice laws. And right now, it looks like Tennessee, Missouri, and Louisiana are ripe to join them this coming year. And a big part of that explosion stems from the fact that these programs are actually pretty popular with democrats, too. In fact, the Washington Post's analysis found that the greatest statewide increase in homeschooling was where you might least expect it, in New York, in particular, New York City.

So if Florida's experiment continues to prove successful, I think we can expect to see more of the same around the country. Well, across the political spectrum, parents always like to have a greater say in how their children are educated. Yep. Thanks so much, Megan. Anytime. Hi. Before we sign off this morning, Emily, it's been an absolute pleasure to work with you this week. Thanks for gracing us with your presence here. Oh, it's been a pleasure to just be here this week. And I gotta tell you, John, your show is so popular. I've heard from so many people around the country that heard me on it this week because they listen every single day. So thank you so much for letting me hang out. Well, we certainly love hearing that, Emily. Thank you so much. And you can check out more of Emily's work over at Unherd. Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back this afternoon with an extra edition of Morning wire.