Just days after dropping a viral trailer for its first feature-length comedy‚ “Lady Ballers‚” the Daily Wire announced its first animated scripted series‚ “Mr. Birchum‚” created by comedian Adam Carolla. The teaser trailer‚ which was first screened at the “Lady Ballers” red carpet premiere‚ will be released before the premiere of “Lady Ballers” on Friday‚ December 1‚ 2023‚ at 8 p.m. ET exclusively on DailyWire+. “Mr. Birchum” features an all-star voice cast: Adam Carolla (Mr. Birchum)‚ Megyn Kelly (Wendi)‚ Tyler Fischer (Karponzi)‚ Alonzo Bodden (Gage)‚ Brett Cooper (Jeanie)‚ Candace Owens (Deena)‚ Kyle Dunnigan (Eddie)‚ Danny Trejo (Switchblade)‚ Patrick Warburton (Burly Man)‚ Jay Mohr (Coach Murphy)‚ Rob Riggle (Gunderson)‚ and Roseanne Barr (Principal Bortles). “I am super excited to be working with my friends Ben Shapiro‚ Jeremy Boreing‚ and our terrific cast of talent to bring ‘Mr Birchum’ to life on the Daily Wire!” said Carolla. “Adam Carolla created Birchum back before Barack Obama killed comedy‚” said Jeremy Boreing‚ co-founder of The Daily Wire. “Of course Hollywood wouldn’t make Birchum today because they’ve stopped making comedies altogether for fear of offending the ‘wrong’ people – so we realized we had to do it.  We teamed up with Adam and some of the funniest people we know – Roseanne‚ Rob Riggle‚ Patrick Warburton‚ Tyler Fischer and so many more – to bring back the irreverent patriarch in a truly hilarious comedy that doesn’t care who it offends.” WATCH THE TEASER TRAILER FOR ‘MR. BIRCHUM’ BEFORE THE PREMIERE OF ‘LADY BALLERS’ TONIGHT AT 8 PM ET.   The series follows Carolla’s classic character‚ a no-nonsense junior high woodshop teacher. Popularized on KROQ radio and brought to life in puppet form on Comedy Central’s ‘Crank Yankers‚’ Mr. Birchum has entertained audiences for decades. In 2024‚ the animated version of Mr. Birchum attempts to navigate a world he doesn’t understand or approve of. He’s befuddled by his gaming streamer son‚ Eddie (Dunnigan)‚ annoyed at his selfie-taking‚ snowflake students and is constantly at war with the school district’s appointed “J.E.D.I.” (Justice‚ Equity‚ Diversity‚ and Inclusion officer) Mr. Karponzi (Fischer)‚ whose feelings-over-facts style of administration is everything that’s wrong with education today.  This is DailyWire+’s first animated comedy‚ produced by David Coleman for Daily Wire and Dallas Sonnier for Bonfire Legend‚ with Daily Wire’s co-founders Jeremy Boreing and Ben Shapiro and CEO Caleb Robinson executive producing. Chassy Media is the physical production Company for the show. Executive Producers for Chassy Media are Adam Carolla and Mike August along with Showrunner/Executive Producer Nate Adams and Supervising Producer Curtis Koller. Mike Lynch is the head writer for the show with additional episodes written by Byron Kavanagh and Mark Hoffmeier.

DC’s “Aquaman” sequel is projected to make less than half of what the original film did its opening holiday weekend as the superhero genre continues to struggle at the box office. “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” is currently tracking to make $40 million in projected ticket sales over the four-day Christmas holiday weekend (Dec. 22-Dec 25)‚ according to sources with access to data compiled by the National Research Group (NRC)‚ according to The Hollywood Reporter. Warner Bros.‚ home of DC‚ is projecting sales will be a bit higher and more in the ballpark of $50 million over the holiday weekend‚ the outlet noted. The movie is a sequel to the 2018 “Aquaman” film‚ which earned $75.8 million over the four-day holiday weekend (Dec. 21-24) and $86.7 million through Monday‚ which was Christmas Eve. The five-day holiday opening in 2018‚ through Christmas Day‚ scored $97.8 million. In the end‚ the film made $1.2 billion globally‚ per BoxOfficeMojo. #Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom will face rough seas when swimming into theaters over Christmas as the superhero genre continues to struggle https://t.co/15b8gv1S4Z — The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) December 1‚ 2023 The Jason Momoa-led film takes fans back to the water as “Aquaman balances his duties as king and as a member of the Justice League‚ all while planning a wedding‚” a description on IMDb reads. “Black Manta is on the hunt for Atlantean tech to help rebuild his armor‚” it added. “Orm plots to escape his Atlantean prison.” The film’s low expectations come as the superhero genre has been struggling lately. Most recently‚ Disney’s female-led film “The Marvels” opened to just $47 million in its first weekend. It comes after expectations for ticket sales for the Marvel film had been lowered ahead of the film’s release from an estimated $75-$80 million in projected ticket sales to just $60-$65 million‚ as previously reported. CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP The Brie Larson-led Marvel Cinematic Universe film also fell 78% in box office performance for its second weekend out and managed to beat out the previous holder of the worst drop-off from opening weekend held by the third film in the “Ant Man” franchise‚ “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania‚” which experienced a 69% drop‚ the Hollywood Reporter noted. “The Marvels” is a sequel to the 2019 film‚ which opened to $153.4 million in North America and eventually raked in $1.13 billion worldwide. Over the summer‚ DC’s film “The Flash” struggled to gain traction as well‚ after it earned just $55 million its opening weekend domestically and just $270.6 million overall in earnings globally. Related: ‘The Marvels’ Continues To Flail At Box Office‚ Earns Worst Second-Weekend Drop Of All Time

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis quietly confirmed through a blog that he intends to rescind Vatican privileges for U.S. Cardinal Raymond Burke‚ who says he remains uninformed about his status as rumors circulate about his status with the church. Numerous outlets citing anonymous sources reported earlier this week that Pope Francis intended to react against his “enemy‚” the conservative Cardinal Burke. Under prior pontificates‚ when a rumor about the pope was circulated‚ the Holy See Press Office has been quick to address inquiries and clarify by official statements. In this case‚ however‚ the only on the record comment came by way of a blog‚ not the Vatican Press Officer. A statement by Pope Francis was cited in a narrative post and published on November 29 by papal biographer Austen Ivereigh. In his post‚ Ivereigh writes‚ “I met with Pope Francis on the afternoon of November 27th…In the course of our conversation‚ Francis told me he had decided to remove Cardinal Burke’s cardinal privileges—his apartment and salary—because he had been using those privileges against the Church. He told me that while the decision wasn’t a secret‚ he didn’t intend a public announcement but earlier that day it had been leaked.” Ivereigh concludes his post with a quote from Pope Francis that works to discred initial reporting. “I never used the word ‘enemy’ nor the pronoun ‘my‚'” the pope said‚ according to Ivereigh. “I simply announced the fact at the meeting of the dicastery heads‚ without going into specific explanations.” The statement comes after numerous outlets cited anonymous sources‚ with differing claims to statements and actions attributed to the Pope against the popular conservative U.S. cardinal. News broke on November 27‚ originating with Italian journalist Riccardo Cascioli‚ that Pope Francis intended to react against his “enemy.” Cascioli‚ the editor of “La Nuova Bussola Quotidiana‚” was also responsible for a recent conference on the eve of the Vatican’s Synod on Synodality that featured Burke as a speaker. Burke at the conference condemned certain perceived ideological manipulations ahead of the Vatican meeting. “The will is to profoundly change the hierarchical constitution of the Church is clear‚ with a further consequence a weakening of teaching on morality as well as discipline in the Church‚” Burke said. Burke also was instrumental in coauthoring two sets of critical questions issued to Pope Francis during his pontificate. The crux of Cascioli’s November 27 revelations was based on an anonymous source‚ echoed — he claimed — by other unnamed sources in the Vatican. The source alleged that during a November 20th meeting with the heads of all the state offices of the Vatican‚ Pope Francis was overheard stating that he considered Cardinal Burke “his enemy‚” and that he intended take action against him by evicting him from his Vatican residence and removing his monthly stipend. The report‚ published online with commentary and shared by a number of activists‚ prompted a mix of emotional responses on social media—from doubt of authenticity to immediate condemnation and reactions of anger against the Pope and in defense of Burke. No statement was sought by Cascioli‚ however‚ from either Cardinal Burke or the Holy See to confirm these revelations — prompting journalists to reach out to both for comment. On November 28th‚ AP’s Nicole Winfield reported that two anonymous sources — one of which claimed to have been present at the meeting — confirmed to her that Pope Francis had decided to “punish” Burke‚ because the Cardinal had become a source of “disunity” in the Church. Cardinal Burke was contacted‚ with Winfield reporting he had not been notified of any actions against him by the time of printing — and Press Officer for the Holy See‚ Matteo Bruni‚ stated he had “nothing particular to say about” the rumors. On that same day‚ Italian journalist Massimo Franco claimed that an anonymous source — this one high ranking who attended the meeting — told him the pope intended “some measures of an economic nature‚ accompanied by canonical penalties.” The New York Times followed up‚ citing these reports from unverified sources and failing to obtain comments from either Burke or the Vatican. On November 29‚ after the on record statement by the Pope to Austen Ivereigh was published‚ yet another unnamed source was cited by Cindy Wooden of Catholic News Service‚ stating that the Pope was “not planning to evict Cardinal Burke from his Vatican-owned apartment‚ but that he did plan to ask the cardinal to start paying rent.” This report seems to have some precedence in fact‚ however‚ as back in March of this year Pope Francis announced changes in economic measures to alleviate the growing financial crisis facing the Vatican—including reductions of senior official’s pensions and charging Cardinals rent. The Daily Wire investigated all claims made by the cited reports‚ with no factual conclusion other than what was said by Pope Francis‚ on record to Ivereigh. As of the Daily Wire’s report‚ Cardinal Raymond Burke has not confirmed any official notification — let alone action — of reported measures against him‚ and the Holy See Press Office has failed to respond to inquiries. In the lingering whispers of the Vatican rumor mill‚ the fate of Cardinal Burke hangs in precarious uncertainty‚ with eviction and loss of income on the table.

The following is a transcript excerpt from Dr. Jordan Peterson’s conversation with comedian Matt Rife. In this segment‚ they discuss the criticism over Matt’s Netflix special‚ how he responded‚ and the lack of consequences for leveling an accusation. You can listen to or watch the full podcast episode on DailyWire+. Start time: 1:01:29  Jordan: One of the things that I have noticed repeatedly‚ because I have gone through repeated attempts of people trying to cancel me‚ is that it can be quite an intense experience when in the immediate aftermath of its occurrence and that is somewhat off-putting and destabilizing because you do not exactly know how far out it is going to spread or what the consequences could be. But if you did not do anything wrong and you do not apologize‚ or maybe you make light of it in some creative way‚ then the probability that it will turn around and flip in your direction‚ if you can tolerate the weight‚ is extremely high. Part of the reason I am bringing this up is because I do not think the people who are in the throes of being canceled understand this. You can imagine historically‚ if an angry mob of 40 of your neighbors showed up on your doorstep with pitchforks and flames‚ it would probably be a good time to think‚ “These people would not have gone to all that time and effort‚ in all likelihood‚ had I not done something wrong.” But now you can whip up a Twitter mob in no time whatsoever‚ with no effort at no cost to yourself and probably some benefit. So your instinctual responses to being mobbed are wrong. Matt: Yeah‚ it doesn’t translate to the real world. I just walked through two very packed airports and did nothing but take like 45 pictures. Nothing but a positive response.  Jordan: Have you had any negative responses? You said you had no negative responses to anything you have ever said so far at a live show and when you were actually on stage. What about out in the actual world? Matt: Not once. Never once has somebody come up to me and said‚ “Hey‚ I didn’t like the thing you said.” That kind of — I don’t know if you want to call it — a mixture of social awareness and accountability doesn’t translate to the real world. WATCH: The Jordan B. Peterson Podcast Jordan: It also takes a lot of gall to do that — to come up to someone and say‚ “You know that thing you said?” even though you don’t know who they are. Matt: Imagine you see a street performer; they’re playing violin on a street corner‚ they’ve got their case out with cash. Say you f***ing hate violins. Violin drives you nuts. Maybe he’s not even good at playing violin. What do you do? You keep walking‚ right? No sane‚ decent human being stops and goes‚ “You’re f***ing awful dude. Kill yourself. What are you doing out here? You’re making my life miserable until I just look a different direction.” That’s an insane thing to do‚ and most people know not to do that. But obviously the internet creates this. This is what I would believe to be false confidence and believing that they’re safe behind this imaginary source of social media — that they don’t face any repercussions because their profile picture is an anime character and everything’s a private profile. There’s no consequence for saying what they say. DailyWire+ Jordan: There is no consequence for leveling an accusation. Yes‚ it is really bad. Matt: Versus the real world. You come up to me; I can have an intellectual conversation with you as to why I disagree with you. Jordan: Or make a joke. Matt: Yes. Or I could smack the s*** out of you. That is also a consequence that is viable. And that doesn’t weigh on anybody on the internet‚ so it’s easier for people to talk s*** on there versus the real world where people actually aren’t even bothered. And also‚ I had to figure‚ most people who talk s*** on the internet and actively try to cancel people and have no life‚ they’re not out in the real world. They’re in their house doing absolutely nothing‚ so you don’t have to worry about that. Jordan: Yes‚ and they definitely have the mentality of mean girl high school bullies: We are going to shame‚ we are going to reputation savage‚ we are going to exclude. Matt: Go ahead. Put so much energy in your life into thinking about me and how much you don’t like me. What a waste of your life. Jordan: Now‚ you said too that when you posted your response to the criticisms‚ you posted something — I think that is wildly funny‚ by the way — so maybe you could explain that to this particular crowd. But you also told me in the intervening time between the two podcasts that that was not a calculated response — that you relied on your instinct for what was funny. So explain what you did. Matt: So funny‚ you sound like a principal‚ who my parents came here — “Tell them what you did.” Jordan: Right? That’s right. Exactly. Lay it out‚ man. Matt: Basically‚ this thing happened. There was outrage over a joke that was wildly misperceived‚ and that’s fine. You’re allowed to like or not like a joke. Totally ok. And in response to that‚ I posted. When you get canceled or somebody is upset about a joke‚ you’re supposed to apologize. People want you to back down and shame you and recognize what you’ve done wrong. And I don’t believe I did anything wrong whatsoever. So it made me really feel like the people who were offended by this were‚ for lack of better words and to be quite frank‚ weak-minded. So I posted a photo of me on stage — I thought it was a good photo — with a link at the bottom of it‚ and the caption was saying if I’ve ever offended you with a joke‚ I’ve told‚ here’s a link to my official apology. And the link description should have been a dead giveaway. It said to click to solve your issue‚ and when you click on the link‚ it redirected you to an online store front. Jordan: That is funny. “Click to solve your issue.” That’s funny. Because it is a little ambiguous. Matt Rife Instagram. Matt: Of course. And then you click on the link and it redirects you to an online storefront for special needs helmets. I thought this was very funny and again‚ instinctually‚ people get triggered by a subject matter rather than what the joke actually is. Everybody took that as I was making fun of special needs people. No‚ I don’t have anything to say about special needs people. Jordan: Well‚ you are making fun of people claiming special needs for their emotional fragility inappropriately. Matt: Exactly.  Jordan: And quite nicely. Matt: I’m saying‚ you need this way more than they do. And the best part is that you clicked on it.  Jordan: That is right. They could have special needs earplugs that they could wear to comedy shows where you actually could not hear the comedian. Matt: They filter out all the words. It AI-generates what they want to hear. Oh‚ that’s so genius.  Jordan: That will happen soon enough. That is right. You will be able to get an AI sensor.  Matt: But that’s technically what your algorithm is. It shows you what you want to see. It tells you what you want to hear. The night that I was like the number one trending thing on Twitter‚ I texted my friend and I was like‚ “Yeesh.” And he sent me a screenshot of his; I wasn’t even top 25. He goes‚ “Nobody cares‚ dude. It’s in your circle because it’s your profile. You’re going to hear about it‚ obviously‚ but it’s not to the extent people think.” So‚ yes‚ I posted this misdirect of an apology‚ and it couldn’t have went better. I was literally just sitting passenger seat in a car ride with my friend‚ and I just thought it would be a funny thing to do. It took me no more than 45 seconds to think of doing that. I go‚ “Hey‚ is this funny?” And he cracked up laughing‚ and I went‚ huh‚ f*** it. I also thought that most of the outrage was happening just on Twitter and TikTok. Like‚ Instagram’s a far more personal app I think. And so the fact that people even saw that and took it to other platforms I thought was insane‚ but also proved my point even more that people who don’t even like my comedy or have never even heard of me‚ saw the outrage and my response to it and went‚ oh‚ that’s actually funny. It actually gained me a lot of fans because most of the world‚ I would feel confident in saying‚ the majority of people are sick of this s***.  Jordan: Well‚ most people are actually hoping that a comedian will be funny rather than politically correct. Right. Well‚ this is the problem. I think this is the misapprehension of people who apologize when they are accused because your case is‚ well‚ perhaps you irritated some people by not apologizing. But‚ first of all‚ there are people that you really don’t mind irritating‚ and they weren’t really irritated to begin with. So it is all a lie anyway. Matt: Nor were they fans in the first place. Jordan: Right. Exactly. So when you apologize‚ in principle‚ you signal to those people that you have kowtowed and bowed down. But you forgo the opportunity to appeal to a much broader realm of people‚ which you think would be more sensible if you were trying to protect or develop your career — the people who look at what you’ve done and think‚ oh‚ well‚ that is funny enough‚ so maybe I will go check out this guy who I have never heard of. I am sure you attracted like 10‚000 fans for every person you turned off. Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty Images Matt: Oh‚ yeah. Analytically‚ I have gained more fans than I have lost across all platforms. The extremities of everybody involved in this “outrage” has been nothing but beneficial because‚ even if you didn’t like that — the domestic violence joke that I got in trouble for — which is fair‚ even I think it’s not the best joke I’ve ever written at all. It’s not. It’s probably the worst joke in the special‚ and that’s fine. I do other things. I have plenty other jokes that are for other people — the response being a perfect example of that. Even if people go‚ well‚ that’s not funny but that joke of his is‚ the extremities are so loud‚ so against each other‚ that once one group of people‚ whatever you want to call them — people love to make it about the Left or the Right; I’m a very unpolitical person; I don’t really use those terms‚ so they might not be correctly used here — but say the Left is so outraged about something‚ the Right instinctually goes‚ “You’re being so ridiculous about this. If you hate this‚ I’m going to support this because I see nothing wrong with it.” So in doing that‚ they’ve completely balanced each other out. Jordan: Well‚ right. And you probably brought work to the attention of a whole demographic that would not have necessarily known who you were. Matt: So many people commenting‚ “I didn’t know who this kid was. I actually didn’t like him before. But I like this joke that he told‚” or “I dislike you so much that the enemy of my enemy is not my friend.” So it’s just an ever evolving process. People going back and forth: I love you‚ I hate you. And it’s going to be this way for the rest of my career and the rest of my life and I’m totally fine with that. Jordan: Probably‚ if you are lucky. Matt: I hope so. * * * To hear all of the rest of the discussion‚ continue by listening or watching this episode on DailyWire+. Dr. Jordan B. Peterson is a clinical psychologist and professor emeritus at the University of Toronto. From 1993 to 1998 he served as assistant and then associate professor of psychology at Harvard. He is the international bestselling author of Maps of Meaning‚ 12 Rules For Life‚ and Beyond Order. You can now listen to or watch his popular lectures on DailyWire+.

Roughly 3 out of every 4 Jewish college student report they have either experienced anti-Semitism or seen others victimized by it on their campus since the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attack on Israel. According to a study conducted by the Anti-Defamation League and Hillel International‚ nearly 73% of students — a rise from 63% in 2021 — say they have been victimized or saw someone who was‚ The New York Post reported. The percentage of Jewish students who felt safe on their campus dropped from 67% before the Hamas terror attack to 46% afterward.. The statistics from the study present a “disconcerting picture of the hate on campuses nationwide‚” Adam Lehman‚ president and CEO of Hillel International said. “Widespread experiences with antisemitism‚ as reported in this survey‚ are driving Jewish students to hide their identities.” “Jewish students are experiencing a wave of antisemitism unlike anything we’ve seen before‚ but shockingly‚ non-Jewish students barely see it‚” ADL CEO Jonathan A. Greenblatt stated. “Since the Oct. 7 massacre in Israel‚ Jewish students feel increasingly threatened on campus — but college leaders are not doing enough to address this very real fear of antisemitism.” As far back as 2002‚ anti-Semitism and college campuses was growing. Then-Harvard President Lawrence Summers spoke to students at a morning prayer service at the Memorial Church‚ saying‚ “ … there is disturbing evidence of an upturn in anti-Semitism globally … where anti-Semitism and views that are profoundly anti-Israeli have traditionally been the primary preserve of poorly educated right-wing populists‚ profoundly anti-Israel views are increasingly finding support in progressive intellectual communities.” In late October 2023‚ Jewish students were locked in a campus library at Manhattan’s prestigious Cooper Union College as pro-Palestinian protesters outside the building called for the globalization of the Intifada. According to several reports‚ the students told security that they felt unsafe as the protesters approached the library and the doors were locked. The protesters were chanting slogans like “Globalize the Intifada” and “Free‚ free Palestine” as they banged on the doors. Jake Novak‚ former media director at the Israeli Consulate in New York‚ shared updates throughout the protest as he received information from students. “BREAKING NOW: my sources tell me several Jewish students @cooperunion are currently locked in the school library as a pro Hamas rally outside of the cooper Union building learnt the Jews were afraid and sitting in the library‚ then brought the protest inside and are barricading all exits. Police have been called for 40 min and are afraid to get involved. Security locked the students in as they are worried they cannot protect the Jews‚” Novak posted. Virginia Kruta contributed to this article. Related: Pro-Hamas Protesters Locked Out While Jewish Students Shelter In Cooper Union Campus Library

A group of GOP senators is pushing President Joe Biden to ban travel from China over the appearance of a new respiratory illness. A group of five senators sent a letter to the White House on Friday raising alarm about “an unknown respiratory illness spreading throughout the People’s Republic of China.” The senators – Marco Rubio and Rick Scott of Florida‚ J.D. Vance of Ohio‚ Tommy Tuberville of Alabama‚ and Mike Braun of Indiana – said relying on China for accurate information about the disease would be a mistake. “We call on you to immediately restrict travel between the United States and the PRC. As you know‚ the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has a long history of lying about public health crises. During the COVID-19 pandemic‚ the CCP’s obfuscation of the truth‚ and lack of transparency‚ robbed the United States of vital knowledge about the disease and its origin‚” the senators wrote. “At this moment‚ the world faces another unknown pathogen emanating from the PRC that could spread to other countries‚ including the United States. The PRC has reported an increase in this mystery illness — which it claims to be pneumonia caused by known pathogens — since mid-October‚” the senators continued. The letter notes that the World Health Organization has requested “detailed information” about the unknown illness from China’s Communist regime; however‚ the “CCP has an incentive to lie‚ just as they did throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and any new pathogen could derail its efforts to stimulate its economy.” “We should not wait for the WHO to take action given its track record of slavish deference to the CCP. We must take the necessary steps to protect the health of Americans‚ and our economy‚” the letter says. “That means we should immediately restrict travel between the United States and the PRC until we know more about the dangers posed by this new illness. A ban on travel now could save our country from death‚ lockdowns‚ mandates‚ and further outbreaks later.” Northern China has reported a surge in illness similar to the flu since mid-October‚ according to Sky News. About a month later‚ the public disease surveillance system ProMed issued a warning about “undiagnosed pneumonia” spreading in China. The ProMed report specifically highlighted claims of many children falling sick with the disease. CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP “This report suggests a widespread outbreak of an undiagnosed respiratory illness‚” an editor’s note on the ProMed report said. “It is not at all clear when this outbreak started as it would be unusual for so many children to be affected so quickly.”