The Philip DeFranco Show - Crying TikTok Teen KILLED HER PARENTS, Cops Say & Reached Out to True Crime Creators For Help

Episode Date: July 10, 2025

Use code “PHIL” for $20 OFF your first SeatGeek order & returning buyers use code “PDS” for $10 off AND your chance at weekly $500 prizes! https://seatgeek.onelink.me/RrnK/PHIL Click here http://www.seed.com/defranco and use code DEFRANCO25 to get 25% off your 1st month’s supply of Seed’s DS-01®️ Daily Synbiotic + Free shipping! Wear your feelings @ https://BeautifulBastard.com with new tees and tanks OR fill your home with our new premium canvas prints while you can! Subscribe for New shows every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, & Thursday @ 6pm ET/3pm PT & watch more here: https://youtu.be/ts8BN4O-LbA?si=P_KBj_BtJZ5jWGtM&list=PLHcsGizlfLMWpSg7i0b9wnUyEZWI-25N3&index=1   – ✩ TODAY’S STORIES ✩ – 00:00 - 17-Year-Old Arrested & Charged For Killing Mom and Stepdad 03:06 - Detainees at “Alligator Alcatraz” Say Conditions There Are Sub-Human 08:41 - Sponsored by SeatGeek  09:50 - Trump Threatens Brazil With 50% Tariffs for Prosecuting Bolsonaro 16:40 - Sponsored by Seed 17:45 - States Say FEMA Is Holding Billions in Anti-Terrorism Funds  25:23 - First Malaria Treatment for Newborn Babies Approved for Use -——————————   Produced by: Cory Ray Edited by: James Girardier, Maxwell Enright, Julie Goldberg, Christian Meeks, Matthew Henry Art Department: William Crespo Writing/Research: Philip DeFranco, Brian Espinoza, Lili Stenn, Maddie Crichton, Chris Tolve, Star Pralle, Jared Paolino  ———————————— For more Philip DeFranco: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-philip-defranco-show/id1278424954 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6ESemquRbz6f8XLVywdZ2V Twitter:   https://x.com/PhillyD Instagram:   https://instagram.com/PhillyDeFranco Newsletter: https://www.dailydip.co TikTok:   https://www.tiktok.com/@philipdefranco?lang=en ———————————— #DeFranco #DonaldTrump #TikTok ———————————— Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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in the criminal trial of the former president of Brazil but it's also really bigger than that. As $2 billion in terrorism prevention funds have been held up, we've got Trump's war on FEMA putting American lives at risk. And Trump's saligator Alcatraz is horrifying and getting worse amid AI hoaxes and fake maggot tours. We're talking about all of that and much more

on today's brand new Philip DeFranco show, you daily dive into the news starting with this. This Sarah Grace Patrick situation is crazy. So there's no reason you should have known about Sarah before this. She's a 17 year old from Carroll County, Georgia. But for months now, Sarah's been posting videos on TikTok grieving her mother and stepmother

who were killed in February. They're posting videos captioned, "'What do you mean I can't call my mom and why me?' As well as longer ones with video of them saying, "'They don't know it, but a year from now, me and my five-year-old sister would find them wrongfully shot dead in our home and won't get to watch me graduate high school,

see me walk down the aisle and couldn't even say goodbye.'" But after all of that, we got this press conference. Sarah Grace Patrick has been taken into custody and charged with two counts of murder and two counts of aggravated assault. They're apparently turning herself in after she learned there was a warrant for her arrest. And right now the authority is saying, you know,

the potential motive, it's unclear. We don't know what goes through the mind of a child who wants to harm their parents. But here's what we do know. Back in February, you had officers responding to a call at a private residence where they discovered the bodies of James and Kristen Brock, dead from apparent gunshot wounds.

With their now six-year-old daughter reportedly finding their bodies and Sarah being the one who made the 911 call. But Sarah then also speaking at their funeral and going online about how their deaths were impacting her. But now, not only is she being charged, but she's being charged as an adult in the case. As far as where her father is in all this we learned her father brought her up here this morning

She turned herself in I can't imagine what he's going through so my heart goes out to him as well right with all this there Maybe more to come soon with the officials saying that more arrests could actually be made in the future as they're still investigating Which on the note of the investigation are you gonna many people going? You know, how did the officials land on Sarah as a suspect? Well there they only said so far that they have mountains of evidence, but again, nothing too specific. And right now we're also seeing that the family is reportedly cooperating in the investigation.

But then also a very interesting addition to all this is, you know, as she was continuing to post about her family online, you got some true crime content creators claiming that Sarah actually reached out to them asking if they would look into her parents' case as it remained unsolved. Why would you message me or any other true crime creator

saying, hey, please cover this case, and then you wind up being arrested for it? I am in shock. And so that's made all of this even more disturbing for those following the case. With many wondering things like, okay, so if she did do it, was she doing this reach out? Was she making these posts as a way to kind of deflect

that she did it? Or could one of the potential motives be that she did it because she wanted some sort of attention like this? There was some speculating that this could be kind of one of the most grotesque and horrifying ways to clout chase. So there, I have to stress, that is other people's speculation and we have to see what's gonna come from the investigation.

But in the meantime, as we wait to see if anything else is uncovered, if more people come out with information, I gotta pass the question off to you. What are your thoughts and reactions to this? But then next up in the news today, we should talk about alligator Alcatraz. America's definitely not a concentration camp.

But it just happens to walk like one and quack like one. But if you wanna check out what the administration calls a detention center built in the middle of a Florida swamp for yourself, you actually don't even need to get picked up by ICE. Instead, you can check out Terry's tours. Terry, but it's not even full of prisoners yet, but that's the exciting part.

For a limited time only, you can claim an alligator for $4,547, you get it, 45, 47. You can claim an alligator, and once they eat an illegal, you'll be notified via app, and then you'll be sent a gift card to your choice of store. Now with that, I have to warn you, if you happen to be one of those people that just gets rock hard watching masked agents

just scooping up people off the street, that is obviously a fake ad made with AI by Lissandra Vasquez. And it turns out that the whole point of that ad was to drive traffic to terrytours.com, which is also geared towards tricking maga folk with slogans like, take your country back one illegal at a time.

And then digging through the site, you'll see things like links taking you to photos of Trump with Epsteinstein and also you have links to nonprofits that liberals often support, such as the World Central Kitchen, Planned Parenthood and Climate Power. However, you know, by the time someone stumbled across that, it's very clear that the whole thing,

it's a joke to mock Alligator Alcatraz. With the site even making it clear at the top of the page that it's satire. And for many trying to clown on Alligator Alcatraz, it definitely feels warranted since its rollout has been at the very least controversial. It's built at the site of a regional airport. It's expected to house around 3000 to 5000 undocumented

folks, and while that's a lot of people, it's not actually even close to alleviating the stress that ICE detention centers are feeling right now. Their facilities can reportedly hold 41,000 people and as of June 15th, there are 56,000 being held. Then you add in the fact that based on the government's numbers about a thousand are deported every day, but the Trump administration has a goal

of 3000 arrests a day. And so, you know, in using their math, you can see how quickly it'll get crowded. And when alligator Alcatraz was being built, you had Trump praising the facility as a blueprint for what other states could do. Saying, well, I think I would like to see them in many states, really many states.

And you know, at some point they might morph into a system with them praising the facilities as being nice. And adding, I thought this was so professional, so well done, it's really many states. And you know, at some point they might morph into a system with them praising the facilities as being nice. And adding, I thought this was so professional, so well done, it's really government working together. You know, with that, the reason the facility was and is so controversial is more than just because it touches on the issue of immigration in America and who they're picking up.

They've been terrorizing Home Depot, is hitting schools, places of work, people actually going in for immigration appointments. But also because there have been accusations that it's built too quickly, cuts corners, and is inhumane. I mean, it reportedly was done in just eight days, although local officials blamed regulations for making it so long.

And photo ops from the facility show what kind of amounts to a giant aluminum tent filled with chain link, you could call them rooms that are packed with bunk beds. And all of that is, you know, it's in the middle of a Florida swamp, it's hot, it's wet, though you had officials trying to reassure everyone that it was perfectly safe and could actually withstand a category two storm. But then we quickly saw videos of the place flooded,

though I have to add an asterisk there, because the most viral video which showed the facility extremely flooded, that appears to have been fake. However, there are other examples of water seeping into the facility during a press conference due to a summer thunderstorm, which I've lived in Florida, I don't know if you know this,

it happens almost literally every single fucking day in South Florida. And so, you know, there've been growing concerns of well, what happens if something like big and meaningful hits the place? You know, regarding the first issues, you had the facility having to be quickly fixed because it was receiving its first batch

of detainees shortly afterwards. And you know, let me tell you, it does not appear like things are going well. You know, obviously, you know, being in a prison-like environment, it's gonna suck no matter what, but according to the phone calls, you've got people like Liamcy Esquidardo,

or better known as the Cuban reggaeton artist, La Figura, saying things are especially bad, with them telling local outlets things like, there's no water to bathe yourself, I haven't bathed since Friday. They don't turn the lights off, the air conditioning is below freezing, there's no medicine for those

who suffer from mental health issues. They don't let you bathe, they don't let you clean your mouth, the mosquitoes are the size of elephants. With them then going on to say that about 400 people are at the facility and that they're fed only once a day, which has maggots and there's no way to tell what time is and that they're only allowed outside for like 10 minutes. But with him saying that to him,

it is clear that the facility wasn't ready. And then he and another man in the background said, quote, they're all racists, they're all racists. But also that guy in the background seemed to have his own issues with him later saying that he's from Columbia and he hasn't been given his mental health meds in days. So saying instead, he's just been relying on his Bible

to try and keep himself sane, but that was allegedly taken away too. La Figura and his girlfriend also claiming that he has papers to be here, but despite that he's still at this facility. Though also with that, you know, I want to say that I'm not saying that he should or should not be held somewhere,

because he was actually arrested after assaulting a man who was trying to repo a jet ski. But he's been adamant that he shouldn't be at the center of undocumented people because he's a legal permanent resident of the United States. And then on top of that, an official apparently come to him almost daily

and ask him to sign his own deportation order so it would be effective immediately. Where there's lawyers saying that shouldn't be the case because in these situations, quote, the only entity that can strip a person of their residency is supposedly an immigration judge. And all of that as he's not the only one who claims to be in a similar situation or saying

that conditions are pretty bad. And actually when local outlets try to reach out to ICE and CBP about it, they dodge the question. Instead saying they can't actually answer that because the facility isn't run by them, it's run by Florida. And when they were asked, they reportedly didn't answer. And all of this is online.

This controversial facility has been seen in very different lights. You've seen Trump supporters saying things like, I don't think anyone realizes how impressive alligator Alcatraz is. The state of Florida built this 3000 bed federal prison in eight days. The director tells me it could have been done in 72 hours

were it not for some regulatory holdups. Now all the state needs is DOJ approval to deputize the national guard as deportation judges. And this will become the most efficient deportation center in American history. So that is critics have called it a concentration camp and said things like it's sickening how much Trump and others have joked about people getting eaten

by gators while out there. The wall of this says it's possible that this might become popular for the administration and we might see similar facilities popping up all over the US. But for now, we're gonna have to wait to see how this continues to unfold. And then I've got more news for you in a second,

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of the former president of Brazil. Trump saying he's gonna hit him with a 50% tariff starting on August 1st. And that is another key thing is he's also rolling out new 50% tariffs on copper, threatening a whopping 200% tariff on pharmaceutical imports and sending out letter after letter announcing his latest country specific tariffs.

And these letters, if you take the time to look through them, they're virtually identical. They're like patronizing, kind of passive aggressive, but ultimately sort of polite, except for the one addressed to Brazil's president Lula. With Trump dropping his typical introduction that we've seen so far saying it's a great honor to send the letter and instead letting Lula know right away

that he prefers his predecessor. Writing, I knew and dealt with former president Jair Bolsonaro and respected him greatly as did most other leaders of countries. The way that Brazil has treated former president Bolsonaro, a highly respected leader throughout the world during his term, including by the United States, is an international disgrace.

This trial should not be taking place. It is a witch hunt that should end immediately. Regarding what he's calling a witch hunt, which is by the way, witch hunt I think has to be Donald Trump's favorite words aside from Jeffrey Epstein. We still talking about this guy, huh? That, as you might remember, involved back in 2022,

Bolsonaro refusing to concede defeat to Lula and baselessly claiming that the only way he could have actually lost was a result of election fraud. But then a few months later, thousands of his supporters attacking the country's presidential palace, Supreme Court building, and House of Congress. So in 2023, the country's top electoral court

ruled that Bolsonaro, he abused his power and cast unfounded doubts in the country's electronic voting system. And then with that, one, they banned him from running for office until 2032, and November of last year, the country's federal police formerly accused Bolsonaro of attempting a coup. And then three, in February, the country's federal police formerly accused Bolsonaro of attempting a coup.

And then three, in February, the country's top prosecutor filed an indictment further alleging that Bolsonaro plotted to poison his successor, shoot dead the Supreme Court justice investigating him and reinstall himself as the country's leader. Notably around the same time that Trump Media and Technology Group,

which is majority owned by Trump and runs his true social site, they sued the Brazilian justice deciding whether or not to arrest Bolsonaro. By the way, one was also the same judge that Bolsonaro allegedly planned to assassinate, and two is the same judge that publicly clashed with Elon Musk over his refusal to comply with court orders

to block certain accounts on X. So with that loss that you had Trump actually accusing the judge of illegally censoring right wing voices on social media, though, it was seen more as an attempt to pressure him on the Bolsonaro case. That said though, we did also see Trump making the censorship claim again in his tariff letter, with him accusing Brazil of what he called

insidious attacks on free elections and the fundamental free speech rights of Americans. With him specifically referring to the actions of the Supreme Court, and then beyond that, Trump included a paragraph with some of the same language that's in the other letters, saying, "'If for any reason you decide to raise your tariffs, "'then whatever the number you choose to raise them by

"'will be added to the 50% that we charge. And adding, please understand that these tariffs are necessary to correct the many years of Brazil's tariff and non-tariff policies and trade barriers causing these unsustainable trade deficits against the United States. The deficit is a major threat to our economy and indeed our national security.

Though then notably, Trump also added something that we haven't typically seen in the other letters. A warning that he was directing the US trade representative to immediately initiate a section 301 investigation into Brazil, which is basically just an investigation into trade policies thought to be unfair or in violation of existing agreements. Then with all of that said, on the other side,

as far as Lula, he apparently was not having it. With Lula sharing a statement on social media and his government's website taking each of Trump's claims point by point, right? As far as the idea of interfering with Bolsonaro's trial, you had him saying, judicial proceedings against those responsible for planning the coup d'etat all exclusively under the jurisdiction

of Brazil's judicial branch. And then on the censorship question, which I will say has been a subject of real debate in Brazil, you had him responding, in the context of digital platforms, Brazilian society rejects hateful content, racism, child pornography, scams, fraud, and speeches against human rights and democratic freedom.

In Brazil, freedom of expression must not be confused with aggression or violent practices. All companies, whether domestic or foreign, must comply with Brazilian law in order to operate within our territory. And then finally, and possibly the most important as far as the reality of the situation, the meat and potatoes, you had him correctly pointing out

that the US doesn't actually have a trade deficit with Brazil. Saying statistics from the US.S. government itself show a surplus of $410 billion in the trade of goods and services with Brazil over the past 15 years. And so then with that, he said any unilateral tariff increases will be addressed in accordance with Brazil's economic reciprocity law.

But ultimately we are gonna see what happens and whatever happens, it's gonna matter. Because the United States is actually Brazil's second largest trading partner after China. And the value of Brazil's currency, already fell more than 2% against the dollar after Trump's announcement. And then also with everything that we're talking about,

it's important to know that it's not a singular thing. Or something I think it's important to note is that Bolsonaro is not the only reason that Trump's mad at Brazil. Because Brazil, it's part of the BRICS group of nations. It's the B. It also includes Russia, India, China, South Africa, and some other partner states.

And on Sunday, BRICS issued a declaration condemning the US increase in tariffs and the strikes on Iran, to which you had Trump responding that any country aligning themselves with the anti-American policies of BRICS will be charged an additional 10% tariff. And that is on top of the just generally confusing

tariff situation right now. Because back in April, Trump rolled out that sweeping 10% tariff on nearly all US trading partners. And then also announcing what he called reciprocal tariffs on certain nations that went as high as 50%. But then when the market plunged and everyone was like, what the fuck? Trump then put a 90 day pause on most of the tariff hikes,

just keeping that 10% baseline tariff in place. I'm saying that the US would then use that time to get better trade deals and even claiming at one point that he would make 90 deals in 90 days. So maybe he meant 90 concepts of deals in 90 days because 90 days ended yesterday and so far he's only made two deals. One with the UK and one with Vietnam.

Which is why instead of the tariffs returning, the White House then started sending out these letters on Monday to countries letting them know, hey, you actually have until August 1st to get an agreement in place. With Trump then starting to post the letters with the first including letters to Japan and South Korea announcing 25% tariffs separate from all sectoral tariffs.

With that then being followed by just a steady stream of almost identical letters outlining tariff increases ranging from 25 to 40% on goods imported from another 12 countries. But then today, besides Brazil, you had him targeting seven other countries, including Iraq, Moldova, and the Philippines, just to name a few.

Then also separate from that, Trump said that he plans to introduce new tariffs up to 200% on foreign produced pharmaceuticals and 50% on copper. Notably there when it came to drugs, he said he will quote, give people about a year, year and a half before they go into effect. But those copper tariffs,

he claimed that those would actually go into effect on August 1st. And actually with that, we've already seen the price of copper, which is used basically in anything electronic, hitting a record high in the United States. And when you know it, one of the people that is cheering this on

is Robert Friedland, the billionaire mining exec whose company is developing a copper high in the United States. And when you know it, one of the people that is cheering this on is Robert Friedland, the billionaire mining exec whose company is developing a copper mine in Arizona. As far as what happens from here, that the unfortunate reality is, we've kind of been trained to go, hey, we have to take this seriously, but also we have to kind of assume they're meaningless and may change at a moment's notice,

with many just left this really uncomfortable, confusing situation. Right, is it a taco situation or a not taco situation? Because many of the markets, many world leaders, they kinda have seen Trump as the bluffer in chief, at least over a long period of time, often creating a situation where there is a problem and then stopping the problem

and then acting like he solved the problem. Who knows, probably only Trump and maybe not even Trump. And then I've got more news for you in just a second, but first, I gotta say, growing up, the advice was often trust your gut, and I've applied that throughout my life. But nowadays, the cheddar isn't just about trusting your gut, but what your gut health means for your immune system,

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July 13th. Sign up now at Dazone.com slash FIFA. That's D-A-Z-N.com slash FIFA. The next step in the news today, there is a question out there right now, and that is why is FEMA holding up over $2 billion in grants to fight terrorism? And in fact, there are billions of more dollars

in essential emergency funds that are nowhere to be seen as top Trump officials continue to call for the agency to be dismantled, even as it aids Texas flood victims. And so for important context here, since 9-11, FEMA has actually given out billions of dollars in grants to help state and local governments with security and counterterrorism.

And those funds, they go to a number of key programs like boosting cybersecurity infrastructure at water and wastewater plants in Washington state and funding the salaries of cybersecurity experts in New Jersey. And that as well as a number of projects in New York, like paying for national guard members to patrol the subway, increasing law enforcement at the Northern border

and covering bomb squads across the state. And understand, right, those are just some examples of this sweeping program. But for two months now, states have actually been blocked from applying for those essential programs because FEMA just didn't release the latest grant application guidelines. Right, it effectively prevented anyone

from even applying for funding. And that despite the fact that the Trump administration was literally required by law to release the applications in mid May. And so as a result, state officials across the country have directly raised very serious concerns with the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees FEMA.

Last month, you had a coalition of associations that represent local and state officials writing a letter to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem arguing that the grant delay hurts quote, response and recovery capabilities across the country and puts critical infrastructure at risk. And just this week you had New York governor, Kathy Hogle, writing her own letter to Noem,

where she said this lack of funding, it puts New York at a greater risk than perhaps anywhere else in the nation. With Hogle specifically noting that the state has the largest Jewish community outside of Israel. While you have New York officials saying that, you know, some larger agencies like the NYPD will likely have enough resources to plug the gaps that'll emerge from the funding delays,

smaller agencies that rely more heavily on federal funds, they're not gonna be that lucky. And so for example, you had Jackie Bray, the commissioner of the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services explaining, there is certain training for SWAT teams, bomb detection squads, and chemical or biological responses that would just stop happening.

And saying, this is exactly the wrong moment to start cutting the funding that keeps our local emergency managers, counter-terrorism teams, and targeted violence prevention experts functioning. But despite those very serious concerns, Nome and other DHS officials have refused to say when the grant application guidelines

will actually be published so states can start applying. And when asked about a possible timeline, you would have DHS spokesperson giving the classic response that we've seen so many times from this administration. For saying that it hasn't happened because you have agency leaders trying to ensure the funding quote, does not go to fraud, waste, or abuse as in the past.

Let's say, you know, sooner than later, they get out of their own way, they set this up. Once the counter-terrorism grant guidelines are eventually released, there are widespread concerns that the Trump administration is going to withhold those essential funds from blue states that refuse to bend to the president's will and keep priorities.

And that's not just some unfounded concern. The administration has essentially promised that they're gonna do that. I mean, back in March, the DHS changed the terms and conditions for grants to require that all recipients cooperate with Trump's immigration enforcement efforts. So after 20 states filed a lawsuit,

arguing that the move was illegal and could cause irreparable harm, that Trump administration limited the terms to just certain grant programs. The Times and reporting that it's expected that those requirements will be included in the new guidelines with the counter-terrorism grants. But also importantly, it's not just the counter-terrorism

grants that are being held up by FEMA. Reportedly, despite the May deadline to start the application process, the agency has also failed to open applications for what's been called an enormous suite of grants totaling billions of dollars. Grants that reportedly many states rely on to pay for basic emergency management operations.

And you've got experts saying this delay seems to be totally unprecedented and there's no transparency about why it's happening. But what we do know is that this comes amid a broader effort by Trump to dismantle the agency entirely. Right, it's a goal that Trump has repeatedly reiterated saying last month that he wants to phase it out after this year's hurricane season.

And in addition to Doge-led efforts that have resulted in FEMA losing almost a quarter of its full-time staff, the administration has also started to cut funding for a number of essential grant programs. With, for example, back in April, FEMA rescinding a grant program to help state and local governments reduce hazard risks,

and that including hundreds of millions of dollars that have already been promised to recipients. Additionally, the agency has cut hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for flood mitigation grants and extra program that would have given over a half a billion dollars to those efforts, which you know is a move that is especially notable given the recent floods in Texas

that have killed at least 120 people. And last month, Nome started mandating that every single grant and contract above $100,000 receive her personal sign-off, which is a move that experts say will dramatically slow down the agency's massive multi-billion dollar grant system. And now, as a result of all this,

you have state and local leaders nationwide worried that they're not gonna have enough money to plug the gaps caused by the delayed federal grants, especially for more rural and low-income communities that have smaller tax bases and fiscal reserves, as well as states like North Carolina, which is still recovering from Hurricane Helene, which federal grants make up over 80%

of the state's emergency budget and most grants are given to local agencies. And actually, some states have explicitly outlined how these cuts will hurt their residents. For example, leaders in Colorado are saying that many counties will need to cut essential employees who coordinate the state's emergency management response. And in Alaska, you have emergency officials saying

they'll need to find alternative sources to pay their workers who help people impacted by massive wildfires that have burned nearly half a million acres this season. With those, of course, just being a few examples, and as we've talked about numerous times this week, all of these concerns about FEMA, they've only been heightened by the disastrous

and tragic floods in Texas. But despite all that, we saw Noam once again, renewing her calls for FEMA to be eliminated in comments that she made during a meeting yesterday. Which you know, isn't anything new, but it is kind of fucking wild that she's saying this right now while the agency is literally in Texas as we speak,

providing essential services to flood victims. And especially given the fact that FEMA literally gave Texas nearly $20 million in the last fiscal year to respond to this exact kind of emergency. With No given the fact that FEMA literally gave Texas nearly $20 million in the last fiscal year to respond to this exact kind of emergency. With Nome even noting that FEMA has provided important resources to Texas, but then going on to say, federal emergency management should be state and locally led and adding,

it has been slow to respond at the federal level. It's even been slower to get the resources to Americans in crisis. And that is why this entire agency needs to be eliminated as it exists today and remade into a responsive agency. But incredibly important and notable here, you had reporting saying that the cuts made by Nome actually slowed FEMA's response to the Texas floods.

With four different officials even going on to say that the agency immediately ran into major obstacles when they first launched their response. And they're specifically noting the rule that Nome personally review and approve all contracts and grants over $100,000. We're saying that low threshold strips the agency on autonomy that is necessary to respond

to emergencies quickly. So, you know, for example, once the flood water started rising, FEMA officials wanted to pre-position crews so they'd be able to respond as fast as possible. But they then realized they were unable to do that because of Nome's rule. Anyway, the sources also saying that FEMA officials

were unable to deploy a specific search and rescue team until Nome gave her approval there, but she didn't do so until more than 72 hours after the flooding began. Though then with that, you had a DHS spokesperson pushing back saying that Nome didn't need to authorize those teams because the department was using other DHS search and rescue resources.

But then also beyond that, you had the sources reportedly saying that a request from Texas officials for aerial imagery to help search and rescue operations had been delayed because Nome had to approve a contract first. And all of that is callers have faced longer wait times at a FEMA call center because Gnome hasn't approved a contract to bring in additional staff. With then in response to these alarming allegations,

you had a DHS spokesperson just reiterating the same statement about how the agency is rooting out waste, fraud and abuse and is reprioritizing appropriated dollars. We did later see the department slamming that reporting on X calling it a fake news lie and repeating the claim that the other federal assets were mobilized immediately. So then all of this taken together, it just underscores the deep concerns

about BEM's ability to respond to emergencies now and in the future. So all of this is you have experts saying, the real impact that we're seeing, it's not gonna be seen until it's too late. And there I'll say, that's very likely true, not only here, but in so many different places. Because when you're talking about the people that are

preparing and responding So many of them are invisible people they are the people that you never think about until something goes wrong day for now We'll have to wait to see how this plays out though It does feel like we're just playing a dangerous game of fuck around and find out but hey That's the news a little sprinkling of my opinion at the end and I'll pass the question off to you whether you degree or disagree With me, what are your thoughts here? But the next step from that today is we're starting to wind things down.

Let me tell you a different kind of story and say we just got approval for the first ever treatment for malaria in newborns. Which I think a lot of people watching do not understand how fucking monumental this is. Because most likely, you know, in our day-to-day lives, we're not worried about malaria. But malaria, which you know,

is a deadly mosquito-borne illness that despite being both preventable and treatable, killed over half a million people in 2023. And the huge thing with that is the most vulnerable of that group, their children under the age of five. They made up about 76% of all malaria deaths in the WHO's Africa region. Now you're getting the news today

that the Swiss nonprofit Medicines for Malaria in collaboration with the drug company Novartis, they have developed a drug to treat malaria in newborns between 4.4 and 11 pounds. It's now been approved by the Swiss medical authorities and you have Switzerland's health regulator saying in a statement,

the newly authorized product addresses a critical treatment gap for one of the most vulnerable patient populations, young infants suffering from malaria. And the big thing is that before this, malaria cases in babies, they were treated with formulations made for older kids, which that it can just be unsafe

because infants liver functions are still developing and their bodies process medicine differently. And so with that, you know, we know that this new drug, it has some recognizable parts, like notably it contains a combination of established anti-malarial drugs. It's also in addition to being just considered much safer, it has other bonuses like being dissolvable,

even in breast milk, as well as, you know, things like its flavor to make it easier to feed to infants. And you know, just all in all, a treatment like this is incredibly important because yes, there is a preventative malaria vaccine. In fact, the vaccine was met with unprecedented demand in the 19 countries it was rolled out in by April, but that vaccine, it can only be given to kids

five months and older, meaning that the newborns, they couldn't receive a preventative measure. And so you have many in this space just relieved. And now, as far as how the company's planning to release the drug, it's reportedly largely on a not-for-profit basis in places where malaria is endemic. Notably with that, the authorization here was made

in collaboration with regulatory authorities in eight African countries, including Kenya, Uganda, and Nigeria. And according to Swiss medical authorities, individual countries are expected to approve the use of this treatment within 90 days after it's submitted for regulatory approval to make sure that the drug is accessible

as soon as possible. So a great development, promising news, and just yet another example of why we cannot abandon scientific research, especially in medical fields. But then my friends, you beautiful bastards, it brings us to the end of today's show. Thank you for being with me for another trudging through the hellscape of the news this week.

Also, if you're new here, thank in advance for subscribing. No matter what, hey, I'll see you back here on Monday. Cause remember I got a brand new show for you every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 6 p.m. Eastern, 3 p.m. Pacific. Stay safe this weekend, stay sane this weekend. I love your face and I'll see you on Monday.