The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 10.1 NOW WHAT?! Iran Attacks Israel with 180 Missiles, “Evil Homewrecker” Ariana Grande Responds, & More

Episode Date: October 1, 2024

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 Get an exclusive NordVPN deal here https://nordvpn.com/phil It's risk-free with Nord's 30-day money-back guarantee!   Be a part of the DeFranco Book Club! My October Book Recommendations: Get "Incidents Around the House" https://amzn.to/3TS22E2 (Physical and Audiobook available) Get "Project Hail Mary" https://amzn.to/3N9J1JM (Physical & Audiobook Available) New Limited Drop @ https://BeautifulBastard.com is LIVE AND YOU CAN GET 20-60% OFF on Drop Week! 35 Days Until Election Day! Make Sure You Are Registered to VOTE: https://Vote.org  – ✩ TODAY’S STORIES ✩ – 00:00 - Introducing the DeFranco Book Club! 01:37 - CA Hospital Sued For Denying Pregnant Patient Life-Saving Abortion Care 06:29 - Georgia Judge Declares State Abortion Ban Unconstitutional (For Now) 07:34 - Ariana Grande Talks About Not Always Liking Fans, Tabloids, & Fame Struggles  11:03 - Sponsored by SeatGeek 11:55 - New Bill Aims to Prevent Hostages From Owing Taxes Upon Return  15:47 - Israel Starts Ground Offensive in Lebanon, Iran Launches Missiles at Israel 19:59 - Ahead of VP Debate, Candidates Turn to Livestreamers like Hasan Piker 22:15 - Sponsored by Nord 23:24 - Dockworkers Launch Strike That Could Cost Economy $3 Billion a Week 26:31 - Assange Makes First Public Appearance Since Prison Release ——————————   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 ———————————— #DeFranco #ArianaGrande #HasanAbi Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sup, you beautiful bastards. Welcome back to the Philip DeFranco Show, your daily dive into the news, and we have a lot to talk about today. But first, I'm gonna switch things up for a second and not immediately stress you out or ruin your day. As many of you long-timers know, I'm an avid book reader and audio book listener.

And sporadically, I recommend things, but I figured, why not actually have our own little book club? So today, I'm launching the DeFranco Book Club, and it's simple. I recommend one book a month that I really enjoy, and then you read it or you don't read it. That's it.

But because this is the launch, I'm gonna announce two books for this month, one that you might've heard me gush over for the past two years, and one that's new. The first, you know it's coming, "'Project Hail Mary." It's from Andy Weir. He made the Martian, also lesser known Artemis.

It's one of my favorite books from the last two years. Unlikely hero, world-saving sort of thing. Don't wanna ruin the story. I will never stop recommending this book, but then for something newer, and you know, we're getting into spooky season, I'm recommending Incidents Around the House. It's by Josh Mallerman. It is really good. It is a horror story told from the viewpoint of an eight-year-old girl. It's paced well. It's interesting. It actually made me really nervous at times. I feel like with horror, there are a lot of misses or things that

kind of are okay and they don't stick the landing. Like a recent read that comes to mind, a horror movie was one of those. I like enjoyed the read, didn't like the end. Yeah, for October, these are my recommendations. If you want to snag them, I know a lot of people watch on TV. I got QR codes on screen. I also got links in the description so you can snag a physical version or the audiobook, which on the note of audiobook, if you were going to listen to an audiobook, this is fantastic. It has Ray Porter as the narrator. If you don't know, just top tier narrator. I think he's part of the reason why I love the Bobaverse series so much. Yeah, snag those. They are fantastic escapes from the world that we are now going to talk about. So we've got to talk about abortion being in the news right now. Starting with the fact that,

you know, when you think about all the states in America where a woman would be denied an emergency abortion, California is probably the last one you'd have in mind. But that is exactly what happened to 36-year-old Anna Nuzlocke, with her alleging that she was denied essential emergency care, even though her health was at risk

and her pregnancy wasn't viable. But the big difference between her story and all the horrific accounts that we've heard about women being denied care, is that California is actually standing up for her and they're suing the hospital that refused to provide care for violating her rights. And that marking the first time since Roe was overturned,

that a state has gone after a hospital for violating abortion protections, which is absolutely massive because while the federal government has sued hospitals and states with abortion bans, no states have tested abortion rights in this manner. And with that, what California is doing could have huge implications for other states.

Let's start with what the hell happened that resulted in a woman being denied care in a state with some of the strongest abortion protections. Because there, according to the lawsuit, which was announced yesterday by the state attorney general, Anna and her husband had been trying to have a baby for years and they experienced multiple miscarriages before she finally got pregnant with twins.

But early on, she started experiencing severe cramping, pain and bleeding. With it becoming so serious, she had to go to Providence St. Joseph Hospital in Eureka two times. With that being a Catholic affiliated hospital with the most well-equipped emergency department in the region.

But both times she was told that the fetuses had heart tones and was sent home despite her symptoms persisting. With then, when she was just 15 weeks pregnant, her water broke way too soon, with that causing severe bleeding and pain, and she was rushed to the nearest emergency room, which just so happened to be Providence St. Joseph Hospital in Eureka.

When she got there, the doctors informed her that one of the twins amniotic sex had broken and lost all fluid, meaning that it wasn't going to survive. And when she asked about the other twin, they told her that it was extremely unlikely that she could maintain the pregnancy. So as a result, the doctors agreed that if Anna didn't terminate the pregnancy quickly,

she would be putting herself at risk for infection, hemorrhaging and threaten her future fertility. But despite the fact that the doctors literally recommended she abort the other twin, she was informed that hospital policy prevented them from giving her an abortion because one twin still had traceable heart tones and her life was not at enough risk. But then at the same time, the lawsuit also alleges that a doctor suggested that Anna take a helicopter to a hospital almost 300 miles south in San Francisco. But warning there that it would cost $40,000 that her insurance wouldn't cover. When she asked if she and her husband could make the nearly five-hour drive to San Francisco, she said the doctor replied,

if you try to drive you will hemorrhage and die before you can get to a place that can help you. But I just have to ask, if someone is going to die if they drive less than five hours, how does that not qualify as life-threatening? But that said, after several hours at Providence, Anna and her husband drove 12 miles to Mad River Community Hospital. Before leaving Providence, she claims that a nurse sent her away with a bucket of towels like you'd use to clean a bathroom for the car ride. And then when she finally arrived at Mad River, she was actively hemorrhaging. She passed a massive blood clot. She spontaneously delivered one of the twins and then was rushed to the OR so that the other fetus could be removed. With her doctor there saying in court documents that Nuslock lost considerably more blood than

expected during the procedure. Very notably here, that doctor also said that she had treated other patients who had been denied abortions by Providence in similar instances, with Anna herself later telling reporters, I'll never forget looking at my doctor, tears streaming down my face, my heart shattered into a million pieces and just pleading with her, don't let me die. Adding my daughters deserved better and I deserved better. And so with this, California Attorney General Rob Bonta told reporters yesterday that Anna's case shows that these kinds of abortion horror stories, they can happen even in California,

a place that is very strongly pro-choice. And adding, we do not want another Anna. The lawsuit specifically accusing Providence of violating a California law that requires all hospitals with emergency rooms to provide care to anyone in danger of loss of life or serious injury or illness. As well as saying what they did when against state laws

concerning civil rights and business conduct. Now, very notably in this situation, there are laws that allow doctors to opt out of performing elective abortions due to religious beliefs and prevent religious affiliated hospitals from being forced to perform those elective procedures. But a very key thing is that emergency protections law does not allow for religious exceptions when hospitals operate emergency rooms like Providence does. So as a result, Bonta is seeking an injunction to ensure that Providence's patients are getting emergency healthcare, including abortion, which is especially important because Mad River, where Anna ultimately ended up getting the care she needed, they're actually closing their labor

and delivery unit later this month, meaning that Providence, that's going to be the only hospital in Humboldt County that even has a labor and delivery unit. And with all that said, as far as how Providence has responded, the hospital issued a statement saying it was heartbroken over Anna's experience and adding, "'Providence is deeply committed to the health "'and wellness of women and pregnant patients "'and provides emergency services "'to all who walk through our doors

"'in accordance with state and federal law.'" But for now, we'll have to wait to see what happens there. But again, you know, this lawsuit goes beyond California. Right, that's because Bonta said that part of the reason he was bringing this challenge is because there's uncertainty over the fate of a federal law similar to California's called the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act,

or EMTALA, which is a law that's become a serious lightning rod in the abortion debate nationwide since Roe was overturned. With it not only being challenged by two states, but one of those challenges made it all the way up to the Supreme Court. Though the court avoided ruling on the merits and sent it back to the lower courts.

With that, then likely queuing up another future showdown for the high court to hear in the coming years. And so it's seen as being incredibly important for the states to clearly establish the scope of their emergency laws moving forward. Though with that, I will say that's not the only big abortion news we've seen this week. And that is because a judge in Georgia just struck down

the state's six-week abortion ban and is now allowing the procedure to be performed until 22 weeks, at least for now. Because yesterday, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney ruled that Georgia's six-week ban violates the state constitution, which he argued gives all adults the power to make decisions about their bodies, including women. Writing that women's liberty of privacy means that they alone should choose whether they serve as human incubators for the five months leading up to viability. But I will say, like so many other state abortion laws that have seen a

ton of legal back and forth, McBurney's decision here is widely expected to be temporary. McBurney actually has already made a very similar ruling in this case back in 2022. But that decision was quickly appealed to the state Supreme Court, which reinstated the ban a week later while considering an appeal. But then, last October, the state Supreme Court upholding the six week ban,

rejecting the claims that it was unconstitutional when it was first passed in 2019 before Roe was reversed. But the court there also sending the case back to the Fulton County Superior Court to address another question about whether the state constitution protected a right to privacy, which is what McBurney just ruled on. And so now as a result, it's expected to make its way up

to the state Supreme Court once again, with Republican officials in Georgia already vowing to appeal. And then, in some interesting entertainment news, it feels like the more that we hear from celebrities recently, the more we keep hearing phrases like, "'I love my fans, but..."

And that trend seems to now have continued with Ariana Grande, who just did a pair of interviews with Vanity Fair. And in those, she talked about her relationship with fame and all the criticism that comes with it. Right, and one of the things that she noted is like, this is not a new thing. She has struggled with this for a long time.

Explaining, the back and forth throughout the course of my career has been really hard to navigate mentally. I was this approachable, funny redhead on Nickelodeon and everyone liked me. And then I had one too many hit records and everyone decided that I was an evil diva. And then other terrible things happened and all of a sudden I was this hero and this victim.

Right, and that cycle has changed again and again with her also hitting on the backlash she dealt with when news of her relationship with Ethan Slater, AKA SpongeBob, sparked a massive internet frenzy. You know, because he had tons of people accusing him of cheating on his wife to be with her, people calling her a man stealer and a home wrecker. With Ariana here placing a lot of the blame

on what she referred to as disreputable tabloids, who she said created a ton of false narratives and stories around their relationship. But also here adding that the hardest part wasn't even that they were writing about her, but the fact that everyone believed the worst version of it. With her adding there,

honestly, it's taken me a lot of hard work to be able to last this long and to heal certain parts of my relationship to fame and to what I do because of these tabloids that have been trying to destroy me since I was 19 years old. But you know what? I'm 31 years old and I'm not a perfect person, but I am definitely deeply good and I'm proud of who I'm becoming. I will never let disreputable evil tabloids ruin my life or my perception of what is real and good. And in another part of the profile, she also talked about double standards that women face in the industry and not just in terms of their personal life, but in the way that the media discusses

the actual work you do. Like for example, when people noticed her voice changed after her role in Wicked and during her album rollout, people attacked her, but she said, "'When men are so committed to a role "'that something physically changed about them, "'they get praised.'" With her adding there,

"'Tale as old as time being a woman in this industry. "'You are treated differently "'and you are under a microscope in a way "'that some people aren't.'" But notably, her relationship with fame, it's not just rocky because of the press and the media. Well, taking Vanity Fair's lie detector test, which is a fantastic watch, her talking about the moon landing, possibly my favorite thing in the last two weeks. In that, she also noted that fans can complicate things too.

Would you say you love your fans? Very much. Yes? Truthful. Do you love them all the time? Hmm. truthful do you love them all the time i love them always but i think sometimes they can hurt my feelings and sometimes i don't like them but i love them always does that make sense yes she's being truthful it's a hard relationship i think

that's sort of like weirdly parasocial, but it feels very real to me. So sometimes it's hard, but I love them very much. Right, notably we're hearing those comments as the toxicity of fandom has been a major conversation online lately, whether it be because fans are getting mad at or expecting certain things of Chapel Roan or fans attacking people in the name of being a Swifty or whatever it is.

Because it's clear that a lot of fans create a lot of problems with the people they claim to love so much, which is also part of why fame is so complicated for them in the first place. And while with this, really anything I talk about on the show, I'd love to hear from you in those comments. You know, I do wonder if we will see any sort of change regarding fandoms and online reactions and actions.

Because it feels like anytime a lesson is learned, it's unlearned very fast. I constantly think back to Chadwick Boseman and after he died, people were like, wowWow, I can't believe everyone was so mean "'about how he looked and like, we really, "'we need to think about how we never know "'what's going on in someone's personal life.'" And then, well, obviously some people

end up learning the lesson. At scale, it seems like the same problems just repeat and repeat. Though, you know, big cultural shifts, they take time, but I don't know if the ones around fame ever truly will. Then, y'all, take a quick break from the news. I gotta say, it has been fun for me to learn how you guys are using your SeatGeek winnings. From going to concerts and comedy and Broadway to F1 racing, our weekly

SeatGeek $500 giveaway lives on, and you beautiful bastards are crushing it. Also, for the uninitiated, SeatGeek is the number one rated live event ticketing app with over 28 million downloads and access to a wide array of entertainment to get you and a loved one out of the house. And my team has worked with SeatGeek to extend the $500 giveaway. And if you haven't entered yet, I mean, next week's winner could be you. You just simply add code PDS to your SeatGeek account. And in addition to getting $10 off, you could be one of our weekly winners. And that's $500 in credits towards any of SeatGeek's 70,000 events. Also for your newbies out there, right? If you're new to SeatGeek, you can also add code Phil for $20 off your first purchase. But again, for you SeatGeek v,000 events. Also for you newbies out there, right? If you're new to SeatGeek, you can also add code Phil for $20 off your first purchase.

But again, for you SeatGeek vets, right? You can add code PDS, which gets you $10 off any purchase. It doesn't need to be your first. Plus you'll be entered for your chance the $500 SeatGeek credit, no purchase necessary. And then, so you know, we hear news all the time about American hostages finally coming home after months or years of captivity in Russia

or somewhere else. But here's the thing, even though they're back, that doesn't mean the bad times are over. And I'm not even talking about anxiety, depression, PTSD. Right, because literally when they get home, like when they open their mailbox for the first time in what feels like an eternity, and I'm not kidding here, they find a bill from the IRS for back taxes,

accumulated interest, and late penalties accrued while they were being held hostage by a foreign government. It was funny because it was so absurd. And that is Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian, who was held by Iran for 544 days, ending in 2016. With him going on to tell News Nation what it was like having to pay over $6,000 in surprise taxes. What's better than a well-marbled ribeye sizzling on the barbecue?

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be executed. The U.S. government mobilizes all its resources to free you. Thousands and thousands of government worker hours are put into this, millions of dollars in legal bills and everything else. And then you come home and there's a bill for you, a personalized one. With Rezaian then adding in an article for the Washington Post, "'While I was locked up, "'my foreign-born wife's immigration papers

"'that had been approved before we were arrested in 2014 "'expired. "'We had to start from scratch with a new application "'when we got back to San Francisco. "'My credit rating was also shattered. "'Many bills that had been set for auto pay were declined and sent to collection while I was away. My credit score fell so low that renting or buying a home

through traditional avenues was out of the question until I was able to rehabilitate my credit. Right, and while understandably, that may not be your top concern when you're in an Iranian prison, those credit cards, auto loans, and mortgages still go delinquent. Not to mention that since you're not earning income,

you're also not generating payroll taxes, which reduces the social security benefits you'll receive at retirement. And some version of this madness has been experienced by tons of other returning hostages. Folks like Alsu Kermasheva, Paul Whalen, and Evan Gershkovich. But those, they're the high profile ones, with many more getting little to no attention. And their numbers, they're only increasing. I mean, nearly 60 hostages came home under Trump. More than 70 have come home under Biden. And anywhere between 40 and 60 are said to still be held unjustly in other countries. But also like before you get mad at the wrong people,

you should understand that the IRS, right? They're not the vindictive stooges here. They actually wanna help former hostages. But the thing is, while they can waive some fines, they just simply lack the authority to fully forgive interest and penalties without an act of Congress. Which actually brings us to the real reason that we're talking about this today.

Our rat shit political system. Because Democratic Senator Chris Coons from Delaware just wrote an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal calling on his colleagues to do something about this. And in fact, he teamed up with Republican Mike Rounds in May to pass the Stop Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act, which would do exactly what the name suggests. And so all the House would need to do is pass the same bill and it would go straight to Biden's desk for a signature. But here's the thing, they didn't pass the same bill. They passed a different bill, right? Because the Ways and Means Committee attached an additional measure

that would make it easier for the government to strip tax exempt status from nonprofit groups over allegations of support for terrorism, which critics of that see as an effort to target pro-Palestinian groups or humanitarian orgs working in the Middle East. So there, GOP committee chair, Jason T. Smith, defended the measure to the Washington Post,

pointing to the American hostages still held by Hamas. But notably, as Rezaian also shot back, the IRS already forgives people held hostage by non-state organizations like Hamas. Foreign governments' hostages are the ones being addressed. But either way, that extra measure means the Senate would have to vote on the bill again. And even if enough senators would support it,

which is very unlikely because of the controversial addition, there's almost certainly too little time left in the legislative session. But also, you know, that's just one bill Coons has been working to pass others as well. Like for example, the Fair Credit for American Hostages Act, which would prevent credit rating agencies from considering payments missed

due to a wrongful detention or hostage situation. Or another example, the Retirement Security for American Hostages Act, which would ensure that hostages and wrongful detainees aren't penalized in the calculation of their social security benefits. But for now, we'll have to wait to see if, I don't know, politicians can do literally the easiest fucking thing,

which unfortunately has just become incredibly common, whether it be healthcare for 9-11 survivors or tax relief for hostages. It's like they're striking out playing T-ball. But then, shifting gears, as we predicted last week, we have some huge updates to the Israel-Lebanon situation today. Starting with late last night,

you had IDF troops crossing the border into Lebanon and what they described as a limited and localized ground operation to take the fight to Hezbollah. And that coming after a night of brutal strikes across Lebanon that killed more than a hundred people, which makes the number over the past two weeks, a thousand dead and 6,000 wounded. With outlets describing last night's actions as an invasion,

though you had Israeli officials trying to downplay the assault, with them pointing out that Israeli troops have done many incursions into Lebanon over the past year. With those generally done by special forces, which have conducted at least 70 raids during that time. But apparently it's also been done by normal troops on over a dozen occasions. And all this drawing a lot of criticism from many, including commentators like Hassan Piker, who has long been critical of Israel's actions in the region, writing on Twitter, Israel has packaged all its illegal occupational actions, including apartheid in the West Bank

and genocide in Gaza by claiming self-defense. America hasn't restrained Israel at all since early October and now it's quote, self-defending by moving to overtake Southern Lebanon once again. But this is Israeli officials have their own version of why they're invading. Saying it's not to reoccupy Southern Lebanon like they used to before 2006.

Instead saying it's to enforce Resolution 1701, which if you've never heard of, put an end to a short war with Israel and Hezbollah back in 2006. Instead, Singh is to enforce Resolution 1701, which if you've never heard of, put an end to a short war with Israel and Hezbollah back in 2006, with both sides agreeing to withdraw from a specified area that created a buffer between the so-called Blue Line border on Israel's north and the Latani River in Lebanon. And instead, 17,000 UN troops,

as well as the official Lebanese army, would be put there to keep the peace and help people back into their homes. However, despite Israel agreeing to leave southern Lebanon, Hezbollah has pretty much ignored the resolution completely. With Israel claiming this allows the group to easily launch missiles into Israel from just across the border.

With one official even claiming, quote, we've seen attempts of Hezbollah to infiltrate Israel. In some cases, one of our brigade's deputy commanders was killed and this is something that they have been planning for years. The IDF also showing footage of alleged Hezbollah tunnels that go across the border alongside accusations that Hezbollah planned to massacre Israeli civilians

like Hamas did. So at least officially Israel's goal is to get Hezbollah planned to massacre Israeli civilians like Hamas did. So at least officially, Israel's goal is to get Hezbollah back across the Latani River and to stay there as a non-threat to Israel, which you have people saying is a notable difference from what it wanted in Gaza. Right there, it vowed to eradicate Hamas, but we'll also have to wait and see if Israel's goals change as its operations continue,

because a lot of people don't believe that Israel will stop at this stated goal. And all of this comes as Israel has largely decapitated Hezbollah's leadership, including now its elusive leader who was at the group's underground bunker complex in Beirut. Though despite the early successes of Israel's operation, Hezbollah hasn't just been sitting around. They've conducted rocket strikes across the border and hit many Israeli towns. So the biggest fear is what Iran will do, right? Because they are a major supporter of Hezbollah and they've had operatives working with the group in Syria for years now.

And I mean, today we started off reporting that the U.S. fears that a missile attack from Iran was imminent, with them even warning that embassy personnel and their families needed to shelter in place until further notice. So Israel originally pushed back on this with an IDF spokesperson saying, as of this moment, Israel does not perceive an imminent threat from Iran. But then, as we were filming the show, they switched their tune, with Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari warning that a large-scale attack was imminent and for citizens across the country to shelter in place. With it then taking about 10 minutes for the missiles to travel from Iran to Israel.

And it was clear that this attack was much bigger than the few strikes Iran sent back in April. And while information is still coming in, because this is developing as we're making the show. Right now, it looks like Iran sent over 100 intercontinental ballistic missiles into Israel. Which is a really important distinction because these are generally much faster than the rockets Hamas sends in. And it's a real stress test for Israel's Iron Dome. Based on reports, it seems like Tel Aviv was the target and the footage is insane, right? There are waves after waves of missiles

falling into the city, some of which seem to be destroyed, but it's hard to confirm. However, explosions were also heard, making it clear that some at least struck the city. And it's just that as we're recording, we don't know the extent of the damage or how many people were killed in the strike. So of course, all of this marking a very, very clear

escalation of the hostilities between Israel, Hezbollah and Iran, which you know is why we've seen so many people taking this seriously. I mean, even before the attacks, the US and UK had troops on high alert in the region. And now since Iran's attack, Biden and Harris have met to discuss the situation on how to move forward. And as for Israel, it is now widely expected

that they will retaliate. And former Israeli ambassador to the US, Michael Oren is on CNN saying, there are no facilities, including nuclear facilities that are immune from an Israeli response. And so it currently feels like there's no reason to think that things will not continue to escalate. And specifically regarding that within Lebanon,

the big question is what will Lebanon's actual army do and whether Hezbollah will actually try to dig in and fight or just move behind the Latani River. And then of course, within Iran, everyone's gonna be on edge to see how Israel responds. And again, this is all developing in real time. So we're gonna have to wait to see what happens next. And then, are you watching the debate tonight?

And how are you watching the debate tonight? Right at 9 p.m. Eastern, you got J.D., Vance, and Tim Walz taking the stage. And while vice presidential debates usually aren't that big of a deal, one, this race right now is incredibly close. So you never know what's gonna tip the scales. And two, this may very well be the last debate

before the election. Or because Trump has so far refused Harris's challenge to have a second debate. Which, yeah, I mean, if someone smacked my ass like that on national television, I don't know if I'd be coming around for seconds. You know, with that, well, obviously, we're going to talk about the debate tomorrow. For today, I got to ask, if you're watching it, how are you watching it? Or because one thing that this whole election cycle, but especially big events like this, have put a spotlight on is how important streaming platforms like Twitch, Kick, Rumble, and even YouTube have been. There's been this long evolution,

but now more than ever, it's not just about gaming. It's also about politics. That is especially true this year. In fact, on Twitch, for example, the number of broadcasting hours under the politics tag has increased almost 40% since last year. And yeah, of course it has to do with how insane American politics have become

and the fact that it is an election year. But notably, regardless of the reason, all that's meant that streamers have become a big focus for both presidential campaigns. I mean, you're talking about millions of mostly young, mostly male Americans whose primary source of news and information are these streaming sites, right? I mean, when Harris demolished Trump

in their debate last month, tons of people were watching on a live stream not connected to a news organization. With Assan Paikar, for example, unsurprisingly one of the most watched with around 170,000 people concurrently tuning into his stream. That being 36% higher than when he streamed a presidential debate in 2020. And this is also, you have people like Aiden Ross, who notoriously interviewed and gifted Trump a Rolex and a Cybertruck back in August. And audiences

like Ross's, they're a key big thing because that audience is what Trump's people have explicitly referred to as target persuadables. And what that means is men under 40 who are more likely to get their news from social media than from newspapers or TV. But in any case, the actual most watched commentator on a live stream was a guy by the name of Dan Bongino. If all the numbers are legitimate, he had around 349,000 viewers on the conservative streaming platform Rumble. Which again, if those numbers are legitimate, means that more people watched him stream the debate on Rumble than watch the Wall Street Journal, Fox News, C-SPAN, or CNN stream of the debate on their own YouTube channel.

And beyond that, Rumble actually reportedly broke its record for concurrent viewership on the night of the Harris-Trump debate with more than 1 million people watching across various streams. So yeah, with that, I ask again, if you're watching tonight, how are you watching? Because it should be an interesting one,

especially because I know that one of the concerns around Walls is that he's not a fantastic debater. We'll see how it goes down. But then, NordVPN isn't just a sponsor of our show, though they are a fantastic one today. They are here to protect your online activity with next-generation security features designed for your safety and privacy.

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and protect up to six devices with just one account. Seriously, why haven't you gotten NordVPN yet? It's a no brainer and you can get a huge discount on a two-year plan, plus an additional four months free at nordvpn.com slash phil. That's nordvpn.com slash phil, the best deal on the internet, and it's risk-free with Nord's 30-day money-back guarantee. Then, shifting gears and huge US news, we got to talk about this massive strike that's threatening to throw the economy into chaos just a month before the election. Because right now you have tens of thousands of dock workers striking reports all along the East Coast

and the Gulf of Mexico, right? And they are members of the International Longshoremen's Association, which is a union reportedly representing 47,000 workers in all. And very notably, they have not been on strike since 1977, though that is not to say that we didn't see this coming. I mean, they have been threatening to strike for months now.

And actually because of that, many big companies have been getting ready by ordering goods ahead of time and diverting shipments to the West Coast, which is actually why you have White House officials saying they are confident that supply chains can weather the strike, with that view also reportedly being shared

by independent analysts. But that's not to say that there's not gonna be an impact, with one of the things to note being that smaller retailers likely haven't had the same opportunities to develop workarounds. And on top of that, right, the ultimate impact of the strike, it really all depends on how long it actually lasts.

With one analyst, for example, telling the Washington Post, if we see a strike that lasts for less than a week, we think it's relatively digestible for the system. But that same analyst also said, the parties are very far apart. We think it's going to be a fairly acrimonious negotiation. And actually, to that point, yesterday, the union responded to an offer from the companies

with a statement saying, the ocean carriers represented by USMX "'want to enjoy rich billion dollar profits "'that they are making in 2024 "'while they offer ILA longshore workers "'an unacceptable wage package that we reject.'" And as far as that offer they turned down, reportedly it would have increased pay by nearly 50% as well

as tripled employer contributions to employee retirement plans and strengthen healthcare options. With apparently the union asking for what would amount to a 77% pay raise over the six-year life of the contract, and the union's president saying that is necessary to make up for inflation and years of small raises. But that said, right, the pay isn't the only issue here.

In fact, it might not even be the biggest, right? Because the union's other main demand is a complete ban on automation, with that including the use of automated cranes, gates, and container-moving trucks for unloading or loading freight. And there, with that 50% raise offer, the companies only agreed to retain the current language around automation and semi-automation, which the union says is insufficient. And so with all that, right, with them seemingly so far apart, if this goes

more than just even a few weeks, I mean, it could have a pretty big impact on the nation's supply chain, potentially leading to higher prices and delays in goods reaching households and businesses. And in fact, I mean, we're already seeing the signs. With the Port of New York and New Jersey being the largest of more than a dozen major ports affected by the strike. And according to New York officials, some three dozen cargo ships are expected to arrive

in the next week that won't be able to unload. And then on top of that, there are approximately 100,000 shipping containers stranded on the docks already. Though again, for consumers, it's not expected that there's gonna be an immediate impact on the actual availability of goods in stores. Though the one notable exception is bananas.

Because as it turns out, here's your fun random fact of the day, the affected ports reportedly handle 75% of the nation's supply. But for now, we're gonna have to wait to see how big the impact is. Because I mean, this is gonna cost millions every day. In fact, one think tank estimated

that just a week long strike would lead to $3.78 billion in economic losses. Which is also why there's a ton of pressure on Biden from business groups and also a lot of Republicans to invoke something called the Taft-Hartley Act, which is something that would allow him to suspend the strike for 80 days. But administration officials have repeatedly said

he won't take that action to prevent a strike and that the dispute should be resolved through collective bargaining. And this notably as like, if this doesn't get resolved, the impacts are only gonna get more visible as we move closer to the election. But then Julian Assange just spoke for the very first time since he became a free man back in June.

Because as you may remember, he was in England's maximum security Belmarsh prison for five years and trapped in the Ecuadorian embassy in London claiming political asylum for seven years before that. And this is the US Justice Department was trying to get him extradited so he could be prosecuted under the Espionage Act.

But then finally in June of this year, the DOJ reached a plea deal with Assange. With that, having him serve five years, which he'd already done in Belmarsh, so in effect, he was set free. Now with that, at the time, his wife Stella said he needed time to recuperate before speaking publicly about really anything.

But apparently he was ready today because he went to France and spoke before the Legal Affairs and Human Rights Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, which is an international body that includes lawmakers from 46 European countries. And there we saw a few notable moments from his address, first being what he chose not to say.

I am yet not fully equipped to speak about what I have endured, the relentless struggle to stay alive, both physically and mentally, nor can I speak yet about the deaths by hanging, murder, and medical neglect of my fellow prisoners. But Assange was willing to talk about his struggle for freedom, and there he didn't pull any punches, with him explaining that facing up to 175 years in prison, he chose freedom over unrealizable justice. Justice for me is now prec precluded as the US government insisted in writing into its plea agreement that I cannot file a case at the European Court of Human Rights or even a Freedom of Information Act request over what it did to me as a result of its extradition request.

I want to be totally clear. I am not free today because the system worked. I am free today after years of incarceration because I pled guilty to journalism. With Assange then later on devoting a large chunk of his speech to just slamming the CIA, and in that under Pompeo's explicit direction, the CIA drew up plans to kidnap and to assassinate me within the Ecuadorian embassy in London. A CIA asset was permanently assigned to track my wife, and instructions were given to obtain DNA from my six-month-old son's nappy. And as for the rest of it, he talked a lot about the war crimes, torture, and surveillance WikiLeaks has uncovered. But I'm also thanking all his supporters

for sticking by his side and reiterating the need to protect free speech in a free press. With that, my friends, is the end of your daily dive into the news. For more news you need to know, you can click or tap right there. If you want to get in on this month's DeFranco Book Club, you can go ahead and use these QR codes,

or I got links in the description. But as always, my name's Philip DeFranco. You've just been filled in. I love yo faces, and I'll see you right back here tomorrow.