The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 10.5 School Shooter Gains 250,000 Followers After Going Viral, Andrew Tate Threats & Denial & Todays News

Episode Date: October 5, 2023

Just go to https://www.zocdoc.com/phil  and download the Zocdoc app for FREE. Then find and book a top-rated doctor today!  Thanks to Keeps for sponsoring this video! Head to https://keeps.com/defranco to get a special offer  Go Buy http://WakeandMakeCoffee.com 50% OFF select orders! This new batch won’t last long. Catch up on our latest PDS: https://youtu.be/SnGaLN4JC-0?si=qhmc7O1g8YoxqN4b Check out our daily newsletter! http://dailydip.co/pds  Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/phillydefranco/?hl=en  –✩ TODAY’S STORIES ✩ – 00:00 - Backlash Mounts as School Shooter Rises on TikTok 03:57 - Andrew Tate Accused of Silencing & Threatening Accusers 05:43 - Brain Reaches Higher Consciousness Before Death, Study Finds 07:57 - SNL, Talk Shows, & Late Night Programs Resume After Strike 10:05 - Sponsored by ZocDoc 11:09 - Twitter Removes Headlines From Linked Posts 13:29 - Ohio Gov. Dispands Ed. Department, Gives Himself Powers Over Education 17:11 - Biden Admin. Allows Border Wall Construction in Texas 18:44 - Sponsored by Keeps 19:37 - The U.S. Wants to Play With Your DNA, Too 27:03 - What You All Thought of Yesterday’s Stories ——————————   Produced by: Cory Ray Edited by: James Girardier, Maxx Enright, Julie Goldberg, Christian Meeks Art Department: William Crespo Writing/Research: Philip DeFranco, Brian Espinoza, Lili Stenn, Maddie Crichton, Star Pralle, Chris Tolve  ———————————— #DeFranco #AndrewTate #BadBunny ———————————— Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, we're talking about people furious that a school shooter on TikTok has gained 250,000 followers after going viral. Andrew Tate's now being accused of silencing, threatening, and intimidating victims. We break down the scary and startling tactics police are now using to collect DNA evidence. Ohio's education system is in complete chaos because of a power grab. New research exposes what happens when you're dying. We're talking about all that and so much more on today's extra large Philip DeFranco show. You daily dive into the news, so just make sure you're subscribed and let's jump into it. Starting with, I'm going to warn you, this is a nasty, messy story that has a lot of people infuriated. And at the center of it,

you have the question of how does or can a person who did one of the worst things imaginable redeem themselves? And in this case, that person reportedly is an emotionally disturbed 16 year old boy who we're going to call Jay. I will not be showing his face or name because we have certain rules about certain types of people. So he was treated for depression and anxiety, according to his fellow students at a high school in upstate New York. With his behavior then worsening over the years until one spring, he was barred from attending classes in person and given homeschooling instead. With him then returning to school in the fall and classmates who knew him well a few years earlier said he was a dramatically different person. One girl saying he just became more of a freak. He was depressed and he just didn't care because he

lost all his friends. With that then bringing us to February of 2004, when Jay stepped inside of his high school carrying a pump action shotgun. With him later claiming that his intention wasn't to kill, but to be killed and that he only fired into the ceiling twice and waited for the cops to arrive. But we'll never really know for sure what he was actually planning to do because an assistant principal tackled him from behind. And as they were wrestling, the gun went off a third time, hitting a teacher's leg. Luckily, that teacher survived, was treated at the hospital and released, but Jay was convicted for attempted murder, and he spent the next 17 years in prison. But I'm also writing a letter to the Albany Times Union about a year into his sentence saying,

It was the worst mistake I ever made, and now I want to make sure others don't make the same mistake. And adding, it was said that I studied Columbine and was trying to repeat it. That's just ridiculous. Plenty of things were said by the DA that were ridiculous, like that I wasn't sorry. I prayed for all those who were affected on that day. I've apologized to many and been forgiven by many more. And then, after serving his sentence in 2020, he walked out. But actually, that is where the controversy begins, because he then hopped on TikTok and began preaching his message. With him advocating for better mental health care and stricter gun control, arguing that there needs to be more focus

on the emotional mindset people are in when they do bad things. Right, and essentially positioning himself as this so-called like reformed school shooter who's dedicating his life to fixing the issues that drove him to do what he did. And by doing that, he's actually racked up over 250,000 followers on TikTok.

But now, as he's gained more and more attention, a lot of people strongly believe he does not deserve to have this platform. With him saying he's exploiting his disgusting past for clout and building a huge following off of the suffering of others. And arguing that if he really cared about preventing gun violence, he would work quietly behind the scenes and not do it through social media fame. There is a, there is need for reconciliation, but there's also things that someone can do that there is no reconciliation for. It is so rare for somebody to actually admit that they did something wrong and then to unpack that.

And that is not what this guy is doing. Because I just don't think that you can unpack walking into a school with the intent to shoot children ever. Some have also accused Jay of only caring about the mental health of young white men because they say he doesn't talk about the ties between white privilege and supremacy in school shootings. I'm there pointing to a video in which he tells a

story from last year about how a black man attacked him with swords at a homeless shelter that he worked at. According to Jay, the man who left him badly injured called him the white devil, and Jay used this to show that you can be racist toward white people. So now, Jay's disabled the comments on his TikTok, but he's still been defending himself in videos and in statements to the media, with, for example, him telling Insider, I can never undo what I have done, the pain and trauma that I have caused upon so many, but I am working toward preventing others from experiencing that same pain and suffering.

And adding, my goal is not redemption for the school shooting I committed. My goal is prevention of other school shootings. But again, you have people saying, this is all a smokescreen, it's a ruse, arguing that he's showing radicalized people, hey, you can be a school shooter and there's light at the end of the tunnel.

You can use it as a way to gain online fame if you just say you've repented. But ultimately with this situation and news, I want to pass the question off to you. Where do you stand on this? What are your thoughts on it in general? But also, should he have this platform? Yes, no, why, why not? I'd love to hear from you.

And then Andrew Tate has been silencing, threatening, and intimidating his alleged victims. That is what lawyers representing those women said at a press conference in Romania today. And according to the Associated Press, legal teams representing both the women suing him in the UK as well as witnesses in the Romania case spoke at the press conference, issuing a joint statement saying, these threats will not work. They will not prevent people from coming forward and they will not prevent courts around the world from hearing their cases. We encourage people to play their part in stopping the spread of disinformation online and to think carefully about how their words in these spaces can affect people already suffering immensely. And as for how this alleged

harassment is playing out, you advise noting that Tate's followers have been posting the names, photos, and other personal information about the accusers online. One account, for example, being pointed out that has nearly 100,000 followers posting this information while labeling an accuser as a liar. The lawyer is also claiming that Tate has threatened to reveal their identities and to sue the UK accusers with Matthew Jury, the lawyer representing the UK women, saying, This is a blatant attempt to threaten and intimidate our clients, as it is self-evident from Mr. Tate's behavior that anyone who speaks out against him will be subjected to extraordinary abuse online, and most concerningly, in person.

With the lawyers then further claiming that Tate uses his massive group of online followers, many of whom they claim are recruited through a so-called educational platform, The Real World, to organize these attacks against the alleged victims, and going so far as to accuse Tate of using, quote, children and vulnerable men to spread messages on his behalf. For his part, Tate has sued a Florida-based woman who made allegations related to the Romania case, and a lawyer says that those being sued are terrified

because people have gone to their places of work to threaten them. Though according to the AP regarding all this, Andrew Tate's lawyer denied these claims. Vice reporting that Tate's representatives even showed up to the press conference to disrupt proceedings, which the lawyer said was ironic ironic and adding, this was a press conference about the harassment and intimidation of witnesses and survivors. They showed that their only response is to harass. But seemingly, as always with these updates,

there's a back and forth with Tate. More claims, more allegations, then more denial on his end. And so like it's been the case since they were first arrested and everything has happened. We're going to have to wait to see what happens from here. And then your heart stops, your brain flatlines. By any definition of the word, you are dead. Or maybe not. And I say that because a team of scientists observed patients in 25 hospitals around the world as they suffered cardiac arrest and they underwent CPR.

And while the doctors and nurses worried about saving the patients' lives, researchers stuck electrodes to their heads and what they found was shocking. Even though to the doctors, the patients appear to be totally comatose, on the inside, 40% of them experienced a heightened level of consciousness

that's inaccessible to the living, which casts doubt on the long-held belief that after five or 10 minutes of oxygen deprivation, the brain begins to die. Instead, this study suggests that the brain goes into kind of a hibernation. The researchers observed surges of brain activity up to an hour after cardiac arrest.

Now, reportedly, these aren't dreams or delusions or hallucinations that we're talking about, and technically speaking, they're not even near-death experiences. Rather, these patients had what the lead researcher terms as recalled experiences of death, with the brain showing signs of higher mental function as if they were fully conscious during chest compressions. And as far as why this happens, the study's authors guessed that when the electrical activity in the brain flatlines, the so-called breaking systems that filter out certain parts of it from your consciousness stop working.

So essentially, you unlock your entire brain all at once, triggering a state of disinhibition that quote, appears to facilitate lucid understanding of new dimensions of reality, including people's deeper consciousness, all memories, thoughts, intentions, and actions towards others from a moral and ethical perspective. With many survivors even saying they went back to a place like their childhood home and reviewed their life from beginning to end. Some also saying a light, a tunnel, or a family member feeling intense emotions like love, peace, and tranquility. But also, not all experiences were so wonderful. Some people were recalling visions of faceless figures or monsters, a recognition that they had died, or a separation from their body. So now, with this study, it could influence not only practical stuff like how we restart the heart,

prevent brain injuries, and do transplants, but also how we understand life, death, and human consciousness. And so I guess with that, I want to ask you the kind of basic and simple question of what happens when we die? What do you think? Tell me right now. For me personally, and I'm not a fan that I feel like this, I think it's just a black void of nothingness. But if I could choose, although I don't know if I would actually choose this, I would say that when you die, you begin a process of being reincarnated as people you were nice and horrible to. Because if that were to happen, the idea that what goes around comes around, that could actually be true for the first time ever. Because, you know, as I've lived my life, there are just a lot of people who have done so much good that really

never get it back. And there have also been just such horrible people that have never been held accountable. Anyway, I forgot this was a news show. Let's keep going. And then TV is finally coming back, or at least kind of. Writer's strike is over. The actors still fighting their fight. But this week we saw it start with late night television, largely resuming on Monday. And as much crap as people talk on the internet, based off the ratings, it was actually missed. With Jimmy Kimmel, for example,

scoring his highest rated season opener in six years. Jimmy Fallon also seeing a 19% viewer bump compared to the same time last year. But also, to be fair, it is too early to see if these kinds of rating bumps are gonna stick. Right, some could have just been interested to see what they were gonna say, given that they were coming back.

Also, in general, we know that absence makes the heart grow fonder. Or you haven't seen your ex in a while and because they're not there, you forgot all those things that made you hate them. And or, their fantastic returns could also be because there's mostly nothing else that's come back for a new fall season.

But that said, there's more shows coming back soon. You got Saturday Night Live set for October 14th. Announcing its return with Pete Davidson and Ice Spice, followed by the next week with Bad Bunny, which I will say, a lot of people were actually confused there, because unlike late night shows, which are just conversational talk shows, SNL involves skits and characters and, well, acting. With people saying, isn't this a violation of the actor's strike? But no, actually, Pete, Ice Spice, Bad Bunny, everyone involved, they're not scabbing. With SNL actually allowed

to return during the strike, and even the Screen Actors Guild releasing a statement saying they support the show's return in clarifying, they are not in violation of SAG-AFTRA strike rules, and we support them in fulfilling their contractual obligations. The program is a SAG-AFTRA non-dramatic production under a separate agreement that is not subject to the union strike order. It's a different contract than the one that's on strike, and actually, if they didn't return, they'd be in legal trouble. With them explaining, by not showing up to work, our performers can be held in breach of contract, and the union is prohibited from advising them not to work. You also have a bunch of talk shows with return dates including Kelly Clarkson and Jennifer Hudson. There you also had Drew Barrymore announcing plans to return but also again landing in controversy. Because as you might

remember Drew said that her show was going to be coming back even though the writer's strike was still ongoing. Then defending that choice a couple of times until the backlash just became too enormous and she walked it back. But now that the writer's strike is done and her show actually has a return date she may not have some writers. With the Hollywood is saying that her three writers have declined to return after the controversy. Though notably, her show is now interviewing for new writers all in compliance with Guild rules. But for now, that's where we are. We're seeing this slow rollout. In general, a lot of these shows are probably going to have limited guest options.

Though notably, in terms of the SAG strike, negotiations are still ongoing. But The Union reportedly meeting with the studios a few times this week and having plans to continue on Friday and Monday. But for now, we're going to have to wait to see how that plays out. And then fall is here. Weather is changing up. Kids are back in school. And you know, they are just a sponge for germs that they then bring home. When it comes to our health, I think we all think that's pretty important, right? But in reality, the problem lies with finding the right doctor who suits you, getting an appointment that aligns with your schedule, and oh, do they take your insurance? Well, thanks to the fantastic partner and sponsor of today's show, ZocDoc, this doesn't have to be a chore. Just download the free app that millions of others

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ZocDoc.com slash Phil and download the ZocDoc app for free. Then find and book a top rated doctor today. That's Z-O-C-D-O-C.com slash Phil. ZocDoc.com slash Phil. And then, yo, anytime you look at Elon Musk and he just did something and you're like, that's the dumbest decision he's ever made. I would correct you and say, that's the dumbest decision he's ever made yet. Because this man is an out of the box thinker. He just, he's ruining things in ways I never would have guessed.

Like when we use any of our social media platforms, he's ruining things in ways I never would have guessed. Like, when we use any of our social media platforms, there's so much on there that we take for granted. Like, just basic functionality things that allow us to enjoy something or utilize something well. And it's usually not until those things go away where you go, oh my god, we had it so good. And I say that because in the olden times, right, before yesterday, when someone tweeted out a link, it would show you a photo from the site along with the site's website and a headline, right? All things to let you know, hey, what is this actually about? But now when you link something out in that tweet, all you have is a photo with the outlet's website in the corner. Just to

indicate that it's not just a photo, it is a link. But nowhere is the actual headline. As far as why they have made this confusing change, well, it's actually because Elon Musk says he's been planning for a while and saying that it will greatly improve the aesthetics. So I think it's also incredibly important to point out all of this is happening as Musk is trying to get people to post more content directly onto X, instead of linking out, hoping that it's gonna boost engagement and increase time spent on Twitter.

But already, this has been an absolute disaster with outlets like CNBC noting it's just confused people by showing just the graphic alone. If you just scroll and it looks like a picture and nothing more, with people sharing posts and noting, a normal person, someone not following every X slash Twitter development

would not even know an article was shared here. Wild. And so also with this, we've seen people unsurprisingly using this new change to troll Elon himself. Right, because now that the context of the headline is gone, you can share links to various articles about him, but then you have people tweeting

that he died in embarrassing ways, he got his penis cut off, or he endorsed Joe Biden. But then you also have others who are just seriously annoyed and saying things like, the last year of Twitter is essentially just an experiment in taking a website that revolves around news slash information and making it as hostile as possible to the people and organizations that do news gathering.

And people saying it makes the site less usable, less appealing, less accurate. And some joking, go ahead, click on that photo. Maybe it's a link. Maybe it's not. You feel lucky, punk? You know, really, every time we see a change that is this dumb. In my head, the thought that Elon Musk purchased this platform to actually damage good information sharing becomes a little more valid. Like, the goal was to create uncertainty and chaos going into an election year.

Because the only other option is he's just fucking stupid. Or like a full-blown narcissist that, like, jerks off to the idea of inconveniencing people, right? But, that said, that's the story, some of my thoughts on it. Now I'll pass the question off to you, whether you agree or you disagree with me, what are your thoughts here? And then Ohio's whole education system is in total chaos. I mean, we're talking about a situation where no one knows who's actually running the state's education department or if that department even exists. So let me explain, right? Ohio's education department has long been run by the state board of education, which exercises authority over many of the most important powers.

Things like setting the curriculum, choosing textbooks, facilitating funding, and selecting the superintendent, among other things. And for the last 70 years, Ohio voters have been in charge of electing 11 of the 19 state board members. And that after the voters themselves approved a referendum to change the state constitution. With this being in the most recent election, the people of Ohio choosing three members who were backed by Democrats in the teachers union. And those three new members notably displacing conservative members. And so that decision was widely hailed by Democrats as a middle finger to the far right education agenda

that we've seen in red states all over America, especially as the three winners defeated conservative candidates that ran on culture war issues. But what we ended up seeing were Republicans so threatened by these three board members that they literally said, you know what, let's just get rid of the education department. So the Republican held legislature passed a measure that dissolved the Ohio Department of Education and replaced it with a new agency called the Department of Education and Workforce, and it totally overhauled the power structures that have been in place for decades. You know, because why run on important and popular issues and try to make positive change when you can just fucking dissolve things

when things don't go your way? When the people you're supposed to represent and help, they don't do what you want, right? And not only did the measure strip the state board of most of its authority, it also gave the governor a ton of new control over education in the state by giving him the sole ability to fill the agency with his own appointees, right? Specifically, the measure would take control away from the state board and superintendent and give it to a director appointed by the governor. And the legislation would also allow the governor to appoint all of the 19 board members, taking the power away from the voters.

You know, even the way the GOP passed this measure was sketchy as fuck, right? Despite the fact that it had been proposed by a lawmaker as a standalone proposal in March, the Republican state legislature decided to tack it on to a totally unrelated budget bill to fund the government as a last minute rider. With that bill then being passed and signed into law by Republican governor Mike DeWine.

And that prompting seven members of the now essentially defunct board of educators to file a lawsuit arguing that this move is unconstitutional on several grounds. First, the group claims that the overhaul is unconstitutional because it strips away the power of a citizen-elected body that was literally created by the state constitution while also giving too much undue power to the governor. They also allege that the legislature broke multiple constitutional requirements for passing laws when it stuffed this measure into a budget

bill as a rider. This, including a rule stating that bills cannot contain more than one subject, and another requires legislation to have a certain number of readings before they can be passed. And then just days after that lawsuit was filed, a judge temporarily blocked a Republican education overhaul from going into effect. Then just this week, we saw that judge extend the temporary restraining order until October 20th,

asking for both sides to present more information to determine if the new law should be put on hold completely while the legal battle plays out. But then, despite that ruling, DeWine decided, it's fine, I'm just gonna do it anyway, with him arguing that the order stopped some of the overhaul from happening, but not all of it. Claiming that regardless of the court order, the law would still go into effect Tuesday at midnight, as mandated under the budget bill. And as of that time, the Ohio Department of

Education would cease to exist, and the Department of Education and Workforce would officially be launched. But notably here, DeWine said that his administration would comply with the order by not taking any affirmative action on major decisions, like appointing the new director of the agency. Though he still claimed that the new agency will officially take over day-to-day operations like school funding and other essential functions of government. But there you have experts noting that this is just an interpretation of the court order that DeWine and his lawyers are running with. So legally speaking, it's still technically unclear if the education department still exists or if there's a new one. And also, which of these two is actually in control? With the plaintiffs in the lawsuit filing a motion asking the judge to add specific language to the order,

explicitly saying the old department would still stand and operate until the legal matters resolved. And so that's where we are. We're waiting to see what happens, but it's just a huge fucking mess. Republicans, again, trying to gobble up power, undo the will of the people. And while I know that I'm largely speaking to the choir here, there's just the question, I guess, for the people that end up being more on the fence, or they say that things are, like, equally bad on both sides. How many times are people going to show you who they are until you believe them? People who treat democracy as a pesky thing that needs to be stomped out.

And then the Biden administration is now restarting Trump's signature policy, building a wall. But the administration yesterday announcing that it was waiving 26 different federal laws on the environment, public health, and cultural preservation in order to resume construction on sections of the border wall in Texas. A move that notably marks a massive shift for Biden, who quickly signed an executive order halting construction on the border wall when he assumed office in 2021. With that order reading, it shall be the policy of my administration that no more American taxpayer dollars be diverted to construct a border wall. And at the time adding,

building a massive wall that spans the entire southern border is not a serious policy solution. It is a waste of money that diverts attention from genuine threats to our homeland security. And in a notice outlining this new move, the Homeland Security Secretary wrote, there is presently an acute and immediate need to construct physical barriers and roads in the vicinity of the border of the United States in order to prevent unlawful entries into the United States. And adding, I have determined that it is necessary that I exercise the authority that is vested in me. But also very significantly here, he noted that the funding for the wall comes from money that had been appropriated by Congress in 2019, before Biden took office. And the notice also stating

that this move still complies with Biden's executive order, which just pertained to new funds, but still allowed for already allocated money to be spent as required. And actually, to that point, despite the fact that the current DHS secretary seemed to be arguing in favor of the wall, it seems like Biden himself opposes this move full-heartedly. With him telling reporters today that he didn't want to fund the wall, but his hands were tied by Congress. Saying the money was appropriated for the border wall. I tried to get them to reappropriate, to redirect that money.

They didn't. They wouldn't. Also saying in the meantime, there's nothing under the law other than they have to use the money for what it was appropriated for. I can't stop that. And when asked if he thought the border wall was effective, Biden even responded, no, seemingly contradicting his DHS secretary. And then, listen y'all, it is normal and quite common to think about how to

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Last week, we talked about China's quest for genetic data. But today, we're going to dive deeper into what's going on here in the US. Because the data collection here rivals China. In fact, according to an analysis of FBI data done by The Intercept, the agency has amassed 21.7 million DNA profiles, nearly 7% of the US population. In fact, the US.S. actually surpassed China's DNA accumulation until 2017 when the country started a sweeping new collection program. And actually, the year the program was announced, the BBC reported that China had collected about

2.9% of its population's genetic material, but the U.S. had it beat with around 4%. And while it's impossible to really know how much China has collected since then, a 2020 study estimated that China planned to collect DNA samples from around 35 to 70 million Chinese men and boys, which is roughly 5 to 10% of its entire male population. And with this, of course, one of the key things is the reasons for collecting data and how that data is used are very, very different between the two countries. But the fact that we can even compare the scale of these things is a major red flag for all Americans, especially because DNA collection efforts have massively ramped up in recent years in America. You know, they're only expected to keep growing and growing. I mean, the FBI first started creating a DNA database in the 90s, and by 1998, it helped

build a national database called the Combined DNA Index System, or CODIS. And that was used in all 50 states. Now, each state would manage its own databases and set its own regulations. Law enforcement officials would submit samples based on those rules, and all the states were allowed to search each other's data. But that data was much more limited initially, with DNA only being collected from people who were convicted of crimes, crime scenes, and unidentified bodies. And even gathering genetic material from those categories was unpopular for a while.

In fact, according to The Intercept, when CODIS first launched, most states did not submit DNA from all people convicted of felonies. The only point of consensus among the state's collection programs was to take DNA from convicted sex offenders. But over time, they started expanding those regulations

more and more, allowing for more and more samples to be collected. And the outlet reporting that now, police can take DNA samples from anyone sentenced for a felony charge anywhere in the country. And in more than half of states, they can collect DNA from suspects who have just been arrested for a felony but not convicted. In some cases, authorities even offer people charged with felonies plea deals to have the offense reduced to a misdemeanor in exchange for their DNA sample. And beyond all that, The Intercept has also previously reported that law enforcement has been able to collect DNA samples from people who explicitly opted out of sharing their DNA sample. And beyond all that, The Intercept has also previously reported that law enforcement has been able to collect DNA samples

from people who explicitly opted out of sharing their DNA with police on the commercial database GEDmatch, which is a 23andMe-like company where people can send in their DNA to find out their ancestry. With The Intercept describing this as a disturbing example of DNA companies

and law enforcement just straight up ignoring privacy rules. And the scary thing here is that it's totally unclear how common this even is. The outlet actually explaining that this is in part because police and prosecutors have fought to keep details of genetic investigations from being turned over to criminal defendants. This isn't the only instance The Intercept flagged of law enforcement and DNA companies using genetic testing for cases that aren't eligible under company and DOJ rules. This including a prison break in Nebraska, as well as similar

alleged violations of law enforcement data sharing policies by the companies MyHeritage and Ancestry.com. With the outlet also adding that as commercial DNA databases grow and genealogy is increasingly used in crime fighting, experts say the genetic privacy of millions of Americans is in jeopardy. But this also isn't the only factor at play here. In fact, the huge increases in DNA gathering that we've seen in the last couple of years have largely been driven by a Trump-era policy that mandated collection from migrants who were arrested or detained by Border Patrol. With that policy first announced back in 2019, and despite the fact that it got massive blowback from civil liberty and immigration advocates,

Biden has never reversed it. And in a statement to Congress this April explaining the FBI's annual budget request, the agency's director, Christopher Wray, specifically cited this policy as a reason for the huge spike in the FBI's genetic material collection. Writing, during the past 12 months, the FBI has received an average

of 92,000 DNA samples per month, over 10 times the historical sample volume. With him then going on to add that he anticipates even more DNA samples with the end of Title 42, or the pandemic policy that let the U.S. expel migrants without allowing them to apply for asylum first. Saying he expects increased detentions to add another 50,000 samples, bringing the total monthly samples to 120,000

and the total annual to over 1.4 million. So as a result, the FBI has requested that Congress allocate nearly double the agency's current $56.7 million budget for managing the DNA catalog. And the budget request explicitly stating that this funding will allow the FBI to process the rapidly increasing number of DNA samples collected by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. And what's more is that experts also say that the FBI's DNA database will get even bigger as collection technology continues to advance. And it's even those advances in recent years that have paved the way for the current situation that we're in now. With even places like The Intercept noting that the process

of collecting DNA used to be way more involved. It had to be done manually in a lab and that would often take months. But now we've totally automated rapid DNA analysis that can develop a genetic profile in just hours without the need for a lab. With Vera Eidelman, a staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union who specializes in genetic privacy, telling the outlet, when surveillance technology gets cheaper, easier, and faster to use, it tends to get used more often in ways that are troubling. And like I say, when we're talking about things like AI, this is the worst the technology will ever be again. It is only going to get better and better and more sophisticated from here, which is why already we've seen many experts raising concerns about new DNA collection methods, such as environmental DNA or eDNA,

which is DNA that has been shed by organisms, including humans in the form of dead skin, hair, poop, or even just their breath, just scattered around the environments they live in. So instead of gathering DNA samples directly, eDNA is collected from a range of places where those organisms left their genetic material, like soil, wastewater, and the air. And understand, like, this isn't a crazy theory

of something that might happen. Scientists have actually been using this technology for years to find invasive species, track vulnerable wildlife, monitor COVID and other pathogens and wastewater. Now, for the scientists who collect eDNA, because their work is focused on the environment, the human DNA they gather is just pollution that mucks up their data. But you have experts worried that this technology is going to be used to intentionally collect human DNA. With Aaron

Murphy, a law professor at NYU School of Law, telling the New York Times that the new DNA collection technologies are, quote, like catnip for law enforcement. And you have many alarmed because Murphy also said there is basically nothing that can prevent law enforcement from trying out new tech, explaining it's a total wild west, a free-for-all. The understanding is police can sort of do whatever they want unless it's explicitly prohibited. For example, we could see a situation

where law enforcement officials could collect eDNA at crime scenes and use that to incriminate people. And that's especially scary because the scientists who actually develop these technologies say they aren't mature enough for that yet. Because there are still a lot of fundamental things that aren't understood about eDNA yet, like how it travels and degrades. What's more, the sequencing method that is currently used

for eDNA collection has a way higher error rate than other older technologies. So a sample that may seem like a great lead could be totally bogus. That raises the possibility that anyone who passed by a crime scene days before could become a suspect and have their DNA put in a database, even if they're totally innocent. And all that could be done legally because over the last few decades, prosecutors and courts have increasingly argued that once DNA is no longer attached to a person, it's abandoned. So police don't need a warrant to gather. And despite the fact that the eDNA science is not there at all, law enforcement could start to use this tech. Or, I mean, they could be using it already and we wouldn't know because police are very selective about disclosing when they start

using technologies, even to other government agencies. Meanwhile, there's basically nothing to protect the public from these practices at large because there aren't workable legal definitions of DNA. Like whether it's personal property or data, who owns it once it's collected. And experts like Eidelman, the ACLU lawyer, saying the evolution of these technologies and the rapid expansion of DNA collection are getting us ever closer to a universal DNA database. And saying the very key thing that a government database to everyone's DNA is a recipe for abuse. Arguing. A universal database really just would subvert our ideas of autonomy and freedom and the presumption of

innocence. It would be saying that it makes sense for the government to track us at any time based on our private information. Our DNA is personal and sensitive. It can expose our propensity for serious health problems, family members, and ancestry. With other experts specifically saying that when it comes to new technologies like eDNA collection, there are serious concerns that it could be used to surveil certain groups, like people with disabilities and medical conditions, or find and persecute minority populations. But with all that said, I gotta now pass the question off to you. What are your thoughts here? Do you think this is a slippery slope?

It's a bad idea? This can only lead to abuse? Or do you think the concern's overblown? Where do you stand and what are your thoughts? And then let's talk about yesterday today, where we take a look back at yesterday's show, where we covered a lot of news. We dive into those comments and see what story stood out the most to you. What were your thoughts, opinions, your experiences, and more? Starting with a chunk of the conversation in those comments being taken over by the conspiracy theory story, where the

people who were preparing for the end of days because they thought the emergency alert test that went out yesterday was gonna activate something with people that got the vaccine and they were gonna turn into zombies. With some noting that now that the writer's strike is over, there might be a lot of untapped potential out there. People saying,

these conspiracy theorists in America should really take creative writing classes. They'd write some banging stories. I also, with this story, kind of mentioned yesterday that I was glad that there was no one in my close family that was like this, but that was not the case for a number of you.

With people sharing things like, QAnon really is tearing families apart. I have a close friend slash mother figure who's gone deep down the rabbit hole, and it's really fucking depressing to hear that she thinks that the world's going to end and everything is pointless every single day. She lost her daughter to suicide and her husband left because of the QAnon stuff. She's losing everything at clinging on to QAnon with both hands. Some also noting the nonsensical aspects of this specific conspiracy theory. With some saying, I love how people think that the government would warn you before attacking you with a malevolent signal. And some adding, my favorite thing with this emergency test is the last time this was done, we saw a ton of boomers and older people calling teens and 20s too soft for the emergency broadcast, triggering their anxiety.

And to quote, get over it, Trump has access to your phone, sweetie. But now the same older people who yelled at teenagers four years ago are in a panic covering their house in tinfoil and freaking out that this is all some grand conspiracy. Then, regarding the iShow speed controversy, we had a number of different opinions. We had people like Jake who wrote, It's a super hot take, but maybe it's better to have influencers try something and show the stupid outcome. More specifically, to something like this that's an experiment, take a personal example. Then going on to give a personal example where they did a video with dry eyes and off-camera, they had scuba tanks that they used to get air.

Saying if you watch a video, you might think, think wow that's an awesome idea i want to try it and then suffocate not knowing the steps we had put into place to not have that happen to us but because that was all cut out you would never know regardless of the warnings we gave and so saying in contrast you have speed do it in his room and almost die and you go yeah maybe that's a bad idea though noting again it's specific to an experiment but it is an interesting way to look at it with others noting that in the kind of age that we're in, where everyone's kind of looking for views regardless of anything, the message that might get promoted is do some really dumb shit, put your life at risk, get it clipped, and then you might go viral. With some saying, I'm just convinced that Speed's gonna be one of the first content creators to lose their life for views.

So there, I would say, if that did happen, he would not be the first, but he might be one of the biggest. There's actually no shortage of stupid stories like this. I mean, do you remember that we covered it a long time ago? The person that was like, can you shoot through a book? And they held the book in front of them. And it's unfortunate, but you know, that is also kind of the nature of the internet. It casts a massive spotlight. It exposes both the best and the worst of humanity, the most genius and the most idiot. And that is where your daily dive into the news is going to end today. But for more news you need to know right now, I got you covered right here. You can

click or tap to watch that, or I got links in the description. And 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 next time for more news.