The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 11.14 Ethan Klein Situation Got Worse, The Onion Bought InfoWars, Sydney Sweeney Slams Fake Women, & More

Episode Date: November 14, 2024

7 Things To Know Today… Go to http://ridge.com/defranco  to get up to 47% off the Ridge Holiday Sale.  Go to http:/ /meundies.com/philipdefranco and use code philipdefranco to get 20% off and free shipping. – ✩ TODAY’S STORIES ✩ – 00:00 - Ethan Klein Faces Backlash For Playing “Twitch or Terrorist” Game 03:35 - The Onion Wins Infowars Bid 05:42 - Sydney Sweeney Says Women in Hollywood Don't Actually Support Other Women  08:16 - 4 Arrested For Dressing as Bears to Trash Cars in Insurance Fraud Scheme  10:22 - Sponsored by Ridge 11:33 - Trump Taps Matt Gaetz for AG, Stoking Questions for Senate Republicans 17:34 - Sponsored by MeUndies 18:42 - FBI Raids the Home of Polymarket CEO 20:30 - Netanyahu Reportedly Working on Lebanon Cease-Fire Deal as ‘Gift’ to Trump ——————————   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 #EthanKlein #RFKJr ———————————— 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. We have so much to talk about today, domestic and international, big, small, political, social, but let's start with some internet controversy news. This has really started blowing up more and more, so let's talk about Ethan Klein and Hasan Piker.

They're both big creators in the streaming and podcast space, they're former co-hosts. You know, with this specific situation, it starts and is mainly focused on Ethan Klein, who's facing backlash again. And this time it was over a game that he played on his podcast yesterday. Today, my friends,

we are gonna play the exciting game here. You at home, play along. We're gonna play, is it Twitch or is it a terrorist? Let's take a look here, guys. Start. You know, there's more to the game, but even just that part right there alone that faced tons of backlash.

With a number of people think that it was wrong that the opening image was a side-by-side of Hasan Piker and Osama bin Laden. And in fact, at a later point in the game, you had someone from H3's team, AB, even calling that out. I don't know who made this, but yeah, I'm not a fan of the Hassan and Osama on the front page. They need to-

Well, at least, well, at least, if they're gonna compare them, I mean, I'll guess. Right, and so with all this, it appears that they were playing a game from a website called TwitchOrTerrorist.com. And to play, you had to read quotes and guess if a Twitch streamer or a terrorist said it. And they all ended up being Twitch streamer quotes.

Mostly from other creators by the name of like Sneeko and Myron, who've been heavily criticized for antisemitism in the past for posts like these, which made its way into the game. But it also included one post each from Hassan and Frogan, who's another creator Ethan's called out and feuded with in the past. But again, most ended up being from creators Sneeko

and Myron, so he ended up closing the game by saying. You're right though, that game sucks. It was just not enough variety. It didn't prove anything. Cause all the anti-Semites was just like Myron and Sneeko. And so all that happens. But then once the clips of Ethan playing the game make their way to Twitter, there was backlash everywhere.

With a number of people saying things like Ethan Klein comparing a Muslim anti-war content creator to Osama bin Laden. He got other Muslim and Jewish content creators banned for calling Sabra hummus the lowest tier commercial hummus because a lot of Israelis eat it. What the actual hell? As well as Islamophobia on full display.

And if Ethan Klein actually cared about antisemitism instead of merely feeling disrespected, he would consider what it means to represent Jewish people by being a nonstop whiny bigot. He even had some tagging YouTube social accounts to say that they're platforming racism and hate. And we even saw Hasan Piker himself responding saying, "'My former podcast cohost misunderstood me "'when I said in America that anti-Semitism is

institutionally unacceptable, but Islamophobia is permitted if not encouraged. Yesterday, he proved my point. While that received a lot of support, you also had some people responding to Hassan by defending Ethan and the game and accusing critics of misrepresenting it. But again, there was also a fair share of people echoing what Hassan said, with some also noting that this came after Ethan went on his Instagram stories to call out Hassan and accuse him of only pretending to care about antisemitism. And Ethan ended up responding

to all this backlash himself, writing, "'Question, why is Hassan in a game "'called Twitch or terrorist? "'Answer, because he is accused of supporting terrorism.' "'That is the beginning and end of this analysis.'" Arguing that there were plenty of quotes on the site that came from non-Muslims and that he didn't even make the site himself,

he only played the game on it for a few minutes. And then also saying, Hassan's post about the situation was misleading and saying, Hassan was accusing him of being Islamophobic for things he didn't even do. You know, with all that said, I do have to pass the question off to you though. I do wanna segment this.

Like for the more general audience, I'd love to know your thoughts here specifically, right? Cause this is just one chapter in a much larger saga of a fallout. But then also separately for people that are a part of either of these communities, right? The H3 community, the Hasan Piker community. There was some overlap for a while. I don't know how much exists now.

What's your take on this whole situation, including where we are right now? And then The Onion just bought InfoWars. Because like we talked about yesterday, Alex Jones' InfoWars was up for auction yesterday. And all we really knew is that it was gonna play out one of two ways. Either someone pro Alex Jones was gonna buy it so he could keep really knew is that it was gonna play out one of two ways. Either someone pro-Alex Jones was gonna buy it

so he could keep the platform, or someone was gonna buy it and shut it down. And so The Onion, definitely not in the pro-Alex Jones column. With many understanding the core seriousness of the situation, but saying, this is probably the funniest possible outcome. And this is Ben Collins,

the CEO of The Onion's parent company, told the New York Times that the outlet plans to reintroduce InfoWars next year as a parody of itself that mocks weird internet personalities like Jones. And so with that, we saw about an hour and a half after the sale was announced, the InfoWars website was shut down. Now with that, right now we do not know how much they paid,

but in a satirical press release on the news, they said that it was a steep bargain of less than $1 trillion. And that release also saying, InfoWars has distinguished itself as an invaluable tool for brainwashing andand controlling the masses. "'With a shrewd mix of delusional paranoia "'and dubious anti-aging nutrition hacks,

"'they strive to make life both scarier "'and longer for everyone, a commendable goal.'" And adding, "'Through it all, "'InfoWars has shown an unswerving commitment "'to manufacturing anger and radicalizing "'the most vulnerable members of society.'" And all of this is, one, the onions bid was actually sanctioned by Sandy Hook families,

and two, every town for gun safety will advertise on the relaunched version of InfoWars. With an attorney for the Sandy Hook family saying in a statement, Are divesting Jones of InfoWars' assets, the families and the team at the Onion have done a public service and will meaningfully hinder Jones' ability to do more harm. Though I will say, with that, like I talked about yesterday, right, while Jones no longer has InfoWars technically, He's just gonna land somewhere else. You can't disconnect him from his audience. If anything, among his audience,

this galvanizes just more support and possible money in the future. But that's not gonna be news to the people involved. As Ben Collins told the AP, we thought it would be a very funny joke if we bought this thing. Probably one of the better jokes we've ever told. Because by the end of the day, it was us or Alex Jones

who could either continue this website unabated, basically unpunished for what he's done to these families over the years, or we could make a dumb, stupid website and we decided to do the second thing. And while right now, you know, a Jones-affiliated company has been named as a backup bid if The Onion ends up falling through and they're apparently seeking a meeting to discuss this, right now it does appear that this thing's going into the onion's hands moving forward. And then, women don't support other women. That is what Sydney Sweeney just said in an interview with Vanity Fair yesterday, and it's gotten some traction, we'll call it. Because she's featured in the outlet's Hollywood issue, and she was asked about how a producer previously disparaged her career, her talent, her looks,

and how other actresses have called out this pattern of knocking women down at their peak. And to all that, Sydney said, "'It is very disheartening to see women tear other women down, especially when women who are successful in other avenues of their industry see younger talent working really hard. Ooh, I'm going to stop right there for a second. That's where you can tell this actually bothers her. Like in a very nice way, she was like, these dusty old bitches need to mind their mouths. These coffin dodgers better check themselves. But I'll stop

instigating. I'll finish the quote. Especially when women who are successful in other avenues of their industry see younger talent working really hard, hoping to achieve whatever dreams that they may have, and then trying to bash and discredit any work that they've done. This entire industry, all people say is women empowering other women.

None of it's happening. All of it is fake and a front for all the other shit that they say behind everyone's back. But they're then pointing to these notions that women were raised to see room for only one woman at the top of whatever mountain they were trying to climb, and adding,

it's a generational problem. So then all the others feel like they have to fight each other or take that one woman down instead of being like, let's all lift each other up. I'm still trying to figure it out. And what we ended up seeing was that her comments there, they got some mixed reaction.

Some thinking that it was too anti-woman, others thinking that she was brave to call out this issue and the hypocrisy. You know, this whole situation, it's interesting in two different regards. One, specifically regarding Sydney's case, right? Cause she's an actress, but she's also a producer. I mean, I don't know, as far as people that are out there,

she just seems to overtly be hustling her ass off. But then two, you know, this is not a new conversation that's been happening. Granted, a lot of the conversation ends up being like the numbers of like how many women are in positions behind the camera, including producers. You know, more connected to this specific story, and I think it ends up being kind of a more interesting thing, are women in the industry with each other. I mean, even going back to, you know, like 2017, I remember Anne Hathaway talking about her quote-unquote internal misogyny.

At the time, sharing her shame over, you know, not trusting female directors. Saying, it's something that I've thought a lot about in terms of when I get scripts to be directed by women. When I get a script, when I see a first film directed by a woman, I have in the past focused on what was wrong with it. And when I see a first film directed by a man, I focus on what's right with it. I focus on where we could go with the next one, and I focus on where she failed to go. And this, as we've sometimes seen on those like actress or director roundtables, people talking about the importance of the people that have established themselves, especially women opening the door for other women to fill those roles. You know, a different thing, kind of connected. I'd love to know what you think here. Especially, I will say, from the ladies that are watching the show. Do you

see or do you not see examples of this in your specific world? Whatever your job or your life may be. Then, you know, I'm going to say something controversial. I hope you can look at me the same way after I'm done saying this. Insurance fraud is bad. I know, American hero. But if you could win some points by doing it at least in an interesting way, this would get some points. Because if you haven't seen the news, four people in Los Angeles have now been arrested for dressing up like a bear

and damaging their cars for insurance payouts. And according to officials and video and pictures, these people got a bear costume, used hand tools to simulate claws, and then climbed inside of a 2010 Rolls Royce and left scratches all over the interior. And when they submitted their claim, they also submitted surveillance video

showing the bear climbing into the car and rooting around. Which is really quick, sounds like a great idea on paper, but just watching, it looks like someone in a Snuggie just crawling around a car. And so I guess not so surprisingly, the insurance company started smelling something fishy. And then an investigation got open, which the California Department of Insurance

called Operation Bear Claw, which honestly just props for that name. But then also during that investigation, they found two other claims to two different insurance companies, also claiming that a bear messed up their cars on the same day at the same place. And in those cases, it was a 2015 and 2022 Mercedes,

and they also submitted video. So when investigators took a closer look at the video, they determined that is definitely a person in a bear suit, which was also then backed up by a biologist from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. And then when a search warrant was executed, investigators found the bear suit and fake claws. But here's the thing, while all four people

have now been arrested and charged with conspiracy and insurance fraud, at the time of the arrest, the insurance companies had already paid out some of the claims, totaling over $140,000. So I guess technically they also kind of get points for, you know, the scheme briefly working. But unfortunately for them, the point system

that I'm talking about is not real. You're probably gonna go to prison, right? Each of these people is facing up to five years in prison and they don't really exchange the points there. So one, while I was briefly entertained by this story, don't commit fraud, fraud is bad. And two, don't be stupid, stupid. You thought the mega companies whose whole business model

is take money from you and try not to give you money back wasn't gonna double check some shit maybe? I'm just saying. But then, taking a quick break from the news, it is that time of year again when we're all looking for great gift ideas that keep our loved ones loving us. And we'll look no further

thanks to our longtime sponsor, the PDS, and my go-to for gift shopping, Ridge. Because now is the time, whether you're treating yourself or anyone else, to take advantage of Ridge's holiday sale. I'm talking up to 47% off some of your favorite items on their website. Because Ridge offers way more than their must have

minimalist slim front pocket wallets with RFID block. Which I will say my current go-to is literally the smallest one they make, but they have several great options. But Ridge also has tons of reliable other products like their durable sleek design key case that holds up to six keys minus the jingle noise. As well as cool knives, backpacks, tungsten rings,

phone cases, weatherproof luggage, y'all. There's so much more. You need to see it for yourself. And all with a 99 day risk-free trial, letting you get the perfect present, worry-free. Right, great stocking stuffer ideas with air tags for those prone to misplace things. Not to mention so many Ridge products come in a variety

of color palettes and metals. And again, they're not just a sponsor. I'm a long time fan of their products and I've been carrying their wallets for, I mean, as long as I can remember. I just honestly love all my Ridge gear. So hey, act now on this holiday sale and bring joy to yourself for others

when you go to ridge.com slash DeFranco and get up to 47% off cool and stylish products from Ridge. Then let's talk about it, Matt Gaetz as Attorney General. That is what Donald Trump put forward just as yesterday's show was getting finished up. And so as I promised, we're gonna dive into it. Because this was an absolute bombshell of an announcement, just objectively, right?

People on both sides of the aisle were completely stunned. With this selection being described as easily the most controversial of all of Trump's picks thus far. Though I would stress, so far. Every hour or so I hop onto the internet, I'm like, did he nominate Godzilla to head housing and urban development?

Oh wow, he nominated Thanos for secretary of health and human services. But where I'll start with this Gates situation is just, first of all, the person selected to lead the department of justice is usually just way more senior and well-versed in the law. And the same was true for Trump's past appointees, right? Jeff Sessions had a deep background at administrative law, serving as a U.S. attorney for Alabama and as the state's attorney general. Also, Bill Barr had literally already been the AG under Bush senior. And actually, while he was the same age as Gates when he was selected for his first term, at that point, he had already had an extensive law career and held numerous posts in the DOJ. But Gates, his actual only law experience is working in a firm

for a few years before being elected to the Florida House of Representatives and then Congress. But then also beyond that, Gates has been, this is even putting it lightly, has been an incredibly controversial figure even among his own party. For years, he was under investigation by the same agency he's now been tapped to lead based on suspicion of child sex trafficking. With that investigation focused on his alleged involvement with a 17-year-old girl, whether he paid her for sex, and whether he had paid women to travel across state lines for sex. And while the DOJ eventually closed its investigation without bringing any charges, the House Ethics Committee opened its own inquiry

into the matter. And that's in addition to accusations of illegal drug use and accepting improper gifts. But very notably there, Gates has now thrown a wrench into that investigation because he immediately resigned from Congress after Trump announced him as the pick for attorney general. A move that's been seen as super significant

as well as unusual. Right, because normally sitting officials wait to resign from their current post until after they're confirmed for their new appointment. Which usually makes sense because if your nomination gets blocked, boom, you still have a job. But for Gates, you have people saying

the reasons to resign now, the more compelling. With people pointing out that ethics investigations typically end when the member being investigated leaves Congress, so he has effectively shut down the House's probe. And the timing of all this really could not have been better, right? According to reports, his resignation comes literally

just two days before the House panel was set to vote on whether to release their report into Gates. And right now, it remains unclear if that report will even be released. And one of the committee's leaders saying they won't rush to get the report out. But then also, Gates' resignation has another impact here. Because yesterday, as expected, Republicans officially won the House, reaching the 218 threshold needed to take the majority. But that 218 figure includes Gates' seat, which he has now given up. So technically speaking, at least for now, they haven't actually won the house yet. But, and I

cannot emphasize this enough, I'm saying technically because one, they're expected to pick up more than one additional seat from the eight races that remain uncalled. And two, while it will take a minute to fill Gaetz's seat, his district is one of the most Republican in the country, right? So there's no possibility that one's going to get flipped. And then actually three, Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries has already conceded that his party doesn't have the numbers to take the house. But going back to the main story at hand, right? The various investigations and the gates,

they're also not the only controversies that he's faced. But he's also been accused of showing photos of naked women to colleagues on the house floor and preemptively seeking a pardon from Trump before the DOJ sex trafficking investigation ended. Though notably he has denied all those various claims. He's also falsely claimed that Antifa was behind January 6th but then also defended the actions

of Trump's supporters that day. And then there's more. I'm not gonna touch on everything. I don't wanna get stuck in the weeds, but it's also been widely reported that Gates is disliked by many of his Republican colleagues and his inflammatory approach to politics has actively made him many enemies within his own party,

especially after he led the charge to oust Kevin McCarthy as speaker last year. You know, with all this, like we've seen with many of the other nominees that Trump has picked, the main thing that seems to matter is loyalty, right? And specifically loyalty to Trump, especially because Attorney General is one of the single most high-profile appointments

in any cabinet. And Gates, I mean, he has loyalty in spades. He has always had unwavering fealty for Trump, acting as one of his most fervent supporters and champions in the House, right? One of the ways that's been on display is that he's echoed many of Trump's complaints about the DOJ being weaponized

as a political tool against Trump. And in fact, along with repeatedly calling for defunding or abolishing the FBI, which is part of the DOJ, at least once he called for the DOJ itself to be abolished. But then some and or all of that combining into, you know, Gates' confirmation not being an assured thing. Though also understand I say that, as I mentioned yesterday, and I will continue to say,

we are in a time of anything is possible, good or bad. But why this might not work out for him is that numerous Republicans have already spoken out against his appointment. That including some who are on the outs of Trump, like Trump's former national security advisor, John Bolton, who called him the worst nomination for a cabinet position in American history.

And many Republican officials, strategists, and even Trump advisors have said they don't think he can get enough votes to be confirmed by the Senate. Right, and this, as his confirmation, will require either a simple majority or 50 of the 53 Republican senators plus the tie-breaking vote of the vice president. Though it's unclear right now if he could get that.

Right, key Republican senators have raised question. Right, we're seeing folks like Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski saying Gates is not a serious candidate and then saying, if I wanted to make a joke, maybe I would say now I'm waiting for George Santos to be named. Meanwhile, others have spoken less definitively like Senator Susan Collins,

who said that she was shocked by the selection. Also Senator Joni Ernst saying Gates has got his work really cut out for him to get confirmed. And so ultimately what we're gonna see play out here is like one of the biggest loyalty tests regarding the Republican led Senate. And actually to that point, Gates isn't the only appointment that'll test those limits.

Well, obviously each person in each position is gonna be different. The same goes for Pete Hegseth, the Fox News host who Trump tapped to lead the Pentagon. But the people who were concerned there saying he just doesn't have the experience to lead the department. You also have people out there

who have serious concerns about Tulsi Gabbard, with Trump announcing yesterday that he picked her as the Director of National Intelligence. Nah, because critics say she has zero direct experience in intelligence, but also due to the fact that many believe she is sympathetic to Putin. So it's gonna be very interesting to see what Senate Majority Leader John Thune,

as well as the rest of the Republicans, do here. Especially because as we mentioned yesterday, if the Senate blocks any of Trump's nominations, it appears that he might try to get them through unilaterally. Because technically, the president can appoint his own nominees without approval when the Senate is in recess.

And Trump has made it very clear that he expects the new majority leader to allow him to make recess appointments. But for some, it seems like Gates might already be losing the title of most controversial appointment so far because as I was finishing up today's show, Donald Trump has officially announced that he's tapped RFK Jr.

for Secretary of Health and Human Services. So I guess my condolences to Thanos though. There's still maybe another spot for you. Then, taking a quick break from the news, there's more than just winter, spring, summer, and fall. Because another season that I love is lounge season. And folks, it is here. Thanks to our sponsor, MeUndies,

they want you to be cozy in your lounge with the most comfortable underwear in the world. But they're also not just about underwear, right? Check out their lounge pants, hoodies, sweats, and onesies made with their signature, super soft, breathable, micro modal fabric. And whether you like boxer briefs, jock straps, matching holiday lounge wear,

MeUndies has over 10 styles and over a hundred colors and prints from classic black to fun patterns. And MeUndies wants to remind you that it's never too early to start thinking about gift ideas. I mean, what could be better than the gift of comfort for MeUndies? Their signature fabric feels so good that it makes all of their products ideal for all day wear.

And I mean, I can vouch for it, especially if I'm out on a run or even if I'm just chilling at home. And get this, if you're not happy with your first pair of undies, no worries, it's on MeUndies. And I'd also like to note that they use sustainably sourced materials and they work with partners that care for theiries, no worries, it's on MeUndies. And I'd also like to note that they use sustainably sourced materials

and they work with partners that care for their workers. So kick off lounge season with MeUndies and get 20% off your first order, plus free shipping at MeUndies.com slash Philip DeFranco and use code PhilipDeFranco. That's MeUndies.com slash PhilipDeFranco, code PhilipDeFranco for 20% off, plus free shipping. MeUndies, comfort from the outside in.

But then is it political retribution or an investigation into a violated agreement? That is a very public debate we're seeing play out right now because early yesterday morning, the FBI raided the home of Shane Copland, the founder and CEO of Polymarket. Which for those who don't know, Polymarket is the world's largest prediction market

where you can make bets on future events using crypto. And in fact, and very notably, Polymarket exploded in popularity during the election because it placed Trump's odds of winning far and above Harris's, despite the polls having them neck and neck at the time, people were betting on the election. But despite the American election

getting PolyMarket so much damn attention, technically Americans aren't allowed to use the site. Because you see, back in 2022, PolyMarket made an agreement with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission saying that they would prevent any US-based trader from making any transactions on their platform. And that agreement only came after they paid $1.4 million to settle charges saying that they had failed to register with the

commission. But then with that, Bloomberg says that's exactly what landed them in hot water again, reporting that they are under investigation by the Justice Department for accepting trades from U.S.-based users. And so with that, reportedly, a federal agent showed up at Copland's apartment in New York City at 6 a.m. yesterday, demanding his phone and other electronics. And this is reportedly who wasn't given a reason for the raid, but he did respond by posting on X, "'New phone, who dis?' And adding,

"'It's discouraging that the current administration would seek a last ditch effort to go after companies they deem to be associated with political opponents. We are deeply committed to being nonpartisan and today is no different. But the incumbent should do some self-reflecting and recognize that taking a more pro-business, pro-startup approach,

that may be what would have changed their fate this election. And this is Polymarket. The company also called the investigation, quote, obvious political retribution by the outgoing administration and added, Polymarket is a fully transparent prediction market that helps everyday people better understand the events that matter most to them, including elections.

But we're gonna have to wait to see what comes from that, especially because the Justice Department is gonna be making some changes soon. And some changes, probably putting it very lightly. But then, in international news, it is being reported that Israel is preparing a ceasefire plan for Lebanon as a congratulatory gift to Donald Trump. This, according to the Washington Post, who claim that a close aide to Israeli PM Bibi Netanyahu spoke to Trump and Jared Kushner this week and told them that Israel is rushing to advance a deal in order to deliver an early foreign policy win for the president-elect. Though, right, that said, an Israeli military official said that plans were also being created to ramp up ground operations in Lebanon if talks ultimately fall apart.

But as far as the deal that may soon be on the table, Israel would reportedly demand that Hezbollah fighters retreat beyond the Litani River, which is the northern edge of a UN-monitored buffer zone established in 2006. And that because notably since October of 2023, Hezbollah has been using that area as a staging ground for launching rockets and missiles into Israel. Attacks that have killed 45 civilians and 31 soldiers, as well as forcing around 60,000 people from their homes.

And then on the flip side, Israel's military campaign has reportedly killed several thousand and displaced nearly one million people. Right, and as far as the death toll, we don't have solid data distinguishing between civilians and combatants, but it's believed that hundreds of women, children, and first responders are among the dead.

You know, today, while we're talking about a potential ceasefire, it's also important to note that the violence is not stopping right now. Just yesterday, for example, six Israeli soldiers were killed in combat in southern Lebanon. And today, Israeli forces are actually moving deeper into the country with airstrikes in Beirut's Southern suburbs, also killing at least six.

So with that, some believe there's a chance that Hezbollah has been weakened enough to take a deal. And in fact, a senior Lebanese official is saying that the group is ready to retreat from the buffer zone. The only issue is that Israel wants the right to intervene itself to enforce any ceasefire if it deems it necessary. And that is something that Hezbollah and Lebanon

are likely not to sign off on. But either way, right, all of this is another sign of how U.S.-Israel relations may be changing now. With the same people like Frank Lowenstein, who is a special envoy for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations under Obama, saying, Netanyahu has no loyalty to Biden and will be focused entirely on currying favor with Trump. And adding, Trump won't hesitate to act like he's already president when he sees an opportunity. And actually, to that point, when Israel's minister of strategic affairs visited the United States this weekend, he stopped at Mar-a-Lago before visiting the White House.

And this is, of course, we've talked about, Trump has appointed some hardline pro-Israel folks to his cabinet, as well as now having picked Mike Huckabee, a longtime supporter of illegal West Bank settlements for ambassador. And finally here, we saw Netanyahu himself reportedly already speaking to Trump at least three times

with him saying that the two saw major opportunities ahead for Israel, especially in advancing peace. Of course on the note of peace, you have people wondering, you know, what really is gonna happen from here. Because again, everything is still playing out and yesterday Israel reportedly targeted a densely populated tent encampment in an area designated as a humanitarian zone. And this is Netanyahu has been accused by his critics of extending this war for one, political gain, and two, to stay out of jail. Because while also being blamed by some for the security failures on October 7th, Bibi's also facing criminal charges. And in fact, there, his trial started back in 2020. And since then, the court has made its way through a list of more than 300 witnesses. But also with that, Netanyahu so far has avoided to take the stand,

with the court once accepting his argument that he's just too busy to prepare a defense while the country is at war. But notably there, now an Israeli court has rejected his request to delay his testimony again, saying that he must take the stand next month. And this is specifically Netanyahu is charged with bribery, fraud, and breach of trust in three separate but connected cases. Now with that, important to note,

he has denied everything with him and his supporters suggesting that it's political persecution, alleging that it's some sort of conspiracy to remove him from power. And this also notably as under Israeli law, he is not actually required to step down from office unless he is convicted. And then also that conviction under Israeli law, he is not actually required to step down from office unless he is convicted. And then also that conviction is upheld

through an appeals process. So seemingly no matter which way this goes, there's a lot more runway for him. But that my friends is the end of your Thursday evening, Friday morning dive into the news. Thank you for being a part of whatever the hell this week has been so far. I look forward to seeing you right back here on Monday.

I don't know about you, I've been chronically online. And maybe in the meantime, do like what I'm gonna do and try and disconnect from the world for a little bit. Come up for air. Because don't worry, the worlds will be there waiting for you. Love you faces. See you Monday.