The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 11.14 Hockey Player Killed By Skate Blade In Game & Police Just Made An Arrest, & Today's News Breakdown

Episode Date: November 14, 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!  Go to http://hellofresh.com/defrancofree and use code defrancofree to get one free breakfast item per box while subscription is active. https://wakeandmakecoffee.com We Just RESTOCKED! Up to 50% OFF Your First Bag! Catch up on our latest PDS: https://youtu.be/JPEQR6vDVHo?si=nb4Sx6CHGhkg5Wia –✩ TODAY’S STORIES ✩ – 0:00 - Arrest Made in Hockey Player’s Death 02:17 - YouTube, Hollywood Studios, and AI Platforms Take on New AI Tactics 06:20 - Numerous Senators Separately Confronted For Not Supporting Ceasefire 10:04 - Warner Bros. Reverses Course on ‘Coyote vs. Acme’ After Filmmakers Rebel 11:28 - Sponsored by ZocDoc 12:35 - Army Wants to Build $500 Million Vacuum To Suck Up Salmon Stuck in Dams 21:03 - Sponsored by Hello Fresh 22:11 - Shawn Fain Testifies in Front of Congress Regarding Unions 26:20 - Your Thoughts On Yesterday’s Show ——————————   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 #MrBeast #MiaKhalifa ———————————— Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, we're talking about how there's a fake video of me going around. This embarrassing fight broke out in the Senate today, and Bernie Sanders had to try to hold people back. A man's now been arrested for killing a hockey player whose neck was sliced open by a skate during a game. This landmark case playing out right now could change journalism forever. We break down the Army's billion-dollar plan to vacuum up an entire river's worth of fish. Democrats are being tracked down and confronted for not calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.

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 let's just jump into it. Starting with, we need to talk about this Adam Johnson situation because police seem to believe that his death was more than just a freak accident. And for those unfamiliar with this, the situation blew up a little while ago. Then there was kind of like a question of what was going to happen. But Johnson was a 29 year old hockey player from Minnesota who played for the Nottingham Panthers in England. But then a couple of weeks ago during a championship game against the Sheffield Steelers, he collided with

a member of the opposing team and the other guy's skate cut Johnson's throat. And while he was immediately rushed to the hospital, he was soon pronounced dead. And this event absolutely shocked the hockey world then growing and growing. You had hundreds attending his vigil, leaving flowers, candles and hockey sticks at his memorial as well as his romantic partner giving this extremely touching tribute. The last year or so, you came up with so many different plans for us, from starting a farm or a coffee shop or me becoming some big hotshot so you could be a stay-at-home dad with a whole van full of kids you wanted. I just hope in heaven they let you have your farm

and all the cows and chickens your little heart desires. And we saw in an attempt to prevent this kind of thing from happening again, the coroner called for compulsory use of neck guards in ice hockey. And in fact, the English Ice Hockey Association said it would start making neck guards mandatory starting in 2024 as part of a three-step plan, as well as saying the UK's elite ice hockey league strongly encouraging players and officials to wear them, though not making them mandatory there. But now, in addition to all of that, we have another update. Because while there had been a lot of debate on social media over, you know, was this a freak accident? Did this guy on the other team intend to hurt him? We really didn't have updates, but today police arrested someone

for manslaughter related to Johnson's death. Presumably that is Matt Petgrave, the player who skate killed Johnson, though we don't have official confirmation yet, though it really wouldn't make sense for anyone else to get arrested. And as of right now, because this is a developing situation, we don't know much outside of that. And it's going to be very interesting to see what specific arguments the authorities bring forward with this. Because again, while online you had people saying this is a dirty move by a dirty player, there were also a lot of people that understood this to just be a freak accident, right? And not something that a person would be criminally liable for. But until we learn more, that is where we are. And in the meantime, of course, I'd love to know your thoughts

down below. And then there is a fake video of me making the rounds right now. And rather than just talk about that, I want to use it as a reason to talk about AI in general, because there's a lot of AI updates today. Starting with the news that there's actually bounties for AI renderings of real people. The bounty is in question being offered by the platform Civit AI, according to a new report from 404 Media. So the way it works is that the tool allows users to post bounties, essentially asking people in the community to create an AI model that fits the style and composition they want, or that resembles the likeness of a real person. And the person who makes the best AI model wins a virtual currency that can be used on the site. Per 404, there have been a lot of bounties requesting the likeness of celebrities and influencers, and you probably

guessed it, often women. If you take a quick scroll right now, you can see bounties for Charlie D'Amelio, Lily Pichu. There also a lot currently seem to be more generic in the AI art space, some requests for wallpaper and logos. But 404 also said they found at least one instance where a bounty of a private person was made. Now that posting didn't include the person's name, just a handful of images taken from her social media accounts. The person who made the listing saying that he was seeking an AI of his wife, but a lot of people also didn't buy that. Right since the woman in question appeared to have a Facebook that said she was single, and the images in the bounty were low-quality social media screenshots. And while, yeah, people expressed concerns about that bounty, it was completed. And so you have people concerned about what this means for bounties of real people since Civet AI and platforms like it can be used for sexual AI models. So you also have places like

Engadget noting that Civet AI has said that the bounty should not be used for non-consensual sexual images of real people. The outlet also noting that it's still not remotely hard to achieve that anyways. But then in addition to that, we had AI news around film and Hollywood. Written that for a number of reasons, including there's an AI biopic in the works. It'll reportedly be about the French singer Edith Piaf, who died 60 years ago, and the AI will be used to recreate her voice and image. It's being made by Warner Music Group in partnership with her estate, and the AI voice will be used to narrate the story. And so with that, you have people pissed about it, wondering, you know, why did we even strike if stuff like this is going to be allowed? And this also is, we're seeing actors, including Justine Bateman, saying,

you know, we shouldn't agree to this SAG deal. Saying, SAG leadership and committee did not take my guidance on the AI issues. And arguing, I've said from the beginning that the use of generative AI will collapse the structure of this business. I want the actors and crew to have enough self-respect to turn over a table and flip the CEOs off as it happens. They're going to leave you with nothing left to lose. As well as then taking to MSNBC and saying that the only reason union members should sign this is if they never want to work again. With one major point of concern being the use of synthetic performers, which are essentially fully AI versions of humans performing in film roles. With a rap explaining that SAG-AFTRA negotiated a clause

requiring a studio to give them notice and the chance to bargain in good faith if a synthetic performer is used in place of a performer, but was not able to secure the right to veto such use of performers. And on top of that, actors only get to consent to this use and get compensation if the synthetic performer

includes one of their distinctive facial features. So because of this, you're seeing things like one actor posting a video on TikTok saying union members should not ratify the contract and explaining, None of the wins that we got matter because generative AI is going to take a majority of the job. Justine Bateman also sounding off on this aspect writing, I find it baffling that a union representing human actors would give approval of those same actors being replaced by an AI object.

And don't forget, those AI objects are a mashup of all actors' past performances, adding insult to injury. Meanwhile, in other AI news, you have YouTube trying to put in new limitations and guardrails, with them now requiring creators to disclose and label AI use when they've made altered or synthetic content that is realistic, as well as giving people the ability to request takedowns of AI-generated content made to simulate an identifiable individual, though not all requests will be granted. Also, we're seeing YouTube take action around the big rise of AI music, with them allowing its music partners to request the removal of AI-generated songs

that mimic an artist's voice. And that, of course, coming as it's become a massive trend on the platform, with us seeing things like last week, Bad Bunny slamming an AI song mimicking his voice that went viral across a ton of different social media platforms, calling the song shitty, condemning fans who liked it.

But then also, because everything AI is now so accessible to pretty much everyone, it's becoming so common everywhere. For example, I know a lot of people running into this video this week. It includes the video where I'm covering a Mr. Beast controversy story and then it's all AI. Now that's obviously not me as hopefully many of you can tell. I'm not too concerned about people that watch me knowing if that's me or not. Where it is concerning are people that aren't familiar with me coming across this video because it's got like hundreds of thousands of views. And of course, as I like to remind people every time we talk about this, this is the worst the technology will ever be. The tech is only going

to get better and the situations are only going to get crazier from here. So I commend places that are trying to put in these guardrails, they're trying to put in these tools, but I don't really know if there's anything that can stop what this is about to become. And then is this exactly what people should be doing or is it a road too far? That is one of the big debates playing out right now over the growing trend of lawmakers being confronted for not supporting a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war. And this is in recent weeks, multiple interactions that follow this general script have gone viral on social media. This including most recently a video of Senator Chris Coons that has more than 12 million views on X as of recording. And in that clip, which was posted yesterday, the lawmakers seen riding an

Amtrak and being questioned by a person who identifies himself as a journalist and who repeatedly ignored the senator's request to be left alone. I know it's a quiet car and I apologize for abuse, but I understand. But children are dying. Children are dying, sir. I'm asking you to explain. Why not call for a ceasefire? You're bothering me and everyone else around me. Sir, could I please have some help here? Kids are being killed with our weapons. Please stop. I'm asking you to stop. Why not stop? Why not call for a ceasefire?

This is not an appropriate place for you to interview me. You're bothering everybody else around me. It's a crisis right now. How did you get this seat? Also, last week, we saw this interaction between an activist and Senator Mitt Romney in the halls of the Senate. The mosque went into a country and brutally murdered people. Israel is carpeted by... You want to talk or am I going to talk?

I'm going to talk. Okay, well, I'm not going to listen. Senator, you are in the committee. And then, of course, there's also been involvement from different groups of protesters, all of whom called for a ceasefire. We've seen hundreds of anti-Zionist Jewish activists getting arrested for staging a sit-in at Congress You had other demonstrators disrupting a Senate hearing a veterans group was arrested outside Senator Kirsten Gillibrand's office in the Capitol and a speech by Senator Cory Booker was interrupted by a crowd of protesters Where people want to make sure that we have

This is what makes America great. The power to protest. But then also, one of these confrontations that's gone really viral, getting nearly 15 million views on X as of recording, is this one where Senator Elizabeth Warren is approached by a woman while the senator was eating dinner in Cambridge.

With that clip reportedly posted by the Boston Factor to the anti-Zionist group Jewish Voice for Peace, which sat on X, that it had mobilized with Harvard students and others in Cambridge to disrupt Senator Warren at dinner. And in the footage, we see the woman going up to the senator saying she is a constituent of hers and a refugee from Gaza. Warren then responds that she's having dinner, and the woman continues anyway, saying that 68 members of her family have been killed over the last three weeks and asking how many more will have to die? How many more of my family is alive who called for a ceasefire?

I just, I don't know. Like, how much more do I have to say to call for a ceasefire? People are in your office every day asking you to call for a ceasefire. And you are refusing to call for a ceasefire. Right, and so with all this, we've seen a lot of people online

divided over these approaches. We have some applauding these moves, saying that people should keep doing this, making politicians uncomfortable and getting in their faces. Right, many arguing that these politicians are supposed to represent and serve the public, but they are failing to do so, and so they must be held accountable. Some also calling for more politicians to be hounded down,

while others took aim at the politicians we have seen getting confronted. And this including the likes of massive online creators like Mia Khalifa, who of course has posted a lot about everything that's been going down, and her tweeting specifically about the video with Warren in writing. This privileged crow really said, I'm having dinner in response to 68 members of my family died. Evil, putrid, deplorable. I hope she never has a peaceful meal

or bowel movement in her life again. But then on the other side, we also saw people pushing back against this, with one user who responded to me as post-writing, I could have walked in there and claimed I lost 100 family members. She's under no obligation to talk to a stranger who could be a liar or a psychopath.

Respect civility and common decency, you sick fucks. Others also echoing that, arguing that confronting lawmakers like this isn't the best approach. With, for example, one person writing, I'm questioning the efficacy of the tactic. Unlikely to accomplish anything serious and instead galvanize your opposition.

You can't think you can intimidate senators and sway their stance by doing this, can you? Ineffective. But ultimately, that is a story, the differing views that are being shared. And so I want to pass the question off to you. Where do you land on this? And then we got to talk about my boy, Wile E. Coyote,

the OG grinder and hustler with no quit. The man who said you miss 100% of the shots you don't take. And that's because as some of you learned over the last two weeks, he actually had a movie coming out, Coyote versus Acme. And it was this comedy film that was a hybrid of live action and animation starring John Cena. And last week the studio announced, hey, we're actually shelving the movie. But also the big thing there is that is despite the fact that it was already completed, with reports saying that Warner Bros just made a decision to land an estimated $30 million tax write-off. And with that saying, it was a part of a shift in global release strategy. And so understandably, the creatives involved in this film were blindsided by the choice and they were

pissed off. If you're not a part of the industry, you don't know people in the industry, to get a movie made, it's fucking insane. And so to go through the whole process and make an actual movie only for Warner Bros to be like, JK. I mean, I can't even imagine what that would make me feel. I mean, I lose a game of fantasy football and my whole week's screwed. So this, I mean, I'd have a breakdown. But a big thing now is it appears that amid this mounting backlash that we've seen online, Warner Bros is changing its mind. With the studio actually now allowing the director to shop the film to other buyers. And as far as why there was a change of heart, according to the Hollywood Reporter, it the director to shop the film to other buyers and as far as why there was a change of heart according to the hollywood reporter it was because people in the industry were apparently fuming over this and several filmmakers actually instructed their

representatives to cancel upcoming meetings with warner bros over it because you know people look at their decisions just cancel finished films and think well i'm not gonna fucking work with those people because also one of the big things is this is not an outlier they have done this for multiple projects and the key thing being multiple finished projects for a little tax write-off and so hopefully we get to see this movie because according to a number of people who said they saw it, it's actually been testing well. And then before we go any further, let's talk about something very important to me, and that's your health. You know, chances are you've woken up with a sore throat, a rash, or other symptom and immediately head over to see what TikTok or

Google says. Before you know it, you're convinced you're dying. But here's the thing. The internet is filled with too much misinformation. So why not talk to someone that's actually qualified? And well, thanks to the sponsor of today's show, ZocDoc, you can. You just start by downloading the free app millions of others are using to find and book amazing doctors online who are right for you and take your insurance.

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The app is also really easy to use, and it's not just about finding your general practitioner. You can find specialists, too. Dermatologists, dentists, psychiatrists, eye doctors. I can go on. It really is convenient. So just go to 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 how on earth could a giant vacuum big enough to suck up an entire river make good on a promise that's been broken over and over for a century and a half? That is the question critics of the U.S. military are raising after a proposal to save an endangered fish made everyone's heads explode. We are absolutely going to talk about what the hell that idea is, but first, we've got to talk about the broken promise. With that involving, who else but the Native Americans?

Because in the 1850s, as they were being pushed off of their land, Pacific Northwest tribes signed treaties with the government, promising that their access to salmon and their way of life would be preserved. But within just two decades, they saw commercial fishing depleting wild salmon to unsustainable levels. So the government's fish commissioner proposed hatcheries as a solution, telling the tribes that artificial production would maintain the salmon production indefinitely and even increase it. But by the 1920s, government research found no evidence to suggest hatcheries had effectively conserved salmon. And then the salmon population suffered a second hard blow from the construction of dams, with the government building 18 dams on the Columbia and Snake Rivers by 1975, and in doing

so, pushing dozens of wild salmon populations up to or past the point of extinction. And all this especially impacted indigenous tribes who relied on Salmon Up River, where the previously free-flowing water was cut off by the dams. But like a bunch of fucking idiots, the government tried to solve the problem the same way it did decades earlier, by building more hatcheries. Once again, that failed, with a number of returning adult fish continuing to decline. But also, the hatcheries weren't just ineffective, right? In some ways, they were arguably harmful. Because in those artificial environments, the salmon's genetic diversity declined, and they began developing traits that made it harder for them to survive in the wild. Right by now, if a hatchery spawns a million

salmon and tosses them down a river, only a few thousand might survive long enough to make it back as adults. Because while roughly three times as many young salmon now head to the ocean each year as before any dams were built, the return rate is less than one fifth than what it was decades ago. And so as a result, the network of hatcheries responsible for 80% of the salmon in the Columbia River is at risk of collapse, unable to keep producing fish

at meaningful levels. I mean, they literally do not have enough fish returning from the ocean to keep breeding more and tossing them back out like they've done over and over for generations. So in the 1990s, scientists concluded that hatchery fish were actually harming wild salmon by competing for food and spreading weaker genes. But rather than modifying facilities to fix these issues, the government just labeled wild

salmon endangered and regulated hatcheries. So to this day, hatcheries face limits on which fish they can breed, how many wild fish they can capture, and how many fish they can release, which then puts even more strain on an already imperfect remedy for the plight suffered by indigenous fishers. But instead of crisscrossing these hatcheries with bureaucratic red tape and pitting indigenous tribes against environmentalists, some experts say that the government should just invest money to build new hatcheries and renovate old ones so that the fish's odds of survival go up. And it can do this by, among other things, painting concrete tanks to match stream beds, filling them with woody debris found in streams, and using underwater feeding tubes so fish don't

get used to being fed at the surface by humans. They could also breed captured wild fish instead of hatchery stock and use earthen ponds to acclimate fish to the wild before releasing them. But also, genetics and learned behavior is only one small part of the story behind the fish's decline. Another leading reason is that the journey up and down the river has become far more treacherous over the last century. That's because of pollution, rising temperatures, invasive predators, but also one big glaring obstacle blocking the way. Dams.

Right now, alongside producing hydroelectric power, dams are the only thing keeping whole communities like downtown Portland from going underwater for parts of the year. But they also happen to block fish from swimming past, and those who do often get beaten around by the whirring turbines. So to fix that, dam walls are designed with gates that young salmon can swim through to get downstream. But they're usually too deep underwater for the little fish to actually find because they tend to stay near the surface. And then those that do dive deep enough can get the bends and die. But a big thing here is that there is a much simpler and more effective solution. Drain the reservoir behind the dam to low enough levels, open the gates, and let the salmon ride the current as

they would a wild river. It costs next to nothing, would keep the dams available for flood control, and has been shown to work in the past. Right, looking into it, in 2011, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began draining the reservoir at Oregon's Fall Creek Dam for a short period in November or December, and it was a wild success, with the river seeing a roughly 10 times increase in the number of adult salmon that returned from their migration. And all the sediment, wood, sand, and gravel that had gotten clogged up behind the dam now flowed freely downriver, which notably provided a natural source of nutrients to the entire food web downstream from the reservoir, including plankton, aquatic plants, insects, fish, and mammals.

So in this spectacular display of sensible policymaking, humans replicated that model at other dams and saved all. Just kidding. Nine times out of ten, this show is about problems, not problems that have been solved yet. Instead, the Army Corps of Engineers dragged its feet for two decades, according to a federal judge, and is now proposing a different solution. Why not build a huge floating vacuum the size of a football field with enough pumps to suck up a small river? Then flush all the fish into enormous storage tanks, load them onto trucks, drive them downstream, and then dump them back into the water. Something that would reportedly cost a combined $622 million to put one of these things at each of the two dams that threaten salmon the most. Plus another $432 million for a huge water cooling device at

one of the dams. Now at this point, if you're like, that sounds awfully complicated and expensive, why not just drain the river? Well, the Army Corps of Engineers has a few arguments for you. First, it claims that the Fall Creek's openings are more fish-friendly than those at other dams. And officials are worried that draining many dams all at once might leave too little stream flow for fish. And second, they argue that the reservoir drawdowns would hurt residents who rely on hydropower, businesses that do recreational boating, and farmers who need irrigation. But a huge thing there is that an investigation by ProPublica found that all of these concerns are highly exaggerated. First of all, farmers near the river basin don't need irrigation from the dams nearly as much as those in other parts of the state, with 50 inches of rainfall drenching

the Willamette Valley every year, so draining reservoirs each fall would have a marginal impact on water supplies downstream, according to the Corps' own analysis. And in fact, we've already seen that play out with the Oregon Water Resources Department saying recent court-ordered drawdowns have not undermined anyone's ability to irrigate. And as for the recreation economy, the Corps itself estimates that the kind of limited drawdowns it opposes would affect boat launches only at the tail end of the boating season, reducing visits by about 7% and spending by $1.3 million. And as for the consumers of hydropower, it turns out that the dams actually cost more than they're worth. Where the Corps estimates that the cost of hydropower over the next 30 years will outstrip revenues from electricity

customers by more than $700 million. And the only peer-reviewed cost-benefit analysis of these dams, which was published in 2021, found that the collective environmental harms, upkeep costs, and risks of collapse at the dams outweigh the economic benefits. Which is why even the federal government's hydropower agency for this region, the one that funds half the cost of operating the Willamette Dam, said last year that the streams feeding the valley are wildly inefficient at producing electricity compared with dams on larger rivers, costing up to five times as much to light a home. Also, on top of all that, despite the Corps' concerns about draining too many reservoirs at once, a federal judge ruled in 2021 that the weight of the evidence was against them, saying drawdowns were necessary and the most

effective means to protecting fish, and then ordering the Corps to partially drain three dams. And finally there, setting a 2024 deadline for the Corps to create a new long-term plan to save salmon, which he expected to go even further than his drawdown order. But then when the Corps produced this plan last year, that's when it proposed the giant floating fish vacuums instead. And that idea has baffled many experts because it wasn't new. Similar projects have been tried on a smaller scale in the past, and they typically fail to capture a meaningful amount of fish. Plus, when removing young salmon from the river, it stresses them out, increasing the risk of dying before they find their way home to spawn as adults. Which is why a comprehensive review in 2017 concluded that those types of fish

collectors will only prolong their decline to extinction. But despite all of this information and pushback, even with multiple calls from Congress to study shutting down hydropower, the Corps has dug in, even trying to influence public opinion. With one Corps planner suggesting in an email obtained by ProPublica that the agency produce a series of videos and perhaps a podcast showing that hydropower has many benefits benefits and saying that these might generate public comments in support of hydropower that the Corps could forward to Congress. And at this point, you might be wondering, why are they so insistent to keep the dams running? Well, there, one very mind-numbing answer comes from former Corps employees and scientists who work closely with the agency.

With them telling ProPublica officials are afraid of change because drawing down reservoirs and eliminating hydropower, it would call into question the agency's usefulness in the Willamette Valley. And Judith Marshall, who spent six years as an environmental compliance manager for the Corps, explained, they don't like to be seen as an agency that can't execute. They're some of the smartest people I've ever encountered, but they're so wound up in their models and what they're doing, like they can't see the forest through the trees. Now, fortunately, here we are seeing a push from other parts of the executive branch in the other direction, with the Biden administration agreeing in September to spend more than $200 million to fully fund Native tribes' plans to reintroduce salmon in the Upper Columbia River Basin.

This notably more than 80 years after construction of the Grand Coulee Dam rendered the fish extinct in parts of Washington, Idaho, and British Columbia. But despite these efforts, salmon are also expected to continue their decline for the next several decades as climate change makes their waters too hot to inhabit. Even now, 13 distinct populations are now considered threatened or endangered. And the consequences here go way beyond your dinner table. Because salmon play an essential role in many ecosystems, with bears and eagles plucking them out of the river, tiny organisms feeding on their carcasses and streambeds, and orcas and sea lions relying on them for food in the ocean. And then even if you're like, I don't give a fuck

about animals, I don't eat salmon, the issue also comes back to where we started this story, a broken promise. The very way of life of many indigenous cultures in the Pacific Northwest is at risk of collapsing unless we do something to turn the ship around. And part of that comes down to you learning about the situation now. Because nothing really ever happens with our government unless there is a political capital, unless there is an acknowledgement and a push. And so for now, our eyes stay on the situation. And in the meantime, I got to pass the question off to you. What are your thoughts here? And then I'm just going to get to the headline on this one. HelloFresh is offering you beautiful bastards free breakfast for life.

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One breakfast item per box while your subscription is active. That's right, free breakfast for life at HelloFresh.com slash DeFrancoFree and use code DeFrancoFree for free breakfast for life. One breakfast item per box while your subscription is active. That's right. Free breakfast for life at HelloFresh.com slash DeFrancoFree with code DeFrancoFree and try America's number one meal kit today. And then I'm hoping that you could help me with this in deciding if this is more funny or if it's more like kind of embarrassing and disturbing about the state of things. Because there was a Senate hearing today and you saw union leaders speaking to lawmakers. And there are these string of moments that are blowing up online right now where things get heated between Teamsters President Sean O'Brien and Senator Mark Wayne Mullen. And all of it started when Mullen gets to the mic and starts addressing O'Brien, specifically reading tweets

O'Brien posted regarding the senator after a previous hearing where they had a disagreement. So you've always been picky about your produce, but now you find yourself checking every label to make sure it's Canadian. So be it. At Sobeys, we always pick guaranteed fresh Canadian produce first. Restrictions apply. See in-store or online for details. Turns out he's self-made. What a clown.

Fraud. Always has been. Always will be. Quit the tough guy act and these Senate hearings. You know where to find me. Any place, any time, cowboy. Sir, this is a time, this is a place. If you want to run your mouth, we can be two consenting adults.

We can finish it here. Okay, that's fine. Perfect. You want to do it now? I'd love to do it right now. Well, stand your butt up then. You stand your butt up. Oh, hold on. Oh, stop it. Is that your solution to every problem? No, no, sit down. Sit down. You know, you're a United States Senator.

Sit down, please. All right. Can I respond? Hold it. Hold it. You have the mic. You have time. All right. Make your statement. And let's do this because I did challenge you and I accepted your challenge and you went quiet. No, I didn't go quiet. I was, I was. Hold on. You challenged me to a cage match acting like a 12-year-old school yard bully. Hold it.

Excuse me. Hold it. No, excuse me. I will say, I will say. All right, you all won. If I, he, he made a lot of statements, right? And his statements are fiction at best. Fiction, I read them.

Can you hear? What? Hold on. Answer the question, please. I can't understand him to be honest with you all right he rambles so much what was your question actually man high school never ends but as entertaining as that fight was for me as an outsider didn't have to deal with it poor bernie sanders that isn't actually why everyone got together this morning instead

several union presidents including o'brien and uaw president sean fain met with the health education labor and pensions committee to discuss unions and their impact on the lives of Americans. During his opening remarks, Fain detailed the success of the UAW strike, saying, You know, there's far too much to in our agreement to detail in a short testimony. But, you know, for the major areas, we raised wages dramatically for over 100,000 workers. We took a major step toward ensuring a just transition in electric vehicles. We improved retirement security for hundreds of thousands of retirees. And lastly, we secured jobs. Job security was a major part of this bargaining for current employees and future members. And we bargained for language that allows

us to strike these companies if they don't honor their commitments, which has been a huge issue in the past. And when Chairman Bernie Sanders asked about UAW's plan for organizing in the future, Fain said, you know, we're going to organize like hell. You know, it's, it's, I've said this throughout the last year, that when you bargain good agreements, when you set a standard, people want to be a part of that success. And it's what changed my grandparents' life. Notably, a frequent topic of discussion during the hearing was how the deal struck by the UAW have caused a ripple effect throughout the industry. And, you know, we set that standard, and immediately you saw Toyota, Honda, and now Hyundai changing their conditions, raising pay for their workers and

shortening the progression to get to full pay from eight years to four years, from six years to three years. And we did the same thing from eight years to three years. So obviously, you know, that is a direct result of the impact of what we bargained for. That said, while these deals are historic and have seen substantial impact outside of just the union, thousands of UAW members are voting against them. For example, of the more than 4,000 votes cast in Kentucky at Ford's largest plant, 54.5% of them were no votes. And of the roughly 25,000 total votes cast by Ford's UAW members so far, 34% have been no's. Which, of course, yes, means the yeses still have the majority,

but the number of those against the deal is still worth talking about. Especially because this isn't limited to just Ford. Thousands of GM workers are also voting against their deal. In fact, 72% of production workers and 56% of skilled trade workers at GM's Spring Hill, Tennessee manufacturing facility voted against the deal. And 48% of the roughly 16,000 GM votes cast so far have been against the deal. Also, Stellantis so far had fewer than 5,000 votes cast, with the majority being approval. But there's also distrust regarding whether the company will actually adhere to the standards laid out in the deal. So ultimately, right now, we are still waiting on the final numbers for the ratification of these agreements. But in the meantime, of

course, I'd love to know your thoughts here, whether it be on the last part or that explosive first part. And then let's talk about yesterday today, where we take a look back at yesterday's show. We dive into those comments and see what y'all were saying or what are your opinions, your reasons, sometimes your experiences. And there regarding the possible and impending government shutdown, we have people saying there needs to be a law requiring congressional members to not be paid during shutdowns, which I absolutely support as well. That way, at the very least, you would feel like you are a part of the thing. You are part of the fight and you're not just like on top being the puppet master. We need our leaders to have some skin in the game that goes beyond them maybe, maybe not abusing the stock market. There

was also, of course, a lot of conversation around that Billie Eilish piece yesterday, which if you didn't see, I don't want to oversimplify it. Go watch yesterday's show. But y'all were sharing things like, as a man who stopped growing at 5'7 by the age of 17, and a decade later is still told off for not being able to grow taller, thank you for the stand-up. I wish we lived in a world where everybody was treated kindly no matter the circumstances. As well as someone who's middle of the road now, but has been on both extreme sides, you're 100% correct about how people treat you one weight versus a lighter weight. I live in a very average person middle of the road place now, and the amount of people who pretend I don't exist or avoid eye contact is crazy. As well as, it really

struck a nerve with me emotionally, and I think that speaks to the impact body shaming can have on people. I remember when I was a young teenager, I had girls look me in the eyes and tell me I was too short for them. Like, damn, just be vague or lie. It stings a lot and it makes you feel small and unlovable. It made me not like myself. You grow and become comfortable in your own skin and learn to love yourself, but we can always stand to be kinder. I'm sure Billy could understand that in hindsight. But then also, on the other side of this, we saw comments like,

As a woman, the most hurtful comments I have reviewed about my body have been from other women. Being an asshole is not exclusive to gender. And again, as something I stressed in yesterday's show, and I think looking through the comments, a lot of people understood as well and were kind of in agreement with, that was not a, like, fuck Billie Eilish story. I just think, understandably, she's been so focused on how she has been treated that sometimes can make you short-sighted and a different avenue or dismiss someone else's struggle. And some of you who have watched me for a while know, like when people talk about my weight, I sometimes lose my cool. I overreact. I have to like apologize to someone privately. But I think it's important to speak about it in a more calm manner like I did yesterday, because that's that's where like actual discourse can happen, even though that could be hard because, you know, the whole thing can be so incredibly hurtful and leave lots of scars on you emotionally. And actually, right after I recorded that line,

I saw this comment that I think really hits on that. I said, as an ugly guy, my first reaction was to think, fuck you, you don't understand what it's like. But I think that a more sober response is to acknowledge that it is hard to believe that someone might be dying of thirst when you yourself are drowning. That is where your daily dive into the news is going to end today. Though, for more news you need to know, I got you covered right here. You can click or tap to watch that, or I got links in the description. But no matter the case, as always, my name's Philip DeFranco. You've just been filled in. I love your faces, and I'll see you right back here tomorrow to break down more news.