The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 12.09 CEO Killer Suspect Luigi Mangione Captured, What We Know, Daniel Penny NOT GUILTY, & Today’s News

Episode Date: December 9, 2024

Today was a crazy news day. Let’s talk about it. Use code “PHIL” for $20 OFF your first SeatGeek order & returning buyers use code “PDS” for $10 off AND your chance at weekly $500 prizes! ht...tps://seatgeek.onelink.me/RrnK/PHIL  Take the next step to improving your health: go to https://lumen.me/DEFRANCO to get 15% off your Lumen. Like my shirt? Buy one at https://BeautifulBastard.com It's one of my new polos.  – ✩ TODAY’S STORIES ✩ – 00:00 - Luigi Mangione, Person of Interest in UHC CEO Killing, Arrested in Pennsylvania 2:47 - Daniel Penny Found Not Guilty in Subway Chokehold Trial  6:14 - Sponsored by SeatGeek 7:03 - Jay-Z Responds to Being Named in Diddy Lawsuit 10:57 - Federal Court Upholds TikTok Ban, Company Asks Court to Pause Ruling  14:51 - Sponsored by Lumen 15:53 - Assad Regime Falls in Syria 21:28 - Comment Commentary  ——————————   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 #LuigiMangione #DanielPenny ———————————— Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript
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Starting point is 00:00:00 Sup you beautiful bastards. Welcome back to the Philip DeFranco Show, your daily dive into the news. Today is Monday, December 9th. There is a lot of news to talk about today, but the first thing we have to talk about today is Luigi Mangione. Because Luigi at this point is still considered
Starting point is 00:00:15 the strong person of interest in the killing of United Healthcare CEO, Brian Thompson, and he was arrested on firearm charges in Pennsylvania. And all of this after, of course, Thompson was shot in Midtown Manhattan back on Wednesday morning, and there's been a major manhunt for the gunman ever since. Now, as far as how Mangione got identified, it wasn't actually in connection with the United Healthcare CEO Shooter Lookalike Contest, which is, yes, a real thing that happened. But rather,
Starting point is 00:00:36 it apparently happened at a McDonald's in Pennsylvania, where the NYPD said that he was recognized by an employee. And with this, the police said that they recovered a weapon consistent with the one used in the murder, as well as a fake New Jersey ID that matched the one that the suspect used to check into a hostel in New York. And according to the NYPD, the weapon appears to be a ghost gun that may have been made by a 3D printer, though they need to run further tests on it. With police commissioner Jessica Tisch adding,
Starting point is 00:00:55 Additionally, officers recovered a handwritten document that speaks to both his motivation and mindset. With NYPD officials saying that the document was three pages long and that right now, it doesn't look like there were any specific threats to others listed in it, but it does show ill will towards corporate America. With a minute reportedly saying,
Starting point is 00:01:13 B's parasites had it coming and also apologizing for any trauma he's caused, but emphasizing that it, quote, had to be done. Now, in terms of how else they found this guy, you had officials pointing to the surveillance pictures of the person of interest. The images that we shared with the public were spread far and wide,
Starting point is 00:01:29 and the tips we received led to the recovery of crucial evidence. We should never underestimate the power of the public to be our eyes and our ears in these investigations. The authorities also didn't give too many details about Luigi, but said that he was born and raised in Maryland, had ties to San Francisco, potentially went to school in Pennsylvania,
Starting point is 00:01:48 and that his last known address was in Hawaii. And currently, the NYPD also believes that he acted alone, though the investigation is still ongoing. But I will say it appears that we are learning more and more about this guy by the second, and that is because right now the public is digging up everything they can find about him on social media, with that ranging from his background, travel photos,
Starting point is 00:02:05 as well as his Goodreads account. For example, people sharing this quote from Dr. Seuss he allegedly liked and tagged under activism, reading, unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better, it's not. As well as allegedly books about back pain that he seemingly read, with many then connecting it back to his x-ray and his Twitter header.
Starting point is 00:02:21 You've also got others trying to get a glimpse into his politics by looking at who he followed, which included people like Trevor Noah and AOC to RFK Jr. and Joe Rogan. And then regarding more of his background, you had the New York Times reporting that he was valedictorian at an expensive private high school in Baltimore.
Starting point is 00:02:33 But as a filming, that is everything we know, though, because of the breaking nature of it all, there's gonna be more details coming out. And so with that, well, obviously, we're gonna keep eyes on this and talk about this more. In the meantime, I'd love to know your thoughts on any and all aspects of this whole story and situation in those comments down below.
Starting point is 00:02:47 And then, this Daniel Penny news is genuinely huge. Because depending on your perspective or where you're going on the internet, it is either a hero now being vindicated or a profound miscarriage of justice. Because Daniel Penny is a now 26-year-old former Marine who was charged for the chokehold death on the New York City subway of Jordan Neely
Starting point is 00:03:02 back in spring of last year. And with that, Jordan Neely was a 30-year-old homeless Michael Jackson impersonator with a history of mental illness and drug use. And according to witnesses, when Neely entered the train car, he acted erratically. He was yelling that he was hungry and allegedly made vague threats.
Starting point is 00:03:15 And so according to reports, Penny came up from behind and pulled him to the floor in a chokehold for as long as six minutes, all while there were bystanders filming videos that went viral. Then, despite EMT's efforts to resuscitate him, Neely never woke up, and Penny later got charged with second-degree manslaughter.
Starting point is 00:03:28 Now, with all this, you had Penny's lawyers arguing that he just acted lawfully in defense of these other passengers, who didn't know whether Neely had any weapons or not. With also several subway riders testifying that they were terrified Neely was going to attack and felt relieved when Penny did something. But then, on the other side,
Starting point is 00:03:41 you had the prosecutor saying, hey, I actually agree that Penny intended to protect his fellow passengers, but she added the caveat, he, I actually agree that Penny intended to protect his fellow passengers, but she added the caveat, he just didn't recognize that Jordan Neely's life too needed to be preserved. And arguing, the defendant used way too much force for way too long in way too reckless of a manner. But they're also arguing there that Penny kept Neely in the chokehold even after the man stopped moving and other passengers cautioned him to loosen his grip. And with that, you actually had the Marine Corps martial arts expert who trained Penny,
Starting point is 00:04:04 testifying that Penny was aware the holds could be lethal. But then you had the defense calling their own medical expert to the stand, who claimed that the chokehold alone didn't kill Neely, arguing instead that it was a mix of factors that led to his death, including a sickle cell crisis, a schizophrenic episode, K2 intoxication, and in part, Penny's chokehold. With that notably contradicting the medical examiner, who didn't have the toxicology report at the time that they ruled the official cause of death
Starting point is 00:04:24 to be compression of the neck. Though also a big thing there is they stated at trial, quote, no toxicological result imaginable was going to change my opinion, even if they showed enough fentanyl to put down an elephant. And so ultimately, after each side gave their closing arguments, the 12-person jury deliberated all throughout last week in Manhattan, with us then getting the news on Friday that they returned to the courtroom just to announce that they couldn't agree on a verdict. So from there, we saw the judge and the prosecutor agreeing to throw out the manslaughter charge, which would have carried a sentence of up to 15 years. And instead, they're allowing the jury to consider a lesser alternative charge of criminally negligent homicide. With that
Starting point is 00:04:53 carrying a maximum sentence of just four years, though, the judge could give him no prison time at all. But now the big update today is that the jury came back with another announcement. And this time they had reached a unanimous verdict. Daniel Penney is not guilty of criminally negligent homicide, with one half of the protesters outside celebrating the news and the other angry, with those different sentiments obviously expanding to the internet as well, with the likes of Ben Shapiro saying, this trial never should have taken place. America needs more men like Daniel Penney. America needs fewer prosecutors like Alvin Bragg, as well as Meghan McCain adding, I don't think the left fully grasps "'how much they are radicalizing people "'when a Marine who saved a bunch of people
Starting point is 00:05:27 "'on the subway from a violent person with mental illness "'yelling, someone is going to die today, is demonized.'" As well as some on the other side like Mehdi Hassan saying, "'Imagine, just imagine if Jordan Neely had been white "'and Daniel Penny was black. "'Imagine what some of the folks "'defending Penny today would be saying.'" And the NAACP writing,
Starting point is 00:05:42 "'The acquittal of Daniel Penny "'and the death of Jordan Neely "'has effectively given license for vigilante justice "'to be waged on the black community without consequence. "'It's a painful reminder of the inequities "'in our justice system. "'Jordan deserved compassion. "'Instead, he was met with violence.'"
Starting point is 00:05:55 Now, as far as what is next here, the situation is not over for Penny, right? And that because Neely's father separately filed a lawsuit in New York Supreme Court last week, accusing Penny of assault, battery, and causing Neely's death. And so while we're going to have to wait to see what happens there, the main takeaway, at least for today, is that Penny is not going to prison. And whether you're happy or not about that news, I'd love to know your thoughts about why down below.
Starting point is 00:06:15 But then, quick breather from the news, you know, I got to say, it has been fun for me to learn how you guys are using your SeatGeek weddings. From concerts and Broadway shows to sporting events, our weekly SeatGeek $500 giveaway lives on and you beautiful bastards are crushing it. And for the uninitiated, SeatGeek is the number one rated live event ticketing app with over 28 million downloads and access to a wide array of entertainment to get you and a loved one out of the house. My team worked with SeatGeek to extend the $500 giveaway. And if you haven't entered yet, just do it. Like next week's winner could be you. Simply add code PDS to your SeatGeek account, get $10 off, and you could be one of our lucky weekly winners. That's $500 in credit
Starting point is 00:06:47 towards any of SeatGeek's 70,000 events. And also, if you're new to SeatGeek, you can add code Phil for $20 off your first purchase. But again, SeatGeek vets can add code PDS, which gets you $10 off any purchase. And again, you'll be entered for your chance at the $500 SeatGeek credit, no purchase necessary. And then, so Jay-Z officially has a 100th problem,
Starting point is 00:07:06 and it is not a small one, because Jay-Z is now being accused of raping a teenage girl alongside Diddy. Right, and it kind of felt like the internet was waiting for this to drop, because ever since Diddy was indicted back in September, there had just been a ton of rumors and reports that other celebrities would be named in legal action,
Starting point is 00:07:20 with there being a ton of claims, including that A-listers knew about and even participated in Diddy's alleged freak-offs. And yesterday, we saw it actually happen. Now, the case in question here actually involves a lawsuit that was first filed in October, with it at the time naming Diddy and mentioning two other unnamed celebrities.
Starting point is 00:07:34 But now, it's been refiled to say that one of those celebrities was Jay-Z. And because I actually covered this when it was first filed, some of the allegations might sound a little familiar. With this new suit claiming that Diddy and Jay-Z drugged and raped a 13 year old girl at a VMAs after party in 2000. And this as it claims another celebrity stood by
Starting point is 00:07:49 and watched as both took turns assaulting her. And as far as how these allegations unfolded, you have the lawsuit claiming that the girl was trying to get into the VMAs and Diddy's limo driver ended up inviting her to an after party. With a lawsuit claiming that once she was at that party, she was asked to sign a document,
Starting point is 00:08:01 which she now believes was an NDA, but saying that she was never given a copy. With her then going on to claim that she accepted a drink that made her feel woozy, so she went to a room to lie down, and that is when Diddy, Jay-Z, and an unnamed female celebrity walked in, with Jay-Z specifically being accused of undressing
Starting point is 00:08:14 and raping the teenage girl first, and Diddy going after, with the girl only escaping after hitting Diddy in the neck. With a lawsuit then adding that after this alleged assault, she fell into a deep depression, which continues to affect every facet of her life. Adding that she also suffers from PTSD and a seizure disorder caused by the trauma and the suit
Starting point is 00:08:29 accuses Jay-Z of harassing the alleged victim. Claiming there that before this updated complaint was filed, Jay-Z received a letter from her counsel requesting mediation, but, quote, Jay-Z responded to said letter by not only filing an utterly frivolous lawsuit, but by also orchestrating a conspiracy of harassment, bullying, and intimidation against plaintiff's lawyers,
Starting point is 00:08:46 their families, employees, and former associates in an attempt to silence plaintiff from naming Jay-Z. With that, saying that this effort didn't work and actually encouraged the victim to list him in the lawsuit. And with this, you're the lawsuit trying to paint Diddy and Jay-Z as being incredibly close. We're saying that their relationship,
Starting point is 00:09:00 it went past just being collaborators, they were very close friends. Saying in fact so close that Jay-Z is allegedly the only person aside from Diddy's mom that's allowed to call him by his legal name of Sean. Now for his part, Diddy's legal team gave a statement to NBC News saying the lawsuits being filed against him are shameless publicity stunts full of lies.
Starting point is 00:09:15 Though the response that's getting the most attention right now is Jay-Z's. And that is because he posted a statement to Roc Nation social media accounts railing against the victim's lawyer, Tony Busby. Saying there, my lawyer received a blackmail attempt called a demand letter from a, quote, lawyer named Tony Busby. What he had calculated was the nature of these allegations and the public scrutiny would make me want to settle. No, sir, it had the opposite effect. It made me want to expose you
Starting point is 00:09:36 for the fraud you are in a very public fashion. So no, I will not give you one red penny. These allegations are so heinous in nature that I implore you to file a criminal complaint, not a civil one. But then going on to try to discredit Busby's previous cases as well as his time in the Marines and then calling him an ambulance chaser in a cheap suit. With Jay-Z going on to say, my only heartbreak is for my family. My wife and I will have to sit our children down, one of whom is at the age where her friends will surely see the press and ask questions about the nature of these claims. And going on to say, you have made a terrible error in judgment thinking that all celebrities are the same. I'm not from your world. I'm a young man who made it out of the project of Brooklyn.
Starting point is 00:10:10 We don't play these types of games. We protect children. You seem to exploit people for personal gain. With that, then leading to a whole back and forth with Busby issuing a statement saying that the only thing Jay-Z failed to mention in his response is that, quote, my firm sent his lawyer a demand letter
Starting point is 00:10:22 on behalf of an alleged victim and that victim never demanded a penny from him. Instead, she only sought a confidential mediation and saying as far as the allegations and the complaint filed, we will let the filing speak for itself and we'll litigate the facts in court, not in the media. And then this morning we got an update
Starting point is 00:10:35 when Jay-Z filed a motion asking for the victim to either reveal herself or dismiss the case. And in general, we've seen a lot of different reactions in a lot of different places. Some were quick to defend Jay-Z, others slammed his response. Meanwhile, there's also this whole other group just waiting for more shoes to drop
Starting point is 00:10:50 in terms of other celebrities being named in the Diddy case. And so as we're seeing all of this play out, in the meantime, I gotta ask you, what are your thoughts with this whole thing? And then, is TikTok fucked? Like, is it over? Because things are not looking good right now. Because as you might've seen,
Starting point is 00:11:03 a federal court has now upheld the law signed by Biden back in April that forces TikTok's owner, ByteDance, to sell to a non-Chinese company or face being banned in the United States. With a deadline for that, right? The line in the sand being January 19th, the day before Donald Trump is sworn into office.
Starting point is 00:11:17 And all of this is we've seen lawmakers on both sides of the aisle and intelligence officials arguing that this move is necessary because TikTok's ownership under a Chinese company is a threat to national security. And specifically, they're arguing that this move is necessary because of TikTok's ownership under a Chinese company is a threat to national security. And specifically, they're arguing that the Chinese government could pressure the private company to hand over Americans' data
Starting point is 00:11:30 or push propaganda. Though this notably as they have not provided evidence of those claims and TikTok has denied them fiercely. With them, among other things, filing a lawsuit arguing that the legislation violated the First Amendment and unfairly targeted the company. But what we saw there was a three-judge panel in the U.S. Court of Appeals
Starting point is 00:11:44 for the District of Columbia Circuit ruling unanimously against TikTok, effectively denying its effort to targeted the company. But what we saw there was a three-judge panel in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruling unanimously against TikTok, effectively denying its effort to overturn the law. With the judges specifically arguing that the law was carefully crafted to deal with only control by a foreign adversary, and so it didn't violate the First Amendment. And then also adding,
Starting point is 00:11:56 the government acted solely to protect that freedom from a foreign adversary nation and to limit that adversary's ability to gather data on people in the United States. And all of this is the chief judge on the panel also acknowledged that many Americans could lose access to an outlet for expression, a source of community, and even a means of income.
Starting point is 00:12:11 But then also adding there, Congress judged it necessary to assume that risk given the grave national security threats it perceived and the courts are not in a position to set it aside. And so now with this, we've seen a lot of free speech advocates condemning the move with TikTok itself also slamming the decision
Starting point is 00:12:24 as outright censorship of the American people. With a key thing being that TikTok also indicated that it would take the matter to the Supreme Court, arguing that the high court has an established historical record of protecting Americans' right to free speech, and we expect they will do just that on this important constitutional issue. And in fact, just this morning, we saw TikTok filing a motion asking the Federal Appeals Court to pause the law from taking effect to give the Supreme Court enough time to consider whether to take the case and allow Trump to weigh in. With the company arguing there
Starting point is 00:12:47 that Trump could prevent the need for the Supreme Court to even rule on the matter at all by fulfilling his promise to save TikTok. Which of course, as we talked about, was a complete 180 from his first term where he became one of the app's biggest opponents and actively tried to ban it. Though this also, as far as like
Starting point is 00:12:59 what Trump could actually do here, that's not entirely clear. Because in order for the law to be fully repealed, it would take an act of Congress. So among the possible actions, you could see Trump directing his new attorney general to not enforce the law. But that also could be tricky
Starting point is 00:13:11 because the way the ban is enforced is by penalizing app stores if they continue to offer TikTok. And so it's widely believed that Apple and Google would probably be wary about disobeying an actual law just based on Trump's word. Though additionally here, there's a provision in the law that allows the president to determine
Starting point is 00:13:23 whether a sale or similar transaction successfully removes TikTok from foreign adversary control. We're seeing some experts here speculating that ByteDance could make serious structural changes to meet those requirements and Trump could then approve and allow the app to continue operating. Or because Trump has the presidency and the Republicans will have both houses of Congress,
Starting point is 00:13:39 there is a world potentially where Trump says, I know a number of the Republicans voted this way before, but I'm the leader leader do as I say. And then he instructs them to vote against it like for a new law, but then there's a question of, would he actually have the numbers there? But then also at the same time, you have many experts questioning Trump's commitment
Starting point is 00:13:54 to TikTok, especially given how hawkish he is on China. Or with some also noting here that Congress passed this law after closed door intelligence briefings about the threats posed by TikTok's Chinese ownership. And so Trump could change his mind once he takes office and gets briefed on the same information. And that is kind of it, right? Outside of that, TikTok doesn't really have many other avenues for survival in the States. There's always technically the possibility that ByteDance will cave to the law and they'll sell now that their attempt to block the law has been shut down by the appeals court. But I mean,
Starting point is 00:14:18 one, they have repeatedly refused to do so. And two, the sale of TikTok's algorithm would probably get blocked under Chinese export controls issued in 2020. So if they decided to sell TikTok, it would be a shell of the platform without the algorithm that makes the app what it is. Because as far as the Supreme Court's role in all this, multiple experts have said that if the justices agree to take up the case, they would then just likely uphold the decision made by the appeals court and allow the law to live on. And then finally, with all this, right, as far as like how this would affect you, you would still likely be able to use TikTok if you downloaded the app before the ban, but you wouldn't be able to receive updates. So it's believed that it would just eventually turn into a buggy nightmare. For now, we'll have to wait to
Starting point is 00:14:50 see what happens with the Trump of it all. But then in a quick break from the news, are you looking for an outside of the box gift idea for a loved one or even yourself? Because you know, you've heard me talk about how I think my metabolism is my body's engine, turning the food you eat into fuel. The healthy metabolism is flexible, switching between fuel sources, fats and carbs based on availability and energy needs. And that's my body's engine, turning the food you eat into fuel. And a healthy metabolism is flexible, switching between fuel sources, fats and carbs, based on availability and energy needs. And that's where today's sponsor comes in, Lumen, the device that switched up my decision-making
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Starting point is 00:15:58 it is messy, and it is game changing. Because after nearly two decades of civil war, the rule of the Assad family has ended after just a few weeks with Bashar al-Assad and his family reportedly fleeing the country to Russia. With the footage from the capital of Damascus showing people dancing in the streets, although it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows.
Starting point is 00:16:14 Because the liberation of Damascus also came with sobering reminders of what the Assad regime was doing, like the tens of thousands of political prisoners that got free. With just story after heartbreaking story coming out. And also, I mean, there were allegations that everyone was given a number
Starting point is 00:16:27 and they weren't allowed to use their names. And those stories are a rabbit hole worth going down. But for now, we need to talk about how this happened so quickly, who is behind it, and is this really the end of the war? Starting with that first point, right? It seems like what really screwed over the Assad regime was its major backers, Russia, Iran, and Hezbollah,
Starting point is 00:16:42 having lost a lot of their power in the region. You see, Russia used to have a lot of troops in Syria, but they needed them more and more for its war in Ukraine, and that left Iran and Hezbollah. And with that, Iran's presence has always been relatively small and more of the way for the country to ship weapons to the regime in Hezbollah,
Starting point is 00:16:55 which then just kind of left Hezbollah to prop up Assad. But then all of that crashing down after a gamble that it could fight another war with Israel. And so because of all that, the ill-trained and low morale troops that were under Assad's control, I mean, they put up almost literally no fight when the rebels started their offensive,
Starting point is 00:17:08 which then brings us to the question of, well, who are these rebels? Because despite being described as this cohesive group, I mean, they're more of a loose coalition with the group HTS at the helm, with HTS actually being a spinoff of a former Al-Qaeda affiliate, so a few steps removed from its hardcore Islamist past.
Starting point is 00:17:22 Though with that, understand, that doesn't mean those tendencies still aren't there, with the United States still designating them as a terror group. Though, you also have the group's leader, Abu Muhammad Al-Jilani, pushing back against this in an interview with CNN, saying that the label was, quote, primarily political and at the same time inaccurate.
Starting point is 00:17:35 With him then going on to argue that the whole reason HTS exists is because it was opposed to the most extreme Islamic groups and splintered away. But, you know, that still hasn't stopped a lot of people from worrying that we're about to see another repressive caliphate in the Middle East. Though on that note,
Starting point is 00:17:47 you had Jelani saying, "'People who fear Islamic governance either have seen incorrect implementations of it or do not understand it properly.'" With him then going on to add that Syria would then transition to a state of governance, institutions and so on. "'Syria deserves a governing system that is institutional,
Starting point is 00:18:01 not one where a single ruler makes arbitrary decisions.'" And this is the group reportedly does have experience governing, right? It's been in charge of the large city of Idlib and the surrounding areas for a while now. But on one side, reports there indicating that in some ways it was repressive with things like prisons for political prisoners.
Starting point is 00:18:16 But then also at the same time, on the other side, you had Jelani showing that he was willing to bend after pushback from residents. And this is either way, reportedly he's been effective with Idlib going from one of Syria's poorest major cities to one that is effectively run Where they're boasting things like malls, cafes, functioning public services and even 24-hour electricity Which is something that even Damascus didn't have. But this also is ruling what essentially amounts to a single province is much different than an entire country Especially one as diverse as Syria, which has a lot of ethnic and religious minorities
Starting point is 00:18:42 Which of course brings up the question of, well, what would happen to them under a possibly moderate Islamic regime? And notably there, you had Jelani trying to reassure people, saying that there were some violations against minorities by certain individuals during periods of chaos, but we addressed these issues. And adding, no one has the right to erase another group. These sects have coexisted in this region
Starting point is 00:18:59 for hundreds of years, and no one has the right to eliminate them. Also, what's been really interesting with this whole situation is seeing how the media has portrayed Jelani and his group. And specifically, I mean the recent coverage compared to the past coverage. Because if you just look at Google trends, you can see that there's not a lot about them out there
Starting point is 00:19:13 prior to the past few weeks. With previously the biggest pop being back in April when the group was dealing with protests in Italy. With at the time, some outlets describing him as a dictator. Protests have erupted against another Syrian dictator and protests grow against powerful jihadist groups in Syria enclave. And this is generally speaking, HDS was described as authoritarian, but now they've been described as more of an unknown. However, it's not like this is coming out of nowhere, right? Jelani and this group, they have spent months trying to polish
Starting point is 00:19:37 their image. You know, they may possibly be sincere about it despite their fundamentalist past. Though, of course, this is, I always say, words are words, actions are actions. We'll have to see how this plays out. Because on the note of words, we have things like in 2013, he told Al Jazeera that he wanted Syria to be an Islamic caliphate that had no room for the country's minority groups. But as we saw in a CNN interview, he now claims the opposite. And this is you have experts saying
Starting point is 00:19:57 the group's been saying the right things recently. Like in response to those protests earlier this year, you had HTS's media body telling outlets, "'The protests in the streets against HTS and the Salvation Government are natural and we do not view them in any other context. We're confident that those who work make mistakes and all protests aim to correct these mistakes
Starting point is 00:20:13 that have recently transpired. And that's on top of recent reports that claim soldiers for the HTS were told they couldn't approach women for dressing quote inappropriately and tell them to cover up because women are allowed to wear what they want. Though this also is you have critics saying
Starting point is 00:20:24 this could just be a temporary thing, right? Temporary stances as a way to cozy up to other countries and be seen as a legitimate shift. But as far as what the reality is, I mean, we won't really know until we see what happens next. You have Jelani claiming that he'll be working with groups to try and set up some kind of stable transition to power. But this also is even if he starts a stable government
Starting point is 00:20:40 in Damascus, it doesn't mean that that's the end of the civil war. Unless while he's doing all of this, he can convince the Kurds to lay down their arms and join the country again. Something that's been described by many as not likely as they've been acting autonomously for almost two decades now.
Starting point is 00:20:52 And an independent Kurdistan, that's long been a dream for the ethnic group. That is a whole other rabbit hole because as all of this was happening, Turkey attacked Kurdish forces because Turkey doesn't want a Kurdistan to exist. But also like, let's say that some kind of agreements were made to end the fighting between the various rebel groups.
Starting point is 00:21:06 Syria would still be at war. Though this time, just with Israel, as the two have long had a disputed region called the Golan Heights. And actually, with the Assad regime falling, Israel took the chance to attack in Syria and secure a buffer zone and occupy more land. So this is in no way the last time
Starting point is 00:21:18 we're gonna be talking about this. We have to keep an eye on all the moving parts. Because as great as it would be to see a democratic and relatively free Syria as Jelani has promised, it's probably safer to say that the country still has a long, long way to go. But then finally today, let's talk about that last show with a little comment commentary.
Starting point is 00:21:32 And unlike previous shows, I will say there was a mishmash of topics being covered there. Regarding the Hak Tua girls crypto scandal, you had people saying things like, "'Hak Tua girl crypto coin scam to a Victorian child "'would make their head explode.'" With others commenting on how this was presented, saying, saying if anyone ever says it's not just a cash grab, they're telling the truth. It's also a scam. Others coming in that she speed ran her way up as
Starting point is 00:21:52 an influencer and now she's speed running her way down, saying it's only fitting really. Though with that, I will say in my professional opinion, this is not going to be something that ruins her. I could be wrong, but by all accounts, it appears that there's a team or at least some sort of person or structure that's been navigating all this for her. I kind of foresee a few different options for her to try to navigate out of this. And some just results in her public image being a little more bloodied than others.
Starting point is 00:22:14 I think the smart money though is the narrative that she's just a little baby, she didn't know. The idea that she's just been misled and she's also a victim though, that might not be what they do. And I also think, like I mentioned last week, that she burned through a good chunk of goodwill when she just blasted Coffeezilla.
Starting point is 00:22:28 This is one of the most miserable, horrible launches I've ever seen in my life. Okay, then why the fuck are you on? There were also a good chunk of comments about the lead poisoning story. Though, I will say, some of those comments went in a different direction. Like BeeGee, who said,
Starting point is 00:22:42 "'Lead poisoning is a serious issue.' I'm surprised in the year 2024, we're not tackling this issue as serious as we should. Hell, even recently there were reports of a CEO of United Health Group who recently died from lead poisoning. It's incredibly dangerous. Thank you, Phil, for bringing this up to more eyes.
Starting point is 00:22:56 There were also comments like, I love that America is getting angry about fluoride in the water instead of the lead in the pipes. Though a lot of the comments really focused its attention on the group affected. The comments like, I love that the age group with the highest exposure to the lead in the pipes. So a lot of the comments really focused its attention on the group affected. The comments like, I love that the age group with the highest exposure to lead are running this country. But then finally, once again, there were a lot of comments
Starting point is 00:23:11 and a lot of the conversation focused on the problems with the healthcare system in the States. The top comments like, the US system is insane. You get sick for more than X days a year, you're fired. You need to go and stay in a hospital for a longer period. You're forever indebted even though you have health insurance. Now, if your surgery takes more than X amount of time,
Starting point is 00:23:26 you need to pay for the anesthesia out of your pocket? Still, a lot of Americans criticize the European system because no one wants their taxes to be spent to help other people, right? Which obviously is a comment and a sentiment that resonated with a lot of people, though I will also know the specific anesthesia thing that I think is being referenced there.
Starting point is 00:23:41 There was an update that we covered. You also had Lucy saying, having a loved one with a terminal illness kills any sympathy someone has "'for people in the insurance industry. "'Hold their hand as they're crying in pain "'while spending hours on the phone "'with the insurance company, denying them treatment
Starting point is 00:23:51 "'because, quote, they don't really need it. "'I do not forgive and I do not forget.'" And I will say one of the things that was kind of the most interesting and eye-opening of kind of all the fallout that's happened since the killing are the number of political pundits and commentary goblins who didn't realize that this is not a left versus right thing, even though they are
Starting point is 00:24:08 trying to make it that? I mean, I've seen examples of this all over the place. The most prominent ones that got highlighted by the internet have been Ben Shapiro and Matt Walsh's comment section. Ben Shapiro literally titled his video, The Evil Revolutionary Left Cheers Murder. And a bulk of the comment section was like, oh shit, have you just been pinning people against each other with culture war issues and politicizing everything? That it shouldn't be left versus right, but those who fuck and those who get fucked? Like literally opening the comment section today,
Starting point is 00:24:34 top comments, it's not left or right, it's not black or white, it's rich versus poor, your true colors are showing. And we got conservatives and liberals hugging each other in a comment section before GTA 6. And finally saw my lifelong hardworking father become bankrupt as a result of claims being denied after getting cancer.
Starting point is 00:24:48 You are out of touch, man. Which again, to bring it back to what I said last week is what happened is not something I personally can cheer or endorse, but I've lived long enough as a have not. And I've seen my own family and friends and just people I've come across get fucked by the system. So I understand where people are coming from. I understand what would make a person be outright apathetic
Starting point is 00:25:10 to fucking joyful. Life and pain and fucked up systems that don't lift up, they callous the heart. But on that note, that is where your Monday dive into the news is gonna end. As always, thanks for being a part of these daily dives into the news. I believe we have seven more scheduled shows
Starting point is 00:25:26 till the end of the year, three more of those coming this week, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. And as we get closer, we'll talk more about what the in-between time will look like, because I don't want to go completely dark on the channel during our break. But we'll talk about it either later this week or next week.
Starting point is 00:25:38 And for now, I'll just leave you with, my name's Philip DeFranco, you've just been filled in. I love yo faces, and I'll see you right back here tomorrow.

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