The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 12.16 Crazy NJ Drones Update, Luigi Mangione Documentary, Trump Wins $15M ABC Defamation Settlement, &

Episode Date: December 16, 2024

IT'S HAPPENING! https://BeautifulBastard.com just launched 3 Mystery Boxes and an up to 80% Off End-Of-Year Clearance Sale! Take the quiz to find your perfect trainer and get 14 days of free training here: https://go.trainwell.net/Philip-DeFranco  – ✩ TODAY’S STORIES ✩ – 00:00 - Mystery Drones Now Spotted in Eight States 07:37 - UnitedHealthcare Accused of Strategically Denying Care for Kids With Autism  12:58 - Sponsored by Trainwell 14:12 - RFK Jr.’s Lawyer Has Asked the FDA to Revoke Polio Vaccine Approval 18:02 - ABC to Pay $15 Million in Trump Defamation Settlement 21:00 - Israel Plans to Double Population in Golan Heights 26:18 - 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 #JoeRogan #Drone ———————————— 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. It is Monday, December 16th. We have a lot to talk about, but first, I'm very excited to announce our infamous end of year blowout, our mystery box sale. It is live right now over at beautifulbastard.com.

It's that time of the year where I wanna completely empty the warehouse in preparation for next year. You know, I'd rather lose money to you based off of huge savings rather than just paying a storage company crazy fees. So what that means is if you go to beautifulbastard.com right now, the savings start with three mystery boxes. The mystery tea box, which has shirts that were up to $45, now only $20. The long sleeve box were things that were priced around $65, are now $25. And the premium hoodie box, where things were typically $80-ish,

they're now just $35. All you got to do is pick size and quantity. And then in addition to that, there are discounts site-wide that include 30% off the best damn blanks in the business with our core gear, as well as things up to 80% off. So I implore you, rip me off. Get yourself as many goodies as you want, because these are the biggest savings you'll ever get. And honestly, it's been a year,

next year's gonna be a year, treat yourself. But with that said, there's a lot of news we gotta talk about today, so let's just jump back into it. Starting with, we need to talk about DroneGate, right? All the arrests, the conspiracies, the calls for action, all the updates, because there have been a ton of news we gotta talk about today. So let's just jump back into it. Starting with, we need to talk about DroneGate, right? All the arrests, the conspiracies, the calls for action, all the updates, because there have been a ton of them. And as we talked about last week,

reportedly there have been a ton of unidentified drones spotted at night flying all over New Jersey as well as surrounding areas of Pennsylvania and New York. But we really don't know anything about where these alleged drones are coming from and what they're doing despite widespread public outcry and demands for answers from state and local leaders. And this, as it's been reported

that most of the drones seen in New Jersey, they seem to be much larger than what's typically available to hobbyists. Now with that, federal, state, and military officials have repeatedly said that the drones do not pose a threat to safety or security, and they're not believed to be coming from a foreign actor. But then they also haven't been able to provide any answers.

And since we last talked about it, the mystery has just deepened even more with drone sightings expanding now to other states. Now, according to reports, sightings being reported in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Virginia, California, and Ohio. And with that, there've been some notable disruptions and incidents like, for example,

Stewart Airfield, north of New York City, was forced to temporarily shut down its runways for about an hour last week due to drone activity. And this, as an Air Force base in Ohio also closed off its airspace for several hours for the same reason. Then beyond that, two suspects were also arrested for hazardous drone operation near Logan Airport in Boston. And a Chinese citizen was placed under arrest for allegedly flying a drone and taking pictures of a Space Force base in California. Though I will say,

very notably here, police have not given any indication that either of these arrests are connected to any of the drone sightings around the country. And again, top officials maintain that there is no evidence that the broader drone gate situation is the results of a foreign actor. And to that point, you know, one thing I wanna make very clear is that we do not know how or even if

any of these events are tied together. Recurrently, there is no definitive way to say if the sightings in Ohio are connected to what's happening in New Jersey, especially as the drone activity that we've seen in Jersey is still seeming to happen at a scale and level of coordination that's not been seen in other places,

which is also why we had officials from the FBI, Department of Homeland Security and White House, all giving press briefings specifically addressing the situation in New Jersey. And with these, we've seen those officials saying that they have determined that the vast majority of the drone sightings, they're actually manned aircraft like helicopters and planes

that are being operated legally. And this is an FBI official said that the agency created a national tip line to report the drone. But they are saying of the 5,000 tips they've received, less than 100 leads have been generated and deemed worthy of further investigative activity. This is again, the officials reiterated that they have found no indication of criminal activity, foreign interference, malicious intent, or a threat to safety and national security. Though, that said, you did have some New Jersey lawmakers pushing back against the claim by federal officials

that most of the drones are actually manned aircraft. Arguing instead, that's not what they were told in briefings or just saying that they don't believe those statements based on what they've personally witnessed or heard about in their state. But then also at the same time, we saw Senator Andy Kim of New Jersey actually walking back a video that he shared on X

showing what appeared to be a cluster of drones flying near a reservoir in the state. Within there, openly acknowledging that after further analysis, he determined that the crafts were almost certainly planes. And then also touching on this, you had Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas going on ABC News yesterday to say, there's no question that people are seeing drones. Some of those drone sightings are in fact drones. Some are manned aircraft that are commonly mistaken

for drones. And we do see duplicative reporting. But there's no question that drones are being cited. Let me set the record straight here, George. There are thousands of drones flown every day in the United States, recreational drones, commercial drones. That is the reality. And in September of 2023, the Federal Aviation Administration, the FAA, changed the rules so that drones could fly at night. And that may be one of the reasons why now people are seeing more drones than they did before, especially from dawn to dusk. With Mayorkas then going on to say that Congress needs to expand the ability of federal, state, and local authorities to crack down on drones. Though on that note, we have seen some significant efforts here. Right, Mayorkas and other federal officials

have consistently said they're channeling considerable resources, personnel, and technology to address the situation. And just yesterday, New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced that federal officials are sending a drone detection system to her state. Though she also echoed Mayorkas' call for Congress to give state governments more power

to deal directly with drones, an idea that's been backed by other lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, with some, including President-elect Donald Trump, also arguing that relevant authority should be given the ability to shoot the drones down. So for now, we're gonna have to wait to see if any of that happens as well,

as if we ever get any real clarity here. But in the meantime, right, the general air of mystery around DroneGate has just created a lot of space for conspiracy theories to flourish, with this including one unverified theory that took over over the weekend after being amplified by Joe Rogan.

And that, in large part, coming from a now viral TikTok posted by a man by the name of John Ferguson, who's the CEO of a remote aircraft system company in Kansas. And in this nine minute long video, Ferguson said that he believed that the drones are being used to detect a gas leak or radioactive material. With him arguing that they wouldn't be flying solo and at night unless they were trying to smell something.

With Ferguson launching into what's been described by some as a rambling and confusing explanation where he seemed to be heavily implying that the drones are being used to track down a nuke that went missing when President Reagan shut down the nuclear program with Russia and claiming that an unnamed source told him that he had alerted the government about a nuclear warhead from Ukraine that was, quote, heading towards the United States. Then seemingly implying that he thinks the Biden administration ignored that warning because it wants to go to war with Russia and adding this gentleman that I had spoken with who was trying to raise the alarm to try to get somebody in the government to say hey we need to work together

to go try to find this nuclear warhead none of that ever happened they knew that warhead was on its way to the United States that's all that ever came of it. Nothing ever happened. This government did not do anything at all to help this gentleman raise the alarm and raise awareness that there is a very deadly weapon on its way to the United States. It's out there. Nobody knows where it's at now. It left Europe. Now it's gone. And so then with all that, you had Rogan retweeting that video and writing, this is the first video about these drones that has got me genuinely concerned. But this also is

we've now seen a ton of people pushing back at Ferguson's claims, arguing that they are totally unverified and saying that there is no evidence. This is just pure speculation. But you know, with all this, you had Rogan casting doubt on the claims by top government officials that most of the drones are actually legally operated manned aircraft. With him arguing at those claims or sus and then adding, "'I wanna believe it's Adderall Dup incels holed up "'in a basement fucking with the man

"'more than I want it to be aliens.'" But ultimately, you know, this is where we currently are. It's a very frustrating situation of not knowing what the fuck is actually going on. And all this open space of not knowing the mystery and the secrecy, it just opens up the situation for misinformation to flourish. For conspiracies ranging from comical to possible

to just blow up. But of course know that while we wait to get more definitive information, we're gonna keep an eye on this and keep you updated. But then let's talk updates around Luigi Mangione, right? The suspect accused of killing United Healthcare CEO, Brian Thompson. Starting with the question of how soon is too soon

for a documentary? And well, as it turns out, and the least shocking news ever, there's one already reportedly in the works. With this one coming from anonymous content and Jigsaw Productions, and it will follow the shooting as well as the response and general outrage against the healthcare system. While reports haven't said what the timeline

for the production and release would be, we're gonna have to see how this plays out alongside Luigi's case. Which regarding that case, we got some major updates over the weekend. With among other things, reports saying that Luigi has retained a high profile attorney to represent him in New York,

where he's facing a murder charge. With that lawyer notably being Karen Friedman Agnifilo, who worked as the chief assistant district attorney in Manhattan for seven years, but now has a private practice. And well, as of right now, she hasn't given any statements about the case. You had one source telling CNN that she has quote,

"'As much experience as any human being, especially in the state court. And this is Thomas Dickey is still representing Luigi in Pennsylvania and has continued to indicate Luigi will not plead guilty to the counts that he's facing there, as well as the murder charge in New York. Of course, things could change, right? He also previously said that Luigi would contest his extradition to New York, but that might be changing. But it's now saying the Manhattan DA saying that he's seen indications

that Luigi might waive his right to fight it, but we might be changing. But it's now saying the Manhattan DA saying that he's seen indications that Luigi might waive his right to fight it, but we're not gonna know for sure until tomorrow. We've also now gotten some more insight into how Luigi may have been identified, with the FBI now saying that investigators actually received a tip from San Francisco police identifying him as a potential suspect.

Also, his family had previously reported Luigi missing in San Francisco and reports say that after getting this tip, the NYPD reached out to his mother and she said that the images shared on the potential suspect could be her son. Though currently, we don't know when that tip came in or how crucial it was in his eventual arrest. But all of this is arguably the biggest update related to this story actually has nothing to do

with Luigi or his case. Instead, it has to do with a major report about United Healthcare. Right, and that because ProPublica published an investigation alleging that the company is strategically restricting and denying care for kids with autism. With the outlet reporting they obtained

the company's playbook on this, which is developed by the subsidiary Optum, which manages mental health benefits at United. With specifically the article saying, "'In internal reports, the company acknowledges "'that the therapy called Applied Behavior Analysis "'is the evidence-based gold standard treatment "'for those with medically necessary needs.'"

But then adding that the company's costs have climbed as the number of children diagnosed with autism has ballooned. And so Optum is pursuing market-specific action plans to limit children's access to the treatment. Within the documents, we're reportedly showing that Optum is aware that there are very long wait lists for this therapy, but they still aim to prevent new providers from joining the network and getting rid of existing ones. Which means that impacted families would have to try and find a new provider, which is incredibly hard, or pay tens of thousands of dollars for this therapy. And according to ProPublica, the company is also questioning the medical necessity

of the therapy for some patients, which could lead to coverage denials. And reportedly, these strategies would specifically impact kids covered through state-contracted Medicaid plans, which United runs in about two dozen states, impacting 10,000 children with autism spectrum disorder. But then it's also seeing ProPublica speaking

to a number of people outraged by all this, with some of them even questioning the legality of it as there are federal laws requiring insurers to provide equal access to mental and physical care. For example, the founder of the Autism Legal Resource Center saying, "'Yes, this therapy can be expensive, "'but solving the problem by denying kids access

"'to medically necessary care is a terrible solution.'" And this is Karen Fessel, the founder of the Mental Health and Autism Insurance Project, also said that, "'This strategy is unconscionable and immoral and adding, they're denying access to treatment and shrinking a network at a time when they clearly know that there is an urgent need. We also saw ProPublica speaking to a mother whose son has autism and is impacted by this. But is learning that her son was three when he was diagnosed and prior to that she wondered if he would ever speak and she couldn't take him out in public because he would just frequently scream out of frustration.

But then saying after two years in therapy, he could start saying a few small words. And saying that by the time that he was seven, his tantrums grew less frequent and his mom could take him to the grocery store. But then also saying in periods where he had less hours of therapy, his progress regressed dramatically.

And so his therapists have concluded that he needed his time increased to 33 hours a week to progress, but Optum said that it wouldn't cover those full hours. Arguing instead, her son hadn't shown enough progress after being in therapy for so long. But this then also notably as experts say that denying full hours for that reason, it makes no sense. With them explaining that it's not like autism is an injury that fully recovers with enough time and this therapy can be medically necessary for a long time just to maintain skills or prevent regression. Also with this reporting,

I do think that a key thing to mention is that ProPublica reportedly started this investigation well before United Healthcare CEO was shot. This does not seem like an attempt to pile on or incite. Reportedly, they reached out to the company a month ago for the comment, and as of 11 days ago, the company still didn't respond to its questions, with them eventually then citing the killing of Brian Thompson as the reason why.

Though obviously with that, I will say this reporting is coming as people have been calling out issues with the healthcare industry, often with United specifically. And actually with all that, we saw say this reporting is coming as people have been calling out issues with the healthcare industry, often with United specifically. And actually with all that, we saw the CEO of United Health Group, which is the parent company of United Healthcare,

trying to address this on Friday by writing an op-ed in the New York Times titled, "'The Healthcare System is Flawed, Let's Fix It.'" That op-ed specifically focusing on Brian Thompson at some point saying that he was always focused on helping people and fixing the system. Adding there, the ideas he advocated were aimed at making healthcare more affordable, more transparent,

more intuitive, more compassionate, and more human. Saying the company is aware that the health system does not work as it should, but is quote, "'willing to partner with anyone to find ways "'to deliver high quality care and lower costs.'" Though I will say that op-ed did not land well, with the Times actually having to turn off comments after people lashed out.

Or with many just not buying that this company wants to actually help anyone and pointing to their own horror stories. And so just generally speaking, this outrage that we've seen at the industry over the last two weeks or so, it doesn't appear to be going anywhere, at least for the time being.

And as far as what it will evolve or devolve into, that remains to be seen at this point. Then taking a quick break from the news, holiday season chaos, yeah, I'm right there with you. Between endless parties, traveling, and cookie filled? Yeah, I'm right there with you. Between endless parties, traveling, and cookie-filled buffets, staying on track feels almost impossible. But honestly, I've been keeping it together better than I thought, and a lot of it is thanks to today's sponsor, TrainWell. Because here's the deal, right? Whether I'm traveling swamped with

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And I love that I recorded that. And I also have like photos and videos where I can see where I started and check out the progress that I've made through my workouts. I mean, the running and the pushups, they have come a long way. Especially as my trainer makes tweaks

to match whichever new goal I've set for myself. But you know, I think people can see, and also more importantly, I can feel. And that was a big thing, right? Because early on I felt stronger and healthier, which helped me to keep going. I personally found without that guidance, it's so easy to overdo it or underdo it.

And with this, the first step's easy. You just start with an onboarding call, you connect with your trainer, and they make customized workouts tailored to your needs. So just click the link in the description to take the quiz to find your perfect trainer and get 14 days of training free. Train well, help me, and I think they can help you too. And then we need to take a minute to talk about the polio vaccine. And sorry that I'm laughing. It feels a little bit crazy that we're touching on this because there are very few public health interventions as safe, as effective,

and as historically uncontroversial as the polio vaccine. Because by the 1950s, polio killed or paralyzed more than a half a million people worldwide every year. Not total, every year. But then luckily, big brain scientists invented two vaccines that the entire world took over the next several decades, leading to a world today where polio has been virtually eradicated from the earth.

In fact, it's such a textbook case of a vaccine working that even Donald Trump couldn't help but praise it last week. that actually, they will stay for dinner. Instacart has all your groceries covered this summer. So download the app and get delivery in as fast as 60 minutes. Plus, enjoy $0 delivery fees on your first three orders. Service fees, exclusions, and terms apply. Instacart, groceries that over-deliver. The polio vaccine is the greatest thing. If somebody told me to get rid of the polio vaccine, they're going to have to work real hard to convince me. Yet with that, you have the New York Times now reporting

that RFK Jr., right, Trump's pick to head the Department of Health and Human Services, is working with a man who wants to pull the polio shot off the market. Right in there, they're talking about Aaron Siri, who served as RFK's personal lawyer during his presidential bid, and is currently helping him pick officials for the new administration.

Something that people are worried about because he petitioned the FDA to revoke its approval for the polio vaccine in 2022, with him doing this on behalf of the Informed Consent Action Network, which has been described as an anti-vax group, with him arguing there that there needs to be a quote, "'Properly controlled and properly powered

"'double-blind trial of sufficient duration' "'to assess the safety of the vaccine.'" Though to be clear here, there is no evidence that the polio vaccine is unsafe or that it causes autism, and it's been rigorously studied both in and out of the lab. And according to the CDC,

no serious adverse events related to the inactivated polio vaccine have ever been documented. Also, as far as Siri's demand that we need a properly controlled double-blind trial, we've seen experts pushing back there, saying there is a reason we don't give placebos for diseases like polio. Namely, here, that you'd have to deliberately infect

healthy people with an incurable virus that's not widely circulating and risk killing or paralyzing them for the rest of their lives. Which is why, obviously obviously under the current administration, the FDA is almost certainly not going to take Siri's petition very seriously. But you have people saying

that if Trump gets RFK Jr. confirmed at the HHS, he can intervene in the FDA's petition review process, which is still ongoing. And this notably as polio is not the only one that his lawyer has gone after. There were the times reporting that Siri's actually petitioned the government to pause the distribution of 13 other vaccines.

And so with that, you then have people pointing back to that same Meet the Press interview where Trump praised the polio vaccine because he then also said this. Do you want to see childhood vaccines eliminated? If they're dangerous for the children, look. So possibly? When you look at some of the problems,

when you look at what's going on with disease and sickness in our country, something's wrong. Now with this whole situation, I will say, there are arguments that RFK would have a difficult time getting already well-established drugs taken off the market. Right, and that in part because the FDA would need to outline a new safety concern in writing and give the vaccines maker a chance to respond.

Then they'd hold a hearing and make a decision. And finally, if the company didn't agree with that decision, it could sue the agency. But even there, right, we're talking about the future. We're speculating, right? This is assuming that RFK also gets confirmed to this post, which at this point isn't necessarily guaranteed because we've seen things like Senate Minority Leader,

Mitch McConnell, who is a polio survivor himself, coming out in response to the Times reporting and saying, "'The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives "'and held out the promise "'of eradicating a terrible disease.'" Going on to say, "'Efforts to undermine public confidence in proven cures "'are not just uninformed, they're dangerous.

And going on to specifically say, anyone seeking the Senate's consent to serve in the incoming administration would do well to steer clear of even the appearance of association with such efforts. Which may in part be why we're now seeing Trump trying to calm some nerves with a statement saying, you're not going to lose the polio vaccine.

That's not going to happen. I saw what happened with the polio. I have friends that were very much affected by that. I have friends from many years ago and they're still in not such good shape because of it. But hey, for now, who knows what's going to happen? I feel like anything and everything is possible. Though I will say I'm very interested to see what the theater of these confirmation hearings is going to look like, especially because it's a much different dance than actually doing the job you're hoping to get. With arguably the most prominent examples of that

being the Supreme Court justices that have been put on the bench in the past decade saying one thing and doing another. But hey, for now, we'll have to wait to see what happens. But then, President-elect Donald Trump is having himself a very good time, both generally, but also because of the news that ABC News has agreed to a $15 million settlement

with him to end a defamation lawsuit. And as far as the details there, it all stems from a March 10th interview that George Stephanopoulos had with Representative Nancy Mace, where he says, I'm asking you a question about why you endorse someone who's been found liable for rape. Just answer the question.

It was not a criminal court. This was, this was, It was a civil court that found him liable for rape. And so the problem there is that nowhere in the verdicts against Donald Trump doesn't mention rape as defined under New York law. Instead, what actually there is that nowhere in the verdicts against Donald Trump doesn't mention rape as defined under New York law. Instead, what actually happened is that Trump was found liable for sexually abusing and defaming EG

and Carolyn ordered to pay nearly $90 million across two lawsuits. And so because of the fact that Donald Trump was only found liable for sexual assault instead of rape, it gave Trump's legal team the opening to go after ABC News after Stephanopoulos' comments. And what we saw is that rather than trying to fight it, ABC News decided to settle.

Now, as far as the money, reportedly that's not gonna be just going into Trump's pocket. Instead, it'll go to his presidential library and another one million will go to his lawyer. Also with all this, you had ABC News attaching an editor's note onto the article dating from that time, describing the interview that says,

"'ABC News' and George Stephanopoulos regret statements "'regarding President Donald J. Trump made during an interview "'by George Stephanopoulos with Representative Nancy Mace "'on ABC's This Week on March 10th, 2024. And in general, depending on where you went on the internet, very different reactions. We had some celebrating the news and some very upset. There was some saying things like,

"'ABC News' can fuck all the way off "'for settling with Trump and paying him 15 million. "'The judge called it rape. "'E. Jean Carroll called it rape. "'Not only did ABC bow down to a fascist, "'they minimize survivors everywhere.'" Or with a number of people noting regarding the first thing that while the order didn't find Trump liable for rape,

the judge did point out that's because of how narrowly it was defined and adding that it was rape as quote, commonly understood. Which is why you had a number of people arguing that they were concerned that the sexual assault versus rape argument was splitting hairs over something without a real world difference. With others arguing that that alone was possibly enough

to defend against the defamation lawsuit. But then I've seen a number of people saying, you know, this should be concerning because it opens a door and arguing specifically that it could embolden Trump and his allies to go after the media, which you know is something that they very much wanna do. Right, Trump has long said that he wants to change libel laws and Supreme Court precedent that makes it very difficult

to go after people, especially regarding public figures. And then on top of that, two of Trump's most high profile nominees for cabinet positions have also issued warnings to journalists with the seeing Pete Hegseth and Kash Patel being the two most prominent examples of these warnings. And that's also not coming out of nowhere, right?

They have a history with defamation lawsuits. In 2021, for example, Patel set up the Kash Patel Legal Offense Trust, which helps finance libel and defamation lawsuits. There are also reports out there saying that he once said that if he was in charge, he'd go after journalists, which Patel claims is a statement that was taken out of context.

With him also now saying, "'I've always said this, I think reporters are invaluable. Like, who else is going to tell the world what's going on in Washington or wherever, right? And then separately, with Hegseth, you have people saying, you know, for example, he was accused of sexual assault back in 2017, which was ultimately ended with a secret settlement. But his lawyer is then reportedly claiming she's free to say whatever she wants. But then also his lawyer warning in an interview with CNN this month,

if she doesn't tell the truth, if she repeats these false statements, then she will be subject to a defamation lawsuit. For now, that's where we are with this, and we'll have to wait to see how the landscape changes over the coming days, months, and years. Then, in big international news, we need to talk about Syria again, right? Because as the country's new leaders

are working to solidify a new national government in Damascus, the world is still waiting to see exactly what type of government that is. In this, there's also all these moving pieces shifting around the board and making everything more complicated. Like for example, you now have the Israeli government announcing a multimillion dollar plan to double the number of Israelis living

in the Golan Heights, which is that Syrian territory Israel seized during the 1967 Six-Day War, a territory that is considered illegally occupied under international law. However, notably, Donald Trump made the US the first country in the world to officially recognize Israeli sovereignty over the area during his first term in office. With Israel then unveiling a new settlement by the name of Trump Heights.

And with that, there are now roughly 30,000 Israelis spread across dozens of illegal settlements in the Golan Heights already. With them living alongside minority groups who predominantly identify as Syrian. And now, Netanyahu, possibly emboldened by another Trump presidency, is pointing to the chaos in Syria as justification to expand the settlements. Saying, another Trump presidency, is pointing to the chaos in Syria as justification to expand the settlements, saying, strengthening the Golan is strengthening the state of Israel, and it is especially important at this time. We will continue to hold on to it, cause it to blossom, and settle in it. Importantly, this is not the only action Israel's been taking in response to the fall of Assad. The Israeli government's been launching airstrikes all across Syria and carried out a ground offensive beyond the occupied Golan Heights and into a previously demilitarized buffer zone,

with also here Israel giving no timeline for its departure and only saying that it would stay until its security demands were met. With one senior IDF official claiming, "'There was an enemy country here. "'Its army collapsed. "'There is a threat that terror elements will come here "'and we advance so extreme terror elements

"'won't settle close to the border with us.'" And adding, we are unequivocally intervening only in what determines Israeli citizens' security. And with all that, you have Netanyahu claiming that he has no interest in a conflict with Syria. Instead, saying that Israeli actions in the neighboring country were intended to, quote, "'thwart the potential threats from Syria'

and to prevent the takeover of terrorist elements near our border." But this also is your critics saying, rather than thwarting threats, they're actually creating them. With in fact, a former Israeli prime minister telling the BBC he did not see any reason for the country to expand into Golan Heights.

And adding, the prime minister said, "'We are not interested in expanding "'the confrontation with Syria, "'and we hope we will not need to fight "'against the new rebels that are presently taking over Syria. "'So why do we do precisely the opposite?' And then this also, as you have Syria's new de facto leader, for example, saying,

"'Israeli arguments have become weak "'and no longer justify their recent violation. "'The Israelis have clearly crossed the lines "'of engagement in Syria, which poses a threat "'of unwarranted escalation in the region.'" Though this notably, as you also add, I'm arguing that diplomatic solutions are the only way to ensure stability. But in the netting, Syria's war-weary condition after years of conflict and war does not allow for new confrontations. The priority at this stage is reconstruction and stability not being drawn into disputes that

could lead to further destruction. But with that, his comments really haven't changed what's happening. Israeli airstrikes have continued. In fact, some of the latest news is that Israel's reportedly struck Syria more than 450 times since the collapse of the Assad government. With that, reportedly destroying Syria's Navy and dozens of air bases, ammunition depots, and other military equipment,

which has then resulted in the UN Secretary General, for example, calling Israel's actions extensive violations of Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity. And so of course, we're gonna have to wait to see what happens. But from there, we then have to turn our attention to another of Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity. So of course, we're gonna have to wait to see what happens. But from there, we then have to turn our attention to another of Syria's neighbors, Turkey.

And specifically, that's because Turkey is now saying that the new Syrian government agrees that Kurdish military forces in Northern Syria need to be destroyed. The big thing there being that these Kurdish troops are a key ally of the United States. Now with that said, right, there's been no formal agreement announced

about a plan to kick out the Kurds. Instead, you simply have the Turkish defense minister saying, in the new period, the PKK-YPG terror organization will be dissolved sooner or later, and saying both the new administration in Syria and we want this. And to be very clear here, both Turkey and the United States

consider the PKK a terrorist group. It's really been the YPG that's been a source of the friction, and that's because Turkey considers the group to just be an extension of the PKK. But the US government, they see it as a separate faction that's actually part of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF,

which is the group that's been helping the US fight against ISIS. And with that, since Assad's downfall, Turkish-backed rebels have already attacked the SDF with the help of Turkish airstrikes and artillery fire. With also the head of the SDF's political wing in Washington saying, "'Turkey is taking advantage of the crisis in Syria

"'to destabilize the region and seize our land while claiming they are fighting terrorists. But we are not terrorists. We are democratic US allies. But even with all that, it is not clear whether US backing will be enough to prevent further escalation. For example, the Kurdish issue

were probably topping the agenda during Secretary of State Antony Blinken's visit to Turkey a few days ago. But there, it seemingly didn't make much headway. With the Turkish defense minister saying afterwards, it is out of the question for the Syrian people or the new administration or us to allow the PKK-YPG terrorist organization

to act alone and create space for itself. Our priority is the PKK-YPG terrorist organization's eradication. We express this clearly to our US friends. We expect them to reevaluate their position. So also notably with that, there have been signs of American diplomacy having at least some sort of impact. With, for example, the US reportedly helping broker a ceasefire between Kurdish forces and a Turkish-backed rebel group in one city.

Also with that said, we haven't heard much from HTS, the rebel group now leading Syria. Notably, though, the commander of the SDF has announced that the group is seeking direct relations with HTS. We've also had Blinken confirming that the U.S. has made direct contact with the group. And while there, he didn't say what was talked about, this is definitely an issue that'll be discussed. So again, like with a lot of things, we're gonna have to wait to see how all this plays out, though, of course, there are also other things to keep an eye on.

There are questions about what Russia's involvement will look like moving forward, whether sanctions will be lifted. And again, of course, whether this new Syrian government will actually be inclusive and democratic. And in fact, the fallout's reached as far as Europe, with recent events reigniting a debate over whether Syrians granted refuge there

should be allowed to stay. So a lot of play, a lot that could change, and so we'll have to wait and see. But then finally today, let's talk about that last show with a little comment commentary. Starting with the fact that a lot of those comments, understandably, were about Lily Phillips and that whole 100 guys saga.

Some of y'all's most liked comments, including, "'It was Lily's choice and I'm not anti-porn, "'but the fact she didn't know that you can get HIV from oral was really concerning. It's important for sex workers of any kind to know how diseases can be transmitted, and the fact that she didn't know or care genuinely does make me worry

about all these being self-harming behaviors. In the end, though, she's a grown adult, and while I can worry, it's not my place as an internet stranger to tell her to stop. I hope she's okay. Others adding the Lily Phillips situation had problems that all stemmed from logistics. Her and her team should have spent at least a month

not only vetting the participants, but making sure they knew what was expected of them and what they were allowed to do. Honestly, even if it meant they had fewer applicants, they should have signed a contract. And others replying this, like I vet a single man I'll meet from the internet, like not vetting a hundred is literally insane.

And I will say, I did notice a trend of people talking about this being self-harm behavior. With someone like Rachel adding, it is self-harm on a massive public scale. She didn't understand how HIV is spread. And I think that's to do with the fact that Gen Z didn't have to grow up during or at the latter end of the AIDS epidemic.

I was a child in the nineties and AIDS was still very much center stage. Education was constantly happening. We've come to know how it's spread, how to avoid it, and that you can't catch it by hugging or being around someone. So there, I will at least tentatively push back some. I'd love to see some data on this. Well, it's very easy to fall into, and it's not always inaccurate. I get nervous about painting an entire

group with a broad brush like that. I looked at any generation, and there are huge pox of people that are ignorant about insert whatever thing, but it does, it's very weird that it would be someone that is ignorant about sex things and the sex industry. Also, I will say, I hate that we live at a time where it's like, you never know if someone is actually stupid or ignorant or if they're just doing it because they know it's gonna generate controversy and clicks. Like genuinely, there are a number of creators out there

that are like, ha ha, you thought I was a fucking idiot because I was acting like a fucking idiot on purpose. Joke's on you. And you're like, how is the joke on me? You lied. You lied and I took you at your word, so fuck me. What? But it's also not crazy that those people kind of exist because the ad structures and the pay models out there, they support it. Whether it be because content is ad supported. So whether you like that person or you dislike that person,

they're making money because of your view. Or, and this to a certain degree does appear to be part of the OnlyFans industry in general. You'll have these OnlyFans creators just hopping on podcasts or getting clipped like crazy to seem stupid or just get blasted by some cod podcast bro. And almost everyone you see is dunking on them. But then also what you don't see behind the scenes is a lot of people then subscribing and paying for that content.

Because respect is not a prerequisite or even a driving factor for someone to give over their credit card information for OnlyFans content. And actually looking through the comments, there were a number of people that, while they didn't fully echo what I said, touched on this phenomenon. With Bruno, for example, saying,

I think it speaks more broadly to our approach, not just to pornography, but to spectacle and social interactions, which are both greatly influenced by our economic system. Competition, standing out, becoming viral, we've commodified our lives, and this is pushing people to do things we wouldn't normally do

to the detriment of their physical and mental health in exchange for exposure and a sense of belonging. But yeah, I think the general final thing that I wanna mention on here is, I think like with numerous things that we talk about, I think it's important to not see one instance of something and then go, well, that is representative of everything. Especially in the content creation world,

who we end up unfortunately talking about the most are the outliers. Right, in the sex work industry, obviously with this, we were talking about Lily Phillips. It's a fucking crazy, what the fuck situation. But that with what it was, right, doing a hundred guys and how it was done is not representative necessarily of all the other creators out there that are taking the proper steps, that are doing different sorts of things. And we see that in other content creator fields as well. Like IRL streaming can actually be a kind of fun thing. But unfortunately, the people that are generating the most conversation in those unfortunately, the people that are generating

the most conversation in those spaces are the people out there being assholes on purpose. Or people streaming and crashing on stream. People just harassing others in the street. There was like a whole month where just everyone was getting into fights. And so while definitely not the main thing to be learned or to feel about the situation,

it was, that was kind of one of the standout things to me. But hey, on that note, that is where your Monday evening, Tuesday morning dive into the news is gonna end. As a friendly reminder, take advantage of me while you can. Go to beautifulbastard.com and grab yourself one or a ton of those mystery boxes, just crazy savings there and also site-wide. Don't forget to use code HailSanta

for an additional 20% off on some of the products. It won't work on everything, but it's a fun little add-on for just already crazy discounts. Whether you jump in on that or not, just remember, my name's Philip DeFranco. You've just been filled in. I love yo faces, and I'll see you right back here tomorrow.