The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 2.19 Marvel Rivals Scandal Exposes a Brutal Problem, Mom Loses Baby Over IVF Mix-up, Trump, Milei, & More
Episode Date: February 19, 2025Subscribe for New shows every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, & Thursday @ 6pm ET/3pm PST & watch more here: https://youtu.be/rSOTsiZZ9fA?si=_u3IUTk3A3pciHpd&list=PLHcsGizlfLMWpSg7i0b9wnUyEZWI-25N3&inde...x=1&t Go to http://www.vessi.com/pds for 15% off your first order. Go to https://saily.com/Phil and use the code Phil to get an exclusive 15% discount on Saily data plans! ⛵ Use code “PHIL” for $20 OFF your first SeatGeek order & returning buyers use code “PDS” for $10 off AND your chance at weekly $500 prizes! https://seatgeek.onelink.me/RrnK/PHIL https://BeautifulBastard.com Get yourself some of our new shirts, crews, and hoodies! copy pasting old ones will lead to an increase of sales and codes being pushed that are no longer active – ✩ TODAY’S STORIES ✩ – 00:00 - White Woman Sues After Giving Birth to Black Baby 03:31 - Trump Now Involved in Brazil's Coup Case as Jair Bolsonaro Faces Prison Time 07:33 - The Marvel Rivals Firing Scandal is Crazy 10:06 - Sponsored by Vessi 11:05 - Insane Drama as A$AP Rocky Found Not Guilty 14:32 - Argentina President Javier Milei's Crypto Scandal is Embarrassing 18:23 - Sponsored by Saily 19:27 - Trump Pauses Certain Immigration Apps, Faces Backlash for Deportation ASMR 25:22 - Sponsored by Seatgeek 25:56 - Comment Commentary Coffeezilla Argentina Crypto Interview: https://youtu.be/EqizJTbxAEM?feature=shared&list=PLHcsGizlfLMWpSg7i0b9wnUyEZWI-25N3&index=1&t —————————— 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 #Moistcritikal #Coffeezilla ———————————— Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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This Marvel Rivals scandal has people sounding the alarms,
but are things getting overblown?
Why a white Georgia woman's suing
after giving birth to a black baby?
Huge Trump immigration news,
and why Team Trump's now in the middle
of Brazil's Bolsonaro being charged
over an alleged coup attempt?
And Argentina's President Malay
is in the middle of a crypto fraud scandal.
We're talking about all that and much more
in today's brand new Philip DeFranco show.
You daily dive into the news, how it's being covered,
and how people are reacting to it, starting with this.
This is a nightmare situation, a true IVF horror story. Because while there's actually some great IVF news, how it's being covered, and how people are reacting to it, starting with this. This is a nightmare situation, a true IVF horror story.
Because while there's actually some great IVF news,
Trump's looking to expand it with the president
signing an executive order this morning stating,
"'Americans need reliable access to IVF
"'and more affordable treatment options,
"'as the cost per cycle can range from $12,000 to $25,000.'"
And so with that, you have Trump instructing the assistant
to the president for domestic policy
to bring him a list of policy recommendations
on protecting IVF access and quote,
"'aggressively reducing out-of-pocket
and health plan costs within 90 days.'"
You then also have the news around Christina Murray,
who's a 38 year old woman in Savannah, Georgia,
who says that she wanted to be a mother
ever since she was a little girl.
And so she went through hell for it
with her reportedly undergoing 18 months
of intrauterine insemination to no avail,
with her then trying IVF for several months,
saying that she did follow-up exams,
medical tests, blood tests, daily injections,
nothing worked until it did.
With her finally getting pregnant,
using sperm from a donut that she selected
who reportedly looked like her,
having dirty blonde hair and blue eyes.
With her then, in December of 2023,
reportedly giving birth and saying,
"'The first time I saw my son, like any mom,
"'he was beautiful and literally the best thing
"'I'd ever seen, But it was also immediately apparent
that he was African-American.
So you have this white woman unexpectedly popping out
a black baby and she had no idea why.
And so she says that she takes an at-home DNA test
and here's the thing.
It appears that this is not a case of whoops, wrong donor.
The baby is not hers,
which means that someone at the fertility clinic
implanted the wrong embryo inside of her body,
making her carry someone else's baby to term.
And so she notifies the clinic, which then notified the biological parents,
who then sued for custody of the child.
Thing is, though, by this point, Murray says she loves the baby and had bonded with him.
She's breastfeeding him and taking him to doctor's appointments.
My baby is not genetically mine.
He doesn't have my blood.
He doesn't have my eyes.
But he is and will always be my son.
So she hired a lawyer and fought back, but says that after a tremendous amount of money and time,
they told her that she would likely lose her case.
So last May, she went to a family court hearing and turned this child,
whom she considers her son, over to another couple.
I walked out of the building with an empty stroller.
And they left with my son.
The actions of the fertility clinic
have come very close to destroying me,
have left irreparable damage to my soul,
and ultimately left me questioning
whether I should be a mom.
Now with all this, despite everything,
you have Murray saying she is trying again
with a different IVF clinic.
Plus she also notes she has no clue
what happened to her own embryo,
so who knows, like maybe it was implanted
in another woman who actually gave birth to her baby embryo. So who knows, like maybe it was implanted in another woman
who actually gave birth to her baby.
But really we may never fully know there.
But what we do know is that she is suing the clinic,
Coastal Fertility Specialists,
and some of its staff for a long list of offenses.
With those including negligence, gross negligence,
bailment, breach of fiduciary duty, fraudulent concealment,
battery, lack of informed consent,
violations of the Georgia Fair Business Practices Act,
and violations of the South Carolina Unfair Trade Practices Act. Notably here, you also
have our lawyer stressing this fuck up is not unique to any particular clinic, rather saying
it is a systemic thing, which is something that he says is because the industry is largely
unregulated. There are no reporting requirements when errors are made. There are no random and
unannounced inspections. There are no statewide or
federally required certifications for the staff who work at fertility clinics.
But then from that, we got to talk about some wild international news, and that is that Brazil's
far-right former president, Jair Bolsonaro, plotted to poison his successor, shoot dead
the Supreme Court justice investigating him, and reinstall himself as the country's leader following his defeat in the 2022 election.
All of that is just a bit of the 272 page indictment
that's now been filed by the country's top lawyer.
And now, get this, the judge that Bolsonaro
allegedly tried to assassinate
as the head of the federal investigation
into the former president,
he is the one who now gets to decide
how to proceed with the case.
With notably, his first order of business
being to decide whether Bolsonaro represents a flight risk
and should be held in jail until trial.
But also, you know, that judge,
he's now being sued by Donald Trump's media company
with that complaint being filed
just hours after the indictment against Bolsonaro.
And with that, a possible very key thing
is that that is happening just one month
after Bolsonaro explicitly called on Trump
to take action against the judge
in an interview with the New York Times,
which is why you have places like the Times now suggesting
the lawsuit appeared to represent an astonishing effort
"'by Mr. Trump to pressure a foreign judge
"'as he weighed the fate of a fellow right-wing leader
"'who, like him, was indicted on charges
"'that he tried to overturn his election loss.'"
And so with that, to try to make sense of all this,
we should go back to that election.
Because in 2022, Brazil's current president, Lula,
defeated Bolsonaro, and Bolsonaro refused to concede defeat
and baselessly claimed that the only way
he could have actually lost was a result of election fraud.
But then, a few months later, thousands of his supporters attacking the country's presidential palace, Supreme Court building, and House of Congress.
And of course, all of that may sound familiar to anyone in the U.S., that is kind of where the similarities end.
Because in June of 2023, the country's top electoral court ruled that Bolsonaro abused his power and cast unfounded doubts on the country's electronic voting system,
and they banned him from running for office until 2030.
Then, in November of last year,
the country's federal police
formally accused Bolsonaro of attempting a coup,
and finally this week,
you had those charges being brought
by the country's prosecutor general,
revealing not only those new allegations
about the plan to assassinate Lula and the judge,
but adding,
the members of the criminal organization
structured a plan at the presidential palace
to attack institutions
aiming to bring down the system of powers
and the democratic order,
which received the sinister name of green and yellow dagger.
And saying in no uncertain terms,
the plan was conceived and taken to the knowledge
of the president and he agreed to it.
And so with that, assuming the Supreme Court
accepts the charges, Bolsonaro will stand trial
and reportedly face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
And considering the power that one Supreme Court justice
in particular has over the case,
it's why you have people wondering
whether the Trump lawsuit is really a coincidence, right?
And so to dive into that part, let's start by saying that the
case is being brought by the Trump Media and Technology Group, which is majority owned by
Donald Trump and is the company behind a social media network, Truth Social. But also, notably,
right, Truth Social, it relies on fellow right-wing platform Rumble for cloud hosting, video streaming,
and other backend services. And so with that, Rumble is also named as a plaintiff in the lawsuit.
And in fact, the entire case is mostly based around the fact that the judge ordered Rumble to remove the accounts of prominent supporters of Bolsonaro.
Right, Truth Social hasn't actually been subject to the judge's order at this point, but since the company is partly dependent on Rumble's technology, it says it risks, quote, operational challenges in the United States as a result.
And all of this is, even though this is a case against a Brazilian judge, it's being filed in the U.S. on the basis of U.S. law. The company is specifically claiming the gag orders demand that Rumble, from its Florida-based headquarters and without any
Brazil operations, enforce a universal ban on the targeted accounts, imposing a total blackout that
extends even to U.S. users. And so they're accusing the judge of censoring what they said is legitimate
political discourse in the United States and saying they're undermining fundamental constitutional
protections enshrined in the First Amendment. And so for now, we're gonna have to wait to see,
you know, you know, how or whether the lawsuit will affect
the state of play in Brazil.
But notably until now, right, this judge, he hasn't caved,
even with his life on the line.
Because in addition to the alleged assassination plot,
a Bolsonaro supporter tried to bomb the Supreme Court,
but that has not stopped him from ordering the arrest
of Bolsonaro's allies and the confiscation of his passport.
And similarly, he hasn't bowed to criticism
about his decision to suspend hundreds of social media
accounts belonging to Bolsonaro supporters, even from the world's richest man.
You may remember this, but last April, Elon Musk announced that he'd be lifting restrictions against accounts banned under the judge's authority.
And after a months-long feud culminating in Brazil's telecom agency blocking access to X across the entire country, Musk backed down and complied with the judge's demands.
Now, with all that said, one thing to note is, you know, there is a very real debate in Brazil about whether this judge has gone too far at times.
But for now, we're gonna have to wait
to see how things play out.
And in the meantime, of course,
I'd love to know your thoughts here,
whether it be about the allegations
and charges against Bolsonaro
or the Trump lawsuit of it all.
But then, next up, in big business and video game news,
we should talk about this controversy around Marvel Rivals.
Because if you didn't see,
one of the teams behind Marvel Rivals,
which has had one of the most successful launches out there,
they just got laid off. With the news coming from LinkedIn, where one of the game's
directors, Thaddeus Sasser, wrote, my stellar, talented team just helped deliver an incredibly
successful new franchise in Marvel Rivals for NetEase Games, and we're just laid off. And this
is Sasser's team apparently worked on new level design mechanics, gameplay mechanics, and so on.
And then going on to say that he'd be highlighting members of his team that need new jobs in a series
of posts, and other members of the team that need new jobs in a series of posts
and other members of the team like level designer
Jack Burrows wrote,
just couldn't dodge that big boot, I guess,
no matter how big the success of the gig.
Which regarding that success,
that's part of the reason this is so shocking.
Marvel Rivals kind of came out of nowhere in December
to become a smash hit almost overnight
with some reports claiming it's already made $136 million.
And so one of the big questions here is
what justification Nettie's,
which is the parent company behind Rivals,
could possibly have for these layoffs?
With people saying things like,
"'Do really well at your job, you're out.
"'This industry sucks, man.'"
As well as probably booted to make shareholder stocks
better or whatever corpos do for Christmas firings.
I'm gonna enjoy the crash and people online memeing saying,
"'Make bad games? Fired.
"'Make good game? Fired.
"'Make incredibly successful game?
"'Believe it or not, also fired.'"
This, as we've seen big prominent voices in the community
speaking up like Moist Critical, for example,
who spoke about the situation
and he went over Sasser's post saying,
He seems pretty upset, rightfully so,
because you usually don't expect
when your product is so good that you helped build,
you don't really think that you're gonna be the one
on the chopping block.
Cause I mean, logically that doesn't really check out that doesn't pass the smell test hey this thing is doing so well we're
going to celebrate by spitting in your face get the f**k out leave leave like that's not that's
not something a lot of people expect except in the video game industry because in the video game
industry all bets are off there's no f**king telling who's going to get, you know, flushed down the a**.
With Charlie there then going on to bash companies for keeping CEOs around that he believes are incompetent,
while getting rid of talented teams that have skills which can continuously be used as the game continues to grow.
However, on the other side of this, as far as what NetEase is saying,
they're responding to outlets saying, essentially, these layoffs were for organizational reasons,
and that it doesn't mean that development will slow down.
Saying, quote, we are investing more, not less,
into the evolution and growth of this game.
Adding, we're excited to deliver new superhero characters,
maps, features, and content
to ensure an engaging live service experience
for our worldwide player base.
But also with that, I will say,
I think Moist Critical will probably hit the nail on the head
when he said that even if these layoffs are justified,
the timing is just really bad optics.
Where the game is a smash hit
and a team partially behind it
is effectively being punished because of it. And then we'll get to more news in just a moment. the timing is just really bad optics. Where the game is a smash hit and a team partially behind it
is effectively being punished because of it.
And then we'll get to more news in just a moment.
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And next up, in big legal and entertainment news, we should talk about the insane drama
and verdict in the trial of A$AP Rocky. He's a 36-year-old Grammy-nominated rapper. His real
name is Rakeem Myers. And the fact that he was being tried for a crime is notable on its own
because he's already tied up in a number of upcoming projects. From headlining the Rolling
Loud festival in March to sharing the Met Gala in May
to starring in a Spike Lee directed movie
alongside Denzel Washington this summer,
like there's a lot going on.
So with the Barry least,
the conviction on two felony counts of assault
with a semi-automatic firearm
could completely upend all of that.
But you know, according to the LA County prosecutor,
back in 2021, he tried to shoot his one-time friend
from high school and former bandmate, A$AP Relly.
Their names were similar
because they used to belong to the same rap collective,
which they called the A$AP Mob, short for Always Strive and Prosper,
but their friendship had grown bitter. And so with that, reportedly, they agreed to meet in a parking
garage one evening to clear up their differences. Then with that, the prosecution presented
surveillance video purporting to show the pair fighting with Rocky holding a gun and later
shooting at Relly. So Rocky got charged. He pled his innocence, turning down a deal that would have
gotten him only six months in jail for confessing to one of the counts, which really was huge because he faced up to 24 years in
prison, though the prosecution was only seeking eight. And so with that gamble in mind, the three
week trial began with really the whole thing centering on one question. Was the gun real or
fake? Because you see, no weapon was actually recovered at the scene or presented as evidence.
And you would rarely alleging it shot real bullets while Rocky claimed that it was actually a prop
gun from his DMV music video with Rihanna that only fired blanks. So you had Relly alleging it shot real bullets while Rocky claimed that it was actually a prop gun
from his DMB music video with Rihanna
that only fired blanks.
So you had each side laying out their respective arguments
with Relly testifying that he believed
one of the bullets grazed his hand,
which the defense argued that his injuries
were just knuckle scrapes that could have been sustained
in a fight or a fall.
Adding there that police couldn't locate evidence
of a discharge weapon at the crime scene.
But Relly testified that he returned to the area
later that night and retrieved two nine millimeter
shell cases.
And this is the defense painted Relly as the aggressor
claiming that he attacked Rocky on the night of the shooting
with him adding that Rocky kept that prop gun
for times when he didn't have security
and only fired it to prevent Relly
from attacking one of his friends.
And this is Relly claimed that Rocky threatened to kill him,
but Rocky claimed that Relly knew that it was fake.
But also not all the trial focused on the substance
of the allegations. But we also saw both sides trial focused on the substance of the allegation,
where we also saw both sides' attorneys and the judge getting personally heated, to say you say. Speak in a normal tone of voice. Let me finish.
He doesn't know or care about the law.
That is clear.
And that's unethical.
That's unethical. One more thing out of here,
and we air everything that's happened in this case.
I'm so pleased.
You should be, Joe.
I've heard enough from both of you.
But despite all that,
they finished their closing arguments last week,
giving Rocky the weekend to contemplate his fate.
And then on Tuesday, after deliberating for nearly three hours,
the jury emerged and the verdict was read.
The jury in the above entitled action find the defendant,
Rakeem Mayers, not guilty.
With Rocky then seen diving from the defense table into the gallery
and hugging his partner Rihanna, his gallery and hugging his partner, Rihanna,
his attorney and his supporters,
while sobbing, clearly overwhelmed by relief and joy.
With him even telling the jurors,
thank y'all for saving my life.
And as far as the other side,
you had the district attorney saying
that he respected the jury's decision,
but he also added,
our office remains committed to seeking accountability
for those who break the law,
no matter their status or influence.
Fame does not place anyone above the law
and we will not waver in our pursuit of justice
for victims in the community.
But that seems to be the end of it,
although at least in terms of criminal charges, right?
Because Rocky still has some civil stuff
pending against him.
But then next up, we gotta talk about
this Javier Millet crypto scandal
because it is fucking wild.
So Millet is of course the president of Argentina
and he has joined the club of world leaders
who have promoted a crypto coin.
Except unlike with Donald Trump, he is in a ton of hot water right have promoted a crypto coin. Except, unlike with Donald Trump,
he is in a ton of hot water right now.
So the coin in question is called Libra,
and it was billed as a way to help rebuild
the Argentinian economy with Millet posting on Friday,
"'This private project will be dedicated
"'to encouraging the growth of the Argentine economy
"'by funding small Argentine businesses and startups.
"'The world wants to invest in Argentina.'"
And that coin took off and then it
died. Within just about 24 hours, the coin completely tanked in value, leading to what
some outlets claim was a $286 million crypto catastrophe and a 96% devaluation. With the
collapse being so massive and spectacular that you had some speculating that it was a rug pull,
which I will say, you know, we're not a crypto channel. All you really need to know about a rug
pull is that it can happen in many different ways. And it essentially means that the value of a
coin is raised super, super high before the backers sell out and abandon the project. We don't know
for sure if that is what happened. That is a, that's a coffeezilla problem to figure out. And
in fact, it appears he's already on the case with this weekend, him releasing an interview he did
with Hayden Davis, who was one of the people who was behind the project and also someone who
reportedly made a ton of money off the collapse. Right in the video, you have Davis claiming that he was only brought in
to strategize the coin's launch and didn't have much else to do with it. He also touched on
accusations that this was a scam saying, you know, people are saying this is a rug pool. Like that's
not objectively true. There's still like, there's what 60 million on the bonding curve of liquidity
that's locked, right? It's that 300 million market cap. Like it's not a rug. It's
a plan gone miserably wrong. But Davis then going on to insist that the coin was sniped,
meaning that a cabal of independent people managed to raise the value of the coin before selling at
the top and crashing. And in the description of this video, I have a link to the full video,
but keep in mind that it is a lot of inside baseball. But either way, right? The collapse
of Libra, it's led to it being called another meme coin, which, you know, is a name given to coins that probably shouldn't exist and
are just kind of pure gambles without a utility. And one of the key things to be clear here is that
these collapses happen extremely fast. Ray Millet took down his Friday post just a few hours after
making it and saying in a follow-up, a few hours ago, I posted a tweet as I have countless times
before supporting an alleged private venture with which I obviously have no connection, saying I
wasn't informed of the project's details
and after learning about them,
I decided not to continue promoting it.
That's why I deleted the tweet.
But crypto fans and investigators,
they're not convinced that Millay isn't involved.
Although Davis told Coffee that he largely wasn't
and just promoted the coin.
Also, I'll say, speaking of all that,
there are alleged texts from Davis
that claim he has access to Millay's sister and quote,
"'I send money to his sister and he signs whatever I say and does what I want. Crazy as shit. Which, if true, certainly
doesn't help Millay at all. Though there, I do want to note that Davis does deny this and said,
recent media reports claiming I paid President Javier Millay or his sister Karina Millay to
launch the Libra meme coin are completely false. Saying I never made any payments to them, nor did
they request it. And claiming their only concern was ensuring proceeds from Libra
would benefit Argentina's people and economy.
Also with this whole situation,
we've seen a lot of talk that Argentina's opposition
is gonna try to use this situation to impeach Millet
and a federal judge has actually already opened
an investigation into the situation.
However, those impeachment efforts,
they're unlikely to go that far
unless the investigations reveal crazy new details.
But that's also not where this situation ends
because there's another controversy that's stemming from this and that's what to do next. Because Davis,
he still has control over the liquidity pool, which is essentially a big reservoir of money
that's supposed to help stabilize coins. And with that, we saw Coffey suggesting that Davis used the
money to help some of the people that got crushed in this launch recoup some of their money. Which
on the note of people losing money, there were some pretty big names out there pretty much
demanding they get their money back. We saw influencers like Aiden Ross reportedly losing
$300,000 because of this. Now, normally that would be kind of unheard
of, but Davis has reportedly already kind of opened that floodgate. Davis reportedly giving
Portnoy like $5 million that he lost right when the coin launched, which is something that he
calls a mistake, but an in-the-moment decision to try and keep the coin's launch aligned. But as far
as what happens from here, that remains to be seen, right? All of this is still playing out,
and so we're going to have to wait to see.
Then we'll get to more news in just a moment,
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But then next up, we've got three big pieces
of immigration news you need to know about today.
First up, the Trump administration
has now reportedly paused immigration applications
filed by migrants from Latin America and Ukraine
who were already in the US legally
under certain Biden era policies,
with this including many who were fleeing war
and other deadly crises.
And specifically, according to a memo obtained
by CBS News, the freeze applies
to several Biden administration programs
that allowed hundreds of thousands of migrants
to enter the US legally through an immigration law
known as parole, which is something
that gives the US government the power
to quickly admit foreigners on humanitarian
or public benefit grounds.
While the Biden administration used parole
at an unprecedented scale when Trump took office,
his administration suspended those efforts,
halting new entries under the programs.
But now this newer effort,
it goes much further with a memo specifically
ordering a pause on all pending benefit requests
filed by hundreds of thousands of migrants
who are already allowed in the US
under three different Biden-era programs.
With the first there being a policy
called Uniting for Ukraine,
which offered safe haven for around 240,000 Ukrainians
with American sponsors fleeing the war.
The second program allowed 530,000 Cubans, Haitians,
Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans sponsored by US citizens
to enter the country.
And then the final program let some Colombians, Ecuadorians,
Central Americans, Haitians, and Cubans
with American relatives to come to America
while they waited for a family-based green card.
But because the people who entered the US legally
under those programs were only given work permits
and deportation protections
that usually last just two years,
many of them applied for other immigration benefits.
With those including green cards,
as well as benefits given to people fleeing countries
on humanitarian grounds like asylum
and or temporary protected status.
But with this new pause, migrants who came to the US
legally under those three Biden era programs,
they're gonna be unable to access those services.
And as far as why this is being done now,
the memo announcing the decision claims that,
quote, broad information in public safety
or national security concerns are not being properly flagged in USCIS's adjudicative systems. With the directive noting that, quote, fraud information and public safety or national security concerns are not being properly flagged
in USCIS's adjudicative systems.
With the directive noting that the Biden administration
temporarily paused the parole program for Cubans, Haitians,
Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans due to fraud concerns.
With it then going on to reference an investigation
that found that thousands of applications
under that initiative had serial sponsors,
information of dead individuals, or identical addresses.
With it claiming that some of those applications
were proven to be fraud and that some migrants
who are allowed to enter the country under the program
were not fully vetted.
Now, as far as what happens next there,
the memo does say that the pause can be lifted
once officials complete a comprehensive review
and evaluation of the migrants paroled in the US
under those three Biden administration initiatives.
But a key thing is that it's also unclear how long
that will take and you have experts saying that
in the meantime, this move effectively puts those migrants
into legal limbo. And you know, if the government ends meantime, this move effectively puts those migrants into legal limbo.
And you know, if the government ends their parole status
entirely, they'll be open to deportation.
Then moving to our second big piece of immigration news,
the Trump administration has now ended legal representation
for unaccompanied minors who cross the border
without adults, which was some quick context here
when underage migrants present themselves
to immigration officials at the border without a parent,
they're put in custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement
or ORR.
And from there, ORR works with a broad network of shelters,
foster homes, and group homes to care for those minors.
Legal nonprofits acting as subcontractors
to provide screenings to see if the children
can avoid deportation while the ORR looks for family members
in the US who can take over custody.
And until now, the ORR has had a contract
for over $200 million each year
that gives those legal nonprofits the funding needed
to represent around 26,000 unaccompanied minors in court, as well as offer know-your-rights
trainings and provide legal screenings for tens of thousands more. But now what we're seeing is
that this latest directive cuts that funding and orders all lawyers to immediately stop all work.
Notably, according to some reports, the stop work order doesn't necessarily end legal representation
for kids who already have it. Because if an attorney has already filed paperwork in court
as the recorded lawyer for a certain case,
they are obligated to continue the representation
unless they ask a judge to be removed.
But also at the same time, the directive ends all funding.
So you have experts saying it's unclear
how the nonprofits that offer legal services
can continue to do so.
In fact, many now are at risk of closing down altogether.
And so as a result, you have immigration advocates
arguing that this move effectively removes
essential services from vulnerable children.
And that, including many who have faced abuse and neglect,
have been trafficked or are fleeing persecution.
With experts even saying this just opens them up
to exploitation and an increased risk of trafficking,
which notably undermines a decades long bipartisan effort
to make sure that kids who have been trafficked
have access to the proper legal resources.
But all that said, right,
this move is all but certain
to now be challenged in court.
I mean, Trump already tried to halt funding
for a similar program that offered legal representation
and resources for adults in detention,
but the DOJ actually reversed the order two days later
after nonprofit groups sued.
But then all of that brings us to three,
the final bit of immigration news we're talking about today,
and that is a video posted by the White House.
Because the White House decided it would be a hilarious idea
to post a video of shackled immigrants being deported
and call it ASMR.
With a seeing, the official White House account uploading the video on X and Instagram with the caption,
ASMR illegal alien deportation flight. With that 40 second video then showing footage of shackles
jangling as they're pulled from a basket and laid out on an airport tarmac. As well as presumed
migrants with handcuffs and chain link restraints walking around the tarmac or onto a plane. So
unsurprisingly, this elicited a very big response.
With us seeing many condemning the post,
saying it was disturbing and dehumanizing,
accusing the White House of mocking people,
fleeing persecution.
Others saying the video was fascist,
some comparing it to Nazi Germany,
like the Lincoln Project,
which retweeted the post with the caption,
"'If Hitler had a social media account.'"
With also the group's rapid response director posting,
"'The dumbest fucking person you know is cheering this on
and in the same breath insisting that in Nazi Germany,
they wouldn't have been cheering on the SS all the same.
We also saw some saying that this feels like it crosses
a line for them, even if they oppose illegal immigration.
Like one person who wrote, am I against deportations?
No, am I against glibly posting videos like this
and labeling them ASMR as if the sound of change
is supposed to give me pleasure?
Absolutely.
But then of course, on the other side,
there were plenty of people applauding the post.
With this, including the likes of Elon Musk,
who retweeted it with the caption,
ha ha wow, and a metal emoji.
We also saw the media kind of responding similarly
with the left-leaning outlets slamming the post
while right-leaning sources echoed the positive sentiments
and downplayed the post.
With, for example, places like the Daily Caller
calling the video a savage move to keep Gen Z on MAGA train,
as well as Breitbart running the headline,
White House Trolls, Illegal Aliens' with Sights, Sounds of Deportation."
And so with the seeing all these different reactions
in all these different places, of course,
I gotta pass the question off to you.
What are your thoughts here?
Because you know, yeah, this is a new show,
but also I want it to be a conversation.
So whether it be this story
or anything that stands out today,
let me know what you're thinking
in those comments down below.
And you may even be featured
at the end of tomorrow's video.
But then finally today, let's end with a congratulations,
and let's talk about yesterday.
Starting with a congratulations to Matthew E., right?
SeatGeek's latest weekly winner
who scored $500 in tickets,
and he's taken his mom to see Hamilton for her birthday,
which sounds awesome, and for everyone else, that's right.
SeatGeek is still giving away $500 in tickets,
and you should definitely enter today
if you haven't already.
But imagine being the next winner
and snagging $500 towards seeing your favorite artist,
sporting event, or play, and y'all, there's like over 70,000
events to choose from. And all you got to do is just add code PDS to your SeatGeek app profile
for a chance at the weekly $500 prize, no purchase necessary. Do it. It's easy. It's a win-win. But
that said, let's talk about yesterday in comment commentary. Right, and in those comments yesterday,
a lot of you were just kind of shocked. Saying things like, for a plane to be upside down and
on fire and yet have no casualties,
absolutely insane luck there.
As well as the plane manufacturer still has
an amazing safety record.
A plane they made crashed as a result of rough conditions
and everyone survived.
Though of course that Delta crash landing,
it wasn't the only aviation news.
So you had a kind of people bouncing back and forth
between that and the FAA cuts.
The folks like Apostate Pagan saying,
"'Industrial maintenance mechanic here.
"'Let me tell you, laying off maintenance men
is absolutely a bizarre concept to me.
I've been working in the industry
since I graduated high school
and worked in several different industries.
The FAA and other airlines
letting that important side of the labor force go
is insane because there's not many of us left
and the work we do is incredibly important,
ranging from repairs to upkeep
all the way to critical calibrations and fine tuning.
I've seen several job sites lower their hiring criteria because there's so few of us to pick from that as people retire, there's no
one to replace them. I've seen a shift go from 15 guys to three just because the company can't find
any new hires. We're a small community and we can find work anywhere due to the high demand. To let
several go means you won't be able to rehire them and word will get around as to how you treat your
mechanics. This is blatantly unsafe and makes me worried for mass transit in the future. Also,
in addition to that,
there were a lot of comments and conversation
around Elon Musk.
Are people laughing or saying it's weird
that the White House is saying
that Elon Musk is in charge of Doge?
Are they saying it's kind of crazy
that we all just assumed Elon was the one running Doge
and it took federal court filings
to realize barely anyone has any idea
who's actually running it?
Though there is something I'll add
and it's something I should have mentioned yesterday.
My opinion is that they're doing it for legal reasons
or they're saying this for legal reasons. And in fact, several of y'all
brought that point up to those comments. With Calzone saying, he is for sure in charge, but
they need to try and act like he's not in order to have any chance against the lawsuits happening
against them. Meanwhile, some of the comments were about the sponsors yesterday, saying the
ZipRecruiter ad right after the government firing story is ironic and now an Incogni ad after access
to private personal data story. Chef's kiss to the ad manager today. Though to that, I would say this is a little inside baseball. That yesterday,
it was just random happenstance. This is how we work. We do not build stories around what the
sponsors are going to be. In fact, for most sponsorships, I shoot those lines the week prior
over the weekend, unless it's kind of a last minute addition or some sort of thing got moved
around. And then to go even more inside baseball, when I shoot the show, I do not shoot it in the
chronological order that you get it. I shoot every news piece as an individual solo and I provide
alternate lines for the PDS. Hence why so often we are shifting gears from that to, and then often
I'll just have my producer organize everything from the show. And that's also how we're able to
chop things up so easily for all the other platforms. And so yeah, now you know something
that 85% of the people that watch the show probably don't care about. But that, my friends, you beautiful bastards, is where your Wednesday
evening Thursday morning dive into the news is going to end. Of course, remember, I got a brand
new show for you every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at 6 p.m. Eastern, 3 p.m. Pacific.
Thank you for watching. I love your faces, and I'll see you right back here tomorrow.