The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 3.30 Youtubers Arrested For Fraud & Child Endangerment, PRIME Banned, Rand Paul Saved TikTok, & More News

Starting point is 00:00:00 It's today again, so let's talk about the news. Starting with, these two's YouTube channel just got them arrested. Meet Christopher and Kimberly Phelps of California. They were posting dash cam videos on YouTube, reportedly showing crashes, near misses, and some road rage incidents. There were reportedly over 160 videos like this, and it got the attention of the authorities. And after our buddy Chris got into a suspicious accident,

Starting point is 00:00:17 seemingly stopping for no reason, causing a truck to hit him, the California Department of Insurance opens an investigation. And according to the DA's office, Chris has been involved in over 23 car accidents connected to 17 insurance claims. All of which were posted on the YouTube channel. So Chris was arrested and slapped with six counts of assault with a deadly weapon and 11 counts of insurance fraud. And not only were they allegedly causing accidents on purpose, Chris and Kimberly's kid was reportedly in the vehicle with them during many of the collisions. So for good measure, both Chris and Kim got a couple of felony-challenged endangerment charges.

Starting point is 00:00:46 And y'all, it could be applied to so many of the stories we talk about today and just in general. But today, I gotta say it here. Don't be stupid, stupid. And then, somehow this teenage slumber party led to a Nazi arson attack. So earlier this month, a 13-year-old girl in Queensland, Australia, got invited to a sleepover by three other girls aged 12, 13, and 14, whom she thought she was friends with. She goes over, and then, according to her account, they lock the door and threaten to kill her and her family, with the men over the next five hours allegedly slapping, stabbing, stomping, and beating her, all while they're

Starting point is 00:01:16 spewing disgusting hate at her and filming the whole thing. One of the girls at the end of the video even saying, we basically just tortured someone. Quote, it was funny as fuck. Unsurprisingly, when this gets out, people are horrified and all three girls get charged with crimes like assault and deprivation of liberty. But for many Australians, that wasn't enough. And we saw an explosion of online hate directed their way, including calls for violence. With hundreds of posts exposing the girls' names, photos, addresses, ethnicities, and phone numbers as well as the location of the house where they allegedly committed their crimes. With all of it leading to yesterday,

Starting point is 00:01:45 someone actually burned the property down to the ground. Now with that, one, it was unoccupied at the time, and two, this comes after a streak of arson attempts and vandalism there, with police still unsure who the perpetrator is, though they believe it's an outsider to the community. But we did get one potential clue, with flyers distributed in mailboxes around the neighborhood

Starting point is 00:02:00 depicting two of the girls with a racial slur in the name of a neo-Nazi group. With all of this also coming at the height of panic in Queensland over a perceived epidemic of youth crime, which we've talked about before. The authorities recently warned that unrest could lead to vigilante justice, and now it looks like they may be right.

Starting point is 00:02:13 Though also, this isn't the first time Queenslanders tried to take the law in their own hands. Right back in January, after media reports incorrectly identified a residential care home as a halfway house for young criminals, the children living there received a storm of death threats on social media, including calls for neighbors

Starting point is 00:02:25 to storm the place and hang whoever's inside. So last time we talked about a set of laws the state government passed seeking to clamp down on youth crime through criminalizing breach of bail and other measures. Now today, another bill known as Jack's Law just passed, allowing police to search people for weapons using handheld metal detectors in nightlife precincts

Starting point is 00:02:39 and on public transport for at least the next two years, which, like the prior laws, has been heavily criticized for violating civil and human rights, since this lets people search people without a reasonable suspicion. And then in political news, I can't believe I'm saying this, but Senator Rand Paul actually just made a really good point. But before we give him too much praise, I'm putting this in the broken clock twice a day category. I put this because last night, Senator Paul actually blocked an attempt by his fellow Republican Senator Josh Hallway to fast track a bill that would ban TikTok by unanimous consent, a process that allows a measure to be passed without a formal vote as

Starting point is 00:03:07 long as there are no objections. And while realistically someone else might have stood up, the fact that Rand Paul did it is a key thing to take away because it shows that there is division among the Republican Party and bipartisan opposition to the hot button issue. We're in weird waters right now. You got like Rand Paul and AOC kind of on the same page. But specifically with Paul, he argued on the Senate floor that Hawley's ban amounted to a violation of free speech under the First Amendment. And also adding that it violates constitutional prohibitions on bills of attainder, right?

Starting point is 00:03:31 The government can't use legislative action to declare a person or a company guilty of a crime and punish them without a trial. With Paul then going on to make this point. I think we should beware of those who peddle fear. I think we should beware of those who use fear to coax Americans to relinquish our liberties, to regulate and limit our First Amendment rights. Every accusation of data

Starting point is 00:03:52 gathering that's been attributed to TikTok could also be attributed to domestic big tech companies." Right, and while that's an argument that we've heard before, it's mostly come from Democrats. And that also, once again, these words feel so alien out of my mouth, not the only solid point that Paul made there. If Republicans want to continuously lose elections for a generation, they should pass this bill to ban TikTok, a social media app used by 150 million people, primarily young Americans. The Republican strategy to ban TikTok comes simultaneously with GOP complaints of domestic social media companies canceling and censoring conservatives. Without a hint of irony,

Starting point is 00:04:33 many of these same conservatives now rail against censorship while advocating for censorship against social media apps they worry are influenced by the Chinese. Before banning TikTok, these censors might want to discover that China already bans TikTok. Hmm. Do we really want to emulate Chinese speech bans? Aren't we the ones that say it's wrong for China to ban speech so we're going to be just like China and ban speech we're afraid of? Y'all, who body snatched Rand Paul?

Starting point is 00:05:04 His statements are making too much logical sense. How did his head not explode? But all my joking jabs aside, like it's super important that he's doing this. And another key takeaway as it comes is more and more lawmakers have recently been voicing their opposition to TikTok bans. Recently, we've seen a growing list of Democrats

Starting point is 00:05:19 speaking out against a ban. I saw AOC actually finally made a TikTok and was talking about the possibility of a ban there. But for now, we kind of have to wait to see if Paul's remarks appeal to other Republicans. Or do more of them come out of the woodwork to oppose a full-scale ban? Yes, no. Is there enough opposition to ultimately push Congress to take up a more narrow version of the bill that has more limited restrictions? But honestly, who knows which way this is going to go? Because I mean, just thinking back to that embarrassing House committee where they were grilling the TikTok

Starting point is 00:05:43 CEO and just saying the dumbest shit. Mr. Chute, does TikTok access the home Wi-Fi network? It was just a showcasing of genuinely stupid people and also like some, I remember when movie tickets and a soda pop were a nickel motherfuckers deciding the future of technology. And then, also it's been a live one at Congress lately because even in the past 24 hours, Paul and Holly weren't the only ones on Capitol Hill going back and forth on each other. We also saw this absolutely explosive shouting match break out between Democratic Representative Jamal Bowman and Republican Thomas Massey. With all this going down just outside the House chambers. Right, so you had Bowman, who's a former school principal, delivering very passionate, forceful remarks condemning Republicans for not supporting gun

Starting point is 00:06:19 control measures after the Nashville shooting. That's when Massey crosses into frame and this whole thing goes down. election day on 2024. They're freaking cowards. They're countless. We're not here. I'm talking about gun violence. You know, there's never been a school that allows teachers to care. I'm gonna call them children of dying! I know, I've got a bill to repeal. I've got a bill to repeal. That's worked in every school. Have you ever worked in a school? In every school. Have you ever worked in a school?

Starting point is 00:07:14 Okay, I'll bring it down to naught. Have you ever worked in a school? I've got a bill to repeal. I've worked in a school for 20 years! You're just screaming. I was a teen. I was screaming before you came and interrupted me. I worked in a school for 20 years. You're just screaming. I was a teacher. I was screaming before you came in and interrupted me. I worked in a school for 20 years. I worked in a school 20 years.

Starting point is 00:07:30 I was a teacher. I was a school counselor. I was a middle school principal. I was in cafeterias protecting kids every day of my career. There's never been a shooting. And all that was fascinating to watch. But, I mean, those two are are never gonna be on the same page But Massey's the fucking guy who posted a Christmas photo of his family holding guns with a caption Santa

Starting point is 00:07:51 Please bring ammo I mean my man right here is looking like a strong yes vote for legalizing the purge and all of its disappointing because I know That there is a fucking common-sense middle ground that I think most Americans support I feel like there are plenty of Americans who go Yeah, I should be able to legally own a firearm for home safety, but not this fucking Wild West crazy, insane bullshit that a lot of people push. But it genuinely feels like there isn't going to be a solution when you have the people that don't want things to change,

Starting point is 00:08:14 or you want to open up gun laws even more, acting like everyone that's against them is like, strip everyone of all their weapons. That's not what the hefty majority of people that want reforms want. Yeah, until something that remotely resembles common sense is able to enter Congress, I feel like we're just rinse and repeat with this bullshit. Horrible tragedy, a lot of anger, thoughts and prayers, rinse, repeat. And then in news about news, we're finally ready. Tomorrow, all you day ones who signed up for the waitlist are going to get the first issue of the rebranded

Starting point is 00:08:42 and newly relaunched Franco Daily Download email newsletter. About a month ago, I was proud to announce that the newsletter would be rebranded as The Daily Dip. And in just a few days after that announcement, we got a nice, healthy five-figure audience of you beautiful bastards joining and waiting. Starting tomorrow, Daily Dip subscribers will receive quick taste of the news that you may have missed on the PDS, along with bonus content that'll keep you informed, maybe put a smile on your face, and let you get back to your day in three to five minutes or less. Just like the full PDS, it's news for people that hate the news. And I will say, one of my favorite parts of this relaunch is that it's creating a new way for me to hear directly

Starting point is 00:09:10 from you through our Daily Dipper poll, where you can, of course, share your opinions, but also more clearly see the opinion of those that are watching the show, which is also why you're going to see some of those results popping up here on the PDS. Just another reason to be subscribed. And I really want to see if we can get to 100,000 email subscribers within the first 100 days. So get in on the day one, go to dailydip.co, or,000 email subscribers within the first 100 days. So get in on the day one. Go to DailyDip.co or just click that link in the description now to join for free. In entertainment news, KSI and Logan Paul's drink, Prime, just got banned from several schools in Australia. We've talked about the massive hype around Prime.

Starting point is 00:09:36 It's been very successful. I mean, it's one of the biggest creator-launched brands out there other than, you know, the things that Mr. Beast has done. And now that Prime Hydration has hit shelves at major retailers in Australia. It's selling out all over. But here's the thing. There are different drinks. You have prime hydration, which is an electrolyte drink. It's available for purchase in Australia. But prime energy is not.

Starting point is 00:09:53 And that's not a sourcing issue. It's a legal issue. It reportedly has double the caffeine amount that Australia legally allows for bottles that size. But in no way has that stopped young people in Australia from buying it from online resellers. With a number of the kids then taking those drinks to school and then selling it to other kids on the playground, which while I do not endorse as a former hustler myself, I gotta respect it. In middle school I was slinging marbles

Starting point is 00:10:12 because we were the lamest middle school and had a competitive marble scene. A father before me selling Flintstone vitamins on the playground. But with Prime here, it's why you have health experts warning that these drinks can be addictive for children and can make them restless, lead to insomnia, and up their heart rate. And surprisingly, some of the schools have even had

Starting point is 00:10:26 issues with the approved hydration electrolyte drink, with one principal at a Queensland school saying, we had a student who had just the sports drink, not the energy drink. And this is a child who's quite shy, retiring and quiet normally. And it was like someone had shaken him up and made him fizzy. And with that, some outlets noting that the energy drink says that it's not suitable for children under 18. And the hydration drink actually says it's not suitable for kids under 15. Which I will say was shocking news to me, because online, that's literally all who seems to be consuming the drink.

Starting point is 00:10:50 Which is also why some schools have even made social media posts this week warning parents to not allow their children to bring those drinks in. And then, Mickey Mouse just pantsed Ron DeSantis. Because King of Florida DeSantis has been waging a war against Disney ever since the company spoke out

Starting point is 00:11:02 against its don't say gay law. And as one of the ways to retaliate, DeSantis took control of Disney's special status that allowed it to operate as a self-governing district with autonomy over the land encompassing and surrounding Walt Disney World. That district was called the Reedy Creek Improvement District, but after DeSantis took it over, it was changed to the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District. And there's a board that would have control over infrastructure, property, taxes, issue bonds, road and fire services, and more. And the key thing there being the board consisted of people DeSantis appointed himself. So you had many noting that it could basically be used to force the company to keep quiet on social and cultural issues, potentially even extending to their content. So that's why this was seen as a massive, massive L for Disney, or rather it would have been if they didn't make a good old-fashioned

Starting point is 00:11:39 loophole for themselves to essentially strip the new board of its powers. Right, because on February 8th, the day before the Florida House passed the bill allowing DeSantis to stack the board, Disney and the previous board signed an agreement that put the power in Disney's control, giving the company broad veto powers over changes to the park and making any changes, quote, subject to Disney's prior review and comment to ensure consistency with the overall design and theming of the park, among other powers. It also prevents the board from using Disney's name or trademark characters like Mickey Mouse.

Starting point is 00:12:03 And it turns out the new board members didn't even realize that Disney had done this until recently, with members reportedly opening the meeting they held yesterday by discussing the fact that there's nothing they can actually do. With board member Ron Perry saying, This essentially makes Disney the government. This board loses, for practical purposes, the majority of its ability to do anything beyond maintain the roads and maintain basic infrastructure. And another key thing is that this agreement has some serious staying power. Because it will remain, quote, in effect until 21 years after the death of the last survivor of the descendants of King Charles III, King of England, living as the date

Starting point is 00:12:32 of this declaration. So basically, as long as there are members of the royal family still kicking, so is this deal. And according to BBC News, this is a totally real thing dating back to the 17th century. It's called a Royal Lives Clause, though it's rarely used in the United States. Now, all that said, of course, with this, the board already plans on pushing back and has voted to hire outside legal counsel to evaluate their options with member Brian Onks Jr. saying, we're going to have to deal with it and correct it. It's a subversion of the will of the voters and the legislature and the governor. It completely circumvents the authority of this board to govern. And a spokesperson for DeSantis likewise saying that these agreements may have significant legal

Starting point is 00:13:02 infirmities that would render the contracts void as a matter of law. But, for its part, Disney has said it did nothing wrong, claiming in a statement, All agreements signed between Disney and the district were appropriate and were discussed and approved in open, noticed public forums in compliance with Florida's government in the Sunshine Law. A.K.A., maybe if you weren't so busy trying to ban books and put LGBTQ plus people in a fucking tiny box that you could throw away, maybe you would have noticed. But you didn't, and you got caught with your pants around your ankles like the schmuck you are. Pat, I'm the pants queen. Though, I will say, this is probably

Starting point is 00:13:32 like a good distraction for DeSantis. Because if he's not busy fighting Disney and an imaginary mouse, he's gonna have to fight with Trump. The Ronnie being busy is not gonna stop Donnie from swinging. And then in international news. Will you nerds please have sex? That is essentially what the higher ups in China are yelling at their people right now.

Starting point is 00:13:46 Which is why we're seeing news like nine colleges in China are now giving students a week off in April so they can go fall in love. Right, and while the idea of a spring break is not new, this year's theme is centered on love. Love of nature, love of life, and most importantly, love of each other. With students being asked to keep travel diaries,

Starting point is 00:14:01 to film videos of their trips, write growth reports. And this notably as China is struggling to lift its plummeting birth and marriage rates, which notably caused its population to shrink last year for the first time since the 1960s. Which if you're unfamiliar with Chinese history, that was their great leap forward that left some 30 million dead. But also, even in countries that didn't have a communist revolution, they are plagued by the same problem. With places like South Korea and Japan having low birth rates and growing elderly populations putting a lot of stress on their economies. With East Asia right now claiming the lowest fertility rate of any global region at just 1.2 births per woman compared to 2.3 worldwide. A.K.A. people ain't fucking.

Starting point is 00:14:37 So in China, we're seeing local governments and companies trying different methods of getting people to get busy. Offering 30 days of marriage leave for newlyweds. Launching a campaign pushing city women to date older rural bachelors. One city started its own state-sponsored dating app. And all of this, of course, in addition to what we saw on the national level. With the government raising the number of children couples can have from two to three a while back. We're trying to make up for that one-child policy that had ended back in 2016, but it's just not happening. And then, our dystopian future with AI overlords, it's already here. Or at least, we're getting a taste of it because a judge in India just used chat GPT to decide bail in a murder case.

Starting point is 00:15:06 With him reportedly asking the AI, What is the jurisprudence on bail when the assailant assaulted with cruelty? To which chat GPT responded that if cruelty was a factor, then quote, they may be considered a danger to the community and a flight risk. In such cases, the judge may be less inclined to grant bail or may set the bail amount very high to ensure that the defendant appears in court and does not pose a risk to public safety. The AI also emphasizing the presumption of innocence, but at that point, the judge was like,

Starting point is 00:15:26 I already got my answer and denied the bail request. And so for you, maybe this sparked some questions or thoughts regarding the morality of this, the ethics of this. But the one uncontested positive here is that this was fast. I'm not saying it's good fast. I'm not saying it's bad fast.

Starting point is 00:15:38 It was just fast, which is a big thing there because India is notorious for backlogs and judges have long sought ways to keep things moving. Reportedly, there are currently 6 million pending cases. But also, here's the thing. This is not the first time that ChatGPT has been used in the courtroom. Last month, we saw a Colombian judge use it to decide whether an autistic minor should receive medical coverage. And it's believed that it may become a commonplace tool in the courtroom relatively soon.

Starting point is 00:15:58 And then, Russia arrested and charged a Wall Street Journal reporter with spying for the United States government. So his name's Evan Gershkovich. He's a correspondent based in Moscow. And this is huge because a key takeaway is that this marks the first time an American reporter has been detained there for espionage since the Cold War, with the Russian Federal Security Service saying, it was established that E. Gershkovich, acting on the instructions of the American side, collected information constituting a state secret about the activities of one of the enterprises of the Russian military industrial complex. And Putin's spokesperson adding, we're not talking about suspicions. He was caught red handed. But the outlet has strongly rejected that accusation and demanded the immediate release of

Starting point is 00:16:31 its journalist. We also saw the White House condemning the arrest and the State Department saying that it was in touch with Moscow. Y'all, if he's convicted, which would be all but inevitable unless there's some sort of political settlement with Washington, Gershkovich could go to prison for up to 20 years. In business news, in the least surprising finance business news of the week, Swiss bank Credit Suisse has now been accused of hiding money from the IRS. With the revelation that $700 million in taxable money was hidden from the U.S. coming after a two-year investigation over suspicions that it was violating a 2014 plea agreement. Because unsurprisingly, it had already been in trouble once for doing something similar. The bank allegedly using a variety of methods to hide

Starting point is 00:17:04 the money, including things as simple as just moving $100 million to offshore accounts without telling the Justice Department. And according to a Senate Finance Committee spokesperson, that $700 million may not actually be all of the money, saying it could be much higher than that. We just don't have much visibility into those accounts. And the accusations are a case of when it rains, it pours for Credit Suisse. Or because it's been facing a collapse and buyout from UBS, and now UBS is likely on the hook for any penalties that Credit Suisse would have faced. But with that, I want to say thank you for being a part of another daily dive into the news. I love your faces, and I'll see you next time.

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The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 3.30 Youtubers Arrested For Fraud & Child Endangerment, PRIME Banned, Rand Paul Saved TikTok, & More News

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