The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 4.20 Joe Rogan Coronavirus CONTROVERSY, Lockdown Protests Spread, & PPP Loan Problem

Episode Date: April 20, 2020

Get 50% OFF your first 6-bottle box https://bit.ly/BCDeFranco Bright Cellars is the monthly wine club that matches you with wine that you’ll love. Get started by taking the taste palate quiz to see... your personalized matches. Today's show was actually LONGER before I cut this story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJblBGx-URU --- 00:08 - Joe Rogan 04:32 - Shake Shack 08:29 - TIA 10:39 - US Protests 17:04 - International Protests 21:46 - Canada --- Check out the latest videos on my NEW A Conversation With Clips channel!: https://youtu.be/Ob3PZypD5ug I’ve been doing live streams HERE: https://www.youtube.com/user/PhilipDeFranco WATCH Full “A Convo With” Podcasts: https://www.youtube.com/aconvowith LISTEN On The Podcast Platform Of Your Choice: http://LinksHole.com BUY our GEAR, Support the Show!: http://ShopDeFranco.com   ✩ FOLLOW ME ✩ ✭ TWITTER: http://Twitter.com/PhillyD ✭ INSTAGRAM: https://instagram.com/PhillyDeFranco/   ✩ SUPPORT THE SHOW ✩ ✭ Buy Merch: http://ShopDeFranco.com ✭ Lemme Touch Your Hair: http://BeautifulBastard.com ✭ Paid Subscription: http://DeFrancoElite.com    ✩ TODAY IN AWESOME ✩ ✭ DeFranco Reacts To InvaderVie Twitch Sub Shaming: https://youtu.be/GJblBGx-URU ✭ Final Fantasy VII Remake: https://youtu.be/ERgrFVhL-n4 ✭ Every Dog Breed Explained (Part 2): https://youtu.be/CPJbc1KqRM0 ✭ Prom 2020: Some Good News with John Krasinski: https://youtu.be/VQLi2GYVULc ✭ Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman Join All In Challenge: https://youtu.be/z3hcb9S45XM ✭ Donate to the All In Challenge: https://www.fanatics.com/all-in-challenge/x-12589906+z-9713580-3838082054 ✭ Bad Education Trailer: https://youtu.be/ZVffM3OZkH8 ✭ Secret Link: https://youtu.be/BlDGrTZ2X08   ✩ TODAY’S STORIES ✩   Joe Rogan Slammed for Testing Access: https://roguerocket.com/2020/04/20/joe-rogan-antibody-tests/ Shake Shack Returns $10M Loan for Small Businesses: https://roguerocket.com/2020/04/20/shake-shack-returns-loan/ 20 States Hold Protests to Reopen the Economy, but Many Governors Still Want More Testing First: https://roguerocket.com/2020/04/20/operation-gridlock-expands Bolsonaro Joins Anti-Lockdown Protests as Unrest Grows Internationally: https://roguerocket.com/2020/04/20/anti-lockdown-protests-internationally/ Tragedy in Canada: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-52346447 —————————— Edited by: James Girardier, Julie Goldberg Produced by: Amanda Morones Art Director: Brian Borst   Writing/Research: Philip DeFranco, Lili Stenn, Maddie Crichton, Cory Ray, Neena Pesqueda,   Production Team: Zack Taylor, Luke Manning   ———————————— #DeFranco #JoeRogan #JustinTrudeau ———————————— Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:00 Sup you beautiful bastards, hope you've been a fantastic Monday. Welcome back to the Philip DeFranco Show. Buckle up, hit that like button, and let's just jump into it. And the first thing we're gonna talk about today is we actually had Joe Rogan in the news. And for those that somehow don't know,
Starting point is 00:00:12 Joe Rogan, of course, fantastically successful comedian, podcast host, poster of very, very sweaty photos. And right now he's facing heavy criticism from people who are frustrated by his ability to obtain multiple coronavirus tests when people all over the country are struggling to get access. However, as his fans have noted, he's actually using non-FDA approved antibody tests.
Starting point is 00:00:30 And as for how all of this came up, last Wednesday during an episode of the podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, Rogan spoke to comedian Chris D'Elia. And at the top of the episode, Rogan revealed that D'Elia had just tested negative for COVID-19. Chris D'Elia's negative, yay! That's right. I got the test. Isn't it nice? You know I got the test. Isn't it nice? You know I got the test because I know Joe Rogan. And shortly after that, Rogan explained that he had actually been tested twice in one week.
Starting point is 00:00:49 I've been tested twice already. I got tested yesterday, and I got tested two days before that. I'm just going to test myself every three or four days. Fuck it. With Rogan adding that if he's going to have someone on the podcast, they're also going to have to be tested as well. So I'm testing everybody. So the way we're doing this here is when people come in to do the podcast test them first keep the fuck away from them and then give them a hug all right so that said the podcast happens and
Starting point is 00:01:12 then the following day delia talks about being tested before rogan show in an interview with bill i went to do joe rogan's podcast uh yesterday and i said to him i was like i texted him i was like are you still doing this should we do this or whatever and he was like, I texted him. I was like, are you still doing this? Should we do this or whatever? And he was like, you have a doctor here. He's going to test you first. So I was like, okay. And I got tested and I was negative, but I was like, what if I was positive? He'd just be like, okay, gotta go home. And there the interviewer's first response to Talia was how is Joe Rogan's podcast getting
Starting point is 00:01:37 tests? How is Joe Rogan's podcast getting tests? Well, Joe, well, because Joe's paying for it. That's why Joe, Joe is, yeah joe's bat joe's basically bruce wayne that's why unreal unreal i i don't i don't want to let my blood pressure go off the chart while i'm doing an interview with you but that is wild to me um i mean there's plenty of tests there's plenty of doctors there's plenty of tests out there i just uh yeah it's just uh you know i i just think that it's tough for the actual public
Starting point is 00:02:05 to get it, which sucks. Right, so with all of this stuff with D'Elia, there's also other videos of other people getting tested. And so following all of this, you had a number of people taking to social media to express their frustrations. But you also have people pushing back against the criticisms, noting that Rogan is using non-FDA approved tests, right?
Starting point is 00:02:19 Not the test kits most commonly used in hospitals across the nation to detect active infections. And even more specifically, the doctor administering the test, Dr. Abe Malkin, is part of Concierge MDLA, which touts itself as a premier provider of high-end on-demand and personalized medical care in Los Angeles. And on its website, Concierge says it offers
Starting point is 00:02:35 in-home coronavirus testing for $299, with its two options being swab tests and antibody tests. And according to an interview with Vice, Dr. Malkin said that he began offering nasal swab testing several weeks ago, which was especially difficult given the widespread shortages of personal protective equipment and swabs. And now, Malkin says that he's mostly administering an antibody test, which is not approved by the FDA
Starting point is 00:02:53 and is used to show whether you have ever been infected with COVID-19. With Dr. Malkin telling Vice, there's about 70 companies producing antibody tests and only one of them is FDA approved, that's Cellix. I don't know how the hell they got that contract that they got FDA approval, but it's impossible to get those tests.
Starting point is 00:03:06 And adding, I give everyone a disclaimer. It's not FDA approved. You can't use this for diagnosis. It's more for peace of mind, for epidemiologic data. But if they need a definitive diagnosis, they have to get a nasal swab. And as far as how many people he has tested at the time of the interview,
Starting point is 00:03:20 he said, I've tested about 300 people in the last week. About 5% of asymptomatic people turn up positive on antibody testing. And last week about 5% of asymptomatic people turn up positive on antibody testing and about 10 to 20% of symptomatic people have showed up positive on antibody testing and everyone that was a known positive has shown a positive on antibody testing Right. So with all of that said that's why you have a number of fans saying that the outrage against Rogan here is just misplaced It's not like Rogan is the reason other people aren't being tested Once again on the other side of this you have people saying well, it, it's not just that, arguing that it's not just Rogan, but anyone giving these non-FDA approved tests
Starting point is 00:03:47 could be giving people false security, especially since experts have warned that tests have mistakenly flagged people as having antibodies when they don't. So to bring it back to Rogan, it is unclear how reliable this is. Now, as far as my opinion on this, I think the anger here is misplaced.
Starting point is 00:04:00 Right, if Rogan was diverting N95 masks that were supposed to go to hospitals, sure I'm on board. If he was exploiting some rich person Illuminati loophole that made it so that things that once again were supposed to go to hospitals but ended up in his hands. Then yeah, maybe I'd pick up a pitchfork, though I do have a little Joe Rogan bias, I will admit that. I'm a weekly listener, I've been on the podcast
Starting point is 00:04:17 two times a long time ago. But yeah, in general to me this feels like a headline that got away, which hey, it is going to happen. Yeah, that's my personal takeaway. Though of course, I pass the question off to you. What are your thoughts on this? Do you agree with me? Do you disagree with me?
Starting point is 00:04:29 Why, why not? Let me know in those comments down below. And then, let's talk about a story that involves those loans that the government is giving out to small businesses. And the thing is, there's been a lot of confusion, issues, controversies around this. Right, over the weekend we saw stories
Starting point is 00:04:41 about how these loans were not making their way to more places. Also, a big controversy was that Shake Shack got $10 million from the Payroll Protection Program. But that place has 275 locations both in the United States and abroad and is publicly traded. You know, you had a lot of people saying that Shake Shack should be in no position to get this loan, right? It was designed to help small struggling businesses. People pointing to the fact that it was supposed to be for businesses with 500 or fewer employees, right? If they have 200 some odd stores,
Starting point is 00:05:05 they obviously have more employees. But it turns out they were actually eligible. It was for businesses with 500 employees or fewer or chain restaurants and hotels with 500 or less employees per location. But before we go any further, the big news today is that Shake Shack has said that it will be returning that $10 million it received.
Starting point is 00:05:21 Publishing a joint statement with Union Square Hospitality Group, which is an independent restaurant group in New York that created Shake Shack, who are also facing problems of its own as a result of the crisis in the PPP, with Shake Shack saying when this program was first announced,
Starting point is 00:05:32 they didn't really know what to do about it. Writing, the PPP came with no user manual and it was extremely confusing. But adding, the best chance of keeping our teams working off the unemployment line and hiring back our furloughed and laid off employees would be to apply now and hope things would be clarified in time. Few of any restaurants in America
Starting point is 00:05:46 employ more than 500 people per location. That meant that Shake Shack, with roughly 45 employees per restaurant, could and should apply to protect as many of our employees' jobs as possible. Also adding they had quickly seen severe economic hits as a result of the virus. But on the other hand,
Starting point is 00:05:59 things were more complicated for USHG, who closed all of its restaurants in March and had to lay off over 2,000 employees. Right, and so their position made them a little more unsure of what to do. Writing, since the PPP loans would be forgivable only if employees were hired back by June, and since most USHG restaurants are based in New York City
Starting point is 00:06:13 where that timeline is unlikely achievable for full service restaurants, that application decision relied upon our conviction that one day we would be able to pay back the loan. After careful consideration, USHG opted to apply for PPP loans, taking on the risk in order to hire back laid off employees as soon as possible. All right, so that was their individual situation,
Starting point is 00:06:30 but one of the biggest situations for everyone else is that the supply was limited. All right, if you haven't already seen, it was announced that the PPP funding had run dry in less than two weeks. All right, so leaving them in a tough place, which was also something that their statement continued on, saying, if this act were written for small businesses,
Starting point is 00:06:43 how is it possible that so many independent restaurants "'whose employees needed just as much help "'were unable to receive funding? "'We now know that the first phase of the PPP "'was underfunded and many who need it most "'haven't gotten any assistance.'" Which it appears is in part why Shake Shack has decided to return their chunk of money.
Starting point is 00:06:57 Right, so that more places and more people can really get that assistance. And we saw both Shake Shack and USHG encouraging Congress to make it easier for restaurants in need to get help in a number of ways. First, by spreading the funding more efficiently so that it does not run out. Second, by assigning restaurants to banks
Starting point is 00:07:10 so those who don't have pre-existing relationships are not left out. And third, by eliminating the June forgiveness date. And they said that they hope this strategy will give an advantage to smaller businesses because while Shake Shack so far is the only one announcing their plan to return PPP money, they were far from the only chain to get it.
Starting point is 00:07:24 Potbelly Sandwich Shop, Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, Kura Sushi, and many more with locations all over the place got a nice chunk of change, right? Ruth's Chris alone got 20 million. And meanwhile, you have people like April Richardson, who owns DC Sweet Potato Cake, a local bakery in DC, speaking to reporters saying her application to the PPP resulted in her getting nothing, right?
Starting point is 00:07:41 And this is someone not trying to get millions, but rather just around $23,000. And because she didn't get it, she ended up having to tell three of her employees to file for unemployment. But all that said, it does appear that there is some hope for these businesses because it appears that a new deal
Starting point is 00:07:53 to get more funding is on its way. In fact, according to the Wall Street Journal, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin is hopeful that Congress can get something agreed to as soon as today with a vote by Wednesday. And that deal would reportedly send another $310 billion to the PPP, would also give 75 billion to help hospitals, 25 billion to expand testing nationwide.
Starting point is 00:08:10 Though there have been some holdups negotiated. Democrats have been after more hospital and testing funding while Republicans have wanted to put funds for those in different legislation. But ultimately that's where we are with this one right now. We're gonna keep our eyes on it, see what happens with the legislation, also look into what other companies out there
Starting point is 00:08:24 might give money back. It appears to be like most things right now, just an incredibly messy situation. And then let's talk about the coronavirus protests we're seeing in the States here, starting off with this standoff that has gone viral. Now, notably, that scene was from a protest yesterday I'm in China! You weren't calling me for that! I'm in China! I can't believe I'm on here!
Starting point is 00:08:47 Now notably, that scene was from a protest yesterday in Denver. There we saw two medical workers blocking lines of trucks and cars as people try to protest Colorado's social distancing laws. Right, those people calling for an end to lockdown measures and for non-essential businesses to reopen. Remember last week we saw similar protests at Michigan's capital, and since then we've seen seen demonstrators protesting stay at home orders in at least 20 different states. This including Texas, Maryland, Minnesota, Virginia, Tennessee, and Arizona. Like we saw with Michigan, in a lot of these protests, you had people staying in their car,
Starting point is 00:09:12 social distancing themselves from others. But you also had scenes like this where people were definitely not social distancing. And one of the biggest examples of that was in Texas, where on Saturday, hundreds of people crowded around one another without their masks, some even bringing their kids. There you had people shouting things like,
Starting point is 00:09:25 Let us work and fire Fauci, also holding up signs that read, You have no right to keep me out of church. And to give an example of some of the thinking there, we saw one of the protesters say, I think about the fear that was instilled in me from the initial shock of the outbreak, and it was too much. I don't even get sick hardly anyways. I'm not gonna catch the virus. I'm not rubbing up on people, coughing on people in public. You know, I'm not worried about transmitting a virus
Starting point is 00:09:52 that's just like another flu. But of course, health experts have repeatedly been telling people that this virus is not like the flu. One, it's completely new. Two, it's believed that people who aren't showing symptoms can spread it. And three, there's also no vaccine at this moment. And I'll repeat what I said last week, right?
Starting point is 00:10:05 All of this is not to say that these people do not have legitimate concerns and issues. 22 million people have lost their jobs, more will follow. Many don't have the money to pay for rent or other bills. But on the other side of this, you have people like Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who has argued protests like this may only cause the stay-at-home orders to be extended.
Starting point is 00:10:21 And connected to that kind of thinking, we've also seen experts say that if you go back too soon, thus supercharging the spread, this is going to decimate the economy anyway. Right, and I don't mean at the same rate, I mean even worse. Now with all that said, of course, there was support for the protesters.
Starting point is 00:10:34 Some of it even seemingly coming from President Trump, who on Friday tweeted, "'Liberate Minnesota, then liberate Michigan, "'and liberate Virginia.'" And with that, we saw Washington Governor Jay Inslee criticize Trump, saying, "'The President's statements this morning this morning encourage illegal and dangerous acts He is putting millions of people in danger of contracting COVID-19 his unhinged rantings and calls for people to quote liberate states could also lead
Starting point is 00:10:53 To violence. We've seen it before and adding the president is fomenting domestic rebellion and spreading lies Even while his own administration says the virus is real It is deadly and we have a long way to go before restrictions can be lifted though yesterday We also saw Trump respond again to the protesters saying that some governors had enacted lockdown orders that were too tough. People feel that way, you're allowed to protest. I mean, they feel that way. I watched the protest and they were all six feet apart. I mean, it was a very orderly group of people. But you know, some have gone too far, some governors have gone too far, some of the things that happened are
Starting point is 00:11:27 maybe not so appropriate. And I think in the end it's not gonna matter because we're starting to open up our states, and I think they're gonna open up very well. And on the complete opposite end of this, we've also seen states start to reopen. Notably, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis giving the green light to some cities and counties to reopen beaches.
Starting point is 00:11:41 While people aren't allowed to sunbathe, they can still walk, swim, and even fish. With that, on Saturday, we saw people just flocking to the beach, one of the biggest examples being Jacksonville. I mean, it was just crowded. And then, of course, with this, we've seen a lot of pushback.
Starting point is 00:11:52 And this, because the same day that decision was made, Florida recorded a record number of cases. But also, Florida's not the only state in the process of reopening. We have Minnesota. There, we saw Governor Tim Walz signing an executive order reopening outdoor recreational businesses,
Starting point is 00:12:04 like golf courses and bait shops. Also New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey announcing they would begin reopening marinas and boat yards. You also have Texas, which is expected to lift some restrictions later this week by allowing what Governor Greg Abbott calls retail to go, which basically means that non-essential businesses
Starting point is 00:12:17 can deliver or have customers pick up merchandise, but they won't allow anyone to actually shop in store. Also, regarding the timing, all of this comes as governors have criticized Trump for not doing enough to help states when it comes to testing. That including providing things like swabs, reagents, and other chemical solutions required to run tests. Right now, the United States has been averaging
Starting point is 00:12:33 about 146,000 tests a day, but state officials and public health experts have said that is not enough, arguing that the number needs to be in the several hundred thousands or even millions each day. And on this topic, I mean, last week, researchers at Harvard estimated that in order to ease restrictions, testing needs to triple its current pace.
Starting point is 00:12:48 But at the same time, though, Trump has said that the governors are responsible for testing and also saying, The United States has the most robust, advanced, and accurate testing system anywhere in the world. However, later we saw Maryland Governor Larry Hogan pushing back against those claims.
Starting point is 00:13:01 To try to push this off to say that the governors have plenty of testing and they should just get to work on testing, somehow we aren't doing our job is just absolutely false. Every governor in America has been pushing and fighting and clawing to get more tests, not only from the federal government, but from every private lab in America and from all across the world. We also saw from Virginia Governor and Physician Ralph Northam. We've been fighting for testing. It's not a straightforward test. We don't even have
Starting point is 00:13:32 enough swabs, believe it or not, and we're ramping that up. But for the national level to say that we have what we need and really to have no guidance to the state levels, it's just irresponsible because we're not there yet. And others, like Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, have argued that only the federal government has a decision to tell the FDA to prioritize companies that are, quote, putting a slightly different formula together. With DeWine going on to say that if the FDA would do that, he could probably double or even triple testing in Ohio. And actually, following concerns like that, yesterday we saw Donald Trump say. We also are going to be using and we're preparing to use the Defense Production Act
Starting point is 00:14:07 to increase swab production in one U.S. facility by over 20 million additional swabs per month. We've had a little difficulty with one, so we're going to call in, as we have in the past, as you know. We're calling in the Defense Production Act and we'll be getting swabs very easily. Swabs are easy. Trump also defending himself
Starting point is 00:14:29 and hitting back against those governors again. We have millions of them coming in. They're very easy by comparison. And in all fairness, governors could get them themselves. They really could. All of this, but we're gonna do it. We're gonna work with the governors, and if they can't do it, we're gonna do it. then just this morning we saw Trump further criticizing Democratic governors accusing them of playing a very dangerous political game
Starting point is 00:14:50 So that is a chunk of what we're seeing in the United States But also with all of this I want to point out that the United States isn't the only country where people are protesting Coronavirus restrictions over the weekend We saw hundreds of people in major Brazilian cities coming out to demonstrate against restrictions imposed by governors who have shut down businesses. And one of the most notable protests was in Brasilia in front of the army's headquarters where around 600 demonstrators gathered, many of whom were not wearing any masks or protective gear.
Starting point is 00:15:13 And according to reports, like in the United States, the protesters were mostly right-wing supporters of President Jair Bolsonaro. And in addition to calling to end the restrictions, the protesters reportedly demanded the closure of the Supreme Court and Congress. And also calling on the military to step in and handle the pandemic.
Starting point is 00:15:26 So right, basically calling for a military coup. And what made this protest even more significant is the fact that Bolsonaro himself actually showed up to give a speech. Like many protesters, he didn't wear a mask or gloves, even coughing multiple times during his speech. While Bolsonaro himself did not directly call for Congress to be closed or for there to be a military coup,
Starting point is 00:15:43 his appearance was still a huge deal for a number of reasons. First of all, Brazil was under a military rule for over two decades, from 1964 to 1985, so calls to give the military more power are highly controversial there. And to that point, we saw tons of people criticizing Bolsonaro, including the likes
Starting point is 00:15:56 of former presidents, politicians, and newspaper editorial boards. Reportedly, even top military officials told local newspapers they were upset with the move. And another reason this is significant is because it's part of Bolsonaro's continued efforts to downplay the coronavirus and actively defy his government.
Starting point is 00:16:09 This, even though Brazil has the highest number of confirmed cases in all of Latin America, with over 39,000 cases and 2,500 deaths as of this afternoon. But despite that, not only has Bolsonaro openly opposed lockdowns imposed by governors, which he has ironically called dictatorial, he's also gone against social distancing measures
Starting point is 00:16:24 advised by both the WHO and Brazil's health ministry numerous times. In the last few weeks, he's stepped up his public appearances, meeting with supporters and protesters, as well as business owners and others. Also, I mean, on Thursday, he even fired his health minister just because he had urged Brazilians to socially distance and stay inside, a move he made despite the fact
Starting point is 00:16:39 that a survey from the first week of April showed that a huge majority of Brazilians, about 76%, approved of the health minister's handling of the crisis. And in fact, in a poll published this Saturday, it showed that a huge majority of Brazilians, about 76%, approved of the health minister's handling of the crisis. And in fact, in a poll published this Saturday, it showed that a majority of people approved the government's regulations despite the impact on the economy.
Starting point is 00:16:51 And while Brazil is a really wild and unique situation with everything going on with Bolsonaro, there are also plenty of other similar protests around the world. Anti-lockdown riots broke out in Paris. There, rioters reportedly threw fireworks at police who responded with tear gas. Last week, tens of thousands of migrant workers
Starting point is 00:17:04 were stranded without work or a way to get home held demonstrations in Mumbai, India. There have also reportedly been protests breaking out in Lebanon and Iraq. And those last two are really notable because before this whole situation, there were protests and movements happening. I mean, like right before this pandemic,
Starting point is 00:17:17 there had been a surge of movements all around the world. And one of the common threads, you had people protesting government corruption and economic injustice, demanding reform. When the pandemic hit, a lot of those protests largely died out. But now, many experts are saying that these movements are likely to start up again or spread to other parts
Starting point is 00:17:31 of the world for two main reasons. First is the economic downturn that the coronavirus has caused and is continuing to cause globally. Numerous experts, including the UN Secretary General, have warned that the economic situation risks increased social unrest and violence. With some saying this is something we're gonna see disproportionately in poorer countries
Starting point is 00:17:46 that can't afford subsidies for lost jobs and other similar social safety net. And the second reason we could see more protests is the fact that some leaders out there are using the coronavirus to expand authoritarian measures. Right a little while back, we talked about how Hungary passed a law allowing the prime minister to rule by decree indefinitely.
Starting point is 00:17:59 Kenya also started crackdowns on people breaking curfew, and those crackdowns have now killed more people in the country than the coronavirus. Israel has also used the pandemic to significantly expand its surveillance state. In fact, already we saw protests breaking out in Israel over the weekend against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. There, more than 2,000 protesters took to the street,
Starting point is 00:18:15 notably standing six feet apart, with the demonstrators accusing Netanyahu of using the crisis to escape prosecution over corruption charges and form an emergency government with his rival. Some reportedly holding up black flags to symbolize what they see as Netanyahu's attack against the country's democratic system.
Starting point is 00:18:28 Like we talked about before, Netanyahu was charged with fraud, breach of justice and accepting bribes. But according to reports, he's recently used the pandemic to quote, "'gain more control over judicial appointments "'and assurances that he can remain in office "'even if he gives up the prime minister's job
Starting point is 00:18:40 "'in a proposed power sharing arrangement.'" And to that point, while I was recording, we got the update that Netanyahu and his rival, Benny Gantz, agreed to form an emergency government together. Under that agreement, Netanyahu will serve as prime minister until October 2021. Then Gantz will take over. And this is a huge deal because one,
Starting point is 00:18:54 it's finally a resolution to the three elections Israel has had in the last year because their leaders were unable to form a government. And two, because Netanyahu is serving the first term, it means that he will continue to fight the corruption charges from the prime minister's office, which gives him certain powers. Right, so we're seeing that internationally,
Starting point is 00:19:07 but also we're seeing countries starting to open back up. I mean, just today we saw Germany, Denmark, the Czech Republic, and Norway all lifting some restrictions. Outside of Europe, we saw South Korea also easing social distancing rules. Australia and New Zealand have also said that they are going to roll back some restrictions soon.
Starting point is 00:19:21 This despite the fact that New Zealand also said it's extending its lockdown for five more days. With this, it's gonna be interesting, and really, I mean, somewhat nerve-wracking to watch what happens as restrictions are pulled back. But for now, like with almost every topic right now, we're gonna have to wait to see what happens next. The last thing I wanna talk about today
Starting point is 00:19:36 is actually relatively brief, but it's only brief because we're still getting information. If you have not already heard, there was a tragic and horrifying shooting in Nova Scotia. There was a gunman who was disguised as a police officer who shot and killed people in their homes, with the AP currently reporting that 18 people have died, making it the deadliest shooting in Canadian history.
Starting point is 00:19:55 According to reports, the suspect is among the dead. So is a police officer's reports also saying that he set houses on fire and that the rampage lasted around 12 hours. As of right now, no motive is known, but authorities say that it is possible the initial victims were initially targeted and the rest were random.
Starting point is 00:20:09 Authorities also adding that bodies were found inside and outside of a house on the street where authorities believe the suspect lived. And then more were also found at other locations within 30 miles of the neighborhood. Now given the timing of this with the coronavirus pandemic, as far as how will people mourn, we saw Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau say, The pandemic will prevent us from mourning together in person,
Starting point is 00:20:29 but a vigil will be held virtually to celebrate the lives of the victims. That vigil is set to be held online on Friday, with Trudeau also saying, I know that the vast majority of Nova Scotians will have a direct link with one or more of the many victims. And the entire province and the entire country is grieving right now as we come to grips with something that is absolutely unimaginable. Also I will say something I was happy to see,
Starting point is 00:20:56 Justin Trudeau also requested that the media refrain from naming the suspect to avoid giving him any attention. You know, that's something that we've talked about on the show for a very long time, not giving these monsters the attention that many of them crave. But like I said in the beginning, this is brief. This is still a developing situation.
Starting point is 00:21:09 We're waiting for more information to come out, including more details about the victims. But for now, that's where this story ends, and we'll have to wait to see what other information comes out. And if I can end this on any note, I wanna hit two final things. One, my thoughts, my well wishes, my love
Starting point is 00:21:21 to all of those affected by this. And secondly, with this horrific tragedy, but also in the time that we're living in, I think it's more important than ever that we tell the people we love while we have them that we appreciate them. Because these are uncertain times for a number of reasons. We're turning a lot of different corners and not knowing what's gonna be in front of us. I know a lot of people are self quarantining right now, but there's a lot of different ways to love the ones you got while you have them. But unfortunately on that sad note,
Starting point is 00:21:46 that is where I'm going to end today's show. And hey, if you liked this video, you liked the way that I dive into the news, hit us with a like. Also, if you're new here, definitely subscribe, tap that bell to turn on notifications so you don't miss this daily show. Also, if you're looking for more to watch right now,
Starting point is 00:21:57 I got those new ACW clips, or maybe just missed the last Philip DeFranco show you wanna catch up, you can click or tap right there to watch that right now. But with that said, of course, as always, my name's Philip DeFranco show, you wanna catch up, you can click or tap right there to watch that right now. But with that said, of course, as always, my name's Philip DeFranco, you've just been filled in, I love yo faces, and I'll see you tomorrow. I hope you like this video.
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