The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 5.1 GUILTY! Mom-Influencer LIED About Her Children's Attempted Kidnapping & Blamed Minority Couple...

Starting point is 00:00:00 Sup, you beautiful bastards. Welcome back to the Philip DeFranco Show. I hope you've had a fantastic Monday. But a quick announcement right here at the top. I'm so pumped to announce this surprise drop over at beautifulbastard.com, where for one week only, you can grab these four exclusive drops.

Starting point is 00:00:13 We got that keep going, everything will be all right goodness. Our awesome one day will all be skeletons gear, as well as your fantastic reminder to embrace change. And finally, our chaotic, emotionally exhausted premium shirts and hoodies. And I would argue most importantly, we got our shipping fixed, so everything actually should go out within a week.

Starting point is 00:00:27 So grab any and all while you can. The clock is ticking, but we got a lot of news to talk about, so let's just jump into it. Starting with, there's a pretty good chance you remember this woman. Monday of this week, my children were the targets of attempted kidnap. Right, that is Katie Sorensen. She's a mom, she's an Instagram influencer. She went viral in late 2020 with a shocking story. Because according to her account, she took her two kids to a Michael's Crafts store in California to get stuff for holiday gifts. But inside, a man and a woman followed them around the store, and she heard him describing her children's physical features, possibly to someone on the phone. With the couple then standing in line behind her despite not buying anything, and when she left, they followed. With the man allegedly reaching out as if to grab her stroller, causing her to scream. At which point, the couple flees to their car, they take off, and so Katie reports

Starting point is 00:01:07 this to the police and then tells the story to over 4.5 million people on Instagram. But the cops ended up being surprised that her online story included way more details than her police reports, so they looked into it further. And they discovered that both the statements of the supposed kidnappers and the surveillance footage flatly contradicted her account. So they ended up prosecuting her and saying that she made up this entire story to boost her social media following. And now the big news is that the jury has actually convicted her of filing a false police report for which she faces up to six months in jail with a couple that she pointed the finger at saying the same thing two years ago when this happened. She wanted a stronger following. She was looking for, you know, content for her

Starting point is 00:01:39 fame and her her income and at our expense. And then Wall Street Journal just dropped an absolute bomb about Jeffrey Epstein. Turns out, not a good guy. No, that's not what it is. Rather, they published a devastating report detailing a number of high-profile figures who had previously unreported connections with Jeffrey Epstein, big thing, years after he was a convicted sex offender. The information stemming from a collection of documents that include thousands of pages of emails and schedules from 2013 to 2017, and notably, had never been reported until now. According to reports, William Burns, the current director of the CIA, had three meetings scheduled with Epstein in 2014 when he was deputy secretary of state, and adding that they first met

Starting point is 00:02:16 in Washington and then Burns visited Epstein's townhouse in Manhattan. Also, Catherine Rumler, a White House counsel under President Obama, had dozens of meetings with Epstein in the years after her White House service and before she became a top lawyer at Goldman Sachs Group. Also noting that Epstein planned on her to join a trip to Paris in 2014 and a visit to his private island in 2017. Also mentioned was Leon Botstein, the president of Bard College, who invited Epstein, who brought a group of young female guests to the campus. As well as famous professor, author, and activist Noam Chomsky, who was scheduled to fly with Epstein to have dinner at Epstein's Manhattan townhouse in 2015. With the report going on to say that the documents show that Epstein arranged multiple meetings with each of them after he had served jail time in 2008 for a sex crime involving a teenage girl and while he was registered as a sex offender. But

Starting point is 00:02:54 also adding that they don't reveal the purpose of most of those meetings, and the Wall Street Journal couldn't verify whether every scheduled meeting took place. That said, though, some of the people named in the report or the representatives spoke to the outlet, a spokesperson for the CIA saying that Director Burns had indeed met with Epstein about a decade ago, but added, the director did not know anything about him other than that he was introduced as an expert in the financial services sector and offered general advice on transition to the private sector, claiming they had no relationship, and adding that Burns remembered being introduced to Epstein in Washington and meeting once in New York. Additionally, a spokesperson for Goldman Sachs confirmed that Rumler did have a professional relationship with Epstein and adding that the lawyer said,

Starting point is 00:03:26 I regret ever knowing Jeffrey Epstein. But there, the documents appear to reveal that he knew her quite well. With the Wall Street Journal reporting that he had asked for food, that she liked to be on hand for meetings, visited apartments that she was considering buying, and even knew of her travel plans,

Starting point is 00:03:37 telling an assistant in 2014 to look into her flight to see if she could be upgraded to first class. Beyond that, the records also reportedly showed that Epstein and his staff had discussed whether Rumler would be uncomfortable with the presence of young women who worked as assistants and staffers at the townhouse. And the outlet adding that women emailed Epstein

Starting point is 00:03:50 on two occasions to ask if they should avoid the home while Miss Rumler was there. And Epstein telling one of the women he didn't want her around said another that it wasn't a problem. And over the course of a few years, Rumler had more than three dozen appointments with Epstein, including for lunches and dinners.

Starting point is 00:04:02 So the Goldman Sachs spokesperson did claim that she never visited his island and never accepted an invitation or an opportunity to fly with Jeffrey Epstein, including for lunches and dinners. Though the Goldman Sachs spokesperson did claim that she never visited his island and never accepted an invitation or an opportunity to fly with Jeffrey Epstein anywhere. Meanwhile, Botstein said he was just trying to convince Epstein to donate to his school, with the Wall Street Journal reporting that the Bard College president

Starting point is 00:04:14 had about two dozen meetings scheduled with Epstein over about four years, which were mostly visits to the townhouse. In the article also reporting numerous scheduled meetings between Epstein and Chomsky, including one where Epstein was planning to fly with Chomsky and his wife to have dinner with Woody Allen and his wife. Now, Chomsky, for his part, confirmed that he had meetings between Epstein and Chomsky, including one where Epstein was planning to fly with Chomsky and his wife to have dinner with Woody Allen and his wife.

Starting point is 00:04:27 Now, Chomsky, for his part, confirmed that he had met with Epstein on multiple occasions, but was vague about the meeting with Woody Allen, while also seemingly defending the director, who, of course, has also been famously accused of sex crimes against minors, saying, if there was a flight, which I doubt, it would have been from Boston to New York, 30 minutes. But also, notably, both Botstein and Chomsky told the Wall Street Journal they believed that Epstein had served his time while they met with him and appeared to have no issue with his

Starting point is 00:04:47 sordid past. Botstein saying we looked him up and he was a convicted felon for a sex crime. We believe in rehabilitation. While Chomsky argued that at the time of his meetings what was known about Jeffrey Epstein was that he had been convicted of a crime and had served his sentence. Saying according to U.S. laws and norms that yields a clean slate. But also a key takeaway here is that all those people we just talked about were just some of the prominent figures flagged in the documents. But the record's also reportedly mentioning scheduled meetings with members of the Rothschild family,

Starting point is 00:05:10 Harvard University professor Martin Nowak, prominent businessman Joshua Cooper-Ramo, and an Israeli prime minister, among others. And then Dave Chappelle, depending on who you ask, is a beloved or hated figure. And as it turns out, he's also a pretty divisive figure where he lives, Yellow Springs, Ohio,

Starting point is 00:05:22 a place you've seen connected to Chappelle in so many headlines over the years, whether it be for hosting outdoor socially distanced comedy shows during the pandemic, or for interfering with the development of property there that could be partially used for affordable housing, and then also buying that land. You know, this town has been described as a very unique place. It has strong historical and cultural roots, Chappelle previously describing it as a Bernie Sanders island in a Trump sea,

Starting point is 00:05:41 with Bloomberg saying that its politics can be summed up by a sign at a local church that reads, 1030 a.m. Sunday, an eco-feminist interpretation of Genesis 1-3, in-person, masks required. What places like Bloomberg are doing right now is they're really focusing on Chappelle's property ownership. Because reportedly around 2018, he incorporated a holdings company and began buying properties in the downtown area. So much so that by 2022, under both his name and under the holdings company, he owned a total of 20 properties in the county, with a lot of these properties being commercial or business locations. And so a meeting with local business owners was held, including with Chappelle, with one item on the agenda being Dave's up to something. With that part starting with praise for Chappelle helping the town's

Starting point is 00:06:13 economy amid COVID, Chappelle also sharing his vision of the town being a cultural mecca. But you also had Chappelle feeling insulted that there were so many people suspicious of his efforts, especially given everything he's done for the community. But also on the other side, you had business owners feeling disrespected for Chappelle snapping at them. And so after that, some local businesses put out signs in support of Chappelle, thanking him for his contribution, while others just didn't. And no matter what stance a business took, it kind of felt loud. With Bloomberg speaking to people on both sides here, what they noticed is that you had a lot of people saying Chappelle has a strong base of support in the village, but also noting that few

Starting point is 00:06:39 people will actually say anything critical of Chappelle on the record. With that off the record, some called him a force that's turning us into the place we're all trying to stay away from, some even comparing him to Trump for his pattern of not apologizing, doubling down, and blaming someone else. And all of this coming as the topic of property and land ownership in Yellow Springs has been a very hot one as it's facing serious housing issues right now. With reports explaining the tight housing supply has left Yellow Springs richer, older, and whiter. And noting as of 2020, the village was less than 11% black, down from 26% in 1970. And reporting with no condos or apartments to downsize into, retirees keep their under-occupied

Starting point is 00:07:09 homes off the market, while young families and service workers end up in the unexceptional but cheaper cities nearby. With one source telling out that a lot of people want to blame Chappelle for the town becoming so unaffordable, even though that blame might be unfair. I will say, if you want an even deeper dive into this, I'll link to the Bloomberg report down in the links. It seems like just a messy situation in this town, but also one that asks a lot of questions. Is Chappelle getting lots of credit for helping the town amid a pandemic, reviving local businesses? Does that earn a person unlimited goodwill? Or also, at what point are you allowed to question someone who has done a lot of good, supported a lot of livelihoods?

Starting point is 00:07:37 Or how do you balance and separate praise that exists of him in one arena and the criticism that he might face in others? And then, for any of you focused on getting your business off the ground, creating a place to share your homemade goods, new favorite hobby, current obsession, or even a personal blog to get all those thoughts out of your head, I got a great solution. And from that, I want to thank the fantastic sponsor of today's show, Squarespace. You know, I've been partnering with Squarespace for years now, and I have to say, it's just so easy. There's nothing to install, patch, or upgrade. And creating a beautiful website with Squarespace's all-in-one platform has never been so simple. It's incredibly intuitive and easy to use. Plus, with their mobile-optimized website, your content automatically adjusts so it looks great on any device. And with

Starting point is 00:08:10 Squarespace, you get access to all their marketing tools and analytics and their award-winning customer care team via email or live chat 24-7. So go check it out. See why so many others love it. See why it's going to be right for you. And start your free trial today over at squarespace.com slash phil. And when you realize you love it, make sure you enter an offer code phil to get 10% off your first purchase. And then Adidas is now facing a class action lawsuit because of Kanye. With investors claiming that the company was well aware of the harm that Kanye posed to the brand, but they just failed to act on that knowledge or warn investors. In fact, according to the lawsuit,

Starting point is 00:08:36 executives discussed the risks of collaborating with Kanye as far back as 2018. And while you could argue Kanye had not gone full Nazi then, the lawsuit claims that Kanye made anti-Semitic comments in front of the Adidas staff and even suggested he might name an album after Hitler. And so with that, saying that Adidas failed to take meaningful precautionary measures to limit negative financial exposure. Though for their part, Adidas has denied any wrongdoing, saying we outright reject these unfounded claims

Starting point is 00:08:57 and will take all necessary measures to vigorously defend ourselves against them. And all this notably coming roughly six months after Adidas dropped Kanye over his anti-Semitic and hateful outbursts, a split that the company later said could cost it well over a billion dollars. And then, what the hell is going on with banks right now? That's a question popping into a lot of minds this morning with the news coming out that JPMorgan Chase is now buying out most of First Republic Bank. Right, with First Republic Bank being the second largest bank failure in American history. And the deal is actually a pretty good one for JPMorgan Chase.

Starting point is 00:09:22 At the cost of just $11 billion to the FDIC, they'll get essentially all of First Republic's assets. And on top of that, the FDIC promised to cover 80% of the losses from First Republic's mortgage loans for five to seven years, as well as getting major financing from the FDIC. There's also a bunch of other numbers associated with the deal, but when all is said and done, they're expected to get a one-time gain of $2.6 billion out of the deal. Although they'll also spend about $2 billion in restructuring over the next year or so. But even then, that's like what, an easy $600 million for the banking giant? Not to mention the potential long-term gains, which also led to a little stock bump. And as far as the FDIC, it'll lose about $13 billion from the deal. Although that money is ultimately

Starting point is 00:09:55 paid by American banks through their premiums to insurance. And then the tragic death of Ivo Otieno goes way deeper than anyone first thought. So this whole shit storm kicked off on March 3rd, when Virginia police took 28-year-old Ivo into custody while investigating a suspected burglary. They accused him of attacking them, and his mother says that he had a history of mental illness and was suffering mental distress in the days leading to his arrest.

Starting point is 00:10:13 And then, while he was in jail, surveillance videos show his officers entering his cell and confronting him, with a prosecutor saying that he was kneed, punched, and pepper sprayed. Next, you see them struggling to get him into a white van, so they put him in a police SUV instead, driving him to Central State Hospital, a local psychiatric facility where he would remain for the rest of his life.

Starting point is 00:10:28 But that's only because on March 6, while he was shackled and handcuffed, ten people smothered Ivo with their bodies for at least 11 minutes until he died from suffocation. So it's Ivo's mother garnering nationwide sympathy with her heart-wrenching words at this press conference. Ivo was my baby. He was special. He had an infectious smile. Oh, Mrs. Nile. He was handsome. He was a hunk.

Starting point is 00:10:55 My baby was handsome. You don't know him, because you don't know him. And now all 10 people involved in Ivo's death, including three hospital staff and seven sheriff's deputies, have been charged with second-degree murder. But also, we now know from an investigation by Insider that this case, though extreme, is just a part of a long pattern of abuse at the hospital. With employees over the last five years substantiating 31 reports of physical abuse, 33 of neglect, 9 of verbal abuse, and 3 of patient exploitation. Moreover, there were more than 600 cases of abuse that couldn't be substantiated, including 56 of sexual abuse.

Starting point is 00:11:24 One of those incidents came just one day after Ivo's death, involving one of the three staff members who were charged there. And then there's a manhunt still underway for the monster who shot and killed five of his neighbors, including an eight-year-old with an AR-style rifle in Cleveland, Texas. According to authorities, the shooting took place late Friday night after the suspect had been shooting his gun in his yard when his neighbor, Wilson Garcia, asked him to stop so his baby could sleep. With Garcia saying the man told him that he would do what he wanted in his yard, so Garcia told him that he'd just call the police if he didn't stop. With this monster responding by walking across Garcia's yard and shooting his wife who was standing at the front door. With Garcia then

Starting point is 00:11:54 telling local reporters that this man then went room to room looking for people, noting that he and his wife had company over that night. With this monster then fatally shooting Garcia's eight-year-old son and three others in the house. And according to the county sheriff, Greg Capers, two of the women were killed while protecting Garcia's baby and two-year-old son and three others in the house. And according to the county sheriff, Greg Capers, two of the women were killed while protecting Garcia's baby and two-year-old daughter, and adding that the children are now safe and with family. Authorities also saying the suspect had been drinking when the attack occurred and that he had a history of shooting his rifle in his yard, prompting neighbors to call law enforcement on him before. When questioned by reporters about whether the suspect could legally shoot his gun in his yard, Sheriff

Starting point is 00:12:19 Capers said it depended on how large the property was and where the weapon was pointed. With this, there's also been criticism of Texas law enforcement's handling of the situation. Officers reportedly responded by searching the wooded area near the neighborhood where the shooting took place but lost the suspect's trail. And currently, more than 250 officers from local, state, and federal agencies are participating in this manhunt, but authorities say they have no leads. But the official is also offering $80,000 for any information that could lead to the arrest of the suspect, though they have warned that he could be armed and dangerous. And James Smith, the FBI's special agent in charge, telling reporters,

Starting point is 00:12:47 what we need from the public is any type of information because right now we're just running into dead ends. And adding, we have zero leads. The situation also hasn't been helped by the fact that law enforcement officials say they had mistakenly disseminated an incorrect image of the suspect that was circulated by the press and on social media before a correction was made. Though there, it's not just law enforcement officials that are facing backlash right now, with Texas Governor Greg Abbott also being slammed for his response to the attack. Or because Abbott tweeted, I've announced a 50k reward for info on the criminal who killed five illegal immigrants on Friday. With him also noting that the suspected gunman

Starting point is 00:13:14 was quote, in the country illegally. But a lot of the outrage has been focused on his language around the victims. These are people who were murdered, why not just call them people? Why talk about their immigration status? With the belief being that this is kind of a dog whistle and a prompting widespread outrage from tons of people on social media who accused him of delegitimizing the attack. With Texas Representative Veronica Escobar tweeting, they were part of a family, Greg Abbott, and one of the victims was a child. What a disgusting lack of compassion and humanity. And State Senator Roland Gutierrez saying the statement was a new low for Greg Abbott, who continues to do nothing to keep Texas safe from gun violence. And adding, Greg, how is an undocumented person able to obtain an AR-15 in the first place?

Starting point is 00:13:47 I'll tell you why. It's because you and other Republicans have made safe gun laws non-existent. Additionally, we saw Abbott's post being flagged by Twitter, and hit with the label Reader's Added Context They Thought People Might Want to Know, and that linking to a tweet posted by an immigrant rights activist who tweeted out a photo of an ID he said was from one of the victims and wrote, I just spoke to the husband of one of the victims. He confirmed to me that his wife was a permanent resident of the US. He even sent me a

Starting point is 00:14:06 picture of her ID confirming this. But I guess to Greg Abbott, anyone who is from another country is an illegal immigrant. Shameful. But I do want to note, as of recording, that hasn't been verified by law enforcement. But ultimately, that is where we are in this developing story. And as we get more news, I'll keep you in the loop. But all of that is the news you need to know today. As always, thank you for being a part of my daily dives into the news. My name's Philip DeFranco. You've just been filled in. I love your faces and I'll see you tomorrow.

The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 5.1 GUILTY! Mom-Influencer LIED About Her Children's Attempted Kidnapping & Blamed Minority Couple...

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