The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 5.22 “THIS IS A BETRAYAL!” Deadly DC Shooting Sparks Blame Game & What Trump's "BBB" Just Exposed...

Episode Date: May 23, 2025

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 50% OFF a Mystery shirt while supplies last! Subscribe for New shows every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, & Thursday @ 6pm ET/3pm PT & watch more here:  https://youtu.be/WPoUpVBczio?feature=shared&list=PLHcsGizlfLMWpSg7i0b9wnUyEZWI-25N3&index=1  – ✩ TODAY’S STORIES ✩ – 00:00 - 2 Israeli Embassy Aides Fatally Shot in D.C. 8:08 - Reporter Alleges Protestors Were Paid to Wear “Free Diddy” Shirts Outside Trial  11:34 - Sponsored by SeatGeek 12:38 - Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” Passes the House 19:42 - Justice Dept. Cancels Police Reform Settlements, Ends Oversight of Local Police 23:37 - Wildlife Rescue Staff Dress Up Like Bear to Care for Abandoned Cub 24:45 - Comment Commentary  Changes to the original tax bill: https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/05/21/congress/trump-megabill-last-minute-changes-00364603 https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/late-republicans-made-trumps-big-bill-122062051  https://www.nytimes.com/article/house-gop-tax-bill-trump.html ——————————   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 #Diddy #DonaldTrump ———————————— Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Groceries that over-deliver. Two Israeli embassy aides were gunned down and killed in the streets of DC last night by a man who shouted, free Palestine sparking fear, anger, and a new wave of finger pointing. Got a weird free ditty scandal growing. Trump's so-called big, beautiful bill just passed the house,

and while it faces an uncertain future in the Senate, millions of Americans could lose their Medicaid if passed as is. Police reforms getting thrown out the window, and then a light good news story to maybe, but probably not keep you sane. We're talking about all that and much more on today's brand new Philip DeFranco Show. You daily dive into the news, starting with this. Two Israeli embassy aides were gunned down and killed in the streets of DC last night, and now it's becoming just the latest flashpoint stemming from what's happening in Gaza.

And that because according to police, right after they were shot, the accused shooter yelled, free Palestine. And as far as the victims, they have been identified as Yaron Lashinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgram. Right in Lashinsky, he was 30 years old and reportedly worked as a research assistant in the embassy's political wing.

And then Milgram, she was 26 and she organized trips to Israel. The Israeli ambassador to the US also revealing in a news conference at the pair were a couple who were about to be engaged. And last night, they were just attending a reception for young diplomats at the capital Jewish museum. The DC police chief saying in a press conference

that a single suspect approached the couple and two others with them as they were exiting the museum and then opened fire with a handgun. But then the 30 year old suspect entering the museum being detained by event security and that is reportedly when he started his free Palestine chance. Now with that, you had the chief also saying

it was not immediately clear why the suspect entered the museum after the shooting or what he planned to do inside. You also had officials noting that the man had not been previously identified as a threat. But of course, more information is expected as Homeland Security Secretary Christine Noem said that federal authorities were investigating the attack. But then also, AG Pam Bondi saying she was at the scene and that she had spoken to Trump a number of times throughout the night. And he then had Dan Bongino, the deputy director of the FBI,

saying that the suspect was being interviewed by Washington police in conjunction with the agency's counter-terrorism team. Also on the Israeli side, he had the prime minister's office saying they'd been beefing up security for Israeli diplomatic missions all around the world. And you know what, we wait to learn more.

The information we do have has been enough for the attack to be branded as anti-Semitic and widely condemned, including by both Democrats and Republicans. With AOC, for example, writing, "'Absolutely nothing justifies the murder of innocents'." And adding, as we await more details, we must be clear that hatred has no home here.

Anti-Semitism is a threat to all we hold dear as a society. It must be confronted and rooted out everywhere. And this is you then had Trump saying, "'These horrible DC killings based obviously on anti-Semitism must end now,' saying, "'Hatred and radicalism have no place in the USA.' Condolences to the families of the victims, so sad that such things as this can happen.

And with that, we've seen similar sentiments being expressed by other world leaders, as well as of course Israeli officials, with for example, the country's ambassador to the UN calling the shooting a depraved act of antisemitic terrorism. With them then also tying the shooting back to pro-Palestine protests that we've been seeing here in the US

since the start of the war in Gaza. And then you hear those chanting on campuses, and you see that the leadership of the universities, they sit idly by, they ignore it. Well, if you ignore it, that's what happened last night. You allow those crazy lunatics taking actions against innocent Americans, you know, who came to learn about diplomacy. You also have people like the Consul General of Israel in New York echoing that, saying this is a direct result of severe incitement and unprecedented riots organized by terrorists on US campuses, and adding, unfortunately, there were those who listened

to the calls of Intifada, Intifada, even here. Though this is, on the other side, you had people pushing back against that connection, saying things like, one radical person going out and killing a Jewish diplomat does not mean this is a bigger issue revolving around all Palestine supporters. They have the right to protest,

although it is annoying if it affects your daily life, but it is their constitutional right. But then with that, we've also seen Israeli officials connecting what happened last night to the growing criticism of the war, not just from student protesters, but from European leaders. For example, the country's foreign minister is saying,

"'This is the direct result of toxic anti-Semitic "'incitement against Israel and Jews around the world "'that has been going on since the October 7th massacre and adding, this incitement is also done by leaders and officials of many countries and organizations, especially from Europe. And while he didn't specify which leaders or officials he had in mind, the minister for diaspora affairs,

he issued a statement directly accusing the leaders of the UK, France and Canada of having emboldened the forces of terror. And as far as why those three countries specifically are being called out, it might be because earlier this week they signed an unprecedented joint statement calling on the Israeli government to stop its military operations and quote, immediately allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza. And this is they warned of possible concrete actions against the country if

it continued what they described as egregious expansion of military operations in the territory. And then on top of that, you had the UK saying that it would be suspending trade talks with Israel over the country's morally unjustifiable military escalation in Gaza. With them also issuing sanctions against several prominent Israeli settlers and settler-linked groups.

And then separately, the EU's foreign policy chief announcing that the bloc would be reviewing its trade deal with Israel. With them citing a part of their agreement, specifying that all signatories must show respect for human rights and democratic principles. And notably, just a day after that, you had Israeli soldiers almost taking out European diplomats

visiting the West Bank. 25 diplomats were visiting from 31 countries, including Italy, Canada, Egypt, Jordan, the UK, China, and Russia, with the Israeli military saying the visit had been approved, but the delegation deviated from the approved route. And so Israeli soldiers fired warning shots to distance them from the area.

With them then adding that the senior officials would contact diplomats to inform them of the results of its internal investigation into the incident and that it regretted what it called the inconvenience caused. But of course the leaders of those countries they said that you know getting shot at it was a little more than just an inconvenience. Them condemning the incident and demanding answers and so while it was you know somewhat unconnected to the situation in Gaza it's just one more thing that's adding to the tensions between Israel and Europe. And then beyond that there are a growing number of voices within Israel that are speaking out against the war in Gaza in general, but also in connection with yesterday's attack in DC.

For example, an ex-Israeli general who now leads a major opposition party blaming the Netanyahu's right-wing government for fueling anti-Semitism and hatred of Israel, saying, a sane state does not wage war against civilians, does not kill babies as a hobby, and does not set itself the goal of depopulating the population. And then adding the result is unprecedented political isolation and danger to every Jew in every corner of the globe.

Though then you had far-right ministers and others actually then blaming the opposition leader for inciting anti-Semitism with comments like that and one saying, the blood of the embassy employees is on your hands and on those of your friends. But also notably you had others backing them up. And those voices, including a former Israeli Minister of Defense and IDF Chief of Staff who took it even further

saying this is not a hobby, but a government policy whose ultimate goal is to hold onto power. And it is leading us to destruction. Then, you know, with all that the Israeli government has given every indication that there's just nothing anyone can do or say to stop them. As we talked about just a few days ago, here the military announcing what they called

extensive ground operations and Israeli PM, Benjamin Netanyahu claiming that the military will take quote full control over the whole of Gaza. And just today it issued an evacuation warning for 14 neighborhoods of northern Gaza all while strikes have reportedly killed at least 52 people since the morning. Which means reportedly there are roughly 3,600 people that have been killed since Israel resumed strikes on March 18th after that failed ceasefire, which then takes the war's overall toll to almost 54,000, which is mostly civilians. And that of course is just the direct death toll,

with many fearing that the dire humanitarian situation means that the true number is ultimately much, much higher. But you know, on that note, over the weekend, Israel agreed to allow what it called a basic amount of food to enter Gaza, partially ending its 11 week blockade, with then 93 trucks reportedly entering the enclave on Tuesday carrying aid, including flour, baby food, medical equipment, and pharmaceutical drugs.

Though this notably is that you have UN bodies estimating that 600 trucks a day are required to even begin tackling Gaza's chronic humanitarian crisis. And even so, at least as of yesterday, you had the UN claiming that none of the aid from the 93 had actually been distributed. And this, of course, as UN experts say that Gazans are at a critical risk of famine and that tens of thousands of children could suffer from acute malnutrition if the restrictions continue. But now even chronic water shortages worsening as desalination and hygiene plans running out of fuel, which then ties to reports that the children of Gaza have reportedly grown used to drinking salty water and doctors saying that they're seeing a rise in serious kidney complaints. You know, with all that, you have Netanyahu again repeating his intention to continue this war until Hamas is disarmed and all of Gaza is entirely under Israeli control. And this is he now explicitly said this time that Israel will go ahead with Trump's plan for the territory. Which if you don't remember, it involves apparently taking it over and turning it into the Riviera of the Middle East. Which has widely been seen as essentially a call for forced displacement, ethnic cleansing, and the name of real estate development.

And that, as you at NBC recently reporting that the Trump administration is working on a plan to permanently relocate up to 1 million Palestinians from Gaza to Libya. For now, kind of on all fronts, I know we've covered a lot of here, we're gonna have to wait to see what happens and what more we learn. But then next up on the news is a very different story. Are people really being paid to rally support

for Diddy outside of his trial? Because that is what many are now alleging is people have been standing across the street from the courthouse in free puff and free ditty shirts. For example, journalist and content creator, Emily Hagan, posting a TikTok of this group of people in matching shirts that also then included this interaction. These are all paid protesters.

You can get $20 an hour if you wear a t-shirt. You guys speak up. She just got recruited, right? I refuse. You said no. It wasn't worth the 20? No, but like he told me that it's for a Diddy coin. So I'm not really sure what that is.

The lady right there, she just kept convincing me to go wear a shirt. And I'm like, I'm like. And while that TikTok was initially posted around five days ago, it's now gotten a lot more traction as people like 50 cent who are famously not a big Diddy fan, started posting about it and trolling Diddy

by posting seemingly edited images of him in the shirts and writing things like, "'Okay, now where do I send my $20 invoice guys? A deal's a deal.'" Then also the Daily B speaking to the woman in that video who told them, "'I was wondering why they were wearing those shirts. I was curious.

I crossed the street and I'm standing there with my phone out and then this older lady's staring at me. She's just staring at me for a period of time. Then she tells me, "'Do you want to come out here and wear a shirt for $20 an hour? And adding, just go to that guy. If you're already standing out here,

you may as well get paid. But then adding that it looked like most of those protesters appear to be unhoused. But as far as how people allegedly started getting paid to wear these shirts, well, you had the Hollywood reporters saying that the first free puff shirt was first present at the trial during the jury selection

when one of Diddy's longtime friends was wearing one. But then other than that, the outlet said that these groups of Diddy supporters, they're scarce at the courthouse. So this new found gaggle of people wearing shirts, it really stands out. And then the fact that the girl in the video said that she was told it was for a crypto promotion,

that's significant because there is a Diddy meme coin. And reportedly the rapper's sons are behind it. Or with the Hollywood reporters saying that the coin was launched to capitalize on the controversy in trial and it began trading during jury selection and it's gotten public support from people like Kanye West. Also, I'll say the outlet said they reached out to Diddy's team to ask if he had any involvement

in the t-shirts or any comment on them and so far they haven't responded. Similarly, you're the Daily Beast reporting that it's unclear exactly who's paying anyone to wear these shirts, if that is indeed the case. But I'm also adding that because of the crypto claims, it seems like this may be kind of more of a cash grab than an ego boost for Diddy.

But then also, some think, some think why not both? You know, all of this, of course it comes as this high stakes trial is continuing to play out with. In fact, today Kid Cudi taking to the stand to testify comparing Diddy to a Marvel super villain. As far as how he's mixed up in all this, he briefly dated Cassie Ventura, who's Diddy's ex and the main witness of the trial.

And actually connected to this, last week during her testimony, she actually said that Diddy was furious when he found out that she had dated Kid Cudi and threatened to blow up his car. And today he actually talked to this, last week during her testimony, she actually said that Diddy was furious when he found out that she had dated Kid Cudi and threatened to blow up his car. And today he actually talked about that, saying that one day back in December of 2011, he got a panic call from Cassie telling him

that Diddy had found out about their relationship. And after he went to pick her up, he got another call from one of Diddy's employees claiming that Diddy had broken into his house. Where with Diddy also allegedly telling him that he was at the house waiting for him, but when he got there, there was no Diddy to be found. And instead the Christmas presents that he got

for his family had been opened and his dog was locked in a bathroom. Right, so he was unsure of what was going on. He then called police. And then a few weeks after that, his Porsche was destroyed by a fire while parked outside of his home in the Hollywood Hills. Right, so with all that,

you have places like the New York Times reporting that this testimony is viewed as an important part of the government's narrative in the trial. But then also you have places like the Washington Post adding that the defense is trying to use it to question the character of the prosecution star witness Cassie Ventura by painting her as kind of leading on and playing both Diddy and Kid Cudi.

For now, the trial continues. We'll have to see what happens there. But in the meantime, I'd love to know your thoughts regarding the Diddy shirts. But then I've got more news for you, but gonna take a minute to pay some bills and thank the sponsor and say, you know, it's been truly awesome seeing you beautiful bastards

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Again, just scan the QR code or click the link below and use code Phil and PDS and go make some memories. And then Donald Trump's big, beautiful bill just passed and people are freaking the hell out for a number of reasons. Starting with the fact that the bill passed by the slimmest possible margin of 215 to 214, a vote that was made possible by the fact

that the Democrats in the House have three vacant seats because their members died recently. The most recent being Jerry Connolly who died yesterday and the other two dying in March. And those votes would have changed the final result as the Republicans are not all on the same page. Because without rehashing everything I talked about yesterday, the key background that you need to know

is that the main holdouts preventing the passing were hardline conservatives who wanted deeper cuts to offset the trillions of dollars that would be added to the deficit. But those members actually specifically calling for deeper cuts to Medicaid and other benefits programs, which is a move that was deeply opposed by more moderate blue state Republicans.

While you had House Speaker Mike Johnson expressing confidence that he'd be able to appease the competing factions of his party and get the bill passed, top conservative leaders said they needed more time to negotiate. Or you even had House Freedom Caucus Chair Representative Andy Harris explicitly saying yesterday that as is, there was no way the bill would pass

in the immediate future. But clearly Johnson was ultimately able to secure enough votes for the far right flank of his party to get it passed. And that is some people have focused that Harris himself ended up voting present on the legislation. With him being the only member to do that and explaining on X, I voted to move the bill along in the process

for the president. There is still a lot of work to be done in deficit reduction and ending waste, fraud, and abuse in the Medicaid program. Right, and then beyond that, we saw two other Republican joining all Democrats in voting the Medicaid program. And then beyond that, we saw two other Republicans joining all Democrats in voting against the measure. And then there were also actually two that didn't vote at all.

One because he fell asleep and the other because he couldn't get his voting card in time, though both later said that they would have voted yes. But hey, the main headline there is Johnson made it happen and it passed. And so then with all that, I wanna highlight a few major changes

that Johnson made to the initial version of the bill in order to get everyone on board. But definitely one of the most significant being one we talked about yesterday, which was increasing the cap on state and local tax deductions or SALT, which lets taxpayers right off the amount that they paid in local taxes when they file federal taxes.

Because initially the first draft of the bill raised the cap from $10,000 to $30,000, but moderates said that they wouldn't vote for the legislation at all if it was an increase further. So Johnson struck a deal, increasing it to $40,000 for people making under $500,000, but moderates said that they wouldn't vote for the legislation at all if it was an increase further. So Johnson struck a deal increasing it to $40,000 for people making under $500,000. An agreement that then pissed off the far right wing of the party, which said that the change to the bill

made it a non-starter for them. Which is then why it's especially notable that this agreement still ended up in the final version of the bill, which still managed to get enough support from the hardliner. And then beyond that, the final version of the bill also speeds up the timeline

for enforcing Medicaid work requirements. And those work requirements, they are arguably one of the most significant provisions in the bill and one of the most fiercely opposed by the Democrats. Specifically here, the bill would add a work requirement to Medicaid for poor childless adults. It requires that they're working 80 hours every month

in order to stay enrolled, which is a move that the Congressional Budget Office estimates could kick 8.7 million poor Americans off their insurance and force millions more to face higher health care costs when taken alongside other changes in an earlier version of the bill. And while initially the new work requirement was set to go into effect on January 1st, 2029, in order to appease the hardliners, Johnson accelerated the timeline, so states have to implement the change by December 31st, 2026.

And that is a huge significant thing because it gives states much less time to implement what's been described as the strictest Medicaid work requirement that congressional Republicans have ever put forward. Because according to the New York Times under the provision it would be easier to lose benefits and harder to re-enroll and it would apply to a larger set of Medicaid recipients including Americans previously determined to be too old to need such requirements. And you had the Times adding there that by designing the work requirement proposal to be so rigid the change could be just as transformative to the program as other large cuts that Republicans rejected. Right, and that last part, it's super significant

because not only did moderate Republicans fiercely oppose sweeping cuts, but Trump himself has repeatedly promised that no one would lose insurance. And with that, you had Democrats like Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez pushing back on Republican claims that this move isn't actually a huge cut,

but rather an effort to root out fraud and waste in the Medicaid system. With AOC accusing Republicans of slapping together a rush bill that they themselves don't even fully know the contents of. For my Republican colleagues who assure what is in and not in this bill, in this process that has been this rushed, when you wake up the morning, you will realize that you voted to defund Planned Parenthood and to take away health care from 13.7 million Americans. And when this country wakes up in the morning, there will be consequences to pay for this. And I yield back. Then also beyond that, there were several other notable changes to the big,

beautiful bill, this including the addition of another $12 billion in funds to reimburse states for money spent on border security after Biden took office. And that is on top of the $175 billion, a new spending of the bill already allocated for Trump's immigration enforcement. The proposal also expanded a ban on the use of Medicaid funds for gender transition measures.

So it now pertains to adults as well, not just children and teenagers as outlined in the earlier version. And then another new inclusion would deregulate gun silencers by removing them from the national registry regulated under the National Firearms Act. Also the new bill, it speeds up the phase out of clean energy tax credits that were put into place

under the Biden administration. And then the final thing that I wanna touch on here, there's more, but the last thing I'll do right here is it's not a substantial change in terms of actual policy, but rather it's kind of a weird little thing that Republicans did suck up to Trump. Because one of the provisions in the original bill gave newborn babies born between January 1st, 2024,

and December 31st, 2020, a $1,000 tax-free savings account called Money Account for Growth and Advancement, AKA the MAGA account. But apparently MAGA account was not clear enough that this policy was tied to Trump. And so Republicans changed the name, so it literally is a Trump account. So yeah, they just found new fun ways to do tricks on it.

But yeah, all of those are kind of the most significant changes. It's definitely not everything. I'm gonna link down to resources for bigger deep dives there. But you know, now as far as what happens next, the bill is headed over to the Senate. And there you have Trump urging the chamber to pass the measure as soon as possible. Currently, it's unclear how soon it would happen, especially because it's widely predicted that the measure as is

will face some major hurdles in the upper chamber. Because you have some Republican leaders making it very clear that they want to make some changes to the legislation and changes that could test the compromises that Johnson made in order to secure the bill's passage in the House. Though, very big thing because it's the Senate, Republicans will only need a simple majority to pass the so-called big beautiful bill because the budget reconciliation process allows them to bypass the 60 vote filibuster usually required for most legislation there. And so that means that they can only afford to lose three Republican votes

if the Democrats oppose it and JD Vance breaks the tie. And in the Senate, it's kind of similar to the House. You have some of the more fiscally conservative members demanding structural changes and deeper cuts to Medicaid and other benefits programs. Then at the same time, more moderate or politically vulnerable senators want to protect Medicaid and keep some clean energy tax credit.

And at least three members of boys concerns about the Medicaid cuts in the House bill. One of them, Senator Josh Hawley has openly said that he will oppose any bill that cuts the program. Right, so it's not done, a lot could still play out, but we'll have to wait to see. Though generally speaking, we should know soon because the Republicans have set a July 4th deadline

for this process to play out and to send the bill to Trump's desk. You know, as we've talked about before, that deadline's actually a fairly strict one because the bill also raises the debt limit. And the Treasury secretary has said that the lawmakers have to take that step by mid July if they want to avert the catastrophe of defaulting.

And so, you know, a lot is up in the air right now. We're gonna have to wait to see how this plays out. But this is something that we have to keep eyes on because depending on what is and is not in the final version of the bill, especially when you're talking about potentially kicking millions of Americans off their health insurance,

could lead to massive pain and death. And that's just one piece of this otherwise just monstrously big legislation. But then next up in the news, we need to talk about Trump's DOJ now moving to cancel settlements and close civil rights investigations into police departments across the country accused of widespread abuse. And specifically what you're seeing is that they're canceling settlements which are made in response to the nationwide outcry following the deaths of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd. And actually, not only that, they're also looking to retract

any previous findings of wrongdoings. So, you know, a pretty sharp about face between administrations on the topic of police reform. Right, because the Justice Department under Biden aggressively pursued federal oversight of disagreeable police forces, which notably included launching a dozen investigations into local and state agencies.

And in fact, they released in-depth cutting reports on departments in cities like Minneapolis, Louisville, Phoenix, and Memphis. So by the end of Biden's term, the Justice Department had only reached agreements with Minneapolis and Louisville. With those agreements, aka consent decrees, setting requirements for how cops should be trained and disciplined and you had an outside monitor and a judge to ensure compliance. While both of the agreements with Minneapolis and Louisville were sent to a judge for the final okay, they were never actually formally adopted. Which then brings us to now with the Trump 2.0 Justice Department requesting that both cases

be dismissed and saying that they no longer believe the consent decrees quote would be in the public interest. With Harmeet, Dillon who leads a civil rights division of the Justice Department accusing the previous administration of using flawed legal theory to judge police departments. We're saying that they force costly and burdensome consent decrees on them for issues that are better solved in-house and writing in her statement, today we are ending the Biden Civil Rights Division's failed experiment on handcuffing local leaders and police departments with factually unjustified consent decrees. And then adding to reporters, it's our view at the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division under the Trump administration that federal micro-management of local police should be a rare exception and not the norm. Though then in response to the canceled settlement, leaders in both Minneapolis and Louisville

have promised to maintain their end of the agreements. For example, the Minneapolis mayor is saying, we will comply with every sentence of every paragraph of the 169 page consent decree that we signed this year and adding, Minneapolis is serious about our commitment to police reform, even if the president of the United States is not. And as far as how this has been covered,

we're seeing drastically different responses in the news. You know, you have sites like the Washington Post, New York Times and NPR noting the proximity of this announcement to the anniversary of George Floyd's death and highlighting voices speaking out against the move. Voices that include Kristen Clark, the head of the civil rights division

under the Biden administration who defended the Biden era investigations in a statement saying, these investigations were led by career attorneys based on data, body cam footage, and information provided by officers themselves. And the reform set forth and consent decrees were carefully negotiated with the full support of law enforcement leaders and local officials.

To wholesale ignore and disregard these systemic violations laid bare in well-documented and detailed public reports shows patent disregard for our laws in the constitution. Within Reverend Al Sharpton, who worked with both the Floyd and Taylor families telling the AP, this move isn't just a policy reversal, it is a moral retreat that sends a chilling message

that accountability is optional when it comes to black and brown victims. And adding that Trump's decision to dismiss these lawsuits with prejudice solidifies a dangerous political precedent that police departments are above scrutiny even when they've clearly demonstrated a failure to protect the communities they've sworn to serve. And then by comparison on the other side you

had Fox News and the Daily Wire for example spending time highlighting the explanation right specifically noting Dylan's assertion that the consent decrees were founded on faulty legal theories. With them then presenting this as an example of Trump going to bat for police departments and including a quote from Dylan saying, overbought police consent decrees divest local control of policing from communities where it belongs, turning that power over to unelected and unaccountable bureaucrats, often with an anti-police agenda. Also with this news, I will say it's worth noting here

that it isn't consent decrees in general that this iteration of the justice department appears to have beef with. Or with Dylan specifically noting with reporters yesterday that they may actually decide to employ them against universities and school systems that are accused of failing to stamp out on-campus antisemitism.

And that is there are also reportedly two other investigations that could lead to consent decrees. One that involves whether gun ownership rights are too restricted in LA County, and another about whether black defendants in Minnesota are given an unfair advantage or reduced prison sentences. Right, so seemingly there is an openness to the tool, to the lever, but a different focus on what it should hit.

But then from that, let's shift gears as we're winding down the show and talk about a fun little human interest piece. In this news, it actually started a few weeks ago when campers in the Los Padres National Forest found a baby black bear cub crying alone in the woods. And this little guy, like he wasn't even two months old and his mother was nowhere to be seen.

And so the campers, they reported to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. You know, at first the biologist just watched the area hoping that his mom was gonna come back for him. But when they realized that wasn't happening and this little guy wasn't gonna survive on his own, they brought him to the San Diego Humane Society's Ramona Wildlife Center.

In the beginning of his stay there, it was kind of shaky. This little cub, he wasn't in good shape, it's just three pounds. And the wildlife operations manager, Autumn Welch, said that he was extremely fragile. But now in the five weeks that he's been at the center, he's gained 10 pounds and you have staff feeding him multiple times a day and even overnight

while introducing him to targeted activities to make sure he's learning survival skills. So my favorite thing is that when they're feeding him and they're working with him, they're dressed up like a bear. Or we're talking full fur coat, bear mask, leather gloves, they even rub themselves with black bear scented hay before interacting with them.

And you have Welch explaining, we don't want him touching our skin at all, he never sees us as humans. Right, and adding that the point is to make sure that he doesn't develop any bonds with people because that would disrupt his natural instincts and make it harder for him to actually survive in the wilderness.

And then beyond the bear suits, the staff at the Wildlife Center, they've also created two habitats meant to mimic the wilderness. So he's got climbing structures made of natural trees, plenty of leaves and dirt and branches, some acorns stashed around for him to sniff out. With Welch noting there, he uses his nose to go find them.

It's pretty amazing how quickly he learns and you can see him processing it when he's learning something new. He's very thoughtful. They've even added little stuffed bears for him to snuggle with, which is probably my favorite thing today. Notably with all this,

while he may be the youngest cub that the Wildlife Center has ever taken in, he is definitely not the first. In fact, in the last five years, they've taken in four black bear cubs and rehabilitated and released them back into the wild. With most recently, this time last year, two sibling cubs being released

after spending 10 months at the Wildlife Center. And so according to Welch, this new little guy is about a year left in the care of the Wildlife Center before they send him on his way. Explaining, for the most part, by a year, a bear cub should be able to be fine on their own. At that point, they've learned all the things

they need to learn. And with that, adding that they're excited for that moment, saying there's nothing like releasing a bear back to the wild. It's an amazing feeling. So yeah, there you go with something that is not, I guess, just infuriating news. I always try to give you at least one.

But then finally today, let's talk about y'all's comments on yesterday's show and some common commentary brought to you by beautifulbastard.com. Where right now, I'm actually gonna tell you to not buy anything. Instead, I'm gonna tell you to go to beautifulbastard.com and sign up for the mailing list

and or text me at 813-213-4423. Because on Monday, we've got an awesome new drop for you that's releasing. It's got these five mystery shirts, three of which speak to my soul, two of which speak to someone's soul. And if you get the emails or the texts, you're gonna get a very special code.

To sign up, you'll be the first to get access. But like I said, let's talk about your comments. Where there was understandably a lot of conversations around the Theo von Gaza controversy. You know, while many have been critical of him, there were also a lot of people that like to see this. And largely we saw comments like, as a person who went through a drastic change

with how I think of people and humanity, I respect Theo's change slash public acknowledgement of how awful the Gaza genocide is. People need to realize that people can grow and learn how to be better humans. This seems to be a step in the right direction for Theo. Others like Brisk Warrior saying, you know, this is something you don't often see

from influencers. He let his humanity speak. He acknowledged that he isn't versed in the subject, but what he sees feels wrong and it affects him emotionally to see that kind of destruction and bloodshed. I commend him for it. It takes a certain degree of humility to do that.

With Ogulu Bane saying, Theo Von's quote, uneducated perspective is an honest and simple layman's perspective. I don't know what's happening, but it doesn't feel right. And then as far as the people that were going after Theo for this take, you had people adding, the people chastising Theo Von for expressing his sorrow about Gaza are doing nothing for anyone

except alienating Theo and his fans, people who could genuinely have a change of heart. With some also taking jabs at those who criticize Von. With the Uriah Foundation, for example, saying the fact that Tim Pool is trying to say someone shouldn't weigh in on an issue they don't fully understand is laughable. And in general, the whole conversation around Theo von was very interesting.

Especially because when there have been other instances of like a Joe Rogan or a Dave Portnoy, that's who I'm thinking about. When they've come out and they've said something that goes against what like the administration is doing, a lot of people's reactions have been, oh, I don't want to hear it. Oh, this is bullshit. Or like, oh, this is a leopards are eating my face moment. And well, you know, some people had that reaction with Theo.

It was much more subdued. It was much smaller. And so this isn't a comment on it is not even a critique of. I'm just genuinely wondering if you're one of the people that had a different take here or just you're someone that's looking at the situation. Why do you think that is? Is it because of like the specific topic of what's happening in Gaza? Is it because of the specific messenger?

Because I know separately there's a lot of discourse about Theo Von, like is he actually uneducated or is it a bit? Yeah, I'm just genuinely interested in your thoughts there. You know, that is where I'm gonna end today's show. I don't wanna overwhelm you with more questions or any more stories. Last thing I'll say though

is there should not be a Monday Philip DeFranco show. It's Memorial Day, the team has off. I'm gonna be doing some family time, but I will be back Tuesday to inform and ruin your days. Thank you for watching. I love your faces. I hope you enjoyed being filled in and I will see you right back here on Tuesday.