The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 6.21 Titanic Tourist Sub Was Warned of "Catastrophic Problems", Pokimane vs Kick, Bible Banned in Utah

Episode Date: June 21, 2023

Click my CoPilot link  https://go.mycopilot.com/PHILIP-DeFranco or use the QR code on screen to get a FREE TRIAL with your own expert fitness and health coach Catch up on the latest PDS: https://youtu.be/Sxn9_8NOxDc See our bonus morning video: https://youtu.be/7aArbn0qzRI Check out our daily newsletter! http://dailydip.co/pds  –✩ TODAY’S STORIES ✩ – 0:00 - OceanGate Ignored Employees’ Sub Safety Concerns for Years 02:22 - Man Convicted for 20-Year Psychic Scam that Defrauded People out of $175 Million 04:13 - Kick Nabs Major Twitch Streamers 06:59 - Sponsored by CoPilot 08:04 - Utah School District Backpedals on Bible Ban 09:37 - Texas State Law to End Local Labor Ordinances Like Mandatory Water Breaks 11:37 - Drone Hits Palestinian Militants as West Bank Violence Surges  ——————————   Produced by: Cory Ray Edited by: James Girardier, Julie Goldberg, Maxx Enright, Christian Meeks Art Department: William Crespo Writing/Research: Philip DeFranco, Brian Espinoza, Lili Stenn, Maddie Crichton, Star Pralle, Chris Tolve  ———————————— #DeFranco #Pokimane #Titanic ———————————— Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, we're talking about reports that OceanGate had ignored employees' safety concerns for years before its Titanic tourist sub went missing, Utah banning the Bible in schools, why and how kicks absolutely devastating twitch right now, why Texas is taking away water breaks for construction workers working in dangerous heat. We're talking about all that and so much more in today's brand new Philip DeFranco show, your daily dive into the news, also your second video today. But that said, a lot to talk about, so let's just jump into it. Starting with, you need to brace yourself for the pivot that we're about to see in this Titanic submersible story, because the search is still ongoing for those five people who went missing on Sunday, but in the next 24 hours, there's going to be one of two results. Either

this group is miraculously found, there is a rescue, or they are all but certainly dead. They believe that if there was not an implosion and they have not already frozen to death, their oxygen is expected to run out by tomorrow, and at that point, almost everyone will then be focused on the questions of how the fuck did this happen? People are already asking that, but it will become the singular question with many people questioning the sub's safety. And with that, we now know that two former employees from OceanGate, the company that owns the sub, rang the alarm over its safety years ago. The first reportedly being David Lockridge, OpenGate's former director of marine operations who sued the company in 2018 for wrongful termination, claiming that they fired him

after he raised concerns about the design of the sub's hole because it was made of carbon fiber instead of a metallic composition. He also reportedly disagreed with plans to deploy the sub without first conducting non-destructive testing, which he said would have tested three key things, the hole's delaminations, porosity, and voids of sufficient adhesion of the glue being used due to the thickness of the hole. And then another former employee echoed Lockridge's points to CNN, in fact, claiming that even more concerns were raised by contractors and employees during his time at OceanGate and that CEO Stockton Rush became defensive and shied away from answering questions during all staff meetings, with him also claiming he resigned after Rush outright dismissed

his concerns that OceanGate might be violating laws relating to Coast Guard inspections. And also of note with all this, the same year OceanGate fired Lockridge, it also sued him, claiming he breached his contract by disclosing confidential information to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration when he filed a whistleblower complaint. With both sides there later settling the dispute out of court, though now, of course, the media is digging it back up. But again, with all this, we're not fully set on just this conversation because, of course, search teams are continuing to race against the clock right now. Especially as, I mean, we talked about it on the morning show, we found out that sonar devices have

picked up banging sounds every 30 minutes. So as of recording, nothing has turned up from that. And now we're seeing US military commercial and Coast Guard assets as well as the New York Air National Guard, the Canadian Armed Forces and Coast Guard all swarming the ocean surface, even being joined by a French research ship with an underwater robot. But ultimately, that is where we are right now as the clock keeps ticking. And with this being a developing situation, if anything happens, of course, you'll hear from me soon. And then if you believe in psychics, I just I need to let you know, it makes me irrationally angry. Like it's your life. It shouldn't matter to me, but it just, when someone tells me that, oh, I went to a

psychic, it just, ah, I hate it. But also understand, I don't hate the person who believes in a psychic. I think it's a very, very human thing to want to believe in something that's bigger than yourself. We're all lost in this world. We need something that like tethers us to this or makes us feel some sort of hope or like that maybe there's a path. Rather, my anger is more focused on the people saying they're psychics. Like this one guy who's in the news right now because he swindled over $175 million out of people over 20 years. Meet Patrice Runner, a French and Canadian citizen who's now been convicted of running a mail fraud scheme and found guilty on 14 charges. We're talking wire fraud, mail fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. That's because runners spent 20 years siphoning money from people by sending out millions of letters

posing as European psychics. And investigators finding that these letters were mass produced, sent out thousands at a time, but stylized to seem personal with coffee stains and handwritten notations offering psychic guidance for a small fee. And reportedly they would target vulnerable people, some with dementia, others who were struggling financially. And they would even include personal information they purchased from data brokers to prove clairvoyance. And so once a recipient made a payment, they'd be bombarded with letters offering more visions, predictions, and guidance for another payment. And then if the person ever stopped responding, the letters would reportedly turn aggressive. With one victim saying, when I wrote to say I didn't have that kind of

cash, the letters got even more frightening. I was so scared I couldn't eat or sleep, worrying whether I'd be hit by more bad luck. And this international scam going on from 1994 to 2014, with more than a million Americans sending money to Runner's operation and losing more than $175 million. And so as far as Runner, he's set to be sentenced at a later date, but he's currently facing up to 20 years in prison. And there are also four other defendants who have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud for assisting in the scam. Yeah, I guess the main thing I want to stress here is just be careful out there. There are a lot of people that want to exploit people feeling vulnerable and lost. And then the streaming wars right now have gotten absolutely crazy. And I'm not talking about Netflix versus Disney+,

but rather YouTube versus Twitch versus Kik. Right? And a lot of this involves just Twitch facing endless backlash this month, like just a fire hose of it. With all that, they've made other platforms look very, very appealing. Like in less than a month, one of their competitors, Kik, went from, oh, is that the place where Aiden Ross

brings Nazis on to talk, to, oh, this is a legitimate alternative with big names coming, better splits, with him in recent days even picking up some absolutely massive streamers, those including Amaranth, and arguably one of the biggest streamers in the world, XQC, with his two-year deal reportedly being in the realm of $100 million.

And it's not even an exclusive contract. Though, of course, we don't know how much of that is cash versus equity, what hoops you have to jump through to take it from, you know, this amount of money to this amount of money. Those are absolutely impressive numbers being thrown around, and they're possibly scary numbers if you're Twitch. Also, I will say the non-exclusive aspect of the deal I think is very smart. It opens up the opportunity for these Twitch streamers to start a stream on Twitch, build up that audience, and then

say, hey, second part of the stream over here. Or more specifically with some of the talent they've signed, hey, I can't do this over here on Twitch, but I can do it over here on Kik. So come over to see that content that would otherwise get me banned. Well, we saw a lot of creators reacting to this news by saying, hey, I could also have a live stream, maybe throw some of that Scrooge McDuck money at me. There's also one major creator who's gotten a lot of attention because she says she has no plans of jumping ship.

We're talking about Pokimane with her citing ethical standards for staying on Twitch. And so when asked if she would ever go to kick, she recently said, I'm good as I am. Why would I compromise my morals and ethics for more money when I have money? Something about that is so cringe to me personally.

We're saying it's one thing if you really, really need the money, but considering that she's all set in that regard, she wouldn't be enticed by some big contract. And with that, you saw two drastically different reactions, some agreeing and or praising her. But on the other side, you have people saying she sounded bitter or salty that other people were getting these deals. Also with the situation, you had places like Forbes

questioning the sustainability of the deals being offered by Kik. Right, not only these blockbuster deals that are being reported, but asking, is it likely that Kik's 95-5 split with creators will last forever? But also noting there, it doesn't matter if Kik ends up collapsing, because at least right now, it's a PR disaster for Twitch. Though there also could be a completely different thing at play here, and that is that 95-5 splits kind of don't matter to them. Because a big part of the reason Kik even exists is because Stake.com streams were banned on Twitch. And God only knows how much money they were raking in from all the promotion to their gambling site. And just hopping onto Kik as I was filming this story, right now their most popular category, slots and casino. So it might be economically sustainable for them to just build a complete Twitch competitor, just so they can take

all the viewers that are watching those streams and funnel them to their online casino. Because remember, the money being thrown around right now, it's not coming out of nowhere. And understand, I'm saying this not as a critique, but as just a pure marketing move. That might be just fucking genius. Though again, I'm on the outside looking in, so I have no idea regarding

the actual dollar for dollar numbers. And then the other day, a bunch of y'all actually got angry at me. You said I was gatekeeping, because I gave that health and fitness update and I shared a still from what's actually this video. But the good, or dare I say amazing news, is the reason I was shooting that video was for today's sponsor. Because y'all, I understand working out consistently is so hard. And that's why I want to thank Copilot for helping me through that journey and for being the sponsor of today's show.

Simply put, Copilot takes the thinking out of working out. And their coaches are able to schedule workouts that you just followed. And one of the best things about Copilot is that I'm not doing it alone. For example, when I was shooting this B-roll and I was doing my workout, I was doing this dumbbell bench one-arm row. But my form was off. My leg was too forward. And the app showed me that. So as I'm working out, I corrected that.

And after with that and other things, you know, I messaged Coach Devin. He checks my form to make sure I'm doing things right. It's just amazing having that support. And, y'all, it's not just me. Over 75% of Copilot users are still working out after 100 days. That's nine times more successful than average. All you do is you start with an onboarding call, you connect with a coach, and then they make customized workouts tailored to your needs. So if you want to join me on a fitness journey of your own, just click that link in the description

box to get 14 days free with your own expert fitness and health coach. Because Copilot is the doable way to start and stick with your fitness goals. Between my coach and the way the app works, it just helps me stay consistent and work harder. And then the Bible was banned and in all the places that it could have happened, it happened in Utah. And the situation has just gotten progressively messier. So last year, Utah passed a law allowing parents to request the removal of books containing, quote, pornographic or indecent material from schools. But it's pretty clearly meant to continue the trend that we've seen in a number of places of banning books that mention gender, LGBTQ content, or you've seen a number of book bans in other red states across the country.

But then, back in December, one anonymous parent complained to the Davis School District north of Salt Lake City that the King James Bible was, quote, one of the most sex-ridden books around. And saying if the books that have been banned so far are any indication for way lesser offenses, this should be a slam dunk. So a committee reviewed the complaint and they found that even though the Bible didn't violate the law, it was nevertheless inappropriate for elementary and middle school students. So it was essentially banned, the book removed from all those libraries in the district.

And people lost their shit. Because one, of course they did, and two, it's Utah. Have you ever been to Utah? Generally a lovely place, very religious. So we saw 70 people appealing the decision and hundreds protesting both the district and the state capitol for letting this happen. And even the Republican lawmaker who sponsored the book ban bill, Ken Ivory, jumping in to protest his own law. With him now arguing the review committee also needs to be overseen by elected officials to make sure standards are applied properly. And so after all of that, last night,

the appeals committee voted unanimously to put the Bible back on school shelves. And saying the appeal committee determined that the Bible has significant serious value for minors, which outweighs the violent or vulgar content it contains. However, the situation is not completely over because the district is still considering a separate complaint about violent content in the Book of Mormon. Which, I mean, if you thought backlash against the Bible ban was bad, just imagine touching that book in Utah. And then, workers in Texas are about to lose their water breaks just as the state is facing record-breaking heat waves, with Governor Greg Abbott just now signing a bill that'll overturn many local regulations, forcing cities and counties to adhere to state codes instead in areas like labor, agriculture, business, and natural resources. But

the big issue that people have with this law is in regards to workers' protections, and specifically water breaks. Because Texas is currently facing days of record-breaking triple-digit temperatures, and many people, namely construction workers, are outside in the heat all day. And this bill specifically targets ordinances in places like Austin and Dallas, where water breaks for construction workers have been mandatory for years. And there's a reason those safety standards have been in place, right? We're not talking about like, oh, we got to bubble wrap people. Texas, put on your gold medal, number one in heat-related deaths of workers.

And even with being in first place, it's believed that number is an undercount, with unions saying heat-related deaths are often recorded under a different primary cause. So unions are saying that with the loss of mandatory water breaks, deaths will become more and more frequent. One union official saying construction is a deadly industry. Whatever the minimum protection is, it can save a life. We are talking about a human right. We will see more deaths, especially in Texas's high temperatures.

But at the same time, you have supporters of the bill saying governments making water breaks mandatory is unnecessary and arguing that OSHA already requires businesses to maintain safe environments for their employees. However, right now, there's actually no federal OSHA standard for heat protection. Something former assistant secretary of labor, David Michael sounded off on saying the better solution would be to have a national standard. But since we do not, local ordinances are very important for saving lives. Prohibiting these laws will result in workers being severely hurt or killed. But with that, you shouldn't expect like a quick bandaid fix because Biden's OSHA has actually been tasked with writing new rules regarding heat protection, but new safety

regulations take years to fully develop. And so in the meantime, there's just going to be this gap of protection for workers who were previously protected. And so an important aspect of this bill is despite preventing local governments from doing so, it doesn't stop state lawmakers from proposing regulations regarding water breaks. And so we're actually seeing that play out with two separate bills being filed regarding standards to prevent heat sickness. However, neither made it through the legislative process. With one of the representatives who authored a heat protection standards bill saying she's hoping to reintroduce the bill next session and noting Texas has always been a really hard uphill battle on workers' rights. And you know, unfortunately, the current climate is almost certainly going to exacerbate that. And then

there's real fears right now that violence is about to get out of control between Israelis and Palestinians. And that's because over the last three days, there have been multiple deaths on both sides and there doesn't seem to be a real end in sight. And to try to say where things started in this conflict is hard, because no matter what, someone in the comments is going to say, well, what about that one time? And then thing on top of thing just builds on top of each other for 120 years. But what I can say here is that on Monday, Israeli forces raided the Jenin refugee camp, which sparked violent clashes, even getting to a point that Israel had to evacuate troops that were stranded after their

vehicles were disabled with powerful roadside bombs. So in the end, six Palestinians were killed and many were wounded. And if that sounds familiar, it's because raids on that refugee camp have become increasingly common, with Israel claiming it's to target terrorists that take refuge there, while Palestine says they're just unprovoked attacks. That said though, Monday's raid then led to two Palestinian gunmen allegedly affiliated with Hamas to target the Israeli settlement of Eli in the West Bank and killing four. That shooting only stopping after a bystander shot one of the gunmen, after which the other fled before being killed by Israeli forces. And anger over that has now led to carloads of Israeli settlers flooding into the northern West Bank

to target Palestinian villages over the past day and a half. And while the current scale of the damage is unclear, videos and photos are surfacing of homes and cars being on fire, windows smashed up. There are even reports of some open fire on Palestinians who walked out of their homes during the events. What's especially concerning is that these back-and-forth attacks are seemingly becoming more and more common, like back in February when dozens of Palestinian homes were damaged, and especially as Israel increases to produce what the UN describes as illegal settlements within the West Bank. Which, speaking of that, making more settlements is now part of the official Israeli response, with Prime Minister Netanyahu saying the government plans to add 1,000 new homes to Eli.

And this can actually now be done very quickly, because on Sunday, the finance minister was granted sweeping powers that let him bypass measures that have been in place for 27 years, something that's been seen as widely controversial and incredibly hostile. And it's also why we've even seen Israel's closest allies condemn the settlement expansions,

with even our own State Department saying it was deeply troubled with a new plan and adding, the United States opposes such unilateral actions that make a two-state solution more difficult to achieve and are an obstacle to peace. But of course, words are words and actions are actions. In fact, inactions are actions. But ultimately, with all that, I gotta let you know, that may not be the end for all the news you need to know today, because this was actually the second news video I uploaded to this

channel. With this morning's show covering four other big stories, or maybe you missed yesterday's show, we talked about a lot. But hey, as always, my name's Philip DeFranco, you've just been filled in, I love yo faces, and I'll see you tomorrow.