The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 6.7 Apocalyptic Wildfire Shuts Down NY, Why Lionel Messi to MLS is SO HUGE, Jenna Ortega Hits Back, & More

Episode Date: June 7, 2023

Get an exclusive NordVPN deal here https://NordVPN.com/phil  It's risk-free with Nord's 30-day money-back guarantee!   Check out My Special Sunday PDS: https://youtu.be/lnJw4Whmg68 Catch up on the last PDS: https://youtu.be/4rrnoJYxKLU Check Out Zaid’s Monday Bonus Video: https://youtu.be/ZHrS2yW-wzE –✩ TODAY’S STORIES ✩ – 00:00 - Canada Fires Bring Smoke to New York, Northeast 02:54 - Lionel Messi Joins MLS 04:30 - CNN CEO Chris Licht Out After Turbulent Tenure 08:01 - Sponsored by NordVPN 08:58 - Jenna Ortega Responds to Backlash Regarding “Wednesday” Script Changes 11:25 - Glendale School Board Meeting Results in Fight Over Pride Month 13:08 - Florida Woman Arrested After Shooting Neighbor 14:22 - Asylum Requests Skyrocket In Mexico Due to Title 42 Changes ——————————   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 #JennaOrtega #Messi ———————————— Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we're talking about CNN's implosion, which is a sight to witness. Why New York looks like a dystopian hellscape today. The GOAT Lionel Messi snubbed Saudi Arabia and is joining MLS. We've got all that and so much more on today's brand new Philip DeFranco show. You daily dive into the news, so buckle up, hit that like button, and let's just jump into it. Starting with, the air in New York City right now is absolutely horrible. With the New York Times reporting, even if temporarily, even if just briefly, New York's air quality ranked as the worst

of any city in the world on Tuesday. With Mayor Eric Adams warning, while conditions are anticipated to temporarily improve later tonight through tomorrow morning, they're expected to deteriorate further tomorrow afternoon and evening. And saying, we recommend all New Yorkers limit outdoor activity to the greatest extent possible.

But those viral photos and videos of New York only tell part of the story. The big question, of course, is why is this happening? Because New York's air quality is actually generally in the good category. And it turns out the reason for all this is that Canada is currently smoking out New York. Because right now, coast to coast, there are hundreds of fires, most of them considered to be out of control. But the fires in the Canadian province of Quebec, due to their concentration and amount of smoke,

are considered to be the worst right now. And reportedly, it's destroyed over 740,000 acres of forest, which just to give you some context there, that would put it among the largest California wildfires ever. Now, currently, in the most recent places, there have been no reported deaths in only moderate-damaged communities, which is kind of astounding when you consider how big these fires have been, although many thousands have had to evacuate, and there's a decent chance that could change by the time that you see this. But, while there hasn't been much damage to humans directly,

the smoke that it's put into the air is causing major problems, with at least 47 people having to be airlifted to hospitals, and in fact, it's so bad in some areas that people with respiratory and mobility issues are being moved to safer areas. And that's just with Canada, right? Here in the US, we've also had to issue major air quality warnings throughout the entire Northeast, right? It's not just New York City, and beyond just being one of the largest fires in Canada ever, it's also a telltale sign of worsening climate, right? Because when you see all this, it might be easy to try to make a comparison to California, where on base, there's a lot of fires out here.

But a key thing to remember is that the reality is that Quebec's ecosystem is fundamentally different. Because the ecosystems of places like much of California and Australia are adapted to massive destructive wildfires every year. At least to a certain degree, it's part of the life cycle. And I say to a certain degree because in some of those places, it's become so common that it's straining the environment. However, in Quebec, fires like this are expected to only happen once every century or two centuries. But this is the second set of fires this size for them in just 30 years, with many sizable ones also happening in between. Across Canada, there's already been 9.39 million acres burned this year, with 6.5 million of that happening just in May alone. That's almost twice the number seen by this date, and the season's just started. And so with the increasing

frequency, it's expected that this environment, the plants, the animals, are going to be taking a real beating. But as far as the short term and the now, I'm obviously going to keep my eyes on this. Hopefully it doesn't get worse. But there is also a glimmer of hope with weather forecasts currently indicating the temperatures might cool down amidst some rain, which would honestly be an absolute blessing to help the hundreds of firefighters in the region that are trying to get these places under control. And finally, if you are watching from one of the areas affected, please listen to officials there. If your city looks like a car that's getting hot boxed, you have officials saying, you know, be careful. Don't go outside if not needed. Maybe listen. Breathing unassisted. One of my favorite things to do. I

highly recommend everyone try to keep those skills. And then the GOAT Lionel Messi is coming to Major League Soccer. Joining the MLS in Miami, 100% confirmed probably. And if you're confused by that sentence, I get it. Because this morning it was reported that he was going, but they were awaiting confirmation. And just before uploading today, Messi himself saying, yes, I'm going to the MLS. But then also saying, I've made the decision that I'm going to Miami. It's still not a done deal, 100%. I'm missing a few things, but we've decided to keep going down the path. And reportedly saying, if the Barcelona thing didn't work out, I wanted to leave Europe, leave the spotlight and focus more on my family. And while obviously this is still a developing situation regarding the some things that he might be able to get,

there are currently reports saying he could earn a share of Apple's MLS season pass revenue as well as get a cut of Adidas profits after his arrival. And it would absolutely make sense why the MLS would have to get very creative to bring Messi in, because you also have reports saying Messi apparently turned down a whopping $400 million a year deal from Saudi Arabia, with Bloomberg noting that Messi's move to Major League Soccer would be a significant blow to Saudi Arabia's global sports ambitions driven by Crown Prince Mohammed Bonesaw, something that Cristiano Ronaldo recently embraced. But also, another key aspect of this story is what a massive win this is for David Beckham, because this man has been playing 4D chess. Because check this out, it's one of the more interesting things in sports. Back in 2007, Beckham joined the MLS.

And over five years, he earned $255 million. But also, he got the option to launch an expansion team for just $25 million. And so he started and owned Inter Miami, a club currently valued at $600 million. And that, notably, was before acquiring Lionel Messi, the fucking biggest name in the sport. A move that some have speculated

would bring the club's valuation toward a billion dollars. Which would be absolutely amazing. But again, keep in mind, all of this is developing and it's a wild one. And then we have to talk about the dumpster fire, cannot look away train crash implosion that is CNN and Chris Licht. I was already planning to talk about part of this, but then the dominoes just kept falling. Because while the big news today is that Chris Licht, the CEO of CNN, is going to be stepping down. The Atlantic dropped a 15,000-word profile on Licht. And it was important and eye-opening. And I was like, let's make this digestible because, ah, let's be honest.

90% of people see a wall of 15,000 words, they're like, I'm sorry or congratulations. I'm not reading that. But I'm with you. Unless what's in there is bad, in which case I'm not. Because, again, I'm not reading it but it was a fascinating and eye-opening profile that gave some answers to things that cnn's done over the past year that not only like made people turn their heads but did so so drastically like necks were broken because most people's entry point into who is chris licht and this new cnn was the whole

fucking trump town hall debacle right because he had so many people going who thought it was a great idea not only to platform donald trump but then to also put Caitlin Collins across from him, not in some sort of one-on-one situation, something controllable, maybe a situation where she wouldn't just get steamrolled by lie after lie. No. Instead, opting to put her in a 300 versus one situation with a Trump audience, it might as well have been a Trump rally. And then after the train wreck of a town hall, instead of hyper-focusing on journalists fact-checking, platforming pro-Trump politicians who continued to push election lies. But again, while that moment was the entry point for a lot of kind of like the general public, this piece really explained how tumultuous the last year's been. With it seeming to expose that

what happened at the Trump town hall, that was like a desperate ploy. Because Licht was reportedly brought in with express orders from his boss, David Zaslav, to bring CNN into the political center and boost their failing ratings. And the hopes around him were initially very high. People saying, you know, he's a producer from The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. He's top notch. But in Licht's pursuit to win over, I guess, what he saw as right-leaning or centrist people, he fumbled again and again, alienating allies along the way, proving critics right. Some of whom also had lingering loyalty to his predecessors, Jeff Zucker, and called him for advice. Something that Licht absolutely hated. What was described was a CNN newsroom splitting

off into factions, with Licht himself appearing to grow more and more paranoid of the people around him, also trying to please the apparent micromanager that was Zaslav. Something that got even worse is you had a CNN journalist openly criticizing Licht's decision to host Trump in that manner in a speech at the Columbia Journalism School, which then brings us to what many saw as possibly the beginning of the end for Licht, the installation of David Levy as COO. Something they tried to describe as, you know, he's just there to help. But this, as you had people in the know, saying David Levy is too important to be just helping. But Levy's a close associate of Zasloff, and when he was hired, rumors spread of an imminent power struggle between him and Lick. And then following the publication of the Atlantic article,

there was reportedly unrest within the news company itself. With reportedly major CNN personalities like Aaron Burnett and Anderson Cooper voicing their concerns about Lick's leadership. And this is the Wall Street Journal was reporting that Zaslav's patience with Lick was growing very thin. All of that leading to this last Monday where he would Lick apologizing to CNN staff for it, saying he was sorry that the news of his management had overshadowed the journalism at CNN,

and saying he would fight to regain their trust, quote, "'Because you deserve a leader who will be in the trenches, "'fighting to ensure CNN remains "'the world's most trusted name in news.'" And adding, "'CNN is not about about me. I should not be in the news. And apparently, Zaslav was like, I agree. With him announcing this morning Lick's intentions to step down in CNN's daily editorial call. For a number of reasons, things didn't work out, and that's unfortunate.

It's really unfortunate, and ultimately, that's on me, and I take full responsibility for that. Saying the role will be covered by a leadership team of three different executive vice presidents across the company, as well as a COO, Levy, while the hunt for a new leader takes place. And emphasizing that the search for a new network chief may take quite a while. But as far as what happens from here, I mean, only time can tell. Is this just a bad moment for Lick?

Is it just a bad moment for CNN? Will they rebound? Or will they, or just one of them, be the latest example of, it can take a lifetime to build a reputation and just moments to ruin one. And then, the summer months are here, y'all, and that means travels spike.

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There was times on that set where I even became almost unprofessional in a sense, where I just started changing lines. And I would have to sit down with the writers and they would be like, wait, what happened to the scene? And I would have to go through and explain why I couldn't do certain things. And some people were immediately critical of those comments, saying she sounded toxic and entitled, with her getting mocked yet again amid the writer's strike with a number of writers even holding signs referencing her comments. Notably at the same time you had people saying this was really kind of an unfair way to dunk on someone because by no means is it unheard of for an actor to change lines to speak with writers about scripts. But the reason we're talking about it now is those comments got so

much attention she actually addressed them during the Hollywood Reporter's Comedy Actress Roundtable and there defending herself noting that she's coming into the second season of Wednesday as a producer of the show and she maintains that her voice needs to be heard on set. I think a project is best when there's as many voices and, you know, ideas thrown out as possible. I've had experiences on television where I felt like my voice wasn't heard,

that I wanted, I was meant to be a puppet, that I didn't really get to say. I've been told on set, you wouldn't know because, you know, you're not a writer or like, just shut up and do your job. All from, I mean, from 12 years old, I mean, I've been hearing sorts of things like that.

But a very key thing here, adding that Tim Burton wanted to stand behind her. He wanted to make sure that she was heard. And so the two of them would actually work with the writers to make sure that happened. Noting that in general, she feels it's hard to be heard, not just as a woman, but specifically as a small woman. Saying people actually treat her like a child, but that's not fair, and she wanted Wednesday to be different.

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and the most PC optimum points on everyday purchases. The PC Insider's World Elite MasterCard, the card for living unlimited. Conditions apply to all benefits. Visit pcfinancial.ca for details. I'm someone who is very opinionated or very, because I know what it's like to be a people pleaser in this industry, and I know how unhappy or how frustrating it's been in the past. I think when I went into Wednesday, I really put my foot down and made it clear that everything that I had to say, I wanted to make sure that it mattered and was heard.

And it really, I think, you know, as the show went on, we all got a better feel for one another and it's become a really collaborative experience. But they're also adding she feels lucky that as a producer, she'll be able to get into the room earlier in the process, be more involved with the scripts and development. The main things being she just wanted to have a voice with many of the other actresses, noting, yes, that's incredibly important. Make sure you're not walked over. Though that, of course, something easier said than done. I mean, there being no shortage of situations where you have like two people, an actor, an actress or whoever, doing pretty much the exact same thing. One being seen as a genius, a visionary, someone incredibly passionate and the other being seen as just kind of a problem.

Yeah. Ultimately, what are your thoughts here in general? But also, do you feel like Ortega is kind of getting an unfair shake? Is that even a fucking phrase? Sometimes words just come out of my face in a random order. And then everywhere you look, the culture war in America is leaking into everyday life. With one of the latest examples being the school board meeting in Glendale yesterday. They were having a meeting when suddenly the live stream went dark, board members are sheltered in place. That's because just outside the building, there were a lot of people furious that they were voting on whether to recognize June as LGBTQ Pride Month, something

that the district has notably done every year since 2019. But all of a sudden this year, several hundred protesters and counter-protesters filled the parking lot with about 50 cops in between them, shouting at each other through megaphones, conservatives claiming they're trying to protect the children. We are fighting for the rights of those children who don't want to be indoctrinated. We're talking about children. We're not ready for such choices. It confuses them. Meanwhile, you had counter protesters saying, you're not trying to protect the children. We're trying to protect the kids

by making LGBTQ students feel safe and accepted. Folks on the other side say they are not homophobic. Do you believe them? No, not at all. No one's handing us a curriculum and saying, you have to teach kids to be gay. Like, I don't even understand. I don't think they know what they're talking about.

And we don't have understand. I don't think they know what they're talking about. And we don't have any prescribed LGBTQ plus curriculum. We just don't leave gay people out of the equation. And though the demonstrations were peaceful for most of the day, police couldn't keep them apart forever. Because at some point, the dialogue just turned into an outright brawl. People trading punches, slaps, even pepper spray. And despite how the video looks, no injuries were reported. The police also stepping in to break up the fight, then ordering the crowd to disperse, also arresting three people for using pepper spray. And despite how the video looks, no injuries were reported. The police also stepping in to break up the fight, then ordering the crowd to disperse, also arresting three people for using pepper spray and obstructing officers. But then later in the night, the school board finally going ahead and unanimously declaring June Pride Month. But also a very key thing here is this wasn't a

unique situation. We've been seeing anti-LGBTQ protests at Pride events and school boards around the country. Like even just last week, some of the same groups who were at Glendale also protested at North Hollywood Elementary School, with them often just moving from protest to protest, which feeds into the criticism that they don't even have kids at the school districts. And then, people scare me news, let's talk about more of America in 2023, with this latest incident involving 58-year-old Susan Louise Lorenz, a Floridian who reportedly has been dealing with a neighbor's kids running across a field outside her home for a while. Though on Friday, we saw things escalate in a crazy way, with a woman reportedly yelling at them, then throwing a roller skate at a boy,

that hitting him in the toe, swinging at two boys with an umbrella when they tried to talk to her. And so then hearing all this, the kid's mother, 35-year-old AJ Owen, she goes over, she knocks on Susan's door, demanding she come outside. But instead, Lawrence reportedly just shoots a bullet through her door into Owen's chest, killing her right next to her 10-year-old son. With Lawrence, as far as her defense, saying that Owens previously attacked her and that Owens had been trying to break down the door and that the shooting was in self-defense. Right now, it appears the cops are not buying that because yesterday they charged her with manslaughter with a firearm culpable negligence,

battery, and assault. And Sheriff Billy Woods saying this was the culmination of a two and a half years feud. And saying in a video posted on Facebook last night that this was not stand your ground, but simply a killing. Some of you have asked me about the stand your ground law. It does not apply in all situations. And this situation is a prime example of when it was not justified. Reportedly, detectives were able to establish that Lawrence's actions were not justifiable

under Florida law. And so now she faces up to 30 years in prison just from the manslaughter charge. And then we've got border problems, people. The Biden administration's recent decision to end many pandemic era immigration policies has been controversial. And not just here in the States, but even abroad. And that's because due to new deals with our southern neighbors, many asylum seekers are being expelled to Mexico. I mean, we're talking about upwards of a thousand people a day.

And so that, alongside a requirement that people seeking asylum in the U.S. must be denied first somewhere else. That's resulted in Mexico struggling with a massive uptick in requests. But Mexico, they're just not set up to handle them. One of the first issues is that due to agreements with the U.S., Mexico's immigration system heavily prioritizes removing people from the country, not processing asylum requests. And in its most recent federal budget, the agency in charge of getting rid of undocumented migrants had $90 million to spend alongside 30,000 national card troops. But for the Mexican Commission for Refugee Assistance, that had just $8.5 million, and that's accounting for $6 million that the U gives it. And this lack of resources has led to a

massive backlog of requests. And it's gotten to the point that the temporary migrant cities that we're used to seeing in border towns are now popping up in places like Mexico City. But for many, the worst part is the uncertainty over their status. It's not uncommon to be denied asylum in the US and then sent to Mexico, but it's not like that paperwork or the asylum process actually follows you there. So then they need to start over, and in the meantime, they're not able to get work permits and are forced to rely on the ever-stressed nonprofits that attempt to house the people, with at times taking months to get an answer,

and they have no way to sustain themselves in the meantime, which also puts a burden on the locals, despite the thousands who want to work. And so it's unclear what the long-term solution is for Mexico or even the U.S., because as long as being there, even with those conditions, is better than being in places like Haiti right now, there will obviously always be those trying to just get a better life, even if the way to get there is an exhausting and uncertain inch at a time. And that brings us to the end of today's Daily Dive into the News.

But don't worry, because as always, my name's Philip DeFranco, you've just been filled in, I love yo faces, and I'll see you tomorrow.