The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 7.16 THEY STOLE FROM MKBHD, PEWDIEPIE, & MrBEAST, Amber Rose Trump RNC Scandal, Jack Black Backlash, &

Episode Date: July 16, 2024

Level up your health at  http://www.TryARMRA.com/DEFRANCO  and use code DEFRANCO at checkout to get up to 15% off your first order. Go to http://meundies.com/phil to get 20% off and free shipping.  ==== ✩ TODAY’S STORIES ✩- – 00:00 - Major Tech Companies Used YouTube Transcripts to Train AI 03:55 - Jack Black Ends Tenacious D Tour 05:33 - Brazilian Influencer Jailed for Enslaving Followers 09:41 - Judge in Young Thug Trial Ordered to Step Aside 11:33 - Sponsored by ARMRA 12:40 - Highlights From RNC Day One 17:45 - Senior North Korean Diplomat Defects to South 20:52 - Amazon’s One Medical Failed to Escalate Calls, Directed Staff to Lie 22:52 - Sponsored by MeUndies 23:57 - Baltimore man Died After Being Sedated, Restrained by First Responders 27:08 - The Six FEC Commissioners that Control the 2024 Election ——————————   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 Associate Producer for FEC: Jared Paolino ———————————— #DeFranco #MKBHD #PewDiePie ———————————— Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sup you beautiful bastards. Welcome back to the Philip DeFranco show. You daily dive into the news and wow, I have got a massive one for you today. So you just buckle up, hit that like button, especially if you wanna let me know you love them big and let's jump into it. Starting with MrBeast, PewDiePie and MKBHD,

they're getting screwed right now and not in the fun way. With a new report from Proof News and Wired alleging that some of the world's biggest tech companies are using their content for AI training. But also it's not just them, right? They're just the most high profile. With this report saying they found that subtitles from 173,000 YouTube videos from over 48,000 channels

were used by the likes of Anthropic, Nvidia, Apple, and Salesforce. With this content being found in a dataset called YouTube Subtitles, which contain video transcripts from all over the platform. And so there, it appears that these tech companies, right, they weren't directly swiping the videos themselves, right? Instead, a company called Eleuther AI actually created the dataset that was accessed.

So notably, the report said they did not respond to the outlet's request for comment. This, even though the report alleged that these videos were used without permission. And so this issue, it once again highlights the kind of gray area regarding what content AI companies can use to train their models. And as far as what else was in the YouTube subtitles dataset, well, I mean, we're talking about videos from major news outlets like the Wall Street Journal, NPR and BBC.

That's along with videos from TV hosts like Stephen Colbert, John Oliver and Jimmy Kimmel. Though I will say like when it comes to YouTube creators, it appears they have some favorites. With only two videos being taken from Mr. B, seven videos from MKBHD, a whopping 377 from Jacksepticeye, and another 337 from PewDiePie.

Congratulations, Jack, I always knew you had it in you. Also, if you're interested in whose content was being pulled, Proof News actually created a tool to search what videos were used. And actually, using it, it looks like 58 of mine were in it as well, with all those videos being from 2017 to 2020, which checks out since the set was published in 2020.

Now with this, the data apparently didn't include any video imagery, but it was just the plain text of video subtitles often accompanied by translations into other languages. Also, it's worth noting that the YouTube subtitles dataset, it's part of a bigger compilation known as The Pile, which is just this massive treasure trove that also includes material from European Parliament,

English Wikipedia, and more. While The Pile is open and accessible, you had Proof News noting that the YouTube subtitles, specifically, they were not easy to access without technical expertise to find out whose work had been used for AI training. Though there, because the subtitles appeared in the pile, some of the companies in the report denied any wrongdoing.

With, for example, Anthropix saying in a statement, "'The pile includes a very small subset "'of YouTube subtitles. "'YouTube's terms cover direct use of its platform, "'which is distinct from use of the pile dataset. And then adding on the point about potential violations of YouTube's terms of service, we'd have to refer you to the pile authors.

Or with them basically saying, we're not saying there's not a problem, but if there is a problem, it's not ours. Meanwhile, Salesforce also confirmed that it used the pile, but noted that it's publicly available. Though this is for their part, Nvidia declined to comment. While other companies like Apple just didn't respond to requests.

But then, you know, as far as the other side of this, you have some YouTubers not exactly thrilled to learn that their videos have been used in AI training. For example, the fantastic David Pakman of the David Pakman show saying in the report, "'No one came to me and said, we would like to use this,' and adding, "'This is my livelihood, and I put time, resources, money, and staff time

into creating this content. There's really no shortage of work.'" But I'm arguing that people should be compensated for the use of their data. You also have the likes of the amazing MKBHD responding to the news on Twitter, saying Apple has sourced data for their AI from several companies. One of them scraped tons of data and transcripts from YouTube videos, including mine. Apple technically avoids fault here because they're not the ones scraping. But this is going to be an evolving problem for a long time. And adding, I pay a service by the minute for more accurate transcriptions of my own videos,

which I then upload to YouTube's backend. So companies that scrape transcripts are stealing paid work in more than one way. Not great. As far as where YouTube stands on this, well, in the past, the CEO has said that using its video content, including transcripts to train AI,

it would violate the platform's terms. And that's actually been a big point of tension regarding OpenAI's SORA. There's been many questions about whether or not it used YouTube in its training. You know, with all that said, where do you stand on this? What are your thoughts? What are your opinions?

I'd love to hear from you in those comments down below, actually, whether it be for this or anything else I talk about today. And then, in news I did not expect, let's talk about Tenacious D and Donald Trump almost getting assassinated. And the comedy duo is in the news because during a show in Australia over the weekend,

Jack Black is presenting his bandmate Kyle Gass with a birthday cake and this happens. Make a wish, Kanga. Don't miss Trump next time. With that immediately resulting in a shit storm. Not even a shit storm, a shit tsunami, especially among conservatives in Australia, with one politician even calling for the two

to be deported from the country because of the joke. Though it wasn't limited to like just right wing Australian politicians, like there was a lot of people slamming this. Especially given Jack Black's support of Joe Biden. With this whole situation leading to Jack Black announcing on Instagram that their tour as well as other creative plans have been put on hold.

With Jack writing, I was blindsided by what was said at the show on Sunday. I would never condone hate speech or encourage political violence in any form. With Kyle also addressing the situation himself, writing, the line I improvised on stage Sunday night in Sydney was highly inappropriate, dangerous,

and a terrible mistake. I don't condone violence of any kinds in any form against anyone. What happened was a tragedy and I'm incredibly sorry for my severe lack of judgment. Though already, according to the New York Times, Kyle's talent agency has parted ways with him over the joke. Through all of this, we've seen a number of mixed reactions. Some thinking this was deserved, others slamming Jack Black and accusing him of throwing Kyle under the bus.

Among other things, arguing this is a weird place to draw the line considering jokes that they've made in the past. Though this is others are just reflecting what a weird timeline we live in. Saying things like, imagine traveling back in time to 2006 and telling someone that Tenacious D broke up because Donald Trump almost got assassinated and one of them made a joke about it. But hey, with all that said, I gotta pass the question off to you.

What are your thoughts on this whole situation? And then, who doesn't love a classic rags to riches story? But here's the problem. What I gotta tell you right now is a rags to riches to insane slave owning cult leader story. You know, the natural logical progression. So the main character in this story is a woman by the name of Cat Torres.

And she reportedly grew up in a very poor neighborhood of Brazil, but from a young age, she capitalized on her good looks to get ahead with her entering beauty pageants. And then when she was older, becoming a model. Very soon, her career just takes off with her getting numerous magazine covers

and partying with Hollywood A-listers like Leo DiCaprio, who she also claimed to have dated. And I think she was under 25 at the time, so possibly. And then she used the fame that she got, scooping up over a million followers on Instagram, where she posted a mix of motivational, lifestyle, and wellness content, which is where in a normal world,

her life would have just settled at a nice comfy plateau. But instead, things start to get a little weird. Like for example, she's got this autobiography called The Voice, in which she claimed that she had spiritual powers that enable her to predict the future. She also created a subscription service and website promising love, money, and self-esteem

that you always dreamed of. And for an extra $150, clients would get exclusive one-on-one video consultations with her. Then things got weird when she started meeting people in person. Take for example, Anna, who discovered Torres in 2017 during a very hard time in her life.

I had gotten out of an abusive relationship. And even before that, I had difficult childhood. I suffered a lot of violence. I was having health issues. I had gone to conventional therapy. I had gone to many doctors. I was losing weight. I was really sick.

And so when Torres asked her to move from Boston to New York to work as her live-in assistant, she agreed. With Anna expecting to look after Torres' animals and do her cooking, laundry, and cleaning for about $2,000 a month. But then when she actually got there, the apartment was nothing like what she saw on Instagram. The house was really messy, really dirty,

didn't smell good. She also talked about the sofa covered in cat piss that she had to sleep on. Though there, she at least didn't have to spend too much time on it, but that was because allegedly, Torres wouldn't actually let her sleep for more than a few hours at a time. Since according to Anna, Torres just couldn't bear

being alone, even during showers. So she said sometimes she just hid in the apartment building's gym and slept on a yoga mat instead. And then after three months of this hell, Anna tells the BBC she was never paid. And so with no income and no alternative housing, she felt stuck in more ways than one.

But they're saying that when she tried to confront Torres, she became aggressive and she triggered memories of domestic violence. Now, eventually, Anna says she escaped by moving in with a new boyfriend, but then Torres reportedly just lured in more victims in her cult group. They're marrying a man that she met in California

and renting a five bedroom house in Austin, Texas. But they're then reeling in a number of Brazilian women, including three whom the BBC interviewed, Desiree, Leticia, and Sol, all of whom say they got manipulated one way or another. But Desiree is saying Torres told her she was suicidal and bought her a plane ticket so she could come give support.

And then Leticia, she came over when she was just 14 years old, and Sol, she was homeless when Torres found her. But then when they all got there, they said they encountered the same strict conditions, with Torres even allegedly forbidding them to speak to one another, also saying they required permission to leave their rooms

and taking all their money. And in addition to that, Torres allegedly coerced Desiree into working at a strip club and then as a prostitute. And seemingly like, of course, with any cult leader, Torres cut them off completely from their friends and family. But that also ended up turning out to be the downfall

of her entire operation. Because in September of 2022, Desiree and Leticia's relatives and friends back home launched social media campaigns to find them, with them raising the alarm after months of no contact, with the Brazilian media even picking the story up, all of which led to Ana catching wind of it and going to the police.

And so seemingly feeling the heat, Torres takes these women all the way to Maine, where she then has Desiree and Leticia film Instagram videos denying that they were actually captives and demanding people stop searching for them. But the thing is, there, a couple months later, the police get the women to attend a welfare check in person and the detective immediately spots

the telltale signs of trafficking, with that including a distrust of law enforcement, isolation, and the reluctance to speak without Torres's permission. With the police ultimately arresting Torres, deporting her to Brazil, where she was also charged with slave labor and human trafficking.

With the judge sentencing her to eight years in prison for one case, though a key thing is that others are still forthcoming. Right, because according to the BBC, there were actually over 20 victims in total, many of whom are still recovering from their trauma. And actually part of the reason this is in the news right now

is they released an interview with her from just before her verdict. But they're still completely denying any wrongdoing and coming off as almost delusional. But then as she got up to return to her cell, threatening the BBC reporters, saying they would soon find out if she had powers or not. And then the case against legendary Atlanta rapper,

Young Thug is quickly and spectacularly fallen apart. Because if you don't know, Young Thug and 27 co-defendants are currently on trial facing criminal racketeering, conspiracy, murder, and a whole host of other charges related to their alleged involvement in a street gang known as Young Slime Life. But I mean, since day one,

this trial has been an absolute clown show for so many reasons that we've also covered before. With that including a spat between the lead defense attorney, Brian Steele and the judge, Ural Glanville. Because last month, Steele accused Glanville of meeting with a prosecutor and a key witness without telling the defense, and then pressuring the witness to testify.

And then when Steele refused to disclose who told him about the meeting, citing attorney-client privilege, Glanville held him in contempt and sentenced him to 20 days in jail. Steele, he didn't budge, instead demanding that Glanville recuse himself from the case, which the judge refused to do three times.

And all the while, this drama halted the trial entirely for weeks. But the recusal motion, it got before Superior Court Judge Rachel Krause, and now she's actually granting it. With her writing, this court has no doubt that Judge Glanville can and would continue presiding fairly over this matter

if the recusal motions were denied. But the necessity of preserving the public's confidence in the judicial system weighs in favor of excusing Judge Glanville from further handling of this case. And so now Shakura Ingram's gonna replace Glanville in the case, but for Steele's team, that's not nearly enough.

Once recusal is granted, is you have to rewind the case to June the 12th. How do you unhear days of testimony? How do you take notes away from the jury? It's impossible. We're gonna be filing a motion for a mistrial based on the conduct of the prosecutors in this case. For now, we're gonna have to see if that actually happens

or if the case just gets even more delayed than it already is, which I mean, by the way, this is already the longest criminal trial in Georgia history, standing at 18 months now, with it taking 10 months just to get through jury selection. And in the past eight months, getting through less than half the prosecutor's witness list of more than 200 people. And then, I said it last time, I'll say it again, I've never felt healthier than the last two years, bro. That is just an absolutely awful impersonation of a good buddy of mine who first put me on to armor a colostrum.

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Just click the link in the description or scan the QR code on screen. But then let's talk about some day one RNC highlights. As I mentioned in the last second update yesterday, Trump officially selected JD Vance as his running mate, with many quick to note that the 39 year old first term Senator from Ohio used to be very critical of Trump,

calling himself a never Trumper, even saying that Trump could be America's Hitler. Though of course, in recent years, he has drastically changed his tune, becoming one of Trump's biggest supporters. Something that some say show he is an empty vessel willing to do anything and declare fealty to anyone in the pursuit of power.

Whereas others say, no, this exemplifies the never Trumper who flipped. The narrative that the public was lied to about Trump and so he saw the light, which going into the election could be a talking point and appeal for a certain subsect of voters. But I mean, as far as reactions to bans, we saw different ones.

There were a bunch of big names cheering this on, Marco Rubio, Doug Burgum, former presidential candidate, Rama Swamy, Elon Musk. But at the same time, there was also a solid number of Republicans who were more apprehensive, with many arguing that Vance might not really help Trump that much in the election. Some noting that Vance has only been in Congress

for less than two years, saying he's inexperienced. And with that, also arguing that he's not well known among the party. In that take, including some major players in key states like the Michigan GOP chairman and Georgia governor, Brian Kemp. He also really doesn't seem to be known among voters as well. For example, a CNN poll from just last month showing that only 13% of registered voters had a favorable opinion of Vance, 20% had an unfavorable one, and the vast majority just had no opinion, or they just didn't know who he was. But even veteran Republican pollsters questioning if Vance will help the campaign, arguing he's not that well known even in Ohio.

While Vance did ultimately win his 2022 Senate race, in large part because he got through the primaries because of Trump, he wasn't a super popular candidate, and the race was fairly close despite the fact that Ohio has become a reliably Republican state, and one that saw sweeping GOP wins that year. He actually underperformed every other statewide Republican on the ballot by a big margin.

But what I think this disregards is a few things. One, I think it shows how confident Trump is right now going into the election. I think he knows he is the guy, he has that hardcore MAGA support, that is who he's going for, and there will be enough people that also say they're Republican that are gonna go,

"'Hey, I don't want Joe.'" And he may believe, and he may be right, that he doesn't need someone that grasps a different demographic. But then two, the thing that Trump cares about more than anything is loyalty. And everything from J.D. Vance over recent years has shown he is Trump's guy. Even saying if he had been in Pence's position during 2020,

he would have done what Donald asked him to do. But with this, there are concerns from other Republicans and hopes from most Democrats that Vance will alienate certain GOP voters. Also, you had Trump making his first public appearance since the assassination attempt, coming out with a bandage over his ear to huge cheers. Also, another part of the day that got a lot of attention

was a speech delivered by Amber Rose. And like I mentioned with JD Vance, Amber hit on that like never-Trumper that flipped, talking about the first person she knew that supported Donald Trump was her father and she couldn't believe it. But then with that saying, she changed her mind. I'm no politician and I don't wanna be,

but I do care about the truth. And the truth is that the media has lied to us about Donald Trump. I know this because for a long time, I believed those lies. And I believed the left-wing propaganda that Donald Trump was a racist. I realized Donald Trump and his supporters don't care if you're black, white, gay, or straight. It's all love. And that's when it hit me.

These are my people. This is where I belong. I will say that that sentiment was not universal, let's say, and the love by many not fully reciprocated. With people highlighting many Trump supporters taking aim at Amber Rose online with some absolutely vile, sexist comments, with the likes of one of the biggest right-wing voices out there, Matt Walsh, writing, "'The RNC gives a prime time speaking slot "'to a pro-abortion feminist and self-proclaimed slut "'with a face tattoo whose only claim to fame

"'is having sex with rappers. "'Truly an embarrassment. "'Not a single voter will be mobilized by this person.'" Also on that note, unfortunately, there was no shortage of super racist takes about J.D. Vance's wife. We also saw some pretty hateful speeches targeting trans folks. But hey, at the same time, you know, there's been a lot super racist takes about JD Vance's wife. We also saw some pretty hateful speeches targeting trans folks.

But hey, at the same time, you know, there's been a lot of talk in recent days about unity, folks on the left, folks on the right coming together. And we kind of saw that, with a crowd of Republicans doing what I think a lot of Democrats would do, booing Mitch McConnell very loudly. Though likely they did so for different reasons.

Though there was also a notable closing speech from Teamsters president, Sean O'Brien. Which I mean, just the fact that he talked was super historic because it marked the first time that the union's leader had ever spoken at the RNC. Though there, O'Brien hit on economic themes prominent throughout the first day of the convention, and also he delivered a fiery speech condemning both parties for failing to do enough for working people. There are some of the party who stand in active opposition to labor unions. This too must change. So you've always been picky about your produce.

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So, what should we talk about? No sugar added? Neutral. No sugar added. Neutral. Refreshingly simple. And I want to be clear. At the end of the day, the Tiefs are not interested if you have a D, R, or an I next to your name. We want to know one thing.

What are you doing to help American workers, companies, fire workers who try to join unions, and hide behind toothless laws that are meant to protect working people but are manipulated to benefit corporations? This is economic terrorism at its best. An individual cannot withstand such an assault. You know, that is a recap of yesterday. We're going to be tuning in today and we'll talk about it some more tomorrow. And then in huge international news, North Korea just had its highest ranking defection in nearly a decade. And not only did they defect, but they're a yapper, revealing how leader Kim Jong-un has possibly punished and purged members of his government after they met and negotiated with U.S. officials. So to start, the defector goes by the name Ri Il-gyu. He's 52 years old, and he actually escaped back in November along with his wife and kids. We're only now learning about it because he has spilled the

beans at an interview with South Korea's biggest newspaper this week. And the country's intelligence service is also now confirming the defection without providing any other details. And so according to the interview, the defector's job was to handle political affairs at his country's embassy in Cuba, with one of his duties notably being to try and prevent the establishment of diplomatic relations between South Korea and Cuba, with him then deciding to defect

after his bosses back home demanded bribes as well as rejected his request to travel to Mexico to get treatment for his back pain. He also said he was already becoming disillusioned with the regime and concerned about his future, adding that, quote, "'Every North Korean thinks at least once "'about living in South Korea.'"

Saying in fact, North Koreans yearn for reunification even more than South Koreans. "'Everyone believes that reunification is the only way "'for their children to have a better future. "'Today, the Kim Jong-un regime has brutally extinguished "'even the slightest hope left among the people.'" And actually on the subject of having a brutal regime, the defector also claimed that two senior North Korean

diplomats who negotiated with the US during Trump's presidency were purged just a few years ago. Well, I will say it is hard to confirm that. We do know for sure that they were among the best known North Korean diplomats dealing with Washington. But then at some point they just sort of disappeared from North Korean state media,

which is incredibly notable, right? One of them worked at the North Korean mission at the United Nations, which is huge. I mean, it is one of the main points of contact between the US and North Korea. This defector says he was actually executed on accusations as spying for the US after he was discovered to possess a large sum of American dollars

following his stint at the UN, with senior officials allegedly gathering to witness his execution by firing squad at a military academy in a suburb of the capital. And then the other guy, he reportedly disappeared not long after going with Kim Jong-un to one of his two summit meetings with Trump, which a key thing there,

were widely seen as a failure for Kim, which also is followed by reports of the execution and purging of North Korea's top nuclear negotiators. But so now it seems to be an even bigger, more sweeping purge than we thought, with this defector saying this other guy was sent to prison camp on charges of bribery, which again would make him

the most senior North Korean official to have been reported as purged after the breakdown of talks between Kim and Trump. And at this point, you're obviously shocked. Not Kim, not K-Dawg, not a guy whose targets have included his right-hand man, his uncle, his half-brother, but also, I mention this because defections from North Korea

have actually been going down in recent years. Like in 2023, for example, 196 North Korean defectors made their way to Seoul, but a decade ago, that number was around 2,700. Though there, human rights groups and experts say, you know, it's not because everyone all of a sudden loves the place, by saying that it's not because they don't wanna leave,

but because it's become more difficult and more expensive. With it usually now only the North Korean elite and people who are already living overseas that have any chance of getting away. Which I mean, touching on that point, the last real big defection was when the former deputy ambassador to the United Kingdom defected in 2016.

With some of the more recent ones that were notable being the acting ambassador to Italy in 2019, the acting ambassador to Kuwait in 2021. But now, I mean, this latest defection stands out because tension between the two Koreas, it's the highest it's been in years. I mean, Kim Jong-un has formally abandoned the goal of reunification with the South,

even officially classifying South Korea as enemy number one. And then, yo, one medical, Amazon's primary care clinic, they failed to escalate possibly urgent calls to medical staff and then instructed employees to lie about it. I mean, last month, the Washington Post reported on leaked documents that revealed serious safety concerns at the provider one year after Amazon acquired it,

with them specifically finding that clinical staff had flagged dozens of incidents with elderly patients who had been routed to a call center in Arizona, staffed partly by contractors with limited training, with this including 16 incidents labeled as failure to clinically escalate. Where the center had failed to get immediate attention for very serious and urgent symptoms

that should have been escalated to medical staff, creating potentially life-threatening situations. Like in one case where a patient called reporting chest tightness, and another where someone complained of a severe headache. But then instead of being transferred to medical professionals as is protocol, call center employees who don't need medical experience,

they just scheduled them for office visits. Now Amazon, for its part, did explicitly acknowledge to the Post in earlier statements that those two cases should have been escalated immediately. But they also said they couldn't find records for six other cases and claiming that the remaining nine didn't violate its standards. But despite that, just yesterday, right,

the reason we're talking about this now, you have the Post reporting that one medical circulated talking points telling workers to say that those patients, right, the reason we're talking about this now, you have the posts reporting that one medical circulated talking points telling workers to say that those patients, quote, "'received the care they needed' when other patients asked about the incidents." And this, according to screenshots of Slack messages seen by the outlet.

With those talking points directing workers to say that a safety team had reviewed the incidents and concluded that, quote, "'In all instances, our patients received the care they needed.'" Without, of course, admitting the two errors one medical had already acknowledged, or the fact that it couldn't find

records for nearly half of the calls flagged by medical staff. And then going further, workers were also told to tell patients at the Post article that it initially revealed these issues, quote, mischaracterizes the dedication we have to our patients and we are sorry for any concern that it has caused.

But then also what's wild is when the Post asked about the talking points, a company spokesperson again, acknowledged that those two cases had been mishandled. Right, so clearly this is a big mess and Amazon's One Medical seems to be trying to sweep it under the rug and instead of actually taking accountability as they claim. And I know, it's shocking.

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And according to Lori, in late July of last year, Trey was in a drug rehab facility when he was stabbed in the shoulder by another resident during an argument. While his injuries, they weren't severe, the facility asked him to leave, which he did. Them assuring his mom that he would be okay and that he was gonna meet up with his girlfriend.

But by the following day, he was dead. And according to an investigative report released back in May by the Maryland Attorney General's office, a 911 call reported a man, Trey, laying down in the street, acting combative and trying to hurt himself. An initial review of body cam footage showing that Maryland Transit administration officers and medical personnel were the first to arrive on the scene,

according to state officials. And then when Baltimore police arrived, the medics asked them to handcuff Trey, who was being a rat, with them laying him on his side until the medics injected him in the shoulder with a sedative, and they lifted him onto the stretcher. According to the report, Trey was initially placed on his side, but as he flailed, he ended up on his stomach again after the medics were applying the stretcher's restraint strap. Then when inside the ambulance, medics began checking Trey's vitals while he remained on his stomach, face down on the stretcher.

Then four minutes into the ride, the medics reportedly discussed shifting him, but they didn't immediately act. Then another minute later, a medic finally released the straps and helped Trey roll to his side, and that's when they noticed his lips were blue. So the handcuffs, they get removed. Medics begin performing CPR. Trey's pulse then returns. They make it to the hospital, but he later died there. Within his autopsy, stating that he died from an overdose on an antidepressant and methadone, which is commonly prescribed to help with opioid cravings. Now with this, this report was produced under a Maryland law that requires the state's AG

to investigate all deaths that occur in custody. However, it is important to note that investigators aren't meant to be digging into the actions of medics, only those of the police officers. So there are several experts appointed to missteps made by the medics, with that including by Eric Yeager, an emergency medical services educator in New Hampshire. With Eric saying the big issue at hand

is that the medics left Trey prone for several minutes, potentially hindering his ability to breathe, saying, I think Trey Ellinger would be alive today if he had been placed on the stretcher face up, with him even saying that he uses the body cam footage of this incident in his class as an example of what can go wrong if patients' airways aren't prioritized. And you have Gail Van Norman,

professor emeritus of anesthesiology at the University of Washington, saying the sedative medics gave to Trey, they could have affected his respiration and upper airway muscles, making him more vulnerable to cardiac arrest. With the matting, the medics made a few medical mistakes, but this was a rapidly evolving situation where the unexpected happened. I don't envy them or the decisions they had to make. And meanwhile, you have Lori left wondering why they gave Trey the sedative in the first place, saying, I do believe they killed my son with that shot. He shouldn't be dead at 29 years old.

Now there, it is worth noting that administering the sedative is reportedly in accordance with the Baltimore City Fire Department's policy. This also is according to a recent investigation by the Associated Press, this practice of using sedatives on those detained by police has been spreading across the country over the last 15 years.

And that spread has reportedly led to avoidable deaths in its wake. And that's despite its obvious intentions of reducing violence and saving lives. Now, in Trey's case, it was determined that the police wouldn't face charges related to his death, with the city's prosecutors saying the officer's move in handcuffing Trey was necessary and safe.

Going on to write, while receiving medical care, the involved citizens suffered cardiac arrest and later died, saying there is no evidence of causation between anything that the officers and medics did and the fact that the involved citizen later died. While thus far we haven't seen lawsuits from the Ellinger family, notably the Baltimore City Police Department

declined to comment on the entire situation, citing the potential for future litigation. And then, so as you might've heard, there's an election about to happen in this country. I know, disgusting. But what we need to talk about with that is the role that six people in particular play in determining how the election plays out.

And actually not just in this election, but in all federal elections. See, I'm talking about the six members of the Federal Election Commission, or the FEC. That's the agency that's responsible for administering and enforcing federal campaign finance law, with its stated mission being to protect the integrity of the federal campaign finance process. And while there have been concerns for a long time now that the FEC has been failing that mission, there are now increasing concerns that it's actively working against that mission, there are now increasing concerns that it's actively working against that mission. And that, thanks to a Democratic commissioner

who's now siding with the GOP to lift all sorts of limits on political spending. Also, a thing that you need to know with the FEC is that at six commissioners, they're nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. Also, at least four commissioners have to agree to take any substantive action, and no more than three commissioners can be affiliated

with the same political party. So with our two party system, that means three Republicans and three Democrats. And believe it or not, for a long time, that actually worked. Right, for the first few decades of the FEC, which was established in 1975, it generally succeeded in its mission through consensus and compromise.

Improving election integrity by doing things like imposing restrictions on contributions and expenditures, establishing public financing for presidential campaigns, and coming up with detailed regulations on the personal use of campaign funds. But for the past 15 years or so, at least, the agency has consistently been divided along party lines, struggling to deal with investigations, enforce existing guidelines, and update rules to keep up with technology. In fact, a 2021 study analyzed 5,000 votes on the FEC since 1990 and found that partisan conflict has come to characterize commission voting patterns, with deadlocks on commission actions skyrocketing in recent years.

Also noting the partisan divide poses real problems for the agency in meeting its mandate to enforce the law and offer regulatory guidance. And so with that, it's generally been the FEC's Democrats seeking more robust enforcement of election laws and greater transparency, with the Republicans standing in the way. And so according to advocacy organizations like Campaign Legal Center, the result has been that the FEC is failing to enforce a law against both Democratic and Republican special interests. So ultimately, the real loser isn't just any one party,

it's the American people. With the CLC running at the FEC's inability to do its job has allowed wealthy special interests to flood our elections with vast amounts of dark money. In turn, making it more difficult for everyday Americans to have their voices heard. Because you get candidates and elected officials instead favoring policies that prioritize their donors.

And I mean, to that point, the 2020 election saw more than a billion dollars in dark money spending at the federal level, actually boosting Democrats more than Republicans for the first time. But more notably, that overall number is just so big compared to prior years. I mean, in 2006, for example, spending by organizations that didn't disclose their donors was estimated at less than $5.2 million. And also a key thing to note there is that this goes beyond just the FEC. The Supreme Court's controversial 2010 decision in favor of the conservative nonprofit group Citizens United,

it made it so that corporations and other outside groups could spend unlimited funds on elections, with that ultimately resulting in the creation of so-called super PACs. With that notably all coming from a case actually brought against the FEC for one of the rare cases in which enough of the commissioners agreed to take action. But still with that said, what's happening now is perhaps just as significant. With Adav Nody, the CLC's executive

director of the Campaign Legal Center telling the Times, we are in a new era. It is breathtaking the speed in which the rules are being torn down. There has been more activity in the last two years to allow money into the system than in the 20 years before that combined. You know, the so-called new era, it began in 2022, because that's when the Senate confirmed Democrat Dara Lindenbaum to the commission. A Democrat who has now repeatedly crossed the aisle to vote with her Republican colleagues. Helping make changes that have been described as some of the most significant regulatory revision since the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law that was put into place two decades ago. And with that, one of the biggest decisions has been to open the door for super PACs to work together with campaigns to plan

and execute costly door-to-door canvassing operations. Whereas before, politicians had been forbidden from coordinating strategy with super PACs to limit the influence of mega donors. Because one of the big key things to note here is that super PACs can raise unlimited amounts of money. You know, with that, this decision hasn't totally lifted that prohibition,

but it still means that politicians and super PACs are working more closely than ever. And actually to that point, it was weeks after that decision that the Trump campaign started making plans to sit down with groups like that to talk about working together and planning for the election.

And it wasn't long after that that the commission issued another decision, with them allowing federal candidates for the first time to raise unlimited money for state-level ballot measures. And that is immensely notable right now because you have issues like abortion rights ending up on ballots in the fall. Florida has a measure on the ballot already,

an abortion rights group in Arizona reportedly has enough signatures to put a referendum on the ballot there as well. Though also with that, something to keep in mind is that this could actually benefit the Democrats. Because if the Biden administration can now raise money for abortion rights ballot measures, he can add to an already existing fundraising advantage

that he has over Trump. And notably, both of those decisions, along with many others, were settled with a four to two vote, with Lindenbaum being the decider. Something that had a lot of people puzzled, especially if you knew her background, right? Because her political background is decidedly progressive. You know, she marched with the left-wing

anti-war group Code Pink. She later served as a top lawyer for Stacey Abrams, the progressive former candidate for Georgia governor. And in fact, Sean Cooksey, the Republican chairman of the FEC, told the New York Times, I doubt that there is a single mainstream policy issue that we agree on, that both he and Lindenbaum agree

that the current campaign finance system is burdensome and overly complicated and often unfair.'" Now Lindenbaum, for her part, she has downplayed both her role and the impact of the decisions, telling the Times, "'Hey, I'm just following the law and saying what the law says and what some people might wish

the law says are different.'" But critics like Craig Holman, a lobbyist for consumer advocacy group, Public Citizen, he's accused Lindenbaum of turning the FEC from dysfunctional to functionally avoiding enforcement. And Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, a Rhode Island Democrat, who's very outspoken on the issue of dark money, he's called it inexplicable and stunning,

telling the Times what he had originally hoped were tactical compromises, it now looks more just like surrender. And adding, who would have thought deadlock and dysfunction would be the good old days? But notably with that, we've also seen other Democrats saying, this is a good thing, right?

There's a real divide between those who oppose the influence of money in politics and people who are ready to accept it because they know that it might help them win. Mark Elias, for example, is a high profile democratic lawyer who's probably best known for his efforts to protect voting rights.

But he's actually also been one of the people pushing the FEC to let the money flow more freely, including by pushing for the measures that we've been talking about. And this interestingly, while some other Republicans have actually lobbied against some of these looser rules, even warning against making sweeping changes

in an election year. So at the end of the day, like it's not just a pure black and white situation. It's not neatly divided between left and right. And things have only gotten more complicated thanks to the introduction of stuff like AI. I mean, in May, we saw the Democratic chair of the Federal Communications Commission, or FCC, announcing plans to consider a rule requiring that political advertisers include

on-air or written disclosures when they use AI-generated content, which notably is something that the FEC talked about tackling almost a year ago, but they haven't finalized any rules yet. But nonetheless, FEC chairman Sean Cooksey accused the agency of overstepping its authority, writing in a letter that the proposal undermines the FEC's role as the top enforcer of federal campaign law, saying that this could quote, sow chaos among political campaigns for the upcoming election. Though the FCC chairwoman, for her part, she said in a statement that the FCC has required campaign ads to disclose sponsors for decades, and that adapting these rules to the arrival of new technologies, that's not anything new." And adding, the time to act on public disclosure of AI use is now, saying there are benefits to this technology, but we also know that it has the potential to mislead the public and misinform voters

with made up voices and images that impersonate people without their permission. So with that, while some senators have brought forward legislation requiring AI generated political ads to feature disclaimers, those proposals are now seemingly dead in the water. And this one agency that just needs four people to agree to at least get some sort of guidelines for the book,

even if they wouldn't be a law, they can't do that. And this, of course, all while making it even easier for the rich and well-connected to influence our elections. You know, even if it's hard to say what political party will ultimately benefit more, the one thing that is truly clear is that it's leaving out the rest of us. But that is where your Tuesday evening

and Wednesday morning dive into the news is gonna end. And don't worry, you won't have to miss my dumb face for too long because one, I'll be right back here twice tomorrow. The first, first at, first at 7 a.m., first at 10 a.m. Pacific. Oh my God, I think I'm having a brain aneurysm. First at 7 a.m. Pacific, 10 a.m. Eastern.

I've been testing a live show this week. It's been really fantastic. I'd love to have you. I have two more episodes of that this week, and then I'm gonna take next week's mornings off and retool and figure out what I liked, what I didn't like, and then come back and give you a better product. Then, of course, to your regular Philip DeFranco show, as per usual. I love you, O-Faces, and I'll see you then.