The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 7.2 The DARK TRUTH Behind Diddy’s Trial & Verdict

Episode Date: July 2, 2025

Go to https://sundaysfordogs.com/phil to get 50% off your first order of Sundays for Dogs! Go to http://vessi.com/pds for 15% off your first order. Use code “PHIL” for $20 OFF your first SeatGeek order & returning buyers use code “PDS” for $10 off AND your chance at weekly $500 prizes! https://seatgeek.onelink.me/RrnK/PHIL STOP KILLING GAMES LINKS:UK PETITION: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/702074/ EU PETITION: https://eci.ec.europa.eu/045/public/#/screen/home  Your 4 New Shirts @ https://BeautifulBastard.com 25% OFF w/ code "TwoBits" before Friday Subscribe for New shows every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, & Thursday @ 6pm ET/3pm PT & watch more here:  https://youtu.be/7oDsLmEJ3_w?si=Cj_-nWJc7oaIwEse&list=PLHcsGizlfLMWpSg7i0b9wnUyEZWI-25N3&index=1  – ✩ TODAY’S STORIES ✩ – 00:00 - Diddy Acquitted! Social Media, Celebrity, & Power All Blamed 05:22 - Trump's Power Over Republicans Tested in the House 10:08 - Thanks to Sundays for Sponsoring the Show 11:08 - The Power Dynamics of Trump Gaza Israel 14:58 - Trump Threatens to Use His Administration's Power to Deport Mamdani 19:25 - Thanks to Vessi for Sponsoring Today's Show 20:35 - Gamers Unite & Use Their Power to Support "Stop Killing Games" 24:46 - Man Given His Power Back After Hand Transplant 28:00 - Sponsored by Seatgeek 28:30 - How to hold on to your power in crazy times: Comment Commentary-——————————   Produced by: Cory Ray Edited by: James Girardier, Maxwell Enright, Julie Goldberg, Christian Meeks, Matthew Henry Art Department: William Crespo Writing/Research: Philip DeFranco, Brian Espinoza, Lili Stenn, Maddie Crichton, Chris Tolve, Star Pralle, Jared Paolino  ———————————— For more Philip DeFranco: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-philip-defranco-show/id1278424954 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6ESemquRbz6f8XLVywdZ2V Twitter:   https://x.com/PhillyD Instagram:   https://instagram.com/PhillyDeFranco Newsletter: https://www.dailydip.co TikTok:   https://www.tiktok.com/@philipdefranco?lang=en ———————————— #DeFranco #Diddy #Moistcritikal ———————————— Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Diddy is guilty and not guilty. Now facing only years rather than life in prison after dodging his most extreme charges. And now you have many saying that this exposes a dark truth about social media, celebrity, and power. So what's really going on? Let's talk about it. Because the jury, they reached a split verdict today

and of the five charges against him, he was found guilty on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, but not guilty of racketeering and sex trafficking, which were much weightier charges. And so it was no surprise to hear that Diddy celebrated the news with reports saying that he pumped his fist in the air as the verdict was read

and then knelt on his chair to pray. You also had his supporters cheering outside of the courthouse. Some people even poured baby oil on one another. You know, not everyone agreed with the jury's decision. Those disagreements were on full display at the courthouse. He should be over there! Is he going to prison?

Is he going to prison? Is he going to prison? Is he going to prison? Is he going to prison? Is he going to prison? Is he going to prison? I don't to prison? Is he going to prison? Is he going to prison? I don't know.

You don't know. He beat her. It doesn't matter. He beat her. You beat her. He kicked her. You don't know what he said on her. You can't handle the truth.

Is she like this? You can't handle the truth. And among those upset with today's news, you had victims advocates who see this as a very real loss with the interim executive director of the group, Ultra Violet, for example, saying in a statement, "'Today's verdict is not just a stain on a criminal justice system that for decades

has failed to hold accountable abusers like Diddy. It's also an indictment of a culture in which not believing women and victims of sexual assault remains endemic.' But then adding, we will continue to stand with the brave women and men who took great risk to reveal the person Diddy really is. And on mine, what you're seeing

is that there's tons of people echoing that sentiment with some also specifically expressing sorrow for Cassie Ventura who is Diddy's ex and the main witness of the trial. And that is you had others claiming this is yet another case where someone's getting off easy because of their wealth, power and status. You know, with all of that, it plays out in the court of public opinion, you might be wondering, well

what the hell actually happened in the court of law that didn't persuade the jurors? And there it seems that many are especially hung up on the fact that he was found guilty of transportation to engage in prostitution, but not sex trafficking. Or with some wondering, well, okay, what exactly are the differences between those two charges? Well, the key difference is coercion.

And the prosecution had to prove that the two women in question, Cassie and another ex, only identified as Jane, that they were forced or pressured to participate in the so-called freak-offs. The prosecution arguing that did he use threats and controlled substances to get them to participate. And with Cassie taking to the stand, alleging rape and blackmail,

as well as discussing the now widely seen surveillance footage of Diddy beating her in that hotel. But as you have the New York Times explaining, the biggest victory for the defense here was convincing jurors that the two women were not coerced. Because the defense, they repeatedly pointed to texts where the women conveyed interest and enthusiasm for the encounters.

And while the women, they claim that they were just telling Diddy what he wanted to hear as they were stuck in controlling relationships, as the Times said, the jury did not view Mr. Combs' treatment of his girlfriends as sex trafficking. And that was a very specific part of the defense's strategy of just plainly admitting to the jury that Diddy had a history of violence

as a result of drug addiction and even saying that they own his domestic violence. But domestic violence, that was not what he was on trial for. And so you had his lawyers arguing that any claims of trafficking or running a criminal enterprise were exaggerated and they even called his relationship with Cassie a modern love story. And ultimately you had a former federal prosecutor

telling the LA Times that whatever people may think of the conduct as a moral matter, this jury decided that the government did not meet its burden to prove all of the elements of the serious felony charges they brought against Mr. Combs. You know, while many people out there, they're surprised by the results today.

Notably, you had an NBC news reporter who was in court every day at a trial, believing that the writing was on the wall, explaining, you could tell that there were several of them that were not buying what the prosecution was putting forth in their arguments. I saw some roll their eyes. I saw some even fall asleep.

Now with all that, as far as Cassie's reaction to the verdict, her lawyer told reporters that she is, quote, pleased that he's found guilty and held responsible to federal crime, something that he's never been held responsible for in his entire life. She's happy. And then also telling ABC News that although the jury didn't find Combs guilty of sex trafficking Cassie beyond a reasonable doubt, she paved the way for a jury to find him guilty of transportation to engage in prostitution, saying by coming forward with her experience, Cassie has left an indelible mark on both the entertainment industry and the fight for justice.

And that is, like I said earlier, many have been coming out in her favor thinking that the violence that she alleged and that was shown to the public should have amounted to coercion. But also because the prosecution lost on its biggest charges, you had outlets like the LA Times saying that this could genuinely impact other large sex trafficking cases.

For example, Lauren Hirsch, the national director of the activist group World Without Exploitation, kind of describing this as a step back amid major progress, saying, "'After successful prosecutions of figures like R. Kelly and cult leader Keith Raniere, some experts saw progress in broadening

the popular understanding of how sex trafficking operated and how victims might respond to it,' then adding, "'After this verdict though, this will 100% cast a chilling effect on prosecutors who will be reluctant to bring similar charges even when the evidence is overwhelming. But then with all that, as far as what's next for Diddy, there are still things that have to be decided

like his sentencing. Because while today was a major win for him, he could still face up to 20 years behind bars for his two convictions. So I will say it is likely not gonna be that long. And I mean that because of at least one of two ways. One, his lawyers want him out today, asking for a release on a $1 million bond

while awaiting sentencing. There, he has a team arguing that he poses no flight risk, as well as offering to hand in his passport and restrict his travel to just a few states. But also, there's pushback there with Cassie's lawyer asking the judge to deny his release and claiming that Cassie believes that Mr. Combs is likely to pose a danger to the victims

who testified in the case, including herself, as well as to the community. He also unsurprisingly had the prosecution opposing his release. And actually, in breaking news, as I was finishing up this video for you, the judge denied his bail. So then also too, in a new letter today,

they're asking for just 51 to 63 months, which is around four to five years. For now, we'll have to wait to see how this plays out. Though in the meantime, I gotta pass the question off to you. What are your thoughts on this story? Whether it be around the verdict, the response is the case itself, anything here.

And then today as we're talking about power and the impacts it can have, we have to talk about Trump's so-called big, beautiful bill. Because you now have House Speaker Mike Johnson saying that the House is gonna be ready to vote on it either today or tomorrow at the latest. But notably, he's saying that as now numerous Republican members have openly contradicted him.

So it appears to have set off this collision course that could test his leadership as well as test, you know, how strong is this stranglehold over the party that Donald Trump has, which appears to be very, very strong. And all of this, because the Senate just narrowly passed their version of the bill and the House has to pass it again because there were so many changes from the initial version

that they had previously voted for. While you have Johnson determined to meet the July 4th deadline set by GOP leadership and pushed by Trump, there also appear to be a number of major hurdles. Because first of all, Johnson can't lose more than three votes if all his members are present and all Democrats vote against the package as expected.

And that is two Republicans the first time around voted against this, with one of the two making it very clear he'll be a no vote again, while the other has implied that his concerns were also not resolved. But also, since the Senate passed their version, we've seen dozens of other House Republicans across the political spectrum openly slamming the bill, voicing concerns or at least indicating they won't support it. You've got hardline conservatives objecting to the fact that the Senate's plan would add more to the national debt

and federal deficits on the version of the bill that they initially agreed with. And that is more moderate members are angry that their colleagues in the Senate made even deeper cuts to Medicaid. Though I will say, well, many of the moderates have vocalized the issues that they have. It appears to be the hardliners

that have taken a much firmer stance. For example, when the House Rules Committee voted to advance the bill this morning, which is a key first step to get it to the floor, conservative reps, Ralph Norman and Chip Roy joined all Democrats on the panel and voted against the move. And then later you had Roy explicitly telling reporters that there are enough Republicans right now

who were willing to block the package from coming up for a vote. And then adding that, quote, the Senate doesn't get to be the final say on everything, condemning the leadership to take it or leave it legislating, and arguing that the House needs the time to hash out its differences.

You know, that's also a point that's been echoed by many other hardliners, including Marjorie Taylor Greene, who went on Steve Bannon's podcast this morning, where she described the situation in the house as a shit show. There's no way that Johnson has the votes in the house for this.

So this is, I think it's far from over. We're on a time clock that's been really set on us. So we have a lot of pressure. And then also given the fact that there's 435 members of Congress and it's hard for us to get to an agreement on anything. You know, a comment on the timing there, it's actually key because any additional changes

to the bill in the House, it would mean that it would have to go back to the Senate again for negotiations that could drag along past July 4th, which is why you have many members of the party's right flank calling on leadership to give up on that deadline and accusing them of just trying to force through a piece of legislation that many members clearly aren't happy right flank, calling on leadership to give up on that deadline and accusing them of just trying to force through a piece of legislation

that many members clearly aren't happy with and demanding more negotiations. For example, Representative Andy Harris, the chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus telling reporters, we could take another week to get this thing right. But even that, I mean, that could be a tall order, especially given the fact that Harris's caucus

has now released a list of changes that they're demanding. But again, despite all that, you have Johnson and other members of the GOP leadership expressing confidence that they're gonna get this done on time. And there you've seen them point to the fact that they were ultimately able to successfully pass their version of the bill back in May.

Notably, you're seeing experts saying that last time they were able to sway holdouts during negotiations. But now they don't appear to have the same leverage because any changes would then be sent back to the Senate for negotiations and that could potentially take weeks there and potentially even kill the effort entirely. But that also doesn't address the Trump of it all. Because you have GOP leadership insisting that Trump

is ultimately gonna be able to convince the members who aren't on board yet to get on board. Noting that he's holding meetings today with both conservative and moderate factions of the party who have voice concerns. And there you have House GOP Majority Leader Steve Scalise saying that Trump has been deeply involved in the process from the get-go and adding,

the president from day one has been our best closer and he's going to continue to be through today. You know, while we've seen indications that some of the members were swayed by their meeting with Trump, it's still unclear right now if he's gonna be able to successfully deliver what the hardliners want, at least before Friday.

Though a big aspect of this, and experts have hit on this, we're talking about a group of people who aren't exactly known for their spines. With the New York Times, for example, explaining, conservatives have repeatedly refused to back major legislation only to back down under pressure from Mr. Trump. And all of this is the Democrats,

they appear to be doing everything in their power to block the bill, but they also don't have much power. I mean, they pulled out procedural stops to stall the package. Also had Democratic leaders holding a press conference where they took turns calling out vulnerable House Republicans by name and providing data on how this Trump bill is gonna impact their districts and asking how they could back a bill

that's gonna hurt their voters. For now, we're gonna have to see how this plays out, though there are certain points that we have to pay attention to. The first being whether Johnson's gonna have enough votes to move forward by July 4th, or negotiations are gonna get pushed past the deadline. And then after that, there's gonna be two key things to watch.

One, how Trump would react to the GOP failing to obey his wishes, and if he starts making threats against conservatives or challenging Johnson's ability to lead the party. Two, whether Republicans are able to find a middle ground between the two versions of the bill in a timely fashion. Because while the July 4th deadline is somewhat arbitrary, they're still running against the clock.

Because a big part of the package is that it would raise the debt ceiling, which is the amount of money that the federal government can borrow to pay its debts. And Trump's treasury secretary has said that the US will hit that ceiling sometime next month if nothing's done. So very high stakes all around,

though it starts with the impact this is gonna have on the whole country, but especially with poor Americans. And then you've got more news in just a minute, but first, you know, you're out here Googling the best shampoo, best harness, best doggy sunscreen, but still, you might be feeding your dog something that looks like compressed gravel.

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for 50% off your first order. It's half off for food that your dog will actually get excited about for real this time. But then in getting back to the news, well, Trump is shaping domestic policy with the BBB. He's also now claiming that Israel has agreed to what he called the necessary conditions for a 60 day ceasefire in Gaza.

You know, what are those conditions? What's actually happening? And how is this gonna play out? Because you had him making this announcement on Truth Social. And there he claimed that during the two month pause, the US would work with all parties to end the war. With him then saying that Qatari and Egyptian mediators

would deliver this final proposal to Hamas and then finally adding, I hope for the good of the Middle East that Hamas takes this deal because it will not get better. It will only get worse. You know, like the title of a Philip DeFranco show, you can say we overuse that phrase, but is it wrong? You want me to say it got less good to spice things up?

But anyway, with that, you had one Hamas official claiming that the group is ready and serious about reaching an agreement. And then adding that it was, quote, ready to accept any initiative that clearly leads to the complete end to the war. But it's that last part that's key. Because Hamas has already said

that it's willing to free the remaining hostages if Israel commits to ending the war and withdrawing from Gaza. And that is Israel, for their part, have insisted that Hamas must surrender, disarm, and send its leader into exile or else be destroyed. And in fact, in Netanyahu's first public remarks after Trump announced the almost definitely maybe ceasefire,

you had him again calling for the elimination of Hamas. With him saying, quote, there will not be a Hamas, there will not be a Hamas-tent, we're not going back to that, it's over. So you have and you hear that, but then at the same time you have some Israeli officials reportedly believing that Netanyahu is actually more open to a deal than he's letting on.

Because the situation is that his far right coalition partners are against ending the war and are pushing for indefinite Israeli rule in Gaza. And until recently, losing their support would have been a disaster for Netanyahu politically. But now, largely thanks to the perceived success of the attacks on Iran, he's doing way better in opinion polls

than at almost any point since the war began. And that is public support for a ceasefire there remains high. You even had the Israeli foreign minister posting on exit there is a large majority in the government and among the people for the plan to release the hostages and calling it an opportunity that must not be missed. You even have three Israeli officials

reportedly telling the New York Times that the latest effort, it goes beyond a previous proposal by offering more solid guarantees that mediators, including the United States, would help make sure talks continue until both sides agree to an end to the war. But I have to say there, we are seeing a lot of conflicting information.

You're seeing things like a major Israeli newspaper reporting that sources involved in the hostage deal talks said that both Israel and Hamas were more motivated, even without clear guarantees that the war would end. In adding, the gaps between the sides have not been closed, but they have been decreased in the sense that a window of opportunity now exists that Israel would like to seize. But then at the same time, you have yet another Israeli official telling the Associated Press that while mediators

in the US would provide assurances about talks to end the war, Israel isn't committing to that. With this official instead saying that the latest proposal calls for a 60 day deal that would include a partial Israeli withdrawal from Gaza at a surge in humanitarian aid to the territory. And then beyond that, it's also not clear how many hostages would actually be freed

as part of any potential deal. Though, previous proposals have called for the release of about 10. And that is there are around 50 Israeli hostages left in Gaza, though less than half of whom are thought to be alive. Right, and then of course, all of that is on the Palestinian side,

the death toll in Gaza is just growing every day. I mean, just since this morning, you had Israeli strikes reportedly killing at least 40 people, including several women and children, according to Gaza's health ministry. Earlier this week, an Israeli strike on a seaside cafe killed dozens. And then the number of people killed

trying to reach humanitarian aid sites operated by the US and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, that's reportedly almost reached 600. With now more than 170 aid groups calling for the organization to be shut down and saying that its distribution centers have become sites of repeated massacres

and blatant disregard for international humanitarian law. And so you know, an end to this violence, it cannot come soon enough, but we don't know how this is going to play out. Though the area of Trump saying that he's confident, claiming that we would have a deal as soon as next week. Specifically claiming that he'll be very firm with Netanyahu when he visits the White House. But of course, words are words, actions are actions, and the power dynamic between Trump and Netanyahu has been a weird thing to watch in recent months. They don't know what the fuck they're doing. You've some saying that it appears like Netanyahu has Trump on a leash, he does what he wants to do,

but also you have Trump very much in the public saying that he's not happy with what Israel's been doing, at least in parts, but you know, I'll extend the question off to you. What do you think here? But also while Trump is pushing for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, he's still going after people here in the US,

known for speaking out against the situation. Or with Trump suggesting that Zoran Mamdani might be arrested, stripped of his citizenship, and deported, and that's also not where the story ends. And that, because the White House is actually moving forward with plans to make that possible. But not just for Mamdani, but possibly for any other citizen

who wasn't born in the country. Because Mamdani, yeah, it's true, he wasn't born here. He moved to the US from Uganda when he was just seven years old, but then he became a naturalized US citizen in 2018, and then lastani, yeah, it's true. He wasn't born here. He moved to the U.S. from Uganda when he was just seven years old, but then he became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2018. And then last week he defeated all odds to win the Democratic nomination for New York City mayor, Farron Square.

But there's currently no credible evidence to suggest that he isn't or shouldn't be a citizen. But despite that, seemingly just by being a Muslim and a democratic socialist, I mean, he's already been on the receiving end of just a seemingly unending torrent of racist, Islamophobic and otherwise baseless attacks. And among those attacking him,

you had Trump calling Mom Donnie a 100% communist lunatic, and he actually threatened to cut off funds to New York if he becomes mayor and doesn't quote behave himself. And that is we saw Mom Donnie bowing in his recent acceptance speech to use his power to stop mass ice agents from deporting our neighbors. And then with that late yesterday,

you had this wild interaction between some reporter and Donald Trump. Mr. President, your beloved New York City, your beloved New York City may well be led by a communist soon, Zorhan Mandami, who in his nomination speech said he will defy ICE and will not allow ICE to arrest criminal aliens in New York City.

Your message to communist Zorhan Mandami. Well, then we'll have to arrest him. Look, we don't need a communist in this country, but if we have one, I'm going to be watching over him very carefully on behalf of the nation. A lot of people saying he's here illegally, he's, you know, we're going to look at everything, but, and ideally, he's going to turn out to be

much less than a communist, but right now, he's a communist, that's not a socialist. And then, yeah, Trump playing some of the MAGA hits, extending the attack to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, implying that she too was a communist and going after her intelligence as he's done in the past. And also praised Eric Adams, a current New York City mayor who's running for reelection

with Trump calling him a good person whom he had helped out a little bit. And that so-called little bit that Trump's referring to is the fact that he got a federal corruption case against Adams dropped seemingly in exchange for helping him fulfill the MAGA immigration agenda. And also, you know, his specific language claiming, quote, a lot of people are saying he's here illegally.

And of course is a Trump classic. It's the type of language that he's used before to promote far-fetched, racist, and frankly fucked up conspiracy theories about his opponents. With probably the most infamous one being him echoing the line that Barack Obama was not born in the United States and was therefore

not legitimately elected. Then of course, among other things, he promoted the falsehood that Nikki Haley wasn't eligible to be president because her immigrant parents were not yet citizens when she was born in South Carolina. Now, one of the biggest things is that his administration is actually making moves

that could potentially lead to taking action on these outrageous lies. Because you now have Trump's DOJ directing attorneys to prioritize bringing civil cases to court with the aim of denaturalizing certain foreign born US citizens. And specifically here, you had a department memo telling them to start proceedings

against naturalized citizens who are suspected of having quote, illegally procured naturalization. With that, including by concealment of a material effect or by willful misrepresentation. And one of the key takeaways is that is the same type of language that we've already seen used to try and explain why Mom Donnie should lose his citizenship.

Just last week, you had Tennessee Congressman Andy Ogle sending a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi alleging that he may have procured US citizenship through willful misrepresentation or concealment of material support for terrorism. And as evidence, you had him citing a rap song by Mamdani in which he called for the release of members of the foundation convicted

of supporting Hamas in a trial that was criticized by some human rights groups and Mamdani's recent refusal to condemn the phrase globalize the intifada. With Ogles posting his letter on X and adding, Zoran Little Muhammad Mdani is an anti-Semitic, socialist communist who will destroy the great city of New York. He needs to be deported.

And then actually after that, you had White House press secretary, Caroline Levitt, responding to a question about Ogles' accusations saying, I have not seen those claims, but surely if they are true, it's something that should be investigated. Suggesting that this might be something that the administration would pursue. With all that, but surely if they are true, it's something that should be investigated. They're suggesting that this might be something that the administration would pursue.

With all that, as far as Mumdani, he's responded to Aldis sharing a statement saying, "'The president of the United States "'just threatened to have me arrested, "'stripped of my citizenship, "'put in a detention camp and deported, "'not because I have broken any law, "'but because I will refuse to let ICE terrorize our city.'"

And adding, "'His statements don't just represent "'an attack on our democracy, "'but an attempt to send a message to every New Yorker who refuses to hide in the shadows. If you speak up, they will come for you. We will not accept this intimidation. Also beyond that, we've seen the likes of New York governor Kathy Hochul speaking out. And while notably she has not endorsed mom, Donnie, you still had her saying, I don't care if you're the president of the United States. If you threaten to unlawfully go after one of our neighbors, you're picking a fight with 20 million New Yorkers,

starting with me. And then we've got more we need to talk about, but first I wanna thank a sponsor. And it starts with questions. Like, do you ever leave the house and instantly regret your shoe choice? Wet socks, sore arches, what do you regret? Because I'm talking about our sponsor, Bessie.

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but from the bottom up. Because you have gamers pushing back against corporate greed and fighting for their rights. And that massively viral stop killing games movement, it might actually get enough signatures now. And funny enough, it seems likely to have gotten to that point because someone shit on it so hard. So we talked about this petition for legislation last week

and how it would stop gaming companies from being able to just brick your games when they no longer want to service them. It's about gamer, but really consumer rights. And at that time, the guy who actually started the whole petition, Accursed Farms over on YouTube, was pretty skeptical that he actually even had a chance. Because despite petitions in both the UK and EU

being around for about a year, neither had nearly enough signatures. So much so that Accursed Farms was confident that the UK one definitely wasn't gonna pass and the EU one, that was a huge stretch since it had just over 500,000 of the 1 million signatures needed. Which is why I made a video criticizing Pirate Software,

who's a figure he claimed was the main reason why people were so grossly misinformed about what the movement was. But what a massive turnaround we have seen since last Thursday, because the UK petition has now officially passed its signature threshold, but I will say, if you're watching from the UK, if you want to, definitely go support it.

I'm gonna make sure right at the upload that the proper links are in the description because a small percentage of those can be tossed out due to clerical mistakes, like someone misspelling their name and such. And then as far as the EU version, that's well on its way as we can see in a video from Moist Critical yesterday,

where he showed that the EU initiative was now over 750,000 signatures and still had a month to go. Which I mean that bump, that's insane. 200,000 signatures in a week, that's massive. And now as I'm recording this video for you, it's at around 840,000 signatures. Right, and in that video, Moist, who if you're not familiar with,

he has a way with words, once again supported the initiative and described it like this. Again, to boil it down to its bare butt cheeks here, I'll go ahead and saute the mission. You should not have to worry about something you bought being destroyed and inaccessible after you've paid money to own it.

The man claiming at the Stop Killing Games initiative has quote, become more popular than Labooboo. The main praise that he had was for Ross, right? The guy behind Accursed Farms and there he said, All of it made possible thanks to the tireless effort from Ross. He spent countless hours on this initiative and doing everything in his power to make it a reality,

to try and actually lead to positive change in an industry he very clearly cares deeply about. But also I gotta stress, it wasn't just any one single personality that pushed this movement. You also had big YouTube OGs like Jacksepticeye hyping it up and making a post on YouTube. You then had PewDiePie getting into the mix,

Asmongold also reacting to all the coverage and tweeting out, 10 months and over 800,000 signatures later, the Stop Killing Games initiative is almost across the finish line of one million. If you're from the EU and care about game preservation and consumer rights, consider signing this petition. And there was also another interesting aspect here is you saw a lot of people,

even more than what I'm talking about here, who probably don't agree on a lot of things. We had so many people coming together on this specific thing. Regarding this push from so many different creators, and in fact, creators who they themselves cannot join the petition, that has not been lost, right? You had a cursed farm is being extremely grateful for the coverage that he's seen

and commenting things like, I appreciate the coverage. I think it's kind of crazy that it even takes Avengers level pushback to just not get robbed in the first place, but whatever gets us to the finish line. But that is, he's also not counting this as a victory yet with him commenting on Mois' video. I think this is probably more suspenseful to me than to a lot of other supporters

since I've seen the momentum collapse once already. Anyway, it's currently in a great spot, but don't assume the momentum will hold. You need to keep finding people in the EU to sign this. If we do it though, not only would we get to keep our games, it's still insane, we have to do all this, but this would give bragging rights to gamers for life of pushing back against, quote,

you will own nothing and be happy more effectively "'than maybe anywhere else.'" Which also, I wanna know that that last bit, it does tie into a much wider movement that we've seen across tech and just products in general. I mean, you've had creators like Linus Tech Tips, for example, having long complained that many companies, they're moving to this model

where you do not actually own a product and instead you're just licensing it in perpetuity. And so that, it lets companies cut off access essentially whenever they want. So, you know, it's hoped that once a region is big and populous as the EU actually takes up legislation targeting this practice, it'll just become the de facto understanding

around the world rather than companies having to deal with a patchwork of laws. Which to speak on, I mean, just to be clear, even if these petitions pass, it's not over. They are the start to the legislative process. And it'll likely be years before we see any laws passed. You know, that's all changed. There's a little bit, a little bit, a little bit,

and then all at once. But then, you know, as we're getting closer to the end of today's show, I wanna kinda flip this and talk about the opposite of having power. In this story, it revolves around 29-year-old Luka Krishanek. Because when Luka was 12 years old,

he had a bad case of strep throat. And unfortunately, it wasn't properly treated and it turned into a dangerous sepsis infection. And in order to save his life, the doctors had to amputate his legs and his hands. So for his legs, Luca learned how to use prosthetics, but that didn't work for his hands, right? Simple tasks were still impossible.

And at loss, it robbed him of a lot of independence. So I'm even explaining in an interview, people usually struggle to understand how much they do with their hands. And I don't mean just practical stuff, but basically surviving as humans, even in today's modern world. And adding, as much as you try to build the comfort

and confidence without hands, you're always with someone assisting you. As much as you love them, as much as you care about them, you never have the chance to do it on your own, which ties into the fact that you're also not able to fully develop as a person. And Zaluca, he just lived like this without hope of things changing for about a decade.

But then his case was referred to Dr. Scott Levin, an orthopedic and plastic surgeon. A surgeon who by this point in time had already performed two bilateral hand transplants, including the world's first on a child. And in fact, he and Dr. Benjamin Chang had built the hand transplant program at Penn Medicine in Philadelphia.

In this referral, it ended up completely changing the course of Luca's life. Luca sharing, as you can imagine, especially as a kid, you're disappointed in doctors, you're disappointed in healthcare, you feel betrayed by that. But then to encounter someone who is so dedicated to you, so dedicated to helping you and making your life better,

this just changes your whole perspective on the medical field and what it means to be a patient. In this hand transplant team, they worked relentlessly rehearsing Lucas surgery. You had attending surgeons, residents, fellows, and nurses practicing a dozen times. I mean, there were years worth of complications with wounds on what remained of his legs,

needing surgery and recovery, the pandemic, and waiting for the right donor hands. Because finding a match, it isn't just a matter of blood type. There's also skin color, age, size, and more to consider. With a hand, there are a lot of structures that need to be hooked up. But all of it then led to last fall

where Luca and his family moved to Philly to wait for the call that finally came. And after a 10-hour surgery, Luca had hands again. And actually within a matter of weeks, he was able to do things he hadn't been able to do for nearly 17 years. Stuff that you and I take for granted every day, scratching his face with a fingertip, using a touch screen.

And in fact, a month after the surgery, Dr. Levin received a video of Luca using his phone and he reacted by saying, that was really incredible to get that video. And now months later, the use and sensitivity of his new hands They've only grown with the recently going back to Penn to visit with the surgeons and telling them that you know He can pick up a bottle and feel if it's hot or cold and adding I am regaining function

Every week every month, but right now I still need a lot of help it is still a miracle today to have two hands basically because I Did not have that for almost 17 years. You know when Luca was asked what he would want to say to the family of the donor who fulfilled this nearly lifelong dream for him, he said, I would want them to know that they changed not just my life, but my family's life forever and that we're deeply grateful. And so you know just an amazing story about how far medicine has come and where it's going and it's just a little bright spot in an otherwise ridiculous world. A story of care and expertise and the giving of life experiences and power to someone that

felt like it was stripped away and probably didn't think that they were ever gonna get it back. We kind of just got to count the wins like this because otherwise it's so easy to overdose on the poison. But then finally today let's end with a congratulations and talk about your comments from yesterday's show. Starting with a congratulations to Suzanne W. Right, Seek Eek's latest weekly winner who just snagged $500 in tickets

and is going old school and catching Oasis in concert. And for the rest of y'all, that's right, Seek Eek is still giving away $500 in tickets and you should definitely answer today if you haven't already. You could be the next winner and snag $500 towards seeing your favorite artist, sporting event or playing.

And really so much more, there's like over 70,000 events to choose from. And all you gotta do is just add code PDS to your SeatGeek at profile for a chance at the weekly $500 prize, no purchase necessary. Whether you do that or not though, really why not? Let's talk about y'all's comments on yesterday's show

and some comment commentary. Right there, the top comment on yesterday's show, it made me question my career choice a little bit. With Mario saying, dude, I swear to God, living in the US right now is like sitting in a room with a TV playing a show that you absolutely despise. You can't find the remote and the TV has no buttons on.

The power cord for the TV is going through the wall and you can't access the plug. The volume is so loud. The door is locked from the outside. I'm trying my best, Marios. So thank you and everyone else that's a part of our weird little community. Cause if I didn't have this show,

I would just be shouting in an empty room. I would be doing the same thing just without a camera. Like it's very tempting to just want to look away, but I think that's also, that's like, that's the point of why and how certain things are happening right now. The goal is to over exhaust, you look away, that's when the craziest shit happens.

But also I think that then brings back to the point of a lot of the good in the world, it starts on our one-to-one level, personal, local, it grows from there. All while trying not to lose sight of what's happening, but not letting it just make you burn out because there's so much in the world that you can't control. So you know what?

I just wanna say thank you for being in this locked room with me. But then also more specifically, there were a lot of comments about Trump's bill that the Republicans have just been pushing through. Vanquish saying that how are you gonna pay for a party is suddenly awfully quiet about this bill. Zuber saying if Republicans are so mad about the bill,

why'd they vote for it? It just doesn't make sense. Which there, I just gotta say, Murkowski. Like my expectations for Collins and Murkowski already in the dumpster. But to just watch her cosplay as something that she's just not and then just, oh my God, that, ugh. And also I don't think anyone like Collins

fully off the hook, I don't think. Like if she thought it was gonna come down to her, I think it would've played out different. But I don't know, you know, when I watched them and so many other politicians, I'm like, we got to invest in stem cell research so these motherfuckers can maybe grow a spine one day. But hey, this is the comment commentary section.

There's the news. This is Phil opinion time. You then had Dusty saying, the bill is America first, as it cuts off 17 million people from necessary healthcare, which they'll say they're not doing. They'll say they're just cutting waste and fraud. But there, I'll say, if this goes through, there is gonna be a very unwelcome day

where a lot of MAGA supporters realize, oh shit, I didn't think that meant me. And then actually, yeah, here's a comment that essentially just repeats what I said. You had K-Cod saying, Maynard here, don't let Susan Collins fool you. She only votes against her party when her vote doesn't matter.

She will never be the vote that kills a bill. This is so she can come home and pretend to be a moderate. She has done this so many times, if she truly wanted to help the people of Maine, she would retire. But then finally we have Ice who said, "'I just can't anymore. How can we live in a world where this is happening?

How can the people in charge care so little for each other?' To which I will say, and I'm gonna end on this note, life is long, a lot of horrible and a lot of good is gonna happen. And we have to remember that people are resilient. You wake up, you try to be there for those around you, your friends, your family, your community, through your words and actions,

you try to be the change that you wanna see in the worlds. And it usually starts again at a local level. People have lived through, endured and powered through way worse. And that is not to minimize the moment or where things appear to possibly be headed or anything like that. Because we've seen countless times in wars,

as cities are being bombed, you had people still going to work and trying to live the life that they had around those that they have with them. And like a lot of things in life, it does not come down to motivation, it comes down to dedication. That's what powers through the hard times. But that my friends is where we're gonna end today's show. I want to say thank you for watching. Thank you for making to the end of this video. Oh my god, I hate me. I don't know how you do it. However you do it, just remember to come back tomorrow

because I got a brand new show for you every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at 6 p.m. Eastern, 3 p.m. Pacific. Stay safe, stay sane. I'll see you then.