The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 9.17 P. Diddy Arrest & Charges Are Crazy, Matt & Abby TikTok Parents Scandal, & Today’s News

Episode Date: September 17, 2024

The more details that come out the crazier it gets... Just go to http://www.vessi.com/defranco for 15% off your first order.  Go to http://getsuperbeets.com and use code DEFRANCO to get a free 30 day supply of SuperBeets Heart Chews on all bundles and 15% off your first order!   YOUR NEW https://BEAUTIFULBASTARD.com DROP is LIVE! 45% OFF New Core Long Sleeves 2-Packs! Plus New Graphic Tees and Hoodies; BAMF, Villains, Honestly I'm Killing It, Bearly Alive, & More. 20-60% OFF Site-Wide 49 Days Until Election Day! Make Sure You Are Registered to VOTE: https://Vote.org  – ✩ TODAY’S STORIES ✩ – 00:00 - Diddy Charged in New York 03:23 - Matt and Abby Deny Leaving Children Alone During Cruise Trip 06:39 - NYPD Shoots 4 in Subway Fare Evasion Debacle 10:42 - Sponsored by Vessi  11:40 - GA Woman Died After Laws Resulted in Delayed Care 16:35 - Hezbollah Pagers Explode, Injuring Thousands 18:50 - Lawmakers Propose Cracking Down on Loophole Used by Shein, Temu 21:09 - Sponsored by Human N 22:13 - FDA Developing Tech that Could End Animal Testing ——————————   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 on Animal Testing: Chris Tolve ———————————— #DeFranco #Diddy #MattAndAbby ———————————— Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sup, you beautiful bastards. Welcome back to the Philip DeFranco Show, your daily dive into the news, and we have a wild one today. So you just hit that like button and let's jump into it. This is a news show. Did he do it? That is what more and more people are asking

after P. Diddy has now officially been charged with sex trafficking. Because as you might've seen, he got arrested last night in New York, and this morning we learned that he's now facing three charges. Right, because been charged with sex trafficking. Because as you might have seen, he got arrested last night in New York. And this morning, we learned that he's now facing three charges. Because on top of sex trafficking, he was also slapped with racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution. And the indictment that was unsealed this morning, it says that the allegations go back to around 2009, claiming that he, quote, abused, threatened, and coerced

women and others around him to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation and conceal his conduct. And in order to do all this, it claims that he created a criminal enterprise whose members and employees engaged in sex crimes, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery, and obstruction of justice. Also in terms of the abuse he carried out, the indictment says that it was persistent

and at times verbal, emotional, physical, and sexual. Also accusing Diddy of manipulating women to participate in highly orchestrated performances of sexual activity with male commercial sex workers. And claiming that he ensured their participation by giving them narcotics, controlling their careers, leveraging financial support, and using intimidation and violence. The indictment also later went on to say that these sexual performances were often referred to as freak-offs. With him claiming that Diddy directed them and explaining that they occurred regularly and sometimes lasted multiple days, with him providing controlled substances to the alleged victims to keep them compliant, also sometimes filming them

without their knowledge and consent. And both during and separate from these freak-offs, there were plenty of other alleged instances of violence, with Diddy being accused of hitting, kicking, throwing things at, and dragging victims. With the indictment saying that victims sustained injuries that sometimes took weeks to heal. But also they said that the victims felt

like they couldn't refuse his demands without repercussions because on top of everything else, he also allegedly used sensitive, embarrassing, and incriminating recordings from the freak-offs to silence the victims. We also saw the indictment seem to reference an attack on his ex-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, that you may have seen because CNN published that security footage of Diddy assaulting her in an LA hotel, which is one of the few things we've seen Diddy address in the past, right? He later apologized when that video went public. And of course, with all this, as you probably know, this is not the first time things we've seen Diddy address in the past, right? He later apologized when that video went public. And of course, with all of this, as you probably know,

this is not the first time we've heard about Diddy facing these kinds of accusations. Because in addition to murmurings and lawsuits, back in March, his homes were searched by federal officials, and at the time, they said that this was over a sex trafficking investigation. And actually, hitting on that, the indictment revealed that during those searches,

investigators seized so-called freak-off supplies like narcotics and over 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant. Also going back, Diddy's facing a massive pile of lawsuits accusing him of sexual assault and misconduct. I mean, one was even filed just last week. And of course, that wave of lawsuits was kicked off by Cassie Ventura, who sued him last year, accusing him of years of abuse and rape, with Diddy settling that lawsuit even though he has repeatedly denied wrongdoing. Though also with that, you have the New York Times noting that while victims weren't named in today's indictment, "'a lot of the accusations are very similar

"'to what Cassie alleged.'" And as far as what his lawyer told reporters this morning regarding these charges against him, they said, "'He's going to plead not guilty, obviously. "'He's going to fight this with all of his energy "'and all of his might "'and the full confidence of his lawyers.'" And going on to say,

"'I expect a long battle with a good result for Mr. Combs.'" Right now, regarding what comes next here, the investigation is still ongoing. When asked about if more charges would be forthcoming against Diddy's associates, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York just said they couldn't take anything off the table. But a very key takeaway is they did note that Diddy didn't do this on his own, right, by himself, and he's being charged with racketeering conspiracy. So there is definitely more to come here. Then in massive online drama news, let's talk about this Matt and Abby scandal. So if you don't know, Matt and Abby Howard

are big YouTubers, TikTokers. They're a couple with over 5 million followers over on TikTok and they post about their life as well as being parents and they have a two year old and a one year old. They also have a podcast together. And they recently went on this family cruise and on their Instagram stories,

they noted it just wasn't going well, right? Especially trying to have a nice dinner. It seemed like the kids were having trouble sitting through the meal. So they tried dropping them off at the cruise nursery center. But then apparently the kids weren't having it. And so they had to just go pick them up. Something that many parents who have toddlers or babies have experienced on vacation. But then since apparently none of that was working, Abby posted that they were giving up on the nursery and they had a new strategy. writing, we switched our dinner time to after their bedtime and FaceTime the monitors while we ate. Baby monitors don't work on board

unless you're only like 10 feet away. And that worked out much better for everyone. And immediately people were outraged, saying, how could you leave your kids fully alone on a cruise ship? Some on TikTok noting, what if one of your followers or even a stalker was on board and saw that she was leaving her kids

unattended, God knows what could happen. Others on Reddit bringing up vacation kidnapping stories like Madeline McCann. Some also writing things like I have a three-year-old and a one-year-old and I don't even like walking out of my house when they are asleep, let alone on a cruise ship with hundreds of strangers. I can think of so many scenarios.

What if there was an emergency? With others getting even more outraged because Matt had previously done a room tour that showed he and Abby had separate rooms right next to each other. And one kid was in each room, meaning that it looks like the kids weren't even together when their parents left for dinner. So we had some thinking this was even worse. We now have twice the margin for error.

We now have two monitors that can freeze or be dysfunctional. And two opportunities for this to go incredibly wrong. And so this whole scandal was just growing and growing and spreading. But then Matt and Abby posted a TikTok yesterday addressing all of this. With them saying that the kids were never actually alone and that they were actually on the cruise with all of Abby's extended family.

And so with that saying that someone was actually with the kids while they were sleeping. With them explaining that they saw all these concerns and speculations, but. And that is just completely untrue because we had someone with our children at all times on this boat, period. I can see where my story did lead to misunderstanding,

which is why I ended up deleting it several hours after posting it. But I do want to clarify that we have not, would not, will not ever leave our children unattended. We would never ever want to put them in harm's way. I'm also thanking people for being so concerned about their kids. And as far as, well, why would they need a baby monitor,

let alone a FaceTime to a baby monitor if someone was there? They explained that the kids sleep in a blackout tent So the baby monitor is there so you can see inside the tent and saying that they use it even when they're in the room Together so the person there would need it and they also just wanted to FaceTime it to see it for themselves Which side note if you are a parent that travels I highly recommend you get the slumber pod It was like the only way we can keep our kids on schedule. And if you've never used one, it's super breathable. Like they said, you can put a cam in there so you can see what's happening inside all while being inaccessible to the baby. So it's not a choking hazard. I only share my personal experience there because I know that

there are a lot of people that don't have kids or never use this product. But all that said, you know, their response here, it seems that it's been received very well over on TikTok. Though, of course, that's not universal. There are some that aren't buying the, well, if there was someone in the room with the kids to look at the monitor, why would you need to FaceTime it as well part? With all that said, with this situation, whether you're a fan of theirs or you're not,

what are your thoughts here? The situation in general, the backlash, their response, any and all of it. And then, what the actual hell happened with this shooting in New York? That is what many were wondering when New York Mayor Eric Adams tweeted, "'Earlier today, one of our officers was shot

while protecting our subway system. I am relieved to report he is in good condition now, and we have arrested the suspect who put so many lives in danger. I cannot thank these officers enough for their bravery.'" Which many responded by saying, "'Oh shit, someone shot a cop?' But then if you looked a layer deeper into the story,

you find out that the cop that was shot was shot by another cop. And in fact, it turned out that New York police shot four people. So let's talk about what the hell actually happened. Now that we have more information, because according to NYPD chief Jeffrey Madry, all of this started when a group of officers

spotted a man entering the subway station without paying and they followed him to the elevated train station. They then allegedly asked him to stop repeatedly, but he refused. And at one point muttered the words, you know I'm going to kill you if you don't stop following. And eventually the officers were able to catch up with the man with Madry, claiming that he turned, and at one point muttered the words, you know, I'm going to kill you if you don't stop following. And eventually, the officers were able to catch up with the man, with Madry claiming that he turned around and confronted them, claiming the police asked him

to take his hands out of his pockets, and quote, they became aware that he has a knife in his pocket. And adding, they give numerous commands. The male basically challenges the officers, no, you're going to have to shoot me. And during that standoff, the chief said that a train pulled up. The man then got on with the officers following, giving commands for him to put his hands down. And when he refused, two different officers allegedly deployed their tasers, one after the other, but both being ineffective with Madry continuing. The male jumps back off the train onto the platform.

And at one point he's advancing on one of the officers with his knife. The officer stands back, he draws his weapon, and then both officers at this point fire. They fire multiple rounds and the male goes down. They're able to handcuff him and subdue him. But in doing so, they also shot three other people, one officer and two civilians.

And according to the reports, the injured civilians were a 26-year-old woman who was grazed by a bullet and a 49-year-old man who was shot in the head. And while the woman and the other officer were listed as being stable as of the most recent update, the man who was shot in the head remains in critical condition. This is the man at the center of this whole confrontation

is also reportedly in critical condition and charges are still pending. Madri also telling reporters that the man who was shot in the head remains in critical condition. This is the man at the center of this whole confrontation is also reportedly in critical condition and charges are still pending. Madri also telling reporters that the man has been arrested more than 20 times and has a history of mental illness. But the spokesperson also later identifying him as 37-year-old Darrell Mickles. But also since their initial statements, there have been some pretty serious contradictions within the NYPD's telling of events and some even from the department itself. Right on Sunday, police shared a picture on social media

of a knife they said had been recovered from the scene of the incident. Then yesterday, the department shared another post saying they were searching for a man who had taken the same knife pictured in that photo from the crime scene. And then you also had the NYPD deputy commissioner of public information telling Gotham

that the knife recovered from the scene, it wasn't the one that Mickles had when officers shot him, saying it was actually a different knife that someone had left on the train amid the chaos. What's more, another man who was sitting across from Mickles when he and the officers entered the train told the outlet that he had heard officers order Mickles to drop the knife at least once before they all boarded, but added, I never saw a knife, but I don't think I saw both of his hands. And going on to add that the officers tased the man when he was walking away

from them without first giving a warning, just firing it before yelling, taser, taser, taser. And notably here, he also said that he waited around after the incident, assuming police would wanna interview him, right, because he was there and saw the whole thing, but they never did. So unsurprisingly with all this, this whole situation has gotten a ton of responses and reactions online.

Many claiming that the police used unnecessary violence, accusing them of endangering other people over someone evading a $2.90 fare. Then also on the other side, you had plenty of people arguing they didn't fire their weapons because of the fare evasion, but because Mickles was threatening them with a knife, so the response was justified. There's also as others hit back against that, arguing that the police still inappropriately escalated a $2.90 fare evasion and that a knife doesn't justify

opening fire on a crowded subway platform. So as a result, you had a number of people calling the police account into question, noting the various contradictions and demanding that they share body cam footage to back up their story. So for now, we'll have to wait to see what happens with this specific situation. But in the meantime, I'm seeing a lot of people expressing concerns that police will use this incident

to justify more forceful crackdowns on fare evasion. Because the situation also comes as city leaders have massively ramped up police presence in the subways in recent years in an effort to improve safety. Part of that effort has also been an increased crackdown on fare evasion, which they say cost the Metropolitan Transportation Authority

nearly $700 million in lost revenue in just 2022. Though this incident and others have raised concerns about disproportionate responses and whether cops actually make the subway safer. With that, of course, I'll pass the question off to you. One, yes, of course, I wanna know everyone's opinion, but two, if you're in New York and you use the subway system regularly,

what are your thoughts? Then, you know, unpredictable weather is a real thing all year round, and so is wanting to be comfortable and stylish at the same time. But here's the thing, weather doesn't have to affect your day-to-day plans, errands, or vacations. Because for whatever weather pattern you cross paths with,

our fantastic sponsor, Vessi, they have your back. I mean, y'all know I love Vessi's, but I'm especially loving their new Courtside Classic sneakers at the moment. It's their newest urban living shoe with a classic vintage look. And the Courtside Classic is a court-insp It's their newest urban living shoe with a classic vintage look. And the Courtside Classic is a court inspired shoe that keeps your look sleek and simple, which I like.

And it has a padded tongue and collar for a feeling of effortless comfort, which is a perfect match for daily adventures in the city. Plus they're an easy to wear waterproof shoe with maximum versatility. So you can embrace the rain and relax in style for all types of weather. And Vessi shoes are perfect for navigating the city,

autumn strolls, spontaneous rain showers, or evening meetings. And Courtsi shoes are perfect for navigating the city, autumn strolls, spontaneous rain showers, or evening meetings. Right, and Courtside Classic shoes deliver unmatched comfort and vintage flair in all your favorite urban spots. It's also perfect for back to school as well. So if you're interested in getting a pair, just go to Vessi.com slash DeFranco and get 15% off your first order.

That's Vessi.com slash DeFranco and get them while they still have your size. And then, I hate that I need to talk about this with you, but we need to, because it's the story about a woman from Georgia by the name of Amber Nicole Thurman. She would have been 31 this week, but back in the summer of 2022, when she was 28, she was working as a medical assistant.

She had dreams of attending nursing school, and she had a six-year-old son. And in fact, the two of them had just moved out of her family's place and into their own apartment. So when Thurman unexpectedly found out that she was pregnant with twins, she reportedly felt like she needed an abortion to preserve her newfound stability,

feeling that this was the best thing to do for her and her son. But here's the thing, that was also the same summer the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. And specifically for Amber and so many other women, it was the same summer Georgia's six-week abortion ban came into force. In fact, the day the law went into effect,

it was a day after Thurman's pregnancy passed the six-week mark, which meant that she couldn't get the abortion that she needed in her own state. So instead, she got a babysitter, took time off of work, and got up at 4 a.m. to drive to North Carolina to get a surgical abortion there. But on the way, she ended up hitting a ton of traffic

and she missed her appointment. And a key thing is that the clinic reportedly couldn't hold Thurman's spot longer than 15 minutes because they were overwhelmed with women from other states where bans had taken effect. So instead, they offered Thurman a two-pill abortion regimen approved by the U.S US Food and Drug Administration.

And here, I do wanna say, deaths due to complication from abortion pills, they're extremely rare. In fact, out of the nearly six million women who have taken Mifepristone in the United States since 2000, only 32 deaths have been reported to the FDA through 2022. And notably, those deaths weren't necessarily attributed to the drug.

But of course, with us talking about Thurman today, you know she was one of the unlucky few. See, it turns out the pill basically failed to get rid of all the fetal tissue from her body. And that by itself isn't necessarily a big deal. In fact, you just need to get a routine procedure known as a dilation and curatage, or a DNC, to clear the remaining tissue from her uterus.

And if Thurman had lived near the North Carolina clinic where she had gotten the pills, she would have received a DNC for free as soon as she followed up. But of course, she ended up going back to Georgia, and she actually ended up with a severe infection that landed her in the hospital. And once there, she didn't get the treatment that she needed. And that's because under the state's new abortion law, some say that performing a DNC,

that could be a felony. And so with that, any doctor operating on Thurman could be prosecuted and face up to a decade in prison. And that's not because the DNC surgery itself was explicitly made illegal, but because the language of Georgia's law, like most abortion bans, it's just super unclear. Removing fetal tissue is obviously not the same as terminating a pregnancy. The law in Georgia only specifies that it's not considered an abortion to remove a dead unborn child

that resulted from a spontaneous abortion. And a spontaneous abortion, according to the law, is one that's, quote, naturally occurring from a miscarriage or a stillbirth. With then, yes, there also being an exception, like most bans, to protect the life of the mother. But there's also no standard protocol for how providers should interpret that language.

What experts have been saying for such a long time is that this ambiguity will essentially leave doctors having to weigh their fears of prosecution against their patient's health. With this then leading them to wanting to be really sure that their patient is inarguably on the brink of death or facing quote, irreversible harm before they intervene with something like a DNC.

And to that point here, despite how routine the procedure is, Thurman was reportedly in the hospital 20 hours before doctors finally decided to operate. But by then, it was just too late. While outlets like ProPublica didn't discover exactly why doctors let her condition deteriorate for so long without treating her,

it's not a stretch to think that they were just scared. And actually with that, an official state committee of experts have now deemed Thurman's death preventable and said that the hospital's delay in performing the critical procedure had a large impact on her fatal outcome. And so according to ProPublica with this, this is the first time an abortion-related death officially deemed preventable is coming to public light. Though they also said that they're going to be sharing a second story in the coming days. With

that, claiming that they're exploring other deaths that appear to be connected to abortion bans. And of course, with everything we've seen, there's a good reason to think that there are more cases like this. With abortion being banned or restricted now in 22 states over the past two years, we have seen dozens of reports of women being turned away from emergency rooms or being forced to continue high risk pregnancies that threaten their lives. So also with that, more and more voters, especially women are saying this is the number one

top issue for them. So it makes sense that we've seen Kamala Harris and her campaign hitting on this. Right, earlier this month, they launched a new 30 second ad that's playing in seven swing states and it's reminding voters that Trump has taken credit for helping overturn Roe v. Wade. And then you actually had Harris publishing a whole statement in response to the ProPublica investigation, writing, these are the consequences of Donald Trump's actions. And adding, if Donald Trump

gets the chance, he will sign a national abortion ban, and these horrific realities will multiply. We must pass a law to restore reproductive freedom. When I am the president of the United States, I will proudly sign it into law. Lives depend on it. Now, a quick thing I will say there is that Trump hasn't said that he will sign a national abortion ban, but he did notably refuse to commit to vetoing one during last week's debate. With that, you have a lot of people noting how he has flip-flopped on abortion so many times, most recently about Florida's ban. But this also adds, whoever wins the presidency, I mean, getting Congress to pass any type of abortion bill in either direction is going to be a challenge. also adds, whoever wins the presidency, I mean, getting Congress to pass any type of abortion bill

in either direction is gonna be a challenge. But notably, part of the reason the country is in the place that it's in right now is because Donald Trump won and was able to put three people on the Supreme Court. So obviously there is a lot at play regarding who gets to be president. But for now, this is where we are.

This is the current state of reproductive health in America. In which way your state and country go on this issue, it's gonna come down to election day. So it's just 49 days till election day. This is your friendly reminder to go to vote.gov, vote.org. Make sure you're registered. If you're not registered to vote, come up with a plan and tell a friend.

Because as much as some out there don't want you to have one, you get to have a say. And then, in absolutely wild international news, Israel was just accused of pulling off some, let's call it James Bond shit in Lebanon, with them allegedly setting off hundreds of pagers belonging to Hezbollah. Also, just to be clear,

I don't mean they got a little. Why does it say boobs? They exploded. With Lebanese and Hezbollah officials claiming that Israel managed to force a bunch of pagers belonging to the terror group to explode, with the entire attack happening across the country over the span of an hour.

An attack that reportedly killed at least eight and injured over 2,700, although not all of them were Hezbollah fighters. That being said, the casualty number isn't shocking since footage from some of the attacks show that they happen in everyday places like grocery stores. And you had officials with the group describing it as the biggest security breach in the past year of fighting

the group has had with Israel. Now for their part, Israel has not confirmed or denied any involvement, which is pretty standard for them. But this is also not the first time Israel has allegedly done something like this, right? I mean, one time they did a similar trick with cell phones. But regardless, right, this is going to escalate tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, which

have been in a de facto war ever since Hamas's attack on October 7th. But the difference here is that you have people saying, you know, neither side before seemed super committed for various reasons, right? For Hezbollah, it's likely because they were content firing missiles across the border and forcing many Israeli towns in the north to evacuate. And for Israel, it's because they were hyper-focused on Gaza. But things have shifted recently, with Hamas clearly losing that fight, with Israel now focusing up north towards Lebanon, where Hezbollah is located. And this has included announcing that making

northern Israel secure enough for residents to return home is a formal goal of the war, which is notable because before, the war was supposed to be about Hamas, but securing the north inherently implies taking on Hezbollah. And as we've discussed in the past, that's a completely different beast for a few reasons. Right, one is that Hezbollah is way, way more heavily armed than Hamas and has way more troops. Another is that attacking Hezbollah means attacking Lebanon, even if the group doesn't actually listen

to the central government. And on the international stage, it's a very different look from fighting Palestinians. Because world leaders can and have been hiding behind the fact that Palestine isn't a formal country and avoid very committed stances. So we're gonna have to wait and see what happens from here. But I mean, it's looking like there is a real chance

this is not gonna end anytime soon, despite the fact that the initial war aims of eradicating Hamas are getting closer and closer. So the most likely way this is avoided is that Israeli voters making clear they want Netanyahu out, which also has been happening. Right, like last week and this weekend, there was a massive protest in Tel Aviv

demanding that the government make a deal to secure the last hostages before it's too late, especially as Netanyahu and his allies are increasingly viewed as using the war as an excuse to stay in power. And then Timu and Xi'an are a massive problem, or at the very least, that is what the Biden administration said when they announced that they'd be taking aim at both platforms for allegedly abusing an importation loophole. It's called de minimis, and it allows packages valued under $800 to dodge import duties and increase scrutiny at the board. And I don't know if you've seen the prices

on those platforms, but you would have to buy a lot to get over that $800 threshold. So added together, this loophole allegedly gave both platforms a huge advantage in the market and artificially helped lower their prices. And so the administration's change would involve barring Chinese products otherwise subject to tariffs from taking advantage of de minimis.

Notably, this is something the Republicans have also looked at with the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party taking a look at the same thing over a year ago. With them also pointing out in their 2023 report that neither company paid any import duties in 2022, which seemed odd for companies that are importing tens of billions of dollars worth of product each year. But with all that, one of the big questions is how much would this affect prices? And there we saw the House Select Committee estimating that it would be upwards of 20%, which puts them much more in line with their competitors like H&M.

But also some analysts don't have a set number in mind and instead think that there would be a strategy shift. With one even telling CNBC, if the de minimis exemption is removed, then the costs of products from marketplaces like Shein and Timu will rise. Saying they will still be cheap marketplaces, but they won't have quite the competitive edge

on price that they do now. That may lose them some market share or slow their growth, but they will likely respond by pushing into some higher priced items to balance out their propositions. Now for their part, both companies haven't said how they'll respond and only argue that their advantage in the market isn't because

of the de minimis loophole. With the spokesperson for Shein even pointing out that the company actually supports de minimis reform and is part of a pilot program with the US Customs and Border Protection. And under that, the company provides far more details to authorities about what's in each package, which is actually a major thing

that Dominion Mets shipments lack. Notably, we're talking about information that can be better used to assess whether that item should be charged more duties. You know, all of this, it just kind of highlights how concerned the United States government and lawmakers across the aisle are about Chinese companies making inroads in our markets.

Like, I mean, Xi'an had been gunning for an American IPO on the New York Stock Exchange, but the scrutiny into the company has all but killed that deal, which is why they're now looking at a London Stock Exchange IPO. But none of that really matters for the everyday consumer. So for them, the takeaway from all this

is that your super cheap products are about to get a little more expensive. And so a big question with all of this is at what point is it not worth it? Or like with a 20% increase, it'll still be cheaper than stuff from Target, Zara, or H&M. So at what point do they get put into a different category where for consumers,

they go, ah, you know what? I'm gonna buy from a different company because that company, Zara, or H&M. So at what point do they get put into a different category where for consumers, they go, ah, you know what? I'm gonna buy from a different company because that company, at least, the clothes last four washes instead of two. Then, you know, supporting your blood pressure is a great way to stay on track when living a heart-healthy lifestyle. And for me, an easy no-brainer way

that I'm able to help support my blood pressure is thanks to a sponsor of the PDS, Super Beats Heart Chews. Yeah, taking just two tasty chews a day can give you daily blood pressure support while promoting heart health energy without the stimulants, Super Beats Heart Chews. Yeah, taking just two tasty chews a day can give you daily blood pressure support while promoting heart health energy without the stimulants, so without the crash. You also don't have to just listen to me.

I mean, they have science on their side. I mean, paired with a healthy lifestyle, the antioxidants in Super Beats are clinically shown to be nearly two times more effective at promoting normal blood pressure than a healthy lifestyle alone. Plus, there are no pills to swallow, no ingredients to mix or prepare,

and no artificial sweeteners or colors. And Super Beats is the number one doctor, pharmacist, and cardiologist recommended beet brand for cardiovascular health support. And they have over 80,000 five-star reviews. Plus, Super Beet chews really do taste good, and it makes it easier for me to confidently maintain heart health matters,

especially since they're so small and I can take them on the go, which, I mean, it couldn't be easier. So y'all, double your potential with Super Beats Heart Chews. Get a free 30-day supply of Super Beats Heart Chews on all bundles and 15% off your first order by going to GetSuperBeats.com and use code DeFranco. That's GetSuperBeats.com, code DeFranco.

Then, it's kind of crazy to think about today, but there used to be a time when drug companies didn't even have to test their products before selling them to the public. Right, if you look back all the way up to the 1930s, the market was flooded with all sorts of snake oil and quack cures neatly displayed at the time in an exhibit that one reporter dubbed the American Chamber of Horrors. Stuff like Banbar, a worthless cure for diabetes, Lashlor, an eyelash dye that injured women's eyes, even permanently blinding at least one and killing another. I mean, there was shit called Radithor,

which was a drink containing radium that killed its consumers slowly and painfully. But Congress didn't actually move to clamp down on all this until what became known as the sulfanilamide disaster. You see, sulfanilamide was a popular antibiotic, and in 1937, the company that produced it, they added a new ingredient without telling anybody, diethylene glycol, which is actually a type of antifreeze,

which is something you generally don't wanna put inside of your body. So after some doctors unwittingly prescribed it to their patients, more than 100 people just dropped dead within days, including many children. With that, leading President Roosevelt the next year to sign the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, which, among other things, required that pharmaceutical companies test their products on animals before giving them to humans and seek approval from the FDA before bringing them to market. And that landmark piece of legislation, it was absolutely fantastic for humans, but not so great for animals.

Because in the decades that followed, hundreds of millions of rodents, birds, monkeys, rabbits, dogs, and cats were used for research purposes. And while researchers do not have to report how many they use, the advocacy group Cruelty Free International estimates that 192 million were used worldwide just in 2015 alone,

with many of those going towards personal cosmetics, chemical toxicity testing, drug development, or drug discovery research. And these animals are kept in cramped cages, subjected to toxic chemicals and diseases, and then usually killed after they're no longer needed if they're not dead already. Now with this, technically there is one law

that's meant to protect research animals from suffering, which is known as the Animal Welfare Act of 1966. But since 2002, it's been interpreted to only cover the cute ones like cats and dogs. So the rats, the mice, the birds, which make up 95% of all the research animals, they're not protected. Though I will say some regulations exist at the state, local and institutional levels that try to minimize harm.

But then even for the animals that are covered, enforcement is notoriously spotty, so violations often happen. I mean, take for example, Dr. Oz, whose research between 1989 and 2010 inflicted suffering on and killed over 300 dogs, 661 rabbits and rodents and 31 pigs, according to Jezebel. With a whistleblower alleging that his team did things like wait two days to euthanize a dog experiencing

lethargy, vomiting, paralysis and kidney failure, as well as keeping a dog alive for a month for continued experimentation despite its unstable, painful condition. And they said they injected expired drugs into the hearts of a litter of puppies without any sedation, killing them, and then putting them in a trash bag with other still alive puppies. Now, individual horror stories aside, and if you want to really dive in, you can look online. There's way worse stories. But now with all this, something that's interesting about the field is if you ask researchers, usually they'll acknowledge the harms there were causes, but they'll also argue that the benefits outweigh the cost.

Right, I mean, animal testing has given us insulin for diabetes, penicillin for infections, the polio and COVID vaccines, HIV and cancer treatments. And really the list just goes on and on. And so in short, we're talking about the kind of stuff that has saved hundreds of millions of lives. And this is we've also seen what happens when you don't do animal testing.

For example, thalidomide, that wasn't tested on pregnant animals before it was marketed to treat morning sickness. With that, then infamously causing an estimated 24,000 birth defects, as well as 123,000 stillbirths and miscarriages. But then also with that said, you might be shocked to learn

how insanely ineffective animal testing actually is. Because research has shown that anywhere between 92 and 96% of drugs that work in animals fail in humans. With this due to a long list of reasons, first and foremost, being that animals are simply different from humans genetically, physiologically, psychologically, and more. But then also a lot of other factors that you wouldn't expect can also affect the results. Like for example, the conditions of a laboratory setting.

Windowless rooms, artificial lighting, restrictive cages, which influence animals' biology and behavior. So for example, monkeys watching other monkeys being restrained for blood collection suffer contagious anxiety. Or similarly, blood pressure and heart rates elevate in rats watching other rats being decapitated. And then lastly, methodological issues in animal studies are common.

Looking at 2,671 papers from 1992 to 2011, 75% of them weren't randomized, 70% weren't blinded, and fewer than one in 12% had sample calculations and conflict of interest statements, respectively. But all these factors, right, they don't just explain why we waste time and money on unsafe or ineffective drugs. They also explain the potentially safe and effective drugs

we do not invest in. Right, I mean, we have no idea how many drugs we've thrown away because they failed in animals, even though they may have worked in humans if we pursued them. So for example, tamoxifen is one of the most effective drugs for certain types of breast cancer. But we wouldn't have known that

had it not been on the market for years before we realized that it causes liver tumors in rats, though not humans. And so with that, you have this research paper noting that many useful drugs that have safely been used by humans for decades, such as aspirin and penicillin, they may not have been available today

if the current animal testing regulatory requirements were in practice during their development. And so with that, you have the author adding that as medical research becomes more complex, where you're tackling stuff like neurological conditions, animal testing is only getting less relevant, not more. For example, a 2014 study estimates that treatments for Alzheimer's that worked in animals

failed in humans about 99.6% of the time. With Scientific American noting, other species are no longer providing the insights about human biology, including at the cellular and subcellular levels that scientists today need to achieve innovation. And so given all these problems, it's no surprise that calls to phase out animal testing

have grown louder over the past decade or two, with people pointing to alternative methods that they claim have the potential to be just as, if not more, effective. Like, for example, using all the accumulated data we already have on different drugs and chemicals to guess whether new or similar ones will work. With a 2018 John Hopkins study suggesting that doing this could predict a new chemical's toxic properties

better than animal testing could. Also another study that same year from Oxford showed that a computer simulation of human heart cells predicted adverse events from cardiac drugs better than animal tests. And now with the revolution in AI, we can sift through that data better and faster than ever before. And so the FDA is actually developing a software that seeks to accurately predict how rats would react to any given chemical using past animal testing before. And so the FDA is actually developing a software that seeks to accurately predict how rats would react to any given chemical using past animal testing data. And there's a similar international project called Virtual Second Species

that's creating an AI powered virtual doll. But of course, all of that depends on preexisting data from research on real animals. So what if, however, we could generate brand new data without using any animals at all? But with that, say hello to this amazing invention called the Organana chip. You see, these little bad boys,

they contain little channels into which scientists put human cells and tissue. Then they put multiple chips together to mimic multi-organ systems and run air, blood, and other fluids through them. So depending on which cells you use, you can make everything from kidney chips and intestine chips to lung chips,

or even vagina and penis chips. And then you can subject these chips to drugs, chemicals, viruses, bacteria, whatever you want. With the obvious advantage of this technology being that it is based on actual human biology, not fucking rats or monkeys. And huge thing, when a research team studied its effectiveness in 2022,

liver chips correctly identified 87% of toxic drugs, none of which were detected with animal models. Also, they didn't incorrectly identify any safe drugs as toxic. With the studies, authors estimating that the pharmaceutical industry could generate an additional $3 billion or more a year if it routinely used liver chips,

according to Scientific American. But then also, if you think organs on a chip are cool, wait till you get a load of organoids. These are small, three-dimensional, lab-grown blobs of human tissue that, like the chips, mimic full-sized organs. And the way that this works is that you take some stem cells, then, by feeding them certain nutrients

and genetic instructions, you coax them to self-organize into structures that resemble miniature organs. And the way that this works is that you take some stem cells, then by feeding them certain nutrients and genetic instructions, you coax them to self-organize into structures that resemble miniature organs. With scientists demonstrating this can be done for hearts, lungs, even brains, and organoids have been shown to predict human responses to cystic fibrosis medications and chemotherapy. Now, all that said, right, keep in mind with all this, animal testing isn't going away anytime soon, right? Because despite the advancements in technology, it is still the best method for researching certain kinds of drugs and conditions. And the alternative methods are not only novel, but they have their own drawbacks as well. But nevertheless, we've seen a gradual shift toward adopting these methods, or at least examining them more closely. We're seeing

things like this year, the National Institutes of Health launching a $300 million fund to support the development, validation, and testing of non-animal alternatives. And that is on top of the existing 8% of its $40 billion research budget that the NIH already devotes to alternatives. Also, we've seen things like in 2016, Obama directing the EPA to replace the use of vertebrae animals in toxicity testing with alternative methods if scientifically feasible.

And then Biden in 2022 signed the FDA Modernization Act 2.0 with that ending the requirement for animal testing in every new drug application for the first time ever. Though notably, that law didn't create specific guidelines, standards, or policies. And you know, the culture within the agency ensured that companies would still do animal testing

to maximize their chances of approval, which is why in February of this year, Congress introduced the FDA Modernization Act 3.0, with that now aiming to require the agency to establish a process for qualifying new testing methodologies. But I mean, a big thing there, it's gonna be a long road

to get these alternatives widely accepted. And I mean, even longer to get animal testing outright banned. Though, I will say we have seen more progress in some areas than others, with most notably cosmetics and personal products, which took the most heat for animal testing because they couldn't hide behind the justification of making life-saving drugs. Which is why today, 45 countries and 12 U.S. states have banned animal-tested cosmetics so far. And now over 2,500 North American cosmetics, personal care, and household product companies certifying themselves as animal-free. cosmetics so far. And now over 2,500 North American cosmetics, personal care, and household product companies certifying themselves as animal-free.

But as far as what the future of all this will look like, for now, we'll have to wait and see. With that, my friends, brings us to the end of your Tuesday evening, Wednesday morning dive into the news. And because seemingly there is never a dull moment, I can already tell tomorrow's gonna be a big show. So hey, I'm just gonna leave you with a thank you.

I love yo faces, and I'll see you right back here tomorrow.