The Philip DeFranco Show - The Macklemore Ed Sheeran Situation is Pathetic

Starting point is 00:00:00 This McElmore at Shear and Israel scandal, let's getting crazier and crazier. The AI extinction threat now worries that autonomous Asian swarms could take over the entire internet within six months. It has CEOs panicking, calling for a slowdown, but you've got Trump thinking that regulations are borderline treasonous. You've got 60 minutes exposing the pay-for-parted Washington machine in a way that we haven't seen before. And the reckless Ben Lego saga, it continues, but not in a way that you may have expected. We're talking about all of that and even more on today's brand new Philip DeFranco's show you daily dive into the news, starting with this. And the tweet heard around the world last week, and we've seen Ripple. effects from it. You had former Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon announcing his resignation and saying that the

Starting point is 00:00:34 people building AI earnestly believed that it could kill us all by the end of the decade. You then had people who were still working at these companies going, yeah, pretty much. And now you've even got top AI leaders, the people that are running these companies agreeing with them. Or with Anthropic CEO Dario Amode publishing what many have called a scary essay calling for AI safety and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman pressing pause on their IPO. You then also have people that are not in the industry but at the pinnacles of power like Trump and Mike Johnson, promising to do nothing about it. And getting into specifics in a new interview with Anderson Cooper, you had Amode having this responds to the threat of extinction.

Starting point is 00:01:06 Do you believe, earnestly believe that AI could kill all humans? And what percent chance do you think it is? So, you know, I, you know, it's funny. I agree with Jacob much more than I disagree with him. But again, I think it's more illuminating to think in terms of, you know, how do you decompose those probabilities? What are the paths in which things go well and what are the paths in which things go poorly?

Starting point is 00:01:31 And so instead of saying, you know, it's a 10% chance, that sounds like it's a roll of the dice, I think it's much more illuminating to say, well, that forks into different paths. And if we take the right paths, then the chance of something going wrong is very low. If we take the wrong pass, then the chance of something going wrong

Starting point is 00:01:50 could be even higher than that. And while you saw him, you know, sort of chuckling and smiling in that interview, Amodea got pretty fucking serious in the essay that he published on Saturday titled, we must pace the frontier, with them emphasizing in that the growing safety concerns and urging AI companies to slow down, which a lot of people are saying is ironic, considering that he's in charge of anthropic. But in this essay, he warned, we must slow the pace at which we improve the capabilities of AI models.

Starting point is 00:02:10 Progress will still seem fast and we must make wise use of the time we gain. And you have him citing two specific concerns. One, that AI is advancing dramatically faster and has a growing ability to build the next generation of AI on its own, which is called recursive self-improvement. And then the other, two, being that open AI hugging face incident that we talked about. when AI agents essentially went rogue in July and conducted cybersecurity attacks on their own. But then also with Asi Udemeuade proposing a three-step plan to help ensure AI safety. One, have embedded third-party evaluators who, quote, verify adherence to safety practices and commitment,

Starting point is 00:02:39 report incidents and help assess the alignment of not just completed AI models, but training pipelines and processes. Two, establish democratic coordination, meaning that AI companies in democratic countries work with one another to figure out common safety standards. And three, also throw in global coordination where democratic governments try to coordinate with authoritarian governments to the extent that's possible. Which is something that a lot of people think is key, because when you talk about the AI race, everyone's usually talking about the US and China. And then, shortly after he published that essay, you had Sam Altman and Elon Musk going, yeah, we agree. With Musa just saying, Dario, Dario is right. And Sam Altman writing, I agree with Dario that we need to pace the frontier, saying this has been a primary topic of discussions we've had at Open AI in recent weeks. Committing to having independent evaluators with employee-like access is a great idea, and we will do the same, saying we'll have more to share soon.

Starting point is 00:03:20 And it was actually that same day that Amode released the essay that you had Altman revealing to fortune that he's now ruling out an IPO in the near future. I actually think that given everything happening with safety, this would be right now would be an ill-advised moment to go public. And we don't feel pressure on that. We've said for a long time we'll do it when we're ready, which is when the business is ready, when we feel ready from kind of what the moment is like in society with this technology. That sounds like not 2026, 2027 potentially. I would say not 2026. Yeah, I don't like we got a lot of stuff to do. And I will say whatever you think of these people, it is a huge deal that you have Altman, Amode,

Starting point is 00:03:56 and Musk, suddenly having a united front on this. Right, or as one report put it, the crescendo of concern, especially since it is coming from Titans of the AI industry itself, feels like a political watershed moment. And so then with all this making headlines, you've had lawmakers on both ends of the political spectrum, including Ted Cruz,

Starting point is 00:04:10 Josh Hawley, Bernie Sanders, Akeem Jeffries, and more calling for AI regulation and safety standards. But that is not everybody. So what you had is that on Sunday, you had the tip of the spear, the head of the stake of the Republican Party, Trump predictably responding to this fresh wave of AI anxiety by saying that he's actually

Starting point is 00:04:26 more concerned with the US beating China in this race. We're leading China in AI. We're the most sophisticated country in the world. And frankly, I want to keep it that way. Because whoever wins, AI wins. And we can put guardrails, we can do this and that. But I think you have a lot of negative forces that are bringing it up that shouldn't be bringing it up.

Starting point is 00:04:45 And they're bringing up things that won't happen. And you're the president doubling down in his truth social post today, writing, the only controller guardrails that AI needs is a strong and smart high IQ president, And the USA has that in spade, saying the Trump administration has stopped AI people from doing bad or potentially bad things like Dario Anthropic, who is now pretending to be a perfect little angel and we will continue to do so. We already have tremendous criminal and regulatory power over these companies.

Starting point is 00:05:10 And then you also at House Speaker Mike Johnson echoing Trump's comments and brushing off calls to pass emergency legislation. Telling Jake Tapper in a new interview that it's AI developers who need to deal with the safety of technology, not Congress. They need to take personal responsibility first. And we need to get them all in a room at the same time in a great on what the guardrails are. That's the only way to do this. If Congress just races in and does some sort of emergency session to try to regulate AI, we will lose the race to China.

Starting point is 00:05:35 And that is a threat to every single American. Which I will say, this is just my take. It does feel absolutely insane that you have people, that they have billions and trillions of dollars to make going, please fucking regulate us. This is scary. Trump and Republican leadership, they seem so just laser focused on beating China in whatever way that means here,

Starting point is 00:05:55 that they are fine shooting through America's head to hit China. And I say all that because it is important to look at the midterms because it appears that the only way out of potential disaster is to possibly legislate around it. But then from that, we've got to dive into this whole Macklemore, Ed Sheeran, controversy, and scandal. Because McElmore, he just got booted from Ed's tour for saying, free Palestine on stage while saying what a majority of the American public believes right now, that they do not support what the Israeli government in Netanyahu are doing.

Starting point is 00:06:21 And we're now learning that this order to drop him, apparently it came from some, by the most influential people in the NFL. But actually this whole situation, it's been playing out over a week now, ever since McElmore began opening for Ed Sheeran earlier this month. And that's because while on stage, you had Maclemore giving some version of this speech. One of the reasons why I wanted to come on this tour was because I wanted to stand up here

Starting point is 00:06:41 on stages and stadiums across America and say two words that are very near and dear to my heart, Free Palestine. So the people from Gaza all the way to the occupied West Bank know that we have not forgotten them. To all of my Jewish brothers and sisters, criticism of Israel, criticism of apartheid being against genocide in no way is a criticism of you. My message is for peace, love for all human beings to be treated with dignity, respect, and equality. And based on videos from the shows, it seems like the speech isn't always the same every night. Right, he changes it up a little bit, but the overall message is consistent.

Starting point is 00:07:33 He condemns Israel's actions in Gaza and calls for a free Palestine. Right, and then, he follows it up by singing a pro-Palestine protest song while playing images of the war and protests. And while in the crowd, you can hear some people clapping for him, there's also been a ton of backlash. Right after his first show, which was at MetLife Stadium, you had one dad who brought his daughter's writing a now viral post directed at Ed Sheeranan, saying, Maclemore decided to turn your concert into his political rally, saying, I left Friday hoping maybe this had caught you and your team off guard. Then tonight, you allowed it to happen again. You knew exactly what McElmore had done the night before, and he gave him the stage again.

Starting point is 00:08:02 Saying Friday, it might have been McElmore's decision. Saturday was yours. He then, at the Israeli-American Council, starting a petition, calling on Ed Sheeran to dump Maclemore for the remainder of his scheduled tour dates. But at the same time, you had a lot of people saying, hey, McElmore should be allowed to express these ideas on stage, that actually what he's saying, it shouldn't even be controversial. And we've seen this debate or fight playing out at a number of different levels. One of the things that ended up popping off as you had musical artist Pink, reposting a video from Stop Anti-Semitism,

Starting point is 00:08:25 that had a caption accusing Maclemore of spreading anti-Israel propaganda and turning the show into a, quote, political nightmare against the Jewish state. We're in a move that ended up getting her a ton of backlash. But then with that, you had her over the weekend trying to explain what she said was why she felt she needed to speak out, saying it was not because he set free Palestine, but because years ago he, quote, put on a hooked nose, a black beard, and a bowl cut, performed in it and called it a random costume, saying every Jew I know knew exactly what it was. And last weekend, he stood in front of a stadium full of music-loving families with violent images

Starting point is 00:08:52 from a war on the screens, dedicated a song to the movement of his choice, and then took the mic to tell all the Jews in the stadium that it wasn't about them, saying, you don't get to decide that for us. And so then it just continued to blow up from there, right? It was on Fox News, op-eds were getting written. It just dominated social media chatter all week, which then brought us to this morning where you had the news that McElmore had been dropped from Ed's tour. But he's supposed to perform at A to Ed's 10 remaining shows in the U.S., including stops in Philadelphia, Massachusetts, Atlanta, and more. But you had the promoter telling Rolling Stone, we have been notified by venues on the upcoming U.S. tour dates that they will not allow a concert to take place with

Starting point is 00:09:22 McElmore on the lineup, which would result in the cancellation of the tour and impact hundreds of thousands of fans. And saying after discussions with stakeholders, McElmore will not be performing on the remaining support dates. Then you would McElmore sharing his side of the story on Instagram writing. Last Monday, in the middle of all the media attention surrounding Pink and what I said it met life, Ed told me that New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft called him, saying we were scheduled to play Gillette Stadium later this month, which is owned by the Kraft group. And saying Ed told me that Kraft said I would not be allowed to perform in his stadium. And adding, Ed also told me Kraft had rallied some of the other stadium owners and collectively, they gave him an ultimatum. If McElmore stays on the tour, you will not be allowed to play in our venues.

Starting point is 00:09:59 And saying Ed was in a fucked up position, saying he knew it, his typical apolitical stance who was being challenged in a way, it never had been before he couldn't get past his public facing, I don't take signs. And so then with that he added that he and Ed, they've been friends for over a decade and that this decision came after a ton of difficult conversations and that he hopes that he and Ed can remain friends. But then also with this, you had him adding that he's made these political statements on stage for years, but, quote, now I'm sharing a state, with one of the biggest artists in the world. At a certain level of exposure, free Palestine becomes too much of a risk, saying if I keep doing the show saying Free Palestine with Ed implicitly supporting it, the crowd getting loud and showing undeniable support for Palestinian liberation, what artists might speak out next.

Starting point is 00:10:34 The stage becomes resistance. Maybe that's why this time it became so important to silence me. If those words caused me the stage while turning the conversation back to Palestine, then it was the most successful tour I've ever been on. With Maclemore then also condemning anti-Semitism, but then adding a criticism of Israel and support for Palestine should not be conflated with this hatred. And also a note I'll mention is that he actually opened the statement by saying that he doesn't see himself or any of the other celebrities wrapped up in the controversy as victim.

Starting point is 00:10:56 So that said, you're seeing a lot of people outraged on his behalf right now. Writing things like the price people constantly pay for speaking out against crimes against humanity injustices. Macklemore is a hero in my eyes, as well as immense respect for McElmore who is willing to speak out despite the consequences. Alternatively, all my respect lost for Ed Shearren. And quote, I don't take sides. Fuck celebrities who have the power to change things and choose not to. And so then with that, you've had some threatening to not attend any of Ed's shows. or any concerts at the venues that refused to host McElmore.

Starting point is 00:11:22 And with the people who were upset with Ed, you had them saying things like, it's understandable when people of modest means who depend on their next paycheck to sustain themselves and their families are forced to accept censorship to avoid being fired. But then adding, there's no excuse for unfathomably wealthy people like Ed Sheeran, saying it's pure cowardice. Now, for his part, Robert Crafts now issued a statement

Starting point is 00:11:39 responding to McElmore's claim saying that, this decision is not about diminishing the suffering of innocent Palestinians or denying anyone the right to advocate on their behalf, but that advocacy should not come at the expense of the Jewish community or obscure the responsibility of Hamas. But that has not stopped the backlash and even calls for Patriots boycotts. And then also with this,

Starting point is 00:11:56 you had plenty of people saying it feels insane that McElmore, he's getting deep platform, he's getting censored, he's getting suppressed, when he's considered other artists that are out there right now and what they've gotten away with. Chris Brown, for example, he's repeatedly been accused of violence against women. He's faced multiple other assault charges.

Starting point is 00:12:09 He's pleaded guilty to assaulting Rihanna. But he's not only on a nationwide stadium tour with Usher right now, while performing in Texas this weekend, Jasmine Crockett got on stage to honor him with a congressional record. And it's also as you have people out there like Kanye West, I almost forgot. Right, who released a Hail Hitler's songs, gone on too many anti-Semitic tirades to really even count. And he sold out stadium shows in L.A. earlier this year and has more U.S. and international concerts scheduled.

Starting point is 00:12:30 So then with that you've got people saying it's fucking absurd that Kanye, who's currently doing a concert tour, which has included multiple dates at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa that has banned Macamore for saying, end the genocide in Free Palestine. And people adding Chris Brown with multiple assault charges against him is allowed, welcomed and cheered on every stage. While McImore sang Free Palestine made the venue clutched their pearls. And so then with all this, you know, While we wait to see what happens from here, I really would love to know your thoughts, opinions, reactions, and where you think things are going to go from here in those comments down below? Do you think it makes others and more celebrities speak out, or does it end up having a freezing effect?

Starting point is 00:12:59 Do you think people are going to start selling tickets or even call for boycotts since it seems like no matter what is happening in the world? The only thing that actually moves things is money, whether it be the injection of it into something or the pulling back of it. As far as my opinion, like I'll say at the very least, I'm disappointed in Ed Shearhan. Right, apparently saying, I don't take sides. That feels like an insane thing to say when what we're talking about here. this is not just me, a random internet guy saying this, what experts and scholars who cover genocide have been calling a genocide in Gaza. The actions of a war criminal like Netanyahu,

Starting point is 00:13:28 especially as we see that the conflating of just criticisms of Netanyahu in the Israeli government's actions to actual anti-Semitism, it gives cover to the actual anti-Semites that we do see out there. And so we end up seeing it involving a lot of the same people who call Ms. Rachel an anti-Semite because she says she doesn't want kids murdered.

Starting point is 00:13:43 And actually speaking of her, Miss Rachel has spoken out about this now too, is saying, imagine looking back 20 years from now yourself kicking someone off a tour because they spoke out during a genocide that's killed 20,000 kids. And it also feels like if it was actually about combating anti-semitism, they wouldn't be welcoming Kanye with the red carpet treatment at so many of these stadiums across the country. But also, the craft was involved in this should not be surprising to anyone. This is not a secret. I think a lot of people just might not be aware of it. There are deep ties. Right, he and Netanyahu, they've had a long, long relationship. Also at the craft group, which controls Gillette Stadium and blocked Macklemore from performing there.

Starting point is 00:14:16 They've donated millions of dollar to A-PAC, Super PAC, United Democracy Project. They're actually one of the group's largest corporate donors. And again, with all this, I'd love to know your thoughts in those comments. And from here, we're going to have to see how this plays out. And then there's even more that we've got to dive into. Injust a minute of it. Really quick, two things. One, thank you so much to everyone that came out in San Francisco, Phoenix, and Denver this weekend.

Starting point is 00:14:34 I looked tired today because I did three live shows this weekend. I came in on a red eye to shoot this show. Oh, my God. What a blast. So worth it. And actually, if you're in or near or just want to go to Atlanta, Chicago, or St. Paul, Minnesota. You can go to crashingoutor.com to grab your tickets now, though I think Chicago might actually be sold out. Yeah, I'd love for you to come out. It's genuinely

Starting point is 00:14:51 such a good idea that we've done this. And we only have five more shows left. So yeah, crashingoutor.com, I got a link in the description and in the top comment. And then two, I'll be right back after a quick word from today's sponsor. Because there are people who complained about the same phone bill every single month for years. But then also paid it again, like, well, I guess this is just my life now. But today's sponsor MintMobil is a pretty good reminder that your relationship with your wireless carrier is not legally binding. Their summer promo gives new customers three, six, or 12 months of premium wireless for 15 bucks a month. That is any plan, even unlimited.

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Starting point is 00:15:45 So stop overpaying for wireless just because that's how it's always been. Switch to Mint and get three, six, or 12 months of premium wireless for 15 bucks a month. That is any plan, even unlimited. Just scan that QR code or go to mintmobile.com slash DeFranco. Then, Devin, right back into the news, we've got to talk about what is either a new form of corruption in the Trump administration and or snake oil sale has been taking advantage of desperate people. Maybe I shouldn't say it's new so much as like we're getting a new look at it. Because you've got this new 60 minute segment that's gone viral on pardon brokers

Starting point is 00:16:13 or people who offer to use their connections to Trump's inner circle to advocate for a pardon on your behalf. So they're not doing this out of like the goodness of their heart, right? This isn't like an innocence project sort of thing. They're doing this for a fee somewhere between the realm of $300,000 to $3 million. And we have 60 minutes noting, hey, this is not expressly illegal. It is sketchy enough that they reportedly couldn't get any of these brokers to sit down with them. And so actually what they did is they sent in, Amman Kavino, right? He's a felon who was convicted of illegal wildlife trafficking a decade ago and served 23 months in prison. And when he applied for a pardon the normal way right through the Department of Justice, he got shot down.

Starting point is 00:16:44 And so 60 minutes asked him to reach out to those brokers and let them follow along. And so he did. Right, he emailed about a dozen pardon brokers and got responses back You're the ones you're looking for. Yes, please, with too many exclamation points. Or within seven minutes. He heard back from Jack Burke, but then Jacob Wall, who you might have heard of because they're a couple of Trump loyalists with a long resume of political stunts and now they're in this pardons game. And you've got them I'm claiming that they've gotten the owner of a nursing home chain convicted a tax fraud, a pardon for the low, low price of nearly a million dollars. The main thing, 60 minutes sent in a hidden camera to watch the exchange between Amon and Berkman and Wohl. And while I can't show you the footage here, though, I'll link to it so you can watch it after today's show. Essentially what you have is these men promising Amon that his pardon wouldn't be that difficult to obtain. That all he had to do is, quote, put pressure on the president from all directions to force his hand to dadding. We literally want to put the pen in his hand and get him to sign it because he's tired of hearing about it.

Starting point is 00:17:32 And they quoted Ammon $300,000 to do it. And when he asked them, okay, well, why is it gonna cost that much? They told him that they'd have to Mar-a-Lago, attend events that Trump sat, buy tickets to fundraisers, and partner with influencers who have Trump's ear. Not to mention, quote, this is so unsettling, but not surprising, mobilizing members of Congress. But also, even if he was able to cough up that money, there's no guarantee that the system would even work.

Starting point is 00:17:53 And you actually saw that with rapper Boozy badass, who also worked with Birkman and Wold to get a pardon for a conviction on a gun charge. Arbusy said that he paid these guys $600,000 dollars, and they promised to recruit people like Laura Lumer, Erica Kirk, Mike Johnson and Natalie Harp to advocate for his pardon. Except that pardon never happened. And all of those people, they reportedly said they didn't know anything about the situation and weren't involved.

Starting point is 00:18:12 And so you've actually got boozy suing for his money back, except Berkman and Wohl, they're refusing despite promising upfront that they return half of it if they weren't able to get the pardoned. But again, and this is important to mention, this is not necessarily a new thing. And I mean that in a few ways, right? Presidents, they've had the power to pardon criminals all the way back to George Washington, right? It's constitutional.

Starting point is 00:18:29 And typically, you've got the Department of Justice, screening applicants, and they only recommend pardons for those that express genuine remorse for their actions. Though, there are also exceptions where that hasn't been the case, like with Ford pardoning Nixon, Biden pardoning his son and Anthony Fauci. Under Trump, you've had the whole system changing. He's taken to pardoning his political allies and supporters like the January 6th rioters, as well as just a string of finance bros who claim they were wrongfully prosecuted. But the big difference is that the vast majority of Donald Trump's pardons aren't

Starting point is 00:18:53 going through the DOJ at home. In fact, according to 60 minutes, as many as 70% of pardons in Trump's second term have gone around the usual process. And it actually jumps to more than 90% if he comes to more than 90% if he the January 6 rioters. And all of the time, those pardons that, you know, they circummented the system, they just happened to come after a major donation. Or you've got people like Trevor Milton. He was sent to prison for fraud, for conning investors, but after he and his wife donated $2 million to support Trump's re-election, boom, pardon. There was then also that the CEO of Binance who got a

Starting point is 00:19:19 pardon after his company boosted a Trump family crypto venture. Or you've got things like the health care executive that was convicted of tax crimes that got a pardon after his mom paid a million dollars to attend to Mar-a-a-go fundraiser. And this new system, it's horrifying anyone that's paying attention as well as experts, including people like, Mark Osler, a professor of law at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota, who spent 15 years helping lower-income felons apply for pardons. But now he says that those people, they just don't have a prayer. Saying people think, well, if I can get to this person who can find the president in Mar-a-Lago, if I can pay a million dollars to this friend of a White House counsel, then I'll have a shot.

Starting point is 00:19:48 And saying, that is not a system. That's something different entirely. It's anarchy. Saying there's definitely a lot of money flowing around and that makes a petri dish for corruption. When he had 60 minutes asking Ed Martin, a Trump appointed to you who ran the pardon office until very recently, he outright rejected the idea that the administration was engaging in any sort of tit-for-tat quid pro-quot thing, saying he's never actually seen or even heard of brokers advocating for pardons from the president. And so instead what you have him saying in doing is pointing his finger at these people, these so-called brokers, and saying that they are snake oil salesmen, they're swamp salesmen. But that's as, you have Birkman and Wall saying, this is just the way

Starting point is 00:20:18 things are done now. And actually, after 60 minutes revealed their hidden camera investigation, both of these men decided to sit down for an interview saying, there's nothing corrupt about it, there's nothing improper about it. And when they were asked about the amount of money they were charging for their services, they said, we don't work for free anymore than you do, right? You're well paid for what you do. We're well paid for what I do. Navigating Washington, as you well know, is not an easy thing, saying the average person, the average rich person, they need help doing that. And you also had them claiming of this type of brokerage relationship, it's been happening for centuries, saying that there's always been people paid to advocate for pardons like this. And while you'd also, right, the professor

Starting point is 00:20:47 from Minnesota saying that is true only up to a point. Noting, well, there have always been lawyers that are prepared to help with a petition for clemency. It often looks very different and it usually comes with a much lower price tag. And with all this, saying it's actually on the Trump administration for allowing it to get to this point, saying you can't blame people who want to get out of prison for doing what they're told works, but saying, I can blame the people who are making that system. Right. And then, as far as the White House, they released a statement saying that Trump, quote, for Forbes's constitutional duties in an ethically sound manner and to suggest otherwise is either ill-informed or malicious. And adding that anyone who's spending money to lobby for pardons is foolishly wasting it. Because that's money they

Starting point is 00:21:19 could put into Trump coin. That's money that could be invested in Trump family ventures. Don't give your money to the snake oil salesman, give it to the corrupt politicians and his family. Don't be stupid, stupid. Crimes legal now, apparently. Though to a third degree, it always has been as long as you have enough zeros. And then from that, let's cream in some more news need to know. We're starting with the news that it looks like fentanyl-laced oxy is what killed Hayden Panette's year last month at just 36 years old. And now you've got officials looking for the guy who sold it to her to get to the bottom of it all. And with this, you've got TMZ talking to sources connected to the case, and they said that she had met with her long time drug dealer in L.A. Not long before she got on a flight to South Carolina the day before

Starting point is 00:21:52 she died. And this is something that people had been wondering about because Hayden, she'd been open about her drug use in the past. Also had her ex-boyfriend who's a pretty controversial character in all this saying that she had boarded that flight with a bag of medication. Now you've got new reports shedding more light on it saying that her dealer had actually given her several, quote, black market prescription drugs, some of which she took on that flight. Specifically on the day that she died, apparently she took oxycodone, which multiple law enforcement sources are now saying they believe was laced with fentanyl. And with that, you have officials reportedly looking further into the alleged relationship, trying to trace the pill back to the guy. Though even once they do that, we're still gonna have to see what the toxic report says about it all. Then in very different news after months of complete chaos, arrests, lawsuits flee in the country. Reckless Ben, he just took one of the bricks and

Starting point is 00:22:30 minifigs stores and rebranded it as reckless bricks and gave it a grand reopening as one of their direct competitors. Where with this going down this weekend, there's a red carpet rollout, a store full of customers, and a tarp covering the old bricks and minifix sign. But Ben saying he's been tossing the idea around as a way for franchise owners to break away from the reputation that he's pushed about bricks and minifix. I put an idea out there. I was like, hey, what if anyone, like any of these franchises just want to rebranchise? You can like put reckless bricks on your store, you know? It's basically showing that you don't steal from old people

Starting point is 00:22:58 and you can just pay me 0% you know, you just do it for free. I'll advertise you guys for free. And apparently an owner in Tucson, Arizona, they were down. So after a few business logistics, deal was done. With Ben also claiming that the store that he worked with was a few weeks away from getting shut down before the rebrand, though the store owner hasn't verified if that's true or not. But whatever the case is, you have been calling it the first domino saying.

Starting point is 00:23:17 Really, do these be able to pay rent this year or this month? Yeah. Oh, just today alone, definitely. Oh, nice. He's not gonna have to close down a store. And so one, we'll have to see how all of that plays out with it also. Two, you have some saying this is a super risky move because he is still in the middle of his legal battle with bricks and mini-fix. Right, and with this, I imagine it wasn't too long before the news got back to them. Some franchise owners literally just not believing it, asking if it was real or just a publicity stunt.

Starting point is 00:23:41 Others also wondering if this meant their mediation with him had gone bad. And then with all this, their corporate team reportedly said in their Slack channel that they'd be, quote, taking swift, decisive, and appropriate action, though, we're not sure what that looks like yet. And that's as they also apologize for any blowback that the whole situation may cause other franchise owners with the negative attention that it could bring back to the brand. But for now, at least on one of the fronts, they have some court dealing scheduled with Ben before the end of the month, so we'll see what happens from there. And then you've got the news that high schoolers are apparently being threatened, arrested, and chased in the streets by Cat in the Hat and the stunt, which actually, it reminds me a lot of the clown-stalking incidents from a few years ago, it appears to have begun as a Snapchat meme in Ireland and the UK. But there you had high schoolers who were generating these creepy AI photos of the Mike Myers' live-action version of Cat and That. the hat staying outside of their schools. But one, it's soon spread to the US and two, it's now become more than memes and turned into full-on threats. You've got kids being sent photos of it outside of their homes. And in some cases, reportedly, the photos do not appear to be AI generated.

Starting point is 00:24:33 And then in other videos, it includes messages directly naming targets. And in fact, at least 10 teens in the states have been arrested already. All while you've got cops boosting their presence in schools with them stressing that even if these are meant to be jokes, in actual, it's harassment at the least. It's gotten so ridiculous in British Columbia, one girl was reportedly chased by someone in an actual cat in the hat costume. And you've got that person still on the loose with cops getting surveillance footage to try and catch that person. But that, my friends, you beautiful bastards, is the end of your Monday Daily Dive into the news. So remember, one, you can take this thing from remote to IRL if you go buy tickets at crashingouture.com. Though two, no matter what you do, I'll see you right back here for another daily dive tomorrow.

The Philip DeFranco Show - The Macklemore Ed Sheeran Situation is Pathetic

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