UNBIASED - Eagle Pass Mayor Declares State of Emergency Due to Migrants, Musk's Brain Implant Starts Human Recruitment, Rupert Murdoch Steps Down, Disney to "Quiet the Noise", and More.

Episode Date: September 22, 2023

1. Mayor of Eagle Pass, TX Declares State of Emergency Due to Influx of Migrants Crossing Border (2:16)2. Elon Musk’s Neuralink Brain Implant Opens Registration for Human Trials (11:25)3. Fed Pauses... Interest Rate Hikes Citing Improving Economy (18:19)4. Disney CEO Says It Will “Quiet the Noise” From Culture War Controversies (18:51)5. Rupert Murdoch Steps Down from Fox Corp. and News Corp. (20:53)6. Attorney General Garland Testifies Before House Judiciary Committee (21:56) If you enjoyed this episode, please leave me a review and share it with those you know that also appreciate unbiased news!Subscribe to Jordan's weekly free newsletter featuring hot topics in the news, trending lawsuits, and more.Follow Jordan on Instagram and TikTok.All sources for this episode can be found here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Starting point is 00:01:08 news and legal analysis. Enjoy the show. Welcome back to the Jordan is my lawyer podcast. Happy Friday. I am in a fantastic mood today, and I hope I can shed some of that good mood onto you today and you have a great Friday going into the weekend. As far as today's stories go, I have two main stories and then four notable mentions. This episode is probably going to be a little shorter than usual, but I first want to talk about the migrant influx that's happening right now in Eagle Pass, Texas, and the state of emergency that the mayor declared there. I then want to talk about Neuralink, which is Elon Musk's brain implant that he just
Starting point is 00:01:57 got approval to start human clinical trials on. And then I briefly want to touch on four short stories, the first being the Fed not hiking interest rates, the second being Disney's CEO Bob Iger suggesting they will be quieting the noise from culture war controversies, the third notable mention being Rupert Murdoch stepping down from Fox and News Corp, and then the fourth and final notable mention just briefly touching on Attorney General Garland's testimony to the House Judiciary Committee. So that's what I have for you today. Before we get into it, you know what I'm going to say if you've been here for a while. First and foremost, if you love what you hear today, please go ahead and leave me a review on whatever platform you listen on. If you've already left me a review, thank you so much. And if you ever want to show your appreciation in another way, since you've already left me a review, you can always share my episodes with your friends or your family or your colleagues, whoever you feel would appreciate nonpartisan news. And finally, my final reminder, yes, I am a lawyer. No, I am not your lawyer.
Starting point is 00:03:01 So without further ado, let's get into today's stories. The city of Eagle Pass, Texas is currently under a state of emergency following this sudden influx of migrants both gathering at the border and also crossing over the border. You may remember Eagle Pass because I've talked about it a few times. Eagle Pass is the city where Governor Abbott put the orange buoys in the Rio Grande. So he put these big, big buoys into the river to prevent the migrants from crossing over from the Mexico side of the border over into Texas. But the DOJ sued under the Rivers and Harbors Act, and a judge actually just ruled that they had to take down those buoys, they had to move them, and then also they had razor wire on the
Starting point is 00:03:57 land that, you know, like runs right up against the river, and they also had that cut down. So Eagle Pass is that city, and it is that city that is seeing such an influx right now, so much so to where the mayor declared a state of emergency. Now there is a reason for the state of emergency. They get access to more things, you know, financial resources, more personnel at the border, things like that. So I want to talk about the number of border crossings that Eagle Pass is seeing specifically. But then I also want to talk about Title 42 and Title 8 and the numbers that were seen when Title 42 was in effect and or more so when Title 42 expired and Title 8 was taking effect, because I think that'll help put the numbers into perspective, like on a, you know,
Starting point is 00:04:43 in a bigger picture. So right now in Eagle Pass, according to border patrol agents, roughly 2,700 migrants crossed over into the city on Tuesday. Another 3,000 crossed over into Eagle Pass on Wednesday. Now keep in mind that that's just Eagle Pass. So border crossings generally surpassed about 8,600 during a 24-hour period between Wednesday and Thursday. What this signals is that border crossing numbers are slowly creeping back to pre-Title 42 expiration days. And that's when we saw the record highs for this year, but then it slowed down after that, and now we're kind of getting back there. So that's why I want to give some context by talking about Title 42, Title 8, and kind of putting these numbers into perspective. Title 42 was in place following COVID. It got its name because it stems
Starting point is 00:05:38 from Title 42 of the U.S. Code. But basically what it says is because of the pandemic, you know, we weren't letting anyone in at risk of spreading the disease. Prior to Title 42, migrants could cross illegally from Mexico and ask for asylum and be allowed in. They would then be screened. They were often released, you know, while they waited out their immigration case, but they could come in illegally and ask for asylum. Once Title 42 took effect, migrants were basically turned away at the border. They were denied the ability to seek asylum. During this time when Title 42 was in effect, more than 2.8 million migrants were turned away. So Title 42 really made it easier for the country to say, nope, go ahead on back to where you came from. But with Title 42, there was no real consequences. So if
Starting point is 00:06:32 someone tried to come into the United States and they were turned away, they could try again and nothing would really happen. The thought was that once Title 42 expired, because Title 42 made it so difficult to seek asylum, once that expired in May, that they were going to come by the masses because now it was easier to seek asylum, they couldn't be turned away as easily, etc. However, at the time that Title 42 expired, Title 8 took effect. Title 8 increased the penalties for migrants crossing the border. So now, while it may be easier to come in than when Title 42 was in effect, Title VIII hands down stricter restrictions if you do it improperly. But anyway, I don't want to get down a rabbit hole of, you know, Title 42 and Title VIII and all that stuff. I just want to kind of illustrate for you the differences between the two so that the numbers make sense. So everyone's
Starting point is 00:07:29 thinking Title 42 is going to be lifted and, you know, there's going to be the surge at the border shortly before Title 42 expired. And the reason that people were thinking there was going to be the surge is because at the time, so like the week before Title 42 expired, there were around 7,000 to 8,000 daily encounters at the border, sometimes up to 10,000 encounters a day. So the Department of Homeland Security sends about 1,500 more troops to the border in anticipation of Title 42 expiring. At its peak, there were about 4,000 troops at the border. Department of Homeland Security also opens up new processing centers. And again, this was all done in anticipation of
Starting point is 00:08:10 the influx, but title 42 expires and the numbers actually start dropping. So the Friday after title 42 expired, there was 6,300 border encounters, which isn't like significantly less, but it's less. The Saturday after the expiration, there was 4,200 border encounters. And eventually that number got down to on average 3,500 daily encounters. This number was significantly less than the 7, 8, 9, 10,000 number we were seeing before Title 42 expired. So those numbers stayed around 3,500, you know, for May, June, July, the numbers were pretty low. Then August was high again, and the numbers are starting to creep up. And now September is supposed to be a record high month for the year, but specifically this week has been overwhelming for the cities on the border.
Starting point is 00:09:06 Now, why is this happening? No one really has any clear idea, but some people have some ideas, like Maverick County Sheriff. Obviously, Maverick County is where Eagle Pass is located. He told CNN on Thursday he thinks it's because, at least in part, because of the cartels. What he said was this. He said, quote, they're making money with the immigrants. They're making money with the drugs. I know this because we have smugglers coming from Houston, Florida, Austin, everywhere to pick up these immigrants. There's a connection there, end quote. Now, another thing I want to note, though, is that on Wednesday, the Secretary of Homeland Security extended and redesignated Venezuela for temporary protected status for 18 months. What that means is that
Starting point is 00:09:53 those Venezuelans who have been here in the United States since before July 31st of this year are granted protection from removal and they're provided employment authorization. So that's what TPS status means. And that's, like I said, for 18 months. Now, the Secretary of Homeland Security cited, quote, extraordinary and temporary conditions in Venezuela that prevented individuals from safely returning, end quote. Now, the reason I mention it is because the fact is is that the majority of migrants that are coming through eagle pass or are waiting at the border are venezuelan now of course this redesignation and extension only applies to those in the country before july 31st
Starting point is 00:10:41 so it wouldn't apply to those coming in now. So are they correlated? Does one have to do with another, or is this a coincidence? I don't know, but those are the facts. Could this influx have to do with cartels? Sure. Could it have to do with the redesignation for Venezuelans? Sure. Could it just be a coincidence? Sure. No one really knows anything with certainty at the time I'm recording this episode, at least. So there's many different possible reasons. So to bring this back, like I said in the beginning of the story, declaring a state of emergency basically gives you access to more resources. So as of Thursday, roughly 800 more active duty personnel were being sent to help at the border. And that's in addition to the 2,500 that are already there. The Biden administration has said it can only do so much given the broken system within which it's working
Starting point is 00:11:34 and has asked Congress to authorize more funding and pass an immigration reform bill that was introduced in 2021. Republicans are not on board with it, though they have sent a bill to the Senate that would restart border wall construction, increase border security, and restrict asylum claims at the border. Now, what's interesting is that even though the Biden administration is calling on Congress to do something, not all Democrats are necessarily on board with that. And they want the Biden administration, although they want immigration reform, they want the Biden administration to stop pointing fingers at Congress and act themselves within the executive branch to do something about it. So that's what's going on. Maybe gives you a little more clarity as to what's going on in Eagle Pass. I'm sure,
Starting point is 00:12:18 you know, there will be more developments as the days pass. But as of Thursday afternoon, that's what's taking place. Now let's talk about Neuralink. Elon Musk's Neuralink biotechnology opened for recruitment for its first human clinical trial on Tuesday. Musk has been working on this Neuralink technology for the last five years, and his announcement that they've opened recruiting comes following the FDA's approval for a human clinical trial. That approval was given in May, but that approval followed a prior rejection in 2022. So that kind of explains why it's taken so long. I mean, obviously just technology like this takes long in general, but they were rejected last year and they didn't get approved until this past May.
Starting point is 00:13:01 If you don't know what Neuralink is, this is what it is. It's this device that's implanted into a human's brain by a robot. The robot does the surgery. It's not a doctor. It's not a surgeon. It's a robot. And the device has these really fine threads attached to it. I think there's 64 threads to be exact. And the robot will basically put this implant in and then place these threads into the regions of the brain that control your movement. So once the implant is placed and the threads are, you know, placed where they're supposed to go, what this implant is supposed to do is it'll actually transmit brain signals wirelessly to an app, and that app will decode what movement you're trying to make and make those movements accordingly. So obviously this implant isn't necessary for those that have the ability to move their body for themselves. So this device is solely for people that lack movement,
Starting point is 00:14:05 specifically people who have quadriplegia or ALS, like they cannot move. So the whole goal is like they'll think about what movements they want to make and these threads that are implanted into their brain will send a signal to an app and the app will conduct those movements. Now, specifically, this is with, you know, a keyboard, a computer mouse, things like where the app can be connected to, but that's the Neuralink technology. Now, the app itself is called N1 User App, and it uses what they call brain-computer interfaces. And those are the systems that actually decode your intended movement from signals in the brain and transmit them to the computer or wherever that app is. So this study is really to research three different components at
Starting point is 00:14:59 once. They're researching the actual implant called the N1 implant. They're researching the actual implant called the N1 implant. They're researching the robot who's conducting the surgery. That's called the R1 robot and the app itself, the N1 user app, the brain computer interface. In order to be eligible, you have to be at least 22 years old, have quadriplegia from a spinal cord injury or ALS, and you have to be at least one year post-injury, meaning at least one year without movement. And you also have to have a caregiver. What they call is a reliable caregiver. I'm assuming the reliability component comes into play, just like getting you to the sessions
Starting point is 00:15:41 and the studies and things. But this is how the study is laid out. There's the primary study, which takes place over the first 18 months, and that involves nine at-home and in-clinic visits. Then there's also a separate component called BCI research sessions, and that's specifically researching the brain-computer interface, so the app, right, how the app works. And that's separate from the
Starting point is 00:16:06 nine visits involved in the primary study. That actually entails a minimum of two sessions per week, and each session is at least an hour long. Then you have the follow-up. The follow-up takes place over five years following the primary study. So in total, this is really a six and a half year study. A blog posted to Neuralink's website on Tuesday says, quote, we are happy to announce that we've received approval from the Reviewing Independent Institutional Review Board and our first hospital site to begin recruitment for our first in-human clinical trial. The PRIME study, which stands for Precise Robotically Implanted Brain Computer Interface, aims to evaluate the safety of our N1 implant and surgical robot and assess the initial functionality of the brain computer interface for enabling people with paralysis
Starting point is 00:17:00 to control external devices with their thoughts. End quote. Now, of course, this wouldn't be a story without some controversy, right? You got people that are for, you got people that are against it. What's the controversy? The main source of the controversy is the animal testing. The company has come under scrutiny multiple times for its treatment of animals, mainly monkeys, but also sheep and pigs, which were the other animals that this technology was tested on. But apparently, you know, animals have died and monkeys are really the one that have taken the forefront. I don't know why, because all of, you know, the monkeys, pigs and sheep have died. But monkeys are really at the center of all of these articles you read.
Starting point is 00:17:41 But basically, some monkeys died and some people thought it was because of the Neuralink implant. But Elon Musk says that he specifically chose terminally ill monkeys for the trial because they were going to die anyway. And they died because of their terminal sickness, not the implant, though it's possible they were euthanized too because oftentimes animals are euthanized after a study to kind of review the post-mortem effects or like post-mortem research but and take this number with a grain of salt according to records reviewed by reuters who you know i always say reuters is the most as unbiased as you can get with mainstream media, but they said that they reviewed some reports that said roughly 1,500 animals in total have been killed since 2018. And again, that includes monkeys, pigs, and sheep. However, the Reuters report did also say
Starting point is 00:18:40 that the number of animal deaths doesn't necessarily indicate that the company is violating any, you know, federal regulations or standard research practices. And this is in part because the United States regulations, you know, around animal testing gives significant leeway to scientists in determining when and how to use animals in experiments. So that's a little bit about the controversy with Neuralink. Now, let's move on to our notable mentions. And we're actually not going to take a break. I usually just give, you know, a 10 second break in each episode, but these notable mentions should only take me a few minutes. So let's just power on through. We got a break on interest hikes this week. The Fed left the interest rate where it's at, so they just had
Starting point is 00:19:25 a meeting. They decided they weren't going to change it, so the range remains within 5.25% to 5.5%. And they cited easing of economic conditions, but did acknowledge that inflation is still higher than the 2% target. So it's possible after their meeting on October 31st, they announce another hike, but who knows? We will see then. So for now possible after their meeting on October 31st, they announce another hike, but who knows? We will see then. So for now, we have a break. Notable mention number two is that Disney CEO Bob Iger suggested for the second time actually in the last five months that Disney needs to tone down its contribution to culture wars. In an analyst note from an investor meeting on Wednesday, Bob Iger told investors that the company will, quote, quiet the noise, end quote, from culture war controversies. Now, as we know,
Starting point is 00:20:13 and as I've talked about, Disney is currently in a legal battle with Florida and Governor DeSantis, stemming from the parental rights and education law, which is known by opponents as the don't say gay law. And Disney spoke out about it. Governor DeSantis didn't like it. And ever since then, they've been in a legal battle. Disney has also faced some backlash earlier this year with Little Mermaid. It casted an actress named Halle Bailey, who is a black actress as the lead role of Ariel, who is in the original movie a white cartoon with red hair, and people weren't happy with the casting of Halle Bailey, so they faced backlash from that. And then you had the new Lightyear movie, which was all about Buzz Lightyear. That featured a same-sex couple, and in one scene, that couple was kissing. That movie was actually blocked by several countries, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Malaysia, and about
Starting point is 00:21:12 eight others. So they felt the backlash with that movie a little bit as well. Back in April, so I had mentioned that this is kind of the second time in five months he's alluded to toning down with the culture wars, but back in April, at the company's annual shareholder meeting, an investor had expressed that, in his opinion, the company was becoming too concerned with social issues, to which Bob Iger responded, quote, our primary mission needs to be to entertain and to have a positive impact on the world. It should not be agenda driven, end quote. So I don't really know what that means in practice. I don't, you know, he didn't elaborate as to what Disney plans to change, if anything,
Starting point is 00:21:50 or anything like that. But that is what he said. The third notable mention is about Rupert Murdoch stepping down as the chairman of Fox Corp and News Corp. He handed the throne of sole chairman to his son, Lachlan Murdoch. And when I read the story, I just absolutely could not help but think, if you know, you know, of succession. But Rupert Murdoch is 92 years old, so the news of him stepping down isn't too much of a surprise, though he did make a point in his memo to the staff on Thursday to say, quote, our companies are in robust health, as am I, end quote. Lachlan Murdoch, the heir to the sole chairman throne, issued a statement on Thursday writing,
Starting point is 00:22:32 quote, on behalf of the Fox and News Corp board of directors, leadership teams, and all the shareholders who have benefited from his hard work, I congratulate my father on his remarkable 70-year career. We thank him for his vision, his pioneering spirit, his steadfast determination, and the enduring legacy he leaves to the companies he founded and the countless people he has impacted. The fourth and final notable mention, Attorney General Garland testified before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday about various topics, including the investigation into Hunter Biden, the appointment of Jack Smith and David Weiss as special counsel,
Starting point is 00:23:11 and whether religious discrimination exists within the DOJ. So Jim Jordan, who is the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, opened the hearing by saying, quote, the fix is in. Even with the face-saving indictment of Hunter Biden last week, the fix is in, end quote. He went on to accuse the DOJ of wrongfully interfering and stalling the investigation into Hunter Biden and also said, quote, there's one investigation protecting President Biden. There's another one attacking President Trump. The Justice Department has both sides of the investigation covered, end quote. Attorney General Garland then gave his opening statement by saying, quote, our job, meaning the DOJ, is to pursue justice without fear or favor. Our job is not to do what
Starting point is 00:23:58 is politically convenient. I am not the president's lawyer. I will also add that I am not Congress's prosecutor. The Justice Department works for the American people. Our job is to follow the facts and the law wherever they lead, and that is what we do. End quote. The testimony spanned about five hours. If you're interested, I do have the video linked for you on jordanismylawyer.com, but it's everything you would expect it to be. Right. You had the Republicans with their views about these issues and Attorney General Garland giving all the answers you would expect and the Democrats kind of giving Attorney General Garland like the softballs, if you will, as far as questions go. So to sum it up, Garland testified that no one from the
Starting point is 00:24:39 White House has instructed any officials at the DOJ as to how the investigation into the president's son should be carried out, that the first time David Weiss asked for special counsel status was in August, and it was granted that the investigation into Hunter Biden was not tainted by politics, that he himself, meaning Attorney General Garland, did not interfere in the investigation in any way. He reiterated that Special Counsel David Weiss was a Trump appointee and that he left Weiss in charge after taking office as he promised he would. Attorney General Garland didn't give any specifics as to why David Weiss was granted special counsel status, except for that he requested it. And the biggest reaction we got from Garland was when he was asked if the DOJ targets Catholics because of their religious beliefs. That question, of course, stems from the FBI sending undercover agents into the Catholic
Starting point is 00:25:36 churches and a particular memo that was leaked in February that wrote about an FBI investigation into Catholics calling them, quote, radical traditionalists, and was looking into possible ties between Catholics and, quote, the far-right white nationalist movement, end quote. Garland responded with a lot of emotion, saying, quote, the idea that someone with my family background would discriminate against any religious background is so outrageous, so absurd, that it's even hard for me to even answer your question, end quote. Now, Attorney General Garland, for those who don't know, he is Jewish. He has ancestors that were in the Holocaust. And so he just felt very strongly about the fact that anyone would accuse
Starting point is 00:26:22 him of discriminating based on religion when, you know, his ancestors were discriminated based on religion. He eventually answered that he and the Department of Justice were appalled by the memo, that being the memo that was leaked, about the investigation into the Catholic Church, and that he does not view Catholics as extremists. So that's your brief summary about the testimony. Again, it is linked on my website. And that concludes this episode. If you enjoyed it, please don't forget to leave me that review or share this episode with your friends. I hope you have a great weekend and I will talk to you on Tuesday.

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