- Today we're talking about Bronny James's
sudden cardiac arrest
and all the conspiracy theories that have popped up,
Doja Cat waging war against her own fan base,
the incoming Biden impeachment,
Carlee Russell admitting she lied about the kidnapping,
this horrifying police dog story.
We're gonna talk about all that and so much more
in today's brand new Philip DeFranco Show,
your daily dive into the news.
So buckle up, hit that like button,
and let's just jump into it.
Starting with Bronny James, the oldest son of LeBron James,
reportedly suffered a cardiac arrest on Monday
during basketball practice
at the University of Southern California.
Bronny is 18 years old.
He was reportedly treated at the scene
before being taken to the hospital
and multiple outlets saying that he's
in stable condition and no longer in the ICU.
He also had a spokesperson for the family
releasing a statement saying,
"LeBron and Savannah wish to publicly send
"their deepest thanks and appreciation
"to the USC medical and athletic staff
"for their incredible work and dedication
"to the safety of their athletes."
Outlets like ESPN noting that this is actually
the second year in a row that a USC basketball player
has suffered cardiac arrest.
And with this terrifying situation,
you have tons of people sending their prayers and love
over to Bronny and the James family right now.
But also if you look online,
there are a lot of people that are
trying to make this a story about vaccines,
with among others on Twitter
even Elon Musk himself promoting claims
that Bronny's cardiac arrest was tied to myocarditis.
Writing, "We cannot ascribe everything to the vaccine,
"but by the same token, we cannot ascribe nothing.
"Myocarditis is a known side effect.
"The only question is whether it is rare or common."
But notably, he's not the only one talking like this.
But at the same time,
you have tons of people shutting that down,
noting at the very least that
nowhere in the family statement
did anyone even say Bronny had myocarditis,
or among the bigger things,
people noting that you're more likely to suffer myocarditis
after an actual COVID infection
than from getting the vaccine.
You also have people pointing to a study from 2019,
before COVID would even be a factor in anything,
that found that sudden cardiac arrest
is actually the most frequent medical cause
of sudden death in athletes.
And then, I'd like you to meet 23-year-old Jadarius Rose.
He's a commercial truck driver
who said he was just trying to make a delivery
at around 9:30 in the morning
on a highway outside Columbus, Ohio.
And at some point state troopers
try to pull him over over a missing mudflap.
A simple traffic violation.
But for the next 20 minutes
he allegedly refuses to pull over,
then finally rolling to a stop,
but then soon taking off again
with a 911 call that he makes,
shedding some light on his thinking at the time.
- [Jadarius] And it seems like they're trying to kill me.
I don't why they're trying to kill me.
- [Dispatch] They're not trying to kill you.
- [Jadarius] Yes, they are.
I was about to comply with them,
but they all had they gun drawn out for whatever reason.
- [Phil] So eight minutes after taking off again,
police puncture his tire with spike strips,
forcing him to stop.
And this time Rose gets out,
with officers approaching him,
including one handling a dog,
and one officer threatening to unleash the dog
if Rose doesn't get on the ground.
And so he does exactly that, dropping to his knees,
he raises his hands in the air,
with one cop clearly warning the handler
not to deploy the dog.
- [Officer 1] Do not release the dog with his hands up.
Do not release the dog.
- But then seemingly for no fuckin' reason
the K9 officer releases the dog,
and it bolts forward, sinking its teeth into Rose's arm.
And you then hear both the officers shouting,
"Get the dog off the man,"
the man begging them to do the same,
and a blood-curdling scream.
And this is a female officer seen walking away
with her head in her hands,
as the others wrestle the dog away.
And after the dust settles
you hear Rose arguing with an officer about what happened.
- I was comin', all the guns pointing at me,
how do you expect me to respect you?
You got a gun pointed at me.
There's like 20 of y'all.
- [Officer 2] All you had to do was stop, brother.
- I did stop.
- So in the end, Rose was treated at a hospital,
then taken into state highway police custody
and booked on charges of failure to comply,
a fourth-degree felony.
Though he has since been released from jail,
and it's unclear whether he'll be
pursuing any legal recourse.
As for the K9 officer, Ryan Speakman,
he's been placed on paid administrative leave,
and the dog's been put in a kennel,
and a five-member use of force review board's
investigating the incident
and is expected to finish its report within the next week.
And so in the meantime,
as we wait to see what happens there,
I'd love to know your thoughts
with everything we've seen so far.
And then Carlee Russell has finally admitted that, you know,
she fibbed, she pulled our leg, or to put it bluntly,
she's full of shit,
with her releasing a statement through her lawyer,
which was read aloud by the Hoover police chief
at a briefing yesterday.
- "There was no kidnapping on Thursday, July 13th, 2023.
"My client did not see a baby on the side of the road.
"My client apologizes for her actions to this community.
"We ask for your prayers for Carlee
"as she addresses her issues
"and attempts to move forward,
"understanding that she made a mistake in this matter.
"Carlee again asks for your forgiveness and prayers."
- The statement, adding that she never left
the Hoover area while she was missing,
that she acted alone, and that she never met up with anyone.
And the police chief says they're
meeting with Russell's lawyer to discuss the case,
and that they're in talks with the Jefferson County DA
about whether to press criminal charges.
We're gonna have to wait to see
if there's that whole courtroom spectacle.
But also, while you know,
everyone has had many different emotions
and feelings about the situation,
nobody's angrier than Russell's boyfriend.
This guy had her back from the beginning,
defending her against speculation,
telling people she was literally fighting for her life
after getting kidnapped.
And then even after all the super damning evidence came out
he still took her side,
pleading with the public not to bully her,
telling them to think about her mental health.
But apparently her own admission finally broke him,
because he is now her ex-boyfriend.
And he said in an Instagram post
"Carlee's action created hurt, confusion, and dishonesty.
"Myself and my family's nature
"was to react in love and genuine concern.
"We are disgusted from the outcome of this entire situation.
"I strongly feel exactly like you all,
"blindsided with Carlee's actions."
And so I guess with all this news,
the question I have for you is
what do you hope to see come from this?
And then when you're dealing with celebrity
and fandoms and you see fandoms fighting,
usually it's between one another or at another artist.
But with Doja Cat in the news right now,
it appears that she's starting a war with her own fandom.
So this all starts with a series of posts and interactions
Doja had with fans on Threads on Sunday,
all of which now have notably been deleted.
And these including one where a fans said
they wanted Doja to say she loves her fans.
To which Doja said, "I don't though,
"cuz I don't even know y'all."
And when one fan responded they don't know her either
but they supported her and got her where she is today
Doja said, "Nobody forced you.
"I don't know why you're talking to me
"like you're my mother.
"Bitch, you sound like a crazy person."
And a lot of the friction can also be centered around
her fans's choice to refer to themselves as kittenz,
which is kind of pretty par for the course
with musicians and their fans.
Beyonce has the Beehive
Taylor Swift has Swifties, Nicki Minaj has Barbs.
Doja appears to not enjoy this kind of bit, writing,
"My fans don't name themselves shit.
"If you call yourself a kitten or fuckin' kittenz
"that means you need to get off your phone
"and get a job and help your parents with the house."
Also, one point saying she doesn't like the term
because it came up when she was an alcoholic teen.
There, a number of her fans noted that she ran a poll
asking what to call her fans in 2020,
when she was 24 years old.
And so with all this, you kinda had one fan saying,
"Okay if you don't like kittenz,
"what should I change my account name to?"
And Doja responded,
"Just delete the entire account and rethink everything.
"It's never too late."
Doja also calling out another fan
for using her government name as their screen name,
saying, "That is creepy as fuck."
And with that, a number of fans
have seemingly taken her message
to delete their accounts to heart,
or the very least to unfollow,
with Billboard reporting that she lost
over 230,000 followers on Instagram
since posting those sorts of attacks against her fans.
And outlets like the LA Times noting that major fan accounts
like Doja HQ and Doja Cat News
deleted their Twitter accounts.
The Doja Cat Brazil Instagram
also announcing that it was taking an indefinite break,
saying, "her pronouncements left us kittenz
"very disappointed, if we can even call ourselves that."
And saying, "We hope that Doja
"rethinks her actions as an artist."
You also had Rolling Stone, noting that all this comes
as fans have recently called her out
over her rumored relationship with streamer J Cyrus.
And when Doja faced backlash for that,
she told her fans she doesn't give a fuck
what they think about her personal life and never will,
adding, "Good riddance miserable hoes."
And so all of this has resulted in fans saying things like,
"Imagine telling your fans to get a job
"when they are the ones that buy your music, merch,
"and concert tickets."
And, "Doja, you know it's been the kittenz
"who have defended you these past years
"every time you do stupid shit.
"The least you can do is have some respect for us."
But also on the other side of this,
you have people saying things like, "You know what?
"I find Doja cat incredibly annoying,
"but at the same time I'm here for someone
"actively destroying their own celebrity
"and also reminding people that you don't know someone
"because you enjoy and consume what they create."
And that in addition to others saying
it feels like Doja might be going through something.
And so with this story, of course,
I'd love to know your thoughts,
but also, too, I just wanna let you know
I would never do this to you,
but not 'cause I'm a good person.
I'm just a big believer in if you do anything very well
you shouldn't do it for free.
Which is why if you go to DeFrancoDisrespect.com right now,
for $10, I'll give you a standard issue,
"You don't know me weirdo."
Or for the $200 package I will spit on a camera lens
and say your name in a disgusted tone.
Or for $1000 I'll just tell you
to straight up kill yourself.
I won't mean it, but $1000 is $1000.
And honestly, if anything,
it makes me feel like this is
a missed opportunity for Doja.
This is like posting feet pics on the internet for free.
I don't know what fuck to add to this.
I don't even know about what I'm saying anymore.
And then, if you think people hate
when Jehovah's Witnesses knock on their door,
that is nothing compared to when the IRS does it.
In fact, this got so bad
the IRS just announced that their agents will,
for the most part, no longer be making surprise visits
to your homes and businesses.
And that's a pretty massive deal,
because the IRS has been sending agents
to knock on doors to resolve unpaid taxes
or unfiled returns since at least the 1950s.
However, recently agents have been facing
a growing number of threats to their safety.
And while they've faced this type of danger before,
right around 30 years ago IRS agents
were the most attacked federal law enforcement officers,
being assaulted hundreds of times a year,
these days there's this mixture of political discontent
and the fear of scammers
putting these agents at risk once again.
Some blaming Republicans for this
not just because they oppose the $80 billion
that the Biden administration allocated to the IRS
as part of the Inflation Reduction Act,
but because reportedly they did so
by fanning the flames of fear
that the money was gonna be used to shake down
middle class homes and businesses,
with some even reportedly claiming
that the IRS was gonna spend that money
to send armed agents to collect unpaid taxes.
And so with all this,
you had Tony Reardon National President
of the National Treasury Employees Union saying
"The safety of IRS employees is of paramount importance,
"and this decision will help protect those
"whose jobs have only grown more dangerous in recent years
"because of the false inflammatory rhetoric
"about the agency and its workforce."
But again, it's not all politics,
because you have Americans also having to deal
with a growing number of scam artists
who pose as IRS agents.
And so the hope is that with this policy change
the fraud should be easier to detect,
with IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel saying,
"We have the tools we need to successfully collect revenue
"without adding stress with unannounced visits.
"The only losers with this change in policy
"are scammers posing as the IRS."
And so now, instead of revenue agents conducting
tens of thousands of surprise home visits a year,
that number will reportedly be dropping
to just a few hundred.
And those will only happen in unique cases
involving summons, subpoenas, and the seizure of assets.
And in the place of home visits,
most Americans with delinquent taxes or filings
are just gonna receive a letter to schedule
a face-to-face meeting with an agent.
And then, you know it's not every day
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And then how are your favorite a-list actors
responding to the ongoing actor strike?
Amid this historic labor reckoning in Hollywood
this has taken over a big part of the conversation.
Especially as the high paid a-list actors
are not the people struggling
or the people that the guild are striking for.
Those big actors actually represent
just a small fraction of SAG,
and the majority of members are just
regular working class people trying to make a living,
which for many has made it all the more important
to see those big names doing something.
And many have shown up on the picket lines.
You've seen Jennifer Garner, Jack Black, Hilary Duff,
Daniel Radcliffe, America Ferrera.
Jeremy Allen White also showing up
when he's not calling the paparazzi on himself
while he's doing pushups in the middle of the street.
Which, hey, if I looked like that
I'd probably do the same, chef.
But also we've seen other big stars
like Dwayne the Rock Johnson showing his support
by making a massive donation
to the SAG-AFTRA Foundation,
with that being the fund that provides financial relief
to struggling SAG members
via an Emergency Assistance Program,
something that's very important
while you have studio execs saying,
"Hey we're just gonna wait for these people
"to start losing their homes.
"That's when we gain leverage in the negotiation."
While, hey, we don't know the exact amount
The Rock's donation was,
we know that it was in the seven figures,
with the SAG Foundation's Executive Director
telling Variety, "This is when we need
"our high profile talent who can afford it,
"who are in a situation to help others."
With the foundation's president also telling the outlet
they hope The Rock's donation
"sends a huge message to other folks to do the same thing."
And this, as we've seen places like Variety highlighting,
in a separate report some big stars who seem absent.
With Variety noting that people like Meryl Streep,
Jennifer Lawrence, and Rami Malik,
who previously signed a letter telling the Guild
they were ready and willing to strike,
have yet to show up on the picket lines.
Though with that, we saw in response
a lot of people saying it's actually
super reasonable to not attend a picket
if you're uber famous, with people arguing,
"It might actually hurt the cause
"or be a huge distraction for people
"that are ridiculously wealthy
"to show up on the picket line."
Others arguing "A-listers of that level
"being at the gates all the time
"would be a mess for so many reasons.
"And there are other ways they can help
"like donating a fuck-ton of money a la The Rock."
But for now, the strikes continue.
And then, House Leader Kevin McCarthy
is threatening to impeach President Biden.
While speaking on Sean Hannity's show last night
he discussed the House Republican's investigation
into the business dealings of Biden family members,
and particular Hunter Biden.
You know, 'cause for a while now,
Republicans have been investigating several claims
of financial misconduct,
claims including from two IRS whistleblowers
who said that the DOJ improperly intervened
in the probe into Hunter Biden's taxes
by making it too lenient.
As well as a reportedly uncorroborated FBI document
they claim shows that Biden's family
received payments from foreign companies.
And these investigations, according to experts,
haven't gained much traction,
likely because the claims Republicans have made
are still totally unsubstantiated.
But despite that, McCarthy has now seriously
escalated the situation,
discussing various parts of the investigations
and telling Hannity...
- If you're sitting in our position today,
we would know none of this
if Republicans have not taken the majority.
We've only followed where the information has taken us.
But, Hannity, this is rising- - But Mr. Speaker-
- To the level of impeachment inquiry,
which provides Congress the strongest power
to get the rest of the knowledge and information needed.
Because this president has also used something
we have not seen since Richard Nixon,
used the weaponization of government to benefit his family
and deny Congress the ability to have the oversight.
- So we're looking at the most serious and explicit threat
of impeachment that McCarthy has made to date.
So that's a massive deal in its own right,
but especially when you consider the fact that
he's actually shut down previous attempts
to impeach Biden by far right members of his own party.
I mean this includes as recently as last month.
Now, notably here, McCarthy did not outline
any specific charges or a timeline for an impeachment probe
while speaking to Hannity.
His office as of filming this
reportedly hasn't responded to media requests
for clarification, so a lot of it's unclear right now.
But Democrats and the White House
were still quick to condemn the threat.
The Democratic National Committee Chair
saying in a statement that
"House Republicans impeachment threat
"is just an attempt to distract
"from their lack of any meaningful agenda
"and Trump's own significant challenges."
But main thing, shots have been fired,
and obviously we're gonna have to keep our eyes on this one.
And then the DOJ is now suing Texas Governor Greg Abbott
over a floating barrier of buoys
in the Rio Grande he deployed
to deter migrants who were trying
to cross into the United States.
And in its lawsuit, the agency claims
that Abbott violated federal law
that bans placing obstructions in the water
without federal approval,
which notably Abbott did not seek or receive.
And Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta
saying in a statement, "This floating barrier
"poses threats to navigation and public safety
"and presents humanitarian concerns.
"Additionally, the presence of the floating barrier
"has prompted diplomatic protests by Mexico
"and risks damaging U.S. foreign policy."
And this also comes after the DOJ
sent a letter to Abbott last week
warning him that he had until Monday
to remove the buoys or the agency would sue.
But there you saw Abbott refuse,
responding with his own letter yesterday
and claiming that Texas had the power to enforce
its own border security, and writing,
"Texas will see you in court, Mr. President."
So it'll be interesting to see how that battle plays out,
especially because this also comes as both
state and federal officials
are looking into allegations made by a state trooper
and published in the Houston Chronicle.
'Cause according to that report,
the trooper claimed that officers
have been ordered to push children into the Rio Grande
and deny migrants water.
Now just a few of the claims among other horrible things.
And those alleged actions,
as well as the buoys and miles razor wire
set up along border crossings,
come as part of Abbott's controversial operation
Lone Star policy to prevent migrants
from crossing the border,
with all that reportedly
costing the state billions of dollars,
but having little impact on migration,
while simultaneously posing insane human rights abuses.
And then we gotta talk about the Russian brain drain,
which I understand sounds like a sex thing
you gotta pay extra for, but it is not that.
Or if it is also that,
it's this other thing that we're gonna talk about
right now as well.
'Cause when you think of hundreds of thousands of Russians
crossing your border,
that can be a recipe for a pointless war.
But actually for some of Russia's neighbors
it's resulted in a massive economic boost.
'Cause those Russians that are coming over the border,
they're fleeing their homeland for a variety of reasons.
Some oppose Putin's pointless war,
others want better job opportunities,
and some just don't wanna get drafted.
Which actually on that note,
the maximum age to get drafted just got raised to 30.
So it's very likely we're gonna see
even more Russian men trying to make their way out.
But regardless of the reason,
they've mostly settled in countries close to Russia,
places like Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia.
And many of these Russians either have wealth,
education, or skillsets like IT
that make it easier to just pick up and go.
And this influx of Russians has contributed
to crazy GDP growth in these countries.
For example, the World Bank thought the South Caucasus
was going to grow by 5.6 last year.
Instead it was actually 7%.
And while 1.4% might not seem like a lot,
when you're talking about an entire economy that is insane.
And others did even better.
Armenia smashed its 7% forecast by growing a whopping 12.6%.
And so all of this points to a soft brain drain
that Russia's experiencing,
despite Putin protesting and saying,
"Ah, not that many people are actually leaving."
But what we've seen are many Russian men going,
okay do I wanna get killed by a grenade
dropped by some Ukrainian drone all for Putin's ego?
Or do I wanna take my education and skills
somewhere safe for me and my family?
But it's also not just potential growth leaving Russia
and helping its neighbors.
You have to consider assets as well,
with Georgia seeing $2.1 billion
in Russian transfers across 2022.
That's five times the amount it had in 2021.
And while 2.1 billion may not seem like that big of a deal,
when you take into account the total,
over $239 billion has left Russia,
which is four times more than in 2021,
and more than many countries entire GDP.
And the only reason this hasn't been
entirely disastrous for Russia, at least on paper,
is because it's currently being balanced out
by a record setting current account surplus of $227 billion.
And that meaning its exports
are way higher than its imports.
But that's also hardly the entire story.
The number is almost entirely propped up
by the price of oil surging last year
coupled with shrinking imports due to sanctions.
And those sanctions are really now
starting to show how much they're affecting Russia,
with many everyday items just not available on shelves.
So as the draft expands and becomes more common,
life gets harder for Russians,
it's easy to see why many are trying to leave.
And for now, it seems like this will just continue
until maybe someone in Russia
decides Putin needs a different kind of brain drain.
And that is where this daily dive
into the news is gonna end.
But, for more news, you need to know
I got you covered here and in those links down below.
And of course, don't worry,
'cause as always, my name's Philip DeFranco,
you've just been filled in.
I love yo faces and I'll see you right back here tomorrow.