- Today, we're talking about more
and more Colleen Ballinger scandals coming up.
This poor guy allegedly was held captive
by his mom for years.
Keke Palmer got publicly body shamed
by the father of her child.
Why Wisconsin's governor may be the biggest legal troll.
We're gonna talk about all that and so much more
on 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 this story is so messed up.
For a few days, I've been holding off on this story
until we got more information.
But yesterday it blew wide open
and the details are shocking.
So on Saturday, a 25 year old man was found with cuts
and bruises laying unconscious outside
of a church in Houston.
And the next day we found out it was Rudy Farias,
a man who actually went missing eight years ago
when he was 17 years old
with his mother saying, "My son Rudy is receiving
the care he needs to overcome his trauma.
But at this time he is nonverbal and not able
to communicate with us," and family members telling NBC
that he was depressed after his brother died
in a motorcycle accident when he went missing.
But then neighbors began speaking out saying,
"What are you talking about?
We've been seeing Rudy in your home for years."
With one neighbor even saying he used to come
in my garage, chill with my cousin, son and daughter.
That boy has never been missing.
And another adding that he had seen Farias living
at his mom's home for years.
But then in response to that, Rudy's mom said, "No,
the person that you've been seeing isn't Rudy.
That was my nephew."
But then the neighbors looked at a picture
of this supposed nephew and were like,
"Yeah, no, we've definitely seen Rudy."
And so yesterday a counselor
in Houston, detectives tried to question Rudy,
but reportedly when his mom was
in the room, he wouldn't say a word.
But then the moment she left, he spilled everything
for the next hour and a half with the counselor explaining-
- I heard horrific things from that young man
and I did not want him to see me start shedding tears,
but I couldn't hold back the tears because
of the things he was saying to us.
- And according to the counselor, Rudy actually did run away
at first in 2015 saying that he was tired
of living like a slave
because allegedly his mom would take him to her workplace
and make him do the work for her.
With him also adding that she didn't respect his boundaries
and specifically made him get in bed with her.
- She made him play daddy.
He said that she, that he didn't like getting
in the bed with her, that he would try to sneak out
of the bed and sometime hide under the bed.
But she told him he had to be her husband.
- Also adding that Rudy said she made him take drugs,
including hallucinogenic mushrooms for years.
Also, that his mom interrupted his showers
and made him bath her with soap.
And reportedly with all this, when he returned home two days
after running away, his mom allegedly convinced him
that the police were out there looking for him
and he would be arrested unless he stayed hidden.
And so you have these lies, you pair it
with him just tripping and makes him more amenable
to these kind of paranoid suggestions.
And so for the next eight years, she allegedly hid him
from investigators.
Meanwhile, she kept up this ruse with police
that she was concerned about her missing boy.
With the counselor claiming
that Rudy's mom did let him see neighbors on occasion,
but he had to use a different name.
With her apparently hoping that they had forgot about him
because enough time had passed.
And adding that 911 calls were made
about him several times
and law enforcement just didn't properly investigate.
But also then after the interview yesterday,
the counselor says that Rudy's mom came back in and told him
to say that he made it all up with her not realizing
that she was being recorded.
And apparently Stockholm Syndrome is strong as fuck
because he said this.
- He kept saying, "I don't want her to go to prison.
I don't want her to get in trouble.
I don't want her to go to jail."
- And now you've got local media reporting
that Rudy's mom fled last night
with her anticipating her own arrest.
Though police haven't unveiled any charges yet.
So obviously we're gonna keep our eyes on this.
I'm gonna keep you updated,
but what the actual hell is going on in certain places
in this world?
And unfortunately it seems like this is
the common thing, it's the people you trust most
that can do this to you.
It's absolutely horrifying.
And then this crime that just got exposed,
maybe one of the longest running and largest frauds
of its kind, 'cause at the center of this story
of Donald Zampach, a 65 year old man from California
and his mother.
And back in 1990, Donald's mother passed away
in Japan, her native country after being diagnosed
with pancreatic cancer.
With Donald then bringing her remains back to the US
but also leaving her social security number off
of the necessary documents to bury her.
And he did that so he can continue
to collect her government benefits, which he then did
for more than 30 years.
From November of 1990 to September
of 2022, Donald collected his mother's monthly payments
from Social Security and
from the Defense Finance Accounting Service,
which notably gives benefits to the families
of military veterans.
And in addition to that, he opened several lines of credit
in his mother's name, snagging another $28,000.
And all in all, he collected $830,238, none of which
of course he would've received had the agency known
that Donald's mother was no longer alive.
Also, keep in mind, this is not a thing where he is like,
oh, I guess I'll just let it keep happening.
He forged his mother's signature, kept
her bank accounts active, and even filed taxes in her name.
With the US Attorney, Randy Grossman saying,
"This crime is believed to be the longest running
and largest fraud of its kind in the district.
This defendant didn't just passively collect checks mailed
to his deceased mother.
This was an elaborate fraud spanning more than three decades
that required aggressive action and deceit
to maintain the ruse."
And he would've gotten away with it too had it not been
for those meddling kids.
I mean audits.
With the Social Security Administration looking
into Donald's mother's account in their audit of people
over 90 who have not used their Medicare benefits.
And when an investigator showed up at Donald's door
in September of last year, he told him
that his mother was just in Japan.
However, he ended up getting arrested
and last week he pled guilty to money laundering
and social security fraud.
And with that, facing a maximum of 25 years
in prison was part of his plea deal, he agreed
to pay back the $830,000 in his house in restitution.
And then, so there have been updates
to the Colleen Ballinger situation
with the most recent involving headlines
that you may have seen pop up regarding an old video
of Ballinger from at least five years ago resurfacing
with a clip appearing to show her performing a Beyonce song
while in blackface.
And it made the rounds in social media yesterday
with many calling it racist and completely unacceptable.
With people saying things like, "Colleen Ballinger tells
the world she's a racist with her full chest.
Imagine doing a Beyonce song in blackface
and the audience are laughing and being entertained."
But there are also others saying
this is misleading, saying that what's on her face isn't
actually blackface at all, but rather green face paint left
over from a bit that Ballinger did earlier in the show.
With them saying apparently Ballinger
often sings Defying Gravity from Wicked to transform herself
into the Miranda Sings personality.
And apparently towards the beginning
of her career, she would paint her face green
to mimic the wicked witch in the process.
Though even with that, you had people saying singing a song
by a black woman while your face is covered in dark paint,
still probably not a great idea.
But notably, this isn't the first time
that Ballinger has been accused of racism.
But recently a black employee on the set
of Ballinger's Netflix show "Haters Back Off" accused her
of using racial slurs and just all
around complete racial insensitivity.
People also pointing to how she apologized
in the past for impersonating a Latino woman.
- I am so ashamed and embarrassed
that I ever thought this was okay.
I was a sheltered teenager who was stupid and ignorant
and clearly extremely culturally insensitive.
Racial stereotypes are not funny.
They're not a joke and they should never be joked about.
- Though of course this kind
of just the latest in the string
of controversies Ballinger has found herself in.
The most notable, of course being what we talked
about last week.
But then also a couple days after
that you had Trisha Paytas responding to the situation.
Because not only did she have a podcast with Ballinger,
but there were allegations
that Ballinger would send her fans DM's
of Trisha's OnlyFans to make fun of her.
And Trisha responding after those chats leaked online
with her saying prior to this, Ballinger had assured Tricia
that she would never make fun of her body.
Trisha also emphasizing that one of the fans was allegedly
only 14 years old at the time.
- I'm so sorry to that person if this is true.
I'm so sorry.
I know firsthand how traumatizing that can be.
I had nothing to do with this.
I do not condone it.
I think it's the most disgusting thing
and above all else, illegal.
Hearing all that horrible stuff underneath the photo
about my body just being messed up or disgusting
and it's a lot.
Yes, it's a really vulnerable thing.
- And as far as latest news here, reportedly one
of Miranda Sings tour shows
in St. Louis is being canceled due
to, quote, "unforeseen circumstances".
But notably as of recording, she still has 10
other shows scheduled throughout the end of the year.
And then that Keke Palmer's boyfriend went
from guy no one was really paying that much attention to,
to the Internet's public enemy number one, overnight.
And that's because, and you may already know this
because it felt like all the algorithms
on social media were like we're gonna force feed
you this information.
He appeared to not be happy with and shamed Keke
over an outfit that she wore.
And if you don't know his name is Darius Jackson.
He and Keke actually welcomed their first kid together
in February and Keke recently was just having
a fun night out attending Usher's residency in Las Vegas
with video showing Usher serenading her up close.
And Darius seemingly not a huge fan of this
with him specifically taking issue with the body suit
and sheer dress that she had on.
With him writing on Twitter, "It's the outfit though,
you a mom."
And immediately people jumped
on this man saying, "Don't date a baddie
if you're gonna be this insecure."
"You're an embarrassment."
Accusing him of trying to police a woman's choices.
Also saying with her being a new mom, you should be trying
to be supportive, lift her confidence up.
But Darius did not sway in the face of backlash,
instead doubling down in a post writing, "We live
in a generation where a man
of the family doesn't want the wife and mother to his kids
to showcase booty cheeks to please others
and he gets told how much of a hater he is.
This is my family and my representation.
I have standards and morals to what I believe.
I rest my case."
Though as of this morning both
of his posts have been taken down.
But also that has not stopped the backlash from coming
on strong with people saying things like, "She's not
at the church barbecue, she's in Vegas with her girls.
Ain't a damn thing wrong with
how she's dressed, insecure dork."
As well as, "It's so insane that you can be Keke Palmer
and still your man will try to publicly humiliate you.
There's no hope for the rest of us."
As well as people speaking on the bigger issues saying,
"Darius Daulton publicly calling out Keke Palmer like
this reminds me of women I personally know who
often feel like the moment they have a child,
their autonomy is stripped.
And saying, "Men never have their fatherhood weaponized
when having fun compared to mothers."
And all that of course, in addition to people accusing him
of biting the hand that feeds him 'cause well, Keke's Keke
and honestly I didn't know Darius is a person
that existed until 10 minutes ago.
Though I also don't imagine that Darius is just like out
there in the wilderness by himself.
I feel like there's probably a lot of Andrew Tate stands
that are on his side.
But here's the thing, none of us are in this relationship.
All relationships are different.
There are private conversations had, but exactly that.
This feels like a you guys should have
a private conversation instead of, I don't know,
you seeing a video of Usher eye fucking your lady
and you just go, I'm gonna attack my lady.
I'm gonna try to get the public to shame her.
It just feels crazy to go public like that
on the mother of your child.
But also as far as Keke, she seems unbothered.
With her not directly addressing this controversy
but posting a number of photos and saying
in a caption, "I wish I had taken more pictures
but we were running late."
And tons of people giving her love
on that post, including Usher.
Good luck, Darius.
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And then did Zuckerberg just drop the Twitter killer
because it looks like Meta and Zuck got
a bit excited, released Threads early yesterday.
Yeah, dropping and going live yesterday
at 7:00 PM Eastern Time.
and according to Zuckerberg
this morning, Threads has had 30 million people sign up.
But if you hop on, you already see big accounts
already active, including celebrities like J.Lo
and Hugh Jackman as well as big media accounts
like The Washington Post.
But Zuckerberg also saying this is the beginning,
I'm not content with just a few million.
He's got billions on the brain saying in a reply
on Threads, "It'll take some time,
but I think there should be a public conversation app
with 1 billion plus people on it."
And saying, "Twitter has had the opportunity to do this
but hasn't nailed it.
Hopefully we will."
And as of right now, so far we know that Threads allows up
to 500 characters and has a few similar features to Twitter
though at the same time it's kind of got
that classic Instagram interface with the same heart,
comment and share buttons.
Also notably Instagram is pretty intrinsically linked
to Threads here.
With new Threads users required to have the same username
as their Instagram account.
Verified Instagram users also carry their blue check over
to Threads and block list carry over as well.
Though also a big thing with this connection is
that you can't delete your Threads profile
without deleting your Instagram profile,
which has definitely sparked some backlash from users.
And for now of course there's still some privacy
and data concerns floating around regarding Meta
and Threads specifically.
But as far as if this is gonna be
the Twitter killer, who knows?
Like I said yesterday, it's hard to predict
with these things.
It's easy to just kind of be a naysayer,
which I have been in the past.
Though I will say when Meta and Instagram have copied things
in the past, they really seemingly only work
when they integrated it in Instagram.
Like stories, reels, but when there's a standalone app,
there really has been limited success.
But with with how many people have been annoyed
with all the changes that Musk has made over Twitter,
this is the prime opportunity.
But hey, in the meantime I'm testing it out,
you can follow me over there @PhillyDeFranco and we can see
if it's gonna thrive or flop together.
And then Tony Evers is a tricky, tricky man and I say that
because he's a Democratic Wisconsin Governor
and he just signed a two year budget that affects education
for four centuries and he didn't even need anyone's approval
to do it.
All right, so check this out.
Initially the proposal sent to his desk
by the GOP increased the amount of revenue K
to 12 public schools could raise per student by $325
for the next two school years.
But unlike any other state, Wisconsin lets its governors do
a partial veto.
Basically they can just veto parts of a bill
down to specific words, numbers and punctuation.
And if the veto is then not overwritten, it passes.
And so all Evers did is he took his pen
and where it said 2024-25, he simply crossed out the 20
and crossed out the hyphen, meaning
that the new budget increased funding from now
to the year 2425.
And as you might expect, republicans are pissed, complaining
that this will give schools the authority
to raise property taxes if state aid doesn't cover
the per pupil cost effectively forever.
But also of note, it's not like
this should have been unexpected.
Both the Democratic and GOP governors have been abusing
the partial veto since 1930 and trying to clip its wings
for just as long.
In 2000 for example, voters prohibited
the so-called Vanna White veto, which allowed governors
to erase individual letters
within words changing their meaning.
And eight years later a constitutional amendment banned
the Frankenstein veto, which allowed governors
to strike words in two or more sentences
to create a new sentence.
But still the partial veto is as powerful a tool as ever.
And Evers has actually used it 51 times in this budget
to make significant changes like with him reducing
the GOP's tax cuts from $3.5 billion to just $175 million,
as well as completely wiping away cuts
for the top two tax brackets.
And so now the overwhelming majority of tax relief
instead is gonna be felt by the bottom two brackets,
which is absolutely huge
because the GOP plan would've spent nearly 1/2
the state's projected 7 billion budget surplus
on those tax cuts.
He also beat a measure
that would've blocked Medicaid payments
for gender affirming care.
But all of that's not to say that Evers got everything
that he wanted.
He couldn't stop a $32 million cut
to the University of Wisconsin, for example.
Something he had previously threatened
to veto the entire budget over.
Though notably UW may be able to win back those funds
if it proves they will go toward workforce development,
not Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Programs.
Also, he had 15 liberal advocacy
and watchdog groups saying he didn't go far enough, calling
on him to veto the whole budget because they say
that it's going to worsen racial and economic inequality.
But Evers countered that doing so would leave schools
without funding and turn down
some desperately needed provisions like $125 million
to combat water pollution caused by forever chemicals
or the $525 million for affordable housing
and pay raises for state workers.
And so as far as what's next,
if Republicans wanna block this,
they're gonna need a veto override.
But that is all but certain to fail
because it requires a 2/3 super majority with Democrats.
So of course notably a future legislature
and governor could reverse the budget provisions
if they garnered the support.
So things like the school funding could get capped
before the year 2425.
But with all that I gotta ask you, no matter
which side you're on here, what are your thoughts
when it comes to the idea of a partial veto?
Because if you take away
which side you're rooting for, it
just inherently it sounds crazy, doesn't it?
You can just unilaterally change the intent of a document.
I don't know, let me know your thoughts.
And then the US could be on the brink
of a serious organ transplant crisis.
Let me explain 'cause this situation centers on a dispute
between the United Network for Organ sharing AKA UNOS,
the nonprofit that operates
the entire organ transplant system
and an organ screening company called
Buckeye Transplant Services.
With UNOS threatening to cut Buckeye off
from accessing its database, claiming the company is
using an automated system
to collect data it is not authorized
to have from the network.
And in an interview, their general counsel argued
that while transplant centers can obtain data
if they want, it belongs to UNOS
and Buckeye can't mass collect it and sell it to customers.
With them also arguing that it's impossible for UNOS
to ensure the data is secure and handled properly and adding
that Buckeye could use that info
to make its own alternative database.
But Buckeye for its part claims
that it's not doing anything wrong.
Arguing that this is just a common practice
in the transplant industry
and Buckeye is being unfairly singled out.
And understand this would be an absolutely massive deal
if UNOS follows through and cuts Buckeye off its database.
'Cause Buckeye says that it is
the biggest organ screening company
in the US, supplying essential services for 1/4
of all transplant centers in America, with 63
of the country's 250 facilities relying on Buckeye to screen
and evaluate life-saving organs for patients.
In fact, according to the company it was part
of 5,900 transplants last year, which accounted
for more than 1 in 10 of the record 43,000 procedures
that were performed in 2022.
And if Buckeye's blocked from accessing
this database, it could seriously disrupt the flow
of essential organs
to those 63 transplant centers, leaving those facilities
on the hook to screen organs and arrange for recipients
to be transported or else scramble to find another company
to do the job.
With the president of Buckeye arguing there is a ton
at stake here, saying plainly, "People would die.
Transplant centers do not have the bandwidth to,
at the flip of a switch, take all this back in."
Some providers have also taken aim at UNOS
for threatening the stability
of the already troubled transplant system.
Like with the Surgical Director
at UC San Francisco telling reporters
that UNOS "would be stabbing the transplant programs
in the back to get at Buckeye."
And saying, "That would be
an incredibly shortsighted maneuver."
Meanwhile, it's important to note this all comes
as UNOS is already facing criticism.
'Cause for nearly four decades
the organization has essentially had a monopoly
over running the entire US transplant system.
A system that has had tons and tons of problems
with around 104,000 people on the waiting list
for transplants with 22 dying every single day.
And this says many viable organs are damaged
in transit, some are just discarded altogether.
And keep in mind that is just the tip of the iceberg
with the Biden administration actually moving earlier
this year to breakup UNOS's monopoly.
But as far as what happens next with the immediate situation
at hand, we saw Buckeye suing UNOS
in federal court earlier this week asking for an injunction
to prevent the company from getting cut off
from the database.
And they're arguing that the two are competitors
and UNOS has monopolistic intent to squash the development
of technology that could eventually supplant UNOS's system.
And UNOS for its part has given Buckeye until July 19th
to meet its demands, which is actually a two week extension
from the original deadline, which was set for yesterday.
And that's where today's Daily Dive
Into the News is gonna end.
But the good news is that for more news you need
to know, I got you covered right here
and in the links down below.
And there's gonna be even more for us to talk about soon,
especially if you're subscribed.
'Cause remember, my name's Philip DeFranco,
you've just been filled in.
I love your faces and I'll see you Sunday.