- It's a roadshow, but it's today again,
so let's talk about the news.
Starting with an absolutely massive update over the weekend,
Andrew Tate has been released from jail,
though he's not fully free just yet.
Instead, what we saw was a Romanian court ruling
that Tate, his brother,
and the two women who are arrested alongside them
can now serve house arrest,
which is why you may or may not have seen him
pacing back and forth in his house over the weekend.
As well as he's now free to tweet things like,
"Since last year I've been in 24 hour lockdown.
No yard time.
Pacing a three meter cell
with zero electronics or outside contact.
Absolute clarity of mind. Real thoughts.
Real plans. Vivid pain."
And adding, "I prepare my body
to absorb the brutal kinetics of piercing lead.
As all other silencing attempts fail,
and stage three approaches,
I anticipate a bullet
will be the chosen utensil of pacification.
I can only pray and prepare.
I will force myself to breathe the best I can, I promise."
But all that said,
one of the biggest things here is that with this ruling,
it's final, meaning that prosecutors cannot appeal it.
And this is an absolutely massive win for Tate,
who really, since December, things have not gone his way.
It currently remains to be seen
if we're going to see charges
since, you know, they were detained for human trafficking,
rape, and organized crime.
And the timing here matters
'cause currently, they're set to be fully released
at the end of this month
unless prosecutors try to hold them for another 30 days,
like they've been doing each month.
And a spokesperson for the Tates even saying the brothers
are already expecting this to happen.
But again, if these prosecutors do not formally indict
them within the next couple of months they're gonna be out.
And then the Virginia teacher who was shot
by her six year-old student has now filed
a 40 million lawsuit.
With that teacher, Abby Zwerner
alleging that administrators at Rich Neck Elementary School
at Newport News repeatedly failed to act
on multiple warnings that the boy had a gun
before he shot her.
And saying they did so despite the fact they knew that the
child in question had a history of random violence.
And while we've already heard many of the accusations laid
out in the lawsuit,
there are also some absolutely fucking
wild pieces of information
that were previously unknown to the public.
We're not talking about like
a few minor schoolyard incidents.
This kid had serious patterns of scary behavior.
For example, the suit says that while he was in kindergarten
at Rich Neck in 2021 to 2022,
he strangled and choked a teacher.
And then during that same school year,
the kid pulled up the dress of a female student who had
fallen on the playground and began to touch the child
inappropriately until reprimanded by a teacher.
And according to the complaint,
the boy was just transferred out of Rich Neck
and put elsewhere in the district,
but then somehow he was allowed to return for the 2022-23
school year and enrolled in Zwerner's class.
But even after that,
this kid had to be put on a modified schedule last fall
because he was chasing students around the playground
with a belt in an effort to whip them with it
as well as cursing at staff and teachers.
And I mean just two days before the shooting,
the lawsuit says he smashed Zwerner's phone and called
her and others an inappropriate names.
Also note here, the boy's family previously said
in a statement that he had an acute disability
and was under a care plan.
That quote "Included his mother or father attending school
with him and accompanying him to class every day,"
with them claiming that the week of the shooting
was the first one that one of the parents wasn't
with him in class.
Ms. Zwerner's lawsuit claims that the reason
the boy had to have a parent with him daily,
was specifically because of his violent tendencies.
But the complaint also going on to add that the teacher's
concerns about the boy's behavior was regularly brought to
the attention of Rich Neck Elementary School administration.
And the concerns were always dismissed and saying often when
he was taken to the school office to address his behavior,
he would return to the classroom shortly thereafter with
some kind of reward, such as a piece of candy.
So ultimately we're gonna have to wait to see what happens
with the lawsuit.
But as far as kid, Kid Newport News Commonwealth's attorney
Howard Gwynn told NBC News last month
that he would not seek charges against the boy
because of his age and inability
to properly understand the legal system.
But he did say he was still deciding whether to hold any
adults criminally liable.
And then in entertainment news,
what the hell is going on
with Twitter's verification checks?
That's what many are wondering since Twitter said it would
be ending its Legacy Blue Check verification come April 1st.
Meaning people who got those checks to verify that they're a
real person or an organization of note would be losing them.
And instead, if you want a blue check mark,
whether you're Joe Schmo or Beyonce,
you gotta pay for Twitter blue.
But come many April 1st,
those people didn't lose their blue checks.
Instead, what was different
was the labels associated with it because you used
to be able to click a check to see if a person paid
for Twitter Blue or if they were a legacy verified account.
Now the lines blurred and all verified people
have the same blurb saying,
this account is verified because it's subscribed
to Twitter Blue or is a legacy verified account, right?
So it doesn't tell you which is which.
So you could be looking at the real Tom Hanks
or a troll Tom Hanks, you figure it out.
But as far as why legacy users didn't lose their checks
and instead we got this weird blurb, well,
there's been a lot of speculation with some say Twitter
straight up realize the only value of Twitter blue is duping
people into thinking it's a legacy check mark
after Elon said he was eliminating Legacy Blue Check marks.
and now looks like the "Washington Post" reporting that it
might be because removing the checks
would require extensive manual work.
Also, and in a now deleted tweet,
Elon Musk himself saying the platform is giving these users
a few weeks of grace.
That is, unless they say they will not be paying
for Twitter Blue,
in which case Twitter will just strike it.
Which seems to explain what happened
to the "New York Times", kind of,
because the New York Times was officially one of the
first accounts who lose its check, right?
The outlet previously said
it would not pay for verification.
Something that costs a regular person
around $8 per month to start.
Notably, organizations would have to spend
a $1,000 dollars a month for theirs.
And then there's other fees for all the people
that worked for them.
And so you had the "New York Times" and other major outlets
saying, "Thanks, but no thanks, we're not gonna be paid".
But again, as of recording,
the only accounts actually lose their check
was the "New York Times".
And that, notably coming after someone shared a meme with
Musk about how the "Times: didn't wanna pay to which Musk
replied, "Okay, we'll take it off then".
But also stripping the times of its check clashes with an
announcement Twitter made on Friday saying actually the top
10,000 followed companies won't need
to pay for verification.
No $1,000 monthly fee necessary, will just hand over that
shiny gold check.
And with 55 million followers of New York Times could easily
make that cut.
But you know Musk,
and that's not speculation.
I mean he went on this big anti "New York Times"
rant as well.
And so now in response to all this,
you've seen tons of big names chiming in on whether they're
gonna pay for verification or not.
LeBron James saying he won't be spending money
on Twitter Blue.
Jack Black saying he doesn't know if he'll keep his,
because it's definitely not cool to pay for it.
Chris Pratt likewise saying he's torn explaining,
"I care deeply about all of my followers.
I'll do whatever I have to do to stay a part of their lives
because I respect their attention and I'd love to use it
as an opportunity to talk to them
when I'm doing movies and stuff."
And then you have large creators like MoistCr1TiKaL,
not specifically saying in this tweet,
you know what the plans are regarding his check,
but slamming Twitter's new changes saying.
- What is the value of even being verified on Twitter?
Well, I think the answer is nothing.
I think there is absolutely no value
in being verified on Twitter."
- But of course he did note upcoming changes regarding the
perks of verification,
including the fact that starting April 15th only verified
users along with people you follow will show up
in the For You timeline, right?
Which key thing,
it's gonna be harder for non verified users to spread their
reach, but with the chaos at Twitter,
who knows if this is gonna change,
'cause you have Musk saying one thing
and then going like, "Oh,
I actually forgot to mention another thing."
And it feels less like we're all on
like this established website
and more like everyone became beta testers.
But yeah, time will tell.
And then one of the biggest pieces of entertainment news,
it looks like the WWE's Vince McMahon's
gonna get a lot richer.
And that's 'cause shortly after coming outta retirement
last year to sell the platform,
he made a deal with UFC's parent company Endeavor and this
new merged company,
it's gonna be publicly listed and it's worth $21 billion
with Endeavor shareholders getting 51%
of the company and WWE shareholders getting 49%.
The new company will reportedly be run by Ariel Emanuel,
the current CEO of Endeavor who said of the deal,
"This is a rare opportunity to create a global live sports
and entertainment Pure Play built
for where the industry is headed."
And the deal will also have McMahon staying on a little bit
longer, which is likely to be a controversial move, right?
Because the WWE recently had to revise years of financial
statements to include nearly 20 million in hush money
payments that McMahon made to silence infidelity and sexual
assault allegations, which of course with these stories,
I'd like to ask everyone their opinions,
but specifically if you are a fan of the WWE, old school,
new school, whatever,
what are your thoughts on the news today,
and McMahon specifically?
As well as for UFC fans,
what are your thoughts with this?
As there's already been some built-in crossover
with the likes of Brock Lesnar in the past, Ronda Rousey.
Yeah, I'd love to hear from you on this one.
In business news, y'all Credit Suisse just can't stay out
of the headlines right now.
With this time,
Swiss prosecutors looking into its buyout deal with UBS.
Right, Swiss authorities approved
the deal insanely fast with prosecutors indicating
that they're looking into government
employees and at least two bank execs.
And they're especially interested in how certain parts of
the negotiations were leaked to the press saying
"That such a leak might constitute revealing state secrets."
Additionally, lawmakers are moving to implement
a government panel to also
investigate the deal as the merger sparked
a major outcry among voters.
And all this puts pressure on UBS,
the bank that bought Credit Suisse,
although it was already likely facing a ton of pressure,
not only from the backlash of the merger,
but also because it's looking to lay off
30% of its workforce.
Which maybe it's a bad look to spend billions of dollars
when apparently you need to lay off so many damn people.
And then police drove hundreds of miles to seize a little
girl's pet goat, right?
So last June,
a nine year-old girl in California had taken her goat Cedar
to the fair for a livestock auction,
a place where the animals are bid on and the highest bidder
takes it home and slaughters it for meat.
But after Cedar won a $902 bid,
the girl changed her mind about sending the animal to die
and refused to leave the goat's side.
And before any money was given,
the mother and the girl looked
into terminating the contract,
with the mother saying she'd pay the amount to the fair
that they would've made from the sale, just over $60.
And they took the goat home and expecting complications,
they took it to a farm about 200 miles away.
And over the next few days,
the fair threatened to charge the mother with felony grand
theft if she didn't return the goat.
So the mom offered to pay the full amount and even got the
support of the man who was trying to buy Cedar.
But still the fair wouldn't budge.
Instead saying, "Please understand,
the fair industry is set up to teach our youth
responsibility and for the future generations of ranchers
and farmers to learn the process and effort it takes to
raise quality meat.
Making an exception for you will only teach youth that they
do not have to abide by the rules
that are set up for all participants."
And so then two officers with a search warrant,
they go out to find the goat,
and when he wasn't where they first went,
they drive to a secondary property and they seized him,
despite that address not being listed on the warrant.
And so now the moms filed a lawsuit against the officers
alleging violations of the fourth and 14th amendments
and seeking damages.
And actually in an amendment,
the family added the county as well as the fair and event
center to the suit.
Now, as far as Cedar,
no one officially knows for sure what happened,
but the family's attorney says they believe Cedar
to have have been slaughtered.
And so I guess I,
I'm sorry this story did not have a happy ending.
Also, I'm all for like an agreements and agreement,
but this is so, like the guy doesn't even want the goat.
It's like a weird power trip trying
to pose as a life lesson.
And then for any of you focused on getting your business off
the ground, creating a place to share your homemade goods,
new favorite hobby, current obsession,
or even a personal blog to get all those thoughts outta your
head, I got a great solution for you.
And it comes from our fantastic partner and sponsor
of today's show, Squarespace.
And I've been partnering with Squarespace for years now.
And I have to say, it's just so easy.
There's nothing to install, patch or upgrade ever.
And creating a beautiful website
with Squarespace's all-in-one platform
has never been so simple.
It's incredibly intuitive and easy to use.
With our mobile optimized websites,
your content automatically adjusts so it looks great
on any device.
Plus, with Squarespace,
you get access to all their marketing tools and analytics
and their award-winning customer care team via email
or live chat 24/7.
So go check it out,
see why so many others love it,
see why it's gonna be perfect for you.
And start your free trial today
over at squarespace.com/phil.
When you realize you love it,
make sure you enter in offer code Phil
to get 10% off your first purchase.
Then in political news.
- [Newscaster] He'll be arraigned in Manhattan on Wednesday,
Sydney time, Tuesday night, New York time,
becoming the first former president
to face criminal charges.
He's released a video message addressing his indictment.
- We are now officially a third world country.
- They have left us with no choice.
They have declared, quote unquote, the Roman Civil War.
- Let's be clear, folks,
this is like communist level (beep).
- To the conservatives out there, make sure you vote.
If you got friends, make sure they vote.
If you don't have any friends, go make some friends.
- As I'm sure you've heard by now,
Donald Trump has officially been indicted,
with this making him the first ex-president
to face criminal charges in America history.
And while right now the indictment remains sealed,
we know from sources that there are more than 30 counts
relating to business fraud, including at least one felony.
And all this stemming from Trump's alleged involvement
in a scheme to silence adult film star
Stormy Daniels with hush money payments back in 2016.
Now he's almost certainly in New York by the time that
you're seeing this.
And on Tuesday he'll be reporting to a Manhattan courtroom
for his booking, and arraignment, with all that
raising a lot of questions about whether he's gonna be
treated like any other alleged criminal
or is he gonna get special treatment.
With that, he likely won't be in handcuffs
since he'll be surrounded by armed federal agents anyways.
And it's also unclear if they're gonna take
a mugshot of him,
since everyone already knows his face and authorities are
concerned that these photos could be improperly leaked.
And then after booking,
instead of being held in a jail cell near the courtroom
before his arraignment like other defendants,
he'll be taken through a back set of hallways and elevators
to the floor where the courtrooms located,
and then he'll come out to a public hallway to walk into the
courtroom, at which point the indictment will be unsealed.
Trump will be formally charged
and most likely he will be released,
though he might have restrictions on his travel.
And as far as how this is expected to play out,
he's expected to plead not guilty,
continuing to deny he had any sexual relationship or that
there was any wrongdoing with Daniels.
And on Tuesday night,
he plans to give a speech at Mar-a-Lago,
which is probably gonna be what you expect it to be.
But so far you have sources saying that he remains
surprisingly calm and focused,
just playing golf at his resort,
posting on social media and texting allies,
which makes sense.
I don't know the last time that Donald Trump was actually
held accountable for anything.
And throughout most of this,
I think like a lot of people, I've been kind of like,
I'm not gonna hold my breath.
And of course with this, you do have some speculating
that this benefits him politically, right?
I mean, the first post indictment poll shows
that Donald Trump is leading to DeSantis
for Republican support by 26%,
which is up eight points from two weeks ago with just about
every Republican, including DeSantis himself,
slamming the indictment and rallying behind Trump,
as well as 79% of the G P rank and file saying
that the indictment was politically motivated.
Plus you got the Trump campaign saying on Friday that it
raised over $4 million in the first 24 hours after the news
of the indictment broke.
But at the same time, you people saying, well,
this may help Trump in the primaries,
it won't necessarily have the same effect in the general,
with some arguing that it could just be like the midterms
where the most extreme candidates sweep their nominations
and then they get trounced in the general
because they're unelectable.
But on the other hand, have people forgotten about 2016?
Where you had people literally saying the same thing, oh,
the unelectable guy got the nomination,
guess the GOP is gonna have to do some soul searching.
Oh, he won.
You know, there is a concern from some that the supercharges
and mobilizes his hardcore base, right?
The people who view him as like the god king, which I mean,
on that note,
we saw some jaw dropping reactions to the statement with
groups like the New York Young Republicans Club writing
"President Trump embodies
the American people, our psyche id to super ego,
as does no other figure.
His soul is totally bonded with our core values
and emotion and he is our total and indisputable champion."
And then on the other side, for the most part,
you have top Democrats that kind of quiet on the news,
seemingly trying not to inflate the panic more with some
left-leaning people, kind of having a,
so what sort of mentality and reaction, right?
Some arguing that Trump probably won't even be convicted.
- For the record, I don't think anything's gonna happen.
I just want you to understand,
I am an incredibly cynical person.
Rich people don't go to jail like (beep) poor people do.
Okay?
He goes to jail or he goes
to the (beep)courts on his own time.
- And you know, echoing that statement,
you have some saying other investigations
are more threatening,
like those probing January 6th riot,
Trump's alleged mishandling of classified documents
and interference in Georgia's 2020 election.
But I'll pass the question off
to you fellow witnesses of history,
what do you think's gonna happen?
What are your thoughts here?
And then the Obamas are kicking people outta their homes.
All right, because the construction
of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago
has raised rent nearby neighborhoods,
forcing longtime residents of South Shore out.
So the Obama Foundation had promised that the presidential
center will help the poorest areas of Chicago
and offer opportunities to residents.
Also, it's estimated to bring in more than $3 billion to the
surrounding community during construction
and the first 10 years of operation.
And the center, as the Obamas said during
the groundbreaking ceremony two years ago,
is supposed to be a tribute to Chicago
and the south side specifically.
But since the announcement of the center's development,
housing costs have reportedly skyrocketed and the median
rent prices jumped by 43%,
which has resulted in longtime residents having to leave
the neighborhood, with some landlords hiking rent
as much as 90%.
With a professor at the University of Chicago
saying "With the development of this size
and economic impact,
it was unavoidable that it would have a profound effect on
the local housing market and exacerbate existing
affordability challenges for many low income residents
of Woodlawn in South Shore.
And South Shore homeowners have said that
they've had to beat away investment buyers with a stick,
with more and more calls asking if they're looking to sell
their homes by the day.
And not only that, property listings
are reportedly using the Obama Center as a selling point,
hiking up prices even further.
With this existing Chicago
residents pushing back like Dixon Romeo,
a community organizer who said that Southside residents
don't want Obama's legacy tarnished by the displacement of
black families, saying "This is the community
that sent him to the White House
and we should be the community that gets to stay
and benefit from the presidential center."
And so residents of the area are pushing
for local legislative intervention.
And at a 90% vote on a February referendum,
they agree that the city should do more to create affordable
housing around the Obama Center and help existing homeowners
and renters in the area.
The Obama Foundation also on board as well,
saying that they're encouraged by the vote and adding,
"Our hope and intention is that the people
who live there now are able to enjoy this center
when it comes online.
There is an opportunity for this to be a success story."
But as far as if this is gonna be a success story,
it might be up to the next mayor because the current mayor
of Chicago, Lori Lightfoot,
she lost a reelection bid back in February
and the runoff election between two Democrats,
it's set to take place tomorrow.
But the good news is that both candidates have reportedly
shown their support for an ordinance
for the people of South Shore.
And then, and I bet you didn't even know this was something
you need to worry about news.
Missouri wants to ban pelvic exams while a patient is
unconscious and despite unanimous votes for the ban,
it's not quite law yet as the House and Senate need
to reconcile their similar bills
before it's on the governor's desk, right?
So under the current law,
there's nothing stopping a doctor from checking out your
pelvis, anus, or prostate while you're under anesthesia.
And that last part is an important distinction, right?
Because the bill doesn't always ban these exams when you're
passed out and does allow medical exceptions.
Like if you show up to the emergency room and all of a
sudden the doctor says,
"Hey, I think a pelvic exam's gonna help."
But apparently conducting unnecessary pelvic exams
while a patient is under anesthesia is not unheard of
and is actually considered a vital tool
for medical students.
However, it's unclear how often this actually happens
in Missouri, though it,
there does seem to be plenty of angry patients to talk to,
with it seemingly mostly happening at university hospitals,
which makes sense
because that's where the students would be.
But under the soon-to-be law doctors must get explicit
consent to do these exams before a patient goes under.
With that then being in line with
what the Association of Professors of Gynecology
and Obstetrics recommended back in 2019.
So it's not just the lawmakers who think
that these exams are problematic.
And any doctor who does one
of these exams or supervises a medical student
doing one is subject to disciplinary action
by the state licensing board.
But a big thing that I want to hit on here is that some of
you might hear this story and go, ah,
another example of Missouri being backwards.
Well, actually, here's the thing.
They are in the minority here as there are 29 states
that allow these exams to take place.
And according to a relatively small sample of 305 medical
students across the country from 2022,
84% of students had done one of these exams.
And 67% said that they never or rarely saw anyone
tell the patient that it would happen.
So the next time you go in to go under
maybe consider a chastity belt.
And then the Chinese spy balloon that flew over the US was
actually able to collect information from multiple military
sites despite the fact that the Biden administration took
steps to block it from doing just that.
Right, that's what two current
and one former senior administration
officials have told NBC news now.
And according to the sources,
China was actually able to fly the balloons
so it could go over some of the military sites
more than once.
Sometimes flying in figure eight formations.
And the balloon was also reportedly able
to transmit the intel that it collected
back to China in real time.
Though notably here,
the officials did say that instead of images,
the information that China was able to collect was mostly
from electronic signals that could be picked up from weapon
systems of communications from personnel on base.
And beyond that, they also told NBC
that it could have been much worse.
Right, saying that China could have collected
way more intel from these military sites
if the Biden administration had not
taken the steps to move around possible targets and actually
stop them from emitting or broadcasting signals to limit
what the balloon could pick up.
And when NBC here reached out to National security agencies,
the Department of Defense pointed to previous statements
that the balloon had quote "Limited additive value for
collecting intelligence that China couldn't already
get from other means",
but still the balloon was actually able to get intel from
sensitive military sites.
Not good news, and that's where today's show is gonna end.
But remember, we've got daily dives
into the news every day this weekend.
We got a historic show tomorrow.
So as always,
my name's Philip DeFranco, you've just been filled in.
I love your faces and I'll see you tomorrow.