- 'Sup, you beautiful bastards?
Welcome back to "The Philip DeFranco Show."
If you are seeing this video, it is a miracle.
It's not really a miracle,
it's more of a testament to how amazing my fucking team is.
Still dealing with health stuff.
The only time my doctor can see me
is in the middle of filming.
And I wasn't gonna go,
but then my wife was like, "If you end up dying
"because you were like, 'It's not that bad,'
"I'm gonna double kill you."
So I don't even know what that is,
but I don't wanna find out.
So hey, welcome to the show.
Hit that like button and let's just jump into it.
First up today, we need to talk about the super disgusting
and just disturbing story out of New York and DC.
So on Sunday, police in the two cities
said that a gunman had been hunting homeless people
sleeping on the streets since March 3rd,
primarily in Lower Manhattan and Northeast Washington,
having shot at least five men, two of them fatally,
and a sixth man was found dead in Manhattan Sunday evening
at the same moment an individual was being held elsewhere
for the previous victims,
though authorities had not determined
whether it was connected to the other cases.
So then, both police departments linked up
with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms and Explosives to undertake a joint investigation,
with the mayors of both cities
telling unhoused residents to seek shelter
to keep themselves safe, saying,
"Our communities in DC and New York City are heartbroken
"and disturbed by these heinous crimes
"in which an individual has been targeting
"some of our most vulnerable residents."
But the good news as of this morning
is that this may be over
because a multi-state manhunt turned up a suspect in DC.
According to law enforcement sources,
his name is Gerald Brevard III,
a 30 year old man with a history of mental illness
and an extensive rap sheet,
including several assault charges,
with police now interviewing him
and saying further information is forthcoming,
though his motive is still unknown.
Though on Monday,
an Instagram account appearing to belong to the man
posted a photo with the caption,
"Feeling devilishly, feeling godly."
With his cousin, Dearell Charlie Brevard,
telling The Daily Beast
he's totally shocked by the allegations
and the suspect's father adding
that he spoke to his son just hours before the arrest
and he didn't say anything out of the ordinary.
But also with this story,
as people wait for more information,
waiting to find out what was the motive,
you have charged by this moment
and wondering why are so many people vulnerable.
In the fiscal year 2021,
over 100,000 homeless people
slept in the New York City
Department of Homeless Services shelter system,
with around 1/3 of them being children.
And that's not counting the thousands more
left on the streets who are difficult to even count,
which you have people saying
highlights the lack of affordable housing, evictions,
job losses, drug addiction and the mental house crisis,
with people also pointing to New York Mayor Eric Adams
being on a crusade in recent weeks,
to clear the subway system of homeless people,
drawing criticism from the Coalition of the Homeless,
who say that these shootings are an urgent reminder
that many unsheltered New Yorkers choose to bed down
in the subways because that is where they feel the most safe
in the absence of housing and low-barrier shelters,
and with that, calling on Adams
to open safe haven beds like he promised.
But ultimately where I'll end this story
is if you're interested and looking for ways to help,
you can do things like donating
to the National Alliance to End Homelessness
or I'll link to other advocacy organizations
of your choosing down below.
And in the meantime, we'll wait to see
what change and information comes from this situation.
And then let's talk about the major news
and updates regarding Anna Delvey, AKA Anna Sorokin,
AKA the Soho Swindler,
AKA the girl who's responsible for all your friends
putting on hybrid German-Russian accents and saying.
- You're being so dramatic.
The wire transfer's on the way.
- Every time you send them a Venmo request
after grabbing dinner.
Right, now, if you haven't heard of her
or if you haven't seen the Netflix series "Inventing Anna,"
which just recently came out
and made her famous scam blow up even more,
she was convicted in 2019 of defrauding banks, hotels,
stealing a private jet,
and essentially conning elite New Yorkers
into thinking she was an incredibly wealthy heiress.
And she finished her four year sentence
in February of last year,
but not long after her release, she was taken in ICE custody
and arrested for overstaying her visa.
And since then, she's been fighting off deportation,
but then, based on reports from the past 24 hours,
it seemed like she was unsuccessful.
Though information was pretty murky,
with some saying she was either facing deportation
or had already actually been deported to Germany,
but there were differing stories here.
And according to NBC News,
her attorney's been unable to contact her,
leading him to think that's it's possible
she may have in fact been deported.
But he also said
she should not be facing deportation until the 19th
because they are still under her timeframe to appeal.
You also had insiders saying
she was set to leave jail and board a plane yesterday,
but, again, her whereabouts are unclear,
with some reports suggesting
she still might actually be in the US,
with that being notable
because she was actually set to appear
on the massive "Call Her Daddy" podcast
in an interview from jail that was set to air tomorrow.
With The Daily Mail chalking it up to a deportation mix up,
saying she's still in New York,
though that report also said
the "Call Her Daddy" episode was previously recorded,
so regardless of her deportation status,
it should still be in the clear to air.
And with that,
there is a lot of excitement for that interview.
So for a while, there were all these reports,
it was kind of unclear until we saw an NBC News reporter
tweeting out that her lawyer says
that Anna is still in fact in a New York detention center
fighting deportation.
So ultimately, we're gonna have to wait
to see what happens from here.
And then, of course we need to talk about
gas prices surging to record highs last week
as more and more countries continue to sanction Russia
and ban imports of the country's oil and natural gas.
And while Russian oil
only accommodates for a small fraction of US oil imports,
because oil is priced in global commodity markets,
the efforts have sent prices soaring all over the world.
And while the average nationwide costs
have since fallen in the US a little bit,
they are still astronomical
for most normal, everyday people.
So as a result, we've seen people finding,
let's call it, creative ways to get gas.
And by creative, I mean, you know, stealing.
They're stealing it.
There's a way to call that creative.
And we've seen reports of gas theft all over the country.
In LA, residents have claimed
that people have literally just been siphoning gas
directly from car gas tanks.
And according to a lieutenant
from the Pasadena Police Department,
they say that thieves are also finding ways
around special anti-siphoning devices
put on more modern tanks,
with that seemingly being backed up
by the Everett Police Department in Washington state,
which said in a statement on Facebook,
"While some thieves use rubber hoses to siphon fuel out,
"we are seeing modern day thieves use power tools
"to drill a hole in the gas tank and steal fuel."
Which it kinda feels like
you just gave everyone the instructions.
Similar tactics have also been reported in Atlanta,
where police launched an investigation earlier this month
after car owners found holes drilled into their vehicles.
But in other places, some people have gotten more ballsy.
One family-owned gas station in the Houston area
told a local outlet that thieves stole
1,000 gallons totalling $5,000 from them
through an elaborate scheme
with one of the family members
sharing surveillance video that he claims
shows how the alleged perpetrators pulled it off.
Saying, "They had a trap door in their vehicle
"and they put a hose down there
"and suck it out at the pump."
And adding that the alleged heisters
hit his store three times last week and tried for a fourth,
sitting there each time for about 15 to 20 minutes
with another car playing lookout.
With the surging prices,
we've seen a growing number of governors
and state legislatures proposing cuts in gas taxes
to drive down costs.
Maryland Governor Larry Hogan
and top lawmakers in the state agreed last week
to suspend the gas tax for 30 days.
Legislators in Florida passed a similar measure last week
that would suspend their state tax for 30 days,
but not until October when tourist season is over
so it's unclear if that's really gonna help anyone.
And these efforts have also been echoed
in numerous other states.
Meanwhile, some leaders have taken different approaches,
like California Governor Gavin Newsom,
who floated sending money back to tax payers
through rebates to offset prices.
And according to reports, at least a dozen states
have proposed measures or passed bills
related to gas taxes in recent days.
Meanwhile, in Congress,
two Democratic senators have proposed legislation
that would suspend the federal gas tax until January.
While that plan is reportedly gaining momentum,
Democrats remain divided.
So as far as what happens from here,
as well as with these state proposals,
we're gonna have to wait and see.
But the real thing to watch out for will be how effective
these suspensions will actually be at lowering prices,
especially if they're short-term
and this issue persists for a while.
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And then it's both amazing and terrifying
that a country on the opposite face of the Earth
can have such profound impacts on our daily lives in the US.
No, I'm not actually talking about Russia yet.
We actually have massive news coming out of China
that could have serious implications for the US,
with the Chinese government on Sunday
locking down the technology hub of Shenzhen,
home to 17.5 million people,
to stem a recent surge in coronavirus cases in the city,
as well as locking down another province yesterday
that's home to 24 million people
and suspending bus services to Shanghai
on top of other cities
that were put on lockdown earlier in the week.
So now for at least the next week,
all business in Shenzhen,
except those supplying food, fuel, and other necessities,
must close or operate from home.
Which some might find crazy,
given that this a response
to just 60 new cases there on Sunday,
when at the same time in New York City, for example,
there have been hundreds of infections every day recently
and they are relaxing restrictions, not tightening them.
But also, infections in China
have jumped considerably in recent days,
more than doubling between Sunday and Sunday,
and continuing to rise,
making this the worst outbreak
the country's experienced since 2020.
And this is currently being driven
by the new stealth Omicron variant,
itself a variant of the Omicron variant,
which spreads faster than regular Omicron,
itself spreading faster than Delta or the original variant.
Notably, we're also seeing that variant
causing spikes in multiple European countries,
'cause I guess 2022 was like,
"Oh, you thought you were getting a break?
"You thought it was just the war? No."
But still, with these lockdowns
you have some calling China's harsh measures authoritarian.
But you also have others
arguing they're just effective policies
with only 4,636 deaths being reported on the Mainland
since the pandemic began.
Though, I do wanna note that you also have Hong Kong,
which is not part of the Mainland,
now being described
as having the world's highest COVID-19 death rate,
this largest because of low vaccination rates,
especially among the elderly.
And while this is certainly consequential
for millions of people in China, it could also effect us.
Starting with the economic side,
the province where the city is located
accounts for 11% of the country's GDP,
or a whopping $1.96 trillion,
and last year its exports represented
23% of China's annual shipments,
more than any other province,
and so economists at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group
estimate that China's lockdowns
will effect half the country's GDP and population.
And naturally this could ripple across the world economy,
especially hitting global supply chains fed by tech
and machinery out of Shenzhen.
We're talking about factories
that produce iPhone, semiconductors, computers
and other products out of operation.
And then finally, as promised, let's talk about Russia
and Putin's deadly vanity project in Ukraine.
Obviously, people continue to die
as the Russian army pounds population centers,
even as the two sides continuously meet for peace talks.
Although, notably, it's actually the first time
peace talks have gone on to a second day,
which has been interpreted by some as a hopeful sign.
But otherwise, the military situation
hasn't really changed since yesterday,
other than Zelenskyy making yet another call
for Russian troops to surrender.
There's also been a notable act of support for Zelenskyy
by the leaders of Poland, Slovenia, and the Czech Republic
as they have taken a train to Kyiv
for talks despite the fighting.
Then, on the economic front,
Russia continues to be a pariah
and effectively cut off from the world economy.
So they've enacted some largely symbolic sanctions
against President Joe Biden
and Secretary of State Antony Blinken,
but those won't really effect them.
Though there are also worries
that there could be increased cyber attacks against banks
in retaliation for Russia losing access to SWIFT,
so expect those headlines soon.
And Putin's last real lifeline
looked like it was going to be China,
but the US has been trying hard
to dissuade China from letting that happen
with a state department spokesperson giving this warning,
saying, "We are watching this very closely
"to the extent to which the People's Republic of China,
"or any country in the world provides support material,
"economic, financial, rhetorical, otherwise,
"to this war of choice that President Putin
"is waging against the government of Ukraine,
"against the state of Ukraine,
"and against the people of Ukraine.
"We have been very clear,
"both privately with Beijing and publicly with Beijing,
"that there would be consequences for any such support."
We also had American and Chinese officials meeting in Rome
to discuss this issue,
although we're not sure how those talks are going.
Really, the only sign we have of China's position
is from a conversation Foreign Minster Wang Yi had
with the Spanish prime minster yesterday where he said,
"China is not a party to the crisis,
"nor does it want the sanctions to affect China."
And so this has been seen
as one of the most explicit statements
the country has made about the issue
and led to some hope that China would join in on sanctions,
or at the very least just not help Russia avoid them.
But without trying to be too much of a buzzkill,
Foreign Minister Wang
did give himself an out in those remarks, saying,
"China has the right to safeguard
"its legitimate rights and interests."
And adding that, "China always opposes
"the use of sanctions to solve problems,"
especially those not enacted by the UN.
And as far as what happens from there,
we'll need to wait and see,
but either way, China will likely have a central role
and it knows that.
Now, with that said, I wanna pivot
and talk about some of the courage shown by Russians.
And obviously there I'm not talking about their soldiers,
but everyday Russians who are protesting this war
despite full-well knowing that they will be arrested.
I covered one prominent example
of a news producer on my TikTok yesterday.
I'm talking about Marina Ovsyannikova.
This is a massive deal
because Marina has been central
in spreading government propaganda
for years and years and apparently regrets that decision,
deciding to run onto a broadcast
for one of Russia's main stations
carrying a sign that said, "No War," in English
and "Don't believe the propaganda,
"they're lying to you here," in Russian.
It also looks like she didn't expect
to be able to say much after the protest,
deciding to pre-record this message.
(Marina speaks Russian)
- [Philip] Going on to call it a fratricidal war
and lamented of her time spreading propaganda, saying.
(Marina speaks Russian)
- And from here she's facing charges
for organizing an unauthorized public event
and may face charges for quote,
"Discrediting Russia's army."
She was also hit with a $280 fine for her video message.
And while it's of course amazing that she did this,
she is also hardly the only Russian protesting this war,
with reportedly 14,000 anti-war protesters
already being detained.
And I am just amazed
because it takes a certain kind of courage
to go out there, often alone, to protest this war
knowing that you are very likely going to get arrested,
if not worse.
Especially after Russia passed a series of laws
that give even harsher sentences
for discrediting Russian forces
or spreading what they refer to as misinformation
about the war.
If only for every protester arrested
that one less day Putin was on this Earth.
But ultimately, that is where that story
and today's show ends.
As always, thank you for watching, liking, subscribing,
being a part of these daily dives into the news.
Also, especially on days like today,
let me know what you're thinking
in those comments down below.
It gives me something to scroll through
while I just, you know, wait to get poked and prodded.
But of course, as always, my name's Philip DeFranco,
you've just been Phil'd in.
I love yo' faces and I'll see you tomorrow.