"HOW IS HE NOT IN JAIL?!
- Today we're talking about the White House topless controversy, Trump getting arrested again, while Andrew Tate is saying he just scored a massive win in court, four kids surviving for 40 days while lost in the Amazon after their plane crash. All that and so much more on today's brand new "Philip DeFranco Show," your daily dive into the news. Also, friendly reminder, the June Beautiful Bastard drop is live, which includes our new key chains, sticker packs, our awesome candles, those amazing cargo pants, and that awesome backpack. Link, of course, is down below, but we got a lot of news to talk about today, so buckle up, hit that like button, and let's just jump into it. Starting with the Biden White House just called out and banned a trans influencer, because you might have seen 27 year old Rose Montoya made some headlines, attending Biden's Pride celebration at the White House on Saturday. Well, Rose took video and then posted meeting Biden, shaking his hand, and then along with several of her friends exposed her breast on the South Lawn. With the video sparking backlash, people saying she was being inappropriate and disrespectful, though Rose responded in another video, saying, "My trans-masculine friends "were showing off their top surgery scars "and living in joy, "and I wanted to join them." Also arguing that being topless in DC is legal, saying she supports the Free the Nipple Movement, and saying, "Because it's perfectly within the law in Washington DC, "I decided to join them and cover my nipples, "just to play it safe. "I had zero intention of trying to be vulgar "or be profane in any way. "I was simply living in joy, "living my truth, and existing in my body." With all this, you have the two videos making its rounds through right wing circles, though notably that's not where it was limited with even people on her comments saying, "While I do agree with you on a certain level, "I do think there should have been a bit more decorum "and situational awareness "considering you were at the White House, "and how could you not know that "the right-wing zealots would weaponize this?" And all this is getting so big that a White House spokesperson even had to respond and say, "This behavior is inappropriate and disrespectful "for any event at the White House. "It is not reflective of the event we hosted "to celebrate LGBTQI+ families, "or the other hundreds of guests who are in attendance. "Individuals in the video will not be invited "to future events." And then do you think you could survive in the Amazon rainforest for 40 days and nights? Personally, I think I'm lasting two days. Like, I've injured myself multiple times on well-traveled hike paths, so I'm not giving myself the best odds. But somehow these children at the center of this story did just that. With this insanity starting back on May 1st, when a mother and her four kids are flying in a Cessna 206 over the south of Colombia with them flying to go join their father, who fled after he received threats from a rebel group. But all of a sudden the engine gives out and the plane crashes nose first into the dense jungle, killing both pilots. And while the mother would also end up dying, she ends up lasting a few days, and as she lay there dying, she tells her children to leave her and save themselves, reportedly saying something like, "You guys are going to see the kind of man your dad is, "and he's going to show you the same kind of great love "that I have shown you." So with that, the kids who are aged 13, nine, five, and one venture into the jungle on their own, surviving the first couple of weeks on a bag of cassava flour that they found on the plane, as well as impressively the 13 year old coming in clutch for the rest of the team using knowledge of edible fruits and seeds that was passed down to her from her mother. Also to avoid snakes, mosquitoes, and other predators, they're hiding inside tree trunks, but then also eventually using a tarp to build a small tent near the river with the 13 year old gathering water in a soda bottle, bringing it back for the others. But also of course, because they crash landed into the dense Amazon rainforest, despite their efforts, they're still growing weak. They're getting wounded. They're being bitten by insects, but that is when they hear a voice talking to them from high above the trees, and it's their grandmother who tells them to stay put so rescuers can find them. Also, notably, the grandma is alive. This is not a Simba seeing Mufasa in the stars sort of moment. Though notably, it was a recording of her being broadcasted from helicopters flying overhead, because as it turns out, the entire time people have been looking for them. And two weeks after the crash, search teams had found the plane's wreckage along with the pilots' and mother's bodies with the Columbian military launching a massive rescue operation involving more than a hundred soldiers, local indigenous people, and sniffer dogs, finding footprints, bitten fruit, diapers, and a baby bottle. Even according to the operations chief, unknowingly passing within 20 to 50 meters of the kids on a couple of occasions. Luckily, even though the humans can't find them, one sniffer dog by the name of Wilson does. At one point, losing contact with his handlers and tracking the children down himself and spending some time with them in the jungle, the dog eventually disappearing, and just as the kids are too weak to even move from their spot, the rescuers hear a baby cry, so they go towards the source of the noise. They find all four of the children in a small clearing, visibly emaciated, begging for food, with the men airlifted to a military hospital in the capital where they're being treated for malnutrition and dehydration. So obviously you have the family celebrating their return, people just relieved. It also turns out there's one piece of unfinished business, with the military saying that it is still looking for Wilson and tweeting that it leaves no one behind. And then you've got massive Andrew Tate breaking news today, though it's being described in two completely different ways. I'll explain. Because you have outlets saying Romanian authorities are upping their case against Andrew Tate, with Reuters reporting that prosecutors are now investigating Tate, his brother, and two others for human trafficking in continued form with the outlet describing it as "a more serious crime than separate counts of trafficking," which is what he was initially being probed for. And reportedly on top of that, another victim's been added to the case with prosecutors expecting to commit Tate and go to a trial by the end of the month. But then on the other side of this, you have a different framing with Tate's legal team saying these changes were in his legal interests, adding the legal framework has been revised and altered to ensure an impartial investigation is upheld. And Tate himself tweeting that the authorities "rearranged all accusations and restructured them "in a way that benefited me massively, "because they don't have any evidence." And claiming, "They needed to do this to charge me with such a weak file. "Can't drop it, now can they? "Imagine the uproar." Though with that, again worth noting that most reports say that these changes made the case more severe, and some also noting that authorities are now investigating another man who is apparently close to the Tate brothers, and that man also being looked into for human trafficking and sexually exploiting a group of women. But for now, we're gonna have to wait and see, and we should know soon, because the clock's been ticking. Something's gotta happen soon. We just don't know what exactly it's going to look like. And then Hollywood is rolling out the red carpet for Ezra Miller right now, and a lot of people aren't too happy about it. For the premiere of "The Flash" happening in Los Angeles last night, the film clouded in controversy, because its star, Ezra, who, if you need to play some catch up here, has been involved in numerous scandals over the past few years, like getting arrested a couple of times in Hawaii for harassment and assault. There was also a video that appeared to show Ezra choking a woman in Iceland, and an investigation into claims that Ezra was housing a woman and her children on a farm in Vermont, as well as separate grooming accusations. But amid all this, producers and executives in the DC Sphere have stood by Ezra, especially as the film has inched closer and closer, with reportedly the movie actually mostly completed before most of this happened, and DC kind of just deciding not to scrap it and plunging ahead with Ezra as their star. And so last night we saw Ezra make what Entertainment Weekly described as "a blink and you'll miss it appearance" at the premiere, but notably not so fast that they didn't walk the carpet, pose with co-stars, and say a few words to introduce the film. Reportedly in those remarks, Ezra spent a lot of time generally thanking people who made and supported the movie, and then acknowledging the sort of patience higher ups had in regard to Ezra's personal troubles, and specifically calling out Warner Bros Discovery CEO, David Zaslav, other WB execs, and DC Studio heads, James Gunn and Peter Safran. And this for what Ezra described as their "grace and discernment and care in the context of my life. "And in bringing this moment to fruition." With this notably Ezra's first appearance in nearly two years, and these comments also being the first since releasing a statement back in August, with Ezra at that time saying, "They were suffering complex mental health issues "and receiving treatment," but also with the situation, you have a lot of people just not buying what DC and Ezra seem to be trying to sell, with people saying things like, "Seriously? "So Ezra Miller isn't going to face any consequences "for their actions? "We're all just supposed to forget "that they choked a woman, groomed a minor, and so on?" As well as, "Ezra Miller is an abuser and a predator. "So when you buy your tickets "for that little superhero movie, "remember who you're supporting, "and know that you're a part of the reason "predators in Hollywood keep on getting away with it." And finally, "Pretty amazed Ezra Miller didn't thank "the colossal greed of Hollywood to continue with a movie "despite behavior that would get "anyone else in the world sacked, "but very possibly never able to work again." With all that said, I gotta know from you, what are your thoughts in general regarding the Ezra Miller situation? As well as are you going to watch the movie? And then for any of you focused on getting your business off the ground, creating a place to share your homemade goods, or even a personal blog, I got a great solution for you, and it's thanks to the fantastic partner and sponsor for today's show, Squarespace. You know, I've been partnering with Squarespace for years now and I have to say it's just so easy. There's nothing ever to install, patch, or upgrade. And creating a beautiful website with Squarespace's fluid engine is so easy. You just drag things where you like, no code necessary. And if you need a starting point, Squarespace has so many great professional templates. Plus, with an online shop from Squarespace, you can sell virtually anything: physical, digital, or service products. You can even sell custom merch easily. Squarespace handles the production and shipping. 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, and start your free trial today over at squarespace.com/phil. And when you realize you love it, just make sure you enter in offer code Phil to get 10% off your first purchase. And then this woman was rescued from the death zone of Mount Everest, and the internet hates her. Let me explain. Right, so you've got this climber and a Sherpa making their way up around 27,000 feet when they reach the death zone, or the part of the climb where oxygen is scarce, temperatures drop as low as -30 degrees Celsius, and there they discover a 50 year old Chinese woman. She's unconscious, her equipment's stuck on a rope, her oxygen's completely depleted, her face covered in ice. Her hands are so frostbitten that one's turned black. And apparently she had ascended Everest that day with her own Sherpa, but got separated from them on the dissent reportedly due to unclear communication. So these two men do the right and brave thing. They abandoned their own summit, and attempt a rescue operation, but by a few hours later they'd only carried her about 650 feet, and they were losing hope as night was falling. At which point, they happened to cross paths with another climber and his Sherpa, who were on their way up the mountain. With that climber telling a Sherpa, "Look, if you carry this woman the rest of the way, "she'll pay you a standard $10,000 fee." We're basically making a deal on her behalf, since at that point she's still out cold. But then 11 hours later, to the team of four getting her down to the camp, and she eventually wakes up and that is when the drama starts. Because you had Chinese media reporting that the woman's only willing to pay the Sherpas who rescued her $4,000, and so the internet hears this. It goes fucking wild with the hashtag, "Everest rescued woman doesn't want to pay "full rescue expenses," getting viewed more than 370 million times on Weibo. And people writing things like, "I'm in favor of sending her back," and, "If there's a fee to send her back, "I'll contribute a little." Others, though, going further, doxing her, and people getting angrier and angrier, or some arguing it's unlikely she couldn't afford it, since she already spent tens of thousands of dollars to climb Everest. Meanwhile, you have the partner company that she was climbing with jumping in to defend her saying that it settled any payment claims with the Sherpas, also taking responsibility for the separation of her from her Sherpa, which kicked off the whole thing to begin with. And it being argued, hey, she wasn't awake for the $10,000 promise, but also get this. This woman isn't the only one taking heat right now, because on the same exact day that she was rescued, a Sherpa found another climber also in the death zone, also climbing to a rope, also without oxygen, and also separated from his own Sherpa. So this Sherpa also does the right thing. He convinces his client to give up their summit and attempt a rescue effort instead, wrapping the freezing climber in his sleeping mat, hauling him all the way down to camp, which by the way, a breathtaking achievement, since it took him only six hours to descend 1,900 feet all while this dude's on his back. But then after recovering and talking about all this on television and social media, the climber thanked his rescue insurance, his sponsors, and basically everyone but the Sherpa. So the internet blasted him for that also, accusing him of deleting critical comments and even blocking the Sherpa on Instagram, though also with that, he did eventually come out and give the Sherpa a proper thanks, though still doing it under his partner organization. And then the PGA LIV merger is now in trouble with everyone's favorite uncle, Sam. Or just yesterday you had Senator Richard Blumenthal, the Chair of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations officially opening a probe into the arrangement, and then letters to the leaders of both PGA and LIV. Blumenthal wrote the PGA's agreement with the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, or PIF, which owns LIV, raises concerns about "the Saudi government's role in influencing this effort "and the risks posed by a foreign government entity "assuming control of a cherished American institution." With him going on to say that "PIF has announced that it intends to use investments "in sports to further "the Saudi government's strategic objectives," and adding, "Critics have cast such Saudi investments "in sports as a means of sports washing, "an attempt to soften the country's image around the world, "given Saudi Arabia's deeply disturbing "human rights record at home and abroad." And noting that just strange, peculiar thing that before the agreement, PGA was one of the loudest critics of LIV golf's affiliation with Saudi Arabia. And so as a part of this inquiry, Blumenthal also requested a sweeping range of documents and communications in regard to their planned merger. This including records concerning how the PGA came to the agreement with LIV Golf, how the new organization will be structured and run, and how the PGA plans to stay a tax exempt organization. Now, as far as how the two still separate entities have responded, LIV has declined media requests for comments. Also, to any journalist that get offered the opportunity to learn more, but you have to meet him at a consulate, I'd recommend against it. But you did have a spokesperson for the PGA telling reporters the organization was, quote, "confident that once Congress learns more "about how the PGA Tour will control this new venture, "they will understand the opportunities "this will create for our players, "our communities, and our sport, "all while protecting an American golf institution." Which with this we need to note two things. One, this is not at all unexpected, all right? We've known that this deal was going to face a ton of regulatory hurdles, but also two, Blumenthal is just one of the barriers that this merger faces, right? I mean, already we've seen a Democrat in Congress introducing a bill to strip PGA of its tax exempt status, a move that could cost millions of dollars a year, though notably that's probably just pocket change compared to all that blood money Mohammad Bone Saw threw at the PGA. But also beyond that, Senator Ron Wyden, who chairs the Finance Committee, has said that he intends to launch his own investigation into the agreement. And notably, he also suggested the deal can face backlash from the Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States, or CFIUS, which notably is the Treasury Department-led panel that looks into national security implications of foreign investments in US companies, though notably there the Treasury Secretary said last week that it was not immediately obvious to her how the PGA LIV deal concerned national security. Though Wyden has said that he's interested in the agency looking into whether the merger could give the Saudi regime inappropriate control or access to US real estate. And again, it does not stop there, because there are a number of anti-trust concerns as well. And experts say the Justice Department could consider suing to stop the deal, because, well, yes, the PGA and LIV have agreed to drop all the messy legal battles they were waging against one another. That doesn't mean that the DOJ is just gonna forget about it, right? For months, DOJ antitrust investigators have actually been investigating the PGA at the urging of LIV over the tour's efforts to stop players from defecting to LIV, and its close relationship with other major golf organizations. And so now you have experts saying that the settlement between PGA and LIV could itself raise antitrust concerns. With one explaining, "If companies try to resolve a legitimate dispute "by agreeing to common conditions that stifle competition, "that could be a problem." And finally, today we need to talk about it. It is history. Donald Trump has officially become the first president to be booked on federal charges. And this is now the second time he's turned himself in for arrest. So a very key thing with this historic news is that this has really not impacted his electability among the Republican base, right? According to a CBS News/YouGov survey, "61% of Republican voters said the indictment "doesn't change how they viewed Trump," and "80% of the groups said "he should still be allowed to take office if he wins," even if he's convicted. And Trump remaining the clear front-runner among the Republicans surveyed with a nearly three to one vote preference over his closest competition, Ron DeSantis. But of course, that's just one part of the story, with, yes, history being made today, Donald Trump surrendering to federal authorities and pleading not guilty to federal charges. This is several hundred people gathered in front of the Florida courthouse ahead of his arraignment, most of them Trump supporters, but also many reporters. And while both federal and local authorities increased security ahead of his appearance, the protests have remained relatively small and peaceful. But of course, with this, this is all going down as I'm recording today. It's a developing situation, so if anything does happen, we'll obviously talk about it tomorrow, because I mean it feels like everything's constantly changing. I mean, just hours before he was set to appear, Trump's legal team was in flux, right? And that because two of his attorneys quit following the unsealing of the indictment against him, then being reported that two other attorneys filed notices of appearance at the courthouse at the last minute. But as far as what we know for sure is happening, from here after his arraignment, Trump's gonna be traveling back to his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey where he's expected to deliver a big speech tonight. And I would also go on to speculate that this is probably gonna be a massive fundraising day for him as well, but we'll see. Time will tell, and in the meantime, of course, I'd love to know your thoughts on this in those comments down below. But that's where today's daily dive into the news is gonna end. As always, thank you for watching. My name's Philip DeFranco. You've just been "Phil-ed In." I love your faces and I'll see you tomorrow.
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