Trump Quietly Admits There Is No End To This War

0:00 Mr..

0:00 Beast company just got sued.

0:01 The allegations are shocking, but you also have the company firing back,

0:04 saying this is a clout chasing complaint, and they dropped some screenshots.

0:07 RFK Jr spent four days and seven

0:09 congressional hearings getting torched as his own CDC just buried a study by its

0:12 own scientists showing Covid vaccines are incredibly effective.

0:15 redistricting fight in Virginia is far from over.

0:17 As a judge who already tried to block the vote twice before and been overruled,

0:20 justice ruled that the Democrats violated the state constitution.

0:22 medical marijuana is finally no longer

0:24 classified as equally dangerous to heroin.

0:26 But first up, today we got to talk about this.

0:28 now gone from saying the war with Iran is going to be over any day.

0:31 To saying that there's no time frame at all.

0:33 into the meantime, you have both countries locking down the Strait of Hormuz,

0:35 the global economic impact deepening and the other ceasefire, right.

0:38 The one between Israel and Lebanon that's hanging in the balance.

0:41 the violence continuing despite the Jerusalem as Israel

0:43 is accused of intentionally killing journalists and medics.

0:45 but we're we'll start is with the US in Iran,

0:47 because the ceasefire has been extended.

0:48 And here's white House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt

0:50 kind of reiterating Trump's stated justification for the decision.

0:52 there's obviously a lot of internal division this is a battle

0:55 between the pragmatists and the hardliners in Iran right now.

0:58 And the president wants a unified response.

1:01 with that, she essentially argued the fact that it is so

1:03 difficult to negotiate with Iran because the surviving leadership is so divided,

1:06 shows how effective operation Epic Fury has been.

1:08 and you had her claiming that despite Iran's

1:10 alleged inability to come up with a unified response,

1:12 the white House has a good understanding of the individual who

1:15 will ultimately have the power to sign off on a final deal,

1:17 but she also wouldn't say who.

1:18 and then as far as when we might expect to get a decision from that individual.

1:21 There were reports yesterday that Trump was only giving Iran a few more days,

1:24 but Levitt said that Trump has not set a firm deadline for Iran to respond.

1:27 and then as far as Trump, he gave an even more open ended answer,

1:30 telling Fox News that there was no time

1:32 pressure on the cease fire and there was,

1:33 quote, no time frame for when the war might end.

1:35 and adding, people say, I want to get it over because of the midterms.

1:38 Not true.

1:39 want a good deal for the American people.

1:41 and of course, this seems to be yet another massive shift

1:43 from his initial claim that this war would just last 4 to 6 weeks,

1:46 and his repeated claim since then that it would end very soon.

1:48 and this also isn't the only way we've seen Trump seriously walking it all back.

1:51 writings.

1:51 We've talked about his efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz,

1:53 have involved repeated threats to destroy energy

1:55 and other civilian infrastructure across the country.

1:57 we're talking about attacks that experts say would likely be war crimes.

2:00 Also can't forget he threatened the death of Iranian civilization itself,

2:03 which some have argued equated to a call for genocide.

2:05 also on April 12th, when he announced the U.S.

2:07 blockade of Iranian ports.

2:08 Specifically, he said that any Iranian who fires

2:10 at peaceful vessels will be blown to hell.

2:12 since he's extended the cease fire,

2:13 Iran's attacked three ships near the Strait of Hormuz,

2:15 seizing two of and now you've even had the IRGC publishing

2:18 video appearing to show its forces approaching the vessels on speedboats,

2:20 flying the Iranian flag, and scaling the sides with ladders.

2:23 then you had letter telling Fox News that Trump

2:25 didn't view these actions as violations of the ceasefire.

2:27 No, because these were not U.S.

2:29 ships.

2:29 These were not Israeli ships.

2:31 These were two international vessels.

2:33 Levitt also claimed the fact that Iran did this with only, quote,

2:36 speedy gunboats shows that they don't have control over the Straits, saying.

2:39 This is piracy that we are seeing on display,

2:42 and the naval blockade that the United

2:44 States has imposed continues to be incredibly effective.

2:46 of course, the the actual effectiveness of the blockade, it can be debated.

2:49 you the Defense Department saying today that it did turn back 31 vessels so far?

2:53 But some analysts have claimed many others have made it through,

2:55 which the Pentagon's denied.

2:57 that's as it's also been increasingly targeting

2:58 Iranian linked ships far from Iranian ports.

3:01 announcing this morning that it had carried

3:02 out a maritime interdiction and right of visit

3:04 boarding of a sanctioned vessel in the Indian

3:06 Ocean that had been transporting oil from Iran.

3:07 this is actually the second time the Navy's

3:09 boarded a ship in the Indian Ocean this week.

3:10 And that's as it's reportedly intercepted at least three others in Asia

3:13 and fired at and boarded another ship in the Arabian Sea,

3:16 so overall, you know, Iran's economy is definitely feeling the pressure.

3:18 But some analysts say, you know, they can take it,

3:20 especially as they kind of just have to outlast Trump's willingness

3:23 to withstand the pressure that it's putting on the global economy with.

3:25 So almost no traffic going through the strait.

3:27 and this is the U.S.

3:28 claiming that ships without links to Iran are free to pass,

3:30 but the military is escorting vessels in the near as U.S.

3:32 destroyers are reportedly more than 400 miles away.

3:34 according to some, the lack of a friendly naval presence in the Strait,

3:37 it shows that the Iranians still pose a threat.

3:39 And you had one analyst telling the New York Times,

3:41 not going to reassure anybody to start up shipping again through Hormuz.

3:44 If the U.S.

3:45 Navy itself refuses to operate in Hormuz.

3:47 notably with that, you had Trump claiming today

3:48 that the Navy would start operating in the Strait,

3:50 we're saying it, ordered it, quote,

3:51 to shoot and kill any boats, small boats though they may be.

3:54 That is, putting minds in the water of the Strait of Hormuz and adding,

3:57 our minesweepers are clearing the strait right now.

3:59 I am hereby ordering that activity to continue.

4:01 But at a triple depth level.

4:02 but also, as of now,

4:03 it's not at all clear what Trump is saying is even remotely true.

4:06 ready.

4:07 Already claimed at the end of last week that Iran,

4:08 with the help of the USA, has removed or is removing all sea mines.

4:12 that ended up being among many things that he

4:13 said at the time that turned out just to be,

4:16 I'll say, impressively untrue, including that Iran had, quote,

4:18 agreed to everything but also according to the Washington Post,

4:20 the Pentagon told Congress this week that it could take six

4:23 months to get rid of all the mines in the strait,

4:24 and that any such operation is unlikely to be carried out until the war ends.

4:28 there you the spokesperson disputing the timeline and saying that the Washington

4:31 Post is made clear they care more about advancing an agenda than truth.

4:34 but also it seems possible that Trump's announcement,

4:37 it's just an effort to calm markets,

4:38 since the news gives one more reason to believe

4:40 that energy prices are going to stay high, even if the war ends tomorrow.

4:43 then also, while the Pentagon's doing damage control,

4:45 it's also dealing with chaos of its own.

4:47 Because Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth fired the Navy's top civilian official,

4:50 Secretary John Fallon.

4:51 he's a businessman that was appointed to the role

4:52 by Trump despite having almost no relevant experience,

4:55 except maybe for the fact that he flew on Epstein's plane in 2006.

4:58 a secretary, you had him promoting a new type

5:00 of vessel to be called the Trump class battleship.

5:02 then also, he's reportedly clashed with other

5:04 top leaders of the Pentagon, including heads up.

5:05 And so now he's out,

5:06 the really he's just the latest in the shakeup at the department.

5:08 this is coming just weeks after Heggie says

5:10 wartime firing of the army's top uniformed officer,

5:12 general Randy George, along with another general.

5:14 then, of course, in addition to exact also

5:16 firing other generals as well as admirals, lawyers,

5:18 and many of the people whose job was basically to prevent

5:20 the military from accidentally blowing up a school full of little girls.

5:23 That said, though Fallon's firings are apparently unlikely

5:25 to directly impact naval operations related to the war,

5:28 although the confusion surrounding his dismissal could

5:30 apparently make it harder for the military

5:31 to replenish its stock of certain missiles and high end air defense systems.

5:34 and then you've also had some arguing

5:36 that this may ultimately have other less tangible effects.

5:38 with Senator Jack Reed, for example,

5:39 that the top Democrat in the Armed Services Committee arguing in a statement.

5:42 this kind of disruption at the top sends

5:44 the wrong signal to our sailors and Marines,

5:46 to our allies and to our adversaries.

5:48 then also with everything we've got to talk

5:49 about the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, because today,

5:51 with the US hosting a second meeting between the two sides,

5:54 we're now more than halfway through the truce.

5:55 of course, I need to put an asterisk on that because despite the agreement,

5:58 Israel is continued to occupy parts of southern Lebanon,

6:01 demolishing homes and buildings and barring

6:02 residents from returning as it creates

6:04 what it's calling a buffer zone about ten kilometers deep into the country.

6:07 right.

6:07 It's also continued strikes against what it says

6:09 are Hezbollah targets in the country claiming self-defense.

6:11 And then you have Hezbollah firing rockets and drones into Israel,

6:14 and what it calls a response to violations of the cease fire.

6:16 the also what we've seen is that the Israeli

6:18 military is capable of doing a lot more damage,

6:20 having killed more than 2400 people since the fighting began on March 2nd.

6:23 actually yesterday killed at least five more people,

6:25 including a journalist with Lebanese officials claiming

6:26 that she and a colleague who was

6:28 wounded were deliberately targeted while hiding out

6:30 in a home following an earlier strike.

6:31 Right.

6:31 They also claim that the Israeli military then targeted

6:34 the rescue workers trying to come to their aid,

6:36 with soldiers allegedly firing at a Red cross ambulance and a drone allegedly

6:39 dropping a grenade on rescuers trying

6:40 to lift the wounded journalist from rubble.

6:42 you have many saying, you know, this could have been what's been described

6:44 as a double tap operation where Israel strikes once,

6:46 waits for first responders to arrive and then strikes again.

6:48 that's something that we saw in Gaza, now in Lebanon,

6:50 we've even seen at least one report

6:52 of a quadruple tap where after an initial strike,

6:54 Israel carried out three consecutive strikes on three

6:56 sets of ambulances and medical workers, an overall.

6:58 Israeli strikes in Lebanon have reportedly killed seven journalists.

7:01 that's as the Lebanese Health Ministry said last week,

7:02 that at least 100 medical workers have been killed

7:04 and more than 120 attacks on ambulances and medical facilities.

7:07 so with this latest attack, you have the Lebanese prime minister

7:09 accusing the Israeli military of war crimes.

7:11 anyway, the Committee to Protect Journalists similarly saying

7:13 in a statement the repeated strikes on the same location,

7:15 the targeting of an area where journalists were sheltering and the obstruction

7:18 of medical and humanitarian access constitute

7:20 a grave breach of international humanitarian law.

7:23 the with all that.

7:23 You know, while the US is facilitating the talks,

7:25 the Trump administration reportedly doesn't appear to be

7:27 putting a lot of pressure on Israel.

7:29 what we're gonna have to wait to see what happens there.

7:31 We also then have to talk about this dispute

7:32 in the US that can shape the outcome of the next election.

7:34 and so actually by extension, could come back around and affect what happens

7:37 in the Middle East along with so much more.

7:39 Right.

7:39 Because just a day after the votes came in, a Virginia judge

7:41 has blocked the Democrats there for moving forward with new district maps.

7:44 the blessing of there were multiple legal issues.

7:46 He criticized the ballot question,

7:47 and now it's standing in the way of the Dems taking back the House.

7:50 right.

7:50 But Virginia Democrats,

7:51 they say they're already looking forward to defending their new maps in court.

7:53 and if they win the appeal,

7:54 this could stop Trump in his tracks or lead him to investigation or impeachment.

7:57 because the Virginia Dems, they slipped by with a three point win that could

8:00 leave them with a 10 to 1 majority in the House.

8:02 and that would help even the playing field in the redistricting wars.

8:04 It's been happening in the country ahead of the midterms.

8:06 the with his vote you had Republican leaders saying Democrats attempted

8:08 to force an unconstitutional scheme to tilt congressional maps in their favor.

8:11 But the court recognized it for what it is a blatant power grab.

8:14 specifically with this Virginia Circuit Court judge

8:16 agreeing saying that they violated the state constitution,

8:19 leaving the referendum ineffective.

8:20 judge saying Dems pushed the proposal during

8:22 a special session of the General Assembly, which he says is a rule violation.

8:25 and he also said that the referendum was

8:26 supposed to pass through two different general assemblies,

8:28 with a general election in between before it got to voters.

8:31 then he also claimed that they didn't follow

8:32 the 90 day public notice requirement before voting started,

8:34 in that the question on the ballot was flagrantly misleading.

8:37 notably, the same judge is also trying to bring

8:39 up legal questions to block this vote twice already.

8:41 And neither worked out for still, it's worth mentioning that he's not

8:44 the only one talking about the ballot question.

8:45 Because for context, the the question read,

8:47 should the Constitution of Virginia be amended to allow

8:49 the General Assembly to temporarily adopt new congressional districts to restore

8:52 fairness in the upcoming elections

8:54 while ensuring Virginia standard redistricting

8:56 process resumes for all future redistricting after the 2030 census?

8:59 voters, they had mixed reactions.

9:01 your thoughts on the wording of the question and how did you interpret it?

9:04 I would say that this particular, ballot item has seen in the media an attempt

9:13 to really confuse the voters It's very disappointing that, like,

9:17 a certain party feels like that they have

9:20 to result to certain measures in order to win.

9:24 The wording of the question on the ballot, was pretty cut and dry.

9:27 It was good.

9:28 That's very understandable.

9:29 and even before they saw the question, you had voters complaining about

9:31 the confusing messaging coming from politicians.

9:33 we talked about it on previous shows.

9:34 You had people accusing Republicans of purposely trying to confuse

9:36 black voters with mailers that had photos of the Klan.

9:38 right.

9:38 And there are also some misleading mailers about Obama's position on all this.

9:41 so it seemed like there were a number of voters

9:42 that ended up confused about what side they should be on.

9:44 again, with all that you with Democrats coming out on top,

9:47 and if they keep up the track record with the appeal, they'll be moving forward.

9:49 and again, while you had Republicans not happy about what happened in Virginia,

9:52 you had Democrats saying they're just fighting fire with fire.

9:55 wow.

9:56 Wow, wow.

9:57 I totally, listen.

9:59 Democrats have attempted and asked Republicans

10:03 for ten years to ban Partizan gerrymandering.

10:06 And for ten years, Republicans have said no.

10:10 these are the rules that they have set.

10:11 and, you know, we're gonna have to see what happens there.

10:13 But, there is one thing for sure.

10:15 next time anyone complains about anything to me, I am texting them.

10:18 Just the clip of AOC saying, wow.

10:21 just a generational clip.

10:22 It's up there with, Miss Rachel and Mamdani going wah wah wah.

10:26 Wet.

10:26 and then there's more we've got to dive into in just a minute.

10:28 But first, let me thank the sponsor and say,

10:30 you know, figuring out dinner every night.

10:32 It's rough enough.

10:32 you throw kids into the mix and you're basically trying to manage a circus.

10:35 And it's starring meatloaf.

10:36 it's not that you don't want to cook.

10:38 Is that coming up with something new every single night?

10:40 That's where the creative block kicks in.

10:41 and these were our nights until today's sponsor,

10:43 HelloFresh, came into our life HelloFresh,

10:44 you can cook meals that actually feel interesting

10:47 again without turning it into a giant ordeal.

10:49 they've had 80 plus recipes every month,

10:51 stuff like Vietnamese, Moroccan, Caribbean.

10:53 So it's not just chicken rice or peat.

10:55 and they send you everything.

10:56 Pre-portioned.

10:56 So you're not hunting down random ingredients

10:58 you only use once and then forget about, it's basically the easiest way to cook

11:01 something that feels like you actually tried.

11:02 plus you get to experiment with ingredients like lemongrass curry

11:04 paste stuff that you might not grab on your own.

11:07 you know, I use HelloFresh because it cuts out the annoying part of cooking.

11:09 It leaves the part that actually feels worth it.

11:11 say good at Hellofresh.com slash DeFranco ten FM right

11:13 now to get ten free meals plus a free

11:16 NutriBullet Ultra Plus 2 in 1 compact kitchen system

11:18 which is $189.99 cent value on your third box.

11:22 meals applied as a discount on the first box.

11:23 New subscribers only varies by plan.

11:25 Disclaimer must order the third box by May 31st, 2026.

11:28 yeah, nothing hits like home cooking.

11:29 then diving right back into the news.

11:31 Hey, broken clocks.

11:32 Right?

11:33 Twice a day.

11:34 because just this morning,

11:35 the Trump administration announced that it would be reclassifying state licensed

11:37 medical marijuana and changing its status as a schedule one drug.

11:40 And of course, it's the strictest category for drugs.

11:42 It includes drugs like heroin, drugs.

11:44 They don't have any accepted medical use and have a high potential for abuse.

11:47 so until this latest move, medical weed,

11:49 it was considered more dangerous than fentanyl,

11:51 which is used in hospital settings.

11:52 now medical marijuana is going to be classified as a schedule three drug,

11:55 which includes much lower risk drugs

11:56 like ketamine and carries fewer restrictions.

11:58 though, to be clear, I do not want y'all getting in trouble.

12:00 this announcement does not decriminalize or legalize

12:03 medical weed at the federal level,

12:04 nor does it affect the criminal classification of recreational marijuana,

12:07 though there you have DOJ officials saying the hold

12:09 a hearing in June in order to consider that idea.

12:11 but still, this is just an absolutely massive

12:13 move that advocates have been pushing for for decades,

12:15 and one that's going to have

12:16 a number of incredibly significant consequences, right.

12:18 First up, the reclassification will significantly expand the kind of scientific

12:21 research that can be done on pot and its medicinal applications.

12:24 it'll also open up new banking access

12:26 for medical marijuana operators and give them

12:27 a huge tax break by finally allowing

12:29 the businesses to claim tax deductions on their expenses.

12:32 right.

12:32 And it creates a new expedited registration process for state

12:34 medical weed licenses in the 40 states where it's legal.

12:36 so with all this, you have a ton of people saying the reclassification.

12:39 It's just long overdue, especially given how public attitudes and state

12:42 level policies have shifted in the last decade.

12:44 Plus.

12:44 right.

12:44 40 states have legalized medical marijuana, 24 have legalized recreational pot,

12:47 and a majority of Americans support easing restrictions on the drug.

12:50 and on the note to public support,

12:51 the timing here is also very notable because it comes just days after Trump

12:55 appeared to openly complain about the slow

12:56 pace of easing federal restrictions on illegal drugs.

12:59 Back in December, you had Trump signing an executive order directing federal

13:01 agencies to quickly ease restrictions on pot and make CBD more available.

13:05 over the weekend, he signed another order directing federal agencies

13:07 to expand research and clinical trials for a handful of different psychedelics,

13:10 including LSD and psilocybin, and actually during a signing ceremony,

13:13 the Oval Office, which feature Joe Rogan,

13:15 who's of course, pushed for increased access to psychedelics,

13:17 Trump went off on a series of tangents that ended with him complaining

13:19 to Rogan about how it was taking just too long to reschedule a certain drug.

13:23 that we also didn't say which drug he

13:24 was actually talking about in his disconnected, rambling.

13:26 and you're going to get a rescheduling done, right place.

13:28 So we get will you get the rescheduling done, please?

13:31 You know that, Joe, they're slow walking me in rescheduling.

13:35 Okay.

13:35 You're going to get it done right.

13:37 then boom, just like magic.

13:38 A few days later, administration officials suddenly rescheduled marijuana.

13:41 overall, I think this is a good move.

13:42 Does it negate all the other 99% of things?

13:46 No.

13:46 But at least as of now, this looks like a positive.

13:48 But the next up from that, we've got to talk about this Mr.

13:51 Beast controversy.

13:52 because he is once again in the hot seat over his company's alleged culture.

13:55 And this time you've got allegations of sexual harassment, retaliation,

13:58 and even making an employee work while she was actively in labor.

14:00 Right.

14:01 Specifically what we're talking about

14:01 in this story that's now been plastered everywhere,

14:03 like it was in The New York Times as coming

14:05 from a lawsuit that was filed in North Carolina by Lorraine member Mattis.

14:08 she's a Brazilian vlogger turned social media professional.

14:10 and the story is she lays it out in her suit.

14:11 It is it's horrifying from start to finish.

14:13 So let's dive into that first,

14:15 Because Lorraine says that she was hired as the head of Instagram there in 2022.

14:18 She called it her dream job and said,

14:20 felt surreal to get the opportunity to work there.

14:21 But it didn't really take long for me to see

14:23 that things were not exactly how I saw them.

14:25 From the outside.

14:26 saying she found the company culture was toxic,

14:28 that women were excluded from meetings or told to shut up,

14:30 demeaned, harassed, and overall treated poorly.

14:32 at one point, her complaint says male executives laughed and made

14:35 jokes at the office about female contestants of these games

14:37 who complain they did not have access to feminine

14:39 hygiene products and clean underwear while participating in the show.

14:42 she also shared what she said were some of her own experiences

14:44 and the things she says she witnessed in a video on Instagram.

14:46 From the very beginning, I was yelled at, cursed at.

14:50 I was even called dumb in front of my entire team.

14:54 After giving a business idea,

14:55 only to have a man give the exact same idea a minute later and get praised.

15:00 I was obligated to attend one on one meetings at the CEO's house by myself,

15:05 and an upstairs room only lit by a side lamp,

15:09 and have him hear how attractive and beautiful I was.

15:12 And the reason was, and I quote,

15:14 you are too high of a caliber for this position.

15:17 So today I'm taking legal action not just for what happened at the end,

15:21 but for everything that happened along the way

15:24 and for the toxic culture that made it all possible.

15:27 right.

15:27 That bit about the CEO is specifically referencing to a former CEO,

15:30 James Warren, who stepped down in 2023.

15:32 and according to her complaint, Warren often made Lorraine uncomfortable,

15:34 commenting on her appearance a lot,

15:36 insisting to have one on one meetings before, during, and outside of work hours,

15:40 and dismissing her complaints about

15:41 a male client's unwelcome advances toward her.

15:43 then even worse is the alleged comment he made about Mr.

15:45 Beast himself, But at one point,

15:46 Lorraine claims she notice some strange behavior from Mr.

15:48 B's.

15:49 Right.

15:49 Jimmy Donaldson, saying he was avoiding

15:50 eye contact with her, refusing to engage, asking her to leave meetings,

15:54 and even repeatedly abruptly leaving a room that she was

15:56 in, so she says she went to Warren to ask about it,

15:58 and she says that he told her, quote, Jimmy Mr.

16:00 Beast gets really awkward around attractive woman.

16:03 And I quote Lorraine,

16:04 let's say that when you're around and he needs to go to the restroom,

16:09 he's not really using the restroom.

16:10 with the implication Lorraine gathered there being that Donaldson

16:12 was going to the bathroom to masturbate to her.

16:15 so then thanks to that comment and Warren's own behavior,

16:17 she said she went from dressing up

16:18 and wearing makeup to baggy clothes and baseball caps, trying to be invisible.

16:21 but also with all this.

16:22 Lorraine did fairly well professionally during her time with the company,

16:25 saying that she was promoted twice and at one

16:27 point was managing a team of 20 people.

16:28 then in late 2023, while managing that team,

16:30 she said that she and other women found themselves unable

16:32 to ignore producers unwelcome comments about

16:34 their appearance and close touching, saying.

16:36 When they took that problem to their supervisor, nothing happened.

16:38 Lorraine took it to HR,

16:39 complaining about the lack of action from her supervisor,

16:42 as well as other issues within the company culture,

16:44 and saying that she felt responsible for the women on her team.

16:46 saying I had a woman coming to me crying, saying,

16:48 this is my dream job and I just can't do it anymore.

16:50 My mental health can't take it anymore.

16:52 and according to Lorraine's complaint,

16:53 the investigation the HR department launched was doomed from the start.

16:56 She said the attorneys hired to look into the situation

16:58 didn't even speak with many of the women that were involved.

17:00 And within two months, Lorraine was told that her claims were unsubstantiated.

17:03 then also a kicker here is that after making the complaint,

17:06 Lorraine says that she was demoted.

17:07 retaining that he was moved to social

17:08 media manager for the merchandise division,

17:10 which she describes as the stepchild of the Mr.

17:12 Beast organization, saying, everyone says if you're in merch,

17:14 that's where dreams go to die.

17:16 but with that, she says, you know, she wasn't trying to make waves,

17:17 especially because her and her husband wanted to have a baby soon.

17:20 so she stayed in that position.

17:21 At the beginning of 2025,

17:22 she informed her manager that she was pregnant and asked for maternity leave.

17:25 and with that, she says that she was eventually given 16 weeks of paid leave,

17:28 but claims that at no point was she made aware of her rights under the FMLA act.

17:31 and then her suit says that when she was in labor, laying in a hospital bed,

17:34 her supervisor asked if she would still be attending a scheduled team meeting.

17:38 saying I was so fearful of losing my job,

17:40 I knew that I didn't want to give them any excuse for letting me go.

17:43 And then three weeks after her daughter was born.

17:44 Lorraine says that she was asked to manage an exhibition booth,

17:46 putting her on her feet for hours

17:48 and to facilitate a high profile production in Brazil.

17:50 she traveled to Brazil less than a month after giving birth.

17:52 and then three weeks after she was officially back in a position,

17:55 she was locked out of her email.

17:56 And when she finally got back in, she

17:57 found a notification that she had been terminated.

17:59 the filing apparently telling her that she

18:01 was too high caliber for her position.

18:02 seemingly, you know, going through all of that insanity just to come

18:05 back and be given the boot, it left an impact.

18:07 I was at the hospital in labor, in a team meeting one week postpartum,

18:13 still healing, sleep deprived, emotionally and physically exhausted.

18:19 I was already back to work less than a month postpartum.

18:22 Going through postpartum depression, and I had to hop on a plane,

18:26 fly out of the country to work on a main channel,

18:29 shoot, and leave my newborn baby behind.

18:32 a time that was supposed to be protected,

18:34 those moments were all taken away from me.

18:37 And after everything that I went through,

18:39 two weeks after coming back from what was supposed to be a maternity leave,

18:44 my maternity leave, I was let go.

18:46 now with all of this, you know, as it was making headlines, we then saw the Mr.

18:49 Beast team immediately hit back with a response.

18:51 or with the official statement

18:53 from the Chief Communications officer, Gordy Paez,

18:55 reading this clout chasing complaint is built

18:57 on deliberate misrepresentations and categorically false statements,

19:00 and we have the receipts to prove saying.

19:02 There is extensive evidence, including slack and WhatsApp messages,

19:05 company documents and witness testimony that unequivocally refutes her claims.

19:09 and saying we will not submit to opportunistic

19:11 lawyers looking to manufacture a payday from us.

19:12 as for the receipts and what they say they

19:14 have proof of, you got a slack exchange between

19:16 what looks like Laraine and her coworker when she

19:18 tells him that she's in labor and he says, quote.

19:20 shit, of course.

19:21 Amazing.

19:21 You shouldn't even be checking slack right now.

19:23 Sending a big hug and lots of success the most amazing experience of your life.

19:27 and then they shared what appears to be a WhatsApp message from Lorraine.

19:29 And it's a conversation about the trip to Brazil after she had given birth.

19:32 then it it appears, she says, despite being on maternity leave,

19:35 I feel like it would be extremely valuable to go

19:37 with you to make sure everything works out smoothly

19:39 and to have a Brazilian citizen on the ground

19:41 with you all for any last minute things that may arise.

19:43 we also saw the company share a copy of their handbook

19:45 with what looks like Lorraine Signature on it as well.

19:48 with a handbook containing the company's FMLA policy,

19:50 apparently trying to disprove the claim

19:51 that she didn't know about her rights there.

19:53 and then today we reached out.

19:54 You had a company, so was claiming that most of Lorraine story just isn't true.

19:57 and so.

19:58 For example, they said that she wasn't demoted after bringing a complaint,

20:00 claiming that Lorraine actually asked to explore other areas in the company.

20:03 And she even kept her impressive salary when she

20:05 was shifted to social media manager of e commerce.

20:07 also as far as Warren's behavior in the question of was James investigated?

20:11 We talked to a source with knowledge on the matter, and they said that he was,

20:13 with them claiming that Lorraine raised a complaint in 2023 against James.

20:17 saying the breakdown of the events was that James asked her to mentor someone.

20:20 She met with them several times and said she didn't feel comfortable, so.

20:23 And she took it to HR.

20:24 with him, then claiming that Lorraine claimed that James Warren brushed her off.

20:27 and saying when they interviewed him,

20:28 he just said that Lorraine didn't have to work with them,

20:30 then claiming that Lorraine eventually admitted that that's what happened.

20:33 But then also going back to the company source.

20:35 They held firm that the, the whole Jimmy

20:37 gets really awkward around beautiful women situation never happened.

20:39 and they're saying that Lorraine made no complaint about it to HR,

20:42 and they claim she only brought it up after

20:44 the fact in a bid to get media attention.

20:46 which then also echoes the official statement

20:47 that we saw from the company saying,

20:48 this is an allegation fabricated for the sole purpose of sparking headlines.

20:51 and saying it's also disgusting at the lawsuit

20:53 is exploiting Jimmy's eye condition in Crohn's disease,

20:55 two medical conditions he has been publicly open about

20:57 in their attempt to secure a multimillion dollar payday.

21:00 and they also said that there was absolutely

21:01 no expectation for her to work while on leave,

21:03 that her job was guaranteed when she came back.

21:05 sing again.

21:05 That she volunteered for the trip to Brazil and that she

21:07 was given extra days or leave to make up for and then

21:10 as far as are getting fired right after coming back

21:11 of that company source saying that it was an unhappy coincidence,

21:14 saying they had brought someone in to address

21:16 the issues of e-commerce not being profitable.

21:18 And in the reorganization, several roles, including the reins, were cut.

21:21 saying that a number of men were also part of this court and saying

21:23 that she was told that it had nothing to do with her or her performance.

21:25 and so kind of ultimately, the the Mr.

21:27 Beast organization side of this story is that Lorraine is a classic case

21:30 of a disgruntled employee using the massive

21:31 audience that comes with working for Mr.

21:33 Beast to prop herself up.

21:34 and with that saying,

21:34 they're not going to let her bully them with sensationalized tales.

21:36 but ultimately that's where we are right now.

21:38 And so I want to end on two different notes.

21:40 The first being.

21:41 very interested to see where this goes.

21:42 I have my eyes on this because we

21:43 have two very different versions of the same story.

21:46 You got both sides, release and receipts.

21:47 one side, you have Lorraine presenting a detailed account of sexual harassment,

21:50 retaliation after a complaint, being forced to work through maternity leave,

21:53 and being terminated after what she described as a sham reorganization.

21:56 and on the other side.

21:57 That company showing messages where it looks

21:59 like she volunteered for the Brazil trip,

22:00 where someone who appears to be her coworker explicitly

22:02 tells her to stop checking slackened assigned FMLA acknowledgment.

22:05 right.

22:05 Some of this can be reconciled.

22:07 People can volunteer for things that they feel pressured into.

22:09 Receipts don't necessarily tell the full story of a workplace culture,

22:12 and can maybe sometimes show a limited context.

22:15 but some of it doesn't seem like it can

22:16 either that comment about Jimmy happened or it didn't either.

22:19 She raised Warren's behavior to HR and it went down a certain way or it didn't.

22:22 Either she was demoted or she asked for the transfer.

22:24 and in theory that's gonna get sorted out through discovery.

22:27 And if this doesn't settle in a courtroom.

22:28 because workplace harassment cases,

22:30 they often come down to documentation and witness testimony and patterns.

22:33 and right now, you've got both sides here

22:34 signaling that they think they have the stronger hand.

22:36 So we definitely have to keep our eyes on this.

22:38 and two, it gives us kind of the opportunity to say, you know,

22:41 if you or someone you know,

22:42 is navigating pregnancy discrimination or FMLA issues at work a better balance?

22:46 They run a free legal help line at 1833 need AB.

22:49 And the federal EEOC has a complaint portal@eeoc.gov.

22:54 actually also the Time's Up legal defense fund at the National

22:56 Women's Law Center is another resource for workplace sex discrimination cases.

22:59 and I mention all that because, yes,

23:00 this is a big story, but it is also a single story.

23:02 if I can use it as an avenue to get the word out,

23:05 and maybe it helps other people that are in horrible situations,

23:07 that ends up being a win because everyone should

23:09 be treated well at work and feel safe and supported.

23:12 but then from that, as we begin to wind down today's show,

23:14 I want to end on two things.

23:16 one is our weekly congratulations.

23:17 And the last is the last piece of news we need to dive into.

23:19 first, let me say congratulations to Sydney AC Geek's latest weekly winner,

23:22 who just scored $500 and tickets and is going to go see Tame Impala.

23:25 the rest of your.

23:26 That's right.

23:26 SeatGeek is still giving away $500 in tickets,

23:28 and you should definitely enter today if you haven't already.

23:30 could be the next winner.

23:31 And snag $500 towards your favorite artist, sporting event or play.

23:33 I mean, there's like over 70,000 events to choose from.

23:35 does that go?

23:36 DeFranco to your ikigai profile for a chance at the weekly $500 prize.

23:39 No purchase necessary.

23:40 but then for our final story of the day.

23:42 Is that you smell something?

23:44 you suspended this Pro-vaccine messaging campaign,

23:47 but somehow you're spending taxpayer dollars to drink milk

23:51 shirtless in a hot tub with kid Rock, yeah.

23:55 That was Aki Junior's pork chop looking ass getting skewered,

23:57 grilled and marinated over four days and seven separate hearings.

24:00 now we're they're just being hours and hours of testimony.

24:03 I can't get through everything,

24:04 but there are a handful of moments that have been grabbing a lot of attention.

24:07 We should talk about, right.

24:08 Like when he was confronted about his own words,

24:10 about putting black kids to work on farms

24:12 and conveniently suffered a bout of amnesia.

24:14 Well, let me read exactly what you said.

24:15 You said every black kid is now just standard put on Adderall on SSRI eyes.

24:21 Benzos, which are known to induce violence in those kids,

24:24 are going to have a chance to go somewhere

24:26 and get reprinted You said that that if you could,

24:30 you would send every black kid again your words,

24:33 not mine, to go live on farms and work.

24:36 I have no memory of saying anything like that.

24:38 Yeah, well, I actually have the recording that I can give to you,

24:42 but it is absolutely what you said.

24:44 I do not believe that every black kid

24:47 should be reported on a wellness farm or whatever,

24:50 and I have never believed that.

24:51 if I said I don't, I apologize, but I'd have to see the transcript.

24:55 right.

24:56 Here's that clip that she's talking about.

24:57 It's from his election campaign in 2024.

24:58 wellness farms, rehabilitation facilities that I'm going

25:01 to start in rural areas all over the country,

25:05 where people, any American, can come for free,

25:07 any of them who is dependent on drugs,

25:09 you know, legal drugs or illegal drugs, psychiatric drugs,

25:13 which every black kid is now just standard put on Adderall,

25:18 SSRI benzos, which are known to induce violence.

25:25 And, and those kids are going to have a chance to go somewhere and reparative.

25:31 but then naturally, with RFK junior,

25:32 a huge amount of the hearings, they centered around vaccines,

25:35 which actually speaking of those, his CDC just yanked a study conducted

25:37 by its own scientists after it showed Covid vaccines to be effective,

25:40 with the paper finding that vaccination cut the likelihood of E.R.

25:43 visits due to Covid by 50% and of hospitalizations by 55%.

25:47 but instead of publishing it in the CDC Journal last month,

25:49 as it was originally supposed to be, RCS minions just shelved with them claiming

25:53 that they took issue with its methodology.

25:54 But experts say that the methods a standard one that's

25:57 been used for plenty of other studies in the past.

25:59 and then, regardless, they say that it's very unusual for agency leadership

26:02 to just cancel a publication like this after it's already

26:04 cleared the scientific review process and been given a publication

26:07 especially after RFK is acting head of the CDC,

26:09 reportedly asked the study's authors to change its design, and they refused.

26:13 But of course, publishing it with a contradicted

26:15 RFK is efforts to restrict vaccine access,

26:17 not to mention his claim that the Covid

26:19 shot was the deadliest vaccine ever made.

26:20 but when he stood in front of the Senate, right.

26:22 The the pro-vaccine Republican bill Cassidy fact

26:24 checked his bullshit right there on the floor.

26:26 because in support of his claim that the drop in mortality

26:28 over the 20th century was due to better hygiene and sanitation,

26:30 and had almost nothing to do with vaccines, RFK cited two studies.

26:33 CDC has actually done a real study that answers that question.

26:38 And it's called Gaia g u I e r 28 r 2000.

26:42 there's another one.

26:44 It came out 1977.

26:47 It was, required reading in virtually every

26:49 medical school that says the same thing.

26:51 And I was the author of that one.

26:53 I one was called McKinley and McKinley.

26:55 then after doing a bit of research while others spoke,

26:57 Cassidy served up the truth.

26:58 I've looked up the article of the quotas.

27:01 Thus, vaccination does not account for the impressive declines

27:04 in mortality seen in the first half of last century.

27:07 The reductions in vaccine preventable diseases, however, are impressive.

27:12 Now condense in the early 1920s.

27:14 There are about 500 there, about a half a million annual cases.

27:18 Before the introduction of vaccine of the measles vaccine in the 60s.

27:22 Because of vaccines, these deaths had been virtually eliminated.

27:26 So that's the complete context.

27:27 I was talking about mortality, Senator.

27:30 That's what he's saying.

27:30 The deaths have been virtually eliminated.

27:32 speaking as a physician, I will say we looked up.

27:34 I looked up the Macauley McKinley articles.

27:37 There was 3.5 million cases of measles per year before the vaccine came along,

27:42 and about 550 deaths.

27:44 And then the vaccine took those to less than 100 and, like zero deaths.

27:50 also another thing that Democrats really crucified him for were

27:52 the cuts to Medicaid and Trump's so-called big beautiful bill,

27:55 which he just denied were even a thing.

27:57 There's no cut Medicaid.

27:58 Look at the CNN report.

28:00 This back, and then just do the math with me.

28:03 Then that means that they added $3.5 trillion to the deficit.

28:06 You got to find $1 trillion.

28:07 You either added $1 trillion to the deficit or you cut Medicaid by $1 trillion.

28:10 I mean, do you think the National Budget Office is lying yet?

28:14 But the Congressional Budget Office, they're lying.

28:16 No, they're saying that there was there's

28:17 a saying there's a 47% increase in Medicaid.

28:20 as it turns out, RFK is technically correct here, right?

28:22 Medicaid spending will still increase,

28:24 but the part that he's papering over is that the spending will increase

28:27 way less than it otherwise would have had had the bill never passed.

28:30 like anywhere from 665 billion to $1 trillion less over the next decade.

28:34 and so whether you want to call that a cut or pick some other term.

28:37 The fact is that 7.5 million people are

28:39 projected to lose their Medicaid coverage by 2034.

28:41 and it's not just that lawmakers also questioned

28:43 RFK about his HHS budget request for 2027.

28:45 Secretary Kennedy.

28:46 Do you think that NIH should fund less cancer research?

28:51 one of the few agencies that's gotten a raise in the budget proposal is NCI.

28:57 And that, that increase is less than $1

29:00 million for an institute with a $7 billion budget.

29:05 Secretary Kennedy, do you think NIH

29:08 should fund fewer Alzheimer's disease, research grants?

29:13 I think they should be funded more.

29:15 Well, NIH, his own budget documents show that last year,

29:20 the NIH, Institute on Aging,

29:24 which administers the bulk of NIH Alzheimer's disease research,

29:29 funded 411 or 45% fewer new grants.

29:35 And this is true for every disease in NIH.

29:38 His research portfolio.

29:40 and then continuing on the theme of RFK fudging the numbers.

29:43 He had this insane response to Elizabeth

29:45 Warren's question about Trump's lies on drug prices.

29:47 He claims that Trump already has reduced prices by as much as 600% 600%,

29:55 which I think means companies should be paying you to take their drugs.

30:00 That's it.

30:00 President Trump has a different way of calculating.

30:03 If there's two ways of calculating percentage.

30:06 If you have a $600 drug and you reduce it to ten.

30:09 That's a 600% reduction.

30:11 You know, I only have five minutes.

30:13 Now, y'all, let me just be very clear here.

30:14 If you go from 600 to 10, that is a 98.33% decrease, not 600%.

30:21 there are not two ways of calculating that.

30:23 There's not alternative math here.

30:24 That's just simple arithmetic.

30:26 get that a lot of people on the other side here,

30:28 embrace the idea of alternative facts.

30:30 the math here is just math.

30:32 Even ChatGPT.

30:32 When it's not hallucinating, it'll give you the right answer.

30:34 Although, speaking of which, maybe it'll become the next side of the FDA.

30:37 Anyway.

30:38 Hey, AI is going to revolutionize medicine and I may at someday,

30:43 at some point, make FDA even irrelevant.

30:45 citizen.

30:46 You know, I just was reading about, a, a dog that had cancer and his owner used

30:54 AI to develop a personalized treatment that cured the cancer.

30:58 but putting all that silliness aside, as many have noted,

31:01 RFK kind of seem to walk a very fine line during these hearings.

31:04 right.

31:04 On the one hand, he doesn't want to upset his mama base.

31:06 But then on the other hand, he can upset daddy Donald.

31:08 and so on several issues.

31:09 He either waffled back and forth

31:11 with his answers or just backtracked entirely or like.

31:13 When lawmakers pressed him on the measles outbreak,

31:15 he endorsed the measles vaccine,

31:16 but also downplayed the severity of the disease.

31:19 or like when they asked him whether he's

31:20 okay with Trump's executive order increasing production of glyphosate,

31:23 a cancer causing pesticide that RFK once sued Monsanto over

31:26 and granting the company immunity from liability for its harms.

31:29 his my hobbies.

31:30 They might not believe this, but RFK

31:31 defended the chemical is necessary for food production,

31:33 arguing that Trump's order helps protect American national security.

31:36 but despite all that, it looks like Trump

31:38 seen the polls showing that RFK is anti-vax.

31:40 Agenda is unpopular among the general public, even with Republicans.

31:43 Because, according to the New York Times,

31:44 the white House has pushed the health secretary to focus less

31:47 on vaccines and more on stuff like healthy eating ahead of November's midterms.

31:50 just last week is RFK was beginning his hearings.

31:52 Trump nominated doctor Erica Schwartz,

31:54 who's actually supportive of vaccines to lead the CDC.

31:56 so we'll have to see, assuming she gets confirmed,

31:58 if RFK lets her exercise any power or if they inevitably clash.

32:01 the at least while the Congress even said that he supports her nomination

32:03 but refuses to commit to accepting all of her decisions on vaccines.

32:06 that my friends, you beautiful bastards,

32:08 is the end of your Thursday Philip DeFranco show.

32:10 and actually just have some friendly housekeeping right here at the end.

32:12 First.

32:13 Remember, I'm taking the show on the road, though.

32:14 It's the crashing out tour.

32:16 me and my buddy Alex Pearlman.

32:17 Losing our minds together with you in 12 different cities.

32:20 Also, maybe more soon.

32:21 And you can get your tickets right now at crashing outdoor.com.

32:23 Use presale code.

32:25 Crashing.

32:25 we're already blown away by how many people got tickets.

32:27 I hope you can come.

32:28 two, if you missed it.

32:29 I actually uploaded two Philip DeFranco shows today.

32:31 I had one earlier today about prior authorizations, and Jon Ossoff joined us.

32:34 and three.

32:35 If you haven't seen it yet, watch this week's new Crashing Out episode.

32:37 with that said, thank you for watching.

32:39 I love yo faces.

32:40 And I'll see you right back here next time.