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Ben Shapiro's ICE Movie is Worse Than You Think

27m 19s

Ben Shapiro's ICE Movie is Worse Than You Think

A controversial film by Ben Shapiro’s The Daily Wire, titled "Ponshot," has ignited a local crisis in Livingston, Montana, after it was accused of distorting and mocking the killing of Minneapolis protestor Renee Good. The film’s production, marked by unannounced filming, armed security, and disruptive activities, led to widespread community backlash, with residents reporting mental health distress and serious disruptions to essential services like the town’s food bank. Local content creators and witnesses claim the crew misled background actors about the film's content, leading to ethical and safety concerns. Meanwhile, in France, massive student protests are erupting over systemic failures in education—including teacher shortages, unsafe buildings, and lack of basic facilities—resulting in over 5,000 arrests, injuries, and school closures. The protests have drawn support from unions and the far-left, though officials accuse them of political manipulation. In parallel, the ongoing Cornell 7 sexual assault case has intensified with leaked recordings showing attempts to cover up the incident, suppression of victim testimony, and claims of misinformation. Politically, Democrats are intensifying attacks on Republicans by linking them to Jeffrey Epstein, citing cover-ups and donations, with ads targeting key lawmakers. Additionally, a Chinese real estate agent was caught photographing a Taiwanese official’s family, revealing espionage concerns, while a music artist’s defiance of venue bans over anti-Palestine messaging highlights ongoing tensions around free speech in public events. These intersecting stories underscore deep societal fractures in media, education, politics, and national security.

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English
This Ben Shapiro Daily Wire Pro-Eyes movie scandal is genuinely insane and somehow the movie itself's become a small town crisis. You get the Cornell 7 case just getting bigger and bigger as more recordings leak. Also, you're seeing Republicans not fully escaping there and drums Jeffrey Epstein problem, and you've got thousands of students being arrested over a massive education crisis. We're talking about all of that even more. On today's brand new Philip DeFranco show, you daily dive into the news, but first, a quick announcement self from on a great way to sport the show. Over on BeautifulBasher.com, we just did a surprise October drop with one of my favorite designers. So right now you can get your new favorite tea and more. Let the world know I used to be on the honor roll. Now I'm on a government watch list. Or openly wonder how many grams of protein will it take to restore the light in my eyes? You can warn people to do not talk to me about AI. And with it being spooky season, letting people know there's nothing performative about my love for spooky splendors. All available for you to pick up yours at BeautifulBasher.com. But with that fun, lighter note said, there's a lot we got to talk about today starting with this. Depending on where you go online and where you are ideologically, you might be familiar with Ben Shapiro for a number of different reasons. Right, something to invest is someone who helped promote and then has consistently been destroyed. I can't just show ones on the regular. Maybe you've just stumbled across one of his post where he's trying to cosplay as a manly man so that fewer Republicans view him as a cuck. Or maybe especially over the past year and a half, you've seen him go hard in the pain. For Israel, as opinions about Israel have changed drastically in the Republican Party, especially among younger voters. But the reason you have been in the news today is that a company that is a co-founder of and a co-owner of The Daily Wire, they're making a movie. Right, this is a thing that the company does. And while seemingly their viewers and subscribers, they love this sort of content. Pretty much everyone else sees it as propaganda slow. And what appears is that his latest attempt at making this movie has been such a disaster that the town of Livingston, Montana at least temporarily has shut the production down. And as far as this specific production, reportedly it is a pro-ice propaganda film titled "Ponshot." Right, they started production a week ago and there's this scene in it. And as a scene, whether directly or indirectly, that appears to mock the killing of Minneapolis protestor Renee Good. And if it's supposed to be referencing this in any way, it also completely rewrites how it happened. Right, and so as far as the synopsis, that reads when chaos hits the streets of Minneapolis, a young federal agent is left alone after his partner is seriously hurt and must find a way to survive an increasingly dangerous situation. Seeking shelter inside a neighborhood pawn shop, he becomes trapped with a traditional Hispanic father and his progressive college-age son, forcing three very different men to confront fear, conflicting beliefs, and a crisis that tests their courage and humanity. Right, and then you have the bulwark adding that there is a "blood-thirsty MS-13 Death Squad" intent on rescuing a man detained by ice. And it's believed that the movie, apparently, opens up with that Renee Good-type scene. But the character is named Melanie, and she has described as a masked, quote, fat blue hair who blasts NPR as she gleefully kills an ice agent with her Subaru. And so with this, like it is worth a peek at just how gruesome, and if it's supposed to be referencing this, how inaccurate the whole script is. With it allegedly reading, she mashes onto the gas as she throws the car into reverse, accidentally slamming one out of the way. He goes flying into the gutter, bleeding, and as the car reverses, Mike fires twice through the windshield. The first shot hits Melanie in the neck, below her COVID mask, and the second in the head, above her COVID mask, blood splatters on her passengers. Right now, as we know, Good did not kill any ice agents with her car, nor did she even hit the guy who killed her. He shot her through her driver's side window. And her family, actually, they just filed two civil lawsuits against the federal government over this wrongful death. Because you've got a lot of people saying that Ben Shapiro's company The Daily Wire, they're turning an innocent woman who was murdered into a caricature with this scene. Right, they're arguing that's stooping pretty low even for The Daily Wire. And that's as, since they started filming, you've had people saying that the movie crew has just been wreaking havoc on the town. They're disrupting local businesses and scaring residents with dangerous stones, or, portally, without giving any proper notice. And actually, to get an inside look, or at least an on-the-ground look to all of us, we spoke with Brooklyn Wilde, a Livingston-based content creator who's in the film industry. They're just permitting and closing down, imagine blocks at a time, and even running simulated car crashes and pyrotechnics and gunfire. I believe in the freedom of speech. But even if this film were anti-ice in nature, I terribly disagree with the predatory practices of the producers on this, on the day that they were filming the Renee Good sequence, you could say. There was a retired that who has a lot of accessibility needs, and he has a lot of support needs. And he doesn't know, like he's not online. He didn't know that this was just a movie, but I heard from people that there was a borderline moment of a public crisis, like a public mental health crisis. Because this guy was being so actively triggered by a production who didn't tell anyone. Because you've got people saying, you know, others are being affected by this in very real ways. And you've had towns people peacefully protesting, singing Ben Shapiro is a cock or playing copyrighted music. With this, you had wild adding. And this movie was so afraid of us protesters that they actually hired six of their own private security armed private security guards who were intimidating. And if you go back and watch the city meeting and anyone can, that's like publicly archived, you can see many citizens were concerned. Like, why does a movie need six armed guys? And so with this, you've had residents complaining to the police department on a daily basis. And apparently beyond scaring the neighbors, this has been interfering with the town's food bank, Livingston Food Resources. And you actually have them releasing a statement saying, since filming began across the street from our building, road closures and armed security guards have increased the barriers to accessing food, and adding our clients deserve to feel unequivocally safe accessing this essential resource. And with that, noting that attendance was down 17% last Tuesday, and eight week low from seeing 90 to 100 plus households a day. And so you had all of this leading to the special meeting on Saturday, where the Livingston City Commission unanimously passed a motion in response to the concerns. They're putting production on hold while city leaders get legal advice about whether they have grounds to change or revoke the permit. And with that, you had wild saying there are a lot of issues with this permit situation. The city's permitting system is not designed for film. While the production I've seen did write out pyrotechnics, car crash, like we'll call the police before we set off blank gunfire, which is all things that they've been doing, the permit also said it is encouraged that you reach out to local residents and business owners to let them know what will happen. And they said we are, or we will, and then they never did. And with all this, we should have an update soon, right? There's a follow-up meeting that's actually set for this evening. So we're going to see what happens there. But at least according to wild, they kept filming after the pause was in place, and that hasn't gone over well. And then also aside from the permit logistics, there have also been a lot of questions and concerns about the behind the scenes of the filming. Because this is a film that's apparently under a conditional start with SAG AFTRA and not under an IOTC contract at all. Or with those being two of the major unions that represent workers in the entertainment industry. And you're seeing conversations about the people involved from the top of the pyramid all the way down to the bottom. Because one of the executive producers on Pawn Shopped is Carter Bome, who was also an executive producer on Rust. Or which famously was the 2021 movie where a cinematographer, Helena Hutchins, was fatally shot after a prop revolver that Alec Baldwin was holding, fired a live round. And so on top of the safety concerns you had wild telling us that several actors and crew members were lied to about the film and taken advantage of. When the production came to town and started hiring background actors for their scenes, they were coming towards people saying that it was anti-ice in nature. So a lot of locals were hired as background actors, and some of them were proud. They were like, go ice, and they stayed. They definitely did. One guy, Chris, I think his name is, he found out he was unhappy, he was lied to. He made a scene. He like made sure he could ruin as many takes until they asked him to go. And then one other person, Quinby, Quinby Music is her handle. She was in Minneapolis during Operation Matroserge. So I really love that she stood down the protest on the protest mic. And so basically you have this situation where it's alleged that the facts don't care about your feelings people. They've both rewritten history and a form of entertainment. And allegedly they're lying to people about it to get them to participate. Here's what I'll say right now. Everything's really amassed. We're trying to learn more. And there are going to be updates to the situation that start with the permit, right? Whether that's changed or revoked tonight. But then from that, we jump to other news because you have hundreds of schools shut down thousands of students arrested. Dozens of people injured in some buildings. They're ransacked and burned because apparently when French high school students protest, they go all out. Because you have much of France right now ripped with student protests over the quality of their education and things. They've been getting heated. You're looking at barricades popping up on the streets, vandalism, fires and fireworks. Teenagers taunting police and getting arrested. Officers firing tear gas and charging lines. And actually this whole thing, it started a couple of weeks ago on the outskirts of Paris. Or where you had teachers and students mobilizing against the lack of staffing at the local high school. But since then, this whole issue has snowballed and spread across the entire country, resulting in more than 5,000 arrests as a Friday with most of them actually being minors. And with that, 170 students and 78 school staff members have been injured according to France's education minister. And that's as you have them saying that 24 school buildings have been ransacked and burned. Though I will say there was a bit of a low over the weekend after some 700 to the 3700 schools in the country were impacted by the protest on Friday. Though that doesn't mean that it's over because organizers call for even more protest through this week. Or accusing the government of a lack of concrete measures in addressing their demands. And so over the weekend, do the education minister announcing that between 400 and 500 schools would be partially or completely closed, going into Monday, citing security conditions of the schools that, quote, have not been fulfilled. And as far as, you know, what these students are demanding, they're kind of hitting a wide variety of issues that are plaguing the French school system, but a big one, it's just staffing. There is just not enough teachers to support staff pretty much anywhere. In fact, the education ministry found that during the 2024-25 school year, nearly 10% of required teaching hours, they went untaught in public secondary schools. And a big chunk of that was because they just couldn't find substitutes. And so the lack of teachers means massive class sizes. We're talking 30 to 40 students per class. And that also doesn't even touch the facilities themselves. Right, because you've had the students also highlighting that a lot of their buildings, they're just crumbling. They're saying they roast alive in the summers and they freeze in the winners. And that's when the buildings are at least upright. They're saying that some schools, they're leaking, decaying, and collapsing. And that's on top of the reported infestations of rats and roaches. You'd want to student those protesting in the Northeast to France telling a local outlet. There are 35 of us per class of 95 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer. It's unbearable. There aren't enough toilets, and there are water leaks in some rooms. The building is falling apart. The cafeteria is too small. There's zero budget, zero resources, not enough supervisors. And you had another protestor adding, "Today our school is paralyzed due to a lack of resources, teachers, and not enough desks. We don't have nurses or supervisors, and all they do for us is take away our phones." And as not just inside of individual schools, that's the problem. The students are also taking issue with the system at large. There are some also calling for the abolition of state-run admissions platforms or higher education and universities that they call unfairly selective. Or you have them saying that social background determines success, meaning that kids growing up disadvantaged, they don't have the same opportunities. Now with this, something interesting is that the students have gotten a lot of support from local unions as well as what's been described as France's far-left party, France Unbatty. And so you've had their leaders and rising stars showing up to these protests and condemning what they're calling the "savagery" of the police in their response to the protests. So that support has also led to Françon Baud's critics accusing them of fanning the flames and manipulating the students for political gain. And in fact, you had the Education Minister saying "There are activists, particularly from the far left, who have infiltrated the high school student movement, hijacked it from the students themselves and engaged in extreme violence." And that's as you've had other French officials saying that while the students grievances, their legit protests, those have evolved into riots and senseless violence. That said, Françon Baud has denied the accusation that they're manipulating anything, saying that while they support the movement, they don't have any hand in its organization anyway. But I will say it is worth mentioning that they do stand to gain something from offering their support here. Because among other things, their leader, Jean-Luc Melanchion, he's making a fourth run at becoming president and he's spending a lot of time wooing the younger voters. Right, he's not being subtle about this agenda. In a statement last week, he came out and all but said that he wants the young voters to remember his party support here and saying, "What we want is for the countries, young people to emerge from this episode with their heads held high, having won something and learned something and to remember it when they cast their ballots." And so that's going to be a thing to remember, right? However, these protests shape up in the coming days and weeks and maybe months. It's become very clear that it's going to be a major piece of the political conversation heading into the election. And then, there's even more we got to dive into in just a minute, but first, a quick word from a sponsor. You know, it's wild. The hardest part about needing a doctor sometimes isn't the appointment. Just trying to find one when you actually need the help. But I was talking to a friend recently that injured their Achilles tendon. So they need to to find a sports medicine orthopedic surgeon quickly. So he did what most people do. He starts for a highly rated doctor called the office and immediately hit a voicemail. Or the message basically saying, "Due to a high number of calls, leave a message and we'll get back to you." So not great when you're trying to find someone to help you with something very serious. So that's why I used today's sponsor Zapda. And I think you should too, because there is an easier way to find and book doctors today. Or with Zapda, if you can search and compare high-quality in-network doctors, look through profiles, reviews, and see actual appointment openings. And instead of making calls and hoping someone gets back to you, you can find available appointments and book online. They have more than 150,000 providers across 200 plus specialties in all 50 states. And appointments, those can happen within 24 to 72 hours. Sometimes you can get same day availability. My body, he got booked within 48 hours. And ultimately, your health matters and taking care of it should not be ridiculously complicated. So find and book the right doctor with Zapda. Just head to zapda.com/vill or scan that QR code or get started and get that appointment off your to-do list today, that's zocdoc.com/vill. But then, jump it right back into the news. Today, we've got to talk about big updates around this, so called Cornell 7 and the alleged sexual assault. Because among other things, you have Jane Doe now facing threats. There are reports of an alleged cover-up and there's new phone call recordings that have leaked. And just as a quick refresher, last month, a Jane Doe filed a lawsuit claiming that she was gang-raped by seven fraternity brothers at Cornell. And as you've had the story growing, there have been a ton of new narratives and responses, including people that are blaming Jane Doe and trying to identify her. And so with that, yesterday, you had a lawyer telling CNN. There are people out there trying to track her down. They've tracked down the wrong women, at least three of the wrong women that I've heard about. They said, "We're going to shut you up. You're going to be still get hurt by us. You're going to pull this lawsuit out or we're going to do something to hurt you even more." She's received multiple threats and women who aren't even Jane Doe have received threats about what they're going to do. And in fact, this morning, I received a threat. And that actually wasn't the only major allegation that he dropped. Because you also had him telling Jake Tapper that, given the way that the case was mishandled by both Cornell and the DA, they are likely missing key pieces of evidence. And you have him saying that he believes that, because so much is missing in Doe's such a hazy memory of that night, even though we refer to the accused as the Cornell 7, the number of perpetrators could be even higher. Frankly, I'm not even sure we have everybody who participated in this assault, because my client was blacked out during periods of time. And that's reported in these statements. We don't even know the people we have or the people we definitively know. If you ask me, I believe there were more. So you think it's more than seven? I think so, but we'll never know. And you have all of that, as ABC News reporting that frat brothers and chi-fi, they were doing damage controls, a contain the allegations, and even convinced Doe that nothing bad happened. Because you had the outlet, reviewing materials from Cornell's investigation. And according to those records, one of Doe's friends told campus officials, he tried to contact Jane almost every day after it happened to, I guess, keep them on her good side and keep her happy and not upset about the situation. And during investigative hearings, Doe said that the boys had attempted cover-ups on campus. Because one of the key conversations that you're seeing happening around this case is how long it took Doe to understand that she was allegedly assaulted, which, according to experts, is something common among victims. And with that, you were the New York Times doing this massive piece last week, time-lining how she came to the conclusion she was raped. And you had that story noting that, well, some of the women around her were quick to say that they viewed the events as sexual assault. So herself was dealing with, quote, shame and humiliation before she began to consider herself an assault victim. And you had a roommate saying that Doe would initially tell the story as a, quote, sort of crazy thing that she had done. But as time went on, she, quote, came to realize that it was something bad and that she really didn't enjoy her time there. And you had one roommate even saying, I'd have conversations and she would describe a part of what happened. And I would tell her that that is what could be classified as rape. And then you also had a perception of events seeming to change as she talked with the alleged perpetrators. Right, a few days after the incident, one had texted her to, quote, apologize for how things went down. And she responded by saying that it was not illegal. Also, as rumors were spreading about her, she then got more concerned, but agreed when one of the accused told her that it would blow over. But then eventually she wrote to one, let's be clear that 90% of what happened that night was not consensual. And adding, I was given more ketamine than I can remember, and I know that I told you I felt uncomfortable and didn't know anyone in the room. And now you've ABC News obtaining a phone call that appears to show a similar sentiment. Right in the calling question is between Doe and Matthew, Ingalls, who was one of the accused and also the frat brother that she was specifically visiting that night. And in that call, she said that she needed to know what happened that night to heal from it and specifically refer to the encounter as a gang rape, while Ingalls tried to convince her that it was harmless. And a quick note here is that while we hear Matthew's voice, ABC had their anchors read Doe's part likely to keep her identity concealed. She said if I wanted to take this somewhere, what y'all did would be classified as gang rape. You already knew when I came in, I was 10 shots deep. Ingalls responded with a different recollection. You did tell me you were sober by the way. You said you hadn't been anywhere. Jane Doe said she was 100% sure. She told him she had been at a bar for a sorority event, and I never lie. You then also had her asking how the encounter which started as a threesome began. She also asked him to help her identify all the men who later joined. Saying she remembered four in the bed and more standing around the room. Ingalls seem to suggest both of their memories may not be accurate. I have racked my brain for this mystery, you know, it's possible that both of us like remember this and it's not true. Jane Doe pushed back saying no because I remember looking up and being like, that is too many people. She then asked, do you remember how any of these guys walked in? The party was sort of like crowded. So people started like filling up the balcony. This group is nowhere else to go. But what he didn't say there is that he had invited them, sending his snapchat to a nearly 60 person chat, advertising her as free pussy. And while Ingalls, he reportedly didn't give a comment to ABC for their report. In Cornell's investigation, he reportedly suggested that he was too intoxicated to consent to sexual activity and that actually Jane Doe assaulted him. But then in addition to all that, you're seeing this growing outrage over how Cornell and the DA handled the case. Right last week, you had the New York Times reporting that when Doe first reported the claim to Cornell, investigators condensed her 120-page transcript into a six-page statement to send to the DA. And with that, they omitted the part where she said, quote, "I can say with 100% confidence I was raped." And then over the weekend, you had NBC news further reporting that the DA did not review witness statements and other evidence Cornell police had collected. And so now with all this, in addition to everything, you have large protests being planned on the campus. Also overnight, someone vandalized the school's main administration building, smashing a window and spray painting at Cornell, rapists are protected, protesters are expelled. And so for now, this story continues to grow and grow and we'll see what comes from here. But then, jumping from that to other news, let's talk about this big situation connects to the midterms. Because in these final weeks, before the midterms, you had Democrats launching a new wave of campaign ads that are targeting Republicans on a key issue that they think will move voters, and that is Jeffrey Epstein. Right, you're seeing things like just this morning, a Democrat running for Congress in a competitive Colorado district releasing an ad that features the family of Virginia Jufrey, who of course is one of the most prominent Epstein victims. And that ad comes from Jessica Killan, who's running to unseat Republican representative Jeff Crank in Colorado's fifth district. Right, and specifically, the ad features Jufrey's brother Sky Roberts and his wife Amanda, who very notably are actually constituents of Crank. My sister, Virginia, was one of Jeffrey Epstein's victims. She spent her life trying to expose the truth. After she died, we promised to carry on her fight. But our own congressman, Jeff Crank refused to meet with us. Then, when he had the chance to expose the truth and release the Epstein files, he repeatedly voted to cover them up. Virginia deserved better. Jeff Crank covered up Epstein's crimes to protect Donald Trump. He has no business being in Congress. Right, not only did Crank refuse to sign the discharge petition that forced a vote on the release of the Epstein files, but he also actively voted to block consideration of the legislation on the House floor. And while he did eventually join nearly every member of the House to approve the release of the files, it was only after there was sweeping public pressure and Trump himself urged lawmakers to pass the measure. Even though, of course, remember, Trump has gone out of his way to ruin the Republicans who initially got it to this point. Meanwhile, you have the Robertsers saying that they spoke with about 20 lawmakers from both parties, but their own congressman refused. And while they eventually did meet with his district director, Amanda said that it wasn't enough telling reporters. At the end of the day, the bear minimum of this job in this role is to hear your constituents. How can you stay with your constituents and vote according to their needs if you have no idea what their needs are? So this ad ends up being very significant because it's reportedly the first in the selection cycle that features an Epstein victim or their family. But of course, it's also far from the only time of the topic has been a focal point of political ads. Depending on where you live, you get and serve different kinds of ads, but Epstein, he's been a major issue throughout the cycle, or with candidate station wide, hitting a vote and so their attempts to stop the release of the files and ties to donors or supporters connected to Epstein. In fact, according to ad impact, there have been nearly 70 ads worth more than $36.6 million that have mentioned Epstein since the midterm cycle started. And actually, recently, you had the Democratic Senate Majority Pack, unleashing a new flood of Epstein ad slamming Republicans in some of the most important races that will determine control of the upper chamber. And you're seeing that pack targeting Senator Dan Sullivan and Alaska, Senator Susan Collins. in Maine and representative Ashley Hinson, who is running for Santa in Iowa. Dan Sullivan took thousands in cash from Epstein associates and voted to keep the files hidden from the public. Even after he knew 14-year-old girls were raped, Dan Sullivan had the power to release the Epstein files and protect the victims. Instead, he protected his donors and his friends. Susan Collins voted with Trump to cover up the Epstein files. She knew 14-year-old girls were raped. Every time it matters, Susan Collins does what Trump says. Even protecting child predators. Ashley Hinson took nearly $90,000 from people in the Epstein files and voted to keep those files secret. I would like to tell Ashley Hinson that I don't trust you. If you can't stand up for girls and women in Iowa and the rest of this country, why should I ever vote for you? And then beyond that, you have that same pack also running ads with the Epstein class messaging in North Carolina and Texas and you have sources saying that they intend to roll out even more ads in the coming weeks. But of course, with all this, there is the very big question of does it actually move the needle with key voters? Well, at least according to the polls, it indicates that it might. Right, for example, you had an NBC News decision desk while finding that 71% of Americans including more than a third of Republicans disapproved of how Trump has handled the Epstein files. And according to internal polling from the Senate Majority Pack, a 44% plurality of voters including the same percentage of swing voters think that the Epstein issue is serious in that Republicans need to be held responsible. As far as does that change? How people vote? Does it actually move the electorate? That remains unclear. And personally, I'm of the mindset of it might move maybe some people that are genuinely torn still somehow. But my feelings on this are that elections are usually decided on two to four core issues. A lot of them repeat each cycle. Maybe they change, you know, what's the most important? But I think right now, you know, it's economy and affordability. Though, things like the Epstein files and how they handled it, I think it shows just what a shit show this administration has been and just what liars they are. That also extends to Trump advertising himself as the piece to have president of no more wars and then having a war of choice in Iran, which then ends up also being more connected to the key issues of affordability because that fucked a lot of things up. And then, diving right back into the final block of today's show, let's talk about some news you might have missed. Because first up, you've got a Chinese spy getting busted issues about to board a flight from LAX to Shanghai, except she wasn't spying on the US. Right, instead, 34-year-old Wang Ying, Heather Zhang, she was reportedly tracking "Ting You Lie," the son of Taiwan's president. Lie studied to be an engineer in the US, works for Phillips, and has a US-born son. And so a big thing is that the FBI wasn't actually shocked that he was being tracked with one special agent writing. If the People's Republic of China wished to obtain leverage over the president of Taiwan during any potential conflict, the location and pictures of the close relatives of a high-ranking Taiwanese government official, including pictures of their homes and cars, could be useful to the PRC. Zhang seems like an unlikely spy, which is a real estate agent in the Irvine area, which is this very rich suburb between Los Angeles and San Diego. But for whatever reason, she and someone identified as individual one flew from Las Vegas to Seattle, rented a car, and then drove to Lai's home, or where they took photos and videos of Lai, his wife, and child coming home that evening. Zhang then sent text and voice recordings to her Chinese handler, saying, "Saw him, young male. It's that young one, followed by their license plate numbers." And it appears what really undidging is that, instead of keeping this on the Chinese controlled WeChat, it was backed up to her iCloud account and the FBI searched that. So a big thing, I have to add here, if you're even remotely paying attention to Chinese spying, you know this is not shocking. Right, nearby to this story in Arcadia, the mayor was charged with acting as a Chinese agent. And then, on top of the Chinese government having this history of harassing the Chinese diaspora in the United States, or like in 2023, they had what was an unofficial Chinese police station in Manhattan that they used to target Chinese dissidents. And it might actually get worse, as their plan had to start forcibly repatriating Chinese nationals around the world. But then, last step for today, just a few weeks, after Robocraft blocked Macklemore from opening for Ed Sheeran at Gillette Stadium, right, because of his support for Palestine. musical artist Zach Brian, he just broke the stadium's attendance record while wearing a free Palestine t-shirt. We're in the stadium that Kraft owns. After calling out Macklemore for what he called anti-Semitic rhetoric and imagery. Saying that the stadium isn't a platform for hate speech, and that having him at Sheeran show would have crossed that line. Right, all bogus things if you actually watched what Macklemore did. But then this weekend, you would Brian skirting all that and just let his shirt do the talking for two nights in a row. And actually, at least two of his band members did the same. Or with his drummer, even wearing a jersey that had the name of a five-year-old girl who was living in Gaza and reportedly was killed by Israeli fire. And right now, Brian, he hasn't come out addressing any of this, and we haven't heard from Kraft either. Brian's at Navy vet, who's been openly critical about what he called the fading of the red, white, and blue. And in the past, he even criticized ice in a song, which got a lot of people upset. But that my friend's beautiful bastards is the end of your Monday show. Thank you for watching. Like and subscribing to these daily downs and in the news, being a part of what we've been doing here for 20 years now. Also, as of Saturday night, the tour is done. I just have to say to the just thousands and thousands of people I was in front of and got to meet. Thank you. Well, touring on top of everything else happening in life right now is very tiring. Just being with you, it just energizes me in a way I really can't describe. And it all genuinely has me more fired up than ever. Say, I love you faces, Take care of yourself, and I'll see you right back here tomorrow.

Podcast Summary

Key Points:

  1. Ben Shapiro’s company The Daily Wire is facing a crisis after its new film "Ponshot" allegedly mocks the killing of Minneapolis protestor Renee Good with a distorted, violent scene that rewrites factual events.
  2. The film’s production in Livingston, Montana, sparked widespread outrage due to unannounced filming, armed security, pyrotechnics, and disruptions to local businesses and services, including a food bank.
  3. Local residents and content creators report that the production triggered a public mental health crisis, failed to notify vulnerable individuals, and used misleading information to recruit background actors into false narratives.
  4. France is experiencing massive student-led protests over systemic failures in education, including severe teacher shortages, crumbling school infrastructure, and unmet student demands for reform and equity.
  5. The Cornell 7 sexual assault case has intensified with leaked recordings revealing attempts at cover-ups, suppression of key evidence, and accusations that the accused and campus officials downplayed or denied the assault.
  6. Democrats are launching high-profile political ads targeting Republicans on Jeffrey Epstein ties, highlighting Republican inaction and alleged cover-ups, with several lawmakers facing scrutiny over donations and votes.
  7. A Chinese real estate agent in California was caught photographing a high-ranking Taiwanese official’s family, raising concerns about espionage and China’s broader pattern of targeting diaspora communities.
  8. Zach Brian broke attendance records at a stadium despite being previously banned for anti-Palestine messaging, sparking debate over free speech, political neutrality, and the role of public platforms.

Summary:

A controversial film by Ben Shapiro’s The Daily Wire, titled "Ponshot," has ignited a local crisis in Livingston, Montana, after it was accused of distorting and mocking the killing of Minneapolis protestor Renee Good. The film’s production, marked by unannounced filming, armed security, and disruptive activities, led to widespread community backlash, with residents reporting mental health distress and serious disruptions to essential services like the town’s food bank. Local content creators and witnesses claim the crew misled background actors about the film's content, leading to ethical and safety concerns.

Meanwhile, in France, massive student protests are erupting over systemic failures in education—including teacher shortages, unsafe buildings, and lack of basic facilities—resulting in over 5,000 arrests, injuries, and school closures. The protests have drawn support from unions and the far-left, though officials accuse them of political manipulation. In parallel, the ongoing Cornell 7 sexual assault case has intensified with leaked recordings showing attempts to cover up the incident, suppression of victim testimony, and claims of misinformation.

Politically, Democrats are intensifying attacks on Republicans by linking them to Jeffrey Epstein, citing cover-ups and donations, with ads targeting key lawmakers. Additionally, a Chinese real estate agent was caught photographing a Taiwanese official’s family, revealing espionage concerns, while a music artist’s defiance of venue bans over anti-Palestine messaging highlights ongoing tensions around free speech in public events. These intersecting stories underscore deep societal fractures in media, education, politics, and national security.

FAQs

The movie 'Ponshot' is alleged to contain a scene mocking the killing of Minneapolis protestor Renee Good by misrepresenting the incident. The scene features a character named Melanie, described as a masked, fat woman who kills an ICE agent with her car, which contradicts the actual events. Critics argue the film distorts facts and exploits a real tragedy, and the production has caused significant local disruption in Livingston, Montana.

Livingston shut down the production due to widespread community concerns over safety, disruption, and offensive content. Residents reported being scared by armed security guards, road closures, and loud pyrotechnics. The town's city commission unanimously passed a motion to pause filming and seek legal advice, citing a lack of proper notice and violations of local permitting rules.

Filming practices raised serious concerns including lack of notice to residents, unapproved use of pyrotechnics and car crashes, and the use of armed private security guards. There were also reports that background actors were misled about the film's content, with some being pressured to participate in scenes that were allegedly anti-ICE, leading to ethical and safety concerns.

French student protests over poor education conditions have led to over 5,000 arrests, 170 injuries, and 24 schools being ransacked or burned. Students cite severe class sizes, deteriorating buildings, lack of staff, and insufficient resources. The government has closed 400–500 schools, and the crisis has sparked national attention and calls for systemic reform.

The case involves allegations of gang rape by seven fraternity members, with new evidence suggesting the number of perpetrators may be higher. Victims and their families report threats and a cover-up by Cornell and local authorities. Key details were omitted during the initial investigation, and there are growing protests on campus, including vandalism of the administration building.

Democratic candidates are running ads highlighting Epstein victims and their family members, accusing Republican lawmakers of covering up the files. Ads target figures like Dan Sullivan, Susan Collins, and Ashley Hinson, accusing them of accepting money from Epstein associates and blocking the release of evidence. The campaign claims this issue is a major concern for voters, including swing voters.

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