Hayden Panettiere's Death Sparks Hard Conversations About Child Stars & Fame

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Rep number 1-0-0-0-4. - You've got Hayden Panettiere's death now igniting major conversations around what happened, protecting child stars and mental health. This reckless Ben, troubled teen facility situation was already crazy, but then we got a wild update while doing today's show. You've got the scandal out of Cambridge just getting bigger and bigger, and you've got what might be a political troll actually deciding control of the U.S. Senate. We're talking about all of that and even more on today's brand new Philip DeFranco Show. You daily dive into the news, starting with this. We need to start today off by talking about this just very tragic news around Hayden Panettiere dying at just 36 years old. You had her dad confirming her death in a statement saying, "It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of our beloved Hayden." Saying she was an incredible light and a force of nature who brought immeasurable love and joy to all who knew her and to the millions who watched her on screen. While we're still learning about the circumstances of her death, she was reportedly found by a friend inside of a South Carolina home and emergency medical service workers responded to a call about a person in cardiac arrest. While you've got places like People Magazine calling this an apparent overdose, the cause of death has not been officially determined yet. In fact, an autopsy is actually happening today. But this death, it sparked a lot. Are you ever fans, people who grew up watching "Heroes" or "Nashville" or "Ice Princess: Mourning Her Loss?" And because she's someone who's been acting since she was 11 months old, one, she has a lot of fans, but also two, that's brought a lot of conversations up. And it's led to a lot of speculation, which we're really not gonna dive into here, but it's also led to a lot of conversation, especially because as an adult, she's become a very outspoken voice in the mental health space. You had her being open about her serious struggles with fame, alcoholism, depression, and abusive relationships. You also had her speaking out about giving up custody of her daughter, Kaya, amid her battle with addiction. - It was the worst. Signing those papers was like the most heartbreaking thing I've ever, ever had to do in my life. - You even had her talking in detail about those topics in her memoir, "This Is Me: A Reckoning," which came out last May. And actually that same month, she went on Jay Shetty's podcast "On Purpose" to promote it in a bittersweet interview where she bared her soul about those hardships, but also she expressed optimism about her future. - I have shaken off all of this, this darkness and this negativity. And that means that I've closed one door and another door is opened. I can feel all the possibility, all the possibilities, all the exciting possibilities. I feel like I have a lot more life to live. - And in Hayden's memoir, she wrote about several traumatic incidents that happened specifically because she was a young woman in this industry. Claiming that when she was 18, she was taken onto a yacht by someone that she trusted, escorted to a small room and placed next to an undressed, quote, "very famous man." You had her saying it, she quickly realized she was in danger and she fled the room to go hide. - That lion in me, that fire in me, my hair stood on end and I became ferocious. I was like, "This is not happening." But I had nowhere to hide. And I bolted and I hid wherever I could think of to hide on a boat, on a boat. There was no jumping off and swimming away. And there was nobody who was going to, I realized that there was nobody who was going to be empathetic to my situation, that this was nothing new to them. - You also have Panettiere claiming that an Oscar-winning actor once exposed himself to her during a party when she was just 19 and that an NBC executive kissed her on the lips in 2008. And so with all this, you had many feeling like her story and her honesty about various struggles, it opened up a much-needed conversation about how young stars are treated and how that can affect them in the long-term. People like Amanda Bynes, Drake Bell, Aaron Carter, Davey Chase, all of them, they struggled with some form of substance abuse and many also allegedly dealt with sexual abuse on top of that. So now with Panettiere, you have a lot of people saying, "This is especially heartbreaking because it felt like she was turning a corner." Though again, I want to be clear, we're not actually going to know why she died until the autopsy's over. But what I would like to do with you here is to end this segment by sharing a moving message, Panettiere gave at a recent book signing about how she'd like to be remembered. - So many people have come up to me within the industry and outside of the industry and shared their stories with me and said, "Because you've talked about your mental health, it gave me the courage to be honest about mine and get myself help and you saved my life." - This is where then I can hopefully leave the world a better place than I found it. - You know, with all this, I am wondering, what will you remember most about her? Which of her projects or interviews really stuck with you? And then also what does it say about, how can we keep working to make the entertainment industry safer for young stars and women? But then from that, let's try and switch gears to another piece of news that's out there because you have Reckless Ben actually back in the news. But it's actually for a completely different reason than you're probably expecting. Because while you have him saying that there is going to be a part four of the Bricks and Minifigs saga that's coming soon, he just dropped this new investigation in a new series with the target being Provo Canyon. Right, it's a so-called residential treatment facility in Utah. Basically it's a place where troubled teens go to get straightened up until they turn 18. And actually if this sounds familiar, it might be because this is where Paris Hilton was sent by her parents when she was 16. And so actually for years now, she's been trying to get it shut down, releasing a documentary, organizing rallies, and even testifying before Congress about her time there. - I was force fed medications and sexually abused by the staff. I was violently restrained and dragged down hallways, stripped naked, and thrown into solitary confinement. I didn't breathe fresh air or see the sunlight for 11 months. - Now, Provo Canyon's defense to everything she just described is that it all happened under different ownership if it did even happen at all. Right, and they claim that everything's on the up and up, but many former residents, they beg to differ. And so Ben made it his mission to get inside of the facility using his signature methods. Lies, deception, and spy cameras. Which ends up actually being kind of funny because when he got in there, one of the first things they told him was that they recently caught a private investigator with a spy cam whom they suspect was hired by Paris Hilton. - It's corporate's hunch that he was hired by Paris Hilton. - But for his undercover op, Ben picked someone much less professional, his friend Sheldon. But he's a guy who never graduated high school, he once stole a car, and he was actually arrested by Utah police during the Lego saga. All of which should disqualify someone from working with children at a place like Provo Canyon, but that is also exactly the point. Ben wanted to see if he would get hired anyway. And according to Ben, the job interview consisted of one question. "What would you do if you saw two kids fighting?" So Sheldon was like, "I guess I'd try to break them up." With the interviewer going, "Yep, pretty much. You'll have to get your hands a little bit dirty." And just like that, he got the job. And then the next step was training. And from what he recorded on his spy camera, the staff appears to have said some wild shit. One person said, "Almost all the kids have made real and serious attempts to end their lives." Another person said they restrain kids extremely frequently, including physical restraints like ties, as well as chemical restraints, like a tranquilizer injection. - Guess how many restraints we averaged? - 50? - More. - 100? - More. - 300. - There you go. - Really? - Mm-hmm. 250 to 300 restraints was the average, a month. - After how many kids? - 140. - Next, you have Ben Tsang Sheldon had to take a state medical exam to work as a mental health professional. But also in the video, the test proctor at Provo Canyon not so subtly gave them all the answers by coding the multiple choice ABCD as apple, banana, cantaloupe, dogs. - 67-year-old man is found unresponsive, not breathing, and without a pulse. - Well, did somebody like cantaloupes, mister? I kind of like cantaloupes myself. I'm just saying, you don't have to listen to that. It's up to you. - First, the person giving chest compressions is not allowing for complete chest recoil. - You kind of like dogs? - I love dogs. - Then, Sheldon started working, and he said that the high ropes course and swimming pool and the ads, they weren't real. The food was terrible, and the classes consisted of brain rot TikToks. Also, the solitary confinement described by Hilton appeared to still be a thing, with him saying one kid tried to escape, and he got put there for two months. Another stole a bag of chips and got two weeks. Right, and then, it was actually only at this point that Sheldon says that he was notified about his background check coming back, and of course, he failed. But he said that they just let him keep working there anyway. - Oh my God. The HR manager said it was a rough situation, - I just talked about dismissing you. - Dang. - Meanwhile, you'd been wanting to see things from the kid's perspective, so he decides to admit himself to Provo Canyon. Now, obviously, he is not a teen boy. He's a 30-year-old man, but he figured they might not look that hard. And so he got someone from Craigslist to pose as his dad and then found a conversion therapist who was willing to sign a note recommending treatment for sexual identity confusion. And then, just for good measure, he dyed his hair red to look rebellious, and apparently that's all the facility needed. Or, well, they also then wanted a $50,000 deposit. But then he just gives them a credit card that declined, pretended to call his bank, and promised that the money would go through in a couple of days. And so for the time being, he was in, and he said he spent 30 days in solitary confinement and then got put into a classroom where a teacher told him. The school over here is going to be kind of. It's going to be kind of demeaning and embarrassing, so. Now, eventually, he did get a break outside and was apparently told this. All right, so here's the deal. I want everyone to do some sort of. What is it? Physical activity. Don't sit. Don't sit in there and just look at the sun or let the sun look at you. I'm not f***ing around. Just pace, Ben. Just pace around. Go pick up a basketball, dribble it around. Not because I think you're overweight, because I want you to waste your energy so I don't have to deal with your goddamn hyperactivity. You understand that? So knowing that he'd get kicked out anyway for not paying, he decided to jump the fence and escape. I'm getting the ball. Back to the slide. Oh, all right. They're preparing to run all the way to the city, hide in a restaurant bathroom, and rendezvous with Sheldon. They're with Ben, then flying back to California. And two days later, he says that he got a call from Provo Canyon, which thought it was calling his dad. And while you might assume that they were calling to tell him that his son escaped or something like that, no. It turned out that his credit card was declined again, and they wanted the money now. So we need to get something worked out today, as I told you before. Do you want to call your bank and have them see what the issue is that it is declining? And according to Ben, they waited until a few hours later to call him again and say, oh, by the way, your son is missing. With Ben then saying two months later, he called them back and was like, hey, any updates on my missing kid? But apparently they had other priorities. Hello, I'm just calling to see if you guys were able to find my son. Okay, and we're calling on a balance on the account? I'm calling because I, like my, I guess you guys lost my son and I was just wondering if he ever returned. So yeah, there's just a balance on the account. Did you want to take care of that today? And that was pretty much it, right? The video ends kind of abruptly. Ben teases part two is coming soon, but then here's the thing. According to news reports, Provo Canyon has already been shut down. Over the state revoking its licenses or both campuses ordering them to close their doors by August 6th and 16th. So to be clear, it does not appear, I will say we do not know right now that what Ben did appears to have anything to do with this specifically. Where the state seems to have been provoked into doing something by the Disability Law Center, which reported violence, self-harm, inadequate medical care and chronic staffing shortages at the facility. But for his part, Ben's skeptical that Provo Canyon's actually gone for good. The only bad news is when I first called Jordan, the fan who told me about this idea, this is what he said to me. What these places do is that they'll have some sort of controversy happen. They will shut down the program and then they will open up under a new rebranded program. They avoid any sort of accountability by just rebranding and just acting like they did nothing wrong in the first place. It's really crazy. - But regardless, you saw this news being a relief for Hilton and also everyone else who was allegedly victimized. - Do you feel vindicated? Do you feel heard by this decision? - I definitely feel heard. And so do all the survivors. To hear this news is incredibly healing. - But, and I have to be a wet blanket here, this is also importantly only one facility out of many that have been accused of abuse and neglect. And that's actually why when Paris Hilton led a rally against Provo Canyon several years ago, she was joined by people who suffered similar experiences across the country. - I was taken to Losedale, Mississippi to a place called Bethel Boys Academy. - I was sent to a wilderness program in Southern Idaho. - I went to Island View Residential Treatment Center. It's in Syracuse, Utah, not too far from here. I have problems being touched. - They actually shaved my head because my hair wasn't to their cold. Staff on student group cuddling. - This $23 billion a year industry sees this population as dollar signs and operates without meaningful oversight. - But then jumping from that, we've got to talk about this crazy news coming out of Cambridge. But first one, I want to see your beautiful faces in person. Actually starting this weekend, August 21st and 22nd, I'll be seeing y'all live in Seattle and Portland. And then next weekend on August 28th and 29th, I'll be seeing y'all in Boston and Philadelphia. And then after that, I got eight more dates, eight more cities and wherever you are, you got to get your tickets right now at crashingoutdoor.com. And while Seattle sold out, you got a chance everywhere else. It's going to be me. It's going to be Alex Pearlman. We're going to be crashing out with you. It's honestly a lot more fun than a PDS, but still very newsy. And honestly, I think all of us, and I'm also speaking about myself here, we kind of need this. Without doing in-person shit, everything feels extra depressing and like more fractured and disconnected from everyone. And so again, I'd love to steal you away from your screens for two hours. Get your tickets right now at crashingoutdoor.com. And then also too, we'll get right back into it after this quick break. True story, a few years ago, I needed to book an appointment and I just kept putting it off because I knew it was coming. Finding a doctor, making the call, waiting on hold, playing phones, phone tagging, then hoping that there was actually an opening that worked with my schedule. And that's the ridiculous part. The hardest part wasn't the appointment. It was everything required to get there. And that's why today's sponsor, ZocDoc, has been such a useful tool. And with ZocDoc, you can search and compare local in-network doctors all in one place. And I've used it to narrow things down based on what actually mattered to me. Insurance, location, availability, and reviews from real patients. And then I just looked through the doctor's profiles and chose the one I felt was the best fit for me. And instead of calling around and hoping someone has an opening, you can see actual appointment availability and instantly book a visit online. Seriously, it's that easy. A lot of appointments actually happen within 24 to 72 hours, and you can sometimes even find same-day availability. And the best part, ZocDoc is completely free to use. So look, your health matters, and taking care of yourself, it shouldn't be complicated. Find and book the right doctor with ZocDoc. And all you gotta do is scan that QR code or go to ZocDoc.com/Phil to get started and check your appointment off your to-do list. That's Z-O-C-D-O-C.com/Phil. - Hank joined BJ's Wholesale Club the day he became a father of 30. - I coach football. - Now, Coach Hank saves up to 25% off grocery store prices, 30 pounds of pasta, three cases of protein bars, 75 sports drinks. - And that's just pre-game. - He knows teamwork, and BJ's knows savings. This is your home, Coach. Home of the Save. Join for just $20 at BJs.com/Mosquite and save 10 cents per gallon for six months. Open soon. - Hey, it's Kelly Rowland. You may not know this, but I have eczema. So I get eczema. How it can steal your time. But why let eczema take over when you can talk to your doctor about Ebglys? - Ebglys, labrakizumab LBKZ, a 250 milligram per two milliliter injection is a prescription medicine used to treat adults and children 12 years of age and older who weigh at least 88 pounds or 40 kilograms with moderate to severe eczema. Also called atopic dermatitis that is not well controlled with prescription therapies used on the skin or topicals or who cannot use topical therapies. Ebglys can be used with or without topical corticosteroids. Don't use if you are allergic to Ebglys. Allergic reactions can occur that can be severe. Eye problems can occur. Tell your doctor if you have new or worsening eye problems. You should not receive a live vaccine when treated with Ebglys. Before starting Ebglys, tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection. Paid partnership with Lilly. - Respect your time. Ask your doctor about Ebglys and visit ebglys.com or call 1-800-LILLY-RX or 1-800-545-5979. - And then diving right back into the news, we've gotta talk about plagiarism, fake qualifications, and a fabricated backstory. Because those are just a few of the allegations that led to a Cambridge professor's resignation. And then days later, he turned up dead, right? So I'm talking to you about Jason Arden. And if you're not familiar, he was hired as the youngest black professor in Cambridge history back in 2023, when he was just 37 years old. His field was the sociology of education, and his background is pretty incredible. He was a child of immigrants from Ghana, diagnosed with autism as a kid, nonverbal until he was 11, and illiterate until 18. He faced several medical conditions throughout his life, including epilepsy, testicular cancer, and a brain tumor. He's raised millions for charity, and he's said to have been an insane athlete, and at one point, running 600 miles in six days. And that's on top of being what many considered a once-in-a-generation academic, with his research being some of the best in the world, according to the head of the faculty of education at Cambridge. But now, you're seeing a whole flood of people saying that's all bullshit. Right, because while Jason, he'd been battling plagiarism allegations for years, in recent weeks, it blew up into a total media shitstorm about him, his background, and his life's work. And it appears to have started with Nathan Kaufman, as a former Cambridge researcher who published what appeared to be significant evidence that Jason plagiarized significant chunks of his PhD dissertation from 2015. Right, with him showing several passages that were, quote, "identical or near-identical" to an earlier paper written by another researcher, which then sparked the British media, asking more and more questions, casting doubt on pretty much all of Jason's life and supposed achievements. Right, in addition to the academia stuff, people asking, "Did he actually run 600 miles in six days, "or raise any amount of money for charity?" And then you've got former classmates saying that his claim of being nonverbal until 11 just isn't true, saying that he was cracking jokes and doing accents as a kid on the way to church. And again, that's separate from the speculation about his research and career, which also led to Cambridge opening an investigation into how Jason was appointed, despite initially coming to his defense. Right, because what you saw is that when the questions of plagiarism on his dissertation first surfaced, Cambridge stood by the review done by the school that gave Jason his PhD. But then you had them changing their stance, quote, "following new information about Professor Arday's "qualifications and honorary appointments." And so that whole thing then sparked a lot of conversation about Cambridge's hiring practices, and this kind of surfaced in a number of different ways. Where you had many conservative commentators latching onto the frame that this is a consequence of DEI hiring, but there you had a number of people, including Jason's own supporters, pushing back, saying, if any of these claims had merit, the personal attacks that he's faced were absolutely rooted in racism. With British journalist and author Ash Sarkar saying on Twitter, Jason Arday wasn't the first academic to be accused of plagiarism at Cambridge. He wasn't the first person to have made implausible claims about his life in an autobiography, but he was the first where those things became a front page story across multiple papers for days and days. And then there were also those who said that this whole thing was just a smear campaign from the beginning, with one of his friends saying, the very day he got the position at Cambridge, he had a freedom of information request asking about his credentials. He had all the right-wing people in America and the UK writing in to see if he was credible, and adding some people didn't believe a black man could be in that position at Cambridge. And so this whole situation, it ended up also being a match to a culture war powder keg. And with that, it appeared to be taking a toll on Jason, even prompting him to resign. And actually in a statement, he said his decision should not be interpreted as a loss of faith in scholarship. And he added, nor should it be mistaken for an acceptance of the narratives that have surrounded me, saying it is simply the decision of someone who has reached the limits of what any person should reasonably be expected to endure. And then barely a week after submitting that resignation, Jason was found unresponsive in his home. He was the local first responders pronouncing him dead at the scene. And those close to Jason saying he was seriously struggling in the days leading up to his death. Even at Cambridge professor, Simon Baron-Cohn, director of the university's autism research center, saying that he was in touch with Jason just hours before he died. Saying Jason was, quote, being subjected to relentless scrutiny, including ridicule, discrediting absolutely every detail of his life, and adding he wasn't coping with the loss of his career, the loss of his reputation, and he felt he couldn't go on. Which you also had echoed by Jason's family in their statement saying, Jason was subjected to a campaign of sustained abuse for more than three years since he accepted the role of professor at Cambridge University by those who would leave no stone unturned in their quest to undermine him. The campaign of misinformation was too much for Jason, who was a gentleman and who always wanted to see the best in everyone. Well, as of now, we don't know the specifics about how Jason died. What we do know is that the police have said that it does not look suspicious. But as his death is making headlines, we're then also seeing this conversation about his life reaching even further. Or with some saying that this should prompt a complete overhaul of Cambridge's hiring practices. And that as others said that Jason was pushed out, that Cambridge clearly isn't welcoming to people with different backgrounds. And so for now, we're gonna have to wait to see what comes or doesn't come from Cambridge's investigation. But also, I'll say it's unlikely that we're gonna see talk about this guy going away anytime soon because his memoir also just got released. But then bouncing from that, I wanna talk about this different controversy that's happening back here in the States. We'll call it Dan Sullivangate. And this feels like just something out of Veep or Parks and Rec because you have this bizarro battle playing out between two men by the name of Dan Sullivan, who could literally help determine control of the US Senate. And that's because as Alaska voters head to the polls tomorrow to cast the primary ballots, all eyes are on the race for the seat currently held by incumbent Republican Senator Dan S. Sullivan. And this race is an incredibly important one because Democrats view it as one of their best chances to flip the Senate seat. Because while Republicans currently hold both of Alaska Senate seats, the state has a very unique political makeup. Around two thirds of registered voters are actually independents. And then as far as the rest, Republicans make up about 23% and then fewer than 12% are Democrats. And actually back in 2022, the state elected Democrat Mary Potola to serve as its sole Congress member in the House. And once she got voted out in favor of a Republican two years later, now you've got Potola running to oust Senator Sullivan. And at least the polls, they have him neck and neck right now. Now, for some very key important context, Alaska has an open primary system where all the candidates appear on the same ballot, regardless of party affiliation. With the top four advancing to a general election where voters then use a rank choice system. But this race has also been complicated by the fact that another Dan Sullivan has entered the chat. Which is a few days before the filing deadline, a former United States Forest Service employee and teacher by the name of Dan J. Sullivan entered the race as a Republican. Also for the rest of the segment, I'm just going to call him Danny J. to avoid confusion. But immediately you had Republicans losing their shit, claiming that this was actually all part of some democratic scheme to confuse Republicans and split the vote. So, that Potola had a better chance at winning. You even had the state's Republican Lieutenant Governor opening an investigation in Danny J. arguing that there were credible allegations that he declared his candidacy in coordination with another candidate in campaign in order to confuse and manipulate voters. And you saw not long after that, Alaska's Division of Elections announcing that they were removing Danny J. from the ballot, right? And in a letter, the head of the division argued that he had specifically requested to be listed on the ballot as Dan Sullivan, even though he had previously registered to vote as Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. And then claiming that at one point, Danny J. had actually asked to be listed using the Senator's name, in middle initial. All while, the division said its records show that he had no affiliation with the Republican Party until he changed his affiliation two days before entering the Senate race. And all of that, on top of accusing him of mimicking Senator Sullivan's campaign website, while also noting that he worked as a consultant whose clients included some Democrats. But also, very notably here, the election director's letter did not mention any evidence of alleged coordination between Danny J. and Potola or Democratic Party officials. And to that point, Potola has repeatedly denied any connection to Danny J. and Danny J. has repeatedly denied that his run is just a stunt. Arguing that he was considering a run for a while, and the fact that he was considering a run for a while, and the fact that he was considering a run for a while, and the fact that he was considering a run for a while, and the fact that he shares his name with Senator Sullivan is just a matter of fate. And well, regardless of what you or I think, it appears that the judicial system, they agreed with them. Because you then had a superior court judge ruling that Danny J. can't be removed from the ballot, arguing that the division of elections had abused its discretion. And then a few days later, the state Supreme Court upheld that decision. But then despite all that, you had Trump chiming in on the election, and he repeated the claim that this is some kind of democratic conspiracy. Trump making that lengthy post on Truth Social, where he championed Senator Sullivan, and then added, "Because of the trickery in the voting, the crooked, radical left Democrats have put up another man named Dan Sullivan, and they did this to take votes away from our great senator of the same name." Democrats are trying to trick Alaskans and treat Alaskan voters with contempt. But again, while I cannot speak to why Danny J. does anything that Danny J. does, at least right now, there's zero public evidence that this is some kind of Democrat-led scheme. And you have both the Alaska Democratic Party and Patola's campaign telling ABC News that they have no involvement or affiliation with either Dan Sullivan. Or is the plural of that Dan Sullivan, like attorneys general? I don't know. I'll let our friends in Alaska decide, just like they're going to decide the fate of Senator Sullivan and the fate of Danny J. Very shortly, we'll find out who makes the top four. But then from that, before I let you go, let's cram in some more news you should know today. Starting with the fact that there have been big updates to the Luigi Mangione case since we last talked about it. Because he's now pleaded guilty to two of his charges. Admitting that he shot UnitedHealthcare exec Brian Thompson after tracking him down partly by posing as a healthcare investor. And with that, the judge said that he should expect to serve at least 85% of whatever his sentence is for two federal counts of stalking resulting in death. Right in the max there, it's life. But also, with the guilty plea, you have many asking questions about the "give, send, go" that was set up for legal fees that's already raised over one point five million dollars. And people have always been skeptical about the support he's gotten. From the legal support, to the Mangioneistas, to all the prison letters. But apparently, after he admitted to the crime, a lot of those critics expected the "give, send, go" to be taken down. But the thing is, he still has a murder charge to face in New York State Court next month. So the committee that set up the donation fund said, "Last week's hearing was the end of one chapter in Luigi's trials, but the saga is far from over." And the "give, send, go" spokesperson confirmed that it'll stay up because of those unresolved legal matters. And specifying that for them, it's just about giving people access to lawful fundraising, not taking a position on the case. And adding that hosting a fundraiser has never been an endorsement of a person, their actions, or their public statements. So now what you're seeing are the donations only growing along with the supporters. And so it's going to be very interesting to see how things go as he gets ready for the murder trial. And that's actually if the murder trial even happens. But because you have his legal team also trying to get that thrown out, calling double jeopardy. Saying quote, "The federal stalking and the state murder were all part of the same criminal act." But you've got Manhattan's district attorney's office saying they're prepared to fight that. So for now, this is to be continued. And then you've got the news connected to how a few weeks ago, the president called communism the "single greatest threat in American history." Worse than Pearl Harbor, worse than 9/11. And then this weekend, he sided with a communist dictator over one of America's closest allies. Trump ordered the Pentagon to substantially cut the big annual military drills that the US runs with South Korea. And he did it hours before they were set to kick off. And he was Trump trying to explain it away, saying it costs too much, saying that they send a hostile signal to North Korea and Seoul. It wouldn't help him with the war against Iran. With Trump seemingly more critical of South Korea than North Korea, he said that North Korea had been unthreatening and respectful. But this is a country that test fired two ballistic missiles this month, whose Seoul soldiers are fighting and dying for Russia in Ukraine right now. Good ol' respectful North Korea. And so you have Trump pulling back on a treaty ally to do a favor for Kim Jong-un, right? The guy who spent years building nukes, saber rattling, and hasn't wanted to talk since their last steel collapse in 2019. As far as the reactions, they're split. Critics say that he just hung an ally out to dry and handed Kim a free win. Supporters say, "Hey, this is good. Stop paying to defend rich countries that won't have our back." But either way, one of America's oldest alliances just took a hit and Kim didn't have to lift a finger. And I guess for Trump, communism is the greatest threat in history, unless it's nice to you. And then for your last story today, the Supreme Court just shot Trump down again in his push to get them to toss out E. Jean Carroll's $5 million court win. They decided that he owed her that money after sexually assaulting and defaming her back in the 90s, and he's been fighting it ever since then. His latest play was to ask the court to reconsider the case after they had already denied his appeal earlier this summer. And he had his lawyers claiming that a separate trial they're fighting with this, where they're arguing presidential immunity, would sway their decision. But apparently, that didn't fly. And as usual, the court didn't even explain why not. They just left things where they stood. And so for now, this looks like the end of the road for Trump's team, at least with this case. With Carroll's legal team saying, "We are pleased that the United States Supreme Court has declined again to hear this case. The jury's unanimous verdict is now final and cannot be challenged in any court." And then your final bit of news today actually involves this big question. Did the Justice Department just quietly lay the groundwork to abolish one of the strongest gun laws in the country and upend nearly a century of regulations? Or because you've got Trump's DOJ deliberately choosing not to fight a Texas lawsuit that challenged rules surrounding silencers, putting key parts of the National Firearms Act in legal limbo? And actually, to back up a bit, to fully understand this, you need to know that the NFA is a key piece of law, and that it's not just about silencers, but about guns, rifles, and shotguns, machine guns, really any other weapons and destructive devices. And for the last two, think wacky guns built into a cane and explosives, respectively. It doesn't make those items illegal. Instead, you'd need to pay a $200 tax and get a bunch more paperwork done. But last year, in Trump's so-called big, beautiful bill, the $200 tax was removed, and the Texas plaintiffs argued that without the tax, the bill was unconstitutional. And the DOJ, they never really argued against it, leaving the Texas judge to strike down the provisions surrounding silencers and shorter guns. Well, at least in Texas, there's a lot of people out filing the paperwork with seemingly no issues. And then elsewhere in the states, there's still lawsuits that are ongoing or local state laws that prohibit these items anyways. And the fact that the Trump DOJ just ignored the lawsuit, it's feeding the rumor that it really wants to push to formally abolish the NFA. However, that would require an act to Congress, and it's tough to actually get them to do anything these days. So in the meantime, you've got pro-gun folks kind of ecstatic because the regulations in question here, they've long been characterized as not really increasing safety. Where the argument goes that regulating short rifles or shotguns is a uniquely American thing, and they're no more deadly than what's easily available already. And as for A lot of countries that allow gun ownership often require them for safety, since they don't actually make gun silent like in a movie and instead just kind of prevent you from going deaf. But you've also got anti-gun folks or people that are more pro-regulation shocked at this decision, arguing that it's going to make America far more dangerous since it might open the door to deregulating other protections. And so while the regulations around the most dangerous weapons covered by the NFA, they're still intact, so no easy access to bombs and fully automatic weapons, the worry is that's the next domino to fall. But either way, this is one of the biggest shakeups to guns in America, and we might just be getting started. But that, my friends, you beautiful bastards, is the end of your Monday show. Thank you for watching. Thank you for hitting that like button. Thank you for subscribing. And if you haven't already, and you are even remotely near to any of the 12 cities that I'm going on tour starting this weekend, I better see your beautiful face ready to crash out with me soon. Seattle's already sold out. Portland's really close. Boston, Philadelphia, they're next. And of course, as always, I got links in the description. But hey, no matter what you do, let me just say, thank you for watching. I love your faces, and I'll see you right back here tomorrow.