Alex Padilla Dragged Handcuffed by Trump's FBI, Sabrina Carpenter Scandal, Air India Crash 260 Dead
PDS Published 06/12/2025
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Sen. Alex Padilla (Puh-Dee-Yuh) of California was just forcibly removed from a press conference DHS Secretary Kristi Noem was holding in LA:
OFFICER: “Sir! Sir! Hand’s up!”
PADILLA: “I’m Senator Alex Padilla. I have questions for the secretary. Because the fact of the matter is, a half a dozen of violent criminals that you’re rotating on your — hands off!”
OFFICER: “Hands behind your back. Hands behind your back!”
PADILLA: “If [inaudible - maybe someone can hear what he’s saying, I can’t tell] …put them behind my back.”
OFFICER: “Lay flat. Lay flat.”
OFFICER: “Other hand, sir. Other hand.” 00:01 - 00:43
Now, shortly after that, you had Puh-Dee-Yuh’s office saying in a statement that he was no longer being detained.
With the senator himself giving his own press briefing not long after, where he recounted his side of the story.
Saying that he had been in the federal building in LA for a separate briefing when he learned that Noem was giving a presser down the hall.
And claiming that for weeks now, he and many of his colleagues have been asking the DHS for more information and answers on their immigration enforcement actions, but they have received “little to no information.”
And then going on to say that he went to Noem’s press conference to see if he could get any more intel:
1:44 - 2:46
Right, and to that point, we have seen a ton of people condemning this whole situation, including top Democratic leaders and Newsom himself, who posted:[]
“If they can handcuff a U.S. Senator for asking a question, imagine what they will do to you.”[]
But, at the same time, we’ve also seen Noem and her agency painting a VERY different picture.
With DHS saying in a statement on X:
“Senator Puh-Dee-Yuh chose disrespectful political theatre and interrupted a live press conference without identifying himself or having his Senate security pin on as he lunged toward Secretary Noem. Mr. Puh-Dee-Yuh was told repeatedly to back away and did not comply with officers’ repeated commands. @SecretService thought he was an attacker and officers acted appropriately.”[]
Though, with that, you had some people pushing back and saying that while we didn’t see what happened before the video started, it does literally show him clearly identifying himself as Senator Alex Puh-Dee-Yuh.
But you still had Noem herself echoing those claims during an interview with Fox News.
With the host showing her clips of Democrats condemning the situation and asking her how she responded:
But again, we literally have video evidence of Puh-Dee-Yuh identifying himself AND THEN being taken out into the hall and handcuffed AFTER doing so.
So it’s honestly pretty fucking wild for her to go on national television and just try to gaslight America about something that you can see in a video…
But hey, this is the same administration that has somehow successfully recast the insurrection as American heroes fighting for Democracy.
So yeah, crazying fucking times…
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Is the military really going to arrest American citizens?
That’s what’s being asked after Major General Scott Sherman -- who is in charge of the troops being deployed in LA -- said that troops would be accompanying ICE on their raids to “protect” them.
Now, Sherman has tried to make the distinction that his troops will only “Detain” someone, saying:
"We're there to protect their federal officers, their federal personnel.”
"We're there to protect them so that they can do their job."
He went on to add that if any of the personnel on a mission were assaulted, “Soldiers or Marines are allowed to take that person, detain them in place, wait for the federal law enforcement officer to come and arrest that individual."
This could take the form of holding someone down who assaulted an ICE officer and adding:
"We consider it once the Guard member has his or her arm or holding that person, that's when they're detaining that person.”
The idea that troops would be used for civil law enforcement has raised a lot of concerns but proponents claim that it’s really not that big of a deal. []
Right, their argument is that the troops aren’t actually arresting people, just holding them long enough for actual police to do it.
But there are very real concerns that this is a distinction without a difference.
Right, we’ve seen lawyers write things like:
“If you are not free to go, that’s an arrest.” []
“Crazy folks are arguing the Marines in LA are merely doing reasonable suspicion detentions when they are in fact arresting people for all intents and purposes and whatever you call it, it is unlawful civilian law enforcement by military personnel without a declared insurrection.” []
Which is probably why we’ve seen this video from the National Lawyers Guild making the rounds again:
[TLDR it’s them saying “Shut the fuck up” to essentially every scenario after getting arrested] 0:00 - 0:32
And the reality is that this is one of those questions that we won’t know the answer to until courts eventually decide.
Because let’s be real: this will end up in court and while this would be unthinkable just a few years ago, the Supreme Court seems to bend a lot of rules for Trump.
The only thing delaying this is a lull in protests as well as the fact that the troops in LA are actually in training right now for how to deal with protests and learning what they're allowed to do so they won’t be ready for a day or so.
Which would probably be just in time for the “No Kings” protests that are planned for this weekend.
(Trump actually talked about these today, joking that: "I don't feel like a king. I have to go through hell to get stuff approved.")
Or for the increasing ICE raids happening across the US.
Right, because despite mass-protests, the agency hasn’t stopped, with the latest big raids happening at farmland in Oxnard, California as well as a meat packing plant in Ohama, Nebraska.
Both were large raids, but the one in Ohama was particularly big and focused on 97 people ICE wanted to screen.[]
All of which left the company completely confused and concerned.
ICE confirmed that the raid took place and claimed it was “...based on an ongoing criminal investigation into the large-scale employment of aliens without authorization to work in the United States.”
However, Chad Hartmann told outlets:
“My biggest issue is: why us? We do everything by the book.”
What he means by that is that the company uses the E-Verify system to hire workers, which is a federal database used to check the immigration status of people.
However that apparently doesn’t matter, because according to Hartmann the ICE agents told him that the system “is broken.”
To which he said:
“I mean, what am I supposed to do with that?”
“This is your system, run by the government. And you’re raiding me because your system is broken?”
Hartmann then contacted his Representative who got him some answers.
Apparently ICE wasn’t targeting Hartmann’s company, but instead workers using allegedly stolen identities, with Rep. Don Bacon saying:
“ICE verified that Glen Valley Foods complied with E-Verify 100% and is a victim in this as well.”
The raids on America’s food supply has actually worried some of Trump's base it seems, because he responded to concerns in a post and wrote:
“Our great Farmers and people in the Hotel and Leisure business have been stating that our very aggressive policy on immigration is taking very good, long time workers away from them, with those jobs being almost impossible to replace. In many cases the Criminals allowed into our Country by the VERY Stupid Biden Open Borders Policy are applying for those jobs. This is not good. We must protect our Farmers, but get the CRIMINALS OUT OF THE USA. Changes are coming!” []
And he actually added to this when responding to a reporter this today, saying:
“Well, we’re not targeting. In fact, I put out a statement today about farmers. Our farmers are being hurt badly. You know they have very good workers. They've worked for them for 20 years. They’re not citizens but they’ve turned out to be great and we’re going to have to do something about that. Because we can’t take farmers and take all their beautiful people and send them because they don’t have what they’re supposed to have, maybe not.” @0:15
He went on to say that when 20-year-long workers are picked up farmers are then forced to hire “criminals.”
All of which is leading many to think that Trump might be reversing his ICE policy somewhat, with claims that powerful allies likely contacted him angry about the raids hurting their businesses.
Even Governor Gavin Newsom made a statement saying:
[49 second video. Play the whole thing and we’ll cut at Frame]
This all comes after other policies by the Trump administration have hurt allies in these industries.
Right, the retaliatory tariffs other countries impose hurt farmers and Trump’s immigration policies are hurting travel.
Especially when you have videos like this, where a Chilean tourist was arrested by ICE in New York City for no real reason and her kid left in the street.
(Anecdotal, but my entire family is foreign born. Everyone living abroad has canceled any travel plans to the US because of antics like this).
All this to say that things are going to remain tense.
And without a doubt we’ll be talking about this weekend’s protests on Monday.
I just hope it’s something like “massive, peaceful protests across the country” and not "protesters killed and injured in clashes with US troops…”
So if you’re going out there to protest: be peaceful, don’t take the bait from police, and if you’re detained Shut. The. Fuck. Up.
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Sabrina Carpenter is single-handedly setting feminism back decades.
That is what people are claiming after she released the cover art for her new album, “Man’s Best Friend.”
That title is clearly a nod to dogs being a man’s best friend, and so the cover shows her in stilettos and a little black dress crawling on the ground while a person, presumably a man, tugs at her hair like it's a leash.
And the dog comparison is emphasized with additional artwork that just shows the album’s title on a puppy’s collar.
And many found this to be incredibly degrading, writing things like:
“this is not feminism and this is not empowering. Look at her comparing herself to a dog kneeling in front of a man, this is derogatory asf.”[]
“can't she do anything else other than showing women as an object to men?.”[]
“women face horrific domestic abuse and degradation at the hands of men every single day worldwide, but she wants to profit off of imagery of herself being degraded, comparing herself to a dog.”[]
“thinking about how hair pulling was one of the first forms of violent misogyny me and many other women faced as young girls…it feels deeply irresponsible.”[]
Tons of people also echoing this in Sabrina’s Instagram comments, thinking it looks like a humiliation ritual and that no one wants to see a man dragging a woman on the ground, especially in this political climate. []
Though, you also had a ton of people defending Sabrina, arguing that if you put it in the context of her work, it is clearly satire.
Right, the lead single of this album is called “Manchild,” and it is not a “bow down to men” anthem, in it she calls men slow, stupid, and useless.
So you have some saying she is just trying to show how men treat women like pets and play with the fact that sexually promiscuous women have been referred to as “bitches,” AKA dogs, historically. [][]
Some saying this commentary should be especially obvious given that the album’s name is “Man’s Best Friend.”[]
But you have others arguing that there is a difference between intent and effect, and the effect here is that she has objectified herself. []
With some writing:
“intentionally reproducing a misogynistic aesthetic, even under the guise of satire, doesn’t subvert it; it reinforces it. It aestheticizes the very tropes it claims to critique.”[]
“it's just lazy commentary… it says 'men treat women like objects' while making sure to look as sexpoty and bangable as possible.”[]
Then others just saying all this outrage is a symptom of culture becoming too anti-sex and purity focused. []
Some even saying:[]
“i fear we have ‘stop doing things for the male gaze’d ourselves back into expecting women to be modest and shaming them otherwise.”
And the usual 12-hour discourse window got an extension this morning because her cover for Rolling Stone was released, and features her fully nude, minus thigh-high socks and long hair covering her body.
So again, you have some people thinking it's demeaning and anti-women, others thinking it is feminist for her to own her body. [][]
And others writing:
“theres a fine line between expressing urself sexually and degrading urself for the male gaze. i applaud this [magazine cover], i love this, the album cover on the other hand? burn it.”[]
And while she has not addressed this specific backlash yet, discourse about Sabrina and sexuality is nothing new.
Right, she often sings about sex, she also leans into it during her tour at certain points too, and there was a whole controversy on if she should be doing dance moves alluding to sex on stage given some of her fans are young.
And in today’s Rolling Stone piece, she talked about all the criticism and nitpicking she deals with, saying:
“I don’t want to be pessimistic, but I truly feel like I’ve never lived in a time where women have been picked apart more, and scrutinized in every capacity. I’m not just talking about me. I’m talking about every female artist that is making art right now.”
“We’re in such a weird time where you would think it’s girl power, and women supporting women, but in reality, the second you see a picture of someone wearing a dress on a carpet, you have to say everything mean about it in the first 30 seconds that you see it.”
And in terms of people being so quick to call her out on putting sexual elements in her shows, she said:
“It’s always so funny to me when people complain. They’re like, ‘All she does is sing about this.’ But those are the songs that you’ve made popular. Clearly you love sex. You’re obsessed with it. It’s in my show. There’s so many more moments...If you come to the show, you’ll [also] hear the ballads, you’ll hear the more introspective numbers.”
But I would love to know your thoughts on this one, on the album cover, if you think it is degrading, or if people are making a mountain out of a molehole, anything here.
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An Air India flight en route to London just crashed with 242 people on board.
As of recording, we know at least 204 have been killed – including not only those on the plane but people on the ground as well.
And, of course, that number may very well get bigger – right, this is still a developing situation.
But as far as what else we know so far, the plane took off from the western Indian city of Ahmedabad (Em-duh-bod - LISTEN) today at 1:38 p.m. local time (BROLL)
And it crashed just a few minutes later into a dining facility at a medical college three and a half miles away.
Killing at least five students at the college, who were reportedly having lunch at the time. []
Though it’s feared that the death toll on campus and in the surrounding area could be higher (BROLL: 2:00-2:30),
With the dean of the college saying “Most of the students escaped, but 10 or 12 were trapped in the fire.” []
Also, at least 41 people were injured and receiving treatment – though, notably, that number could include both passengers and people on the ground. []
With so far there being at least one survivor from on the plane reported – a British national who was sitting in seat 11A.
Beyond that, it’s not immediately clear what caused the crash.
Right, it could take months or years to determine exactly what happened – and the US and UK are sending experts to help with the investigation.
But notably, the plane in question? It’s a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner.
And Boeing – as well as that specific model of plane? They’ve been in the hotseat for years.
Right, as far as the Dreamliner, it’s never been involved in a fatal crash, but it has experienced operational problems in the past with passengers onboard, resulting in injuries.
And starting in 2021, deliveries were paused for more than a year due to concerns that the company’s planned inspection method didn’t meet federal requirements.
They were paused again in 2023 over an issue with the fuselage which the company said didn’t affect safety.
Though, last year, the FAA said it was investigating claims by a Boeing engineer that parts of the fuselage were improperly fastened together –
Which the whistle-blower said could cause premature damage to the plane over years of use.
Boeing said they found no evidence to support the whistle-blower’s concerns after conducting exhaustive tests.
But notably, other whistle-blowers have also raised concerns about the factory where the Dreamliner is assembled – including John Barnett.
Right, a former quality manager with almost three decades of experience at Boeing, who went public with his concerns in 2019, and then killed himself last year after a yearslong legal battle with the company.
And again, all of that is just with the Dreamliner?
Right, also just last week, the company reached a deal with the Justice Department to avoid criminal responsibility for a pair of deadly 737 Max crashes in 2018 and 2019 – a deal which a lawyer for victims’ families called “morally repugnant.”
And adding to all that, Air India also isn’t any stranger to controversy.
In 2020, for example, an Air India Express flight, which happened to be on a Boeing 737, overshot the runway, killing 21 – with that eventually getting blamed on pilot error.
But with all that, I can’t stress this enough, we really have no idea how or why this happened yet, so we can’t go jumping to any conclusions.
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Israel is reportedly getting ready to attack Iran, and the US is evacuating personnel from the region in response to the rising tensions.
And all this while the UN nuclear watchdog has officially said for the first time in twenty years that Iran isn’t meeting its obligations – with Iran vowing to even further ramp up its uranium enrichment capabilities in response.
Now, with all that, it isn’t clear what kind of attack Israel might be preparing.
But notably, the commander of the Revolutionary Guard has warned that his country’s retaliation to any Israeli attack would be “more forceful and destructive” than in the past. []
With Iranian officials also having warned that any military action against Iran would produce severe consequences – potentially including strikes on American military bases.
Right, which may be why the administration has reportedly ordered all embassies within striking distance of Iran to come up with assessments about danger and about measures to mitigate risks to Americans and U.S. infrastructure. []
With the State Department ordering the departure of all nonessential personnel from the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad – []
Also authorizing the departure of nonessential personnel and family members from Bahrain and Kuwait. []
And then Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth further gave the go-ahead for “military dependents” across the entire region to get the hell out. []
With one expert arguing the US drawdown in the region will send a message that Trump won’t necessarily hold Israel back. []
Right, which is notable, because just a few months ago, Trump reportedly waved off another Israeli plan to attack Iran, insisting that he wanted a chance to negotiate a deal.
And those talks actually picked back up a few weeks ago.
And just two weeks ago, Trump said he had again warned Netanyahu about launching a strike while discussions were underway.
But more recently, Iran rejected a US proposal that would’ve provided it with fuel for reactors while preventing it from building a nuclear weapon or enriching uranium.
With Trump – after expressing optimism about the situation – now saying he was growing “less confident” about getting a deal.
Though, notably, you still have diplomats in Oman – where the talks are being held – saying that a sixth session will go ahead this weekend between US special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and the Iranian foreign minister.
But of course we’ll have to see whether this Israeli attack actually happens, what it looks like, and how Iran responds.
And in the meantime, this move by the UN Nuclear Watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency? It’s only added to the tensions.
Right, to break it down, you had the agency’s board of governors voting on a resolution formally saying that Iran isn’t complying with its nuclear nonproliferation obligations
19 voted in favor, 13 either abstained or didn’t vote, and Russia, China and Burkina Faso voted against.
And like I said, it’s the first time Iran has been found in breach of its obligations in two decades.
With the I.A.E.A specifically taking issue with Iran’s refusal since 2019 to explain activity at three nuclear sites –
As well as its buildup of a stockpile of uranium enriched to 60 percent, which is close to weapons grade. []
Right, with that, Iran has claimed its nuclear program is for civilian use and that it doesn’t want to develop weapons.
But others have argued that there is no conceivable civil nuclear need for Iran to enrich uranium at levels of 60%.
Right, for context, the normal level of enrichment for a nuclear power reactor is somewhere from 3 to 5 percent. []
With the president of the Institute for Science and International Security saying:
“If you are at 60% enriched, you are 99% of the way to weapon-grade uranium, which is the ideal material for nuclear weapons. So this programme does not look like a civil programme.”[]
With him adding there that Iran could get to weapons-grade uranium within a week, while a crude nuclear explosive device could be attached within months.
And in fact, to that point, the I.A.E.A says Iran already has enough highly enriched uranium at near weapons-grade to build 10 bombs in less than a year. []
And with all that, Iran’s failure to comply with the nuclear watchdog’s requirements could be grounds for reinstating all the multinational and U.N. sanctions that were lifted as part of the 2015 nuclear deal.
Right, which was between Iran, the EU, several other countries, and of course, the US under Barack Obama.
You may remember, Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from that deal in 2018 – with Iran announcing a couple years later that it would no longer comply with limits on uranium enrichment set by the deal.
And now, in response to the I.A.E.A vote? You have the Iranian Foreign Ministry and national atomic energy agency coming out with a joint statement condemning the move–
Claiming the resolution had “completely called into question the [agency’s] credibility and prestige.” []
With the statement also announcing that the country would now “launch a new enrichment center in a secure location and replace the first-generation machines” at another site with more modern equipment. []
So, we’ll have to see what happens there, and just how all these different threads come together.
You know, if there’s any hope of a deal being salvaged, or this situation continues to escalate.
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And for your spot of good news today, we’ve got a lost and found love story.
Right, for this tale, we’re going to Michigan and the Sterling Heights Public Library.
Where, on her very first day volunteering, 87 year old Helen found an old wedding photo tucked into the pages of a donated book.
The photo featured a bride and a groom along with another couple and on the back it had the names “Frank and Josephine Ruggirello (Roo-jer-el-oh)” written on it.
With Helen saying that she remembered thinking what a shame it was that there was this nice picture from somebody’s big day and they didn’t know anything about it. []
So she turned the photo over to the library’s administration office who immediately got to work on tracking down the Roo-jer-el-oh family.
Anneliese White, the library’s public relations and programs coordinator, made a post on Facebook featuring the photo, saying the library was “on a mission to reunite the picture with its rightful family.” []
And calling on the community to identify the couple.
With Anneliese later telling the Washington Post,
“Wedding photographs are so meaningful, and we just thought it was worth a try to reunite it with its rightful owner.” []
Within a few hours of that post going up, Sarah Roo-jer-el-oh was tagged by a childhood friend who recognized the last name. []
With Sarah saying she immediately recognized her grandparents and was completely stunned.
Turns out, Frank and Joesphine were first-generation Sicilian Americans who were married in Detroit on September 26,1953.
Over the course of their 67 year marriage, they had 5 children, 9 grandchildren, and 2 great-grandchildren.
With Sarah, being one of the 9 grandchildren, telling the Post,
“They were so proud of their Sicilian heritage and family traditions. They were such a huge presence in my life, and they valued family and togetherness above all.” []
She went on to talk about weekly Sunday dinners with her grandparents, the cookies Josephine would make, Frank’s love of sports, and the close relationships they fostered with everyone in their big family until they died.
Frank passed away in 2020 and just 3 years later, Josephine also passed away.
With Sarah saying that this whole situation felt like her grandparents checking in and saying hello - adding,
“We miss them so much, and it was just so cool and out of the blue to have this reminder of them.” []
A local news outlet caught the moment that Sarah came to pick up the photo from the library - with Sarah adding that her family hadn’t actually seen this particular picture from Frank and Josephine’s wedding before. [B Roll 1:20-1:30]
As for how this photo even came to be in a donated book, the answer lies in the other couple in the picture.
According to Sarah, the other people are her great aunt and uncle - both of whom died before she was born.
In fact, that couple’s granddaughter also saw the post on Facebook and reached out to Sarah, saying that the book was donated to the library by her father - who has a tendency to use pictures as bookmarks. []
With Sarah saying,
“My dad has such a big family, and I’ve met a lot over the years but there’s a ton of distant cousins and relatives, and we’ve all been connecting through this reminder of my grandparents.” []
But for Sarah, it’s been more than a nice reminder - saying this story has also shown her the goodness of people, saying,
“It would have been so easy to throw it in the trash and go on with their day. The fact that they took the time to post it and look for us, that meant so much.” []
As for what’s going to happen to the picture now, it’s time as a bookmark has come to an end.
With Sarah saying that she’ll likely frame and display it in her home, “... because this was such a cool story and such a cool thing that happened.” []
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