The CNN Trump “Plenary Authority” Situation is Crazy, Israel Gaza Ceasefire Details, & Hank Green
PDS Published 10/09/2025
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This man is accused of starting one of the most destructive wildfires in California history!
Right, this here is Jonathan Rinderknecht (Render-nesh) - he’s a 29 year Uber driver from Melbourne, Florida,
And this week, he was arrested outside his home on suspicion of starting the Pacific Palisades fire at the beginning of the year.(broll 5:57)
You know, the fire that killed a dozen people and destroyed more than 6,000 homes? That fire.
According to officials, Jonathan was working on New Year’s Eve and he dropped off a passenger in a neighborhood in the Pacific Palisades where he used to live.
Notably, a couple of Jonathan’s passengers that night noted he appeared, quote, “agitated and angry.”[]
After dropping off that last passenger, Jonathan reportedly walked up to a nearby trail and tried calling a friend who didn’t answer.
He then took videos of the view from the trail and listened to a song that officials noted features lighting things on fire.
Then, roughly 12 minutes into the new year, he started what was later called the Lachman Fire with an open flame.
After the fire was set, officials say that Jonathan called 911 several times but wasn’t able to get through because of the spotty service on the trail.
By the time he did get through, he was at the bottom of the trail and someone else had also reported the fire.
Officials say that, at first, Jonathan left the scene in his car but he did turn around to watch the firefighters handle the blaze - even reportedly taking videos while they did.
That fire was suppressed quickly, but as LA faced a massive windstormin the following days, its embers were still quietly smoldering underground.
They then reignited and caused the Palisades fire, making it what is known as a holdover fire.[]
And it then turned into one of the most destructive fires in California history.
It killed 12 people, destroyed some 6,000 structures and homes, and charred more than 20,000 acres.
Weeks after the fire started, Jonathan was interviewed by police and, according to officials, he lied - saying that he saw the flames while hiking at the bottom of the trail and that’s when he called 911.
But geolocation data from his phone indicated that he was just 30 feet away from the flames as they began to spread. []
And that’s not the only damning technological evidence that investigators found on Jonathan.
Over the course of the 9-month long investigation, officials determined that the fire was intentionally lit and they looked into Jonathan specifically.
And one of the things they found on his devices was ChatGPT-generated images of a city on fire and people running away.
He apparently told GPT he wanted the images to be “dystopian” and put in the prompt:[]
“On the other side of the gate and the entire wall is a conglomerate of the richest people.They are chilling, watching the world burn.”
He also allegedly told a relative he had burned a bible, and told ChatGPT it felt “amazing.”
And he is even accused of asking the app: “Are you at fault if a fire is [lit] because of your cigarettes.”[]
And this all brings us to Jonathan’s arrest on Tuesday, when he was picked up outside his home in Florida.
Yesterday, he had his first court hearing, though he has not entered a plea yet and likely will not do so until he arrives in California. []
With Bill Essayli, the acting U.S. attorney for the Los Angeles area, saying that:
“A single person’s recklessness caused one of the worst fires Los Angeles has ever seen.”
Other California leaders like Gavin Newsom chiming in too, writing:
“marks an important step toward determining how the horrific PalisadesFire started and bringing closure to the thousands of survivors whose lives were upended. This tragedy will never be forgotten — lives were lost, families torn apart, and entire communities forever changed — and there must be accountability.”
But you have others saying the blame game regarding the fire is far from over, right.[]
Because some are also pointing fingers at the fire department for allowing that initial New Years fire to continue underground.
With an investigator saying the cleanup after that fire fell short, that more could have been done there.[]
So you have the LA Times noting that the big question for homeowners, insurers, attorneys, and more will now be: who is to blame, the alleged arsonist who started the fire, or the firefighters who potentially didn’t do enough to stop it from reigniting?
And there, you had a former leader of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s arson unit telling the Times that:
“There needs to be a commission examining why this rekindled fire was allowed to reignite. The arsonist set the first fire, but the fire department proactively has a duty to do certain things.”
But then you also had Kenny Cooper, the special agent in charge of the investigation for ATF saying that the fire crew did their best with:
“a very difficult fire [that] burned deep within the ground, in roots and in structure, and remained active for several days.”
“Fire departments cannot proactively prevent holdover fires. The person who started this fire is solely to blame. I will never blame our brave firefighters when we know how this fire started.”
Others also adding that it can be really hard to detect activity underground, that even infrared imaging systems can miss it. []
Then, as far as what can be learned in the future, you had the LA Times saying this should underscore the danger of reignition, noting that several modern devastating fires were holdover fires.
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We have to talk about these insane videos of Trump that have gone viral over the last 24 hours.
Right, both of the clips come from a roundtable on Antifa Trump held at the White House.
And, just a few minutes into the event, the president started talking about conservative journalists and media personalities who he claims have been attacked by Antifa.
And there, he specifically mentioned Nick Sortor, a conservative influencer who claimed he was attacked after trying to stop people from burning an American flag at an immigration protest.
With Trump then going on to say:
“We took the freedom of speech away, because that’s been through the courts, and the courts said you have freedom of speech, but what has happened is when they burn a flag, it agitates and irritates crowds. I’ve never seen anything like it, on both sides, and you end up with riots. So we're going on that basis. We're looking at it from — not from the freedom of speech, which I always felt strongly about, but never passed the courts.” 6:11 - 6:36
Okay, so it’s a little hard to parse through exactly what Trump is saying there.
But he appears to be referring to an executive order he signed back in August that directed the DOJ to investigate and prosecute people for burning the American flag to the fullest extent that the law allows.
And that last part is key here, because even the order itself explicitly notes that the Supreme Court ruled back in 1989 that flag burning is protected under the First Amendment.
BUT it argued that there is still room to prosecute flag burning if it “is likely to incite imminent lawless action” or amounts to “fighting words.”
With the order also calling for the attorney general to pursue litigation that could challenge the long-standing Supreme Court precedent.
But, as many have noted, the high court ruling still stands — at least for now — and the president doesn’t have the power to just suspend a First Amendment right because he wants to. []
Right, and on the note of Trump assuming sweeping powers, we also saw this bizarre clip of Stephen Miller getting a lot of traction online.
And in it, Miller is doing a live interview with CNN and then appears to freeze up right after mentioning “plenary authority” — which is a legal term that essentially just means “limitless power.” [CLIP]
SANCHEZ: “You have called the district judge's ruling blocking the deployment of National Guard in Oregon legal insurrection. Does the administration still plan to abide by that ruling?”
MILLER: “Well, the administration filed an appeal this morning with the Ninth Circuit. I would note the administration won an identical case in the Ninth Circuit just a few months ago with respect to the federalizing of the California National Guard. Under Title 10 of the U.S. Code, the president has plenary authority. Has —”
SANCHEZ: “Stephen. Stephen. Hey, Stephen, can you hear me? It seems, Stephen, I apologize. It seems like we're having a technical issue. We'll try to fix that and get back to you after a quick break.” 00:03 - 00:55
Right, and after the commercial break, the interview resumed as normal, with the host again apologizing, saying “some wires got crossed.”
And a spokesperson for CNN later claiming that guests who appear remotely wear earpieces to hear audio from the anchor, but because of a technical issue, audio from another CNN channel started playing in Miller’s ear.
But it seems like a lot of the internet didn’t buy that explanation.
With many speculating online that Miller cut himself off and pretended it was a technical glitch because he wasn’t supposed to talk about Trump having absolute power.[][]
Others also saying his audio was cut on purpose, or that someone in his ear told him to stop talking.[]
With some also accusing CNN of trying to cover up the mishap.
Right, but on the note of Trump potentially exceeding his power as president, we also saw this clip from the Antifa roundtable going viral as well…”
And, on the note of suspending rights, we also saw this moment from the roundtable going viral as well:
REPORTER: “Have you given any more thought to possibly suspending habeas corpus to not only deal with these insurrectionists across the nation, but also to continue rapidly deporting illegal aliens?”
TRUMP: “Yeah. Suspending who?”
REPORTER: “Habeas corpus”
TRUMP: “I don't know. I'd rather leave that to Kristi, what do you think?” 1:23:29 - 1:23:48
Right, and so with that, you had some people speculating that Trump doesn’t actually know what habeas corpus is.
While others argued that the president does actually know that habeas corpus is the legal right that allows a detained person to challenge their imprisonment, but he was just having trouble hearing.
Noting that he’s been asking reporters to repeat themselves at other recent events.
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Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of a peace plan for Gaza.
But there are a lot of questions remaining about what this means, what comes next, and what might come after that.
Although, to start, we should talk about how we got here.
And of course, decades of history have led us here, but today’s news is notably coming almost exactly two years after Hamas led an attack on Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages.
28 of whom died in captivity, more than 100 of whom have been released, and about 20 who are believed to still be alive in Gaza.
And that’s as the Israeli military has directly killed roughly 70,000 Palestinians;
obliterated Gaza’s homes, schools, hospitals, and other infrastructure;
as well as created the conditions for famine and starvation.
With activists, experts, and rights groups all having collected evidence to say that what has taken place is genocide.
But with all that, peace talks between Israel and Hamas began taking place in Egypt this week based on a 20-point plan negotiation between Israel and the US without Palestinian involvement.
And yesterday you had Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff along with son-in-law Jared Kushner arriving to represent the US.
With those talks continuing as Trump held a roundtable event with top officials and conservative influencers about antifa (BROLL: 4:58-5:03).
And it was more than an hour into that evenT when you had Secretary of State Marco Rubio handing Trump a note – then getting up and whispering something in his ear (BROLL: 1:22:10-1:22:22 & 1:22:36-1:22:42)
With a photographer for the Associated Press actually capturing an image of the piece of paper – which said:
“Very close.”
“We need you to approve a Truth Social post soon so you can announce deal first.”
And with that, you had Trump immediately sharing the news:
“I was just given a note by the secretary of state saying that we’re very close to a deal on the Middle East, and they’re gonna need me pretty quickly.”
“So we’ll take a couple of more questions.” (1:22:47-1:22:58)
With him then ending the event ten minutes later by saying:
“We’re gonna get peace in the Middle East. That’s what we want to do. Thank you very much.” (1:32:42-1:32:45)
And from there, it wasn’t long until you had him posting on Truth Social, writing:
“I am very proud to announce that Israel and Hamas have both signed off on the first Phase of our Peace Plan.”
“This means that ALL of the Hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw their Troops to an agreed upon line as the first steps toward a Strong, Durable, and Everlasting Peace.”
“All Parties will be treated fairly! This is a GREAT Day for the Arab and Muslim World, Israel, all surrounding Nations, and the United States of America, and we thank the mediators from Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey, who worked with us to make this Historic and Unprecedented Event happen. BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS!”
And with that, Trump has since said he will likely address Israel’s parliament in the coming days on the invitation of Israeli prime minister Bibi Netanyahu
And you’ve also had Netanyahu convening his cabinet to officially approve the deal – which an Israeli official briefed on the matter said would mark the start of a formal cease-fire.
Right, because notably, even after Trump had announced the deal, you had Israeli military operations continuing in Gaza this morning (BROLL: 0:24-0:30).
But with all that, as of recording, we still haven’t seen the full text of whatever has been agreed upon or what has been changed from the original 20-point plan.
Right, that stated that “within 72 hours of Israel publicly accepting this agreement, all hostages, alive and deceased, will be returned”
Adding that “Once all hostages are released, Israel will release 250 life sentence prisoners plus 1,700 Gazans who were detained after 7 October 2023, including all women and children detained in that context.”
And that “For every Israeli hostage whose remains are released, Israel will release the remains of 15 deceased Gazans.” []
But what we’re hearing now is that the roughly 20 living hostages are likely to be released on Sunday or Monday – while it may take longer to get the remains of the deceased out.
Also, very notably, as of recording, the list of Palestinians to be released has reportedly not even been finalized.
With one Hamas official already claiming that disagreement over the list was already endangering the deal – writing on X:
“It appears that Netanyahu is striving to blow up the cease-fire agreement before its implementation by back tracking on the lists of prisoners.” []
But assuming the deal does stay on track, the first phase would also reportedly involve Israel pulling back its troops to an agreed-upon line in Gaza.
And while it’s not clear exactly what that line is as of now, you’ve had an IDF spokesperson saying today that it will lead to Israeli forces controlling and holding about 53% of the Gaza Strip. []
With the Israeli military also confirming today that it was preparing to lead the operation for the hostages’ return and to “transition to adjusted deployment lines soon.” []
And from there, the last big thing that is expected to be part of this first phase is an increase of aid into Gaza – but again, details are sparse.
Though, notably, you’ve had the UN Humanitarian Office calling for immediate access for 170,000 tons of food, medicine, shelter and other supplies that it says are ready to be delivered into the territory.
And of course, this aid? It could not be needed more.
Right, you had the World Health Organization reporting earlier this week that 400 Gazans had already died of malnutrition since the start of the year – including more than 100 children, most of them under the age of five. []
And a study also published this week estimated that 55,000 Gazan children under 6 are acutely malnourished.
And so just the hope that this deal could bring an end to some of that suffering has had some Palestinians in Gaza celebrating – we’ve also Israelis doing the same.
With world leaders similarly expressing their satisfaction.
But of course there are also those who remain skeptical – and for good reason.
Right, two previous deals have already failed to bring an end to the bloodshed.
And on top of the questions still remaining about this first phase, some of the most difficult issues between Israel and Hamas have seemingly been left to a future phase of negotiations
For example, it’s unclear whether and to what degree and how Hamas would lay down its weapons – which has been a longstanding demand of Israel.
And while Hamas has long said it would be willing to release all the hostages only in exchange for the complete withdrawal of Israeli military forces from Gaza, a permanent end to the war and the release of Palestinian prisoners.
The deal reached this week only guarantees one of those three things: the prisoner release. []
And so you have analysts saying Hamas is taking a big risk by agreeing to release the remaining hostages in Gaza – giving up its only real leverage.
And with that, you have already had the group calling on Trump and others to compel Israel “to fully implement the agreement’s requirements and not allow it to evade or delay” carrying them out. []
With that being as there are definitely people in the Israeli government that aren’t too happy about this – chief among them possibly being finance minister Bezalel Smotrich (Bets-uh-lel Smote-rich) – an extremist who has openly called for Gaza’s destruction.
And with that, he has already opposed the deal, threatened to quit the government, and said that Hamas should be destroyed once the hostages are returned.
But even from there, if those issues are worked out, and Israel doesn’t continue its attacks after the hostages are released, there’s still the massive question about who would govern Gaza.
Right, Trump’s 20-point plan called for him to head up a so-called “Board of Peace” that would oversee a “technocratic, apolitical Palestinian committee.” []
And there’s also a lot of emphasis on creating attracting investment – with some fearing this is something he and others might see as more of a real estate opportunity.
Pointing to his past comments about turning Gaza into the Riviera of the Middle East as well as leaked plans considered by the White House which would establish a resort named after him in the territory. []
And on top of all that, that plan used a lot of vague language – saying that things like a full Israel military withdrawal or Palestinian statehood could only happen if certain conditions are met – without specifying those conditions. []
So this definitely is over.
We’ll have to see what happens in the next hours and days first but it will take months and years to see how this ultimately ends up.
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But then from that, finally today, I wanted to do one more thing.
Just this morning I shot an hour long podcast
with Hank Green, who he has so many identifiers.
He's really someone that I like. When he talks, I just, I listen.
So I want to end today by playing this bit.
Can I say something to Ben?
Yes, Ben, I didn't mean to invalidate your lived experience.
What I will say
is that lived experience is the foundation of almost every scientific insight.
We we find things that we experience and then we test them.
And so I will I shouldn't have invalidated your lived experience or anyone else's.
We need to like if you experience something, then we tested and figure out
whether or not it's true. And many times we discover things are true.
And when we don't listen to lived experience,
then we miss things that science should otherwise be discovering.
But if we only rely on lived experience, that allows lawyers like RFK Jr to tell.
Stories that are fake.
I don't believe that apology because I see no ukulele in your hands.
So thank you so much.
I appreciate you.
Well, that it brings us to the end of this video.
You got even more just a click away.
You've got my brand new interview and podcast with Hank Green.
It's interesting. It's serious, it's goofy. It goes off the rails at times.
And or you can watch the newest Philip
DeFranco show that you haven't seen yet right here.
I've even got links for both in the description
so you can get filled in on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or YouTube.
That said, thank you for watching.
I love yo faces and I'll see you right back here next time.
