Trump DHS Footage Scandal is Pathetic, Big Creators Hit By Illegal Gambling Lawsuit, & Today’s News
PDS Published 10/29/2025
-
Trump just threatened to send multiple branches of the military to U.S. cities against their will.
Right, yesterday, Trump delivered an hour-long, rambling speech before U.S. troops in Japan, during which he spent a lot of time bragging about his achievements.
And at one point, he was discussing all the cities he thinks are crime-ridden and how his deployment of the National Guard in those places has made them perfect, crime-free utopias, with him then going on to say:
“People don't care if we send in our military, if we send in our National Guard, if we send in Space Command. They don't care who the hell it is. They just want to be safe.” 43:21 - 43:31
“We have cities that are troubled, we can’t have cities that are troubled. And we’re sending in our National Guard, and if we need more than the National Guard, we’ll send more than the National Guard, because we’re going to have safe cities. We're not going to have people killed in our cities. And whether people like that or not, that's what we're doing.” 44:35 - 44:52
Now, of course, Trump didn’t elaborate on that at all, but when questioned about his comments during a press gaggle on Air Force One today, we saw this:
Q: “What did you mean last night when you said you were prepared to send 'more than the National Guard' into American cities?”
TRUMP: “Sure, I would. I would do that if it was necessary.”
Q: “What does that mean?”
TRUMP: “If it was necessary, you know, if it was necessary to do that. But it hasn't been necessary. We're doing a great job without that. Yeah, it was necessary. As you know, I'm allowed to do that.”
Q: “Do you mean other branches of the military you'd send in?”
TRUMP: “If it were — who do you — who are you with?”
Q: “The New York Times”
TRUMP: “That's very good. Very good. Well, if you write it correctly, I'll give you the answer. But if I want to enact a certain act, I'm allowed to do it. Routinely, other — about 50% of presidents have used that, as you know. And I'd be allowed to do whatever I want. But we haven't chosen to do that because we're very well, we're doing very well without it. But I'd be allowed to do that, you understand that, and the courts wouldn't get involved. Nobody would get involved. And I could send the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines — I could send anybody I wanted.” 5:22 - 6:20
Okay, so a few things to unpack here.
First of all, the “act” he's referencing there appears to be the Insurrection Act, a centuries-old statute that allows the president to deploy active duty troops for civil policing purposes when there is a rebellion or widespread public unrest.
And, specifically, the act allows the president to send in those troops when a state government requests it, or if the president declares that the unrest is obstructing the enforcement of federal law.
And if that sounds familiar, it’s because this isn’t the first time Trump has floated this idea.
But, very notably here, he’s wrong that this is something that has been used “routinely” by “about 50% of presidents.”
Right, according to PolitiFact, just 17 presidents have used it — or around 37%.
And the act has only been invoked 30 times, so it’s not common at all — especially in modern times.
In fact, it’s only been used three times in the last half a century — and the last time it was used at all was more than 30 years ago during the Rodney King riots.
So if Trump did decide to pull the trigger, it would be absolutely massive.
Especially because countless legal experts and leaders in the cities Trump has targeted all agree that there’s nothing going down right now that’s even close to the level of public unrest that is historically used to justify invoking the act.
But, of course, words are words, and actions are actions, and we’ll have to see if Trump decides to follow through, or if he’s just saying shit because he wants to intimidate and threaten.
And on the note of threats, we also saw an interesting interaction taking place during Trump’s presser on Air Force One today regarding comments he made earlier this week about how he would “love” to have an illegal third term.
Right, and there, you had a reporter noting that, earlier in the day, Speaker Mike Johnson had said that there was no path for Trump to seek a third term, and that he had discussed that with the president.
With him also brushing off all Trump’s repeated comments as “trolling.”
And when asked by a reporter about Johnson’s remarks, we saw this interaction:
Q: “Sir, Speaker Johnson says that he told you that there's no time to amend the Constitution to allow you to serve a third term. Is that an accurate representation of —”
TRUMP: “I don’t, I don’t — I don't want to even talk about that because, you know, the sad thing is I have my highest poll numbers that I've ever had. Yes, I should.” 18:17 - 18:36
With him then going on to ramble about all the wonderful things he think’s he’s done and adding:
TRUMP: “And, you know, based on what I read, I guess I'm not allowed to run. So, we'll see what happens.”
Q: “Johnson says you're ‘trolling’ when you talk about a third term. Are you trolling or are you serious?”
TRUMP: “Well, I don't think — I don't think — I don't think he said that. I don't think he used term. It's a very interesting thing, I have the best numbers for any president in many years. Any president. And I would say that if you read it, it's pretty clear: I'm not allowed to run. Stupid.” 19:02 - 19:28
So, you know, a pretty significant walk-back from Trump there.
But it’s hard to predict if that take will actually stick, or if he’s back out there next week saying he won’t rule it out, there’s still some kind of legal possibility, or whatever.
-
If you’re active on social media, there’s a good chance you’ve seen one of these slick video montages routinely put out by the Trump administration.
[Clip, 00:16 - 00:35]
But as it turns out, many of those videos are not just clearly propaganda, they’re also what Trump would call fake news. [Continue B roll]
With The Washington Post using reverse-image searches, geolocation tools and other techniques to track down their original sources.
And it found that just over the past few months, at least six videos have claimed to show one thing while actually showing something completely different and unrelated. [Quote, find “six videos”]
So for example, in this video that DHS posted in August celebrating its takeover of D.C.? [Lead B roll into clip]
[Clip, 00:15 - 00:27]
It turns out several of those clips are actually from Los Angeles, West Palm Beach, Nantucket Island and Martha’s Vineyard. [Continue B roll andQuote, find “Martha”]
In fact, they appear to have pulled footage straight from the Nantucket Current, a local news outlet, without giving it any credit.
And that’s not the only time DHS has been caught stealing journalists’ work.
You also had this video supposedly from Portland. [Lead B roll into clip]
[Clip, 01:21 - 01:30]
But when the freelancer Ford Fischer saw it, he quickly identified it as his own footage, filmed days earlier not in Portland, Oregon, but in Broadview, Illinois. [Continue B roll]
And on top of that, DHS apparently cropped his watermark out of the video before publishing it. [Same B roll]
And then, footage from that same protest in Illinois was also used to show that Memphis had been “abandoned to crime and lawlessness” and that residents had been “resounding in their thankfulness” when DHS arrived. [B roll, 00:51]
In another video, footage of smuggling boats and migrants crossing the border at night was used to show how past presidents had let illegal immigrants into the country. [B roll, 00:03 - 00:11]
But as The Post points out, some of those clips are from Donald Trump’s first term. [Same B roll]
And in another case, a photo put out by ICE wasn’t just misleading; it appears to be literally fake.
Right, it’s of a woman holding a sign outside an ICE facility in Portland that reads, “I really appreciate you guys!” [Post]
And many people online speculated that it was fake or AI-generated, pointing to little details that seemed doctored.
But then DHS posted surveillance video of the same sidewalk showing that the woman and her sign were in fact real, and proving the skeptics wrong.
Except … it’s not that simple, because the video also shows that on the sidewalk underneath the woman’s feet someone had written “Chinga la migra,” a Spanish curse against the immigration authorities.
And in ICE’s original photo, most of that message save for a couple letters was removed, suggesting they did actually doctor it, just not in the way people thought. [Post]
Now you may not think these fake or misleading posts are that important; right, who’s really watching these, anyway?
But if you look at their engagement, some of them reach bigger audiences than even mainstream news reports.
Which is notable because they’re also often shot in a format similar to a newscast, and DHS frequently “debunks” the mainstream media, claiming to provide “the facts.” [Lead B roll into clip]
[Clip, 00:32 - 00:39]
So a chunk of people are probably watching these as an alternative to real news.
And we’re talking some one and a half million views on this video, for example, which claims to show Chicago in absolute chaos. [B roll]
But you can tell much of it is actually from Florida, since for one thing, as The Daily Beast pointed out, palm trees don’t typically grow in Chicago. [Quote, find “palm”]
And the AFP news agency traced other clips to Arizona, California, Nebraska, South Carolina and Texas, some of them from Biden’s term. [Headline]
Now when The Post asked her for comment, DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin [Trish-uh Mick-lock-lin] countered that the videos in question were a small percentage of the more than 400 posted this year. [Quote, find “400”]
But critics say that regardless, the whole practice of crafting these high-res movies is itself obscene, whether the clips are accurate or not.
Right, as ICE agents raid an apartment complex or yank someone out of a car, they’ve got in-house photographers and videographers following right behind like it’s a reality television show.
Hell, they even added a 28,000-dollar drone to their aerial recording fleet recently. [B roll]
So for these unlucky migrants, the worst day of their life gets turned into an epic action montage that millions of people watch for entertainment.
Or alternatively, a tonedeaf meme where the brutal reality of somebody’s door getting blown open is paired with the surrealism of the Pokémon soundtrack. [Lead B roll into clip] [Clip, 00:28 - 00:32]
So you’ve got Eddie Perez, a former director for civic integrity at Twitter, telling The Post:
“What we are witnessing is the collapse of government accountability through communication based on facts. They’re not trying to communicate actions and outcomes. They’re acting like filmmakers, trying to make people laugh, to make them feel scared, to inspire certain emotions regardless of the truth.” [Quote]
But the White House doesn’t even seem to deny that accusation; right, a spokeswoman just said:
“the Trump administration will continue to highlight the many successes of the president’s agenda through engaging content and banger memes on social media.” [Quote same link]
Though I should note that it’s not just social media; right, even on the DHS’s official website, their news and updates feed has become a spigot for blatantly partisan propaganda.
With them publishing press releases on a near-daily basis declaring that despite the Democrats’ government shutdown, ICE is still arresting “the worst of the worst” without pay. [Headlines 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12]
As well as highlighting so-called “criminal illegal aliens” it claims were let into the U.S. by Joe Biden, JB Pritzker, Gavin Newsom and other “sanctuary politicians.” [Headlines 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8]
Or blasting a long list of perceived enemies: “activist judges,” “media hoaxes,” “fake news,” “mainstream media lies.” [Headlines 1 2 3]
And sometimes just outright demanding the “media and far left” stop “demonizing” Trump and his supporters. [Headline]
All of which is so shocking because, in case it needs restating, this is supposed to be a nonpartisan professional law enforcement agency.
But as we’ve seen not just with the DHS, but the DoJ, HHS, and countless other departments, career professionals have been silenced or purged and replaced with the president’s loyalists.
-
That is what a new lawsuit alleges, with a man in Missouri filing a class action complaint against both Drake and Adin, as well as the company that owns the online social casino Stake.us.
Right, you may have seen that both Drake and Adin have frequently promoted Stake online, either on streams or in social media posts.
In fact, just this week, Drake posted a video where he runs through his house to check a one million dollar bitcoin balance on his Stake account.
And there has long been controversy around gambling streams and people promoting these kinds of platforms to their audiences.
And now, a lawsuit is accusing Drake, Adin, and Stake specifically of “deceptive, fraudulent and unfair” practices.[]
Alleging that they have actively misled consumers by promoting Stake.us as a “harmless” social casino when it is actually “highly addictive” and “unlawful.”
With the suit noting that in many states throughout the U.S., including Missouri, online gambling is either banned or heavily regulated, []
But it claims that:
“To evade these restrictions, Sweepsteaks Limited created Stake.us, which conducts online casino gambling in open violation of Missouri state gaming and consumer protection laws.”
Right, claiming it is a virtual clone of the global casino Stake.com, but merely rebranded to trick online users.
And the lawsuit says Stake really starts crossing legal lines via its dual currency system, explaining:
“To hide the true nature of its online gambling operation, Stake asserts that the only chips it sells to consumers are tokens called ‘Gold Coins,’ which can only be used for ‘casual’ gameplay on the Stake.us platform, have no real-world value, and can never be cashed out. However, Stake bundles every purchase of Gold Coins with a second type of token called ‘Stake Cash’ as a supposedly free bonus. Unlike Gold Coins, Stake Cash can be wagered on casino games and cashed out for real money.”
And the suit claims that by offering Stake Cash, it is operating an unlicensed and illegal online casino.
With the suit then pointing to the influencers Stake uses to promote its platforms, saying this messaging includes slick ads:
“and flashy visuals, making its games seem safe, fun and harmless.”
But saying that in reality: “Stake creates exactly the kind of dangerous environment that Missouri gaming laws exist to stop.”
And that is where Drake and Adin come in, with the suit alleging they promote Stake “under deeply fraudulent pretenses” because they do not gamble on Stake with their own money, even though they tell the public otherwise.
The suit even goes so far as to call Drake the “unofficial mascot” of Stake, accusing him of:
“glamorizing the platform to millions of impressionable fans, many of whom treat his wild betting habits like gospel.”
And so the suit says defendants have been “unjustly enriched” at the expense of those involved in this class action.
And it also seeks to recover gambling losses and prevent Stake from any “further violations."
So far, Adin Ross has responded on stream, and he dismissed the claims in the lawsuit, saying:
“I will tell you guys this. Read through the case yourself. It’s fucking bullshit. (30:49-30:56)
And you had other streamers in the space like xQc similarly writing:
“This lawsuit will go nowhere lmfao, this is just pandering to the public perception.”[]
But this is far from the first time tactics like the ones Stake is accused of employing have come under fire.
Right, earlier this month California Governor Gavin Newsom actually signed a law cracking down on dual currency models and other potentially deceptive strategies that can be used on online platforms to simulate gambling.
And in August, the Los Angeles City Attorney also sued Stake, calling it:
“a rogue and real money gambling racket with destructive repercussions for its players.”
But I would love to know your thoughts on any of this here.
Go to Brain.fm to get 30 days of free access to science-backed music that really works.
-
Flooding, power outages, and no cell service: that’s what Jamaicans are dealing with after facing Hurricane Melissa yesterday -- the strongest storm in the island’s history.
Things are so bad that Prime Minister Andrew Holness declared the entire country a disaster area, although other lawmakers have stated that areas in the West and Central Jamaica are far worse off.
That’s because in the West is where the bulk of the storm and its eye wall made landfall, leading to the area being completely ravaged amid the extremely high winds. [aerial view]
Quick tangent, but some madmen researchers flew into the eye of the Category 5 storm -- which is extremely rare and dangerous -- to get this crazy footage.
But back to Jamaica, where Holness described one such place -- St. Elizabeth Parish -- as being “underwater.” [2]
Authorities are still trying to get an idea of just how bad the damage is, but what we do know is that winds were reaching speeds of 180 mph, meaning that anything that wasn’t a concrete building is probably gone.
Even structures that have withstood major storms for hundreds of years couldn’t take on Melissa, such as the 300-year-old Anglican Church in Black River.
Hundreds of thousands of children are expected to face struggles with food, housing, and school as part of the storm’s aftermath, according to UNICEF.
And a little cherry of misery on top is that 77% of the island doesn’t have electricity right now.
The good news is that the death toll seems relatively low at just around seven.
I need to put a mountain of salt on that though, because no official numbers have come out yet.
After hitting Jamaica it went from a Category 5 to 3 -- and while that’s a big difference it’s still extremely dangerous and you just have to look at Cuba to see that.
Over there the southern part of the island was hit by Hurricane Melissa, leading to hundreds of thousands getting displaced.
Even major cities like Santiago de Cuba were facing major flooding and damaged buildings, although as of recording there have been no deaths attributed to the storm in Cuba.
The next victim will likely be the Bahamas, which is expected to face a Category 2 Melissa later this afternoon and evening.[]
And like everywhere else, officials are warning that lives could be lost amid 25 inches of rainfall and four to seven feet of storm surge.
So, you know, they are really trying to get people to take it seriously.
Hopefully no one dies there, because if the death toll numbers stay as low as they currently seem it’s a miracle for such a crazy storm.
Which is obviously good news, because while building and infrastructure can be replaced, lives cannot.
-
But sticking with international news, we gotta talk about how Israeli airstrikes just killed at least 104 Palestinians in Gaza – including at least 46 children – according to Gaza’s health ministry.
With a spokesperson for Gaza’s civil defence claiming:
“The Israeli strikes targeted tents for displaced people, homes and the vicinity of a hospital in the strip.”
Also describing the situation in the territory as “catastrophic and terrifying” and calling the strikes “a clear and flagrant violation of the ceasefire agreement.” []
And notably, even before last night, Gaza’s media office had accused Israel of committing 80 violations since the ceasefire began – killing 97 Palestinians and injuring 230. []
On the flip side, Israel has repeatedly accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire as well – including in response to its failure to return the remains of all the deceased as is required by the ceasefire agreement.
Right, the group has so far returned the remains of only 15 hostages – claiming it does not know the exact location of all the bodies remaining in the territory.
Also claiming it has lost contact with several of its units that had been holding the captives and were then killed in Israeli attacks. []
And earlier this week, you had the group handing over body parts that Israel said were partial remains of a hostage recovered earlier in the war – with Israeli PM Bibi Netanyahu describing this as a “clear violation” of the ceasefire agreement.
And with that, the Israeli military also published footage of what it said were Hamas members reburying remains in order to “stage a false discovery” (BROLL: 0:50-1:00).
Accusing the group of “attempting to create a false impression of efforts to locate the bodies.” []
And adding to that, a firefight between Palestinian militants and Israeli troops in Rafah resulted in the death of an Israeli soldier – who also reportedly held American citizenship.
And while Hamas denied any involvement in the shooting, you had Israel accusing the group of being behind it, with Netanyahu ordering the IDF to carry out, quote, "forceful strikes" on Gaza.
With Israel’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson blaming the high death toll on Hamas using civilians as human shields.
And also claiming that the Trump administration had been informed about the strikes and that they had been carried out in full coordination with the U.S. []
And with that, you did have Trump defending Israel’s actions – saying the country should “hit back” when its troops come under attack.
With him also insisting that the ceasefire is holding:
“Nothing is going to jeopardize the –
“That’s – you have to understand, Hamas is a very small part of peace in the Middle East, and they have to behave. They’re on the rough side, but they said they would be good, and if they’re good, they’re going to be happy, and if they’re not good, they’re going to be terminated. Their lives will be terminated.” (0:20-0:41)
And with that, at least for now, Israel is also claiming the ceasefire is back in effect.
So as usual, we’ll have to wait and see what exactly that means and how long it lasts.
Go to Saily and use the code “phil” to get an exclusive 15% discount on Saily data plans! ⛵
-
Mass killings and atrocities are underway in the Sudanese city of El-Fasher (El Fash-er/ AUDIO).
And the situation? It may only be about to get worse – which is saying a lot because even before this week things were seemingly as bad as you could imagine.
Right, Sudan? It’s a country that’s been engulfed in civil war since April 2023.
As many as 400,000 people have been killed by some estimates, more than 14 million have been displaced, and some 25 million have faced extreme hunger.
And both sides – the Sudanese army and the paramilitary force known as the RSF – have been accused of widespread atrocities.
With the latter even having been accused by the US of genocide back in January.
Right, which is notable, because the RSF? It grew out of the Janjaweed (Jan-juh-weed) militias that were accused of genocide in the region of Darfur over two decades ago.
It’s also the group that has for a year and half held the city of El-Fasher under siege.
And throughout that time you had experts, activists, and humanitarian organizations warning that the fall of the city would be a catastrophe – pointing to what happened in 2023 in El Geneina (el jeh-nay-nah), another city in the region of Darfur, as an example.
Right, there, the RSF slaughtered as many as 15,000 civilians in ethnically motivated killings after taking control, according to the United Nations.
In the case of El-Fasher – as the siege dragged on – the roughly 260,000 civilians who had remained, half of them children, were trapped without aid – with many having no choice but to survive on animal fodder. []
But then on Sunday, the RSF announced that it had taken control of the army’s main base in the city.
With the Sudanese army chief acknowledging the loss of the city the next – saying his forces had withdrawn “to a safer location.”
And while another 26,000 people managed to flee the city as well, approximately 177,000 civilians remain trapped after the RSF has constructed a 35 mile earthen berm further sealing off food, medicine and escape routes.[]
And with that, the group has reportedly been shooting civilians trying to flee.
With Shayna Lewis, a Sudan specialist for the organization Preventing and Ending Mass Atrocities, saying:
“Residents…who previously left the city are finding out about the death of their loved ones through footage of executions that are widely circulating on social media.”
And with that, as of recording, it stands accused of having executed more than 2,000 unarmed civilians in recent days. []
With Yale University’s Humanitarian Research Lab, which has been monitoring the war using open-source intelligence and satellite imagery, saying the evidence is consistent with accusations of mass killings by the RSF – writing in a new report:
“[The city] appears to be in a systematic and intentional process of ethnic cleansing of…Indigenous non-Arab communities through forced displacement and summary execution.” []
You also had the Lab’s executive director Nathaniel Raymond adding:
“We are only at the beginning of a wave of violence.”
“I have never seen a level of violence against an area like we are seeing now.”
With him then saying the only thing that came close was the first 24 hours of the Rwandan genocide.
And with that, it’s worth noting that foreign powers are fueling the bloodshed.
Right, Turkey, Russia and Iran, for example, have supplied or sold weapons to the army.
And the United Arab Emirates has provided drones, artillery and other weapons to the RSF. []
And with that, you’ve had the US also getting called out for its close relationship to the UAE, with Democratic Senator Chris Murphywriting on X in response to recent events:
“Why is the U.S. allowing the UAE - which we fund militarily - help the brutal RSF engage in mass atrocity?” – adding:
“FYI - this isn't just about Trump - the Biden Admin was letting this happen too.”
But with that, we’ll have to wait and see if anything can be done by anyone to keep this situation from getting worse.
Although, I will say, outside of the human toll we’re seeing here, this is potentially a major turning point in the war.
Right, El Fasher was the last remaining major city in Darfur controlled by the army.
ANd with the RSF now in control, the army is excluded from a whole one-third of Sudanese territory – a development that experts say raises the possibility the country could face partition.
-
But then as far as the final thing today, it's actually a bit from my new podcast
that just came out today crashing out with myself and Alex Pearlman.
of course you can watch or listen to the full hour.
Plus I got links to the YouTube, Apple Podcasts and Spotify in the description.
but for the here and now.
I wanted to share where we were talking about term
limits and age limits and more politicians use needing to step down.
we were talking about it for a number of reasons, including
which is happened with a House member, Eleanor Holmes Norton, who's 88 years old.
think legacy matters.
I mean, when I was looking into this piece,
people are like, oh, she used to be a dynamo.
And it's like, legacy matters.
But I think that we need to really be of the mindset, especially right now.
But in general of what have you done for me
lately and in regards to the the people that are supposed to represent us.
And if this is what's happening, you got to scoot like, get out, scoot it.
Yeah. Who am I? But it's also and I understand that she's done.
She's done a ton. She's done so many different things.
And again the most great the most gracious thing
there's there is a famous Roman named Cincinnatus.
We have named cities about him.
Okay.
The term dictator comes from ancient Rome.
And I'm going to harp on this a little bit. Comes from ancient Rome.
And it was the idea of
when we are in extreme crisis that the Senate and the console power,
all this stuff would be vested in one man, a temporary king,
who would handle the crisis and then leave power.
And the first person to do that was name was famously called Cincinnatus.
He was a soldier, farmer, console.
They came out, he was plowing the field.
They said, we need you.
He released his hands from the plow.
He went dealt with all the issues, said the issues done immediately, gave up
power and went back to the exact place he was plowing.
That nickname was then given to George Washington because George
Washington to two terms as president and said, I'm done.
I don't need to do this anymore.
And there was a very, very long time in this country where giving up power
was considered the greatest thing you can do, and right
now, especially on the dem side, and God knows from the this president
on the Republican side, giving up power seems to be
the number one thing that is their greatest fear.
They are so afraid of relinquishing it to a future generation,
or to anyone else with a different idea or a different perspective.
but that, my friends, is where today's video is going to end.
But you've got more just to click away.
you can watch
I do full episode of Crashing Out that just went out right here.
and or you've got the newest Philip DeFranco
show that you haven't seen yet right here.
I've got links to both and even more in the description
if you want to get filled in on YouTube, Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
hey, whatever you do, thank you for watching.
I love your faces. And I'll see you right back here tomorrow.
