How Panic Made The Hantavirus Outbreak Worse

May 7

Written By Guest User

PDS Published 05/07/2026

Sup, you beautiful bastards! Welcome back to the Philip DeFranco show. You daily dive into the news. It is Thursday. What a week it's been.
I can't even be bothered to lean in today. I'm going to sit back. I recommend you do as well, because we have a lot to talk about today. Starting with this.
The FBI just raided Virginia state Senator Louise Lucas's Portsmouth office and her cannabis dispensary for reasons we still don't know yet. She hasn't been charged with anything so far.
But you do have some reports saying that this is tied to an ongoing investigation of corruption and bribery that actually started during the Biden administration. It's believed this might be related to her cannabis business.
But the specifics, they're kind of shaky right now. As far as the response to all of this, everyone from Governor Abigail Spanberger to Virginia’s attorney general to Senator Lucas, they appear to be just as clueless as we are. Because again, no charges, no details. And as far as we know, no evidence points to any crime. So everyone kind of seems to be in the dark here.
But some people, including lawmakers, they're starting to say that none of that even matters, because this is more about the power play than the investigation itself. In fact, you had Lucas responding to the raid on social media, saying:
“Today's actions by federal agents are about far more than one state senator. They are about power. And who is allowed to use it. What we saw is a clear pattern from this administration. When we challenged them, they tried to intimidate.”
You also had Representative Robert C. Scott saying:
“It must be acknowledged that this FBI raid occurs in the broader context of President Trump's repeated abuse of the Department of Justice to target his perceived political opponents.”
With that, you have a lot of people nodding along because as we've seen, it really doesn't take any real evidence for Trump to bring out the FBI.
Just yesterday, you had a judge shooting down a request to return the balance the FBI took from Fulton County in connection with his six-year obsession with his loss in 2020.
And again, I want to stress we do not know if Lucas was actually engaged in corruption. We're not saying anything there. But right now, you've got a lot of people saying that anyone who is not kissing the ring could get an FBI visit at this point.
And a lot of people pointing to those who have bent the knee all of a sudden getting a pardon or all of a sudden that problem disappears.
And then you've got people pointing to the fact that Lucas is one of Virginia's top lawmakers with 30 years in the game, and she's not afraid to let the Trump administration have it. She has been a very vocal proponent of Virginia's redistricting referendum.
So you've got Lucas saying this raid was basically Trump making an example out of her. The lesson here: talk shit, get raided.
However, in her statement, she also said she was proud to lead that effort and that she's never been afraid to stand up to Donald Trump or anyone else that has tried to undermine our democracy.
But then also on the note of redistricting, we then have to talk about how Tennessee voters were raising hell.
They were at the legislative hearing about the new maps they just passed that split up the state's only Democratic district, which just so happens to sit on a majority Black city, Memphis.
“Is there anything I can do or say to get you to leave? There you go. Time to go.”
And this coming after the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act and started this domino effect of states trying to redraw their maps that critics say watered down Democratic votes.
Though their state House speaker says that this was a move to make redistricting more colorblind.
But there you had Tennessee Democrats not buying it.
“We know the intention here is to be racist. It is to take the only majority Black district out of the United States Congress, and it is to allow for white representation and white majority districts to exist. Period.”
Regardless of your opinion, Tennessee Republicans, they have made their endgame clear:
“We want Republicans to maintain control of the House of Representatives.”
So no surprises there. They are saying that Tennessee is a conservative state, and their congressional delegation should reflect that.
But Democrats in the state, they're saying something very different.
“Our needs are nowhere near the same as a rural community and nowhere near the same as other parts of Tennessee. And that's why we have our own congressional district.”
Also the bigger issue that people are calling out is that no one had any idea what these maps could actually look like up until this point.
“This process has been done completely in secrecy to deny the public and representatives and elected officials the opportunity to understand what's really going on. This has been done entirely in secrecy. And when you're doing something wrong, that's what you do. You hide what you're doing.”
“We are making the most fundamental decision that affects the people who gets to speak for them, and we're doing it in a room where the people were entirely shut out.”
Now we're finally seeing the new maps split Memphis into three parts and will likely push the Democratic representative Steven Cohen out of a seat.
And so now you've got many wondering if those representatives are going to have any incentive to actually pay attention to those voters or any attention to the city.
“By breaking up our district into three different separate congressional districts, there's no way you get fair representation.”
And now that the new maps have passed, Tennessee is the 13th state with an all-Republican congressional delegation, adding to the GOP's red wall.
While that wall is very likely safe, there are cracks among the base.
And it involves even Republicans wondering if democracy is holding up under Trump's second term, if the Republican Party can be anything more than a cult of personality connected to Trump.
It's becoming yet another front in the MAGA civil war.
That's actually something that we saw Tucker Carlson, who's become one of the biggest soldiers in that war, hitting on in the most recent episode of his show where he interviewed Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky.
Because Massie has become one of Trump's main targets within his party after he split on a number of issues.
Though easily the biggest nail in the coffin is that Massie has been leading the charge to get the Epstein files released.
Trump has launched an all-out crusade against Massie, calling him disloyal and a loser while repeatedly pushing for him to be defeated in his upcoming May 19th primary.
I mean, Trump literally created a whole PAC just devoted to defeating Massie. And outside groups have spent millions of dollars on this one single primary.
But also, Trump's war on Massie has sparked significant backlash from members of his MAGA base who agree with Massie's points.
People who think that it's crazy that the president is trying so hard to destroy him just because he doesn't blindly agree with everything Trump says and wants to release the Epstein files.
And that's something that Tucker really highlighted in the show, arguing that Trump has betrayed the Americans who brought him back to power, and young voters in particular.
Carlson noting that young people voted for Trump because he ran on his whole anti-establishment platform, predicated on standing up to the system and draining the swamp.
Now Trump’s just fully swimming in it.
So you have Tucker saying that those voters, they really want someone like Massie who will stay true to their values and stand up against the establishment.
“Thomas Massie has made good on the promises that Donald Trump made to the nation, to these very same people who supported him in 2024. And he stuck with it.”
“Thomas Massie is a better standard bearer for Trumpism, for the America First ideology that Donald Trump ran on three times, than Donald Trump is.”
“So you would think at this point Thomas Massie would have the full support of the Republican establishment in Washington. Oh no. Just the opposite. He has become the number one enemy of the Trump administration.”
And then he went on to claim that Massie first began to fall from Trump's graces two years ago after doing an interview on Tucker’s show.
During that interview, Massie talked about how he refused to bend the knee to AIPAC, the main pro-Israel lobby.
And you had Tucker arguing that those remarks ignited a sweeping effort by various pro-Israel interests to oust Massie from office.
All of which leads to where we are right now:
“A moment where a Republican congressional primary in Kentucky is the single most important political race of the year.”
“Because if they are successful in doing this — crushing a man, defaming a man, slandering a man, attacking his family purely for the crime of telling the truth about them, about how they operate, about the nature of the Epstein class — then you have to wonder, why are we voting in the first place?”
“What is the point of all of this? That's not democracy. It's not even a poor facsimile of democracy. It's just straight up, teeth-bared oligarchy. It's shut up and obey.”
With Tucker then going even further, essentially arguing that Massie's primary is not only an important litmus test for the midterm elections and Trump's control over the Republican Party, but also for the future of America.
“This primary is more than a primary. It's a window into what MAGA has become, and it's a referendum, I would argue, on democracy itself.”
And specifically Carlson noting that Massie won his last few primaries with massive amounts of the vote, over 70 and 80%. But now he's leading the polls by one percentage point.
And with that, you had Massie arguing that the only thing that's changed in this primary is that pro-Israel groups have spent millions of dollars campaigning against him.
“So the real reason that this race is a serious race and I may lose is because a foreign lobby has fully funded it to the extent that they've never done in any Republican race ever before.”
“The question we're putting to the people is: are you going to let a foreign country or lobbyists for that foreign country buy a seat in Kentucky and displace the one congressman who will tell you what's in the bills, who will explain his vote?”
“I explain all of my votes, especially on controversial bills on social media too, where anybody can see.”
Tucker responded:
“So your position is that it's not your position as much as it's the fact you're willing to disclose what's actually happening behind the scenes?”
Massie:
“Correct. The crime is transparency.”
It's not obstructionism.
Beyond that, you also had Massie accusing Trump of going after him for staying true to positions that Trump himself once held, but then flip-flopped on.
“In all of these circumstances that I'm going to describe to you, where I don't vote with the party, I'm actually taking a position that Donald Trump had less than two years ago.”
“Look at the president's own children, the vice president, the FBI director, and the president himself said that they would release the Epstein files. And now I worked harder than anybody else to get it done and got it done.”
And on the topic of Epstein, Massie said that this whole thing is another one of the biggest reasons that Trump’s turned on him.
Claiming that when he first introduced the Epstein Transparency Act, he had dozens of Republican co-sponsors, but most of them chickened out because of pressure.
And then he also gave this little bit where he said that he heard something from Marjorie Taylor Greene about a conversation she had with Trump regarding the files.
“He also told her that if she insisted on following through with this, she was going to hurt his friends.”
“She told me the day he told her that.”
Tucker asked:
“Hurt whose friends?”
Massie:
“President Trump's.”
When Tucker asked why Trump had become so belligerent about releasing the files — something that he literally campaigned on — we saw Massie say:
“It's the people who are funding the ballroom, the people who are funding the arch, the people who are funding the rebranding of the Kennedy Center. These are the people who are also funding my opponent.”
“These are the people who have the ear of the president. These are the people who are changing and dominating our foreign policy decisions. They're the billionaires.”
“And these are also the same people who are in the Epstein files by and large, or their friends are.”
With this, both Massie and Carlson say that most Republican voters agree with Massie, not Trump, on these key issues.
“If you'd asked most Fox News viewers who were Trump voters two years ago to state what you believe on the issues, I think there would be pretty close to 100% overlap between you and those people.”
Massie:
“Absolutely. Yeah. So I don't feel like your views have changed.”
Tucker:
“Mine have never changed, regardless of who the president is or who the speaker is.”
Massie:
“But Trump's have changed dramatically, or at least the disconnect between what he said he was going to do and what he's doing is shocking.”
With Massie also arguing that the funding he's received for his campaign in this cycle is further evidence that Trump is out of touch with the MAGA base.
“I've got — and this is miraculous — I think, you know, you called it a referendum. I think it may be a movement within the MAGA movement is what we're seeing.”
“Because I've got over 33,000 donors and the average donation is less than 94 bucks.”
“These people, they don't have a lot of money to give, but they can't be intimidated by the White House.”
“Now as far as hard-dollar campaign money from real people, I've raised over $5 million this election cycle, which is probably more than I've raised in the entire time that I've been in Congress.”
But of course, we're gonna have to wait to see how the May 19th primary plays out.
Will Trump prove that he has a chokehold over the party that, when combined with millions of dollars from outside sources, is strong enough to sway elections against Republicans who dissent?
Or is there enough of a base in Kentucky's fourth district pissed off at Trump who believe that he betrayed them? Who see what Massie’s doing as what they actually voted for?
Massie’s primary specifically is going to be very consequential in many ways. It will give key insights into whether this war actually poses an existential threat to the Republican Party and Trump’s administration.
That brings me to another very important piece of news that we have to talk about. Because The Atlantic, the magazine, just fired another shot in their escalating war with FBI Director Kash Patel.
With it all starting, of course, after they put out an article citing over two dozen sources who said that Patel drinks excessively, is often missing or difficult to wake up in the morning, and is prone to erratic behavior.
Patel then sued The Atlantic and its reporter Sarah Fitzpatrick for defamation.
Though that also doesn't seem like where it ends because according to reports now, the FBI opened a criminal leak investigation into the article, even though none of the information that was published was actually classified.
Well now, after all of that, Fitzpatrick apparently went, “Oh, so you want more?”
And she just published another article citing eight sources who claimed that not only does Patel have a drinking problem, he favors a specific drink that I can really only describe as, well… let’s call it cringe. Very on brand. Very fucking Patel.
Personalized bottles of bourbon engraved with the words:
“Kash Patel, FBI Director”
His nickname “Kash” with a dollar sign for the “S,” and an FBI shield in the talons of an eagle with the number nine, presumably because he’s the ninth FBI director.
And you can actually see it right here in this photo because one of the bottles popped up at an auction site and The Atlantic bought it.
And according to the sources that Fitzpatrick heard from, it is not unusual for Patel to travel with a supply of these things and hand them out as gifts to FBI staff, as well as civilians, even while on official business.
In fact, they say that he's even used a Department of Justice plane to transport the whiskey. For example, when he flew to Milan to chug beer with the U.S. men’s hockey team.
But also despite what appears to be his generosity, apparently Patel can sometimes get possessive over his bottles.
Because Fitzpatrick reports that back in March, he brought at least one case of bourbon to the FBI's training facility in Quantico.
And in the words of one source, it quickly turned into a shitshow.
They were reportedly there for a training seminar, which really just meant UFC fighters teaching martial arts to FBI agents because, you know, that’s how you keep America safe.
You had sources reportedly saying that at one point at least one of Patel’s precious bottles went missing, which caused him to, quote, “lose his mind.”
With one retired agent telling Fitzpatrick that multiple others contacted him for legal guidance after Patel began threatening to polygraph and prosecute his staff over the missing bottle.
And you had attorneys adding that they've gotten similar calls from FBI employees regarding concerns about Patel's bottles.
Now, it is unclear whether Patel ever found this bottle or if he is still searching for it to this day.
But what is clear is that if this is true, this is a clear pattern of frat-bro alcoholism, craven self-promotion, and petty childish paranoia.
At the very least, it’s unbecoming of an FBI director and undercuts the agency’s culture of quiet professionalism.
And at most, it sounds like an insane workplace that can derail very, very important business that keeps people safe.
Kash sounds like he’s having the cringey drunk uncle midlife crisis.
And that’s as the FBI has traditionally taken a zero-tolerance approach to unauthorized use of alcohol on the job and the misuse of government resources.
Which is also probably why you had one agent telling Fitzpatrick that it’s demoralizing, saying that Patel’s conduct suggests one set of standards for the director and another for the rest of the bureau.
And they added that many agents worry that if Patel offered them a bottle and they didn’t accept it enthusiastically, they’re going to get polygraphed for loyalty.
And that said, in response to all this, you had an FBI spokesperson not denying Patel’s bottle-gifting practice, but arguing that:
“Senior bureau officials have long exchanged commemorative items in formal gift settings consistent with ethics rules.”
With that, you had Fitzpatrick writing:
“When I reached a former longtime senior FBI official to ask whether he’d ever seen personally branded liquor bottles distributed by a previous FBI director, he burst out laughing.”
And she says that several other sources backed that up, saying that it is simply unheard of.
But again, and you know this especially if you’ve listened to our Patel coverage in the past, it’s not just the bottles.
One senior official who’s suing the bureau for wrongful termination claimed that Patel gave him an abnormally large challenge coin with the words:
“Director” on top and “Kash$ Patel” on the bottom.
Another source told Fitzpatrick that Patel sent out Kash-branded merch boxes containing hats, socks, and other items depicting the Punisher comic book character.
And still to this day, an online merch store that he co-founded sells stuff like “Fight with Kash” Punisher scarves and “Government Gangsters” playing cards.
You know, stuff super cool guys would probably own.
Oh man. If you ever meet someone that’s wearing Kash Patel merch, please just ask them what their wife’s boyfriend’s name is.
They’ll either have an answer for you or they’re too stupid to realize you’re dunking on them.
And then there’s more we’ve got to dive into in just a minute. But first, let me thank a sponsor and say, you know, I get asked a lot whether free alcohol actually works.
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And then diving right back into the news.
The world is anxiously waiting to find out whether the U.S. and Iran are actually about to strike a deal.
And also the people of Lebanon and Gaza are waiting to find out where the Israeli military is going to strike next, even as ceasefires officially remain in place and talks continue.
But starting with the U.S. and Iran.
At least as of recording, Iran’s reviewing the latest U.S. proposal to end this war and is soon expected to deliver its response via Pakistan.
Neither country has said what is included in this proposal.
You had Axios reporting that the two sides were nearing an agreement on a one-page, 14-point memorandum of understanding to gradually open the Strait of Hormuz over 30 days while also hammering out a more detailed and long-term deal.
Sources saying that the memo provided a framework for this process, which they suggested would involve Iran agreeing to restrictions on its nuclear program and the U.S. lifting sanctions and releasing billions of dollars in frozen Iranian funds.
But while we wait for the official response, you've also had some Iranian officials suggesting that the regime is still unwilling to agree to Trump’s demands.
Though notably, they specifically called out the terms as told to Axios by unnamed sources.
With one key lawmaker, for example, describing them as:
“More of an American wish list than a reality,”
And:
“Propaganda aimed at justifying Trump's retreat from his recent hostile actions.”
And then you had Iran’s chief negotiator expressing a similar sentiment on Twitter, writing:
“God, we're gonna all look so stupid in the history books. Operation: Trust Me Bro. Now back to routine with Operation: Folk CEOs.”
The first of those seeming to reference “Project Freedom,” which was the operation that Trump announced on Sunday to guide commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz.
Though he did that only to then suddenly pause that mission roughly 36 hours after it began.
Reportedly only two merchant vessels made their way through under U.S. protection. They followed two naval destroyers along with other American naval assets.
They thought Iranian attacks that also targeted other commercial ships, a residential building in Oman, and an oil facility in the UAE were imminent.
But still, you had the White House putting Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth out there to hype up Project Freedom, saying the lane was clear.
But then only a few hours later, you had Trump hitting the kill switch, saying the decision was actually based on the request of Pakistan and other countries, on the tremendous military success the U.S. has had against Iran, and the fact that great progress had been made toward a complete and final agreement.
But you've since had NBC News reporting that Trump’s sudden reversal might have actually had more to do with the reaction from Saudi Arabia.
With them reporting that his announcement surprised and angered the country's leaders, leading them to deny the American military use of its bases and airspace to carry out the operation.
And reportedly even a call between Trump and his buddy Mohammed bin Salman failed to resolve that issue, so he backtracked.
And while you've since had a Saudi source telling The Guardian that it’s not true that his country denied access, you also had another one telling the Associated Press that it is true.
Side note: isn’t it fun — and by fun I mean stupid and horrifying — that at the highest levels of everything, it still all feels like high school?
It’s just that instead of prom and the high school quarterback, it’s cold wars, active wars, the threat of nuclear weapons, and war criminals.
But I digress.
That would just kind of be the latest example of the administration taking action potentially affecting allies without letting them know.
Though there are even people in his administration that seem to have a hard time staying on the same page as Trump, who by the way has been continuing to claim, as he has for weeks, that the war could end very soon, that Iran wants to make a deal very, very badly.
And if a deal isn’t reached with the United States, that he’s going to go back to bombing the country even more aggressively than before.
With him also somehow taking issue with the claim yesterday that Iran has refused to submit.
Reporter:
“You're facing an opponent right now in Iran that has refused to submit. You seem optimistic now that you may be closer to a deal. What's different about this moment now than in other moments where a deal has seemed close?”
Trump:
“Well, why do you say they refuse to submit? You don’t know that. You don’t know what’s going on. U.S. ships a few days ago — and a few days ago is a long time ago, you know, in the world of war.”
“I know they want to make a deal badly. And we’ll see if we get there.”
As we wait to see whatever happens, you reportedly have several people close to Trump that are pushing him to, quote, “finish the job” in Iran by seeking out the rest of the regime’s conventional military assets.
And they’re apparently even arguing that this could be done before Trump travels to China next week for a meeting with Xi Jinping.
And as far as Trump, while it’s not clear if he’s open to attacking again — though he threatens a lot — he has previously argued that his blockade is more than enough.
Though I will say notably, you just had The Washington Post reporting today that his own intelligence assessment suggests that Iran can survive the U.S. naval blockade for at least three to four more months before facing more severe economic consequences.
And again, also finding that Iran retains significant ballistic missile capabilities.
Which is reporting that stands out because you had Trump claiming yesterday that Iran probably only has 18 or 19% of its missiles left.
One official told the Post that they might have 75% of its pre-war inventories of mobile launchers and about 70% of its pre-war stockpiles.
And there’s also reportedly evidence that the regime has been able to recover and reopen almost all of its underground storage facilities, repair some damaged missiles, and even assemble new missiles that were almost complete when the war began.
And so yeah, while Iran may really want a deal, it also might not be desperate enough to compromise as much as Trump wants them to.
In the meantime, you have Pakistan still pushing for peace, with a spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry saying:
“We hope the settlement will be sooner rather than later.”
And later you had Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson saying Iran was reviewing messages mediated by the Pakistani side and adding:
“We have not yet reached a conclusion and no response has been given to the American side.”
But while we wait for an update on that, we should also talk about the potential progress in negotiations between Israel and Lebanon.
Because you had news breaking today that officials from both sides will meet for a third round of talks next week in Washington.
And you had Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying this week that he thinks a peace deal is imminently achievable.
While also saying:
“The problem with Israel and Lebanon is not Israel or Lebanon. It’s Hezbollah.”
“What has to happen in Lebanon — what everybody wants to see — is that you have a Lebanese government with the capability to go after Hezbollah and take Hezbollah on.”
But notably, some in the Lebanese government, which actually declared Hezbollah’s military activities illegal on March 2nd, argue that their efforts to disarm the group have been undermined by Israel’s continued attacks on the country.
Because as we’ve talked about, despite the ceasefire, the Israeli military and Hezbollah have continued to exchange fire in southern Lebanon.
But you’ve also had Israeli troops occupying territory, destroying homes, infrastructure, entire villages.
And ultimately, according to many experts, applying what’s become known as the “Gaza model.”
And with all this, the Israeli military may be targeting one group in particular: Shiite Muslims.
They make up the majority of southern Lebanon, and they’re part of the same branch of Islam as Hezbollah.
And with all this, even though Israel issued blanket evacuation guidance when the fighting began a couple months ago, publicly urging all civilians to flee to the north, Israeli officials reportedly delivered a very different message in private.
They reportedly told various Christian and Druze communities that they could stay inside the evacuation zone while also calling on them to force out any Lebanese from neighboring Shiite Muslim communities who’ve taken refuge there as the Israeli military demolishes their own towns.
So of course with all that, you have rights groups arguing that at least some of Israel’s actions may amount to war crimes.
Overall, since the ceasefire began, the death toll in Lebanon since early March has risen from around 2,300 to roughly 2,700, including hundreds of women and children according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.
And with that, you have the Israeli military claiming to have killed 220 Hezbollah members over that same period.
That’s as you have Israeli authorities saying that the overall death toll on their side since early March is 20, including 17 soldiers, a security person, and two civilians.
And also while during this ceasefire — keep doing air quotes — Hezbollah has mostly refrained from attacking Israeli territory, and Israel has refrained from striking Lebanon’s capital, that appears to be at least until now.
With Israeli forces striking Beirut’s southern suburbs yesterday for the first time since the ceasefire.
With that, they claimed to have killed the commander of Hezbollah’s most elite fighting unit.
You had Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu saying in a statement alongside the country’s defense minister:
“No terrorist has immunity. The long arm of Israel will reach every enemy.”
And so even though these talks are technically moving forward, for many it doesn’t look like there’s any reason to suggest that Israel is going to stop anytime soon.
Especially when you consider what’s still happening in Gaza.
With an Israeli airstrike there this week killing the son of Hamas’s top negotiator in the U.S.-led talks that are taking place right now in Egypt involving Trump’s so-called “Board of Peace.”
That son is actually this guy’s fourth kid to have been killed in Israeli attacks.
And he himself has reportedly survived multiple assassination attempts.
Right after this latest strike, you had him saying:
“The Zionist attacks and violations clearly indicate that the occupation does not want to abide by a ceasefire or by the first phase.”
Referring there to the 20-point peace plan that was announced by Trump back in November.
And the first phase of that plan led to the exchange of those held captive by either side, and also called for a surge in humanitarian aid, an end to the fighting, and the partial withdrawal of Israeli troops.
The second phase, which officially started in January, is meant to involve disarmament and demilitarization and the transition to governance and reconstruction.
But the disarmament is the sticking point in current negotiations.
With Hamas claiming that Israel’s never implemented the first phase, including by failing to ever actually stop attacking.
Because according to local medics, Israeli attacks have killed at least 830 Palestinians since the ceasefire took effect.
And that’s while Israel says that militants have killed four of their soldiers over the same period and claims that its strikes are aimed at stopping attacks by Hamas and other militant groups.
Though apparently the Israeli army is also regularly targeting police forces under Hamas authority, with rights groups accusing Israel of trying to throw the territory into even greater chaos.
And then at the same time, there’s also the situation in the occupied West Bank, where Israeli settlers have continued ramping up attacks, reportedly killing 13 Palestinians just since the start of the war against Iran, as well as injuring and driving hundreds from their homes.
There’s reportedly an average of nearly seven attacks occurring every day.
And the violence is often involving beatings, arson, theft, and vandalism.
You had one expert explaining to The New York Times:
“At the center, settlers see an opportunity as so many eyes are looking elsewhere.”
Saying:
“It’s a chance to escalate pogroms on Palestinians while the world is distracted.”
Adding:
“Their goal is to expel Palestinians from their lands and make them theirs.”
And it doesn’t appear to just be some extremist settlers.
Reportedly you had the Israeli army chief in the West Bank saying in a closed forum recently that his troops were killing “like they haven’t killed since 1967.”
Him reportedly saying they had shot 42 Palestinians for throwing stones last year, calling them terrorists.
And even while also saying that the army didn’t shoot Jewish settler militants for doing the same.
And he also reportedly said at the barrier dividing Israel and the West Bank:
“It is currently permitted to detain a suspect by shooting him at the knee or below to create barrier awareness.”
Arguing this is justified on the grounds that each illegal Palestinian worker was a potential terrorist.
But then bouncing from that, let’s do two final things.
First up, it’s a really quick breather.
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And then to the final thing that we need to talk about today.
There’s another global mess that the U.S. might not be prepared to deal with.
At least four U.S. states are now monitoring passengers who were on the hantavirus cruise, and Marjorie Taylor Greene is already touting ivermectin as a cure for the virus.
Those are just some of the latest updates regarding this outbreak.
And I know that what I’m saying probably sends COVID PTSD chills down your spine.
And so what I’m going to do is start with this message that an epidemic expert at the World Health Organization delivered this week:
“This is not coronavirus. This is a very different virus. We know this virus. Hantaviruses have been around for quite a while. This is not SARS-CoV-2. This is not the start of a COVID pandemic.”
“This is an outbreak that we see on occasion. This is not the same situation we were in six years ago.”
You have other immunologists echoing all of this, noting that close contact — like sharing food or living spaces — is generally needed for human-to-human transmission.
So it is far less likely to spread into a major outbreak like COVID.
But of course, with all of that said, it is understandable why these headlines are spiking such global concern.
It is very, very serious.
“This is a serious virus.”
And so we should break down what is happening.
Starting with how people are being monitored in a handful of countries all over the world for possible exposure.
And that includes people in at least four U.S. states: Arizona, Virginia, Georgia, and California.
Though so far none are showing symptoms.
All of those people were passengers on the ship, but they got off on one of its stops.
And it actually looks like more passengers than previously thought were able to get off the ship after the first hantavirus case.
Apparently around 30 to 40 people left the boat when it stopped at the island of Saint Helena.
According to Dutch authorities:
“We do not know where every single one of those people went next.”
But we do know that one passenger who got off there has since tested positive for the virus in Switzerland, and he’s receiving care in Zurich.
As officials work to contact trace anyone who may have been exposed during his infectious period.
You also had Dutch officials saying that a flight attendant was being hospitalized and tested for hantavirus after coming into contact with one of the passengers who later died of the illness.
They were reportedly trying to board a flight from South Africa to Amsterdam.
But the crew didn’t allow her to travel because of her medical condition.
And as things stand now, three people have died from the virus, including a Dutch couple and a German national.
Also several others are sick.
And it’s officially been confirmed that we are specifically dealing with the Andes strain of the virus.
Because human-to-human transmission of hantavirus is incredibly rare. You usually get it from coming into contact with rat droppings.
But this strain, which is found in countries like Argentina where the cruise departed, is among the rarest and most severe — and the only strain where humans can give it to other humans.
And it also has a fairly long incubation period, as long as eight weeks.
And right now, it’s too soon to know exactly how this outbreak began.
Before boarding the ship, that Dutch couple that died went on a birdwatching trip in Argentina that included sites home to species of rats known to carry the virus.
And one of the main running theories is that they had contracted the virus before they even got on board.
But also because we live in a post-2020 world, we are definitely seeing other theories — some wackier than others — about this whole thing.
And among the things you’re seeing out there, there are already viral posts questioning why Moderna was working on a hantavirus vaccine prior to this outbreak.
Which to that — and you know I’m someone that is not trusting of big pharma — but just to kind of state the obvious, it is normal for researchers to try to develop vaccines for known deadly diseases.
You’ve got people like Marjorie Taylor Greene already jumping in to spread misinformation about this vaccine that doesn’t actually even exist.
Saying:
“They manipulate the virus, bioweapon it, make the vaccine poison, and then make the profits because they own the vast majority of your elected leaders.”
I’ll go ahead and say it: fuck all the way off.
So for those of us who’ve been like, “Oh man, Marjorie Taylor Greene, she’s been making so much more sense these days,” it’s good to get a taste of OG MTG.
You know what I mean?
So like, we know that she wasn’t body-snatched.
And this is a quick detour, but it is something I want to note:
When you have a Marjorie Taylor Greene, Tucker Carlson, so many of these other people, and you’re like, “Wow, they just said something that makes sense that I agree with.”
No. They on some of these issues agree with you.
It is broken-clock logic. Given enough time, a broken clock can be right.
I say it that way because I don’t want to say it the other way, which makes it sound like Marjorie Taylor Greene is right twice a day.
I think we might be overshooting with that.
But as far as what she thinks the solution for this virus is, well, it turns out the anti-vaxxers and the vaccine skeptics — they’re back on the ivermectin train already.
It got touted by a bunch of big podcasters and such as a COVID cure.
And while it is approved for some use in humans as an anti-parasitic:
Studies do not show that it actually helps with COVID.
And this is such a weird thing to have to say: you need a prescription for human ivermectin.
And some people were taking the animal version of the drug, which isn’t tested on humans.
And it was one of the reasons you had medical experts out there saying:
“Please talk to your doctors. This is a no-no.”
But already people are talking about ivermectin.
And you had MTG saying that she spoke to a health expert to ask how we can treat hantavirus.
And the answer was:
“Ivermectin. Also vitamin D and zinc.”
“Those of us who refused to lock down, mask up, and get vaxxed took the good ol’ horse paste and also developed natural immunity.”
And so yeah, with that, you know, it’s 2026. I’m in a much different mental space now.
I say if Marjorie Taylor Greene wants horse paste, give her a horse.
Oh my God.
How scary would it be to actually have to go through a full-blown pandemic like COVID now with RFK as the head of HHS?
Honestly, the number of stories about him and animals…
And there was a picture in the last week where he just had a bird in his hand.
I’m like maybe half-made onto something.
But that lingering fear is just going to grow if this whole situation gets worse.
Aside from that, as far as what’s going to happen with this hantavirus cruise — where is that heading?
Like we talked about earlier this week, it was initially going to dock in Cape Verde, but then the country basically said, “Oh hell no.”
Spain stepped up and said that the boat could go to the Canary Islands, and it’s expected to arrive this weekend.
And on Monday, passengers are expected to begin evacuations.
Also the leader of the Canary Islands is not happy that they’re getting stuck with this, saying:
“I am not going to blindly jeopardize the safety of the Canary Islands population with a government that is not behaving loyally.”
So seeming to suggest that Spanish leaders didn’t consult with them about the decision.
And you’re seeing a number of the people that live there feeling the same.
With one telling Reuters:
“We are a community that’s already quite flexible when it comes to helping others and being accommodating to people, but I think this is excessive.”
“People are scared. People are worried.”
“Spain is a huge country with plenty of ports where the cruise ship could go.”
Because even though you have officials insisting this is not the next COVID, if you’re on that ship or if the ship is heading your way, this feels like a very different, very scary situation.
All while there are also concerns about the U.S.’s ability to respond to something like this.
As you’ve had the Trump administration making tons of cuts impacting public health.
And some think that the administration’s sluggish communications and response here is more alarming than the virus itself.
Because staffing cuts impacted the CDC, there are fewer people able to put boots on the ground.
And because Trump pulled the U.S. out of the World Health Organization, we don’t get regular information about health threats like member countries do.
But for now, that is where we are.
And we’re gonna have to wait to see what happens.
Whether it be what happens when the ship docks, how all the countries — including the United States — respond when they inevitably receive more passengers, and where things just generally go from here.
But that, my friends, you beautiful bastards, is the end of your Thursday Philip DeFranco show.
Of course, I’d love to know your opinions, your reactions to anything that stood out to you today in those comments down below.
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I love yo faces, and I’ll see you right back here next time.