Hurricane Milton Just Got Worse, Billie Eilish is DONE, Youtube Mom’s $22M Abuse Lawsuit & More News
PDS Published 10/9/2024
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Piper Rockelle’s Mom Reportedly Settles Abuse Lawsuit
Piper Rockelle’s mom has reportedly settled the massive $22 million abuse lawsuit that was filed against her.
News of the settlement comes from The New York Post and Daily Mail, and the terms and amount settled were not immediately made clear.
But for some background, Piper Rockelle is a 17-year-old YouTuber, and her mother, Tiffany, was sued in 2022 by 11 teens who were featured on Piper’s channel.
They were all part of Piper’s “squad” at one point, and they allege that Tiffany inflicted emotional distress on them while she was producing content for Piper’s channel.
Claiming that they sustained both physical and emotional injuries from harassment, molestation, and abuse.
And some of the allegations are incredibly disturbing, with Tiffany being accused of making comments about children’s genitalia, shouting graphic things at them and telling them to be sexy and sexually aggressive on camera.
She is also accused of inappropriately touching minors on their legs, thighs, and bottoms, and even selling her daughter’s underwear to a man who liked to sniff it.
On top of all this, some of the plaintiffs also claimed they were not paid for the use of their likeness to promote Piper’s content.
And following these allegations, YouTube ended up demonetizing Piper’s channel.
But this all brings us to today, with the case reportedly now settled, and the lead attorney telling the Daily mail he wants to commend the kids who took action, adding:[]
“They're smart and brave. What they went through was grotesque. I look forward to watching them thrive as young adults.”
One of the plaintiffs also telling the outlet that the suit was:
“never about money - it was to make sure she couldn't do what she did to me to another kid.”
“My youth was stripped away at a very young age because of Tiffany Rockelle.”
Like I said, details of the settlement were not made clear, so we will have to see if those come to light at any point.
But I would love to know your thoughts on this in the meantime, and on if you think more should come, right, if a settlement is not enough accountability or punishment considering the accusations against her.
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Hurricane Milton evacuation script
By the time you’re watching this, the “storm of the century” is either about to hit or has already hit the coast of Florida.
With Hurricane Milton projected to make landfall late Wednesday night or early Thursday morning, by which time it’s expected to have doubled in size. [Image]
With winds currently whipping at up to 160 miles per hour, and forecasters predicting storm surges of between 10 and 15 feet. [Image]
Though by the time it makes landfall, they say it’ll likely downgrade to a category 4 with winds of around 130 miles per hour. [Quote, find “130”]
Which, to be clear, is still fucking insane, and that’s just the hurricane.
Right, meteorologists warn that Milton could also bring several tornadoes from scattered thunderstorms that may be triggered across central and southern Florida. [Quote, find “tornados”]
So as of right now, you’ve got some 50 counties under an official state of emergency.
As well as 11 counties home to nearly six million people under mandatory evacuation orders. [Quote, find “5.9” and Image]
So over the past few days we’ve seen one of the largest evacuations in the state’s history, with one side of the interstate empty and the other completely clogged up. [Image]
But it’s impossible to know exactly how many residents actually left, and we know from anecdotal accounts that some are hunkering down.
With Manatee County Jail, for example, which holds around 1,200 inmates in a mandatory evacuation zone, reportedly not evacuating. [Headline and Image]
Right, instead, they’re stocking up on supplies and sandbags, and simply planning to move inmates to the top floor of the two-story building if it floods. [Quote, find “top floor”]
Though if they get 15-feet of water, I’m not sure how that’s gonna work out.
Also, you have people who either won’t leave or can’t leave because they simply have nowhere to go.
Like residents of certain mobile home parks that were just battered two weeks ago by Hurricane Helene. [Image]
Right, one disabled veteran told NBC he and his wife have been sleeping in their cars since Helene wrecked their mobile home. [Quote, find “maggots”]
Saying, “Right now, I’m homeless and scared to death. I’m worried about getting on my feet. I just want a home. I don’t care what kind of home.” [Quote same link]
With him adding, along with other tenants, that the trailer park’s owner is still making them pay the 750-dollar monthly plot rental fee, even though their homes are now uninhabitable. [Quote same link, find “750”]
Though the company denied that when asked.
And then there are a few less sympathetic individuals who totally could have left, and definitely should have, but strangely did not.
Like Caroline Calloway, who’s been dubbed “the worlds worst influencer.” [Image]
This because she reportedly defrauded hundreds of fans out of “creative workshops” that never happened, spent a six-figure advance for a book deal that never materialized and sold her own skincare line named “Snake Oil.” [Quote]
But now she’s staying put even though she lives on the water in a mandatory evacuation zone, flatly stating on Instagram, “I’m going to die.” [Quote]
And explaining that she can’t drive, the airports are closed, and she had “the worst time ever” last time she evacuated to her mom’s house. [Quote same link]
So we’ll see if she survives, but regardless, it’s a fact that many people are going to die from this.
And if you’re still in the danger zone, you’re pretty much on your own; officials aren’t coming for you until the storm’s over.
Speaking of which, Governor DeSantis says hundreds of search and rescue personnel are ready to jump into action as soon as Milton passes.
And if you feel compelled to help, you can donate to a number of charities.
But The National Center for Disaster Fraud is warning people to watch out for scammers posing as charities for these hurricanes.
So if you’re thinking about it, remember these things:
Ignore unsolicited communications, don’t click on links from unknown sources, and be suspicious of anyone using high-pressure tactics to get you to donate. [Quote, seven bullet points]
Always donate directly to an organization rather than going through an intermediary, and go directly to their website rather than clicking through links. [Same bullets]
Research the organization you choose, verify the URL is correct, and never give out your social security number. [Same bullets]
Unless, of course, you’re hearing from me, in which case, disregard everything I just told you.
Philip DeFranco is the only person in your life whom you can trust; don’t listen to your friends; don’t listen to your family; just listen to me.
Links:
https://www.newsweek.com/florida-jail-hurricane-milton-evacuation-zone-manatee-county-1965915
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Houston Cop
This man lied, abused his position of power, got an innocent couple killed - and that’s just the beginning.
This is Gerald Goines (Goins) and he spent more than 3 decades working as a Houston police officer.
But now, he’s been sentenced to 60 years in prison for the 2019 deaths of Dennis Tuttle and Rhogena (Regina) Nicholas. []
Right, back in 2019, Dennis and Regina were shot along with their dog while officers were executing a no-knock warrant.
According to prosecutors, though, this raid should have never happened.
Because in order to get the warrant that resulted in the deaths of Regina and Dennis, prosecutors say that Goins falsely claimed that a confidential informant bought heroin from the couple’s house - which Goins did admit to. []
Two witnesses - another officer and the judge who signed the warrant - also said that if Goins had told the truth, the raid never would have happened. []
It is worth noting that all that was found in the house was a small amount of weed and cocaine. []
And this was just the final example in a pattern of wrongful drug arrests and convictions of innocent people during Goins career.
A probe into this botched raid blew the cover off a serious corruption scandal within Houston PD’s narcotics unit and with Goins, specifically.
An audit of the narcotics unit found that often, officers weren’t thorough in their investigations and lacked supervision. []
And they made hundreds of errors in their cases.
Which led to a review of thousands of their cases - resulting in prosecutors dismissing a bunch of them.
Goins’ cases, specifically, had extensive issues - including failures to properly tag drugs and discrepancies with expenses. []
According to the National Registry of Exonerations, 27 people who faced drug charges in cases that Goins worked on were exonerated once his misconduct was revealed. []
And dozens of pending cases that he worked on were also dismissed following a review by the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.
With the DA Kim Ogg saying,
“Gerald Goines has been a stain on the reputation of every honest cop in our community, a community that he terrorized through corruption worthy of the movie ‘Training Day.’” []
In his sentencing, prosecutors asked for a life sentence while Goins’ attorneys asked for the minimum sentence of 5 years - arguing that he dedicated his life to keeping drugs off the streets. []
And saying,
“We still don’t believe legally that he is guilty of the crime of felony murder and we look forward to having the appellate courts review this.” []
But this isn’t the only case Goins is facing - he’s also looking at federal charges surrounding the botched drug raid including violating constitutional rights, obstructing justice by falsifying records, and three counts of obstructing an official proceeding. []
And the Tuttle family has filed a lawsuit in federal court against the city of Houston as well as the officers involved in the raid - including Goins. []
With Ryan Tuttle, Dennis’s son, saying that he hopes that this case will spur police reform across the country, saying, [B Roll 1:30-1:45]
“If it’s happening in Houston, it’s happening everywhere. We have to make sure this stops.” []
So we’ll have to keep our eyes out for those other cases to see what comes of them.
But I would love to know your thoughts about this - especially if you’re from Houston or just Texas.
Let me know in those comments down below.
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Billie Eilish Says She Will Never Discuss Sexuality Again
That is what she just told Vogue in a recent profile, specifically talking about her sexuality.
Right, in some of her more recent music, Billie has sung more about her sexuality, about liking girls,
This all following her kind of accidentally coming out during an interview with Variety, and when the outlet followed up on that, she felt like they were outing her on the red carpet. []
So it was an immediately rocky start to discussing this part of her life publicly, and she just told Vogue that:
“I wish no one knew anything about my sexuality or anything about my dating life. Ever, ever, ever. And I hope that they never will again. And I’m never talking about my sexuality ever again. And I’m never talking about who I’m dating ever again.”
And this has spawned a ton of discussion, some thinking that if she is going to sing about girls, people are going to know, right, if it is in her art, there is no way around people knowing.[][]
But others defended her, saying:
“there is a huge difference between singing about your sexuality in a fun way and having to go into details about it in interviews, on social media, revealing your privacy to strangers.”[]
Some noting that in Billie’s case, the internet has not always been friendly to her about this topic, so you have some saying:
“when she showed her interest in women she was called a queerbaiter. when she came out yall invalidated her feelings because she didn’t have much experience with women. and when she sings about her attraction for women yall call her predatory…i don’t blame her at all. what fucking more do yall want from this girl???”[][]
“yall have a discourse about this woman's sexuality every year on this app 😭 and you have the guts to get mad when shes fucking tired of it.”[]
And because that discourse has been so loud, it is no surprise that elsewhere in the interview, Billie revealed that she has deleted all social media apps from her phone.
Also adding that she feels has has found a “a really good mixture” of balancing her private life and public personal by:
“making sure I feel like myself, and I’m not only being satisfied by the external validation.”
Because for a while, she only cared what others thought and:
“If I was happy in my life, it was because people loved me on the internet. And if I was upset in my life, it was usually because people didn’t.”
And so now, while she is not necessarily fully offline, she feels she has removed herself from some of the toxicity.
But I would love to know your thoughts on this one, on what is often expected of people who “come out” or involve their sexuality in their art, and the fact that they then are now not just open to a new kind of criticism, but a new set of expectations and media frenzy.
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Landmark EPA decision calls for removal of all lead pipes across the country, with some Republicans wrongly claiming the benefits are “speculative”
And then, let’s talk about how some people still have a hard time wrapping their head around the idea that ingesting toxic metal is bad for you.
Right, this week, the EPA finalized a rule requiring water utilities to replace all lead pipes within a decade.
And specifically, it will establish a national inventory of lead service lines and require that utilities take more aggressive action to remove lead pipes even on homeowners’ private property.
It also lowers the level of lead contamination that will trigger government enforcement.
And finally, it puts in place the first-ever national requirement to test for lead in schools that rely on water from public utilities.
But notably, while that may all sound uncontroversial, it’s been consistently challenged ever since Biden’s EPA started talking about doing this.
You had fifteen Republican state attorneys general, for example, writing to the agency, claiming, among other things, that the benefits of removing lead pipes “may be entirely speculative.”
That, notably, while 14 Democratic AGs wrote to the EPA expressing concern that fewer lead service line replacements would be occurring in low-income communities.
But in any case, with that, and with this latest news, we need to be clear.
The benefits? They’re not speculative.
Right, this is all happening 40 years after Congress determined that lead pipes posed a serious risk to public health and banned them in new construction.
But despite that, it’s estimated that more than 9 million homes across the country are still supplied by lead pipelines, which are the leading source of lead contamination through drinking water.
And no amount of lead is considered safe to consume.
Right, when kids drink lead-contaminated water, it can cause irreversible developmental delays, learning difficulties, and behavioral problems.
And then, in adults, it can also lead to increased blood pressure, heart disease, decreased kidney function, and even cancer.
And with that, the EPA estimates that when the new rule is fully implemented, it will protect up to 900,000 infants from having low birth weight - which comes with all sorts of potential issues – and prevent up to 200,000 IQ points lost in children.
Now, with all that said, of course, it’s not gonna be easy or cheap.
Right, the EPA has projected that replacing all of them could cost at least $45 billion.
But then, the American Water Works Association and the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies have estimated that the effort will cost twice as much as that.
But of course, the question is, what’s the cost of doing nothing?
RIght, one of those groups, the American Water Works Association? It actually threw a wrench in EPA efforts to deal with this issue with a lawsuit back in 1991.
Right, with that leading to a rule that critics have said has been ineffective.
And of course, since then, people across the country, especially in low-income and communities of color, have continued dealing with the consequences.
And so, now, according to a 2023 analysis by researchers at Harvard, the benefit of replacing lead pipes outweighs the costs by a 35:1 ratio.
And also, with all that, it’s not like we don’t have any money for this.
Right, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Biden signed into in Nov 2021, it’s already dedicated $15 billion toward lead service line replacement.
And with that, you actually had Biden speaking about the issue in Wisconsin this week.
At one point, going after the state’s Republican Senator Ron Johnson for previously criticizing the Infrastructure Law as a “radical agenda”
“I’m going to restrain my Irish side here. I don’t think there’s a damn thing radical about protecting kids from lead poisoning.” (BYTE: 42:44-42:55)
But with that, where I’ll leave it is that there are of course real challenges ahead to tackling this issue, and discussion to be had about how it needs to happen to be effective.
And so, I’ll pass the question off to you, what are your thoughts on this?
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Corrupt UN official took $3 million in gifts, including interest-free loans, a new Mercedes and a $1.2 million tennis sponsorship for his son
In wild international news, we gotta talk about how the greed of a high-ranking UN official left thousands of people waiting for homes that have never been built.
It all centers around a guy by the name of Vitaly Vanshelboim (Vee-tally Von-shell-boym)
Right, he was second in command at the UN Office for Project Services, or UNOPS (Yoon-Ops)
It’s a pretty obscure office that “provides infrastructure, procurement and project management services” for fellow UN agencies and national governments.
And with that, in 2015, the agency had stockpiled tens of millions of dollars in excess fees paid to it by its partners.
And so, Von-shell-boym and his boss? They decided to lend the money to fund profit-making projects building homes and renewable energy in the developing world.
But of course, first, they had to decide where to invest.
And so, that same year, they threw a party in a 5,000-square-foot apartment on the Upper East Side in Manhattan.
That’s where they met a British businessman by the name of David Kendrick, as well as his daughter Daisy.
And not long after, in 2017, UNOPS gave a $3 million grant to a conservation group run by Daisy, who, by the way, was a recent college graduate.
And not only that, she had just set up her group as a nonprofit a year earlier but never obtained approval from the IRS for a tax exemption as a charity.
And with that, UNOPS never said how — out of all the world’s environmental groups — it had chosen Daisy’s group for such a big wad of cash.
And of course, it just gets worse.
Right, for one, all Daisy did with that money?
She produced a video game and a website promoting awareness of environmental threats to the world’s oceans, as well as a pop song about the ocean that was recorded by the British singer Joss Stone.
And there notably, control of the song — and the right to sell it — went to a for-profit company that Daisy’s dad was a director of.
With Stone later saying she had agreed to record the song for free, believing it was a fundraiser for the UN.
And of course, that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Right, in 2018, UNOPS announced it’d be making its first loans to business.
And over the next two years, according to UN records, it lent nearly $25 million to companies investing in renewable energy in Mexico, as well as $35 million to a company with plans to build housing in countries around the world. x
And, surprise surprise, there was one thing these companies had in common: Daisy’s dad, David Kendrick.
And with that, the UN now says that all $58 million the UNOPS entrusted to Kendrick has been lost.
And in the end, reportedly, not a single house was ever built.
Right, that’s even after either Von-shell-boym or his boss attended events in these countries celebrating the launch of the projects, with his boss saying in Ghana in 2019, for example:
“This landmark project will not only give Ghana’s future generation access to affordable housing, but will also give the people teaching that future generation the opportunity and security to own their own home.”
And of course, with all that, there eventually came a point where this all couldn’t be ignored.
Right, one of Kendrick’s companies eventually admitted it had used the UN’s loan to pay off other loans.
And although the companies eventually repaid $6 million, it reportedly wasn’t even enough to even cover the interest on the loans.
And with that, Von-shell-boym’s boss resigned in 2022, reportedly after being asked to do so by UN leadership.
And Von-shell-boym himself? He was first put on administrative leave.
With, at the time, one former UNOPS official describing him and the rest of the agency’s senior leadership as “a corrupt cabal that is only interested in money.”
And so, after an investigation, Von-shell-boym was eventually fired, fined one year’s pay, and ordered to repay all of the money he pissed away.
But here’s the thing, UN investigations are rarely made public.
And so, for a long time, there’s been all these unanswered questions, at least for the rest of us.
Right, in the words of the New York Times, we were still asking:
“Why did a 20-year veteran of the United Nations defy auditors and common sense by entrusting his agency’s entire investment portfolio to a man he purportedly met at a party?”
And now, we have some answers.
Right, an internal UN court found that Von-shell-boym committed fraud and “blatant misconduct” by failing to disclose gifts from Kendrick.
And with that, specifically, he apparently received interest-free loans, home repairs, a new Mercedes and a $1.2 million sponsorship for his teenage son, who was a tennis player.
And there, even his son knew something was up.
Right, after receiving the sponsorship, he reportedly sent an email to his dad saying:
“This is insane, how is this possible.”
“I’m not even a good tennis player yet.”
And Von-shell-boym replied:
“Part of my job is to make insane things happen.”
But still, with all that said, the court didn’t find proof that Von-shell-boym had explicitly promised to provide UN money in exchange for personal gifts.
Though, notably, it said that while he was taking money, he “intentionally misrepresented” facts to make Kendrick’s companies look better.
And then, his boss, the one that resigned in 2022?
She apparently wasn’t in on the deal.
With the recent court ruling blaming her for, quote, “extraordinary deferral” to Von-shell-boym on the investments.
And in an email to the Times, she rejected the idea that she had done anything wrong.
But with that, there still may be more to come from this.
Right, a UN spokesperson wouldn’t comment on which countries had opened criminal investigations into Von-shell-boym.
But of course, another way of saying that is that there are criminal investigations going on.
And so, now, we kind of know the truth, we’re just waiting to see if there’ll be consequences.
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