MKBHD Deleted Video Scandal is Crazy, Trump Nominates Matt Gaetz for Attorney General, & Todays News

PDS Published 11/13/2024

    • MKBHD is in the hot seat again, this time for driving nearly 100 miles per hour in a residential area. 

    • Because this week, he posted a video titled “How My Gear is Changing.” 

    • It was sponsored by a brand called DJI, and the whole video was him showing all the different ways he is using one of their action cameras. 

    • And one of the ways was in his car, and he showed this clip:

    • And on an initial watch, you might be like, okay, he was driving, it was loud. 

    • But what people noticed was that even though the driver’s speedometer got blurred as he got faster, the passenger one did not, and it showed him reaching 96 miles per hour. []

    • This after he went past a sign warning the speed limit is just 35, as well as one warning to drive slow as there are kids in the area.

    • And so people are pissed, accusing him of trying to cover up his actions by blurring one of the speedometers, adding what he did was:[]

      • “Incredibly reckless and dumb.”

      • “driving reckless for a short clip in a video is always wrong. Don't drive 60 over the limit. Not ever, esp for content.”[]

      • “honestly, this is an absolute asshole move…Fuck this guy honestly and fuck DJI that they signed this.”[]

      • “I unsubscribed. It’s getting old. He needs to learn. Hoping cops show up at his studio and arrest him for reckless driving.”[]

    • On top of this, some were also mad that the whole video was a sponsor segment.

    • Right, it wasn’t like he was doing a review with a quick ad break, the whole video was a display of this product that was sponsoring him.

    • So you have some in the comments writing:

      • “Wow. I pay for YouTube Premium and still ended up watching a 9-minute ad, FML.”

      • “This can't even be considered a sponsored video anymore. It's literally just a ten minute advertisement.”

    • And the thing is, if you watch that video now, the clip of him driving really fast is no longer there, with MKBHD writing in a pinned comment:

      • “Cut out the unnecessary driving clip that obviously added nothing to the video. I hear all your feedback on sponsored videos too.”

    • With him then putting out a longer apology on Twitter, saying:[]

      • “Last video I did something pretty stupid…Absolutely inexcusable and dangerous.”

      • “I've since cut it out of the video with YouTube's editor tool. I also understand that this looks like covering it up, but I think it's the right thing to do.”

      • “I would never want to make it seem ok by leaving it in the video. I'm well aware of the Streisand effect, and I know everything on the internet lives forever, but I think that's the best decision right now.”

      • “All I can do apologize and promise never to do anything close to that stupid again. That's a terrible example to set and I'm sorry for it.”

    • But some are still not happy with this, writing that:

      • “Editing out the crime does not make it disappear.”

      • “awkward considering he already made the conscious decision to blur out the main speedometer in the edit…So he only realizes it’s wrong after ppl call him out for it ig.”[]

      • “MKBHD has spent years building a great reputation, seems intent on destroying it in 2024.”[]

    • But it’s worth noting that it is not all backlash, right, some think that even though he did something wrong, he is getting way too much flack.

    • Arguing tons of creators film themselves doing stupid things, but he is the only one routinely getting held accountable.[]

    • Others saying:

      • “This youtuber who is a very positive black man got caught speeding in a residential area in his youtube video going 60 above speed limit and his fans are acting like he committed SA.”[]

      • “People seem obsessed with any little mistake MKBHD makes…I need you to find that same energy for half of Logan Paul’s entire career as a creator…”[]

      • “there are lots of roads around the north east people do this on. Not 96 in a 25, but 50-60 often. Everyone complains, but the police never enforce it. I get it…Awful choice to show it in the video, and 96 is too fast. The outrage about this is way too much for what this is though.”8[]

    • But I would love to know your thoughts on this situation, the backlash, the apology, if you agree with the criticism, if you think MKBHD responded well, anything here.

  • Trump taps Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to run new “Department of Government Efficiency” — here’s what we know

    • Watching Trump make his cabinet and administration appointments is like watching a bunch of clowns come out of a tiny car.

      • It just gets increasingly more and more ridiculous and you keep wondering: how many more clowns could there possibly be?

    • And now, he has officially let one of the biggest clowns of them all out: Elon Musk.

    • Right, yesterday, Trump officially announced that he will be creating a “Department of Government Efficiency” — aka DOGE — get it? Get it? Isn’t that so smart and clever?! 

    • And to run his new DOGE, Trump is tapping both Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.

      • Because nothing says “efficiency” like having two people do one job…

    • And in a rambling statement announcing the move, Trump said that DOGE will:

      • “dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies.”[]

      • As well as help the Trump administration “drive out massive waste and fraud” and “make the U.S. Government accountable to ‘WE THE PEOPLE.’”

    • But that’s basically all we know.

    • So far Trump, Musk, Ramaswamy, or anyone else in the clown parade has failed to provide a single shred of information about how DOGE will achieve those goals or how this effort will be funded and run.

    • Hell, we don’t even totally know what kind of entity DOGE will be because, based on what little we do know, it seems like the “Department of Government Efficiency” won’t actually be a department at all.

      • Wow! It’s almost like they’re doing this entirely for the bit!

    • Right, and there are a few reasons I say that.

    • First of all, this general idea is something that both Musk have been talking about for a while now.

    • In fact, it actually first came up during a livestream back in August where Musk suggested that Trump create a “government efficiency commission” to audit the federal government and appoint him to lead it.

    • And a couple of days after that, Musk tweeted an image of himself at a podium labeled “Department of Government Efficiency” with the caption: “I am willing to serve.”[]

    • Then, a few weeks later, Trump announced that, if elected, he would form a government efficiency commission and tap Musk to lead it.

    • Now, very notably, Trump doesn’t use the term “commission” in the statement announcing the Department of Government Efficiency — which makes shit very confusing.

    • BUT he does say that DOGE will “provide advice and guidance from outside of Government” and that “Their work will conclude no later than July 4, 2026.”[]

      • And that language seems to indicate that he’s talking about a one-time commission, not a permanent department.

    • What’s more, it’s WAY easier to create this kind of commission on a bunch of different levels.

    • Right, forming a whole new department would require authorization from Congress and likely necessitate the allocation of millions or billions of dollars and the hiring of staff.

      • Or, in other words, creating a bureaucracy to cut bureaucracy.

    • And if Musk and Ramaswamy were to run a department, they would become federal employees. 

      • Meaning they would need to disclose various financial assets or entanglements and divest significant holdings relating to their work to avoid conflicts of interest.

    • But commissions — which can be created unilaterally by the president through executive action — they don’t have those same requirements.

    • People who lead these external advisory bodies don’t need to be federal employees — in fact, there is a whole subset of commissions that have at least one member who is not a government official.

      • And all of those bodies are governed by a totally different set of laws.

    • So if DOGE operates as a commission, Musk and Ramaswamy wouldn’t have to abide by the same legal requirements or ethical restraints as federal employees.

    • And that’s SUPER significant because Musk has a TON of potential conflicts of interest.

    • Right, he has deep financial entanglements with the federal government because many of the companies he owns in the auto and space industries have grown through government contracts and subsidies.

      • Hell, just SpaceX alone has gotten more than $10 billion worth of federal contracts in the last decade.

    • What’s more, all those various businesses are regulated by multiple different federal agencies. 

    • And many of those companies — including SpaceX, Tesla, Neuralink, and X — have been the subject of at least 20 different investigations or lawsuits by federal agencies.

    • So by installing Musk as the leader of a commission tasked with auditing the federal government, Trump is essentially giving the billionaire oversight of the agencies that police and regulate his companies.

      • And all without requiring him to divest from those companies or even disclose his various financial conflicts.

    • But hey, there’s no way that Musk would use that position of power to try and slash regulations that hamper his business interests or cut department budgets and officials investing his companies!

      • How dare you even say such a thing!

    • But all joking aside, this poses a very serious issue.

    • Hell, even just the name of the commission is garnering concern from experts about financial conflicts.

    • With some accusing Musk of intentionally naming it DOGE to tie it to dogecoin, the cryptocurrency he has heavily promoted, so he can benefit financially.[]

    • And very notably here, dogecoin did see massive gains after Trump announced that he would be creating DOGE and tapping Elon to run it, skyrocketting up 20%.

    • Now, all that said, it’s unclear how much power DOGE will actually have — in large part because, again, no one has said anything about how this whole thing will fucking work.

    • But if similar past commissions are any indicator, the real scope Musk and Ramaswamy may have could be fairly limited.

    • Right, because federal spending is controlled by Congress and the White House, any recommendations DOGE makes for slashing regulations, cutting spending, and limiting bureaucracy will be just that — recommendations.

    • And whether Congress decides to take up those recommendations, well, that’s up to Congress.

    • And even though both chambers will be fully controlled by Republicans, it’s unclear if there is a political will for such a massive overhaul — at least at the scale Musk and Trump have been talking about.

    • Right, among other things, Musk has said he wants to cut the number of federal agencies from over 400 to no more than 99 and cut federal spending by $2 trillion.

    • But that’s an astronomical sum — it’s nearly a third of the $6.75 trillion the federal government spent last year.

      • To give you a better idea, that’s more than the budgets of the Departments of Defense, Education, and Homeland Security COMBINED.

    • And experts say that it’s literally “mathematically impossible” to cut that amount of spending without going after certain areas Republicans won’t want to touch like defense.

    • Beyond that, past commissions have failed to deliver major overhauls as promised.

    • Right, some Trump advisors have specifically said they hope DOGE will be modeled after the Grace Commission, which was appointed by Ronald Reagan in 1982 to reform the federal bureaucracy and control spending.

      • But two years later, the commission submitted more than 2,500 recommendations to the White House and Congress, and most of them were never adopted.

    • But, with all that said, right now, we really don’t know DOGE and how it will actually operate.

    • And honestly, it all kind of reads as toddlers being given an enormous coloring book to keep them occupied.

    • So for now, we’re just going to have to wait and see how this absolutely insane circus plays out.

  • More Trump appointments: Fox’s Pete Hegseth for DoD, Kristi Noem for DHS, Marco Rubio for State, and more

    • But, all that said, it’s not just Musk and Ramaswamy who have recently emerged from the Trump clown car.

    • Right, Trump’s pick for defense secretary has got people literally asking: “Who the fuck is this guy?”

    • And the guy in question is Pete Hegseth

    • Right, one one hand, he’s a decorated Army combat veteran and a Princeton graduate.

    • But on the other hand, he has no Pentagon or government experience outside of his military service.

    • Right, he’s best known as a Fox News host.

    • During Trump’s first term, Hegesth’s name was floated as a possible pick to run the Department of Veterans Affairs.

    • Though, notably, some of Hegseth’s biggest critics have actually been leaders of veterans groups.

    • And that may have something to do with the fact that Hegseth is the former CEO of Concerned Veterans for America — a group advocating for outsourcing veterans’ health care that was funded by the Koch brothers.

    • And with that, you have people like Paul Rieckhoff (Ryke-hoff), for example, founder of Independent Veterans of America, saying in a post on X:

      • “Hegseth is undoubtedly the least qualified nominee for SecDef in American history. And the most overtly political.” 

      • With him also saying Hegseth “is a highly effective and ferocious media, culture and political warrior for MAGA. And beyond loyal to and trusted by Trump.”

    • And of course, some people say, that’s what Trump is looking for more than anything else: loyalty. 

    • Right, John Kelly, Trump’s former White House Chief of Staff, claimed Trump once praised Hitler’s generals for being totally loyal and following orders – wishing he had the same. 

    • But with all that, as far as what we might expect Hegseth to do in this position? 

    • Well, in an interview published last week, he said this:

      • “Well, first of all, you’ve got to fire the chairman of the Joint Chiefs. And obviously you gotta bring in a new secretary of defense. But any general that was involved, general, admiral, whatever, that was involved in any of the DEI/Woke shit has got to go.”  (BYTE: 0:09-0:21)

    • And with that, he has specifically questioned the role of women in combat.

    • Then speaking of people who aren’t qualified at all, we also saw Trump naming South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem to be his Secretary of Homeland Security.

    • And this presumably because Noem has so much experience with immigration from her stint leading a state nowhere fucking near the Southern Border.

    • Right, like many of Trump’s other picks, her main qualification appears to be that she has been a loyal supporter and fervent champion of Dear Leader.

      • In case you forgot, she was actually on his shortlist for veep but things got weird after she published a book where she, unprompted, told a story about shooting and killing her family’s dog because it was “untrainable” and aggressive.

    • So yeah, a great person to lead Homeland Security — especially when you consider the fact that she’s underqualified even compared to Trump’s own past standards, with The Washington Post explaining:

      • “Noem brings less relevant experience to the Cabinet job than recent homeland security secretaries, including those who served during Trump’s first term.”

    • Now, that said, you do have Trump naming a couple of folks who actually do seem to have qualifications for the jobs he wants to appoint them too.

    • Like John Ratcliffe, a former Texas congressman who served as the director of national intelligence during Trump’s first term.

    • As well as Rep. Mike Waltz of Florida, who Trump selected to serve as his National Security Advisor.

      • Right, in addition to serving in the military, he held multiple roles at the Pentagon before being elected to Congress, where he also sat on key foreign policy committees.

    • And then rounding out the major nominations, this one isn’t technically a done deal yet, but you have pretty much everymajor outlet reporting that Trump’s going to pick Senator Marco Rubio to be his Secretary of State, []

    • Which would make him Trump’s top foreign affairs adviser. 

    • And on that note, Rubio has:

      • 1) said that Ukraine should try to negotiate a deal with Russia, even if it means giving up invaded territory. []

      • And 2) lobbied against a cease-fire in Gaza. Right, he is very pro-Israel.

    • Right, and keep in mind, all these appointments are coming fast and furious, so we’ll continue to keep an eye on them.

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    • InfoWars is up for grabs at an auction today, meaning the fate of the company and Alex Jones is up in the air until we learn who takes it.

    • The proceeds will go to Sandy Hook families, because Jones owes them $1.5 billion in damages after they won defamation cases against him.[]

    • But, as NPR explained:

      • “At best, the families expect to collect just a tiny slice of that amount.”

    • Right now, we don’t know who the company might go to, as bidders had to sign NDAs.

    • But Jones says he expects to learn about the new owner today or tomorrow, though the public may not know that soon.[]

    • And this could really go one of two ways for him: 

      • Someone on his side wins the bid and he can keep yapping as scheduled, 

      • Or, one of his many critics takes it and shuts him down, which is a big L for him and forces him to take his yapping elsewhere. 

    • Per NPR, it also may not just go to whoever forks over the most cash, because the U.S. trustee has discretion to determine the highest or “otherwise best” offer.

    • As far as who is in the mix, again, we don’t know exactly who placed bids, but Roger Stone has apparently shown interest, NBC News also reported that there had been murmurs about Elon Musk or even The Onion.[]

    • But no party responded to the outlet’s request for comment.

    • NPR spoke to Jeff Rotkoff, who runs a progressive media company in Texas, because he was considering a bid until he realized there were too many heavy hitters in play.[]

    • And some of those heavy hitters did come from left-leaning figures, so he added:

      • “we're rooting for anybody who wants to undo the harm that Alex Jones has done to our state, our country and our planet."

    • And while he said he is cautiously optimistic that might happen, there are people with deep pockets on both sides of the political aisle.

    • But the thing is, no matter how it goes, Jones will not be losing his voice, right. 

    • With the co-director of the Center of Media Psychology & Social Influence at Northwestern University, telling NBC:

      • "Of course, having a supporter win the auction may make operations a bit easier for him moving forward, but as long as there are people who want to hear his message, he will likely continue to share it. In other words, you can remove Alex Jones from Infowars, but you can't separate him from that ethos.”

    • And that is something Jones has hit on himself, suggesting that he will still find a new home if the winning bid shuts InfoWars down, saying:

      • "All you leftists celebrating the end of Alex Jones and Infowarst, you're fools. Just watch."

    • And as the AP reported, Jones is already ready to fight what comes, suggesting the auction is “rigged.”[]

    • But no matter where he makes money, Sandy Hook families still have the right to try to grab it.[]

    • Because the judge ruled that families can keep chasing him down until he has paid the full $1.5 billion, so they have a claim on his future earnings.

    • So I would love to know your thoughts on this one here.

    • Republicans in the Senate officially have a brand-spanking new leader and we’ve got to talk about it. 

    • Right, South Dakota Senator John Thune (Thoon) has just been elected to replace Mitch McConnell. 

      • Who’s finally retiring from Senate Republican leadership after 18 years, though he still plans to serve out his current term until it ends in 2027. []

    • Now, Thoon has served as the number 2 Republican in the Senate since 2019 and has been mostly handling things since McConnell’s concussion last year. []

    • And Reuters reports he’s seen as, quote, “an even-tempered institutionalist and seasoned legislator who has close relationships with many of his fellow Republicans.” []

    • Over the course of the race, since McConnell announced his intention to retire back in February, Thoon’s main competition has been Texas Senator John Cornyn. 

    • And, according to a Thoon spokesperson, he beat out Cornyn by a 29-24 vote.  []

      • And the third candidate in this race was Senator Rick Scott from Florida who was reportedly eliminated in the first round of voting. 

    • But it wasn’t exactly smooth sailing for Thoon - one of the biggest obstacles that he had to navigate in this race was the disdain from the MAGA camp.

    • You see, back in 2020, Team Trump was doing everything they could to overturn the election and Thune rallied his colleagues to oppose a move by Trump allies to block the certification of Biden’s victory. []

      • Calling the effort, quote, “inexcusable” and saying it would “go down like a shot dog.” []

    • Which prompted Trump to speak out against him and call for someone to challenge him in his re-election. 

    • And so, reportedly, some MAGA allies have been trying to advise Trump to block Thoon’s appointment as Senate GOP leader. []

    • With many loudly backing Rick Scott - including Elon Musk, Tucker Carlson, and Trump’s former chief strategist Stephen Bannon. []

    • Now, as Reuters reports, Trump didn’t endorse any of the three candidates himself - instead he just called on the new Republican Senate leader to give him enough leeway to bypass the normal system for the appointment of his Cabinet nominees. []

    • And Thoon has publicly allied himself with Trump again recently - visiting Mar-a-lago, meeting with him to discuss policy, and toning down the criticism when he’s asked about Trump. []

    • But there are some who are saying that Thoon’s victory here is a sign that the Senate could maintain some independence from Trump while Republicans likely hold the trifecta of the presidency and both chambers of Congress. []

    • So we’re just going to have to wait and see how this plays out. 

    • But let me know your thoughts about this in those comments down below.

  • U.S. prohibits airlines from flying to Haiti after plane hit by bullets and flight attendant injured, gang violence surging as new prime minister is sworn in

    • And then, shifting gears, we gotta talk about why some commercial passenger planes are getting shot at in Haiti. 

    • Right, on Monday, bullets hit a Spirit Airlines plane when it was about to land in the capital, injuring a flight attendant (BROLL: 0:00-0:10)

    • And on Tuesday, JetBlue and American Airlines revealed that postflight inspections showed their planes had been hit while leaving the airport. 

    • And with that, the FAA is now banning US airlines from flying to Haiti for 30 days.

    • With the capital’s airport also remaining closed until November 18th, meaning any planes still coming in have to be diverted to a second airport in the north of the country. 

    • Which is why you have a UN spokesperson saying the flow of humanitarian aid and humanitarian personnel into the country will be limited as a result.  

    • And that’s alarming, right, because the gang violence that’s been plaguing Haiti for years has forced more than 700,000 people from their homes, worsening what was already bad poverty and hunger.

    • And of course, thousands have been killed as well. 

    • And with that, these plane shootings were just a small part of the latest flare-up in the fighting. 

    • Just on Monday, there were reportedly at least 20 armed clashes and more roadblocks affecting humanitarian operations during the violence.

    • And now, the UN estimates that gangs now control 85% of the capital.

    • As far as what’s being done about it, you may remember, a UN.-backed mission led by Kenyan police arrived back in June to try and bring order, but it has struggled with a lack of funding and personnel.

    • And to that point,  the airport closure has now raised questions about the planned arrival next week of 600 additional officers.

    • On top of all that, this is all happening in the midst of political chaos. 

    • Right, back in April, a “transitional council” was set up to organize elections and restore democracy to the country.

    • Right, with them appointing an interim prime minister, who they then fired this weekend, just six months later. 

    • And then, quickly putting a new guy in office. 

    • Inaugurating him in a quiet ceremony on Monday, all while gangs terrorized the capital (BROLL: 5:41-5:45 & BROLL: 0:08-0:0:12)

    • And notably there, many questioned whether the presidential council had the legal authority to even replace the prime minister in the first place.

    • Right, the authority to fire a prime minister belongs to the Parliament, but because there haven’t been elections in years, Haiti currently does not have one.

    • And in general, besides this, the council has been plagued by infighting and faced all sorts of corruption allegations…

    • With some blaming it for creating political instability, in turn, allowing gangs to make violent power grabs like the one seen this week.

    • And so, with all that, hopefully the new PM can make good on his promise to restore security and hold elections.

    • But really, we’ll have to wait and see what happens next.

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  • Pentagon leaker Jack Teixeira sentenced to 15 years in prison for what’s been called one of the most damaging national security leaks in history.

    • The young man behind what’s been described as one of the most damaging national security leaks in history has been sentenced to fifteen years in prison. 

    • Right, that’s Jack Teixeira (Tuh-sheer-uh - LISTEN), the now 22-year-old Air National Guardsman who previously served as an IT specialist at an air base on Cape Cod. 

    • And during that time, he obtained and leaked highly classified military documents on Discord

    • With this material including details about supplying equipment to Ukraine, including how it would be transported and used, as well as information about Russian and Ukrainian troop movements.

      • “This conduct caused immediate operational damage and long-term enduring damage to our relationships with our allies,  to our ability to gather information by revealing intelligence gathering methods, and through other consequences. We won't know the full extent of Jack Teixeira’s damage for several years.”  (BYTE: 2:48-3:09)

    • Right, that’s Jared Dolan, Deputy Chief for the US Attorneys’ Offices’ National Security Unit. 

    • He has also described the damage caused as historic, saying:

      • “His conduct and his offenses are unparalleled in breadth, in depth and in quality of the information.”

    • Tuh-sheer-uh, for his part, has apologized, saying:

      • “I understand all the responsibility and consequences falls on my shoulders alone. And I accept whatever that may bring.”

    • And with that, after initially pleading not guilty, he changed course in March.

    • With him pleading guilty to six counts of “willful retention and transmission of national defense information” under the Espionage Act.

    • Although, to be clear, prosecutors said that they found no evidence that he was engaged in espionage. 

      • Right, he wasn’t spying for another country. 

      • Instead, they said, he posted the information to feed his ego and impress his anonymous online friends.

    • But in any case, with all that, and with him admitting guilt, the only question left was how he should be punished. 

    • Right, the prosecution originally requested a 17-year sentence.

    • The defense, on the other hand, argued that the sentence should be 11 years.

    • With them claiming that an expert diagnosed Tuh-sheer-uh with a type of autism, saying it was a condition that caused him to make poor decisions.

    • And also, they said he only shared sensitive details with his online friends because he did not have a similar community at work.

    • But the judge said the airman’s inability to make friends “doesn’t minimize the offense of taking this information and putting it on the web.”

    • And that said, the whole thing has raised questions about how easily a relatively low-level service member was able to get his hands on so much intel in the first place. 

    • With the Defense Department saying it has taken steps to prevent a similar breach in the future.

    • But of course, we’ll have to wait and see how well that works.

    • This manufacturing plant in Kentucky just keeps on exploding! 

    • Right, yesterday afternoon, there was an explosion at the Givaudan (Jiv-a-don) Sense Colour plant in the Clifton neighborhood in Louisville - which the city’s emergency services is calling a, quote, "hazardous materials incident.” []

      • There were nearly a dozen people injured and the company confirmed overnight that 2 of their workers had died. []

    • The explosion caused part of the plant to collapse and it blew out the windows of a bunch of nearby homes and businesses. [B Roll 0:28-0:48]

    • And people living within a two block radius needed to be evacuated and there was a shelter-in-place order for those within a mile of the plant for about an hour. []

      • Meaning that kids at two elementary schools were sheltering in place along with students at the Kentucky School for the Blind. []

    • Now, it’s important to note that Jiv-a-don produces colorings for food and drinks - meaning they do work with chemicals. 

    • But the local fire chief said that they began monitoring the air quality immediately after the explosion, adding that, quote,

      • “..nothing at this point has ever shown any type of chemical problems in the air in this entire region.” []

    • And as of right now, we don’t know the cause of this particular explosion but we do know that this isn’t the first one at this plant in particular. []

    • Back in April of 2003, an explosion at the exact same plant caused, quote, “a massive release of aqua ammonia" and killed one worker. []

      • And it also forced 1,500 people to shelter in place and 26 people to evacuate. []

    • Back then, investigators found that a failed feed tank used in the production of food-grade caramel coloring was the cause. []

    • And they found a string of other flaws in the plant - which was owned by a different company at the time.

      • Including a lack of hazard analysis systems and a lack of operating procedures or training programs to make sure that operators knew the risks. []

    • And last year, while there wasn’t an explosion, Jiv-a-don did receive two notices of violation from the Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control District. []

      • One for failing to submit their reports on time and for failing to monitor and record equipment ranges. []

      • And another for failing to submit notices of excess emissions. []

    • And this most recent explosion has definitely sparked some concern in Louisville regarding Jiv-a-don.

    • With one resident who lives just a few doors down from the plant questioning why the factory is allowed operate so close to homes, saying, 

      • “There shouldn’t be a factory in a residential neighborhood if you ask me. At all. There needs to be a long look into the company.” []

    • And one environmental justice and public health advocate added, 

      • "This explosion again highlights the need for communities to have a 'right to know' when it comes to the chemicals in their communities. It also highlights the fact that all jobs must be safe for workers and the surrounding communities." []

    • For now, the Louisville fire department is reportedly investigating the explosion along with state and federal partners and a team from ATF is helping figure out what caused it. 

    • So we’ll have to keep our eyes on this. 

    • In the meantime, I’d love to know your thoughts about this in those comments down below.

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