Trump “Woke Gaza” Video Situation is Crazy & 1st US Measles Death in a Decade Amid Texas Outbreak
PDS Published 02/26/2025
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Have you been dreaming of a vacation filled with gold statues of Trump, Elon Musk eating hummus, and propaganda music?
Then oh boy, does Trump have the AI video for you!
Because last night, Trump posted this clip of his vision for Gaza, depicting children running out of rubble and into a palm tree-lined resort town, all while this song plays:
“No more tunnels, no more fear. Trump Gaza is finally here. Trump Gaza shining bright. Golden future, brand new light. Feast and dance the deal is done, Trump Gaza number one. Trump Gaza shining bright. Golden future, brand new light. Feast and dance the deal is done, Trump Gaza number one.” (0:12-0:33)
(this part will also show bearded belly dancers, Trump statue/balloons, Trump dancing with a woman, Musk, Netanyahu, etc)
And if that video felt like sensory overload, it would be hard to blame you, so we’ll highlight some of the stranger moments.
Like Elon Musk and children dancing in money, bearded belly dancers on the beach, a Trump Gaza tower, shirtless Trump sipping poolside brewskies with Netanyahu, and a massive Trump statue and kid carrying a golden Trump balloon like it’s of Mickey Mouse in Disneyland. (both of which look straight out of Severance).
But you at least have Trump dancing with his wife–oh nope that’s just a chick at the club.
And this video is certainly shocking, but at the same time it is not too surprising because Trump has expressed interest in taking Gaza and turning it into the “Riviera of the Middle East.”
Previously proposing that the US take over the Gaza strip, a move that would displace the two million Palestinians living in the currently war-torn area, though his administration later suggested this would only be “temporary.”
But obviously, he has faced tons of backlash for suggesting this.
A UN Spokesperson saying that “Any forced displacement of people is tantamount to ethnic cleansing.”[]
And so this video got its fair share of heat as well, with tons of people mocking it, right, seeing the gender fluidity of the bearded belly dancers and saying Trump Gaza looks woke. ][[][]
Some writing:
“Making Gaza Great Again with... an AI-generated video we didn't watch super carefully before we posted it.”[]
But others are just genuinely appalled that the President of the Untied States posted this clip to his social media platforms, saying:
“The Trump Gaza video is quite possibly the most disgusting, the most shameful, the most hideous public communication by a US President in living memory.”[]
“It’s not just a moral failure—it’s a deliberate, calculated display of cruelty.”[]
“The “Uncommitted” people look so stupid right now.”[]
“Trump sees Gaza not as a home to millions of human beings, but as an empty plot of land for his next branding project. The lives of Palestinians mean nothing to him—they are simply an obstacle to be bulldozed over for casinos, golf courses, and beachfront resorts. Sick person.”[]
And while some see it as Trump just doing some “epic” trolling, there are apparent Trump supporters who are also condemning this.[]
Right, people in the comments of Trump’s Instagram post saying, hey, I voted for you but what the hell is this.[]
And even on Truth Social, most of the responses are critical, with some saying:
“bearded belly dancers; you dancing with someone other than your wife; this was weird for me and I love you Trump-This should be deleted.”[]
“This is just plain wrong!! This video is in very bad taste and just plain horrible!!”[]
“Lives were lost and Innocents are still buried in that rubble. Please take this down immediately.”][
Some even speculating that he did not post it himself and someone is meddling with his account.[]
As for where this video came from, that is unclear right now, with reports saying we don’t know who made it, but accounts not related to the White House and previously shared it on social media. []
And when the Washington Post asked questions about who produced it and how Trump obtained it, the White House declined to answer, but a spokeswoman did say:[]
“As President Trump has said, Gaza in its current state is uninhabitable for any human being. President Trump is a visionary, and his plan to have the United States involved in Gaza’s rebuilding will allow for Palestinians to resettle in new, beautiful communities while improving conditions in the region for generations to come.”
But again, the outlet did note that Trump has given mixed answers on whether or not Palestinians would be allowed to return to and live there after US rebuilding.
But I would love to know your thoughts on this story here, on the video itself, the backlash it has gotten, anything here.
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The United States just had its first death from measles since 2015.
Right, because in January, an outbreak was reported in West Texas, a rural part of the state. [Headline]
With officials reporting 124 cases across nine counties as of Tuesday, up from 94 late last week. [Quote, find “124”]
With another nine cases also reported so far in eastern New Mexico. [Quote, find “nine cases”]
And for context, measles ain’t no fucking joke.
Right, it’s airborne, extremely contagious, and in severe cases can cause blindness, pneumonia, brain swelling or even death.
So the current figures in Texas are that around 18 people have been hospitalized, mostly kids ages 5 to 17. [Quote, find “18”]
With authorities confirming that the person who died was an unvaccinated school-aged child at the Covenant Children’s Hospital in the city of Lubbock. [Image and Tweet]
Now in case it needs to be said, the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine is both safe and effective, according to scientific research. [Image]
Which is why it’s required for all kids entering kindergarten in public schools nationwide.
But for those in homeschooling or private schools, especially religious ones, that rule doesn’t apply.
And it just so happens that West Texas is home to a close-knit Mennonite community. [Quote, find “mennonite”]
So in Gaines County, where the outbreak started, nearly 1 in 5 incoming kindergartners for the 2023-24 school year did not get the vaccine. [Quote, find “95%”]
This as the US Department of Health and Human Services aims for a vaccination rate of 95%, saying that’s necessary to help prevent outbreaks of the highly contagious disease. [Same quote]
So it shouldn’t be surprising that most of the cases in Texas are in unvaccinated people or people whose vaccination status is unknown, with only five cases reported in people who said they got the vaccine. [Quote, find “five cases”]
But make no mistake; this is a nationwide threat.
Right, measles cases reached a nearly three-decade high in 2019, and there were several outbreaks last year, including one in Chicago that infected 60 people. [Headline]
None of which was helped by the rise to prominence of the anti-vax movement during the pandemic.
So naturally a reporter asked Trump and RFK Jr., our new health secretary who said last month that a panel would investigate the childhood vaccine schedule, about the Texas outbreak and the reported death. [Lead B roll into clip]
And Trump immediately passed that hot potato to RFK, who restated facts that are already known about the outbreak and then added: [Lead B roll into clip]
[Clip, 00:43 - 00:48] Caption: “We’re watching it. We put out a post on it yesterday, and we’re gonna continue to follow it.”
Links:
https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/26/health/texas-measles-death/index.html
https://apnews.com/article/measles-outbreak-west-texas-death-rfk-41adc66641e4a56ce2b2677480031ab9
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The House just passed a massive budget bill that will pave the way for major parts of Trump’s agenda — so let’s dive into it.
Right, and this legislation passed by a very narrow margin of 217-215, with one Republican joining all Democrats voting against it.
But the whole thing almost went off the rails entirely after revolts from the right-wing faction of the party — which wanted more spending cuts — and more moderate members, who were worried the cuts went too far.
In fact, Republican leaders even canceled the vote at one point before changing course minutes later after Democrats had already left for the night, forcing them to rush back in.
But, of course, they ultimately pulled it off, taking a crucial first step in a process known as budget reconciliation, which will allow the Senate to bypass the 60-vote filibuster to pass this bill.
Though, notably, the Senate has already passed a competing bill, so now both chambers will have to agree on a unified version.
But, as far as the contents of “The Budget Bill (Mike Johnson’s Version),” the idea here was to pass one enormous package that would allow Congress to pass much of Trump’s legislative agenda.
Right, what he keeps calling “ONE BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL.”[]
But, in its current form, the legislation isn’t super specific — it’s more of an overarching framework, a kind of blueprint.
For example, the proposal includes a general, lump sum increase of $300 billion in unspecified funding for border security and defense programs.
It would also increase the debt limit — which is the amount of money the government is authorized to borrow to pay its bills — by $4 trillion.
And, arguably most notably, it would slash $2 trillion in federal spending over the next decade, in part to help pay for the $4.5 trillion in tax cuts that were also included in this package.
With most of that $4.5 trillion going to finance an extension of tax cuts Trump put in place during his first term that are set to expire this year.
And while those tax cut extensions will lower rates for almost all Americans, the wealthiest citizens stand to benefit the most.
According to an analysis by the Center for American Progress, the majority of the tax cuts — nearly 60%, or $2.5 trillion — will go to the top 10% of taxpayers earning more than $228,000 a year.
But this next stat is even more wild: a whopping 30% of the cuts — more than $1.24 trillion — will go to the top 1% of earners who make more than $743,200 annually.
Leaving just 10% of those Trump tax cuts for nearly 90% of all Americans.
And to get all Bernie Sanders for a minute, that means the top 1% of earners will be seeing a tax cut averaging $62,000 — which is higher than the annual family income for most of the 72 million Americans who have health insurance through Medicaid.
And I bring that up because many Democrats have accused Republicans of plotting to pay for their tax cuts for the rich by cutting essential programs for low-income Americans like Medicaid and food stamps.
Hell, even some moderate Republicans have raised concerns about cuts to Medicaid and SNAP benefits, though, of course, they ultimately voted for the bill anyway.
Right, and that’s because the House spending bill as-is doesn’t specify exactly what it will slash from the federal budget as part of the $2 trillion in spending cuts.
Instead, it just parses that total out among different House committees and directs them to figure out what to cut.
For example, the Energy and Commerce Committee — which notably oversees Medicaid and Medicare — has been given responsibility for the biggest cuts by far.
With the spending bill directing the panel to come up with at least $880 billion to slash — nearly half of ALL the total $2 trillion savings Republicans are requiring under this proposal.
That’s also more than double what ANY other panel is being asked to cut — the second biggest request is at least $330 billion, which will decided by the Education and Work Force Committee.
After that, you have the Agriculture Committee, which oversees food stamps and is being asked to cut a minimum of $230 billion.
With another $562 billion in spending reductions going to a range of various different panels.
Now, with all this, Trump has previously said that he will not let Congress cut Medicare or Medicaid.
And he doubled down on that vow in a press conference today:
REPORTER: “The spending bill aims to cut $2 trillion, Can you guarantee that Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security will not be touched?”
TRUMP: “Yeah, I mean, I have said it so many times, you shouldn’t be asking me that question, okay? This will not be ‘read my lips.’ It won’t be ‘read my lips’ anymore. We're not gonna touch it. Now we are gonna look for fraud.” 00:01 - 00:21
But despite Trump’s promises, it’s been widely reported that Republicans are still eyeing cuts to Medicaid, as well as food stamps.
And Trump hasn’t made the same promises to protect food stamps — which help feed 1 in 8 Americans — it’s still important to note because it feeds into this narrative of the GOP cutting programs for low-income citizens to finance tax cuts for the wealthy.
But, beyond all that, regardless of Trump’s assurances, experts have said that it’s virtually mathematically impossible for the Energy and Commerce Committee to cut $880 billion without cutting either Medicare or Medicaid.
Right, those two programs make up the VAST majority of the spending that the panel oversees, and, according to The New York Times:
“Even if the committee cuts everything that’s not health care to $0, it will still be more than $600 billion short.”
And it’s not like there’s any wiggle room — as the outlet explains:
“If the committee can’t save at least that much, the entire effort could be imperiled” because Republicans passed this bill under the budget reconciliation process to avoid the Senate filibuster.
And while other Republican leaders have also echoed Trump’s comment about cutting alleged “fraud” from the public health insurance programs, it’s unclear exactly how much that would save — but almost certainly not as much as is needed.
So, right now, it seems like Republican lawmakers and Trump will either have to just blatantly disregard the promises the president has made the public on Medicaid and Medicare or go back to the drawing board entirely.
But if Republicans want to cut as much as $2 trillion dollars as part of any budget bill, it’ll be hard to do so without touching any of the three areas Trump has vowed not to cut.
Because together, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid accounted for almost HALF of the total $6.75 trillion the government spent in the last fiscal year.
But it’s also unclear if Republicans could get enough support to pass a bill that DOESN’T include those cuts.
Right, that $2 trillion figure was only added in the first place in a last-minute amendment to get support from the spending hawks in the party.
And they will likely insist on a similar figure to offset the new spending they oppose but that will be required for Trump’s massive tax cuts as well as his border and defense priorities.
So for now, we’ll just have to wait and see how this plays out.
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Kids these days are so glued to their screens that before they even learn to walk, they learn to scroll. [Image]
And yes, I am officially entering my grumpy old man era, but that’s not the point.
The point is this new report from Common Sense Media, a group that surveys parents about their kids’ media consumption. [Study]
With it finding that 40% of children have their own tablet by age 2, and that grows to nearly 60% by age four. [Quote, find “40%” and “58%”]
With a quarter getting a personal cell phone by age eight. [Quote same link, find “1 in 4”]
Now the last time this survey was conducted was right before the pandemic, so we can see how some of the numbers have changed over the past five years. [B roll, 00:29 - 00:36]
And surprisingly, for children aged eight and younger, their average reported screen time is basically the same as it was back then. [Same B roll]
Clocking in at around two and a half hours per day. [Quote, find “2.5”]
But one important thing has changed, and it’s the way they’re spending that time.
With traditional TV viewing declining, while short-form, algorithm-driven video platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts have grabbed a greater share of kids’ attention. [Same quote]
As well as gaming, which young children now spend 65% more time doing than they used to. [Same quote]
And that’s really consequential, because the report notes that parents tend to have less oversight over that short-form content.
So for example, it found that over 60% of parents occasionally watch YouTube alongside their kids, but only 17% do the same with TikTok. [Quote, find “62%”]
And there’s been a seemingly endless stream of research over the past couple of decades showing the different effects screen time has on children.
With one study last year finding that preschool-aged kids logging 75 minutes or more of daily screen time displayed more anger and frustration as they grew older and had trouble regulating emotions. [Screenshot, 01:03]
Which often leads parents to give their kids even more screen time, like a kind of digital pacifier, creating this vicious cycle.
With the Common Sense Media report finding that a quarter of parents use screens to help their child calm down when they’re angry or upset. [Quote, find “angry or upset”]
Then, another finding that repeatedly appears in the literature is that parts of the brain associated with reading, language and decision-making are weaker in children who have more screentime. [Screenshot, 02:16]
Though notably, there’s a solid scientific consensus that kids who watch the PDS have bigger, stronger, more powerful brains and surprisingly even bodies and possibly spirits.
Anyway, the survey also reported that about one in five children use mobile devices for emotional regulation, mealtimes, or to fall asleep. [Quote, find “one in five”]
And while the share of kids who read or are read to every day has increased 10 points for those two and younger, it has decreased 10 points for those ages five to eight. [Quote, find “child reads”]
So if you’re a parent, or you’re planning to become one some day, what options are you left with?
Well to answer that, you’ve got Jill Murphy, chief content officer with Common Sense Media, suggesting:
“Be actively involved in what your little ones are watching, choose content you can enjoy together, and connect screen time to real-world experiences, like acting out stories or discussing characters' feelings. Set clear boundaries around device use, establish tech-free times for meals and bedtime, and remember that media should be just one of many tools for nurturing your child's natural curiosity.” [Quote]
But if you wanna be a little tougher, you can also just keep your kids away from screens altogether, at least during their early years.
With one expert telling the Today Show last month:
[Clip, 02:37 - 02:57] Caption: [Expert:] “There are so many things we make kids wait to do in our society. We make them wait to drink beer. We make them wait to vote. We make them wait to have a gun. But for some reason we’re not doing the same thing with these very powerful devices that give access to all the content related to all of those things.” [Reporter:] “Do you think screentime is the new tobacco?” [Expert:] “It’s been compared to it, yeah. And actually parents using cellphones with their kids has been compared to second-hand smoke.”
And on that last point, what he’s saying is backed up by science.
Right, some research suggests that kids get a lot of their screen time from simply role modeling their parents. [Image]
With one study asking parents to rate their agreement with statements such as “When I am with my child, I use a screen-based device” on a scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 4 (strongly agree). [Quote, find “rated”]
And it found that for each point increase, their children’s screen time shot up nearly 40 minutes. [Same quote]
So you have a professor of pediatrics telling CNN:
“Our actions can speak so loudly that kids can’t hear the words we are saying. Practicing what we preach makes all the difference.” [Quote same link]
But even if you cut down on your own screen time, cutting down on your children’s can be harder or easier depending on your circumstances.
So another finding from the Commonsense Media report is that kids from lower-income households spend nearly twice as much time with screens as those from higher-income households. [Quote, find “income”]
And at least part of the reason may be that these devices take some of the burden of parenting off parents.
With two-thirds telling the survey they use screen media at least sometimes to occupy their child so they can get things done or take time for themselves. [Quote, find “66%”]
As well as 44% saying they use it to occupy their child in public, such as at a doctor’s office, grocery store or restaurant. [Same quote and Image]
But if you’re a parent, or you just have an opinion on this topic, I’d love to hear what you think about the technology, the changing culture, and what should be done about both.
Links:
https://www.npr.org/2025/02/26/nx-s1-5308593/children-screens-ai-common-sense-media
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/press-releases/digital-childhood-starts-at-age-two-landmark-study-shows-evolution-of-young-childrens-media-use
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Despite weeks of Trump and Zelensky going after each other -- it looks like the United States and Ukraine are about to make a resource deal.
We kinda touched on this last week: so the short version is that Trump claims Ukraine owes well over $300 billion for aid it’s received and could work out a $500 billion deal for the country’s rare minerals to help repay it.
It’s argued that those numbers are super inflated and official US government numbers put the amount at under $200 billion.
Either way, Ukraine won’t recognize the aid as a “debt” and says that doing so would open a “pandora’s box,” and adding today:
“I will not accept [even] 10 cents of debt repayment in this deal. Otherwise, it will be a precedent.”[][]
Regardless, Zelensky was still willing to work out a deal with the hopes of getting some security guarantees from the US.
Possibilities included US or European troops on the ground to protect the sites, or even NATO membership -- although the US has rejected this idea.
With Trump even saying today:
Reporter: “What concessions would you like to see?”
Trump: “Oh, I don’t want to tell right now, but I can tell you that NATO you can forget about. I think that’s probably the reason the whole thing started.” {0:04-0:16}
Instead the U.S. argues that even having American economic interests in the country is enough to deter any invasions. []
With that in mind: what is this deal going to be?
Honestly, no one is entirely sure as of right now.
What we do know is that yesterday a draft of the deal was sent to Ukraine, and sometime within the next day, it’s supposed to be signed by our Treasury Secretary followed by his Ukrainian counterpart.[]
After that, President Zelensky is expected to meet with President Trump in the US to sign the agreement with Trump saying:
“I hear that he’s coming on Friday. Certainly, it’s OK with me if he’d like to. And he would like to sign it together with me. And I understand that’s a big deal, a very big deal.”
As for actual details, it looks like the demands that Ukraine pay $500 billion to an American-backed fund were dropped. []
Instead, Ukraine will reportedly give HALF of its future revenues from its natural resources to the fund, which is partially meant to rebuild Ukraine.|[]
The US’s interest in the fund will be the maximum allowed by law.
America will also commit to building up Ukraine in the future.
It also notably lacks Trump’s demand that Ukraine pay back double for any future aid given.
HOWEVER -- and this is a big however -- there might be some wrinkles to all this.
Ukraine has long demanded that security guarantees were required for any deal.
And initial reports about this deal made it seem like those were dropped, with Trump just saying that Ukraine would have the right to “fight on” with the deal.
But just as we were preparing this story Zelensky came out in a news conference and brought the issue back up, saying:
"Without future security guarantees, we will not have a real ceasefire.”
"And if we don't have it, nothing will work. Nothing will work."[]
He went on to say that the deal right now is more of a “framework.”
That being said, he does seem flexible about what those guarantees could be, saying that it could involve countries other than the US.
But his main point is that a security guarantee is needed somewhere because Putin doesn’t really want to end the war and Trump will have issues negotiating a peace.
So if Zelensky is going to sign over a bunch of Ukrainian resources, he wants to make sure that he’ll have the guarantees he feels will lead to a long, lasting peace. []
It’s also possible that as reporting comes out, Trump will balk at the deal.
Right, he wants to be seen as a keen negotiator, but some experts don’t think the deal will actually add up to a lot of real world impact.[]
ABC News pointed out that Ukrainian officials claim the deal will only cover natural resources not currently used in Ukraine’s budget.
So no oil, gas, or the majority of its minerals.
Which is why former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt said that the minerals were a “sideshow” meant to “keep Mr. Trump happy.” and that:
“... it is not going to give a lot of money to the U.S., and I don't see it having any materially economic effect for very many years."
So we’ll have to keep an eye on this and whether it’ll be seen as a huge success for Trump or another bad deal.
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And then in some good news to cleanse your news palette for the day, we are probably not going to see a city wiped out by an asteroid within a decade.
Right, the asteroid 2024 YR4 was originally found back in December by a telescope in Chile.
And it’s estimated to be somewhere between 130 and 300 feet across. []
Last month, the International Asteroid Warning Network sent an alert to the astronomical community saying that this asteroid had a greater than 1% chance of hitting Earth in the 7 years. []
And in the following weeks, that percentage climbed bit by bit - capping out on February 18th at just over 3% chance of hitting us in 2032. []
Which is reportedly the highest probability NASA has ever recorded for an object of this size - a size that, notably, could reportedly wipe out a city if it made contact. []
In fact, 2024 YR4 managed to make it up to Level 3 on the Torino Impact Hazard Scale - which is a tool used for categorizing potential collisions of space objects with Earth.
And all of that made this the riskiest asteroid on record and caused it to go viral.
Everywhere you looked online, someone was talking about the chances of this rock hitting Earth and what the impact (pun completely intended) would look like. [B Roll 0:00-0:10] [B Roll 0:00-0:10]
But whether you were nervous or counting down the days, it doesn’t look like we’re going to get hit with this space rock.
Because both NASA and the European Space Agency have just given the all-clear. [] []
With NASA lowering the odds of 2024 YR4 hitting us to 0.0017% and the ESA putting it at 0.001%. []
Or, to put it another way, there’s a roughly 1 in 59,000 chance of impact.
Meaning that it’s more than likely going to pass us without incident.
And this shift wasn’t entirely unexpected - with Paul Chodas, director of the NASA JPL Center for Near Earth Object Studies, telling NPR earlier this month that we’d likely see the probability jump up and then fall back down as new observations were made. []
And a navigation engineer at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California echoed that idea to the New York Times after the announcement - saying,
“I knew this was likely to go away as we collected more data. I was sleeping pretty well.” []
But those new observations reportedly weren’t easy to get, according to Tim Spahr, the manager of IAWN.
Because 2024 YR4 has quickly been moving out of range of even the most powerful ground-based telescopes - with its straight-line trajectory meaning it’ll be out of view by April and won’t be viewable again until June 2028. []
With Spahr saying,
"The real trick of this is that the asteroid doesn't tell us where it is. We're measuring the projection of it on the sky ... we're literally estimating every night we see where it is, and then we adjust that when more observations come in." []
Now that it’s significantly less likely to hit us, the 2024 YR4 has been dropped down to a Level Zero on the Torino Scale.
With Forbes saying that further observations of its orbit are expected to result in it being declared harmless. []
Although, the James Webb Telescope is reportedly going to be keeping an eye on it.
Specifically, it’s reportedly scheduled to spend 4 hours observing 2024 YR4 in early March and May before it’s completely out of view.
With the main goal being to use Webb’s infrared light instrument to get a better idea of the asteroid’s size. []
And it’s also worth mentioning that while the odds of this space rock hitting Earth have dropped so far, there’s still a 1.7% chance as of right now that it could hit the Moon.
Though experts say that is also likely to drop. []
And that’s where we are here - we’re almost definitely not getting hit by a massive space rock.
Whether that’s a good or a bad thing is up to you, I suppose.
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