0:01

It's Friday, March 1st. I'm Juanita Toliver. And

0:03

I'm Priyanka Arabindi and this is What

0:05

a Day, where we are encouraging all

0:08

of our listeners to join the internet

0:10

search for Kate Middleton. Yeah, the official

0:12

line is that she's recovering from a

0:14

surgery, but she hasn't been seen since

0:16

Christmas Day and the internet is worried.

0:18

Juanita, what is your working theory? You

0:20

know I've been working really hard to

0:22

mind my business, so no comment. Juanita's

0:24

being a good influence on us all.

0:31

On today's show, Congress reached a deal to avoid

0:33

a shutdown, but only by one week. Plus,

0:36

wildfires ripping through Texas have torched over

0:38

1 million acres so far. But first,

0:40

more than 100 people were

0:43

killed and hundreds more wounded yesterday near

0:45

Gaza City as Palestinians were gathered around

0:47

trucks to receive much-needed food and aid.

0:49

This loss of life also comes as

0:51

the Gaza Health Ministry announced that the

0:53

death toll in Gaza has reached more

0:55

than 30,000 people. I

0:58

mean, just staggering figures in

1:00

every part of that. What

1:02

do we know about what happened here

1:04

as people were gathering to receive this

1:06

aid? There are competing stories about exactly

1:09

what happened at the aid trucks. The

1:11

Israeli military claimed that civilians surrounded an

1:13

aid truck and caused pushing and trampling

1:15

and people being run over by trucks,

1:17

but they denied shooting into the large

1:20

crowd. According to Reuters, one

1:22

Israeli official said there had been two

1:24

separate incidents. In the first, dozens

1:26

were killed or injured as they tried to

1:28

take aid from the trucks and were trampled

1:31

or run over. He said there was a

1:33

second subsequent incident as the trucks moved off

1:35

and as people in the crowd approached troops,

1:37

Israeli soldiers opened fire in a, quote, limited

1:39

response. However, in

1:42

a statement, Hamas said the Gaza

1:44

Health Ministry had presented, quote, undeniable

1:46

evidence of direct firing at citizens,

1:48

including headshots aimed at immediate killing.

1:50

In addition to the testimonies of

1:53

all witnesses who confirm being targeted

1:55

with direct fire without posing any

1:57

threat to the occupying army. So

2:00

there are a lot of details that

2:02

still need to be confirmed. But in

2:04

the moments after the deadly confrontation, Gazans

2:06

attempted to seek care at the Al-Shifa

2:09

hospital, but given the bombardment, there were

2:11

limited resources and healthcare workers available to

2:13

help the hundreds of people who had

2:15

been injured. What has been the response

2:17

to this latest tragedy? Well, according to

2:19

the Guardian, the United Nations Security Council

2:22

called an emergency session on Thursday night

2:24

and CNN reports that the United Arab

2:26

Emirates has called for a transparent investigation.

2:29

A White House national security spokesperson wrote in

2:31

a statement, quote, we mourn the

2:33

loss of innocent life and recognize

2:35

the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza,

2:37

where innocent Palestinians are just trying

2:39

to feed their families. A

2:41

U.S. official also told NBC News that

2:44

the Biden administration is considering air dropping

2:46

aid into Gaza, given the dire need

2:48

for humanitarian assistance and the slower pace

2:50

of land deliveries. Of course,

2:52

this deadly confrontation will have an impact

2:55

on the ongoing ceasefire negotiations. President

2:57

Biden spoke to reporters from the

2:59

White House before boarding a helicopter yesterday. Here's

3:01

what he had to say when asked if

3:03

he still expects the ceasefire by Monday. Take

3:06

a close listen. Hope Springs

3:08

Eternal. I was on

3:10

the telephone with the people in the

3:12

region. I'm probably not by Monday, but

3:14

I'm hopeful. Then he was asked

3:16

about yesterday's deaths at the aid truck

3:18

and if it'll complicate negotiations. We're checking

3:20

that out right now. The system's feeding

3:22

burden is what happened. I don't have

3:24

an answer. I know. He

3:29

said, I know it will. Right.

3:31

Biden still sounds hopeful, has sounded

3:33

hopeful throughout this process. I

3:36

know so many people are really, really

3:38

wanting to see this, but it's very

3:40

different from what the other negotiating parties

3:42

have been communicating. Can you tell us

3:44

more about what they've been saying? According

3:46

to Axios, a Hamas spokesperson told the

3:48

mediators in the hostage talks that, quote,

3:51

the negotiations are not open ended and

3:53

we won't allow it to be used

3:55

as cover for crimes against the Palestinians

3:57

in Gaza. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin

3:59

Netanyahu. Yahoo spoke at a press conference

4:01

yesterday, but did not address the deadly

4:04

confrontation at the aid convoy. He said

4:06

negotiations, quote, have hit a brick wall

4:08

because Hamas isn't even trying to reach

4:10

a zone of agreement. Of

4:12

course, we will keep you posted on all of

4:14

this as the negotiations continue and we learn more

4:17

about this deadly situation. Thank

4:19

you so much for that update, Juanita. Now we're

4:21

going to switch gears to another story that

4:23

we've been following. Yesterday, Alabama's

4:25

state house and Senate voted to

4:27

protect in vitro fertilization, or IVF.

4:30

This is following the state's Supreme Court

4:32

ruling earlier this month that categorized frozen

4:35

embryos as children and said that anyone

4:37

who destroys them can be held liable

4:39

for wrongful death. In the

4:41

wake of that ruling, IVF providers all around

4:43

the state stopped offering treatments because of the

4:45

potential for both providers and for the patients

4:47

to be prosecuted simply for following the

4:50

normal procedures of IVF. The

4:52

bills that Alabama's Republican controlled legislature

4:54

passed yesterday aim to protect IVF

4:56

providers from these lawsuits and from

4:58

criminal prosecutions in hopes of prompting

5:00

them to resume offering the treatment

5:03

in the state. Is it as

5:05

promising as it sounds? Like, tell

5:07

us more about what's in these

5:09

bills and how this happened. This

5:11

issue has been alarming and incredibly

5:13

animating for people in Alabama and

5:15

all over the country. Patients, doctors

5:17

and advocates gathered in front of the

5:19

Alabama state house on Wednesday to rally and

5:21

to urge lawmakers to get these clinics and

5:23

these treatments restored. The state house ended up

5:26

passing their bill 94 to 6 and

5:28

the Senate passed their version 34 to 0. This

5:32

of course is in Alabama where Republicans

5:34

hold the majority in both chambers. The

5:37

House bill says that the immunity that they

5:39

are proposing for IVF clinics is intended to

5:41

apply retroactively and debate was opened in the

5:43

chamber yesterday by saying very explicitly that the

5:46

bill was for the purpose of getting IVF

5:48

procedures up and running in the state once

5:50

again. House Representative Terry Collins of

5:52

Decatur, who introduced this bill along with one

5:54

of her colleagues, said that the bill

5:56

isn't a long-term solution. They expect to start work on

5:59

something more like this. long term in the next

6:01

few weeks, hopefully to be passed in the

6:03

next year. So to answer your question, Juanita,

6:05

this is a band-aid for now, remains to

6:07

be seen, what will happen. But

6:09

meanwhile, it's also very important to note that

6:11

Alabama passed one of the country's most restrictive

6:13

abortion laws back in 2019, and it went

6:15

into effect with the fall of Roe in

6:17

2022. Abortion

6:20

in the state is completely illegal

6:22

with extremely, extremely limited exceptions. So

6:25

before we try to applaud these lawmakers

6:27

for stepping up to protect IVF, let's

6:30

just keep that in mind. Right, because

6:32

the true intentions are from their previous

6:34

behavior even before Roe v. Wade

6:37

was overturned. So yeah. Absolutely. Put

6:40

this new bill into context for us

6:42

with the national picture as well. The

6:44

court's decision sent alarm bells ringing all

6:46

across the country, and that in part

6:48

is because IVF has already helped hundreds

6:50

of thousands of American families have kids.

6:52

And we touched on this in yesterday's

6:54

show, but Republican lawmakers have been mixed

6:56

in their reaction since Alabama's decision. Many

6:59

of them scrambled in the wake of that

7:01

to speak out and to defend IVF. Many of

7:03

those were the same people who cheered the fall

7:06

of Roe, which paved the way for this to

7:08

happen. So quite hypocritical. But as

7:10

we reported in Thursday's episode, when presented

7:12

in the Senate with a bill by

7:14

Democrats that would have established federal protections

7:16

for IVF, Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith of

7:19

Mississippi shot the whole thing down, saying

7:21

that it violated religious freedom and

7:23

overshot the goal. And then what about

7:25

Donald? I killed Roe v. Wade all

7:27

by myself, Trump. Yeah, Trump actually came

7:29

out in support of IVF. He called

7:32

on lawmakers in Alabama to take action.

7:34

So Republicans in disarray here, they are

7:36

very split. But you know

7:38

who is not divided on whether American

7:40

families should have a full slate of

7:43

rights to fertility treatments, abortions, birth control,

7:45

all of it? You guessed it. Democrats.

7:47

Surprise, surprise. This

7:52

issue has further highlighted the vast divide

7:54

between where they stand versus where Republicans

7:56

are on an issue that has time

7:58

and time again, animated. voters as they

8:00

have gone to the polls, especially in

8:02

recent years. Earlier this week, an Axios

8:05

Ipsos poll found that Americans as a

8:07

whole opposed the decision in Alabama two

8:09

to one, and an economist YouGov poll

8:11

found that Americans said that embryos are

8:13

not kids by a 50% to 21%

8:15

margin. So

8:18

consider this your weekly reminder

8:21

that abortion rights are winning

8:23

political issues for Democrats. And

8:26

these numbers fully align with what we

8:28

know for national support when it comes

8:30

to abortion rights in general. So Republicans are

8:32

clearly going to ignore the people, but there's

8:34

work to do. Yeah, we of course will

8:37

continue to follow this story and related ones

8:39

on the show. But if you want to

8:41

help the cause of reproductive rights and protections

8:43

for all then be a part of Vote

8:46

Save America's Fuck Bands action plan. Head to

8:48

votesaveamerica.com/fuck bands for more information. That

8:50

is the latest. Let's

9:00

get to some headlines. Headlines.

9:06

The government shutdown that was set for

9:08

tonight won't happen at least not for

9:10

another week. You know, it's our addition

9:12

of kick the can. Courtesy Republicans. Truly.

9:14

A temporary extension of government funding was

9:17

approved by Congress yesterday. Getting further into

9:19

the specifics of the measure, which was

9:21

drafted by House Speaker Mike Johnson, it

9:23

funds half the government until March 8th

9:25

and the other half through March 22nd.

9:28

The bottom line is Congress will go

9:30

through this same song and dance all

9:33

over again next week with Republicans holding

9:35

the government hostage unless they get cuts

9:37

and support for their policy priorities. And

9:40

if you've been following along at home, you'll know

9:42

for continuing resolutions have now made

9:44

their way through Congress in September,

9:46

including the one from yesterday. Please

9:49

let's do something straightforward and let's

9:51

not revisit this issue every few weeks. Would

9:53

love that. Let's turn to a

9:56

major issue on people's minds right now. Immigration.

9:58

As a preview for you. on

10:00

Wednesday's show, Biden and Trump held dueling

10:02

press conferences on the southern border yesterday

10:04

in Texas to both campaign for their

10:06

advantage on the issue. While they were

10:08

there, a federal court blocked a Texas

10:10

law that would have allowed local police

10:12

to arrest and kick migrants out of

10:14

the country, as before was supposed to

10:17

go into effect next week. We talked

10:19

to the group that successfully filed to

10:21

halt the law, Las America's immigrant advocacy

10:23

center. Jennifer Babai is the

10:25

director of advocacy and legal services.

10:27

It was a level of excitement

10:30

and appreciation that the district court

10:32

agreed with us that the law

10:34

on its face is unconstitutional. However,

10:36

the fight is not over. Texas

10:38

Governor Greg Abbott says that the

10:40

state will immediately appeal the decision.

10:42

Here's Babai again. So it's not

10:44

a win yet, but it's a

10:47

level of appreciation that we've stalled

10:49

the law even a few days. I mean,

10:51

we'll take what we can get knowing the inhumane

10:53

efforts that Governor Abbott is putting

10:55

in. So definitely staying with Texas.

10:57

The state is currently battling the

10:59

largest wildfire in its history. The

11:02

smokehouse Creek fire has covered over

11:04

1 million acres, making it bigger

11:06

than the entire state of Rhode

11:08

Island. And there are at

11:10

least two other large wildfires ripping across

11:12

the state's panhandle. Folks have

11:14

been evacuated from their homes and Governor

11:16

Abbott has issued disaster declarations for 60

11:18

counties. The full extent of the damage

11:20

isn't clear yet. But as of our

11:22

recording time last night at 9pm Eastern,

11:24

the wildfires had caused two confirmed deaths.

11:27

Officials haven't yet announced what sparked

11:29

the blazes, but they have blamed

11:31

wind, high temperatures and low humidity

11:34

levels for the fast spreading fires.

11:36

I mean, seems like the key

11:38

ingredients associated with climate change. And

11:40

there's no shortage of climate change

11:42

deniers in Texas who better actually

11:44

change their tune. Seriously. Earlier

11:46

this week at a meeting with

11:49

several other NATO countries, French President

11:51

Emmanuel Macron commented that sending troops

11:53

into Ukraine was possible almost immediately

11:56

afterwards. Other NATO countries, including the

11:58

U.S. and Germany, denied that that is a on

12:00

the table, but it still earned a

12:02

stark warning yesterday from Russian President Vladimir

12:04

Putin. He threatened tragic consequences for countries

12:07

that send military enforcements, and said that

12:09

Russia has nuclear weapons that can hit

12:11

the West. The

12:15

New York Times translated, quote, all this

12:17

truly threatens a conflict with the use

12:20

of nuclear weapons and therefore the destruction

12:22

of civilization. And a reminder

12:24

that we are also in the run-up to the

12:26

Russian elections, which will take place from March 15th

12:28

to the 17th. No

12:31

one's really holding their breath here. Putin will

12:33

obviously stay in power, but thought we'd let

12:35

you know that that is on the calendar.

12:38

And wrapping up with some lighter news,

12:40

Wendy's has rushed to pour a cold

12:42

frosty on reports so the company would

12:44

introduce surge pricing. Wendy's fans lost

12:46

their minds when the company's CEO described

12:49

menu changes on an earnings call earlier

12:51

this month that seems to suggest burgers

12:53

would cost more when they were in

12:55

higher demand. Even Senator Elizabeth Warren denounced

12:57

the new program as, quote, price gouging

12:59

in a post on Twitter. But in

13:02

a statement posted to his website this

13:04

week, Wendy's clarified that customers can expect

13:06

discounts when demand is lower, but the

13:08

company will not raise prices when lots

13:10

of customers are visiting. My advice, if

13:12

you want a Wendy's item, you know

13:15

will be safe from peaks and valleys

13:17

in demand, go with the eternal underdog, the

13:19

baked potato. I feel like this shouldn't even

13:21

be an underdog though. When you put on

13:23

that Wendy's chili on top of the sour

13:25

creams and chives that come with the baked

13:27

potato. I mean, it sounds amazing. It can

13:29

be. When I eat that right now, absolutely

13:32

yes. Never

13:35

an underdog for me. And those are the headlines. We'll be back

13:37

after some ads

13:43

to talk about developments from our favorite

13:45

reality show. Love is blind. It's

13:51

Friday, wide squad, and we'll wrap up the

13:53

week with another installment for me and Priyanka

13:56

to dish yet again on the latest reality

13:58

show news. It's time for Reality

14:00

check. Our favorite. Ay! The

14:08

joy. You were meant for that audio. The joy.

14:11

Today we'll talk about a show folks

14:13

love to hate, love is blind. On

14:15

Valentine's Day, Netflix began releasing episodes for

14:17

season six and this season has been

14:20

chock full of trauma and chaos. Whether

14:22

it's dishonesty about looks, which no one

14:24

should have been asking about in the

14:26

pods anyway. No. Or

14:29

dishonesty about why someone came home at five

14:31

o'clock in the morning. This season is an

14:33

entire hot mess and we love it. We

14:36

love every bit of it. Truly top to

14:38

bottom. It is wild. I know there have

14:40

been some less interesting seasons of the

14:42

show. There have been so many seasons of it,

14:44

but let me tell you, this really is one

14:46

to watch. To celebrate

14:49

the latest episode drop, P and I are gonna

14:51

highlight the cast members who have been the most

14:53

frustrating for us to watch. Also, if you're not

14:55

caught up yet, this is your cue to tune

14:58

out. Now that the disclaimer is done,

15:00

Priyanka kick us off. Who has been most frustrating

15:02

for you to watch this season on Love is

15:04

Blind? Juanita, I think we agree on who is

15:06

the most frustrating, but let's get started with a

15:08

few minor frustrations before we get into the big

15:10

ones. So first there is Clay.

15:12

Clay who every chance he gets, not once,

15:14

not twice, like at least seven times, has

15:17

expressed his fear about cheating on his fiance

15:19

to his fiance, which I'm sorry, I don't

15:21

know. I've never been in that position with

15:23

someone telling me that, but that's just red

15:25

flag central. Here's the thing though with Clay

15:28

though, his dad literally took him on cheating

15:30

trips that his mother still doesn't know about,

15:32

but I'm sure she knows about them now.

15:34

I can see that on TV now. You're not

15:36

even gonna tell her about it, but you're

15:39

gonna tell all of us? Okay. There's Sarah

15:41

and Jeremy and Laura, who like that really

15:43

was the craziest storyline we've gotten on this

15:45

entire show. But finally,

15:47

I will let you do

15:49

the honors on Little Miss Chelsea here,

15:52

Little Miss Megan Fox. Miss Not Fox,

15:54

okay, wow. Because this

15:56

is just a whole crazy

15:58

situation. Chelsea, Chelsea. Chelsea, Chelsea,

16:00

darling, darling, you say you've been

16:02

in therapy since filming, but nothing

16:05

in this world can erase your

16:08

whiny cry voice that you just

16:10

break out without any notice every

16:12

time Jimmy says anything to you.

16:15

I cannot stand it. It's wild. I'm not

16:17

even sympathetic to Jimmy and I'm like becoming

16:19

sympathetic to him because he just- Oh, 100%

16:21

sympathetic to Jimmy. You

16:24

know why? Because whatever trauma Chelsea endured

16:26

in her past before this show and

16:28

her relationship with Jimmy, she is inflicting

16:30

that same trauma on Jimmy. Like

16:32

everything is emotionally abusive to her.

16:34

She gets drunk, tells him you

16:36

don't love me, exposes his

16:39

business that he told her off camera, on

16:41

camera, and just is on a fishing expedition

16:43

for anything she can grasp onto. And when

16:45

they do make up, when he says, I'm

16:47

exhausted because I thought you really thought I

16:49

didn't love you, she says, can you make

16:51

me some cookies? Mind blown to me. I

16:53

mean, I hope you all are watching this

16:55

at home. If we spoiled all of this

16:57

for you, you should go back and watch

16:59

it. I promise there is more. Yes. Oh

17:02

God, there's so much. Well, I think

17:04

we've checked everybody's reality right now.

17:07

So we hope you have thoughts too,

17:09

because we want to know. Tell us on Discord. And

17:11

if you're not already there, then sign up

17:13

by going to click.com slash. One

17:23

more thing before we go. With Super Tuesday

17:25

right around the corner, this may be Nikki

17:27

Haley's last chance for a shot at the

17:29

White House. Can she defy all odds, casino

17:31

bets, and Ouija board predictions? We

17:33

think not, but go off, queen.

17:36

Find out by heading to the Pod Save America

17:38

feed for a deeper analysis on the results, and

17:40

make sure to subscribe on Amazon Music so you

17:42

never miss an episode. That's

17:46

all for today. If you like the show, make sure you

17:49

subscribe, leave a review, fund the government,

17:51

and tell your friends to listen. And

17:53

if you are into reading, and not

17:55

just steady baked potato prices like me,

17:57

but it is also a nightly newsletter. Amp

18:00

Try that cricket.com/subscribe I'm Bree Okay Urban D

18:02

I'm on the to Tolliver and see you

18:05

as I live in line Really n And

18:07

how do we get there? We need to

18:09

be And that audience. They need to be

18:11

in the audience that I need to write

18:14

the questions because I know Vanessa in Nyc

18:16

are. Very, very terrible interviewers

18:18

of. Us in their get Us

18:21

in there. We can do the prep

18:23

for you promise for their seats. A desire.

18:32

What a Day! The production of Crooked

18:34

Media is recorded and mixed by Bill.

18:36

Lance are so see produces a Raven

18:38

Yamamoto and not button Those who are

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production company things on Milstein, Greg Walters

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and Julie A Clear are so runner

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is Leo Duran and are executive producer

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like Home and Gilliard into system.