Drake's Legal Battle Against UMG Over Streaming Manipulation

Drake accuses Universal Music Group of manipulating streaming numbers to undermine his success amid a music industry conspiracy.

### Drake's Legal Battle and Global News Highlights
* 🎤 Drake has filed a court petition accusing Universal Music Group and Spotify of **manipulating streams** for the song "Not Like Us," alleging a scheme to **artificially inflate its popularity**.
* ⚖ The petition claims UMG charged Spotify **lower licensing rates** in exchange for promoting the song to users searching for **unrelated artists** and used **bots to increase its visibility**.
* 🔍 Drake's lawyers assert that UMG is attempting to **conceal its actions by terminating employees loyal to him**, and they have raised serious allegations, including **violations of the RICO statute**.
* 🤖 In a separate story, Virgin Media O2 has introduced an **AI-generated grandma named Daisy** to distract scammers, keeping them occupied and preventing them from **targeting real victims**.
* 💊 In health news, the Biden administration is proposing to **expand Medicare and Medicaid coverage for weight loss medications** like Ozempic, potentially impacting **7.5 million beneficiaries**, although it faces opposition from the incoming Trump administration.
* 💰 This proposal could cost taxpayers **up to $35 billion over a decade**, but advocates argue that obesity-related healthcare costs **exceed $173 billion annually** in the U.S.
* 🌍 Meanwhile, protests in Pakistan have turned deadly as citizens demand the **release of former Prime Minister Imran Khan**, resulting in clashes with law enforcement and **multiple casualties**.
* 📉 The political landscape continues to shift, with major corporations like Walmart moving away from **DEI initiatives**, reflecting a broader **backlash against diversity programs** amid changing social and political sentiments.

Sup, you beautiful bastards! Welcome back to the Philip DeFranco show. Your daily dive into the news.
It is Tuesday. Or if you're one of those weird
made up time zones or you're just late, it maybe is Wednesday.

Either way, I love your faces. And we got a lot of news to talk
about today, so let's just jump into it. I just want to go on the record to say
I didn't lose. You guys cheated, right.

That is roughly what Drake just alleged in a new court
filing, accusing Universal Music Group and Spotify of scheming
to artificially inflate streams of "Not Like Us." When I first saw this news, I was like, 

That was your problem with the song, Drake?
Did you listen to the lyrics of what he said about you? But there is an update on that front
that we'll get to. Because yesterday when this petition
was filed in New York, it said UMG

did not rely on channels
or even ordinary business practices to break through the noise on Spotify
and likely other music platforms. Saying instead, it
launched a campaign to manipulate and saturate the streaming services
and airwaves with the song, "Not Like Us."

In order to make that song go viral,
specifically accusing UMG of charging Spotify lower licensing rates for the song in exchange
for the platform recommending it to users who were searching for unrelated tracks
and artists. Also claiming that UMG conspired with
and paid unknown parties to use bots

to artificially up
the spread of "Not Like Us" and make it appear more popular
than it really was. And then on top of all of that,
Drake's lawyers also claim
that they have received information that UMG has been taking steps
in an apparent effort

to conceal its schemes, including,
but not limited to, by terminating employees associated with or perceived
as having loyalty to Drake. Right. And with this new, it's
not surprising that something's happening. Obviously, Drake
was not going to be a fan of that song.

It's got to be a very weird, unique thing
to be in a beef with someone. They sing a song
that you're a certified pedophile, and they get rewarded with a number one
spot on the Billboard charts and get nominated for song of the year
at the Grammys. Right.

But now what we're seeing is Drake's team
saying that this success is the result of a big conspiracy. Right. Accusing UMG of violating the RICO statute
that's often used in organized crime cases. The with that you have outlets saying

that this specific legal action
it is a bit surprising because both Drake and Kendrick's music is distributed
under the Universal Music Group umbrella. But there is outlets like Billboard
explained. Drake says that some executives
still had motive because of the,

quote, "internal corporate dynamics and UMG
and Interscope, which reward incentives based on how specific divisions do
instead of the overall performance of UMG." The outlet also explaining
that this filing isn't a lawsuit, rather, it's a so-called pre-action petition,
a procedure under New York law

that aims to secure information
before filing a lawsuit. Though that doesn't technically guarantee
the party's name in these filings will be eventually hit
with a lawsuit. So far,
what we're seeing is that UMG is denying the claims here, saying the suggestion
that UMG would do anything to undermine

any of its artists is offensive
and untrue. They employ the highest ethical practices in
our marketing and promotional campaigns. No amount of contrived and absurd
legal arguments in this pre-action submission can mask the fact that fans
choose the music they want to hear.

In other words, saying,
you know, it's not our fault that the general public
really like the song that just readily filled and attacked
absolutely every element of your being. But there. Drake still fighting them, claiming that he has tried to engage UMG
in discussions to resolve the ongoing harm

he has suffered. Drake saying they refused to engage
and instead pointed fingers at Kendrick and suggested
he take Kendrick to court. Of that leading to the update this morning
with Drake took things even further, filing another action against UMG,
accusing the label of defamation,

saying UMG knew that Kendrick's song falsely
labeled him as a sex offender, but they let him release it
anyways, and adding UMG could have refused to release
or distribute the song, or acquired
the offending material to be edited

and/or removed. UMG designed, financed
and then executed a plan to turn that like us into a viral mega-hit
with the intent of using the spectacle of harm to Drake and his businesses
to drive consumer hysteria. And, of course, massive revenues.

with it as a recording, UMG has not yet
responded to that specific claim. Like the first, as of right now,
it is not part of a lawsuit. Anyways, I just want to say really quick
shout out to Drake.

I forgot that Not Like Us
was such a fucking banger. Just going to have that on loop for my run
this afternoon. Want. I want you to imagine something. An army of weaponized grannies. That is what is being unleashed
on the scammer world right now.

And so with that,
I want you to meet Daisy. She's an AI-generated
grandma created by a British phone company named Virgin
Media O2 in order to fight scammers. The way she fights
scammers is by yapping. Right.

She just chats with the scammers,
telling them all about her grandchildren and her cat
and the birds outside of her window. Also her knitting hobby,
her biscuit preferences. And all of this is, you know
she's just not great with computers.

So could you explain what you need her
to type again? That's not even a joke. She reportedly spent nearly an hour on the phone with three scammers
who were just trying to get her to type into a web browser. Right. So that's it.

Daisy is designed to seem
like the perfect target for scammers, with her chatty
nature and ignorance about technology. I'm like real-life grannies.
She don't need a nap. She will just talk and talk and talk
and she won't die.

She'll just keep talking. Well, I do have a computer,
but I'm not currently at it. I was actually just about to
sit down with them. A nice cup of tea and some biscuits. Do you like biscuits, Peter? Oh, dear. I'm 78 years young.

You know, back in my day,
we didn't have all this technology. Everything was much simpler.
About you, dear. Right. And obviously
while this is a beautiful middle finger to scammers, O2's idea
here is also that every minute scammers

are talking to Daisy, it's a minute
they're not scamming a real person. Now obviously, you know,
this isn't a completely unique idea. There are plenty of real people
who bait scammers using that same tactic. Which is also some of my favorite content
on the internet and Daisy managed

to get some pretty intense reactions
from these scammers. It's nearly been an hour. For the love of gosh, how time flies. Stop calling me, you stupid. Got it, dear. But again.
Daisy doesn't need to stop, though.

Daisy is fun,
but isn't an end all solution. Scam calls
are just on a completely wild scale. Last year, there were tens of millions
of them around the world. Every single day. Of course, that's the scale
because there's so much money in this.

Right. One anti-scam consortium reported that victims were scammed
out of over $1 trillion worldwide. You're if you are clinically obese,
listen up. The big news that we're seeing right now
is that Biden officials are ready
to cover the cost of Ozempic for you,

but the Trump camp might squash it
before it can even happen. Right. And that's because the Biden administration
just proposed expanding Medicare and Medicaid coverage
for weight loss medications like Ozempic. I mean, we're talking about coverage being expanded to 7.5 million people
enrolled in Medicare and Medicaid.

which would be a substantial change,
considering that the current rules make it so that Medicare doesn't cover weight loss drugs, though *asterisk* a lot of Medicare
beneficiaries do get Ozempic or Wegovy to treat heart disease
and diabetes,

which are conditions
made worse by obesity. Now, as far as why
the Biden administration has decided to make this change. Officials say that it's
thanks to a recognition that obesity is, quote, a chronic disease
based on changes in medical consensus.

There's also some concern
regarding the timing here. The seeing Health and Human Services
Secretary Xavier Becerra explaining
the super late term announcement by saying the Biden officials
needed to come to a scientific agreement. In that
it had nothing to do with the election.

but here's the thing. Timing. Biden officials
say that this new proposal would boost public health,
putting pressure on the incoming Trump administration to finalize it in the days
after he takes office. That may be a longshot, especially considering Trump's pick
for the new HHS secretary is Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Rick has RFK
Jr. has openly spoken out against weight loss drugs,
even blaming them for hiding the root problem of poor health in America. Now, with that, in response to the concern
about RFK Jr. shutting this proposal down, Becerra said that he would urge him

to look at the data
showing the benefits of weight loss drugs. Even making the comparison to vaccines, which, considering who he's talking
to here, probably not the best strategy. But that said,
there is a chance that not everyone

in the upcoming
administration will be against this. In fact, Doctor Oz, Trump's
pick to head up the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services,
has repeatedly hyped up weight loss drugs, with a meta naming Ozempic in an Instagram
post last year saying we need to make it

as easy as possible for people
to meet their health goals, period. All of this as notably, these proposed rules will only reportedly
apply to beneficiaries that are obese. It's a Karen and Jacob
just trying to lose that last 15 pounds.

It's not about them. Under this proposal,
even those who fall into the overweight category are not eligible
unless they have another condition. But considering
that roughly 40% of Americans were obese between 2021 and 2023,
according to a recent CDC report,

talking about a change
that could make a serious difference in the lives of millions. Of course, with this proposal
there is a price tag attached to this proposal
reportedly costing taxpayers as much as $35 billion
over the next decade.

which considering the promises
the team Trump have made to cut government spending. I mean, that could be enough
for them to shut this down. But the counterargument to
that is that obesity is expensive. Right. You have the CDC, for example,

saying that annual obesity related
medical care costs in the U.S. in 2019
were estimated to be nearly $173 billion. And this is. You have places like the Milken Institute,
which is a nonprofit in Santa Monica, California,
saying it goes beyond just direct costs.

claiming that American businesses lose
$1.1 trillion each year due to obesity. But, you know, for now,
we'll have to wait to see what happens. Post January 20th. But then taking a quick
break from the news, you know,

I think we can all agree that too much of
anything isn't always a good thing. Like sitting
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we need to talk about Donald Trump's

tariffs
because he is doubling down on them. He's not saying that he is going
to impose tariffs on products coming into the US
from Mexico, Canada, and China. On his first day in office, with them in one of his social media posts

claiming
that thousands of people are pouring through Mexico and Canada, bringing crime
and drugs at levels never seen before. Then specifically saying he'd issue a
one executive order to levy a 25% tariff on all goods from Canada and Mexico,
and finally adding

this tariff will remain in effect
until such time as drugs, in particular fentanyl and all illegal aliens
stop this invasion of our country. And then in a separate post
saying that China will be charging an additional 10%
on top of any existing tariffs

on all of their many products
coming into the United States of America. And again,
saying the tariffs will stay in place until something is done about drugs
coming into the U.S. Now with that, one of the first things
I'll touch on is that, at best,

A number of the things in these posts are misleading. Like, for example, unauthorized border crossings in general have been falling since before the election, and they're continuing to do so. Though it is true that crossings at the northern border have been increasing.

And, well, obviously we do not want people that should not be here bringing crime and drugs into the country. What he's saying is at best hyperbole. Right? There's no evidence right now to suggest that migrants are bringing crime and drugs at levels never seen before.

In fact, multiple studies, including one recently from the National Institutes of Justice, have found that undocumented immigrants commit crimes at lower rates than citizens. And then regarding the drugs, fentanyl seizures have actually dramatically increased under Biden compared to Trump.

And so now with that, the country is actually seeing significantly less fentanyl in circulation and fewer overdoses, though obviously we want to see those numbers getting less and less and fewer and fewer. But also, either way, most fentanyl is reportedly smuggled

through official border crossings by Americans. In fact, more than 80% of the people sentenced for fentanyl trafficking at the southern border are U.S. citizens. Again, in no way am I saying there is not a huge issue. Right.

It is absolutely true that Mexican cartels and Chinese gangs linked to the CCP are playing a huge role. And it's definitely not like we can't talk about whether other countries can do more. Also, to do that properly, we have to be clear about what the facts are.

And so with that,
let's get back to these tariffs, because it is not true
with Trump's tariffs that Mexico, Canada and China
are going to be the ones paying for them. Right. As much as Donald Trump has insisted
that foreign companies pay tariffs, 

they're actually paid by the company
that imports the products in many cases, that cost is passed
on to American consumers. And that is especially true
in this case. Right. And that's
because Mexico, China and Canada together they account
for more than a third of the goods

and services, both imported and exported
by the United States, supporting tens of millions of American jobs. Also notably, imposing tariffs
on Canada and Mexico would violate the terms of the trade agreement
that Trump himself signed in 2020. 

You know, with all this, it's important to understand. This is not a one-way street. Starting with the fact that, you know, while other countries
don't technically pay the tariffs, it doesn't mean that
they won't be hurt by them. 

In fact, a number of the people
who support Trump saying all this stuff about tariffs are saying,
oh, he's playing this game of chicken. Right, in that, because, for example,
the Mexican economy could be hit especially hard since it's

so dependent on American trade, exporting
about 80% of its goods to the U.S.. Right. And all of this is other countries
can also play the tariff card. Right. I mean, you just had a spokesperson
to the Chinese embassy in the US saying.

US economic and trade cooperation
is mutually beneficial in nature. No one will win a trade war
or a tariff war. Right. And so with that, there's concern
that these countries could respond with tariffs of their own
or otherwise be less

inclined to cooperate on issues
like immigration and drug smuggling. And again,
did I point you at Mexico's president, one, suggesting her country
might retaliate with tariffs of its own? This is to she pointed out
that Mexico is actually dealing

with an influx of weapons
being smuggled in from the states. But again,
all of this, as there are some who believe that this is just a negotiating tactic
from Trump. And even perhaps a bluff. But on the other hand,
you have some saying

we should take him at his word,
for example, a professor of trade policy at Cornell
telling the New York Times increasing specificity of Trump's tariff threats,
both in terms of the amounts and the countries to be targeted, indicates
the strong possibility

that these are looming actions
rather than just blustery threats. But hey, for now, you know, we're going
to have to wait to see what happens. We're a little less than two months away from Donald Trump
taking over the presidency again.

Personally, at this point, especially
because the man is no longer campaigning, I say when he says something
that he is going to do, believe him. And in the meantime, maybe start just
taking pictures of how much stuff costs,

and in particular with this situation,
I'd say fruit's probably the easiest. Right. Because annually I think we import
about $18.7 billion of fruits and vegetables. though arguably the bigger exports are things
like auto parts, vehicles, electronics.

Also, beer. Yeah, I guess we'll see. Israel has now approved a cease-fire
proposal to end the fighting with Hezbollah in Lebanon. and this is
the fighting is still continuing until the cease-fire
officially goes into effect later today.

But in any case, we had Netanyahu
announcing the news in a television address, saying the length of the cease-fire will depend on
what happens in Lebanon and adding, "With a full understanding of the United States,
we are preserving full military freedom of action."

If Hezbollah breaks the agreement
and seeks to arm itself, we will attack. but notably there with Netanyahu's
backing, it's expected to move forward. with this, you had Netanyahu saying there were three reasons
to support a cease-fire.

One, it would allow Israel to focus on
Iran. Two, it would give the country's military
an opportunity to rebuild its stockpiles. And three
saying that it would isolate Hamas. And as far as what the deal actually says,

it would begin with a 60-day process
during which both sides would stop fighting and withdraw
from southern Lebanon. Israeli forces
would return south of the border. Hezbollah
would retreat north of the Litani River, and the Lebanese army would fill the void.

Also, as mentioned, Netanyahu vowed that Israel would attack immediately should Hezbollah violate the deal by firing rockets or building military fortifications along Israel's border. You know, with this, it's important to say that Hezbollah technically isn't even part of this deal.

The agreement would officially be between Israel, Lebanon and the mediating countries, which are the United States and France. This is a top Lebanese lawmaker has been acting as a liaison with Hezbollah, which the country's government doesn't have control over, and which is designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S.

Though notably, with all of that, as recently as last week, Hezbollah's leader suggested that the group would actually accept a truce if Israel stopped striking Lebanon and Lebanon retained its sovereignty. And so with all this, you have the UN peacekeeping forces

in southern Lebanon reportedly standing ready to enforce a cease fire, though this is. Notably, a spokesperson has said that the UN was, quote, seriously concerned about the Israeli assault that's been unfolding over the past couple of days.

With, for example, today Israeli strikes against central Beirut being described as some of the most intense bombardment of the war. Lebanon's health ministry saying that at least ten people were killed and dozens more injured. Also in southern Lebanon, Israeli strikes throughout the day

have reportedly killed at least eight people, including children. And this is overall, reportedly, nearly 4000 people have been killed and more than 15,000 others have been wounded in Israeli strikes in Lebanon since October of last year.

of course,
that's on top of the tens of thousands directly killed in Gaza,
as well as the hundreds of thousands more displaced and suffering. And so with all that, even with this ceasefire nearly in place,
there are a lot of questions that remain, 

including how will it be enforced
and how long will it actually hold up? Then, quick breather from the news. You know, keeping your digital life
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safer, easier and stress-free. We? 

Are we watching the slow death
of diversity, equity and inclusion in America? Right.  In addition to this red wave
we've seen sweep through national politics this year. There are a few other trends
suggesting that DEI is on the decline. 

Starting with, for example,
the news that Walmart, the largest private employer in the world, is quite literally erasing DEI terminology
from its official communications. With it instead
using the more neutral term belonging and taking several
more material steps as well. 

Such as, for example, removing race and gender as considerations
when choosing suppliers. Disallowing third party merchants from marketing certain LGBTQ
themed items online to children. Cutting off funding for the center
for Racial Equity, Cutting off data sharing with the pro
LGBTQ human rights campaign. 

Ending the AI training offered
by the Racial Equity Institute. While obviously
Walmart is the big example, they are not the only company recently purging the DEI language
from their materials. Many others,
including Eli Lilly, Starbucks, Duolingo, 

JetBlue and Salesforce
taking similar actions. It's a drastic change,
considering how much corporate America embraced the terminology, their whole policy into racial equity
and DEI initiatives during the BLM protests in 2020. But the larger conservative backlash
since then has created a social, 

political and legal climate many companies
find too hostile. You know, whether it's boycotts against firms
like Bud Light, the Supreme Court striking down
affirmative action last year, or right-leaning groups filing lawsuits against race-conscious
corporate and government programs.

But also understand
it's not just the higher-ups, right? Employees are also turning the same way. Pew Research, for example,
finding that between February of last year and fall of this year, U.S. worker support for DEI initiatives
slightly decreased.

with specifically the share of workers
who say focusing on increasing DEI at work is mainly a bad thing,
jumping from 16 to 21%. Those still, you know, just over
half, 52% still say it's a good thing.

Then with this, when you break down
the demographics, you get what you'd expect. Women and Democrats as well as Black,
Hispanic, and Asian workers most likely to support DEI
in the workplace. Then men and Republicans
are much less likely to support it.

Drake Threatens to Sue Over “Not Like Us”, Israel Hezbollah Ceasefire, Mexico Hits Back At Trump, &

Philip DeFranco

Drake accuses Universal Music Group and Spotify of manipulating streams

Drake alleges in a court filing that UMG and Spotify artificially inflated streams of "Not Like Us."

The filing claims UMG manipulated streaming services and airwaves to make the song go viral.

UMG is accused of offering Spotify lower licensing rates in exchange for promotion and using bots to inflate popularity.

Drake's lawyers claim UMG concealed its schemes by terminating employees perceived as loyal to Drake.

Drake's team accuses UMG of violating the RICO statute, despite both artists being under the UMG umbrella.

The filing is a pre-action petition to secure information before filing a lawsuit, not a lawsuit itself.

Virgin Media O2 created Daisy, an AI grandma, to fight scammers by engaging them in long, irrelevant conversations.

Daisy talks about her grandchildren, pets, hobbies, and struggles with technology to waste scammers' time.

Daisy reportedly spent nearly an hour with three scammers, preventing them from targeting real victims.

Daisy's design makes her an ideal target, and her endless chatter prevents scammers from progressing.

The initiative aims to reduce the number of successful scams by occupying scammers' time.

Biden's plan to cover Ozempic costs for the obese, potential Trump opposition

The Biden administration proposed expanding Medicare and Medicaid coverage for weight-loss medications like Ozempic.

Currently, Medicare doesn't cover weight-loss drugs, except for those with heart disease or diabetes.

Officials cite a shift in medical consensus recognizing obesity as a chronic disease.

The timing is strategic, aiming to pressure the incoming Trump administration to finalize the proposal.

Trump's HHS secretary pick, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., opposes weight-loss drugs.

However, Trump's pick for CMS, Dr. Oz, has expressed support for weight-loss drugs.

Trump's renewed tariff threats on Mexico, Canada, and China

Trump threatens to impose tariffs on goods from Mexico, Canada, and China upon taking office.

Claims about increased crime and drug smuggling are misleading; unauthorized border crossings are falling.

Fentanyl seizures increased under Biden, and most fentanyl is smuggled through official crossings by Americans.

Tariffs are paid by importing companies, often passed on to American consumers.

Tariffs on Canada and Mexico would violate existing trade agreements.

Other countries could retaliate with their own tariffs, impacting trade relations.

Walmart is removing DEI terminology and related initiatives from its operations.

Other companies are following suit, purging DEI language from their materials.

Conservative backlash, lawsuits, and changing public opinion contribute to the decline.

Pew Research shows a slight decrease in worker support for DEI initiatives.

A Rutgers University study suggests DEI materials may increase perceptions of prejudice.

Large protests in Islamabad demand the release of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Imran Khan's background and rise to power are explained.

Khan's removal from office and arrest on corruption charges are detailed.

The protests' intensity and the government's response are described.

Reports of casualties and violence on both sides are included.