The Rich Zeoli Show- Full Episode (02/01/2024):

3:05pm- On Wednesday, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee. During Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-SC) opening statement, he accused Zuckerberg of having blood on his hands—emphatically stating “you have a product that is killing people” as those in attendance applauded. Zuckerberg was also notably grilled by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO). Could strict regulations on social media be coming via new legislation? Though there is clearly bipartisan support for legislation to upend Section 230, government should not be in the business of regulating speech online—it ultimately leads to the censorship of American citizens expressing opinions contrary to mainstream narratives.

3:10pm- Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg publicly apologized to families negatively impacted by social media after being implored by Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) to take accountability. Hawley, who notably wrote the “Tyranny of Big Tech” in 2021, has asserted that social media is one of the biggest threats to America.

3:15pm- A newly released Quinnipiac poll shows President Joe Biden with a 6-point national lead over Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. Though, as Rich notes, the polling results may not be as problematic for Trump as the media is making it seem. First, the poll relied on “registered” voters, not “likely” voters. Plus, it’s a national poll and doesn’t consider state polling. According to a new Bloomberg News/Morning poll, Trump leads Biden in a hypothetical 2020 rematch by 3 to 10 points in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Nevada, Michigan, Georgia, and Arizona. Trump’s projected lead expands even further when considering the third-party candidacies of Robert Kennedy Jr., Jill Stein, and Colonel West.

3:30pm- Heather Knight of The New York Times writes: “Fifteen months after city officials were ready to throw a party in the Noe Valley Town Square to celebrate funding for a tiny bathroom with a toilet and sink, nothing but mulch remains in its place. The toilet project broke down the minute taxpayers realized the city was planning an event to celebrate $1.7 million in state funds that local politicians had secured for the lone 150-square-foot structure. That’s enough to purchase a single-family home in San Francisco—with multiple bathrooms. Even more confounding was the explanation that the tiny bathroom would take two to three years to install because of the city’s labyrinthine permitting and building process. City leaders quickly canceled their potty party, and Gov. Gavin Newsom of California took back the funds.” You can read the full story about San Francisco’s $1.7 million toilet here: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/24/us/san-francisco-toilet.html

3:45pm- Bud-Light has announced a partnership with comedian Shane Gillis. Will the Gillis affiliation be enough for Bud-Light to bounce back from the criticism it received after working with transgender social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney.

4:05pm- Robby Soave of Reason writes: “There is no pastime more beloved by Congress than beating up on social media executives. On Wednesday, members of the Senate Judiciary Committee engaged in yet another round of fact-free histrionics as they thunderously denounced four tech CEOs—Meta's Mark Zuckerberg, X's Linda Yaccarino, Snapchat's Evan Spiegel, and Discord's Jason Citron—for\xad a litany of allegedly unsafe business practices… Many of the Senate's anti-tech crusaders were present, including Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham (SC), Ted Cruz (TX), and Josh Hawley (MO), and Democratic Sens. Dick Durbin (IL), Amy Klobuchar (MN), and Richard Blumenthal (CT). Sen. Elizabeth Warren (MA) wasn't there, though she received several favorable shout-outs from the Republicans. Indeed, both sides of the political aisle were exceedingly pleased with themselves for acting in bipartisan fashion to wildly accuse four business leaders of complicity in despicable crimes against children… In order to obtain this control, senators from both parties have sponsored legislation to repeal or reform Section 230, the federal statute that protects internet companies from some liability. Section 230 was a frequent punching bag at the Wednesday hearing.” You can read the full article here: https://reason.com/2024/02/01/mark-zuckerberg-senate-hearing-graham-facebook/

4:15pm- While appearing on CNN, Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) said: “I’m not going to protect Section 230 at the expense of children…if 230 has to go, it has to go.” Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act notably shields social media companies from liability for speech posted to their platforms.

4:35pm- David Propper of The New York Post writes: “A Montana family claims they lost custody of their 14-year-old child after opposing her interest in changing genders — and while the governor’s office defended the move, it stressed to The Post that the state does not remove minors to provide gender transition services. The state’s Child and Family Services (CFS) reportedly took custody of the teen from her father, Todd Kolstad, and stepmother, Krista, this month, leading the parents to speak out about how the action has ‘destroyed’ their family and ‘trampled’ their rights.” You can read the full report here: https://nypost.com/2024/01/30/news/montana-parents-lose-custody-of-daughter-after-opposing-transition-report/

4:50pm- Rich opens the phone lines and gets flooded with off-topic calls—Matt is reprimanded.

5:05pm- On Wednesday, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee. During Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-SC) opening statement, he accused Zuckerberg of having blood on his hands—emphatically stating “you have a product that is killing people” as those in attendance applauded. Zuckerberg was also notably grilled by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO). Could strict regulations on social media be coming via new legislation? Though there is clearly bipartisan support for legislation to upend Section 230, government should not be in the business of regulating speech online—it ultimately leads to the censorship of American citizens expressing opinions contrary to mainstream narratives.

5:15pm- While speaking from the House floor, Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) voiced her disagreement with proposed legislation that would allow for the deportation of undocumented migrants convicted of driving while intoxicated (DWI). She also implored society to stop referring to migrants who enter the U.S. unlawfully as “illegals.”

5:20pm- In audio leaked from The San Francisco Standard, Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA) can be heard retelling a story about how he witnessed a theft while at Target, and how he reprimanded a worker for suggesting California isn’t tough on crime.

5:30pm- Teri Hatcher, who was a “Bond-girl” in the film Tomorrow Never Dies, says she is officially done with online dating and is content with being single.

5:45pm- In his latest piece for The New York Post, George Washington University Law Professor Jonathan Turley writes: “Hunter Biden is comparable to children in Japanese internment camps, to undocumented immigrants, to the murdered descendants of the Tsar. At least that’s what he argues in a new court filing in his federal gun case, which presents Hunter as one of the most tragic figures since the fall of Troy. Literally. In a brief that borders on delusional, Biden’s lawyers say the son of the president who burned through millions from influence peddling is comparable to all those unfortunate and destitute souls.” You can read the full article here: https://nypost.com/2024/01/31/opinion/hunter-biden-compares-self-to-a-romanov-a-migrant-child-and-a-greek-tragedy-in-delusional-court-filing/

6:05pm- Rich is busy hosting a stand-up comedy show at Club 360 at Parx Casino tonight—so, Mike Opelka hosts hour 4 of the show!

6:10pm- Tomorrow is Groundhog Day! Will you be in Gobbler’s Knob partying? Interestingly, PETA is calling for replacing the groundhog with a simple coin toss to determine whether there will be six more weeks of winter. According to calculations, since 1887, Punxsutawney Phil has accurately predicted the winter weather just 39% of the time.

6:35pm- Tommy Christopher of Mediaite writes: “Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is standing firm in the face of efforts to get her to step down from the blockbuster election crimes case against former President Donald Trump and 18 co-defendants. Trump and others have demanded DA Willis be removed from the 34-count felony election crimes case on the basis of allegations made in a court filing by one of Trump’s co-defendants. Willis is accused of an “improper” relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade, whom she hired as part of the Trump election crimes team. But according to a CNN exclusive by Zachary Cohen, Willis has decided she’s not going anywhere.” You can read more here: https://www.mediaite.com/news/cnn-sources-say-trump-election-crimes-prosecutor-fani-willis-will-not-step-down-from-blockbuster-rico-case/

6:40pm- On Thursday, U.S. Capitol Police announced they will not charge a former Senate staffer who allegedly had sex in a Congressional hearing room last year. The incident reportedly occurred where Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) sits during Senate Judiciary hearings.