<![CDATA[State of the Day: Video]]>

<![CDATA[State of the Day: Video]]>https://stateoftheday.us/s/videohttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Sb4i!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F75402872-bac8-41f6-8767-c6bbb5153f76_1280x1280.pngState of the Day: Videohttps://stateoftheday.us/s/videoSubstackMon, 21 Sep 2026 14:34:44 GMT<![CDATA[Why AI Oligarchs Are Hitting the Brakes]]>https://stateoftheday.us/p/why-ai-oligarchs-are-hitting-thehttps://stateoftheday.us/p/why-ai-oligarchs-are-hitting-theMon, 14 Sep 2026 18:51:48 GMTAI’s biggest names are suddenly warning that the technology may be advancing too quickly, raising questions about what they know that the public doesn’t. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei is calling for tighter safeguards and regulation, while figures including Elon Musk, Sam Altman and Demis Hassabis have echoed concerns about the pace of AI development. But with AI companies pushing for government involvement, critics are asking whether these warnings are solely about safety—or whether the industry’s biggest players also have an interest in controlling who gets to compete.

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]]><![CDATA[We Investigated Mitch McConnell’s Wife’s CCP Ties…]]>https://stateoftheday.us/p/we-investigated-mitch-mcconnellshttps://stateoftheday.us/p/we-investigated-mitch-mcconnellsWed, 09 Sep 2026 21:06:49 GMTA new Daily Caller News Foundation investigation examined Chinese government and state-media records that reportedly identify Elaine Chao with positions tied to Chinese Communist Party and United Front-linked organizations. Some of the reported appointments overlapped with her time serving as a U.S. Cabinet secretary. Chao’s spokesman denies that she ever held a position with a foreign government, raising questions about the records and the claims surrounding them.

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]]><![CDATA[AOC: If Data Centers Are Such a Gift, Can We Put One At Mar-a-Lago?]]>https://stateoftheday.us/p/aoc-if-data-centers-are-such-a-gifthttps://stateoftheday.us/p/aoc-if-data-centers-are-such-a-giftTue, 01 Sep 2026 19:41:53 GMTEnjoyed this post? If so, please consider subscribing to State of the Day or sharing this with a friend. You’d be supporting this newsletter and helping keep independent journalism alive. We’re currently running a 25% off sale for Labor Day, so there’s no better time to join.

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]]><![CDATA[How Illegal Immigration is Directly Affecting My Life]]>https://stateoftheday.us/p/how-illegal-immigration-is-directlyhttps://stateoftheday.us/p/how-illegal-immigration-is-directlyMon, 31 Aug 2026 18:49:04 GMTEnjoyed this post? If so, please consider subscribing to State of the Day or sharing this with a friend. You’d be supporting this newsletter and helping keep independent journalism alive.

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]]><![CDATA[How Israel’s Leading Defender Is Handing Them Influence Over Texas Technology...]]>https://stateoftheday.us/p/how-israels-leading-defender-is-handinghttps://stateoftheday.us/p/how-israels-leading-defender-is-handingFri, 21 Aug 2026 17:40:16 GMTTexas Senator Ted Cruz, who calls himself Israel’s leading defender in the Senate, is cheering a growing partnership that has already brought $3.2 billion in Israeli investment into the state. Now that money is flowing into AI, cybersecurity, defense, water, and agriculture — some of the most critical technologies shaping Texas’s future. But Cruz has also admitted that Israel “probably” spies on the United States. So how much influence should a foreign country — and its companies — have over the systems that could affect Texas for decades? Who controls the tech? What data is shared? What safeguards are actually in place? Texans deserve those answers before the deals get any deeper.

]]><![CDATA[Pablo Pledgescobar]]>https://stateoftheday.us/p/pablo-pledgescobarhttps://stateoftheday.us/p/pablo-pledgescobarWed, 19 Aug 2026 20:54:48 GMTPennsylvania authorities just busted an alleged cocaine trafficking ring operating out of two Penn State fraternity houses — and 14 people are facing charges. Members and pledges were allegedly selling to fellow students, packaging product as part of initiation, and moving large quantities from Philly and New York. But the wildest twist isn’t the frats… it’s the managing attorney who got charged alongside his own son. The details are almost too crazy to believe.

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]]><![CDATA[The REAL Reason Socialist Candidates Keep Gaining Ground]]>https://stateoftheday.us/p/the-real-reason-socialist-candidateshttps://stateoftheday.us/p/the-real-reason-socialist-candidatesThu, 13 Aug 2026 20:00:15 GMTAbdul El-Sayed, Zoran Mamdani, Francesca Hong, Graham Plattner. All people that you may not agree with. And you might not even believe that they have any real solutions, like at all, but that’s exactly why they’re interesting. Because whether you think their ideas are good or terrible, this is a common thread running through some of the best known DSA and DSA aligned candidates.

They identify a problem voters care about and they offer a policy. El-Sayed and Plattner are talking about healthcare, affordability, and corporate power. Mamdani has focused on rent, childcare, and the cost of living. Hong has affordability and opposition to data centers central to her campaign.

All four are making the same broader argument, ordinary Americans are getting squeezed while wealthy interest groups gain more power. And again, you can think their solutions are terrible. You can think Medicare for all would make healthcare worse. You can think rent control creates more problems than it solves, and you can think blocking data centers is just bad economic policy.

But that’s not really the point, guys.

They’re just giving voters something substantive to argue about and hitting on issues regular Americans would like to see discussed and that are impacting their everyday lives.

And this is where establishment Democrats and Republicans, what some would consider the uniparty types, can find themselves in a very sticky political situation.

And instead of directly confronting the underlying issue, Republicans tend to fall into this trap of attacking the cultural baggage surrounding these candidates.

They’re socialists. They’re radicals. Look at what they said. Look at who they associate with. Look how far left they are.

And sure, those attacks worked in 2024, but let’s be honest though. For most Americans, the public school civics classes, if you’ve ever even take one, did such a terrible job teaching people what those things are. Most people couldn’t identify those political policies if it hit them in the face.

So if someone is worried about housing, healthcare, childcare, wages, energy costs, or the impact of AI and data centers on their community, telling them that the Democrat proposing an answer is a socialist doesn’t tell them what you’re going to do about the problem. And that frustration doesn’t necessarily just stop at domestic policy.

You can make the same argument when voters look at Washington spending money overseas or sending billions of dollars to foreign countries while Americans are just dealing with things in their communities. Like that buzzword? Affordability.

The United States is one of the wealthiest countries in the world. So when people see enormous amounts of money going toward foreign governments or overseas conflicts when things aren’t the best at home, they can reasonably ask, what about the problems here at home?

And you don’t have to agree with the premise that foreign aid or military spending is inherently bad. But again, you have to answer the question. Because if the political response is simply you’re not allowed to question that, you’re just obviously leaving an opening for someone else to come along and say, actually, I have a plan.

And that’s even bigger problem for Republicans right now. They’re the ones in power.

It’s easier to campaign against a problem when you’re the opposition. It’s harder when voters can look at you and say, okay, you’ve had the power. What are you doing about it? And lucky for them, Republicans don’t have to accept the premise of these candidates’ solutions.

They can say the solution is wrong, explain why it’s wrong, and then offer something better. In fact, that’s probably the stronger political argument because there’s a massive difference between saying their solution won’t work and saying we don’t have a solution. And that’s the opening candidates like El Sayed, Mamdani, Hong, Plattner are exploiting. Sometimes even against their own Democrats.

Their biggest strength may not be that voters agree with their policies. It may be that they’re talking about problems people actually believe are real, and they’re willing to put an actual proposal on the table.

So if the GOP wants to stop the style of the candidate from gaining traction, the answer probably isn’t just to call them a socialist. It’s to beat their solution with a better one, because eventually voters are gonna ask the same question. If their answer is wrong, What’s yours?

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]]><![CDATA[One Man Lied 6 Years Ago and Today Women Pay the Price]]>https://stateoftheday.us/p/one-man-lied-6-years-ago-and-todayhttps://stateoftheday.us/p/one-man-lied-6-years-ago-and-todayWed, 12 Aug 2026 21:21:28 GMTSo it wasn’t that long ago that Fauci was publicly reassuring pregnant women that there were no red flags about getting the COVID vaccine.

“Approximately 20,000 pregnant women have been vaccinated with no red flags, as we say, and this is being monitored by the CDC and the FDA.”
- Dr. Anthony Fauci

Ah, yes, I remember that time. Well, newly released texts from Fauci’s government phone show that privately he and other Biden administration health officials were discussing potential risk, including miscarriages. But we only know all this thanks to Senator Ron Johnson’s office, who’s been reviewing more than 34,000 text messages and 522 voicemails from Fauci’s government issued phone.

This follows the first release, which includes a January of 2021 conversation between Fauci and then CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, we remember them, and then Surgeon General Vivek Murthy.

“An 82% miscarriage rate with women who got the injection in the first, second trimester. I mean, that is shocking. And they knew it. They knew it. They’re not that stupid. They’re just that devious.”
Senator Ron Johnson

In one of the exchanges, Murthy asked whether officials had data on the safety of vaccination during pregnancy. Walensky responded that her understanding was that the issue was essentially data free. To no surprise, Fauci initially said there was no reason to be concerned, but two hours later after consulting with others he sent this message:

“Since many people have significant cytokines storm and fever after the 2nd dose, this theoretically could be associated with miscarriage in the 1st trimester.”

Walensky in response to Fauci, said “definitely a good point, especially after dose number two.” And Murthy raised another concern, saying he had heard questions about mRNA causing mutations in a developing fetus.

But just months earlier, federal health officials were publicly urging pregnant women to get vaccinated. And by August, Fauci was publicly saying tens of thousands of pregnant women had been followed and that there was no indication whatsoever of an increase in adverse issues.

But to state the obvious, the contrast raises serious questions about how officials communicated uncertainty to the public, especially when the private messages show they were discussing potential risk.

And let’s just say this isn’t the first time Fauci has faced questions about what he knew and when he knew it. But we’ll plead the fifth.

Just recently, Fauci has faced congressional scrutiny over his handling of the pandemic, and now lawmakers are just now digging through tens of thousands of messages from his government phone.

Johnson’s office says it’s still reviewing the record, so we don’t know everything contained in the phone, but these first messages show something important.

The public conversation about COVID vaccines and pregnancy was far more certain than the private conversations happening behind the scenes.

Thanks, Fauci.

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]]><![CDATA[How Flock Cameras Almost Had Two Innocent Drivers Killed]]>https://stateoftheday.us/p/how-flock-cameras-almost-had-twohttps://stateoftheday.us/p/how-flock-cameras-almost-had-twoMon, 10 Aug 2026 19:05:50 GMTSo now Flock cameras are keeping track of your politics. And I know many will consider that as conspiratorial, but I think anyone with half a brain doesn’t truly trust the idea that these things only track your license plate data.

And that’s what has sparked concern from Americans about these AI-powered surveillance cameras popping up all over the country.

And now we know it’s not a conspiracy. Check it out.

In that clip, they’re talking about Flock’s FreeForm product that can search anyone with a certain bumper sticker on their car. That includes a Trump sticker or even a MAGA sticker. Not concerning at all …

That information is findable using that product. But not every county with Flocks has the program. But one thing is for sure, concern over these cameras is only growing because we’ve already seen what can happen when these systems get it wrong.

In that clip, police shut down I-94 and boxed in a silver SUV while holding two people at gunpoint after a Flock camera flagged the vehicle for being connected to a homicide in Milwaukee. Except, it wasn’t. Well that alert, was outdated. Authorities had failed to remove it so the surveillance system flagged a vehicle based on, you guessed it, bad information.

Police acted on that information and suddenly two people had guns pointed at them.

So that’s not some hypothetical concern. That’s what happens when you give an automated surveillance system enormous power and then people trust the alert without checking whether the information is actually accurate.

Another video circulating online now shows a Flock camera sitting in the middle of a golf course.

So what kind of traffic is this thing watching? Golf carts? And who is watching the footage?

Not to mention they are getting sneakier with these things. Gotcha.

Well, you think that’s bad? A Daytona Beach lawyer found Flock cameras in the driveway of his local gun range.

Neither of those cameras were pointed toward the main road, may I add.

So the cameras are already there, and Americans need to start asking some serious questions because the next time a Flock camera makes an error, it might not just be your privacy that’s at stake.

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]]><![CDATA[This Is Why Women Don't Feel Safe...]]>https://stateoftheday.us/p/this-is-why-women-dont-feel-safehttps://stateoftheday.us/p/this-is-why-women-dont-feel-safeFri, 07 Aug 2026 19:36:35 GMTEvery woman knows that feeling, walking down the street, minding your own business, and wondering if the person approaching you is a threat.

Well, here it is. The violent repeat criminal from Charlotte is that nightmare scenario. Check it out.

That woman was randomly attacked while walking through Charlotte’s south end. A 32-year-old man, Di-Quan Schafar Hunt, is now facing assault charges after multiple videos circulating online appear to show him attacking or harassing several people, mainly women.

According to Charlotte Mecklenburg Police, officers arrested Hunt Thursday night after they were shown a social media account containing videos investigators were already looking into.

And one of those videos shows that exact July 30th attack.

Believe it or not, a separate video shows Hunt chasing a woman into the street in what seems like he was attempting to attack her.

So here’s the question. Why are we letting these people run our streets?

After his arrest, Hunt was taken to a local medical facility for treatment. Once released, he will be transferred into custody of the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office and face charges, allegedly.

As you can imagine, Hunt has a long rap sheet. This was not his first encounter with law enforcement. Records show Hunt has been arrested at least nine times between October of 2023 and December of 2025.

His previous charges include assault with a deadly weapon, communicating threats, assault on a female, shocker there, and violating domestic violence protective orders.

So should every female North Carolina resident continue to live in fear of this guy being released due to whatever rehabilitation ploy his defense attorney will try and argue?

I mean, we live in one of the richest countries on Earth and this is the standard we accept? Women being attacked in broad daylight.

So that’s how you know the government, and the justice system in big cities, is failing law abiding citizens and victims frankly. They fail to protect and not bring justice by installing policy that eases up on violent criminals, over victims, in the name of politics.

So the question is, how long are Charlotte residents gonna keep putting up with this? I mean, is this the kind of man you worry about your daughter running into when she’s walking home at night?

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]]><![CDATA[The VP Who Built Her Career On “Diversity” Just Bought Her Way OUT Of It]]>https://stateoftheday.us/p/the-vp-who-built-her-career-on-diversityhttps://stateoftheday.us/p/the-vp-who-built-her-career-on-diversityThu, 06 Aug 2026 18:03:12 GMTSo as we know, politicians say one thing, they do another, but two are proving that point. Democrats in particular often campaign on equality, authenticity, and living their values, but former Vice President Kamala Harris and Democrat Maine Senate candidate Troy Jackson are both facing questions over whether their actions align with their rhetoric.

For example, Jackson is under scrutiny after reports revealed he and his longtime partner, partner, not wife, with whom he shares two adult children, are second cousins.

You heard that right.

But before we get to Jackson, let’s start with our favorite former vice president.

For years, Kamala Harris has championed racial equality, diverse communities, and dismantling barriers to housing. Yet she has reportedly purchased an $8.15 million mansion in one of California’s whitest neighborhoods everyone. And the message is quite simple, the rhetoric doesn’t match the reality.

And let’s remember, this is the same vice president that once said, attending Howard University, a HBCU, helped her understand there is a whole world of people who are like you, describing how meaningful it was to be surrounded by other black Americans after growing up in a predominantly white environment.

But thanks to new reports, we now know that Harris bought a new swanky $8 million California mansion in Point Dume, right outside of Malibu.

An exclusive coastal enclave that census data estimates was roughly 94% white and just 0.2% black. The property reportedly includes ocean views, private golf greens, multiple wine fridges, and parking for five vehicles.

And the move definitely clashes with Harris’ long record of advocating for policies aimed at addressing racial disparities in housing. As California Attorney General, she backed expanding enforcement of the Fair Housing Act. As a presidential candidate, she proposed billions for historically redlined neighborhoods. And as Vice President, she promoted efforts to combat racial bias in home appraisals.

But don’t worry guys, she’s chosen one of California’s least diverse luxury neighborhoods. At least we can get an Architectural Digest tour or something. Maybe even revamp a Cribs episode?

But the question is, which one of her homes in her real estate portfolio will she choose to be her primary residence if she runs again? Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, also own a Brentwood Los Angeles home, which Emhoff bought before they were married in 2014.

Estimates have put the value around 4.4 million in recent years, and it has remained their main private California residence.

And Harris isn’t the only Democrat facing uncomfortable headlines.

Troy Jackson, a former Maine state Senate president, was selected by Democrat delegates last week to replace Graham Plattner as the party’s nominee after Plattner withdrew from the race amid sexual assault allegations.

The reports first published by independent journalist Steve Robinson allege Jackson and his partner, Lana Pelletier, share the same great-grandparents, making them second cousins. Yikes.

And the genealogical records cited in the reports indicate the couple has two adult sons together. You heard that right.

So neither story is about whether either decision was illegal. It’s about the contrast between the image Democrats project and the headlines that follow.

Let us know what you think in the comments below.

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]]><![CDATA[OpenAI Told Trump They’d "Rebuild" American Manufacturing… Here’s What They Were ACTUALLY Doing]]>https://stateoftheday.us/p/openai-told-trump-theyd-rebuild-americanhttps://stateoftheday.us/p/openai-told-trump-theyd-rebuild-americanWed, 05 Aug 2026 20:40:58 GMTPOV, you just proved that you’re quite possibly the least trustworthy person on earth.

“I don’t trust OpenAI. I don’t trust Sam Altman and I don’t think we want to have the most powerful AI in the world controlled by someone who is not trustworthy.”
— Elon Musk

Since the beginning of the second Trump administration, Sam Altman has promised that OpenAI was going to create jobs, train workers, and help keep AI leadership here in the United States.

He even waltzed into the White House to pitch rebuilding American manufacturing and promised to certify 10 million Americans in AI skills by 2030.

Well, it turns out hypocrisy is alive and well still because the DOJ just announced a $3.2 million settlement with OpenAI over allegations that the company discriminated against US workers during the federal PERM hiring process.

So much for telling Americans that their skepticism towards AI is overblown. Just accept it.

“You have to convince your community how great these things are. You can’t fight it. You have to go with it. And you’re going to have all that protection. And we’re giving you automatic protection. But you’re going to make a tremendous amount of money. You’re going to reduce taxes. And you’re going to have something that if you don’t have it, everybody else wants it.”
— President Donald Trump

Now what is the PERM program?

It allows employers to sponsor foreign workers for a permanent residency if they first make the good faith effort to recruit qualified US workers. And federal law prohibits employers from discriminating against US workers during that process.

According to the DOJ, OpenAI discouraged qualified Americans from applying for certain jobs while giving preference to temporary visa holders during the PERM hiring process.

Assistant Attorney General Harmi Dillon put it bluntly. It is illegal to discriminate against U.S. workers by preferring temporary visa holders for jobs.

To no surprise, OpenAI disagreed with the DOJ’s findings, but still agreed to pay the $3.2 million settlement, including $1.2 million in civil penalties and a $2 million back pay fund, along with sweeping changes to its hiring practices under the DOJ’s oversight.

And there’s the irony. The same company promising an American AI jobs boom is settling allegations that it didn’t give American workers a fair shot at its own jobs.

I mean, should we be shocked? This is what the CEO’s perspective on the future of AI is:

“I think AI will probably like most likely sort of lead to the end of the world, but in the meantime, there will be great companies created with serious machine learning.”
— Sam Altman

And while OpenAI is still pushing projects like Stargate and building a new data center in Georgia to sell itself as a champion of American AI, this settlement poses an obvious question.

If you were asking Washington to trust you with the future of America’s workforce, shouldn’t you have started following the rules designed to protect American workers?

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]]><![CDATA[How the AI Surveillance State Just Took to The Skies...]]>https://stateoftheday.us/p/how-the-ai-surveillance-state-justhttps://stateoftheday.us/p/how-the-ai-surveillance-state-justTue, 28 Jul 2026 16:14:32 GMTWell guys, Flock just got wings.

Those street-side cameras that are already all across America, what if I told you they’re not stopping there? The same company behind the cameras are now putting autonomous surveillance drones in the sky. And depending on who you ask, it’s either the The future of public safety or the more likely option, the biggest expansion of government surveillance we’ve seen yet.

Now the company’s automated license plate readers have spread across the country creating one of the nation’s largest interconnected video surveillance networks. The drone sits inside a waterproof docking station, waiting for a call, and when a 911 report comes in, The drone can launch automatically and fly up to 60 miles per hour.

Officers don’t even have to be standing nearby. They can deploy it directly from one of these little things, a smartphone.

And this thing isn’t just flying overhead.

It’s got thermal imaging, high definition cameras, and powerful optical zoom. And well, according to Flock, it can even read a vehicle’s license plate from 2,000 feet away. That’s not terrifying at all.

We’re constantly recording and reporting everything that’s going on. And we’re using AI to monitor the video.

Well, Flock says that’s exactly the point.

The company claims that its product can help locate missing children, track dangerous suspects, monitor police pursuits, and give first responders critical information before they arrive on scene.

And that sounds great and all, but let’s be real. When you combine autonomous drones with millions of license plate scans and all its bells and whistles, and then you put it in the government’s hand, you obviously create something far more powerful than a typical police tool.

Groups like the ACLU and the Electronic Frontier Foundation argue this dramatically expands law enforcement’s ability to monitor where ordinary Americans go every day. Because flawed cameras just don’t record suspected criminals, they collect information on virtually every vehicle that passes by.

And when it’s necessary to scare enemies and on occasion kill them.

And concern has grown so much so, it’s made its way to Capitol Hill. Republican Congressman Tim Burchett recently introduced the Protection Against Mass Surveillance Act. The bill would stop federal agencies from purchasing, operating, accessing, or contracting for mass surveillance systems, including flock cameras.

Another lawmaker is taking aim at Flock as well.

Congressman Thomas Massey says he’ll soon introduce legislation cutting off federal funding for cities and police departments that use Flock or similar systems to surveil law-abiding Americans. His slogan? Don’t Flock me.

Because once drones can launch themselves, track vehicles from the sky, streamline video, and connect with one of the largest license plate databases in the country, the question isn’t just what technology can do, it’s who decides when it gets used and who can access it.

Well, those questions remain largely unanswered.

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]]><![CDATA[Meet Seattle's New Mascot]]>https://stateoftheday.us/p/meet-seattles-new-mascothttps://stateoftheday.us/p/meet-seattles-new-mascotWed, 22 Jul 2026 15:29:51 GMTSo everyone’s been asking for my opinion on the biggest story on the internet right now. And it’s not about politics. It’s Jimothy.

Yes, that’s Jimothy, not Timothy.

Now, if you haven’t been following along, Jimothy has become the internet’s newest obsession because of his bizarre and mutant-like appearance. The viral Seattle raccoon is believed to have short spine syndrome, a rare congenital condition where his vertebra fuse and compress, giving him that uniquely short round body and making it appear like he has no visible neck.

But while the internet has fallen in love with Jimothy, experts say there are real concerns about his future.

Veterinarians have warned that his condition could make survival in the wild more difficult from escaping predators to climbing trees and finding food.

One expert raised concerns to the New York Post that because Jimothy may not have the same mobility and agility as a typical raccoon, threats like dogs, cars, and other dangers could pose a bigger risk. And his condition can also be linked to issues like joint problems, compressed organs, meaning his life expectancy may be shorter than a typical raccoon.

Honestly, how dare you.

Here’s the thing though, wildlife experts also say Jimothy is currently healthy, active, and adapting to his new environment. And little do the experts know, he’s thriving and the internet is rallying around him.

People have been watching his updates, sharing his videos, and becoming emotionally invested, including myself, to this tiny raccoon with a huge fan base, even reminiscing on baby Jimothy.

And strangers who had never heard of Jimothy just a week ago are checking for updates like they’re following a sports playoff series.

But let’s face it, they’re all rooting for him, they’re sharing his story, but just don’t let Jimothy around soccer star Erling Haaland.

So in a world where the internet is usually filled with arguments, outrage, and endless negativity, millions of people have found something that we can all agree on.

We all love Jimothy.

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]]><![CDATA[How A Rental Car Return Turned Into A $10,000 Scam]]>https://stateoftheday.us/p/how-a-rental-car-return-turned-intohttps://stateoftheday.us/p/how-a-rental-car-return-turned-intoFri, 29 May 2026 18:53:34 GMTThe first rule of fighting a corporate damage claim is not to panic when the bill arrives.

That’s easier said than done when the bill is for nearly $10,000.

During our annual February snow goose hunting trip, my husband had rented a Chevy Tahoe from Hertz in Nashville and returned it at the Memphis airport a couple days later.

It was a pretty uneventful rental, aside from my husband angrily peeling out of the fourth gas station we stopped at in a row where the pumps didn’t work. Yet three months later, we received an email from Hertz demanding we pay them $9,368.15 for damages allegedly caused during the rental period.

Hertz wanted to know whether we planned to file with our insurance, use credit card benefits, or pay them directly.

There was one problem: we did not damage the car.

As a female driver, I am no stranger to backing into a pole or tapping a bumper. But I definitely would have noticed if we had scraped the entire side of the SUV like Hertz claimed we did.

Along with the payment demand, Hertz sent us a 74-page document outlining their evidence that we were the culprits.

I was determined not to let this injustice stand, so I put on my journalist cap and started digging.

A few discrepancies immediately stood out to me.

CONTINUE READING

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]]><![CDATA[The Truth Behind Democrats’ New Texas Senate Strategy]]>https://stateoftheday.us/p/the-truth-behind-democrats-new-texashttps://stateoftheday.us/p/the-truth-behind-democrats-new-texasThu, 28 May 2026 19:38:51 GMTTexas Attorney General Ken Paxton is headed to the general election after ousting longtime Republican Sen. John Cornyn in a bitter Senate primary runoff, setting up a high-stakes November fight against Democratic state Rep. James Talarico.

The primary was brutal, with Cornyn and his allies warning for months that Paxton’s personal and legal baggage could endanger a seat Republicans have held for decades. But the GOP establishment moved quickly to quash the feud. Cornyn conceded and pledged to support the Republican ticket, while top Texas Republicans, including Gov. Greg Abbott and Sen. Ted Cruz, rallied behind Paxton after his win. Paxton also struck a gracious note toward Cornyn, thanking him for his service after a bloody intraparty battle.

Democrats are betting Paxton’s baggage gives Talarico an opening. Republicans are betting Texas voters will take a closer look at the supposedly moderate Democrat’s history of Biblical revisionism and progressive opinions.

Daily Caller reporting has already documented Talarico’s record of bizarre theological and cultural positions. The Presbyterian seminary student has claimed “God is nonbinary” and argued that the Bible takes a “pro-choice” view on abortion. He has also tied Christianity to climate alarmism, saying the faith requires fighting greenhouse gases, and resurfaced posts show him bragging about pushing “#liberalpropaganda” as a public school teacher.

Then there is the meat problem. Talarico has promoted non-meat activism in Texas — a state where barbecue is practically a civic religion — while Democrats try to sell him as a heartland moderate.

Talarico is already trying to walk back to the center, dismissing his past statements as “intentionally provocative” and blaming Paxton’s team for circulating his “cringey” moments.

Paxton has liabilities, but Talarico’s own record gives Republicans a ready-made argument: he is not the moderate Democrats need Texans to believe he is.

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]]><![CDATA[The Truth Behind Alabama’s Congressional Map Fight]]>https://stateoftheday.us/p/the-truth-behind-alabamas-congressionalhttps://stateoftheday.us/p/the-truth-behind-alabamas-congressionalWed, 27 May 2026 17:47:53 GMTA federal court is trying to pull a judicial mulligan after the Supreme Court gave Alabama another shot at using its GOP-backed congressional map.

The Supreme Court threw out a lower-court order barring Alabama from using the congressional map the state adopted in 2023 and sent the dispute back to the lower court for another look. But a three-judge federal panel again blocked Alabama from using that map for the 2026 midterms.

The panel claimed the Supreme Court’s recent Voting Rights Act ruling in Louisiana v. Callais did not change its earlier conclusion that Alabama’s map was intentionally discriminatory against black voters.

“Ultimately, we cannot see our way clear to requiring Alabamians to cast their votes in the 2026 elections under a districting plan tainted by intentional race-based discrimination,” the ruling said.

The practical result is that a lower federal court is attempting to keep alive the very kind of judicial redistricting fight SCOTUS appeared to rein in. Rather than treating the Supreme Court’s ruling as a course correction, the panel doubled down on its original conclusion.

Alabama could still appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court.

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]]><![CDATA[Massie Is Out. Who’s Next?]]>https://stateoftheday.us/p/massie-is-out-whos-nexthttps://stateoftheday.us/p/massie-is-out-whos-nextWed, 20 May 2026 20:06:12 GMTPresident Donald Trump proved Tuesday night that he still has the juice to shape Republican primaries, helping oust longtime incumbent Rep. Thomas Massie in Kentucky’s 4th District and carrying Rep. Andy Barr over the finish line in the Kentucky Senate primary.

However, the Trump-backed candidate in the Georgia gubernatorial race finished in second place and will advance to a runoff.

Massie, who has represented Kentucky’s 4th District since 2012, was the race everyone was watching last night. The libertarian-minded congressman has been a thorn in Trump’s side over the past year and a half, hitting him on everything from the Epstein files to the war in Iran and the national debt. Trump backed an outside challenger, former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein, and the president’s allies — and AIPAC — dumped tons of money into the race.

Warning signs were on the horizon over the weekend as I got word from Kentucky sources that Massie’s ground game was severely lacking and the campaign was starting to get nervous.

Sure enough, Massie was ousted by about ten points. The outgoing congressman quipped during his concession speech that he “would have come out sooner but I had to call my opponent to concede and it took a while in Tel Aviv.”

Other Republican incumbents who have been pushed out by Trump over the past decade were more obvious. Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, who finished third in his recent primary, previously voted to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial. Former Reps. Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, meanwhile, voted to impeach him in the House.

Massie presented a unique challenge to Trump, as his criticism mostly came from the president’s right flank. Earlier this year, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who similarly accused Trump of not being ‘America First,’ announced she would resign from Congress after Trump threatened to back a primary challenger.

Will the president next go after those who supported Massie against his wishes, like Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert?

Adding to Tuesday night’s chaos were the results in the Kentucky Senate primary, the Georgia gubernatorial primary, and a shock endorsement from Trump.

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]]><![CDATA[Bluegrass Brawl: Trump’s Anti-Massie Push Hits Election Night]]>https://stateoftheday.us/p/bluegrass-brawl-trumps-anti-massiehttps://stateoftheday.us/p/bluegrass-brawl-trumps-anti-massieTue, 19 May 2026 19:41:44 GMTThe GOP civil war over Kentucky’s 4th District is coming down to the wire, with President Donald Trump’s effort to oust Republican Rep. Thomas Massie turning into one of the party’s marquee primary fights.

Massie is facing former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein, whom Trump endorsed after months of blasting Massie as disloyal over his support for releasing the Epstein files and his opposition to the war with Iran.

The race has increasingly become a proxy fight over Trump, foreign policy and Israel. Massie recently claimed “the Israeli lobby” was spending heavily to defeat him, and then he introduced legislation to force AIPAC to register as a foreign agent.

The Daily Caller has reported several wrinkles complicating the anti-Massie push. Gallrein raised $1.2 million in the fourth quarter after Trump backed him, but a Caller review later found that 85% of his max-out donors had a history of giving to Democrats. The Caller also reported Sunday that there are inconsistencies in Gallrein’s claims about his military service and that he went through a weird, messy divorce that involved basically paying his ex-wife “child support” for her two cats.

Team Trump sent in the big guns Monday, with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth appearing in his “personal capacity” at a pro-Gallrein rally. Sources on the ground in Kentucky tell us Tuesday night’s outcome is up in the air.

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]]><![CDATA[Trump Sparks Backlash After Iran Negotiation Remark Goes Viral]]>https://stateoftheday.us/p/trump-sparks-backlash-after-iranhttps://stateoftheday.us/p/trump-sparks-backlash-after-iranWed, 13 May 2026 20:24:27 GMTPresident Donald Trump handed Democrats a ready-made midterm attack line Tuesday when he told Daily Caller White House Correspondent Reagan Reese that Americans’ finances are not factoring into his Iran negotiations.

“The only thing that matters when I’m talking about Iran, they cannot have a nuclear weapon. I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation. I don’t think about anybody. I think about one thing: we cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon. That’s all,” Trump told Reese at the White House during a press gaggle Tuesday.

That answer may reflect a hardline national security posture, but it comes at a time when Republicans are struggling to sell Americans on their affordability message ahead of the midterms. The cost of the Iran War has ballooned to nearly $30 billion and gas prices are over $4.50 a gallon.

Sen. Cynthia Lummis, when asked about Trump’s comments, didn’t seem to believe the president meant them — which could end up being the GOP line. Either Republicans will dismiss the president’s comments as being a blip or they will follow Trump’s lead in identifying Iranian nukes as a bigger threat than the price at the pump.

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