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Weather: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2pm. Sunny and hot, with a high near 95. Monday Night: A 10 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 8pm. Mostly clear, with a low around 77.
- Daily weather briefing from the National Weather Service in Jacksonville here.
- Drought conditions here. (What is the Keetch-Byram drought index?).
- Check today’s tides in Daytona Beach (a few minutes off from Flagler Beach) here.
- Tropical cyclone activity here, and even more details here.
Today at a Glance:
The Bunnell City Commission meets at 7 p.m. at the Government Services Building, 1769 East Moody Boulevard, Bunnell, where the City Commission is holding its meetings until it is able to occupy its own City Hall on Commerce Parkway in 2025. To access meeting agendas, materials and minutes, go here.
The Flagler County Beekeepers Association holds its monthly meeting from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Flagler Agricultural Center, 150 Sawgrass Rd., Bunnell (the county fairgrounds). This is a meeting for beekeepers in Flagler and surrounding counties (and those interested in the trade). The meetings have a speaker, Q & A, and refreshments are served. It is a great way to gain support as a beekeeper or learn how to become one. All are welcome. Meetings take place the fourth Monday of every month. Contact Kris Daniels at 704-200-8075.
Nar-Anon Family Groups offers hope and help for families and friends of addicts through a 12-step program, 6 p.m. at St. Mark by the Sea Lutheran Church, 303 Palm Coast Pkwy NE, Palm Coast, Fellowship Hall Entrance. See the website, www.nar-anon.org, or call (800) 477-6291. Find virtual meetings here.
Worrisomely: From Statista: July 24 marks this year’s Earth Overshoot Day, the day that humanity’s demand for ecological resources exceeds the resources Earth can regenerate within that year. Over the decades, the ecological footprint of humans has gradually increased, all while Earth’s biocapacity, i.e. its ability to regenerate resources has diminished significantly. That has led to Earth Overshoot Day arriving earlier and earlier, moving from as late as December 31 in 1972 to mid-July in 2025 and previous years. This year’s date means that humanity is currently using nature’s resources 1.8 times faster than ecosystems can regenerate. This includes people emitting more carbon dioxide than the biosphere can absorb, using more freshwater than can be replenished and other overuse of finite natural resources. “Overshoot isn’t just the driver behind biodiversity loss, resource depletion, deforestation and the buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which intensifies extreme weather events. It also fuels stagflation, food and energy insecurity, health crises, and conflict,” the organization explains in the press release announcing this year’s Earth Overshoot Day. The last time Earth Overshoot Day moved backwards was in 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic stopped the world in its tracks, significantly reducing humanity’s resource consumption and CO2 emissions. According to recalculations based on the latest available data and accounting methods, Overshoot Day fell on August 9 that year, but quickly bounced back to July 29 in 2021, when normality gradually returned in large parts of the world. For the past three years, Earth Overshoot Day stood still on July 25 before moving one day forward this year.
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The Live Calendar is a compendium of local and regional political, civic and cultural events. You can input your own calendar events directly onto the site as you wish them to appear (pending approval of course). To include your event in the Live Calendar, please fill out this form.
July 2025
Nar-Anon Family Group
Flagler County Beekeepers Association Meeting
Bunnell City Commission Meeting
Random Acts of Insanity Standup Comedy
For the full calendar, go here.
In the Americas, the still entirely nomadic tribes continued an unrelenting war against wild animals, much as Europe and Asia had done before 10,000 BC: mammoth and giant sloth were still being hunted in 6000 BC but probably the destruction of all large types (except reindeer) was complete by 5000 BC and the cultivation of crops was, perhaps in consequence, beginning.
–From Hugh Thomas’s History of the World (1979).
Jim says
Netanyahu has committed genocide in Gaza. After Trump is gone, Netanyahu is removed from office, I sincerely hope the next leader of the USA will call a spade a spade. Israeli troops are shooting first responders and civilians routinely. Only when an outsider is on site and witnesses the atrocity does the military respond and it’s always a technical issue or they say the victim(s) did something to provoke them. And, right now, it appears that all you have to do to provoke them is be alive. They are routinely shooting people who are starving to death just because they are trying to get food for their children and themselves. They are not allowing near enough aide into Gaza to even begin to stop the starvation that is going on. We’ve seen the pictures of little children who have starved to death. How anyone can see this and say it’s justified in any way lacks any heart or compassion.
What Hamas has done is horrific and I’ve got no sympathy for them. However, for those who say all Palestinians are bad people for letting them rule, I guess you think having a gun pointed at you if/when you dissent just doesn’t cut it as an excuse. I guess it’s either die at the hands of Hamas or die from the hands of the Israelis. Either way, it appears that too many think the “final solution” is for all Palestinians to die.
Netanyahu is a war criminal. It’s not anti-Semitic to say that. Being Israeli and/or Jewish does not give anyone the right to murder thousands (68 thousand at last count). And does anyone think things will be better when this ends? You’d better kill them all because for every one killed, a new jihadis is being created. Which, of course, helps those with the “kill’em all” mindset justify these actions. And, you know, that’s really interesting since in the 1930’s to mid-40’s, there was a mindset amongst many Germans that the world would be better off without the Jews and did their best to make that a reality. I just wonder how anyone who has any awareness of that awful part of our history (I assume that still can be taught….) can accept what’s going on now by the very people who suffered so horribly then.
Pogo says
@Meanwhile
https://www.google.com/search?q=randy+fine+hebrew+hammer
Sherry says
This from Adam Kinzinger:
Behind the Headlines: How Trump Hijacked Justice
From judges to lawyers to media, Trump’s war on justice escalates.
Adam Kinzinger
Jul 28
With the lurid Jeffrey Epstein scandal in our faces every day, it’s easy to miss the bigger picture when it comes to President Trump’s judicial agenda. And that’s exactly how he wants it. The Epstein story is the perfect distraction from something far more consequential: how Trump is systematically corrupting our system of justice.
It started the moment Trump took office. He named loyalist Pam Bondi as attorney general—despite her open belief that the Department of Justice should abandon its tradition of independence and serve instead as an extension of the White House. In other words, DOJ lawyers would act as Trump’s personal legal team.
Before Bondi was even confirmed, acting Attorney General James McHenry began purging career DOJ lawyers who might resist Trump’s will. First to go were those who had prosecuted January 6 rioters—people who stormed the Capitol on Trump’s behalf in support of his deranged claim that the 2020 election was stolen. He later pardoned most of them, sending a chilling message: do Trump’s bidding, and you’ll be protected.
Others dismissed had played roles in Jack Smith’s investigations. One involved Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 election (4 felony counts). The other concerned his mishandling of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago (37 counts). Neither case went to trial—because Trump won the 2024 election. DOJ policy says sitting presidents cannot be prosecuted.
As the seasoned lawyers were driven out, McHenry declared they “could not be trusted to faithfully implement the President’s agenda.” Trump agreed—filling top posts with unqualified loyalists. Kash Patel, a far-right conspiracy theorist, was made FBI Director. His deputy? Dan Bongino, a MAGA media personality. Bondi’s deputy became Trump’s former personal attorney, Todd Blanche. Another former Trump lawyer, Alina Habba, was named U.S. Attorney for New Jersey—despite zero prosecutorial experience.
Trump then moved to punish private law firms that had represented political adversaries. Through executive order, he canceled federal contracts with them, barred their lawyers from federal buildings, and stripped them of security clearances. Some firms folded under pressure—Skadden Arps, for instance, agreed to provide $100 million in pro bono work for Trump-friendly causes. Others fought back in court—and won. But Trump had made his point.
He also targeted media outlets. Paramount, parent of CBS, recently paid $16 million to settle a Trump lawsuit over “60 Minutes.” ABC News paid a similar amount in December. Just days ago, Trump sued The Wall Street Journal and Rupert Murdoch.
His DOJ has weaponized delay. Even when they lose in court, they flood the system with frivolous appeals. According to a Washington Post investigation, Trump’s DOJ simply ignores 35% of substantive rulings in key cases. In one incident, the administration defied a judge’s order to return an immigrant wrongly deported to a dangerous Salvadoran prison—taking two months to comply.
When defiance isn’t enough, Trump lashes out at the judiciary. He’s called judges “radical left lunatics,” “frauds,” and “psychos,” and has demanded their impeachment. His advisor Stephen Miller—his own personal hatchet man—has labeled the judiciary “Marxist” and “tyrannical.”
It’s working. A Pew Research report from April found that only 15% of Americans believe federal judges are fair. The U.S. Marshals Service announced in May that threats against judges have surged.
Meanwhile, Trump continues dodging accountability for his close ties to the convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Despite past promises, he now refuses to release federal Epstein files—likely because they could show just how close the relationship really was. Even his MAGA base is turning on him over this betrayal- for now.
But while the Epstein scandal makes headlines, the deeper crisis is what Trump is doing to the rule of law itself.
In 2018, when then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions wouldn’t bend to his will, Trump erupted: “Where’s my Roy Cohn?” He meant: Where’s the ruthless fixer who will bend the law to serve me?
Roy Cohn, Trump’s mentor, was one of the most corrupt lawyers in American history—architect of McCarthy’s witch hunts, defender of mobsters, and a master of smear tactics. When the DOJ sued Trump for racial discrimination in housing, Cohn countersued for $100 million and called federal prosecutors “Nazi stormtroopers.” It worked. The government caved. Lesson learned: Intimidation works.
Now, Trump’s second term is filled with Roy Cohns—handpicked loyalists who don’t serve the Constitution, but the man. They bend justice. They smear judges. They ignore court rulings. And far too many Americans aren’t paying attention.
While this is working so far, the key to whether it is long term successful is whether we collectively are intimidated, or refuse to be. South Park, refused to be. Columbia University, was intimidated. They only have as much power as they are allowed, and we need to stop allowing them to win. They are small people.
Ray W, says
Researchers affiliated with the University of Birmingham published an article about Norway’s discovery of a 70-billion-ton equivalency deposit of phosphate rock in the southwest of Norway, a find that is expected to nearly double the world’s known reserves of phosphate rock.
90% of the world’s current demand for phosphates is in the agricultural sector. But the rise of lithium-ferrous-phosphate EV batteries is requiring an ever-greater share of the phosphate marketplace. While fertilizers do not need higher-grade forms of phosphate rock, EV batteries do need the higher grades in order to make “high purity phosphoric acid.” The publication about the recent Norwegian find does not list the percentage of the higher-grade phosphate rock in the deposit. If the percentage is high, then the find will be of greater overall value.
While many already know of phosphate’s importance in the manufacture of synthetic fertilizers, phosphate’s use in the EV battery sector is a more recent discovery.
The Norwegian deposit is anticipated to meet worldwide demand for phosphate for the next 50 years.
Many nations have listed phosphate as a “critical material”, meaning that it is not only “economically important” but it is also at risk of becoming in short supply. Prior to the Norwegian find, 85% of the world’s known phosphate reserves were unevenly located in just five countries, with Morocco holding a 70% share of those five countries’ reserves.
The earliest date of opening a Norwegian phosphate mine is 2028, should the project be fast-tracked.
Make of this what you will.
Ray W, says
Immediately after the Australian government “eased” biosecurity restrictions on U.S. beef, President Trump announced on Truth Social:
“We are going to sell so much beef to Australia because this is undeniable and irrefutable proof that U.S. Beef is the safest and best in the entire world.”
Make of this what you will.
Me?
Thank goodness I devoted so much time to pointing out to FlaglerLive readers that the U.S. is currently in perhaps the worst position it has occupied in more than 70 years to export much of any beef at all.
Due to ongoing drought and a years-long rise in feed prices, the U.S. cattle head count is the lowest it has been since 1951. Steak and ground beef prices are at all-time highs. According to analysts, it will take years for the anemic U.S. cattle head count to return to normal. In recent years, Australia has been the nation to export to the U.S. more and more of its beef.
According to a Benzinga article, in 2024 the U.S. exported 269 tons of beef to Australia. For the innumerate among us who fall for the lies issued by the professional lying class that sits at the top of one of our two political parties, that is less than one ton of beef per day. In that same 2024 year, Australia exported to the U.S. 400,000 tons of beef.
Does any FlaglerLive reader believe that if steak and ground beef for the domestic marketplace is selling at an all-time high because there are too few cattle in the U.S. to meet demand, then Australian buyers are suddenly going to pay record high prices to buy more than a miniscule amount of beef from us and then pay even more money to ship the beef all the way to Australia?
Ray W, says
During a July 22nd reception for Republican lawmakers, according to the Washington Post, President Trump once again falsely claimed that gasoline prices had fallen to $1.99 per gallon at the pump, this time in five different states, to Republican applause.
He promised the legislators that he would drive down drug prices by 1,500%, even though it is numerically impossible to drive any price down by more than 100%.
And he stated that businesses had invested $16 trillion in the American economy in the last four months when the total GDP for the nation was just under $30 trillion in 2024.
The Post reporter spoke to a math professor at Wellesley College, who said that people will “seize on numbers offered by politicians they trust as confirmation of the preexisting worldview.” He added: “Trump is an egregious example, but it’s not limited to him, nor did he invent this. … It’s like absolute, final, immutable truth — when you throw out a number or graph or chart statistic, people tend to believe it.”
But numbers need to be scrutinized, the professor stated: “A consequence of bath math education is we are just scared of math, and therefore not in the habit of questioning it, scrutinizing it or looking at it critically. … That makes it an effective tool because anything that scares us can be used as a tactic of manipulation, and politicians absolutely know this.”
Make of this what you will.
Ray W, says
According to The Travel, there is one U.S. state that Canadians are still visiting, albeit still in fewer numbers than last year. Maine’s May border crossings from Canada were down 27% from last year.
But Maine, long jokingly said to be Canada’s 11th province, saw busy crowds of Americans and Canadians at Maine’s “Old Orchard Beaches” the weekend before Canada Day, July 1st.
Make of this what you will.
Ray W, says
Ford just announced a pending release into the Chinese car marketplace of BEV and EREV versions of its line of Broncos; they will not be sold here, at least as of now. Dimensions for the Chinese versions are somewhat larger than that for American Broncos, wider than anything available in the U.S., and some nine inches longer than the U.S. Bronco four-door and two feet longer than the Bronco Sport.
The EREV carries a 43.7 kWh lithium-ferrous-phosphate (LFP) battery that offers a range of around 130 miles before the gas-powered engine kicks on to charge the battery. Total range is plus or minus 750 miles.
The BEV Bronco incorporates a 105.4 kWh LFP battery; it should have an all-electric range of just over 400 miles.
Two electric motors, providing some 245 hp and all-wheel drive, are available in either iteration.
Price for either model is not yet available.
Make of this what you will.
Sherry says
Take a look at the latest Polls. . . trump’s approval rating is still in the dumper while the majority say the country is headed in the WRONG direction.
For those who say the Democrats are polling badly. . . interestingly in Congress the Democrats are polling slightly better than the Republicans. Me, I’m extremely disappointed in the Democratic party. Their leadership has been very weak since Nancy Pelosi is not longer leader in the House. They have always been way too consensus driven.
Saying that, the Republicans have become a cult lead by a convicted felon who is also guilty of sexual assault. . . despicable!!!
Ray W, says
Chevron’s on-again, off-again oil and gas licenses to pump Venezuelan oil seems to be on again, so long as no taxes or royalties are paid to the Maduro regime, which position seems to match the same framework for the license issued to Chevron last year by the Biden administration.
The Wall Street Journal reports that earlier this year, the Trump administration, after prompting by hardline opposition coming from Marco Rubio and some of the Florida Republicans in Congress, pulled the Biden-era licenses. The pulling of the licenses set off other MAGA “acolytes”, as they thought pulling the licenses could eventually turn over Venezuela’s oil and gas fields to Chinese control.
Venezuela’s oil output ranges between 900,000 and 1,000,000 barrels per day.
Make of this what you will.
Ray W, says
The Cool Down reports that after “extreme” drought this past September, which drought lowered the water level in the marshes enough to dry up crawfish burrows, and a winter cold spell in the Louisiana bayou that stunned the crawfish that had retreated into their nearly dry burrows, thereby interrupting their molting and feeding activities, plus salt water intrusion into 25% of Louisiana’s 300,000 acres of crawfish farms that produce 90% of the nation’s product, prices have jumped from $2 or $3 per pound to $10 or $20 per pound.
The industry stands to lose $140 million this year. A farmer told the reporter that it will take four to five years for the industry to recover.
Make of this what you will.
Some FlaglerLive readers will claim that Biden is responsible, for the rising prices as they always do. They will be wrong, as they so often are.
Others will blame the Trump administration for the rising food prices. They, too, will be wrong.
Me?
Drought, low water levels, and salt-water intrusion leading to increased susceptibility to crawfish health during normal winter weather and an entire year’s harvest can be lost. Just like cattle ranchers who sold off their herds early year after year, due to drought and rising feed prices, once a population base of a food product is lost, it takes time to recover.