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Weather: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 2pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 91. Heat index values as high as 108. Calm wind becoming east 5 to 8 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. Wednesday Night: A chance of showers and thunderstorms before 2am, then a slight chance of showers. Partly cloudy, with a low around 76. Light and variable wind. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
- 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 Palm Coast Code Enforcement Board meets at 10 a.m. every first Wednesday of the month at City Hall. For agendas, minutes, and audio access to the meetings, go here. For details about the city’s code enforcement regulations, go here.
Palm Coast Council and County Commission Joint Workshop on Animal Control services: The two local governments discuss whether, and how, to possibly jointly operate animal control services in the city and the county as both governments continue to wrestle with their contracts involving Flagler Humane Society. The meeting is at 5:30 p.m. at the Government Services Building, 1769 East Moody Boulevard, Bunnell.
Palm Coast Residential Drainage Committee meeting at 6 p.m. at City Hall.
Separation Chat, Open Discussion: The Atlantic Chapter of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State hosts an open, freewheeling discussion on the topic here in our community, around Florida and throughout the United States, noon to 1 p.m. at Pine Lakes Golf Club Clubhouse Pub & Grillroom (no purchase is necessary), 400 Pine Lakes Pkwy, Palm Coast (0.7 miles from Belle Terre Parkway). Call (386) 445-0852 for best directions. All are welcome! Everyone’s voice is important. For further information email [email protected] or call Merrill at 804-914-4460.
The Flagler Beach Library Book Club meets at 1 p.m. at the library, 315 South Seventh Street, Flagler Beach.
Weekly Chess Club for Teens, Ages 9-18, at the Flagler County Public Library: Do you enjoy Chess, trying out new moves, or even like some friendly competition? Come visit the Flagler County Public Library at the Teen Spot every Wednesday from 4 to 5 p.m. for Chess Club. Everyone is welcome, for beginners who want to learn how to play all the way to advanced players. For more information contact the Youth Service department 386-446-6763 ext. 3714 or email us at [email protected]
The Circle of Light Course in Miracles study group meets at a private residence in Palm Coast every Wednesday at 1:20 PM. There is a $2 love donation that goes to the store for the use of their room. If you have your own book, please bring it. All students of the Course are welcome. There is also an introductory group at 1:00 PM. The group is facilitated by Aynne McAvoy, who can be reached at [email protected] for location and information.
The Flagler County Republican Club holds its monthly meeting starting with a social hour at 5 and the business meeting at 6 p.m. at the Hilton Garden Inn, 55 Town Center Blvd., Palm Coast. The club is the social arm of the Republican Party of Flagler County, which represents over 40,000 registered Republicans. Meetings are open to Republicans only.
In one of my favorite places on the planet, two of my favorite people on the planet, whose absence from the scene, politically anyway, explains the metastasizing stupidity around us. Today is Colleen‘s birthday: I’d never made the connection between her birth in 1968 and Hiroshima in 1945. Not that there is a meaningful connection other than the date. She happens to share a birthday (and a sense of humor) with Lucille Ball (1911) and Andy Warhol, and with the first-ever execution by electrocution (at Auburn prison in Upstate New York; Colleen was a city girl). As conjunctions go, Colleen’s would be with the anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, which preceded hers by three years. She’s not too absent anymore than Bob has been, at least in some circles. Did you happen to catch her latest here? “Stop the Grift: Florida’s School Vouchers Are Scamming Taxpayers and Sabotaging Democracy.” She needs to be like Eleanor and write a daily column.
—P.T.
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.
August 2025
Free For All Fridays With Host David Ayres on WNZF
Friday Blue Forum
Flagler Beach Farmers Market
Coffee With Flagler Beach Commission Chair Scott Spradley
Grace Community Food Pantry on Education Way
For the full calendar, go here.
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The Cartoon and Live Briefing Archive.
Dennis C Rathsam says
TRUMP cartoons, shows the intelect of fools. The man has accomplish more things in 6 months than any other president in history. TRUMP is #2 FDR was #1! TRUMP contines excell! He is the only president, that works for FREE! He has remodeled the Whitehouse without spending 1 tax payer dime! Name a Democrat that did that……. I,LL wait.
Ray W, says
Fox Business is reporting that a “leading economist” is inferring that DOGE jobs cuts and layoffs may be responsible for the downward adjustment to the May and June jobs figures.
Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody’s Analytics, told the reporter:
“Any notion that the economic data misrepresents the reality of how the economy is performing is way off base. The data always suffers big revisions when the economy is at an inflection point, like a recession. … It’s thus not at all surprising that we are seeing big downward revisions to the payroll employment numbers. …
“Particularly given the DOGE cuts — not because the BLS has had to cut staff, although that can’t help, but because the government often reports payrolls to the BLS late. This didn’t matter much when government employment was stable, but now that government jobs are declining, the cuts are being picked up in the revisions.”
Make of this what you will.
Me?
A prominent and respected economist is approached by a Fox Business reporter to talk about the recent downward revisions to the monthly paychecks added or subtracted numbers for April and May. The economist says it may be explained by the federal government’s delays in filing its responses to BLS surveyors.
Then, when the federal government finally gets around to answering the surveys, the BLS economists factor the now overdue data into its previously released figures, and the revised jobs gained numbers tank
Makes sense to me.
If the economist is accurate in his explanation, then it was the Trump administration that botched the filing of its firing and layoff actions.
When the administration got around to filing the data, late, BLS researchers then revised downwards the previously issued monthly releases. Since the new numbers looked bad, President Trump fired the BLS director. The real culprit is the Trump administration and not the more independent BLS leader, but, hey, somebody has to pay!
Ray W, says
More from the Fox Business article.
Two days ago, Mr. Zandi posted to X that the U.S. “economy is on the precipice of recession.”, citing to recently released inflation data and paychecks added data.
He also wrote: “Consumer spending has flatlined, construction and manufacturing are contracting, and employment is set to fall. And with inflation on the rise, it is tough for the Fed to come to the rescue.”
Mr. Zandi explained that “labor force growth has gone sideways”, as the number of foreign-born workers is declining right alongside a decline in the labor force participation rate. Also of note is an “economy-wide hiring freeze, particularly for recent graduates, and the decline in hours worked.”
Make of this what you will.
Ray W, says
Some eight months ago, Barron’s ran an article about the impact artificial intelligence was having on the drilling industry.
Here are some bullet points from the article:
– SLB, the world’s largest oil-services company, is leading the charge on interpreting data derived from 3D imaging technology. What once took 18 months for experts to interpret ultrasound imaging data now takes 18 days with AI assistance. Said SLB’s digital business director, Rakesh Jaggi, “From the time you shoot a seismic until the time you can plan a well in a place like the Gulf of Mexico is now measured in days.”
– And there is an instance of an AI interpretation of seismic imaging data saving a drilling company $170 million. The company had already decided to drill on a particular site. AI interpretation of the seismic imaging data found a geologic fault that convinced the drilling company to change plans on where to drill.
– While oil exploration was once a mechanical endeavor it is now also a digital enterprise, relying on ground sensors that record large quantities of data that is best interpreted by AI programs. Today, company workers can sit at a desk hundreds of miles away from wells where they constantly adjust remote equipment such as valves based on what they learn from the software, adjustments that used to be made by workers on the well sites.
– A Chevron-developed AI program now automatically detects methane leaks and shuts down sites without human intervention. Methane “flaring” at company wells has been cut by 60%.
Make of this what you will.
Me?
I have already commented about the use of AI software to review mining documents, some dating back from more than 100 years ago. Once the AI program taught itself how to read the ancient mining document symbols on maps, the program advised a mining company where to perform additional exploratory bores in an African nation already pocked with working copper mines. The new bores revealed one of the world’s richest reserves of copper ore.
Pogo says
@Make of it what you will
From the year of my birth
https://www.google.com/search?q=9+billion+names+of+god+clarke
Ed P says
Mark Zandi is a respected economist.
His alarming predictions ( too numerous to list) since November 2024 have all missed the mark. Possibly reinforcing the reality that the global reset is in uncharted territory and the outcome is impossible to forecast.
So what’s the value of restating that Zandi thinks the country is on the precipice of a recession?
Just more negative fodder for who?
Look outside, the sun is shining, that’s about as useful as any analysis.
Sherry says
This cartoon speaks the truth in volumes!
When a narcissistic megalomaniac is in such a powerful position the motive for every decision is all about him and his image and his accumulation of even more power and wealth. To hell with the constitution, law and order, due process, justice, facts, ethics, integrity! Fire anyone who does not “kiss the ring” of the lord and master and “lie” to twist “everything” to make the “lord and master” look good!!!
Sherry says
Meanwhile, trump’s justice department just “hired” a MONSTER. . . This from Adam Kinzinger:
The DOJ Just Hired a Man Who Cheered for Cops to Be Killed
He called Capitol police “Nazis” and screamed “Kill ’em!” Now he’s working at the Department of Justice.
Adam Kinzinger
Aug 7
Once upon a time—not long ago—the Department of Justice meant something. It stood as the last line of defense for a constitutional republic under assault. It was supposed to be the place where no man, no movement, no mob could rise above the law. It was where democracy showed its teeth against those who tried to replace it with violence.
But this week, the DOJ sent a different message. And that message was simple: If you try to overthrow democracy for the right person, we will protect you. If you scream for police officers to be killed in service of the right cause, we will reward you. If you choose the side of authoritarianism, the Department of Justice under Donald Trump will welcome you back with open arms.
Meet Jared Wise.
He’s not a cartoon villain. He’s not some unhinged guy in a fur hat. He’s not even your average MAGA rioter swept up in delusion and peer pressure. No—he was once a supervisory agent with the FBI. A man trained in law enforcement. A man who took an oath. A man who knew better.
And yet on January 6, 2021, Jared Wise stood in the middle of a violent mob and cheered as his fellow Americans—police officers—were beaten, brutalized, and overwhelmed. He screamed at those same officers, calling them Nazis. He shouted, “You are the Gestapo, you can’t see it?” And then, as if channeling every ounce of hatred and rage into a single command, he screamed, “Kill ’em! Kill ’em! Kill ’em!”
That’s not hyperbole. That’s on body camera footage. That’s not disputed. That’s not in question.
And this week, the man who incited violence against police officers in defense of a lie—the Big Lie—was rewarded with a job inside the Department of Justice.
Let that sink in. The man who urged the killing of police officers is now employed at the DOJ.
Not in a clerical role. Not sweeping the floors. He’s been brought in to work on the DOJ’s so-called “Weaponization Working Group,” which exists not to defend justice, but to hunt those who once dared to investigate him and his fellow rioters. The unit is a revenge operation, plain and simple. A tool to turn the Justice Department into a weapon against the very concept of accountability.
When asked about it, the DOJ didn’t deny it. They didn’t backtrack or explain. They said, with no irony at all, “Jared Wise is a valued member of the Justice Department. We appreciate his contributions.”
This is a man who stood in the middle of an insurrection and screamed for police officers to be killed. And the Department of Justice—of the United States of America—is publicly thanking him for his contributions.
Ask yourself: What if this were reversed? What if a former Black Lives Matter activist had screamed “Kill ’em!” at police during a riot, and was then hired by a Democratic administration’s DOJ? Would Republicans shrug that off? Would Fox News let it go? Of course not. They’d be howling for blood. There’d be investigations, hearings, and threats of impeachment before the week was out.
But when the insurrectionist is one of their own, the rules are different. This isn’t about fairness or law. It’s about power. The lesson of Jared Wise is simple: If you’re loyal to the strongman, you’re untouchable. If you’re willing to do violence in his name, there will be a job for you.
This isn’t a mistake. This isn’t a blunder. It’s the plan. Replace the system. Reward the loyal. Rewrite the meaning of justice until it has none.
And yet—we don’t have to accept this.
Yes, this is a dark moment. It should be. It’s supposed to be. But we’ve lived through worse, and we’re still here. That’s not because of institutions or slogans. It’s because people stood up when it counted.
Now it counts.
If you believe in the rule of law, speak. If you believe violence should be punished, not rewarded, act. If you believe the Department of Justice still matters, don’t look away.
Because this is the fight. Not next year. Not in theory. Now.
The man who screamed “Kill ’em!” is working for the Justice Department. That should shake you to your core.
But it should also wake you up. I firmly believe anyone associated with Trump, someday, will be shunned from society.
And maybe that’s the one thing they didn’t count on.
Sherry says
CHARACTER MATTERS. . . A tiny example of what happens when an trustworthy “morally bankrupt” person is given almost unlimited powers.
This from the AP:
TORONTO (AP) — The leader of Canada’s most populous province said Wednesday he doesn’t trust U.S. President Donald Trump and expects the president to soon reopen the free trade agreement he agreed to in his first term.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said the federal government needs to prepare for that to happen this fall.
Ford made the comments after the country’s provincial premiers and Prime Minister Mark Carney met in private for the first time since Trump escalated his trade war by hitting Canada with a baseline 35% tariff last week.
The dude says
I don’t even come here for the cartoons… I come here to laugh at Dennis yelling at the sky…
Ray W, says
You might be right, Ed P. But are you convinced that all of his predictions have missed the mark? Is it most, or many, or some, or a few? Either way, thank you for doing some of your job, instead of insisting that others need to do your job for you.
I agree with you on the importance of patience when looking at economic predictions. But one of the points Mr. Zandi is making this time is that if the federal government delayed the filing of its normal monthly responses to BLS survey questions, and if the delayed reporting included somewhat higher numbers of federal workers losing their jobs in those two prior months, then it is hard to justify blaming the BLS for revising downwards its jobs data for the two relevant previous months. The BLS would have had to revise its previously issued reports downward. If Mr. Zandi is correct in this, then your comment that he has been wrong every time since late 2024 is flawed. Even I, who have pointed out how often you have been wrong in many of your comments, acknowledge how often you might be right.
And I am glad to read in this comment that you are beginning to be more circumspect in some of your claims.
What’s next for you? Are you going to stop referring to “libs” as if they are one monolithic bloc? Will you cease your comments that all libs act in only one way? That would be an important step up for your quality of commenting. The reality is that there are many different types of liberals out there.
For example, I am a liberal who presents to FlaglerLive readers as being far more conservative than many of the FlaglerLive commenters who claim that they are conservative. Of course, the only reason I can type with any legitimacy that I am more conservative than most FlaglerLive commenters who falsely claim to be conservative is because I have taken the time to study and learn the many meanings inhering in the definition of the conservative tradition.
Is it reasonable to argue that once anyone gains a more complete understanding of what true conservatism means, it then becomes easier for one to spot the fake conservatives? Without foundation of that specialized knowledge, certain FlaglerLive commenters simply cannot see that they are no longer conservative.
A more accurate and proper form of comment you could adopt would be for you to point out that “some” or “many” liberals act in ways that you oppose, but that not all of them deserve opposition. This is why I do not say that all Republicans have stopped being conservative in my comments. Only some of today’s Republicans are no longer conservative. Is there any FlaglerLive commenter out there who believes that lie laundering is a conservative value?
And I use the term the “vengeful among us” to recognize that not all Republicans are vengeful. I know that Republicans come in many different stripes. Those who hate “the other” deserve opposition. I know that it’s been over four years, but I have yet to see a self-identified Republican use the FlaglerLive site to oppose the local elected Republican politician who took to the radio to ask listeners just when would it be time to begin beheading Democrats. There cannot be “two sides” to this position. The vengeful among us must be opposed, regardless of political sympathies.
Laurel says
So, this is the kind of governing y’all want your children to look up to, or become?
Kristi Noem is advertising for people to join ICE. She said there is no age cap. Let’s see…in Orwell’s “1984” little kids had uniforms, and were trained to be spies for Big Brother. They turn people in to the party. Since they were young, and impressionable, it was easy to manipulate them into turning in their own parents. They turned in their neighbors. They turned in friends. It was a game to them. Some fun, huh?
Now we have daddy’s party in charge. Only the “best of the best” in his cabinet, like a bunch of commentators from Fox Entertainment. Yes men and yes women, well, a few women anyway. All with long hair and doorknocker crosses on their chests.
You know, it’s interesting that “1984” went from being required reading in schools, to being banned in some cases. Well, it’s good to know that the book can still be bought in book stores, so far. I would recommend it.
Derek says
May we please stop with the small penis shaming? Donald Trump might be hung like a horse, & it wouldn’t make a difference one way or another.
Sherry says
Hi Ray W.
I have little patience for those who consider “one” lie to be exactly the same is “one thousand” lies. Whose own lack of personal character has completely blinded them to the understanding that acting with high moral principles establishes the “trust” that is so vital and fundamental to the success of any leader.
Without the ability to “think and act” ethically, and from a place of integrity, no amount of “intellectual rigor” will be convincing because the premise is fatally flawed.
Sherry says
OOPS! Please pardon my mistake in my first comment. . . the word is “UNtrustworthy”