To include your event in the Briefing and Live Calendar, please fill out this form.
Weather: Sunny. Highs in the upper 50s. Friday Night: Mostly clear. Lows in the mid 30s.
- 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 Cold-Weather Shelter known as the Sheltering Tree will open tonight: The shelter opens at Church on the Rock at 2200 North State Street in Bunnell as the overnight temperature is expected to fall to 40 or below. It will open from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m. The shelter is open to the homeless and to the nearly-homeless: anyone who is struggling to pay a utility bill or lacks heat or shelter and needs a safe, secure place for the night. The shelter will serve dinner and breakfast. Call 386-437-3258, extension 105 for more information. Flagler County Transportation offers free bus rides from pick up points in the county, starting at 3 p.m., at the following locations and times:
- Dollar General at Publix Town Center, 3:30 p.m.
- Near the McDonald’s at Old Kings Road South and State Road 100, 4 p.m.
- Dollar Tree by Carrabba’s and Walmart, 4:30 p.m.
- Palm Coast Main Branch Library, 4:45 p.m.
Also: - Dollar General at County Road 305 and Canal Avenue in Daytona North, 4 p.m.
- Bunnell Free Clinic, 4:30 p.m.
- First United Methodist Church in Bunnell, 4:30 p.m.
The shelter is run by volunteers of the Sheltering Tree, a non-profit under the umbrella of the Flagler County Family Assistance Center, is a non-denominational civic organization. The Sheltering Tree is in need of donations. See the most needed items here, and to contribute cash, donate here or go to the Donate button at this page.
Free For All Fridays with Host David Ayres, an hour-long public affairs radio show featuring local newsmakers, personalities, public health updates and the occasional surprise guest, starts a little after 9 a.m. after FlaglerLive Editor Pierre Tristam’s Reality Check. Today’s guest: Ken Belshe, who represents the Veranda Bay and Summertown developments in Flagler Beach. See previous podcasts here. On WNZF at 94.9 FM, 1550 AM, and live at Flagler Broadcasting’s YouTube channel.
The Flagler County Cultural Council (FC3) meets at 11 a.m. at the Tourism Development Office, 120 Airport Road, Palm Coast, in the 3rd-floor conference room. The meetings are open to the public. Contact [email protected] for additional information.
The Friday Blue Forum, a discussion group organized by local Democrats, meets at 12:15 p.m. at the Flagler Democratic Office at 160 Cypress Point Parkway, Suite C214 (above Cue Note) at City Marketplace. Come and add your voice to local, state and national political issues.
‘Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill,’ the Billie Holiday Story, at City Rep Theatre: at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday Jan. 9-10 and Jan. 16-17, and at 3 p.m. Sunday Jan. 11 and 18. Performances will be in CRT’s black box theater at City Marketplace, 160 Cypress Point Parkway, Suite B207, Palm Coast. Tickets: $30 adults, $15 students, available online at crtpalmcoast.com, by calling 386-585-9415, or at the venue one-half hour before showtime. The play contains mature language. Set in 1959 a few months before Holiday’s death, Robertson’s semi-fictionalized work imagines one of Lady Day’s last performances, in a seedy South Philadelphia bar, as she’s accompanied by her pianist. With both body and psyche bruised by her tortured, drug-addled life, Lady Day – a nickname given her by her saxophonist friend Lester Young – delivers lengthy, revelatory monologues between performing such songs as “What a Little Moonlight Can Do,” “Gimme a Pigfoot (And a Bottle of Beer),” “T’ain’t Nobody’s Business If I Do” and the classics “God Bless the Child” and the chilling “Strange Fruit,” about the lynching of Black people in the American South. See FlaglerLive’s preview, “Capturing the Essence: Laniece Fagundes Returns as Billie Holiday at City Rep’s ‘Lady Day’.”
The Drive-in Laser Light Show, Flagler County Fairgrounds, 150 Sawgrass Road, Bunnell, three shows–at 7, 9 and 10:30 p.m. $35 per carload. See details here.
Dennis C Rathsam says
Whom do you trust to do the right thing in Venesula? China? Russia? 0r TRUMP? Just another TDS cartoon.
Nephew Of Uncle Sam says
At this point in the history of America as we approach our Semiquincentennial I’ll take any one other than the 34 Time Convicted Felon Grifter and his buddy Putin.
Skibum says
Give me a friggin break! Those are your only choices of who to trust in Venezuela, Dennis??? You might as well have asked which one would the European countries have been better to trust in 1939… Mussolini? Satan? Or HITLER?
If that is all that your mind can possibly conjure up for the entirety of possibilities of people who might be better placed to bring Venezuela out of the grips of the Maduro regime, your question smacks of being nonserious and I am very glad you are not in a position to make any such recommendation! How about Maria Machado… you know, the one who actually garnered the plurality of votes by Venezuelan citizens when Maduro had the ballots confiscated and declared himself the winner? How about her? I’m quite sure there are a number of other qualified Venezuelan members of Maduro’s opposition who are right there in Venezuela now, ready and able to help if given the chance.
But Russia? NOT! China? NOT! Trump? Absofrigginlutely NOT!!! He just wants to steal all of their oil and proclaim himself emperor for life of the entire western hemisphere.
BillC says
Mr Wrathsom squawks like a parrot in a cage that’s next to a TV tuned to Fox News all day and night. btw- “Venesula”? Squaaaaaaawk!
Pogo says
@Elsewhere, and otherwise
Alternet
Low-income MAGA voters ‘duped’ by Trump are about to face their worst economy yet: analysis
Story by Sarah K. Burris
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/low-income-maga-voters-duped-by-trump-are-about-to-face-their-worst-economy-yet-analysis/ar-AA1UhzAs?ocid=nl_article_link
Camera 2
Trump is preparing to unleash inflation on his own voters
Seizing control of monetary policy may give the President a mid-term boost – but poorer Americans will pay the price
By Will Dunn
https://www.newstatesman.com/international-politics/2026/01/trump-is-preparing-to-unleash-inflation-on-his-own-voters
Trump Miracle Diet (and lobotomy)!!!
Eat up — the more you swallow, the less you’ll weigh; read the classics by sitting on them, and learn how to turn lead into a flotation device.
All for a one time payment: your soul.
Laurel says
The murderous pirate runs away with the stolen oil, as he gives you the finger and yells “fuck you.” But don’t worry, you can apply for the Trump card, and pay off your tariff consumption tax, on your Trump card, with the two faced Trump coin, or the “Eric Trump” bitcoin. No worries!
Amazing!
By the way, where are the Epstein files, that the Attorney General of the United States of America was ordered, by Federal Court, to produce a month ago? Maybe if Trump starts a war against American citizens, or threaten our allies, “Whether they like it or not,” we’ll all forget about the files.
Then again, maybe Bondi should be disbarred.
Then again…maybe the pirate should be put in jail, after all, he is a felon who hasn’t served his time.
Laurel says
…Ordered by Congress. Trump signed the order. Trump ran his campaign on releasing the Epstein files. Bondi in contempt of Congress.
Oh well, I guess it’s who you know.
When you think about it, Trump has gotten away with 34 felonies, an adjudicated rape (only by his minions), ignoring the Emoluments Clause, broken International Law, backed the killing of people in the Caribbean, ignored the Constitution he vowed to uphold, threatened to execute Senators, is causing chaos in U.S. cities, and on, and on, and on, yet his supporters still back him faithfully. With that in mind, can you imagine what would be about him in the Epstein files that he is working so hard at hiding? Must be a dilly! I sure would like to know.
Pogo says
@More from the bottomless pit
“Report: ICE agent who killed Renee Good is a millionaire following donations…”
“…GiveSendGo campaign creator Tom Hennessey called Good ‘a radical leftist agitator’ and urged ‘America First patriots’ to help support ‘fearless’ Ross (pictured) who ‘fired in self-defense to neutralize the threat’. The campaign has raised more than $279,000. Although most of the more than 21,000 donations have been contributed anonymously, billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman- who endorsed Donald Trump in the 2024 election- was listed as the top donor on the GoFundMe.”
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/report-ice-agent-who-killed-renee-good-is-a-millionaire-following-donations/ss-AA1UlSj5?ocid=nl_article_link#interstitial=1
Ray W. says
According to an Oil Price US story, Harold Hamm, CEO of Continental Energy, the company that proved the efficacy of fracking for oil and natural gas in North Dakota’s vast Bakken shale formation, ordered that his company cease all drilling activity in North Dakota for the first time in more than 30 years.
The reason?
West Texas International crude oil prices have settled in at prices at or below breakeven production costs. In 2025, drilling costs in the Bakken, on average, are up 4% to $58 per barrel.
Said Hamm during a Bloomberg interview:
“There is no reason to drill [in the Bakken] when margins are basically gone.”
He added:
“A lot of people are assessing their activity in all the basins.”
Make of this what you will.
Me?
According to AAA, the national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline at the pump is $2.84, down from $3.11 per gallon a year ago.
With OPEC having increased production over the past year by an announced more than 2 million barrels per day, though actual increases are less than the announced figures, there is a glut of oil in the international oil marketplace, a glut that has driven down the price of oil, and consequently the price of gas.
The EIA predicts that daily US oil production levels will stagnate this year.
Yes, one of the several inveterate lie launderers who populate the FlaglerLive site recently claimed that gas prices are down by $1 this year, parroting one of the more commonly accepted lies about American energy prices. Every FlaglerLive reader ought to know by now that no one should take at face value anything submitted by this particular lie launderer. 27 cents per gallon adds up and I will happily pay less at the pump, but 27 cents is not a dollar and the commenter knows this, but lie launderers are compelled to launder lies; it is in their nature.
Pierre Tristam says
Ray is back! We were beginning to get concerned. Happy New Year Ray. Next time you take such a long leave, please check with FlaglerLive HR to make sure we can spare the absence.
Pogo says
@Hello Ray
I join Mr. Tristam — and am very glad of this.
Trump is breaking everything and behaving like a fanboy of everything the Republican Party, once upon a time, opposed to the death — or defended likewise, e g.: price controls, federal authority primacy, free trade, a united front when speaking to the rest of mankind, et cetera.
A single unfit, unworthy, infantile slob plows through the world like an unending storm. God help us — even, as so many are undeserving of God’s grace.
Ray W. says
According to a second Oil Price US story, at the dawn of the Shale Revolution in 2008, the Big Five US oil extractors had a “free cash flow” of $101 billion, a year when crude oil prices hovered around $100 per barrel.
Free cash flow has been defined as the remainder of gross income less all capital expenses.
In 2025, the Big Five had a free cash flow of $98 billion. In 2022, Total Energies, BP, Chevron, She’ll and Exxon had a free cash flow of $194 billion.
Make of this what you will.
Me?
American oil producers did not ramp up production when OPEC voted in February 2021 to cut production. The announced reason was that OPEC wanted to reduce supply in order to maximize the value of its oil. For the first time since the Shale Revolution, American energy extractors did not rapidly increase production to counter OPEC’s reductions. Then, Russia invaded the Ukraine. Prices for oil products, including gasoline, shot upward. A number of lawsuits were filed, in which the plaintiffs claimed that the American companies unlawfully gouged their customers. The companies claim that they held back production increases so as to maximize shareholder value.
Can an argument be supported that in 2022 American energy extractors pocketed some $100 billion in free cash flow at the expense of the American consumer or was it just a windfall?
Remember, the lie launderers among us claim that former President Biden persuaded both OPEC to cut crude oil production in 2021 and Russia to attack its neighbor in 2022. And, according to the lie launderers, he then persuaded American energy extractors to not increase production. The record Big Five free cash flow in 2022 is all Biden’s fault. Greed had nothing to do with what we have been paying at the pump. This is what lie launderers do.
Does every FlaglerLive reader understand why certain commenters present as gullibly stupid? The purpose of OPEC from its inception has been to manipulate the international crude oil marketplace to its advantage, whatever that advantage may be perceived to be at the moment. America helped Israel in the Yom Kippur War. OPEC immediately embargoed oil flow to the West. Americans understood at the time that blame fell to OPEC. Today, OPEC slashes oil production and the gullibly stupid blame Biden. Russia invades the Ukraine and the gullibly stupid blame Biden. American energy extractors tell shareholders they are not increasing production to provide shareholder value and the gullibly stupid blame Biden.
Ray W. says
According to a Ukrainian news outlet, after Russian electricity export prices in its far-east regions rose 42% in 2025, on January 1, 2026 China paused all Russian electricity imports
Make of this what you will.
Me?
The invisible hand of the marketplace, it has long been argued, works best when individuals act in their own perceived economic selfish best interest. China paused its purchase of Russian electricity when it became too expensive, compared to its cost of domestic electricity.
Makes sense to me.
Russian export oil revenue is down. Gas revenue is down. Now, Russian export electricity revenue looks to be taking a hit. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania severed their electricity connections with Russia in February 2025. It will take years, if not decades, for Russia to recover from Putin’s miscalculations.
Skibum says
And just like the cartoon above has the convicted felon in the WH dashing away with Venezuela’s oil, the world could envision that cartoon showing him carting away all of Greenland’s rare earth minerals and natural resources if given the chance. Breaking news! The convicted felon LIES when he says Russian and Chinese war ships are lurking just off the coast of Greenland, chomping at the bit to invade that NATO country, and wouldn’t it be better for the world if the convicted felon took possession of Greenland instead, fostering the absurd narrative that he would have saved the world from certain disaster… and therefore really, really deserves a Nobel Peace Prize!
Greenland is already much better protected probably than many other European NATO countries, since Greenland is right up there next to Canada and so close in proximity to the U.S. There is no way that either Russia or China would chance invading that NATO protected country that is so close in proximity to Canada and America with all of our combined military forces at the ready, not to mention the forces of all of the other NATO countries in Europe who would immediately join Canada and the U.S.
No, Russia and China are not suicidal I don’t believe, their leaders may be dictators but unfortunately our “leader” is an unhinged wacko even thinking of trying to invade and take Greenland for his own benefit, and it has absolutely no positive purpose or benefit to the people of Greenland. The convicted felon in the WH has absolutely no use for Greenland’s citizens at all, just their land and resources, and that is truth.
Sherry says
Amazing. . . as usual, a totally “stupit” comment from Maga who doesn’t even consider the option of Venezuelans governing themselves . Geez! My, how the FOX BS stinks!
Laurel says
Do you ever watch these Fox commenters? They clearly don’t appeal to intellect.