The Alan Ritchson Situation Just Got Worse...For the Guy He Beat Up & Today’s News
PDS Published 03/24/2026
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The Star Reacher got into an actual street fight with his neighbor in a Nashville suburb. There's even video of it in. The neighbor admitted that he started it.
it's Alan Ritchson, the guy who plays Jack Reacher on the Netflix show.
He just starred in War Machine, though I will say you'll always be that castle to me. Remember blue mountain state? Oh, man, we're getting old.
He lives in Brentwood, Tennessee, an upscale neighborhood south of Nashville.
And he's back in the States after filming back to back movies in Australia, New Zealand,
and according to a neighbor named Ronnie Taylor, this all actually started on Saturday when he said that he saw Richardson speeding through the neighborhood on a motorcycle and causing a disturbance.
Taylor, apparently flips him off. Richardson returns the gesture and the day one. But then on Sunday, Taylor says that he spotted Richardson on the motorcycle again.
And this time there were two individuals there believed to be his young sons, also on motorbikes. and Taylor says that he told Richardson, can you fucking stop this, please? With then things going sideways. now, here's the thing.
There are two videos, One video that was put out by TMZ shows Rich sends Green Kawasaki on the ground. It shows the actor appearing admit Taylor multiple times.
Where on the grass of a front lawn. and you see two others on motorbikes, those are believed to be rich, and sons are just watching from the street. and so in addition to going, oh, wow.
This is this is really happening, you're left wondering, how did this start?
so that that brings us to the other video that shows Taylor stepping in front of Richardson's motorcycle in the middle of a residential street. Taylor cause Richardson to crash.
And so you have Richardson saying from the ground, Do. We do? the video continues from there. But here's also a very big thing. Taylor himself admitted to TMZ that he started the physical confrontation.
He said, did push him because he was coming towards me on his on his bike. He did it again for a second time. I pushed him a second time, and I think the second time he got off his bike and,
kicked the crap out of me.
with TMZ also reporting that Taylor dared Allen to hit him while Richardson was still on the ground after the crash, and that Richardson tried to leave the scene before Taylor shoved just to recap, the neighbor stepped in front of a moving motorcycle,
caused a crash, admitted that he pushed Richardson twice, dared him to fight, and then he went to TMZ about know, ultimately, we're going to see how this plays out.
You had the Brentwood police captain, Steve Pépin, confirming to USA today that officers responded to the area just before 2 p.m. on Sunday, after several witnesses called 911.
and he said that we are aware of the incident we are investigating and no arrest has been made. the investigation expected to continue for the next few days. And as far as Rich said, he stayed completely silent for the most part.
Well, Taylor gave multiple interviews to TMZ, and the videos were spreading everywhere. He was quiet. But then Tuesday morning, he just posted an image to social media with no caption.
It was a quote. reading. Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake. we post that he doesn't add any context. Really didn't address the situation directly, but it's kind of obvious.
see that?
He's posting this right after his neighbor gave multiple public statements that included admitting that he shoved Richardson for years and dared him to fight. It kind of makes the implication pretty hard to miss.
and his most legal experts will tell you when you're involved in a potential legal matter, speaking publicly, it just creates risks, including self-incrimination.
it's what do you think Richardson was right here or he handled it well or poorly. The aftermath. Right. That the strategy there. It's pretty clear. Let the other guy keep talking.
while we wait to see what happens there, I got to pass a question off to you. What are your thoughts here? Richardson in the wrong here? Is Taylor in the wrong here? Both I love no.
Your thoughts. especially because online people are all over the place. mean, some even saw what they think is a Maga hat behind Taylor in his interview. And they were like, okay, I don't need to know anything else. yeah.
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And that is also not the only wild story people are picking apart online.
Because a quadruple amputee cornhole champion was just arrested on murder charges over a fatal shooting.
And he had previously posted videos showing how he is able to use firearms.
And when Dayton was only 10 months old, his arms and legs had to be amputated to treat a serious bacterial infection he contracted. []
And he has been a quadruple amputee ever since, teaching himself to write, drive and play cornhole, which he is currently a pro at.
Right, he was previously named the best cornhole player in the state of Maryland and now is in the American Cornhole League, which is apparently a thing, and he is the first quadruple amputee to compete in it.
So he has been featured on ESPN, written blogs for the TODAY Show, and become a very prominent player.
But today, he is in the news because police officers in La Plata, Maryland arrested him for shooting a passenger in his car.
According to a release on their website, officers were flagged down by two witnesses who said they were in the back seat of a car when the driver, Dayton, shot and killed a front seat passenger during an argument.[]
Dayton allegedly pulled over and asked the witnesses to help pull the victim out of the car, but they refused and fled the scene, and Dayton apparently fled too, with the victim still in the car.
Then, fast forward to two hours later when a person called 911 to report a body found in a yard around 15 miles away from where the incident allegedly took place,
And when police responded they found the victim, Bradrick Michael Wells, and pronounced him dead.
They then arrested Dayton, who was at a hospital in Virginia seeking treatment for an unspecified medical issue.
He is now awaiting extradition back to Maryland where he will be charged with first-degree murder, second-degree murder, and other related offenses.
And this story has really taken off.
Because, well, as this local news anchor put it:
“The big question is how did someone with no hands allegedly shoot someone?” (0:09-0:14)
And that is a question that Dayton has apparently answered himself, as people are now finding old YouTube videos from an account believed to be his where he shows himself shooting guns.
One is called “No Hands No Feet Shooting 9mm Handgun!”
And you see him do just that:
(dayton loads gun, sets it up, points, and shoots) (0:00-0:15)
And so that has really made the story take off online too, right, just shocked that there is video showing he is capable of shooting a gun.
For their part, the American Cornhole League released a statement saying they are aware of the allegations against Dayton, and:[]
“Our thoughts are with all those impacted, including the family and loved ones of Bradrick Michael Wells. At this time, this remains an active legal situation. We respect the judicial process and will not comment on specific allegations or details while proceedings are ongoing.”
But yeah, that is where this wild story leaves us, and I would love to know your thoughts here.
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Senator Elizabeth Warren is afraid that MrBeast might start pushing crypto to kids.
And so she just sent him a letter demanding information about his plans to expand into financial services after he acquired a platform called Step.
In that letter, she notably did not accuse MrBeast or his company of any wrongdoing, but she did say that:[]
“Beast Industries is primarily an entertainment and consumer product company – and any foray into financial services, particularly services aimed at children – must be done with great care and in compliance with the law.”
Because, for context, Step is an app designed to help kids and young people get a head start on their finances, and MrBeast said he joined forces with them because:
“Nobody taught me about investing, building credit, or managing money when I was growing up….I want to give millions of young people the financial foundation I never had.”[]
But, the platform has faced some controversy in the past, previously announcing plans to become the “first financial app that will allow both teens under 18 and young adults to buy, sell, hold and receive crypto.”[]
And while teen crypto investments had to be overseen by parents, Step ended up quickly backing away from this product, with Warren noting:
“Despite Step’s careful claims that crypto investing by minors was only with the permission of a parent or guardian, Step published resources encouraging kids to pressure their parents into crypto investments.”
Saying they published a video called ‘How to Talk to Your Parents About Investing in Crypto,’ and it was targeted to kids whose parents ‘want nothing to do with crypto.’
And that video apparently:
“coaches children on how to convince their parents to let them make
investments their parents may not want and includes specific scripts.”
With Warren also noting that Step previously targeted tons of social media videos to teens by discussing teen “side hustles” and summer jobs, and would then also push posts encouraging crypto investments.
And now that company is in MrBeast’s hands, Warren seems a little skeptical.
Around 40% of his viewers are between 13 and 17, and the vast majority are younger than 25.
And Warren also argued that the company has no reported experience in financial services and banking products, adding:
“Beast Industries’ corporate history raises concerns about its ability to manage a financial technology company, particularly one targeting children and teens.”
With her pointing to the fact that its current CEO was brought in in 2024 to “professionalize” the company because prior to that, there was no chief human resources officer or general counsel.
Warren also noted that MrBeast has faced backlash in 2024 when a report accused him of insider trading and misleading investors over crypto.
Which she found especially troubling considering this is not the only crypto and fintech partnership he has sought out lately.
Earlier this year Beast industries got a $200 million investment from Bitmine Immersion Technologies, “the leading Ethereum treasury company in the world.”
He also filed a trademark application for MrBeast Financial, which could offer loan products like credit cards, but it also mentioned crypto.[]
So you had Warren closing the letter by saying:
“Given Step’s history of highlighting volatile investments to teenagers, Mr. Donaldson’s primarily young and very loyal audience, and the allegations concerning Mr. Donaldson’s prior actions with cryptocurrencies, I write to request further information on Beast Industries’ plans for Step.”
And she then demanded he and his CEO answer about a dozen questions by April 3, asking what kind of changes he will make at Step, if he will allow crypto investments, and more.
For their part, a Beast Industries spokesperson told the New York Times they look forward to engaging with Warren, adding that:[]
“Our primary motivation behind this deal is to improve the financial future of the next generation. Now that we’ve completed the transaction and have ownership control, we’re examining all existing offerings and marketing approaches to ensure that Step’s future is developed thoughtfully and deliberately.”
But it is still easy to see why Warren might be concerned, not just about MrBeast, but about the idea of kids accessing crypto in the first place.
In the last year we have seen headlines about kids asking for crypto for Christmas, teens losing money in crypto casinos, and some even getting involved in scams and crimes.
So it is an issue that does need attention.
But we will have to see how much MrBeast ends up leaning into crypto as he develops the financial offerings at his company, and what direction he really takes those services
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Since Trump took office, the states and the federal government have gone to war over issue after issue: immigration, voting rights, funding freezes …
Well now you can add another one to that list: gambling.
Now we’re gonna dive into this—there’s corruption, Trump antics, people who seem to know how the Iran war’s gonna end before anyone else—but first let me lay down how we got here.
Starting in 2018, when the Supreme Court struck down a federal ban on sports betting, and since then most states have legalized it. [Headline and Headline]
But it’s still illegal in the two most populous states in the union—California and Texas—so the big betting sites like DraftKings and FanDuel have been shut out of those markets.
Except here’s where things get messy, because you see, while gambling is regulated by the states, prediction markets are regulated by the feds.
Right, specifically the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, or CFTC, the same agency that regulates financial assets like oil and crop futures.
Now legally, that stuff’s considered distinct from casino-style gambling and sports betting, but prediction markets have begun offering bets related to sports which critics argue is indistinguishable from traditional sports betting. [Image]
So platforms like Polymarket and Kalshi [Pronounce 00:20] have slipped through that loophole into states like California and Texas where DraftKings and FanDuel are barred, even though they’re offering arguably an identical product. [Image]
And it’s not like sports betting is a small part of what they do; right, half of Polymarket’s trading is sports-related, and for Kalshi that number’s around 90%. [Quote, find “90%”]
Now ordinarily, the federal government would clamp down on these companies for violating the law, but we don’t live in ordinary times.
Because the Trump family’s in bed with the industry; right, Don Jr. is invested in Polymarket through his venture capital firm, and he’s an advisor to Kalshi. [Image]
Hell, Truth Social even announced its own crypto-based prediction market in October. [Headline]
So the Trump administration ended two Biden-era probes into Polymarket and Kalshi last year. [Headline]
And then it approved Polymarket to start operating in the U.S., though Americans had already been able to access the site using VPNs. [Headline and Image]
Now here’s where the war between the states and the feds begins, because last week, Arizona state prosecutors charged Kalshi with violating its ban on elections and sports betting. [Quote, find “20-count”]
Then a few days later, a Nevada district judge sided with state gaming regulators in temporarily blocking Kalshi from offering sports bets there. [Quote, find “14-day”]
And lastly that same day, a class action complaint in Georgia accused Kalshi of breaking the law as well. [Quote, find “Georgia”]
So now the battle’s playing out in the courts, with Trump’s CFTC jumping into these cases to argue that it should have exclusive authority over prediction markets, not the states.
But there’s also a battle happening in Congress, where lawmakers in both chambers, even Republicans, have proposed legislation to reign in prediction markets.
With the latest bill in the Senate coming from Republican John Curtis of Utah and Democrat Adam Schiff of California; right, they call it "The Prediction Markets Are Gambling Act.” [B roll and B roll]
And it seeks to ban any platform regulated by the CFTC from offering “sports and casino-style event contracts.” [Quote]
But the whole sports and gambling side of this is only one of many reasons people are scrutinizing these platforms.
Another is the fact that Polymarket in particular lets users bet on stuff like wars, natural disasters, and the deaths of high-profile figures.
With Senator Chris Murphy making this critique recently, asking:
“What does it do to our soul, when questions of life and death become a commodity that we trade? What does it do to us spiritually when we can make money off of famine or a humanitarian disaster in Gaza or someplace else? The answer is that it robs us of a moral core that is essential to being a human.” [Quote and B roll]
And then on top of that, not only are people profiting off of predicting death and war, a select few appear to be doing it through insider trading.
Right, just take this one trader, for example, who was singled out by Bubblemaps, an analytics company that tracks blockchain transactions.
They’ve made nearly a million dollars since 2024 from dozens of suspiciously well-timed Polymarket bets that correctly predicted US and Israeli military actions against Iran. [Quote, find “since 2024”]
Right, even though these were unannounced operations, this person won 93% of their five-figure bets about Iran. [Quote same link, find “93%”]
We’re talking bets made just hours before Israeli strikes in October 2024, hours before US airstrikes on nuclear facilities last June, and hours before the joint US-Israeli surprise attack in February. [Quote same link, find “hours before”]
With Bubblemaps’s CEO telling CNN:
“All of this is strong signaling of insider activity, based on the amount they made, the markets they bet on, the timing of their trades, the success rates of these trades, and the fact that they are connected on-chain. This is pretty suspicious in my book.” [Quote]
But that’s just one example; there are plenty more like it.
With The Guardian reporting that eight Polymarket accounts, all created around March 21, bet a total of nearly 70,000 dollars on a ceasefire by March 31, which would return them nearly 820,000 dollars. [Webpage and Quote, find “70,000”]
In fact, one account also placed a winning bet on Trump’s initial strikes against Iran, and so far they’ve bet on nothing else. [Quote same link, find “nothing else”]
So experts tell the outlet that these bets bear the signs of insider trading, both because they bought their positions at market price, and because some of the accounts look like they could belong to a single investor attempting to conceal their identity. [Quote same link, find “conceal”]
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But while people are betting big on an end to the war, American allies including Saudi Arabia and the UAE are reportedly pushing Trump to keep it going, encouraging him to put boots on the ground, and even considering joining the fight themselves.
Right, we already knew their patience was wearing thin.
With the Saudi Foreign Minister, for example, speaking to reporters last week after Iranian attacks on energy infrastructure in the region—and saying:
“Saudi Arabia’s patience with Iranian attacks is not unlimited.”
“Any belief that Gulf countries are incapable of responding is a miscalculation.”
And since then, the country has reportedly told the US it was ready to strike Iran if its own power and water plants were targeted by the Islamic Republic. []
It has also reportedly agreed to let American forces use an air base in the western part of the country—potentially backtracking on an earlier claim that it wouldn’t allow its facilities or airspace to be used for attacks on Iran. []
And, according to recent reports, the country’s leader—Prince Mohammed bin Salman—has been pushing Trump to continue the war against Iran.
With him arguing that the American-Israeli military campaign presents a “historic opportunity” to remake the Middle East. []
He has even reportedly argued that the US should consider putting troops in Iran to seize energy infrastructure and force the government out of power. []
With analysts suggesting that he probably would have preferred to avoid a war but is now worried that Trump pulling out would leave Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Middle East left to deal with an emboldened and pissed off Iran all on their own. []
And similarly, while Trump decided to go to war against the advice of several Gulf governments, the leaders of some of them, including the UAE, have now reportedly been pressing him in regular phone conversations to finish the job and destroy Iran’s military capabilities before moving on. []
With the UAE also debating whether to send its own military into the fight—as it is already cracking down on Iranian-owned assets in the country, which for years has been a financial hub for Iranian individuals and businesses.
And so ultimately, it appears that Israel may no longer be the only one whispering in Trump’s ear and potentially having an impact on the decisions he makes.
Although, of course, Israel and the Arab nations are definitely still not fully on the same page.
Right, Netanyahu has pushed for military action that could force the collapse of the Iranian regime since the very beginning of the war.
And while Trump has at times seemed supportive of that objective too, the American military has mostly been focused on wearing down Iran's missile and naval capabilities.
While intelligence officials have been more skeptical that Iran’s current Iranian government will be driven from power.
Although, notably, even senior Israeli officials have reportedly said that Iranian protesters will “get slaughtered” if they try to rise up—because the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps “has the upper hand.” — but Netanyahu has continued to push for them to do that anyways.
And you also have analysts arguing that Israel would be happy with a failed Iranian state rather than a successful revolution—because it’d be too caught up in its own problems to bother Israel.
Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, would probably see this outcome as a major security threat over concerns that militias or what’s left of the military would continue to attack the country—including its oil infrastructure. []
Now, with all that, the Saudi government has denied that MBS is pushing to prolong the war—saying in a statement:
“The kingdom of Saudi Arabia has always supported a peaceful resolution to this conflict, even before it began” —adding that officials “remain in close contact with the Trump administration and our commitment remains unchanged.”
But it’s not clear if Saudi Arabia was among those countries in the region that reportedly warned Trump about the dangers of following through with his threat to commit what many experts say would’ve been a war crime:
“Obliterating” Iran’s power plants—“STARTING WITH THE BIGGEST ONE FIRST!”—if it didn’t reopen the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours from when he posted the message on Saturday evening.
He pushed the deadline back by five days while claiming there had been “VERY GOOD AND PRODUCTIVE CONVERSATIONS” that he expected could lead to “A COMPLETE AND TOTAL RESOLUTION OF OUR HOSTILITIES IN THE MIDDLE EAST.”
But Iran publicly insisted there was “no negotiation whatsoever” and accused Trump of making it all up to “lower energy prices and buy time for the implementation of his military plans.”
And what Trump had to say to reporters asking who the negotiations were with didn’t exactly inspire confidence that he was the one telling the truth:
“A top, a top person. Don't forget, we've wiped out the leadership phase one, phase two, and largely phase three. But we're dealing with the man who I believe is the most respected and the leader.” (2:04-2:18)
And you might be like, okay, he didn’t say it, but he’s obviously talking about the supreme leader….
“No, not the supreme leader. We don't — well, nobody's ever Nobody heard of the second Supreme Leader. Nobody— we have not heard from the son…But the people that seem to be running it and they seem that based on really fact because things they've said have taken place.” (2:23-2:32, 2:38-2:45
Right, to sum up, he said they were talking with the man he “believe[d]” to be the leader and the people that “seem” to be running the country.
And when asked to name the person one more time, he suggested the person could be targeted if he did so:
“I can’t. I don’t want them to be killed.” (2:51-2:52)
And that of course raises all sorts of questions since Israel—the American ally Trump started this war with—has been the main one killing all of Iran’s leaders.
But with all that, despite Trump’s nonsensical ramblings, it appears there was at least a small grain of truth to his claim that talks are underway.
Except so far they have reportedly been indirect—with Egypt, Pakistan and Turkey reportedly taking the lead and acting as intermediaries between Trump envoy Steve Witkoff and Iran’s Foreign Minister. []
And also, reportedly, they haven’t exactly been “VERY GOOD AND PRODUCTIVE”—with Iran making demands seen by the other side as completely unrealistic.
Right, the country’s Revolutionary Guards are reportedly calling for a new system in the Strait of Hormuz under which Iran could charge ships passing through it—similar to how Egypt charges ships using the Suez Canal. []
And they also apparently want guarantees that the war won’t start again, an end to Israel’s attacks on Hezbollah, the closure of American military bases in the Gulf, and compensation for the damage Iran has suffered during the war. []
Now, all that said, despite earlier claims, Iran is now apparently at least showing some openness to negotiations.
With a spokesperson for the country’s foreign ministry admitting after its initial denial of talks that the US had sent messages “through some friendly countries” asking to talk.
And another senior official telling CBS News:
“...we received points from the U.S. through mediators and they are being reviewed." []
Although, when speaking to reporters, you had Trump claiming that almost everything had already been agreed to:
“We have major points of agreement. I would say almost all points of agreement.” (0:35-0:43)
“Many, like 15 points. 15 points. Well, they're not going to have a nuclear weapon. That's number one, that's number one, two, and three. They will never have a nuclear weapon.” (19:11-19:20)
Now, ignoring the fact that he definitely just pulled that number out of his ass on the spot, Iran has long said it won’t develop nuclear weapons.
But Trump also suggested Iran would give up its enriched uranium, which would be a massive departure from its previous position, and there’s no sign yet that there’s any truth to that.
Although it does seem maybe less likely considering the leverage Iran has now with the Strait of Hormuz.
And, on that note, you also had Trump answering a question about who would control the Strait of Hormuz under this alleged 15-point plan:
“Maybe me? Me and the ayatollah is, whoever the next ayatollah is.” (20:14-20:23)
And with that, he said there would be some “form of regime change”—suggesting again that he’s interested in something like what has played out in Venezuela.
But you have some pushing back on the idea that Trump can get any, let alone all, of what he claims:
With Aaron David Miller, a former State Department Mideast negotiator who is now a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, writing on X:
“Trump’s war choice has not accomplished his military goals - Iran can still attack Gulf and manipulate Straits and will need to make compromises to open them.”
“No nukes; no enrichment, good luck with that. A singularly incompetent use of America’s power.”
And with that, while Trump is saying one thing, a continued American military buildup in the region may be saying another.
Last week, the US redirected assault ships carrying 2,500 Marines from the Pacific to the Middle East.
It then moved to deploy another roughly 2,500 additional Marines to the region
And now there’s reporting that senior officials are weighing a possible deployment of a combat brigade from the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division—with these troops also having the potential to be involved in a ground operation.
For now, though, US and Israeli air strikes have not let up, and neither have retaliatory attacks from Iran.
With missiles fired from the country caused extensive damage to at least three residential buildings in Tel Aviv today and injuring at least six people.
And notably, the Israeli military reported that one of the Iranian missiles that hit the city carried a warhead weighing roughly 100 kilogram.
Which an official claimed was “something [it had] not yet encountered in the war”—again showing that Iran can still inflict damage across the region. []
And connected to all of this, of course, is Israel’s ongoing invasion of Lebanon.
And there you had Israel’s defense minister announcing today that the military would expand its occupation of the southern part of the country—with another minister openly calling for annexation.
So there continue to be so many angles to look at this broader conflict from, and whatever people are saying, the reality on the ground has not changed.
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The Supreme Court heard arguments yesterday that could land thousands of ballots in the garbage in the next election and get Trump one step closer to ending mail-in voting.
And this is all while he continues to strangle Congress to sign on the SAVE Act as airport lines spill out of the doors. []
During the pandemic, Mississippi passed a law that allowed a five-day grace period for mail-in ballots, as long as they were postmarked by Election Day.
The right pushed back on that law, with the Republican National Committee and the Mississippi Republican Party filing a lawsuit to invalidate it.
The Fifth Circuit Court decided that ballots must be filed and received by Election Day, shooting down the mail-in grace period. []
And in oral arguments before the Supreme Court, Mississippi’s Solicitor General Scott Stewart argued against that ruling.
“The Fifth Circuit was wrong to rule otherwise. This court should reverse.” (2:02-2:05)
Left-leaning justices like Kuh-tanji Brown Jackson seemed to argue in support of keeping the grace period as well.
“The day fixed for the election of the president is the day electors will vote and transmit their vote. And the president of the Senate will receive their vote at a later date. So this concept of casting one’s vote, versus the receipt of the vote, was very early on distinguished.” (4:00-4:22)
And this demonstrates that whether you call it two elections or not, the casting of the votes can happen separately from the receiving of the votes.” (5:39-5:50)
However, justices on the right seemed poised to uphold the appellate court’s decision, calling out what they say are contradictions in Stewart’s arguments and questioning how the grace period could undermine confidence in election integrity. [] []
On the other hand, people like Paul Clement, who argued in favor of cutting the grace period, faced questions around states’ rights in voting.
Liberal Justice Elena Kagan said that ballot receipt deadlines “were something that was a state function,” saying that Congress “wrote the statutes this way, where, with respect to all elections, the states were setting their own receipt deadlines.” []
And some other left-leaning justices seemed to agree.
“It seems to me that we have a very long history of states having a variety of different ballot receipt deadlines to include after election day.” (:35-:46)
However, people aren’t sure if those arguments were enough to save the law.
The stakes here are pretty high since this is a law that reports say at least 28 other states and DC have in common, including battleground states like Nevada and California. So people are worried about how this could upend mail-in voting on a national level. []
And the court is expected to make a decision on the case as early as June, less than six months away from a midterm election that feels like life or death for Democrats.
Defenders of the voting grace period say, "This case is about whether millions of voters will be disenfranchised through no fault of their own,” saying this would toss away “valid ballots cast by eligible voters for no other reason than the U.S. Postal Service… failed to deliver them by Election Day, something that is often entirely out of the voters' control." []
“No voter’s voice should be silenced due to something outside of their control, like delays in mail.” (:39-:45)
However, Republican National Committee chairman Joe Gruters said, "Elections must end on Election Day, which is why the RNC led the way in challenging this harmful state law.” []
Some Republicans say, “This prevents elections from dragging on for days and weeks after voters have cast their ballots, causing confusion and undermining our elections.” []
But that’s pretty hard to take from the party whose leader has been peddling voter fraud conspiracies for the better part of a decade.
“It’s time that the Republicans get tough and stop it, because the Democrats want it. It’s the only way they can get elected. Because with men in women's sports and with transgender for everyone, open borders – and the new thing is that they love crime.” (1:26-1:43)
Trump has been known to reject mail-in voting for seemingly made up reasons.
“You can never have a real democracy with mail-in ballots. And we, as a Republican party, are going to do everything possible to get rid of mail-in ballots. It’s so corrupt, where people get 5, 6, 7 ballots delivered to them.” (:03-:13, 2:26-2:31)
And this is all because of this ongoing obsession with voter fraud and his loss in the 2020 election.
All the while, reports say he’s used that method more than once for his own ballot.
The Washington Post reports that he mailed his ballot for Florida’s special election between Emily Gregory and Jon Maples today.
He also mailed his ballot back in 2020, leaving a weird trail for a man who’s been so adamant about the “dangers” he sees in mail-in voting.
“It’s been brought to my attention that we’re the only country that does mail-in voting. Mail-in voting means mail-in cheating. I call it mail-in cheating.” (:00-:09)
That may give some insight into what we’re seeing from Republican leaders.
This also comes as Trump has continued trying to strong-arm the SAVE Act through Congress, even refusing to budge on deals that could end the chaos in airports until Congress passes it.
I’m suggesting strongly to the Republican party, don’t make any deal on anything. The most important thing we can have is something called the SAVE America Act. Don’t make any deal on anything unless you include voter ID, and you have to be a citizen to vote.” (:14-:32)
“The Democrats are fully to blame for the struggle the great American public is going through at the airport right now.” (:44-:53)
So what I see here is a sort of concerted effort to make voting more difficult on all fronts.
Whether it’s under the guise of this imaginary voter fraud or the idea that we’ll somehow find a batch of ballots that overturns an election after a winner is announced, this all seems more like a play against free elections than anything else.
And on top of this, of course, we’re still wondering if we’ll have to worry about ICE agents moving from the airports to the polls when the time comes as well.
So, I guess the question here is, just how thin a string is our democracy really hanging on as these attacks on voting continue to permeate?
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And speaking of ICE agents and the shutdown, Senate Republicans are close to a deal to finally end it after Trump reportedly caved on a key priority.
Right, Republican leaders were optimistic about reaching an agreement after meeting with Trump at the White House yesterday.
With reporters asking Sen. Katie Britt if the GOP had a solution and Britt responding “we do,” then adding:
“I’m going to be working through the night, so hopefully we can land this plane.”
Now, as far as what that solution is, the exact details haven’t been made public yet.
But it’s been widely reported that the plan would fund almost all of the department EXCEPT for ICE’s enforcement and removal operations.
Now, very notably here, under this proposal, enforcement and removal wouldn’t stop entirely — those functions have already been funded by Trump’s Big, Beautiful Bill.
And other key areas would still be getting new funding, like ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations.
But denying any additional funds for enforcement and removal operations has been a major sticking point for Democrats throughout this showdown, so that could be a pretty significant compromise for them.
What’s more, we’ve also seen reports that the Republican proposal would also provide some new guardrails that Democrats have demanded — like requiring officers to wear body cameras, among other measures.
And, to that point, some Democratic lawmakers have previously expressed support for a deal that could exclude funding for ICE enforcement and removal.
But there’s a big catch here that could end up being a dealbreaker for Dems — right, there are actually two parts of the Republican scheme:
Step 1: Agree to scrap new funding for ICE enforcement and removal in order to get Democrats on board and secure enough votes to reopen DHS.
Step 2: Immediately turn on the Democrats and pass a separate bill that funds money for enforcement and removal operations by using the budget reconciliation process, which allows them to bypass the 60-vote filibuster.
But, as ruthless as that scheme may be, Trump initially rejected the idea.
With him repeatedly telling Republicans not to make a deal with Democrats until they agreed to pass the SAVE Act.
But the SAVE Act is a total nonstarter for Democrats, who note that voter fraud by noncitizens is incredibly rare and argue that the bill would prevent millions of eligible citizens from voting because they lack necessary documentation.
Which is why you Dem leaders accusing Trump of trying to sabotage sensitive negotiations.
But now, Trump has reportedly made a complete 180 and embraced the two-part plan.
And as for why he made such a significant shift, it appears to be in part because GOP leaders promised him that they would also include elements of the SAVE Act in their future reconciliation bill.
But that could be a tall order, if it’s even possible at all.
Right, lawmakers can only use the reconciliation process for legislation that directly concerns spending, taxation, or deficit reduction — but the SAVE Act is a policy proposal by nature.
Now, that said, some sources told Fox News that Republicans could try to focus on the financial aspects of the SAVE America Act, like the provision that threatens to withhold money from states that refuse to comply.
But even Fox notes that such an argument would be difficult to get past the Senate Parliamentarian, who is responsible for enforcing the strict reconciliation requirements.
And regardless, it’s unclear if Democrats would even agree to pass a deal that excludes funding for certain ICE operations when they know that the GOP intends to turn around and undo those changes.
But, at the same time, there is increasing pressure on both sides to reach some kind of agreement as the shutdown drags on.
With airport delays persisting as the TSA faces growing callouts from workers who have now gone weeks without pay.
And, according to reports, many airports are still experiencing long lines and delays even now that Trump has deployed ICE agents to more than a dozen U.S. airports in a controversial move that was widely condemned by Democrats.
With The Washington Post reporting that the ICE deployment “appeared to have limited effect in reducing security lines, as passengers reported wait times as long as five hours in Houston and lengthy delays in other major cities.”
And adding that many passengers “expressed bewilderment and said the officers did not appear to be doing much.”
And meanwhile, throughout all this chaos, the DHS has been operating without a leader for weeks now after Trump fired Kristi Noem as Secretary, moving her to another position in the administration, and appointing Sen. Markwayne Mullin to fill the role.
And actually, despite a very contentious confirmation hearing that cast some doubt on his chances of securing the position, we saw the Senate officially confirming Mullin yesterday.
Right, the Senators ultimately voted 54-to-45 to confirm him, with almost all Republicans voting in favor — except Rand Paul, who publicly clashed with Mullin during last week’s hearing.
Meanwhile, you also had two Democrats crossing the party line and voting in support of the confirmation.
But one of them was John Fetterman, who is barely a Democrat at this point.
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