Author: Brick Tungsten

The air in The Red Hat Saloon smells like hickory smoke, hot oil, and broken promises. My F-150 key fob is still warm, the jukebox is wheezing, and America is watching accountability try to run a 40-yard dash in steel-toe boots.

What’s being alleged (and what it is not)

On Wednesday, February 18, 2026, Fox News reported that Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice is facing a civil lawsuit filed by his ex-girlfriend, Dacoda Jones, in Dallas County court. The suit seeks more than $1 million in damages.

The lawsuit was filed Monday, February 16, 2026, in Dallas County’s 162nd District Court, as reported by The Dallas Morning News.

• Time span alleged: December 2023 through July 2025
• Specific allegation highlighted in reports: Jones alleges Rice strangled her in December 2023 at a home in Victory Park in Dallas
• Other allegations described: alleged assaults and abusive behavior, including alleged property destruction and locking her out at night
• Family details in reports: reports say she was pregnant during some of the alleged incidents, and that the two share two children

That’s the claim. A civil claim. Not a verdict. Not a conviction. The court sorts truth from noise, slow like a pitmaster separating brisket point from flat.

The foggy part nobody likes

ESPN reported February 18 that it remains unclear whether police in the Dallas or Kansas City areas were alerted to incidents of domestic violence at the homes where the couple lived, and that ESPN’s records requests have not turned up results. That does not prove anything either way. It just shows how these cases can sit in the gaps between private life, public fame, and a system that moves only when somebody pushes the button.

The NFL is not a courthouse, but it sure acts like one

Fox News noted the Chiefs previously acknowledged the allegations when they surfaced on social media, and said the club was in communication with the NFL. ESPN reported the NFL said Wednesday the matter remains under review. Translation: corporate football is doing corporate football things, cautious, quiet, and lawyered-up.

Context matters, but it is not a verdict

Rice already had legal trouble tied to a high-speed crash in Dallas in March 2024. The Associated Press reported in 2025 that he received 30 days in jail and five years of deferred probation after pleading guilty to two third-degree felony charges, and AP also reported the NFL suspended him six games for violating its personal conduct policy. That’s background, not a conviction on this new allegation, but it is part of the wider picture.

My bar-stool sermon

If the allegations are true, they’re serious and life-altering. If they’re not true, a man’s name is getting tossed into the smoker for sport. Either way, the answer is not a social media mob. It’s due process, real investigation, and one standard that does not change with jersey sales. Live free, grill hard, and don’t let celebrity smoke blind you to the fire.

I am posted up at The Red Hat Saloon with grill smoke in my eyes when the headline hits like a tailgate slam: an alleged attempted murder in Lawrence, Long Island, and the weapon is a crossbow. A crossbow. In 2026. We can land rockets and stream movies in 4K, but somebody allegedly chose medieval hardware for modern violence.

What police say happened

Here is the verified spine. Nassau County Police say a 21-year-old man, Samy Sedhom, was arrested and charged following a February 13, 2026 incident at a residence on West Avenue in Lawrence. Officers responded at about 9:23 p.m. and found a 28-year-old woman bleeding from a laceration on the right side of her face. She was taken to a local hospital and reported in stable condition.

Investigators say an arrow fired from a crossbow grazed her face. Police say Sedhom was arrested without incident.

Charges listed in reporting

• Second-degree attempted murder
• First-degree assault
• Fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon
• Tampering with physical evidence
• First-degree stalking

Some coverage identifies the victim as his sister. The police description cited in the story describes a 28-year-old female and does not name her, so that family-detail is coming from outlets, not the police summary.

Evidence details that make this feel unreal

ABC7 reported police found an arrow lodged in the back wall of the garage. That is not symbolism, that is an arrow in a wall in an American neighborhood. Reporting also says investigators searched and seized items including a box for the crossbow, a katana-style sword, and a computer.

Court posture and what is known publicly

Fox News reported court records showing Sedhom appeared in court on Wednesday, pleaded not guilty, and was remanded without bail, with a temporary order of protection for the victim. Patch also reported a not-guilty plea and noted he is due back in court Wednesday. The key public points match: a not-guilty plea is entered, and the court is treating it as serious.

Fox News also noted the attempted murder charge carries a possible 25-year prison sentence if he is convicted.

Stop calling order “controversial”

Other reporting has floated motive claims. A Gray News write-up said Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly told News 12 Long Island the dispute involved house temperature, while it also reported the defense called it a prank that went wrong and disputed that temperature story. Translation: motive is not settled in what the public has seen.

What is clear is the cost of chaos: EMTs, detectives, courts, jail operations, and victims picking up the pieces. I support President Trump because I want a country that quits apologizing for enforcing order, while still keeping due process real. Live free, grill hard, and bring back backbone.

You ever feel a town go quiet in your bones? Like somebody slammed the lid on the smoker at 2:31 a.m. and the whole neighborhood snapped awake at once. That is Tipp City, Ohio right now. A cul-de-sac, a family home, and a nightmare that does not care how “safe” the zip code felt last week.

What happened in Tipp City

• Ashley Flynn was shot and killed in her home in Tipp City, Ohio, in what police have described as an apparent burglary or home invasion.
• Tipp City police said officers were called to a reported home burglary with a resident shot at about 2:31 a.m. on Monday, February 16, 2026, on Cunningham Court.
• She was pronounced dead at the scene.
• Her husband and two children were inside the home and were not physically hurt.
• Police said family members and local victim support resources were brought in to help.

When the feds show up, it means the case is heavy

Police Chief Greg Adkins has said the FBI is assisting, along with the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and local agencies. People can argue about federal agencies like it is a cable-news team sport, but on a street like Cunningham Court, this is about manpower, expertise, and sheer hours in the day. Small departments can get swamped fast, especially when there is a flood of video to review.

What investigators are saying, and what is still missing

• As of Wednesday, February 18, 2026, no suspects had been identified publicly.
• An autopsy was conducted, and results were pending.
• Adkins has said investigators believe it was an isolated incident targeting that residence and that they did not have information at the time suggesting the broader public was in danger.
• Tipp City police have said the investigation will take time because evidence must be collected, processed, and analyzed.
• City manager Eric Mack urged the community to remain patient and not speculate while law enforcement works.

The age discrepancy nobody should ignore

There is a messy detail in the Fox News Digital presentation: the headline deck and body text do not line up on Flynn’s age. Local reporting and police identification have described her as 37, and that is what I am sticking with here. The reason for the mismatch in the Fox presentation is unclear.

So here is my bar-stool sermon: let the investigators work, stop the rumor mill, and do not treat justice like a hobby you pick up when it is trending. A teacher and a mother is gone, a family is shattered, and a community is waiting on the system to do what it is supposed to do. Live free, grill hard, and do not accept “that’s just how it is” as an answer.

I am parked on my Red Hat Saloon bar stool, marinated in brisket smoke and patriotism, watching the grown-ups play international Jenga with real steel. The USS Gerald R. Ford, the floating zip code, is no longer just doing laps in the warm waters. It is moving from the Caribbean toward the Middle East, and the Diego Garcia chatter is starting to smell like paperwork trying to boss around reality.

What moved, and what we actually know

• Fox News reported on February 18, 2026 that the Ford and its strike group are heading from the Caribbean toward the Middle East as tensions with Iran rise.
• The strike group was described as steaming across the Atlantic toward the Strait of Gibraltar.
• A Navy official confirmed that movement to USNI News on Tuesday, February 17, 2026.
• In the reporting available, the Navy did not publicly lay out a full itinerary, arrival date, or every escort in the immediate formation.

USNI’s Fleet and Marine Tracker dated February 17, 2026 also showed the USS Abraham Lincoln operating in the Arabian Sea. Translation for the pearl-clutchers: when the Ford shows up, that is serious posture, not a strongly worded email.

Diego Garcia is not a timeshare

Fox reported that President Donald Trump urged U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer not to enter a reported long-term lease arrangement involving Diego Garcia, the joint U.S.-U.K. base in the Indian Ocean. Reuters also reported on February 18, 2026 that Trump called it a big mistake, and noted he referenced the possibility of needing Diego Garcia if Iran does not make a deal.

Reuters also laid out the structure underneath the argument: under a 2025 agreement, Britain would transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius while keeping the base on Diego Garcia under a 99-year lease.

Iran talks churn, steel does the talking

Fox tied the carrier movement to the nuclear pressure cooker, reporting the U.S. and Iran are in a second round of indirect nuclear talks in Geneva, and that Trump has been demanding what he calls full dismantlement of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure. Other reporting reviewed said the second round took place on February 17, 2026 and ended after a few hours without a deal finalized.

USNI News reported on February 13, 2026 that the Ford was tasked from the Caribbean to the Middle East, and that the extended deployment could break recent post-Vietnam deployment records. USNI wrote that if the Ford remains deployed after April 15, it would break the 294-day record set by the USS Abraham Lincoln in 2020.

Deployments cost money, wear down equipment, and stretch families thin. But pretending a strategic base can be safely turned into a legal tug-of-war while carrier groups are repositioning is the kind of idea that only sounds smart in a conference room with weak coffee. Live free, grill hard, and keep the keys where you can find them.

The grill at The Red Hat Saloon is popping like a July fireworks stand, and right when I bite into brisket so honest it should be tax-deductible, Washington reminds every working American that your retirement is being run like a broke lawnmower. It coughs, it sputters, and then it blames you for standing too close.

The 2032 problem: the OASI trust fund hits empty

Fox Business flagged a fresh warning tied to the Congressional Budget Office’s 10-year budget and economic outlook: the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) trust fund, the main pot paying Social Security retirement and survivor benefits, is projected to be depleted in 2032.

And no, the law does not let the government keep paying scheduled benefits like it’s tossing Mardi Gras beads off a float. If that trust fund balance hits zero, benefits would have to drop to whatever payroll taxes bring in, unless Congress changes the law.

The numbers that smell like burning grease

• CBO projects OASI spending rises from $1.5 trillion this fiscal year to more than $2.5 trillion in 2036.
• Even after tax receipts and interest income, the trust fund’s annual deficit grows from $207 billion this year to $525 billion in 2032 (the depletion year).
• That annual deficit keeps climbing to $691 billion in 2036, assuming full benefits are paid.

That is not a paper cut. That is a tailgate full of cinder blocks rolling downhill.

What “automatic cuts” could look like

CBO ran an illustrative scenario that Fox Business pointed to: benefits would be cut 7% in 2032, then cut by an average of 28% per year from 2033 through 2036. That is not trimming fat. That is taking a carving knife to the whole brisket and telling grandma to enjoy the aroma.

And here’s the kicker: the mechanics of how to cut benefits are not spelled out in federal law, meaning the exact way reductions would be applied is not clearly laid out. So when the money runs short, it’s not just cuts. It’s bureaucratic improv night with your rent money on the table.

Debt, chaos, and national muscle

This is wrapped into the bigger trajectory: deficits, debt, interest, and mandatory spending pressure. CRFB’s write-up of the same CBO outlook frames high and rising debt as carrying national security risks. A country that cannot manage its basic promises gets weaker over time, like a pickup with bald tires trying to tow a boat uphill.

My bar-stool demand

The fact pattern is simple: CBO projects depletion in 2032, and absent congressional action, benefits get cut to match incoming payroll taxes. The calendar is louder than cable news. 2032 is a date with teeth. Live free, grill hard, and make Congress do the math before the math does you.

The Red Hat Saloon smelled like hickory smoke and burnt coffee, which is America’s unofficial perfume when the bills come due. I’m on my bar stool watching the fryer pop like a firecracker, and I’m reading a headline that should make every suit in Washington choke on a cucumber slice: the Cheerios people are saying the cost of living and housing are changing how folks spend.

General Mills just admitted the squeeze is real

On February 17, 2026, General Mills (owner of Cheerios) updated its full-year fiscal 2026 outlook ahead of its presentation at the Consumer Analyst Group of New York conference. They pointed to weak consumer sentiment and broader uncertainty affecting what people buy and how quickly the company can win back volume. Translation: wallets are getting grilled, and not in the fun backyard way.

• Organic net sales: now expected to be down 1.5% to 2% for fiscal 2026 (previously down 1% to up 1%).
• Adjusted operating profit and adjusted diluted EPS: now expected to be down 16% to 20% in constant currency (previously 10% to 15%).
• Free cash flow conversion: still expected at at least 95% of adjusted after-tax earnings.

When rent eats first, the cereal aisle loses

CEO Jeff Harmening talked at that conference about cost-of-living and housing pressures reshaping spending patterns, with “value” becoming the main language shoppers speak now. That is not a trend. That is survival math. When the mortgage and rent are acting feral, the grocery list becomes the offering plate.

GLP-1 reality check and the new food tug-of-war

General Mills also flagged movement toward healthier and lower-cost food options, and pointed to increased adoption of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs as another pressure on packaged food demand. Harmening’s view was that these medications are likely to have a lasting influence, nudging some consumers toward smaller portions and more nutrient-dense foods, especially protein- and fiber-focused choices. They also talked about competition for protein options, and yes, they have their own protein cereal line.

The whole snack aisle is flinching

This value war is not just cereal. PepsiCo cut prices on core brands like Lay’s and Doritos by up to 15% earlier this month after consumer backlash to earlier price hikes. Conagra, the Slim Jim maker, has held its annual sales and profit targets even after a muted second quarter. Everybody’s scrambling to keep shoppers from bolting to the cheapest thing on the shelf.

Here’s the ugly punchline: when a company as mainstream as General Mills is cutting forecasts while talking about housing pressure, that is not lifestyle gossip. That is a national temperature reading. Live free, grill hard, and demand a country where breakfast is normal again.

I was posted up at The Red Hat Saloon with the grill snapping like AM radio static when my phone served a headline that makes a man double-check his spice rack and his life choices. Not because I fear leafy greens. Because I fear the modern snake-oil hustle: two-day shipping, influencer vibes, and a side of bacterial roulette.

What the feds are warning about

Here is the factual brisket, trimmed and smoked slow. The FDA and CDC are investigating a multistate outbreak of Salmonella Newport infections linked to Rosabella-brand moringa powder capsules distributed by Ambrosia Brands LLC. An FDA update dated February 13, 2026 puts it at seven cases across seven states, with three hospitalizations and zero deaths. Illness onset dates range from November 7, 2025 to January 8, 2026. Investigators interviewed three sick people, and all three reported eating the capsules.

This is not your average stomach bug

The FDA warns the outbreak strain is resistant to all first-line and alternative antibiotics commonly recommended for treating Salmonella infections. The CDC describes it as an extensively drug-resistant (XDR) Salmonella Newport with an NDM-1 gene, and calls it the first documented U.S. outbreak of Salmonella with an NDM-1 gene. Translation from bar-stool to English: this germ looks at your medicine cabinet like a raccoon looks at a bungee cord on a trash can.

The product details people actually need

• Product: Rosabella Moringa Capsules (60-count bottles)
• Impacted lots: listed in the FDA recall notice
• Expiration dates: 03/2027 to 11/2027
• Where it was sold: the company says nationwide via its direct-to-consumer website and TikTok Shop
• Third-party sales warning: possible unauthorized sellers on sites like eBay and Shein

The company says none of the impacted lots were sold by the company on Amazon, but urges consumers to check lot numbers anyway. Meanwhile, the CDC outbreak page includes Amazon among the places the recalled capsules were available online. Welcome to the modern bazaar, where responsibility hides behind a checkout button.

Accountability, recalls, and the online flea market

The FDA recommended Ambrosia Brands recall all Rosabella-brand moringa powder capsules, and the firm agreed to recall certain lots. The FDA is conducting a traceback investigation to determine the source of contamination and warns additional products may be contaminated as the advisory updates. The company says it discontinued use and purchase of raw moringa leaf powder from the supplier tied to the referenced lots.

What to do if you bought it

If you bought Rosabella Moringa Capsules, check the lot code on the bottom of the bottle against the FDA recall list. If it matches, do not eat it. Throw it away or return it. Live free, grill hard, and make accountability great again.

The Red Hat Saloon smelled like hickory smoke, burnt coffee, and that electrical whiff right before a cheap gadget dies. That is the Democrat climate machine in a nutshell: blinking dashboards, endless forms, and somehow your truck costs more and your freedom gets smaller.

The big move: EPA says the 2009 Endangerment Finding is rescinded

Here is the meat and potatoes. On February 12, 2026, President Donald Trump appeared at the White House with EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin as EPA announced a final rule rescinding the EPA’s 2009 Greenhouse Gas Endangerment Finding.

EPA also finalized the repeal of later greenhouse gas emission standards for light-, medium-, and heavy-duty on-highway vehicles and engines that were built on that finding. EPA called it the “single largest deregulatory action in U.S. history” and put a number on it: over $1.3 trillion in savings, including an average savings of more than $2,400 per vehicle.

Yes, that start-stop “feature” gets hit too

EPA also said it is eliminating off-cycle credits, including credits tied to the automatic start-stop feature. EPA described start-stop as “almost universally hated” and sold the change as restoring consumer choice. If your engine has ever coughed itself off at a red light like it heard a ghost story on AM radio, you already know why that got cheers.

The political fight: Zeldin calls it a Democrat climate weapon

In his Fox News column, Zeldin paints the Endangerment Finding as a legal lever Democrats used for years to build a stack of climate rules that squeezed what could be built, how it could be certified, and what it would cost.

EPA’s release says the final rule eliminates federal vehicle and engine greenhouse gas standards for model years 2012 to 2027 and beyond, and removes related compliance programs, credit provisions, and reporting obligations that supported the vehicle GHG regime.

The legal spine: EPA points to Supreme Court limits on agency power

EPA pointed to the Supreme Court’s posture on agency power, including Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo and West Virginia v. EPA. EPA’s argument is that Clean Air Act Section 202(a) does not give it the authority to regulate greenhouse gases from new motor vehicles the way prior administrations did, and that major policy choices belong with Congress.

EPA also emphasized process: a 52-day comment period, four days of virtual hearings with more than 600 people testifying, and about 572,000 public comments.

Fox gave Zeldin the megaphone, EPA put the rule on paper, and the climate priesthood is already warming up for court. But the core pitch from Washington is plain: lower costs, more choice, and lawmakers being told to do their job. Live free, grill hard, and make Congress vote.

The grill’s popping, the smoke’s rising like an AM-radio hymn, and then a headline rolls in that’s so simple it makes Washington look even dumber by comparison. Jessie James Decker, in a Fox News Digital interview published February 16, 2026, revealed the one wellness habit she never skips to look and feel her best: drinking lots of water.

The no-skip habit: water, all day

Decker’s advice wasn’t fancy, trendy, or sold in a plastic tub with a shiny label. It was “Water, water, water.” She said she drinks water all day, and she keeps it next to her bed and drinks it through the night. No miracle cleanse. No mystical powder. Just the boring basics done on purpose.

The gym post that Fox tied in

Fox also connected the hydration talk to Decker’s January 19, 2026 Instagram gym post. The video shows her squatting with a barbell and the caption reads: “2026 energy! LFG”. At the time of Fox’s reporting, the post had more than 111,000 likes.

The video text also pushed the idea of a “marriage body” instead of a “revenge body,” basically framing the fitness motivation as showing up for your spouse, not performing for imaginary haters in your head.

Home cooking, movement, and keeping the kids active

In the same Fox coverage, Decker talked about living like an adult in a country that keeps trying to sell everyone a shortcut:

• Cooking at home and making food from scratch
• Staying active
• Keeping the kids moving

She said one daughter does gymnastics five days a week, and that their family plays pickleball so much they even look for courts on vacation.

Why the simplest habit hits the loudest

Here’s what makes this whole thing land like a firework in a faculty lounge: the villain isn’t water. The villain is the shortcut salesman, the grifter class, the professional scolders who act like the human body is a government program that needs a committee meeting.

Decker’s “water, water, water” isn’t glamorous, and that’s exactly why it works as a cultural gut check. Do the basics. Do them consistently. Watch the noise merchants lose their grip.

Live free, hydrate hard, and keep your common sense hotter than the grill.

Tom Emmer vs. the DNC ID Circus: If Democrats Check IDs for Nominee Night, They Can Check IDs for Election Day

The grill is hissing, the AM radio is hollering, and Washington is doing that classic routine where something is “oppression” until the second it becomes “security” for their own velvet-rope circus.

Emmer calls out the ID double standard

Fox News reported on February 16, 2026 that House Majority Whip Tom Emmer blasted Democrats over what he called a straight-up double standard: they oppose Republicans pushing voter ID, but require photo identification at their own Democratic National Convention. If the concept of ID is so evil, why do Democrats suddenly love it when it protects their nominee night and their TV cameras?

Emmer pointed to the 2024 Democratic convention in Chicago. A Washington Post opinion column described delegates needing a special Secret Service photo ID to get past the perimeter and additional credentials for deeper access. That is the point Emmer is hammering: when Democrats want controlled access, IDs become normal again.

What the SAVE America Act does

The bill in the middle of this fight is the SAVE America Act (H.R. 7296). Congress.gov’s summary describes two key requirements for federal elections:

• Documentary proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote.
• Photo identification to vote.

For absentee voting, the bill text requires submitting a copy of the ID with both the absentee ballot request and the returned ballot. The text also ties the ID standard to citizenship: the photo ID should indicate U.S. citizenship on the front, but an ID without that indicator can be used if presented with another document that indicates citizenship.

Where Congress is, and why it’s a full-contact brawl

The Associated Press reported the House passed the SAVE Act on February 11, 2026 by a 218-213 vote. Fox reported that all Republicans supported it and that one Democrat, Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas, voted yes.

DHS, the SAVE system, and immigration enforcement

The bill text includes provisions about states using federal information sources, including the Department of Homeland Security’s SAVE system, to identify people who are not U.S. citizens on voter rolls. It also says DHS must investigate whether to initiate removal proceedings under the Immigration and Nationality Act if an alien is determined to be unlawfully registered to vote in federal elections.

Public opinion and the “ID country” reality

Gallup reported on October 24, 2024 that 84% of U.S. adults favored requiring photo ID to vote, and 83% favored proof of citizenship when registering to vote for the first time. Pew Research Center reported on August 22, 2025 that 83% favored requiring all voters to show government-issued photo ID.

And yes, the SAVE Act’s eligible IDs explicitly include those issued by a branch of the Armed Forces. In the real world, adults show ID all the time. Emmer’s argument is that Democrats know this, practice it at the DNC, then pretend it’s tyranny when regular Americans want similar verification for federal elections.