Should America Still Execute Its Worst Criminals?

This week had everything.

Someone pled the Fifth 111 times, including when asked what day of the week it was. Nothing suspicious there. Totally normal behavior from someone with nothing to hide.

Meanwhile, the people building AI are now openly admitting their models are starting to slip the leash, warning they could eventually hack thousands of corporate and government networks at once, steal the data, and lock up critical systems with ransomware, all in about a day.

Just a normal week in America. Let's get into it.

Three dead after a shooting at Seattle's Bite of Seattle festival, and Police Chief Shon Barnes calls it "group activity" from "small groups." Not gangs. Small groups. Seattle killed its dedicated gang unit in 2020. Now it's relearning that renaming a problem doesn't solve it.

Speaking of dodging the word for it, Fauci pled the Fifth 111 times on Capitol Hill Wednesday, including when asked what day it was. Ohio Senator Bernie Moreno called him a "total disgrace" to his face. Rand Paul dropped the real bombshell: Bill Gates held a top-secret "Q" clearance from the Department of Energy from 2014 to 2021, the same stretch he was allegedly just a concerned guy calling Fauci about vaccines.

Trump's throwing his full endorsement behind Darline Graham to finish her late brother Lindsey's Senate term. South Carolina conservatives got the memo and ignored it, with the special election two weeks out. Trump's endorsement used to be a golden ticket. Apparently they want receipts now.

And Trump's AG pick Todd Blanche is stuck in Senate limbo. Cornyn and Tillis want written proof his IRS settlement won't shield the Trump family from future audits. Trump's move: pull the nomination and reinstate Blanche once Cornyn and Tillis leave office, since neither's running again. Nothing says confidence in the process like outlasting the people vetting you.

The economy grew just 1.5% last quarter, missing forecasts and slowing from Q1's 2.1%. Core inflation held at 3.3%, still nowhere near the Fed's target, mostly thanks to energy prices spiking after the U.S. and Israel struck Iran back in February. Consumer spending held up fine. Businesses just pulled back on inventory and imports. Small comfort if you're staring at a grocery receipt.

Chip stocks got demolished. Over a trillion dollars gone from the biggest semiconductor names this week alone. Nvidia lost $238 billion since Friday. SK Hynix down $176 billion, Samsung down $173 billion, Micron down $113 billion. The AI trade that's been carrying half the stock market is suddenly looking shaky.

And the Fed held rates steady at 3.5% to 3.75% for the second meeting straight, voting 9-3. Three regional presidents wanted a hike instead, the biggest dissent since 2016. Inflation's stuck above target, oil's spiking from the war, and Wall Street now thinks the next move might be up, not down.

United's CEO secretly pitched Delta on a merger last year. Delta ran the numbers and passed. It's Kirby's second rejected mega-merger after American also said no. Zero for two, still swearing he's not interested in mergers.

Chipotle just opened its first location in Mexico. Selling burritos back to the country that inspired them. Bold move.

Cracker Barrel's CEO is out, a year after her $700 million rebrand nuked the logo, gutted the general stores, and tanked traffic overnight. She reversed course in a week. The sales damage didn't reverse nearly as fast.

Mercedes-Benz could get banned from the U.S. entirely under a new Senate bill targeting Chinese-owned automakers. Chinese investors hold just under 20% of the company, over the bill's 15% threshold. Mercedes has until 2030 to fix it.

Starbucks customers are furious that CEO Brian Niccol made almost $31 million last year while the median worker made $17,279. That's roughly 1,794 times more. Somehow that's the modest year.

Visa is cutting 2,600 jobs, 7% of its workforce, mostly tech and product. Freeing up cash for "higher potential opportunities." The robots get the raise. The humans get the box.

Last Week:

We asked if phone calls should be banned on planes. 73% said yes, no exceptions. More consensus than anything else in the country right now.

This Week:

Dr. Fauci spent Wednesday pleading the Fifth 111 times, including on what day of the week it was. Senators are already talking contempt charges.

Find out if another carrier could offer you a better rate. Compare your offers all in one place and get your best rate on LendingTree. Just answer a few questions and get your quotes in a matter of minutes.

Check My Quotes

Winners:

Ben Affleck:
Won $1 million on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire this week, nailing a turkey trivia question with Jeopardy! champ Jamie Ding. Every dollar goes to his Eastern Congo Initiative.

Louisiana Man On Death Row For 25 Years+:
Spent 27 years on Louisiana's death row for a murder that may never have happened. Louisiana's Supreme Court just tossed his conviction after the bite mark evidence used to convict him turned out fraudulent. Justice took three decades. Still showed up.

Losers:

JetBlue Passengers:
The airline just blew up its fare system, scrapping "Core" economy for a new setup where you pick your seat type first, then decide how much flexibility to pay for. More categories, more decisions, more ways to accidentally book the wrong ticket. Comes packaged with a new domestic first-class cabin nobody asked to pay more to avoid.

Anyone who needs Type ‘O’ Blood:
The Red Cross just declared its second-ever national blood crisis. Supplies dropped 25% in a single month, leaving less than a day's worth of type O on hand nationwide. Hospitals are now rationing it. Extreme heat and empty summer donation drives got the blame. Go donate.

We're building something. Actually, we've already started, and we want you in it before it's finished.

The Red State Finance Community is live(ish) — "live" in the sense that we're still hammering nails while you walk around inside. Over the next week or two, we're letting everyone poke around and stress-test it as we build. Find something broken, tell us. Think a channel's dumb, tell us that too. This is your club as much as ours.

Here's what's taking shape: a discussion space to actually talk to other members — debate, disagree "politely," exist somewhere that isn't run by an algorithm trying to make you angry. A Digital Vault of guides, how-to's, and historical opinion pieces for the days you want to learn something instead of scroll something. A Media Room where our team argued too long about the movies, books, and documentaries every American should consume at least once. A Podcast Hub with every episode in one place, so you can catch up without digging through your feed. A Member Marketplace in the works, teaming up with brands for real discounts just for being here — plus a lifetime discount at the store, because you shouldn't have to choose between supporting us and affording the merch. And a space to share your best money tips and cheat sheets, because the smartest guy at the cookout is usually your neighbor, not the guy in the suit on TV.

The goal: a real community of people who love this country, want good things for their neighbors, and still think common sense is a personal virtue, not a platform.

One honest thing — eventually there'll be a membership fee. The goal is to get rid of all those ‘annoying ads’. It will be less than you'd drop on an hour of downtown parking. That's it. We're not buying yachts, we're keeping the lights on so the team can feed their families. Not steak every night. Not ramen either.

For now, it's open. Go explore. And if you've got ideas on what this should become, we're all ears.

No charge, don’t worry: Join here:
https://redstate-finance-newsletter.beehiiv.com/community

Elon Musk sat down with The Economist's editor-in-chief and got called "far-right" to his face. His response: read off secure borders, safe cities, and sensible spending, then dared her to explain which one sounds extreme.

She couldn't. Watch it here 👇

People across the country are destroying Flock Safety's license plate cameras with saws, paint, and in one Idaho case, a truck. One Florida man just sits in a lawn chair holding cardboard up to block the lens. It's not just vigilantes: LAPD, Fort Collins, Eugene, Knoxville, Syracuse, and dozens of other cities have canceled or paused their Flock contracts, with 82 terminated nationwide since 2021. Flock runs 120,000 cameras that scan every license plate that passes, building a searchable, nationwide record of where your car has been. The company insists it's a crime-fighting tool. Critics, including some of the police chiefs walking away from it, point to cops using it to track exes and no clear limits on federal access to the data.

Translation: People aren't just mad about the cameras. They're mad enough to bring a truck.

The average 30-year fixed mortgage climbed to 6.66% this week, up from 6.58% and the highest it's been since last July. Blame the usual suspects: oil prices spiking on the Iran conflict have pushed the 10-year Treasury yield up nearly a full point since late February, and mortgage rates follow that yield closely. Add in the Fed holding rates steady with three dissenting votes wanting a hike, and there's no relief in sight for buyers.

Translation: Home prices didn't drop. Borrowing to afford one just got more expensive.

Trump unveiled "Freedom Haulers" at the White House, a plan to fast-track military veterans into commercial trucking jobs while the administration keeps pulling licenses from non-citizen drivers. The DOT has already yanked over 24,000 CDLs for failing English proficiency rules and voided 28,000 more issued improperly to non-citizens. Veterans with heavy vehicle experience skip the road test entirely; those without it get three to four weeks of training, with the GI Bill covering the cost. Trucking companies like Werner are already committing to hire, and 34 states have signed on so far. The jobs pay $80,000 to over $100,000 a year.

Translation: Fewer unlicensed drivers on the road, more veterans with a paycheck. Hard to find the losing argument here.

Elon Musk is reviving America PAC, the operation that spent over $260 million electing Trump in 2024. This round is focused on turnout: door-knocking, digital ads, and mail aimed at conservatives who skip midterms. No dollar figure yet, but expect big. Comes as Trump's approval softens on the economy and Iran, and Democrats hold a 10-point enthusiasm edge. Also comes months after Musk publicly feuded with Trump and floated a third party.

Translation: Musk and Trump made up just in time for another nine-figure check.

A new CRFB analysis says switching Social Security to a flat-rate cost-of-living adjustment could close half the program's 75-year funding gap. Instead of raising every check by the same percentage, everyone would get the same dollar amount, set at what the bottom 20% of earners receive. The bottom fifth of retirees would see benefits drop just 3% by 2065. The top fifth would take a 19% hit. Social Security is still on track to run dry by 2032, triggering automatic 22% cuts across the board if nobody touches any of this.

Translation: The fix that saves the program mostly saves it by asking everyone but the lowest earners to take less.

A Walnut Creek rental listed at $3,250 a month, utilities and Wi-Fi included, quietly added a line that nobody missed: an extra $200 a month if you work from home. Renters called it "insane" online. A rental housing association CEO defended it as a "utility cost recovery fee," since remote workers use more power, water and internet than someone who leaves for an office. The listing has since been pulled.

Translation: $3,250 a month buys the apartment. Actually living in it during the day costs extra.

Kevin Baillie, former VP of creative at Netflix's Eyeline Studios, says he was fired from his $1.1 million job after opening up at a company "trust exercise" retreat. He told colleagues he'd taken medically supervised ketamine in 2022 to treat depression after his mother died. Months later, Netflix investigated the comment "in a manner suggesting suspicion of recreational drug use" and let him go, with the company's own attorney admitting the ketamine disclosure "factored into the termination." He's now suing, and also denied a year's severance.

Translation: Netflix asked him to be vulnerable, then fired him for it. Corporate trust exercises, everybody.

Eugenio Les Zavala, 34, was sentenced to 50 years by a Montgomery County jury after his fifth DWI conviction. Deputies pulled him over in February 2025, found beers in the car and his blood alcohol nearly double the legal limit, and he resisted arrest on top of it. Prosecutors used his habitual offender status to push the sentencing range up to 25 years to life. The jury landed at 50.

Translation: Four strikes wasn't enough. Texas made sure there wasn't a sixth.

A 3-bed, 2-bath house in Nunn, Colorado hit the market for $215,280, sold sight unseen, occupied, and off-limits. The listing says the agent has never even been inside, the occupants don't pay rent, and it isn't being sold as a rental. Whoever buys it inherits the job of getting the squatters out after closing.

Translation: Buy the house, inherit the eviction. Colorado real estate now comes with a side quest.

Apple just launched Apple Upgrade, a Klarna-backed leasing program for iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch. Prices start at $17.99 a month for an iPhone, with terms running 12 to 36 months. When the lease ends, you buy it outright, hand it back, or roll into the next model. Apple's killing off its old Upgrade Program to push this instead, right after chip shortages forced price hikes on Macs and iPads. Leasing just makes the sticker shock quieter.

Translation: You'll never own an iPhone again. You'll just rent one from Apple forever and call it progress.

Markets don't wait for Monday. News breaks Saturday morning, and most traders can only watch. 

Not on Liquid. Trade equities, commodities, forex, crypto, and prediction markets from one account, 24/7. 

Log in with Google, deposit in minutes, trade anywhere. While everyone else refreshes headlines, you're already positioned.

Trade 24/7 on Liquid Today

National Farmers Market Week
Sunday, August 2 – Saturday, August 8
A USDA-recognized week promoting local farmers markets nationwide.
Why You Should Care: With grocery inflation still biting and Social Security's math looking grim, buying local is one of the few places consumers still have some leverage on price.

Disney and Uber Earnings
Wednesday, August 5
Both companies report Q2/Q3 results, with Disney expected to post double-digit earnings growth on streaming momentum.
Why You Should Care: These numbers land right after the trillion-dollar chip stock selloff. A miss from either could add to the market's already jittery mood.

International Beer Day
Friday, August 7
A global unofficial holiday celebrating beer, always the first Friday of August.
Why You Should Care: After the week you're about to have, you'll have earned it.

This week gave us both sides of this argument in the same seven days. Florida strapped two men to a gurney, hours apart, the first double execution the state's carried out in nearly a decade. Meanwhile, a Louisiana man walked free after 27 years on death row when the state's own Supreme Court admitted the bite mark evidence that convicted him was fraudulent. Justice and injustice, same week, same system. So let's actually talk about it.

For:
Some crimes are so far beyond redemption that a life sentence feels like a loophole, not a punishment. Supporters argue the death penalty delivers real finality for victims' families, deters the worst offenders, and reflects the basic principle that some actions forfeit your right to exist among the rest of us. It's also constitutional: the Supreme Court has repeatedly upheld it against Eighth Amendment challenges, and the practice remains legal at the federal level and in 27 states.

Against:
The Duncan case is the argument in a nutshell: the system convicted an innocent man using junk science, and he came within striking distance of execution before the truth came out. Opponents point to a documented history of wrongful convictions, racial disparities in sentencing, decades-long appeals that cost taxpayers more than life imprisonment does, and the basic irreversibility of the punishment. Once you execute the wrong person, there's no appeal left to file.

Alternatives:
The most common alternative is life without parole, which keeps dangerous people permanently off the streets without betting on a system that occasionally gets it wrong. Some states have also explored expanded DNA and forensic review requirements before capital sentences can proceed, aimed directly at preventing cases like Duncan's from happening again.

Legal challenges:
The death penalty faces ongoing fights over execution methods (lethal injection drug shortages have pushed states toward nitrogen gas and firing squads), claims of cruel and unusual punishment, and a steady stream of innocence cases built on DNA evidence and discredited forensic techniques like the bite mark analysis that nearly killed Duncan.

Where it stands:
27 states still allow the death penalty, including Texas, Florida, Georgia, and most of the South. 23 states plus D.C. have abolished it, including Virginia, which became the first Southern state to do so back in 2021. Four more states, California, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, technically allow it but have governors actively blocking executions.

Conclusion:
Both stories are true at once. The system delivers real justice, and the system sometimes gets it catastrophically wrong. The question isn't whether crime deserves the ultimate punishment. It's whether we trust the process enough to make that call irreversible.

What do you think? Reply to this email and tell us where you land. We read every one.

Common Sense Is Back. Let's hear yours. 🇺🇸