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Hilton was hospitalized late Tuesday evening in Miami.

Hilton was hospitalized late Tuesday evening in Miami.

The setting was perfectly fitting. 

New Mexico’s attorney general sued the U.S. Department of Justice on Wednesday, accusing it of blocking the state from investigating sex crimes at Jeffrey Epstein’s former ranch near Santa Fe.

Louisiana Has The Highest Car Ownership Burden In America

For many Americans, owning a car is a necessity, but the financial burden varies dramatically by state. In the least affordable places, annual vehicle expenses consume nearly one-quarter of the typical household’s income.

This map, via Visual Capitalist's Dorothy Neufeld, ranks every state by annual car ownership costs as a share of median household income, based on analysis from LendingTree of active auto loan holders. The estimates include financing, insurance, fuel, and maintenance.

The States Where Car Ownership Costs the Most

The table below ranks every state by annual car ownership costs as a share of median household income.

State Total Costs Median Household Income % of Household Income Louisiana $14,894 $64,199 23.2% Mississippi $13,378 $62,242 21.5% New Mexico $14,115 $71,388 19.8% Arkansas $12,798 $65,378 19.6% Alabama $13,164 $70,171 18.8% West Virginia $11,951 $64,001 18.7% Kentucky $12,628 $67,925 18.6% Oklahoma $12,722 $69,633 18.3% Florida $14,546 $81,830 17.8% Missouri $13,235 $75,360 17.6% Arizona $14,860 $85,779 17.3% Wyoming $13,533 $79,511 17.0% Texas $14,139 $83,921 16.8% Nevada $14,341 $85,408 16.8% Montana $13,245 $79,309 16.7% Georgia $13,733 $84,205 16.3% Tennessee $12,350 $75,790 16.3% Kansas $12,941 $79,492 16.3% Indiana $12,269 $75,750 16.2% South Carolina $12,233 $76,161 16.1% Michigan $12,208 $76,202 16.0% North Dakota $12,766 $81,973 15.6% Ohio $11,574 $76,016 15.2% Iowa $11,992 $79,478 15.1% North Carolina $11,725 $77,854 15.1% Nebraska $12,133 $80,399 15.1% South Dakota $12,092 $80,931 14.9% Wisconsin $11,947 $81,570 14.6% New York $13,183 $90,341 14.6% Idaho $12,340 $85,442 14.4% Pennsylvania $11,735 $81,630 14.4% Illinois $12,549 $87,594 14.3% Maine $11,231 $80,469 14.0% Oregon $12,528 $89,709 14.0% Delaware $12,680 $92,145 13.8% Rhode Island $12,042 $87,903 13.7% Colorado $13,876 $102,229 13.6% California $14,325 $105,425 13.6% Minnesota $12,304 $91,706 13.4% Vermont $11,542 $87,088 13.3% Alaska $13,051 $100,705 13.0% Washington $13,558 $104,625 13.0% Utah $13,023 $101,750 12.8% Virginia $12,214 $96,941 12.6% New Jersey $13,708 $109,788 12.5% Connecticut $12,630 $101,109 12.5% Hawaii $13,193 $106,052 12.4% Maryland $13,314 $108,326 12.3% District of Columbia $13,205 $115,486 11.4% New Hampshire $11,418 $105,038 10.9% Massachusetts $11,745 $110,350 10.6% 🇺🇸 U.S. Average $12,841 $85,759 15.0%

Data is for active auto loan holders. Cost and income figures were adjusted to 2026 dollars.

Louisiana is the nation’s least affordable state for car ownership, with the typical household spending 23.2% of its income, or $14,894 annually, on vehicle expenses. By comparison, Massachusetts households devote just 10.6% of their income to car ownership.

Mississippi, New Mexico, Arkansas, and Alabama round out the top five, with households in each spending roughly one-fifth of their income on car ownership.

Why Car Ownership Is Less Affordable Across the South

The South dominates the least affordable rankings because many states combine relatively modest household incomes with high ownership costs.

Insurance is one major factor. Louisiana and Florida, for example, consistently rank among the country’s most expensive states for auto insurance due to severe weather, litigation costs, and high accident claims.

Drivers in many Southern states also travel more miles each year, increasing spending on fuel, maintenance, and repairs.

America’s Most Affordable States for Car Ownership

Massachusetts has the nation’s lowest car ownership burden, with annual costs equal to 10.6% of median household income, or $11,745.

New Hampshire and Maryland also rank among the most affordable states, helping make the Northeast the country’s least financially burdensome region for car ownership. Higher incomes help keep costs manageable across much of the region, while extensive public transit may allow some households to drive less or own fewer vehicles.

These rankings show that car affordability depends on more than the cost of owning and operating a vehicle. Household income also plays a major role, meaning similar expenses can create very different financial burdens depending on where people live.

To learn more about this topic, check out this graphic on the cheapest car brands to own and maintain.

Tyler Durden Wed, 08/05/2026 - 21:20

Clayton Kershaw got back on the field, but not with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Kershaw took his sons to Rams training camp Wednesday, where the family posed for a picture with quarterback Matthew Stafford. Clayton Kershaw and his sons pose for a picture with Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford at training camp. The two superstar athletes...

ARLINGTON, Texas — Believe it or not, there are still opportunities for this Giants team to reach new lows, and they just might be barreling toward a big one. Or should we say, the big one hundred. The Giants’ Willy Adames reacts after striking out against the Rangers on Wednesday. It’s a black mark only...

Judge Gail Ray's son, Nelson Taylor, previously pleaded guilty to multiple forcible rape charges in 1997.

Vermont senator urges Democrats to 'get above cancel culture' when pressed on Hasan Piker's past 9/11 remarks.

The Liberty should be well represented at next month’s FIBA World Cup tournament in Berlin. 

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — It doesn’t take long for Wan’Dale Robinson to point out the biggest difference between playing in New York and playing in Tennessee.  “There’s not as much traffic,” Robinson said this week.  It’s hard to argue with that. That is just one of the benefits for Robinson, who signed with the Titans in...

Declassified Documents Show FBI Probed Whether Trump Fired Comey At Russia's Direction

Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times,

Newly declassified documents show the FBI probed President Donald Trump's termination of the agency's director as part of an effort to substantiate allegations that Trump colluded with Russia.

Former FBI Director James Comey in Berlin, Germany, on June 19, 2018. Carsten Koall/Getty Images

The documents, declassified by a White House task force on Aug. 5, refer to Trump's firing of FBI Director James Comey on May 9, 2017.

In one of the documents, dated May 16, 2017, the FBI said it was opening an investigation "based on an articulable factual basis that reasonably indicates that President Donald J. Trump may be or has been, wittingly or unwittingly, involved in activities for or on behalf of the Government of the Russian Federation which may constitute violations of federal criminal law or threats to the national security of the United States."

The goal of the investigation "is to determine if President Trump is or was directed by, controlled by, and/or coordinated activities with, the Russian Federation in a manner constituting a threat to the national security of the United States and/or a violation of federal criminal statutes," the document states.

The investigation, codenamed Oxferd Comma, would also look into whether Trump and "others yet to be named" obstructed or conspired to obstruct any related FBI investigations, according to the document.

That included whether Trump's firing of Comey was linked to the FBI probing Russian efforts to influence the 2016 election, the document said.

Comey was fired after officials determined he mishandled a probe into then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's use of a personal server to send classified emails, including announcing without clearance from the attorney general that the case should be closed without prosecution, according to a memorandum from then-Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to the attorney general that was later made public.

Trump said shortly after Comey's termination that he fired Comey due to his mishandling the probe of Clinton, who ran against Trump in the 2016 election.

The document opening the probe said that Trump's rationale for firing Comey "has changed over time."

While Trump initially in public attributed the decision to conclusions from Rosenstein and then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and the White House said in a statement that the firing had "nothing to do with Russia," Trump said in a television interview several days later that he was going to fire Comey regardless of the recommendation from Department of Justice officials because "this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made up story."

James Baker, the FBI's general counsel at the time, and William Priestap, the FBI's assistant director for counterintelligence at the time, signed off on the probe, and other top FBI officials, such as acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe, were aware of the investigation, according to the document and other papers.

The White House Government Transparency Task Force declassified and released the documents.

Trump created the task force in May to advise him on documents "that should be declassified and/or released to the public to further his administration's priorities of transparency and accountability," according to a July 13 statement from the task force.

John Solomon, chairman of the task force, said in a statement released by the White House that evidence when the investigation was opened already undercut suspicions that Trump was acting as a Russian asset, including testimony from FBI special agent William Barnett.

The White House declined to comment.

The FBI did not respond to a request for comment by publication time.

The probe into Trump's termination of Comey was closed on April 9, 2019, after special counsel Robert Mueller concluded that there was no evidence to support claims that Trump and his campaign colluded or coordinated with Russia.

"The Special Counsel provided the Attorney General with a confidential report explaining his prosecution and declination decisions," the document outlining the closing of the investigation reads.

Tyler Durden Wed, 08/05/2026 - 20:55

Jaxson Dart went from reeling to dealing. 

A reformed shoplifter returned a rare book stolen 40 years ago to a California bookstore.

If there’s one thing that New York City FC forward Bénie Traoré has gotten used to during his soccer career, it’s moving. 

This spin-off of Star Wars: Visions features Kimiko Glenn, Simu Liu, Young Mazino, and more in the story of a small group of Jedi's quest to defeat a Sith warlord and restore peace in the galaxy.

The duo stepped out to the celebrity hotspot Giorgio Baldi in Santa Monica on Tuesday.

The duo stepped out to the celebrity hotspot Giorgio Baldi in Santa Monica on Tuesday.

Fresh Panic As Pentagon Has Used 'Virtually All' Its Long-Range Precision Missiles On Iran

US forces "used up virtually all" of their precision, long-range missiles during the course of the Iran war, and during the earlier heavy US-Israeli campaign of Operation Epic Fury, Reuters reported Tuesday.

This has raised serious "concerns about the military's ​readiness for future conflicts," informed sources told the outlet. In particular it is the Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) and Precision Strike Missiles (PrSM) which are said to be running critically low.

US Army file image

"Washington has used virtually all of these weapons," two sources told Reuters, after several media reports and think tank studies had already sounded the alarm over dwindling missiles amid both the Iran war and in the years-long process of supplying Ukraine. Low Patriot defense missile supplies have also been a persisting issue in the headlines.

They are costly and time-consuming in terms of manufacturing replacements. For example a single ATACMS munition costs about $1 million.

One immediate consequence could be that if heavy bombardment of Iran starts up again, the US would have to conduct riskier piloted aerial bombings - instead relying on longer range precision strikes afforded by the land-based systems at safer distances.

And another, somewhat obvious consequence, is highlighted in the following: "But as ​the war drags on, the three people familiar with the matter expressed worry that the falling missile supplies could limit the U.S. ability to deter adversaries, including Russia and China."

The report added: "A fourth person ⁠familiar with the matter said that while Central Command — which oversees U.S. forces in the Middle East — has nearly used up the land-based missiles it had before the war began, it has been able to reload from U.S. military supplies elsewhere in the ​world."

President Trump has of late responded to these now widespread reports of badly depleted advanced munitions, explaining that "Our defense companies are, at this moment, making more munitions than they have ever made before, ​in addition to expanding their plants and equipment at record levels."

Additionally,  Secretary of War Pete Hegseth took to social media to refute the report, calling it false news.

“That banner is NOT TRUE, CNN. Shame on you,” the Pentagon chief said in a post on X. “We don’t hate the Fake News media enough.”

Hegseth was specifically referring to a CNN on-screen banner that read: “Sources: U.S. has used nearly 80% of key missile interceptors in Iran war, top commanders warn stockpiles dangerously low.”

However, the Reuters report has set off speculation that Trump's weekend backtracking on planned 'harder' Iran strikes could have been in part because the Pentagon has warned of waning supplies and capabilities regarding conventional way of doing long-range missile strikes.

We’re out of crucial defensive weapons systems, and now we’re out of crucial offensive weapons. Other than that, Sir, how’s the war going? https://t.co/qXNiSLHQho

— Mark Ames (@MarkAmesExiled) August 4, 2026

Critics of the decision to go to war in the first place have warned over this very scenario of exhausting Pentagon stockpiles. Those against this war of choice say that it's the opposite of America First - and that ultimately the war is about protecting Israel and not necessarily American security and interests.

The reality also is that in the opening days of Operation Epic Fury, the US seemed underprepared for the ferocity of the Iranian response. At least 13 American bases in the region were hit and damaged in just the opening weeks of the war, to the point that US forces across the region had to be moved back from front line Gulf areas, and energy sites across the region were pummeled and suffered billions of dollars in damage.

Tyler Durden Wed, 08/05/2026 - 20:30

Call me old fashioned, but didn’t publicly exclaiming “I love Hitler” used to automatically disqualify people from receiving prestigious honors in Manhattan?