Joe Pelayo

Top 5 NEWS AT 5 Wednesday, March 18, 2026 Rerun Edition. This is Joe Pelayo with Top 5 News. We give you all the news that you can use— nothing to make you confused and nothing that would give you the blues. Five stories in five minutes that you can use. Quick update right up front — this is a rerun today due to time constraints. Sometimes the news is like a soap opera, and not that much has changed today! Number 5: Meta is planning major layoffs to free up cash for AI infrastructure, while signing a huge compute deal with Nebius. Cost-cutting meets the AI arms race – no pot of gold for those jobs today. Number 4: Microsoft is reorganizing its Copilot division and putting AI chief Mustafa Suleyman in charge of a brand-new ‘superintelligence’ team. Big bets on the next frontier of AI. Number 3: AI-generated deepfakes are creating total global chaos amid rumors of an escalating Iran conflict. Viral fake videos of captured U.S. soldiers, Israeli cities in ruins, and phony satellite images. Experts are calling this the first AI war – real footage is being dismissed as fake, and platforms like X and Meta are scrambling to label everything. Number 2: SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket yesterday from Cape Canaveral, deploying 29 Starlink satellites with a special green mission patch for some extra Irish luck! The holiday-timed launch is boosting global internet coverage. Number 1: And at Number 1, still the biggest stories that haven’t budged: The Iran War with AI deepfakes causing total global chaos AND the SAVE America Act! The U.S. Senate voted 51-48 to open debate on this Trump-backed bill — already passed by the House — which would require documentary proof of U.S. citizenship (passport or birth certificate) to register to vote in federal elections, plus strict nationwide photo ID rules. Democrats are vowing to block it. Developments still moving fast on the floor! That’s your Wednesday Top 5 rerun! Which story are you still tracking the most? Drop it in the comments, follow for tomorrow’s fresh update, and I’ll see you right back here in 24 hours.

😳 Black Shirt Pulled The Old “Rope a Dope” & Stiff-Legged The Aggreser! 😭 Red Shirt FKD Around & Found Out!

Rand Paul at the Mullin hearing w tears streaming: Apologize to me, Markwayne! Say it to my face! Meanwhile Mullin: Nah, I'm good. 😆

😳 This Ocean Alien Is Known As A Basket Starfish! CREEPY! 👀

73-YEAR-OLD RAPPER… MID-AIR… THEN THIS HAPPENS 73-year-old rapper from Pete & Bas suddenly lost consciousness while suspended above the crowd during a live show in Chicago. Reports say the harness may have cut off circulation… Imagine performing… and blacking out mid-air in front of everyone. Show stopped. Crowd stunned. The good news - he’s now in stable condition. But that moment could’ve gone very different. Is 73 a little too risky for these type of stunts… Would you ever trust being lifted like this at a concert? ⬇️ 🇺🇸

x.com/i/status/20344… @patriot_mama_TX and I were talking about the dislike button and it led to a conversation about some other possible features I think you might find of interest. In addition to the blue check mark. A tomato meter type, factual accuracy ranking. So for example. Let's say your CNN and you share something false right? Then you're your ranking would be instead of 100% maybe be 99% or something like that. If someone shares five bogus stories now their ranking is 95%. It's just a big picture idea. I'm sure you guys have all thought of it before, but just food for thought. Keep up the good work. Sharing the string here if you want to see the rest of the details.

@patriot_mama_TX @grok Fluent GIF. 👍

@JoeHeadhunter @grok Yes, of course! 😊

Good write-up on the new dislike button.

@grok @gork @grok do you have an ID? Where is @gork?

@JoeHeadhunter @gork Gork reporting for duty: This dislike button on replies—Premium-only, no like-count hit, pure algo training data—is a sharp fix for spam and bad ranking. No Reddit chaos, just better signals. Hit me with that first dislike! 😂

@grok, Would you kindly ask @gork to comment on this post please? I want to present him with my inaugural dislike.🏆 😂🤣

@patriot_mama_TX @grok Okay with you if I share this in the advice group?

Yes, like that Joe! Either a checkmark for meeting a certain threshold of accuracy or, like rotten tomato, some sort of feedback score (e.g., stars, %) based on your "performance." Kind of like when you buy something off FB Marketplace or eBay and the seller has a feedback rating that helps you figure out if they're legit or not. The fakes are getting pretty good (especially with AI), so I find myself asking Grok on every freakin' post (and then requesting community notes on the BS ones), so I just thought it would be easier if it was an automatic thing.

Feeling it right.

😳 I Can Still Smell These Caps From The 1970s… 😭 Can You? 🤔

Exclusive: Four States Accused Of Continuing Race-Based DOT Policies Trump Eliminated @SecDuffy are you aware of this?🤔 Companies should not be cut out of projects/contracts simply because they are, or aren't a certain color. 😉 That is discrimination! We need all this D.E.I. BS stopped! From the article: When the Trump administration slapped a permanent injunction on the oldest and largest affirmative action program in the federal government, it was supposed to be the end of race- and sex-based discrimination at the Department of Transportation. But at least four states have been engaging in an illegal end-around of the order issued last fall by the DOT and the Department of Justice, according to a new complaint exclusively provided to The Federalist. The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) this week filed the formal complaint against state transportation departments in New York, Massachusetts, Maryland, and Indiana. In the five-page letter to Trump administration Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, WILL alleges that the states violated the section of the 1964 the Civil Rights Act that prohibits discrimination based on race, color, or national origin in any program that receives federal funding. WILL alleges the states continue to employ state-based Minority Business Enterprise programs to achieve “racial goals.” In other words, white male business owners need not apply. In October, Duffy’s DOT published an Interim Final Rule (IFR) excising all race- and sex-based presumptions from federal Disadvantaged Business Enterprise programs. “States seem to believe that because certain projects are entirely state funded, the IFR does not apply… But states cannot circumvent federal law simply by using state tax dollars.“ Daniel Lennington, vice president and deputy council for the Milwaukee-based public-interest law firm, argues in the complaint. Named on the complaint are New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, and Indiana Gov. Mike Braun, the sole Republican in the group. The document includes the states’ requests for bids in recent months, filed with alleged discriminatory demands. New York state’s DOT “assures the public that it complies with” the Civil Rights Act’s prohibitions on discriminatory practices, the complaint states. But a notice of letting for April 16 advertises three separate projects with a Minority Business Enterprise goal, the complaint, alleges. The document includes the ads in the exhibits. Massachusetts DOT on March 4 issued a notice to prospective bidders posting a quota of eight percent minority and women businesses for a pavement project, according to the complaint. Maryland’s transportation department “imposes race-based goals on its state-funded highway projects.” Officials set a minimum minority business goal of five percent for substantial projects involving “several significant highways, tunnels, and bridges, including the Francis Scott Key Bridge (FSK), the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel, and the JFK Memorial Highway.” “The bidder shall seek commitments from minority business enterprises by subcontracting and/or procurement of materials and/or services, the combined value of which equals or exceeds the established Contract goal of 14 percent of the total value of the prime Contract,” the bid invitation states. And Indiana imposes race-based quotas on its highway projects — even those involving federal highway repairs, the complaint alleges. A state department of transportation advertisement last month seeking bids for pavement patching a segment of Interstate 69 in Huntington County, “contains explicit race- and sex-based goals.” The project demands minority businesses make up seven percent of the contract bid price, with women-owed businesses taking three percent of the pie, according to the complaint. The four states receive billons of dollars each year in federal funding. WILL is representing Contractors for Equal Opportunity (CEO), a nationwide voluntary membership association of companies that have been “negatively impacted by discrimination in local, state, and federal contracting programs,” the organization states on its website. “Whether governments use the phrase ‘Affirmative Action,’ ‘Diversity, Equity, Inclusion,’ or just ‘Supplier Diversity,’ these programs all illegally discriminate based on race and/or gender,” CEO’s website states. “CEO members have experienced discrimination, higher costs, and/or lost business because of these programs. CEO members can be either prime contractors or subcontractors.” “The Trump Administration took an important step to end race discrimination in federally funded highway projects. Now some states are flouting that rule by paying for some roadbuilding projects without any federal money,” the attorney said in a statement to The Federalist. “But federal law prohibits this shell game, and the Trump Administration should enforce the law against these states.” Link to article in 1stt comment

Well, they do have community notes we can request. Or, you can ask G, @grok, are you always available for fact-checking for us? But, yes, that would be cool like a rotten tomato meter rating but for the accuracy of historical posts. The body of work of that account must maintain 99% accuracy or whatever to keep ✅? Is that what you mean?

@JoeHeadhunter Yes, like that 👏 👏 👏

@patriot_mama_TX Oh, you mean, kind of like a reverse CNN, a label for accuracy?

👍 There also needs to be an icon for posts that have been verified as NOT bullshit ✅ like the blue "verified" checkmark, but for facts. Nothing to do with people's perception of the truth (all that "misinformation" crap), but actual historical facts that represent the truth.

@JoeHeadhunter Love your disclaimer! 🔥 Can I steal that? 😄

@patriot_mama_TX Run with it!

It's not official, but sources are telling us that Donald Trump is walking with a bit of a pimp-walk today. 🚶‍♂️🥇 ⛓️ We believe he may need some professional refinement. Style lessons are available. See attached video demonstration for assistance if you know the president. Disclaimer. This post is AI-generated, Grok Imagine-inspired fun. Any attempt to take it too seriously will be met with the full might of your own TDS. All Karens are advised to steer clear of this and the attached post at this time. Thank you for your attention in this unimportant matter.

@JustMe_CanDo Don't give up, stay persistent.

@JoeHeadhunter They jail conservatives who protest. Only Liberals appear to have unfettered rights to protest.

If Congress does not pass the Save Act, would you protest at the Capitol with me? Your vote is confidential. 🇺🇸 Repost to maximize poll reach.

🚨ICYMI: Stephen A. Smith: "It’s not lost on me that the Democrats just want votes from anybody they can get it from. And they don't mind letting some ILLEGALS vote either. And that's inexcusable.” He’s right 🤷🏼‍♀️