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Breaking Down Yesterday’s Massive Verizon Outage

If you found yourself staring at a dreaded “SOS” icon on your phone or frantically toggling airplane mode yesterday, you certainly weren’t alone. Wednesday, January 14, 2026, turned into a digital blackout for millions of Americans as Verizon suffered one of its most significant network disruptions in recent memory. Now that the dust has settled and the signal bars have returned, here is a look at exactly what happened, why it happened, and what the carrier is doing to make it right.

The Timeline of the Blackout

The trouble began right around lunchtime, specifically 12:30 PM ET. Reports immediately flooded in from across the country, with the outage hitting major population centers on the Eastern Seaboard and the Midwest particularly hard. At the height of the disruption, outage tracking sites logged over 1.5 million complaints. For roughly 10 hours, subscribers were cut off from data and voice services, leaving devices stuck in “SOS mode”—meaning they could function only to call 911 via other available carrier networks.

The Culprit: Glitch, Not Attack

Naturally, when a network of this magnitude goes dark, fears of foul play or security breaches arise. However, Verizon has explicitly stated that there was no indication of a cyberattack. The company identified the root cause as a widespread software issue within their network systems. Ultimately, it was an internal technical failure rather than an external threat that brought the network to a standstill.

Resolution and Getting Back Online

Engineering teams worked throughout the afternoon and evening to patch the software fault. Verizon officially declared the issue resolved at 10:15 PM ET last night. By late evening, the vast majority of devices had reconnected. For anyone still experiencing lingering connectivity issues today, the carrier advises a simple restart of your device. Powering your phone off and back on should force it to re-establish a fresh connection with the nearest cell towers.

Compensation for the Trouble

In response to the frustration caused by the day-long silence, Verizon has announced it is offering a $20 account credit to affected customers. The company noted that this amount is intended to cover multiple days of service. While consumer accounts are being handled largely through this flat credit, Verizon has stated that business customers will be contacted directly regarding compensation for their specific accounts.

It was a frustrating Wednesday for millions, but operations have returned to normal. Hopefully, the $20 credit will help smooth over the inconvenience of a day spent offline.

Saffron Robes on a Rainy Road

‘Walk for Peace’ Pilgrimage Passes Through Rock Hill

ROCK HILL, S.C. — On a gray, sodden Wednesday morning, a striking splash of deep orange moved steadily along the wet asphalt of York County. It was a sight that caused many local drivers to do a double-take: Buddhist monks, serene and focused, walking the shoulder of the highway amid the January chill.

These monks are part of a dedicated group currently undertaking a massive “Walk for Peace,” a cross-country pilgrimage aimed at spreading a message of unity, compassion, and non-violence.

The group’s journey today took them through Rock Hill on their way north toward Fort Mill and Charlotte. The monks, clad in traditional saffron and maroon robes, navigated the slick roads in simple sandals, a testament to the arduous nature of their undertaking.

This trek is no small feat. The group is in the middle of a roughly 2,300-mile journey that began in Fort Worth, Texas. Their ultimate destination is Washington, D.C., where they hope to arrive by mid-February to deliver their message of peace to the nation’s capital.

Their presence in Rock Hill highlighted the very sort of unity they seek to promote. On Tuesday night, the walkers found shelter and hospitality at the Catawba Baptist Church in Rock Hill before setting out again on Wednesday morning.

While the visual of the monks walking is powerful, they are supported by a team in a vehicle following closely behind. The support vehicle currently houses their unofficial mascot, a rescue dog from India named “Aloka”—often referred to as the “Peace Dog”—who is currently resting up after recent surgery.

Local residents who spotted the walkers today witnessed a quiet, moving demonstration of faith in action. As the rain continued to fall, the monks marched northward, one step at a time, toward Washington.

Dilbert Creator Dies

Scott Adams, ‘Dilbert’ Creator, Dies at 68. 🤔💔😢 Adams revealed his cancer diagnosis in May. “I have prostate cancer that has also spread to my bones,” Adams said. “I expect to be checking out of this domain sometime this summer.” Link 🔗

There were times when I could swear that Scott worked in the same office as me.
Example:

Crash at Viva Chicken in Greer

A scary scene unfolded this past Sunday evening, January 4, at the Viva Chicken on Pelham Road. An SUV crashed through the front entrance and glass windows of the restaurant.

Emergency crews, including the Boiling Springs Fire Department and Greenville County EMS, responded promptly to the scene. Officials reported eight total injuries, with three people transported to the hospital for treatment as priority patients.

The South Carolina Highway Patrol is still investigating the cause of the accident. Sending our thoughts to those who have been injured and hoping for a quick recovery.

North Carolina Ends Cashless Bail

A Victory for Public Safety and Common Sense

On December 1, 2025, North Carolina officially shut down the dangerous experiment known as cashless bail. With the stroke of a pen, Governor Josh Stein signed “Iryna’s Law,” ending the practice of letting violent and repeat offenders walk free on a simple promise to show up in court later.

This reform was born out of tragedy. In August 2025, 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska was riding the light-rail train in Charlotte when she was randomly stabbed to death in broad daylight. Her alleged killer? A man with a long rap sheet who had been released just months earlier on a written promise to appear after yet another arrest. No money posted. No GPS monitor. No real consequences. Just another catch-and-release cycle that ended with an innocent young woman murdered in a horrific, preventable attack.

Enough was enough.

“Iryna’s Law” eliminates written promises to appear, requires secured bonds or strict monitoring for violent crimes, and forces judges to put their reasoning in writing when they release dangerous defendants. It also adds mental-health screenings and accountability for magistrates who repeatedly put the public at risk.

The results speak for themselves: violent criminals will no longer be free to re-offend while awaiting trial. Communities—especially in high-crime areas like Charlotte—will finally get the protection they’ve been begging for. A recent Carolina Journal poll found that nearly three out of four North Carolinians support holding judges accountable when their lenient decisions result in more victims.

This isn’t about punishing poverty; it’s about punishing predators. Low-risk, non-violent defendants still have reasonable paths to pretrial release. But if you’re charged with a violent felony or you keep cycling through the system, society has a right—and now a legal duty—to keep you off the streets until your day in court.

Iryna Zarutska came to America seeking safety and a new life. She never got the chance to live it. Thanks to the courage of North Carolina lawmakers in passing this law, fewer families will have to endure the pain she now carries forever.

Rest in peace, Iryna. Your death was not in vain. North Carolina just became a safer place because of you.

Overhead Highway Sign Collapses on I-77 near Charlotte, NC

It looked like a scene straight out of an action movie, but for drivers on I-77 South late Friday night, it was terrifyingly real.

Just before 11 p.m. on November 28, a massive overhead sign gantry near Exit 3 (Arrowood Road) came crashing down onto the highway after an impaired driver slammed into one of its support columns. The twisted metal pinned a vehicle underneath, trapping its driver inside a crumpled car beneath tons of steel.

Charlotte Fire Department crews worked frantically for over an hour to cut the driver free. Both the trapped motorist and another person were rushed to the hospital with serious injuries. As of Sunday evening, no updates on their conditions have been released.

According to the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT), the driver who caused the crash was impaired. The impact was so violent that the entire sign structure buckled and fell across multiple lanes, instantly shutting down all southbound traffic just south of the city.

For nearly seven hours, I-77 South was a parking lot. Detours funneled thousands of vehicles onto surface streets like Nations Ford Road and Arrowood, turning a typical Friday night into a logistical nightmare. The highway finally reopened around 5 a.m. Saturday, after NCDOT crews removed the mangled sign sections and inspected the remaining supports.

Upstate Meteor: Falling ‘Fiery Ball’

Look, it’s a bird! It’s a plane! No, it’s a meteor!

Did you see it? Multiple reports of ‘fiery ball’ falling from the sky in Upstate and beyond

Fugitive Monkeys on the Loose in South Carolina

Over 40 monkeys escaped from a research facility in South Carolina on Wednesday, prompting warnings for nearby residents to secure their doors and windows. As of Friday morning, the fugitive monkeys had not been captured.

This Day in History

I grew up 60 miles north of Philadelphia. This story was all over the news for months!

Would drowning in chocolate be a lousy way to die? 

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