Mast is built around source-backed status. The goal is not just to show an answer, but to point back to the public notice behind it.
Mast looks for sources such as governor websites, state flag-status pages, federal observance references, press releases, executive orders, and official PDFs. Social posts and secondary reporting can be useful clues, but official public notices are the preferred source for calendar placement.
Some states publish a clear current flag-status page. Others publish dated news releases, PDFs, or archive pages. Mast uses state-specific parsing when a source has a known format and keeps fallback source links when a site changes.
When Mast uses AI to summarize a notice, the model is given source text and parser context. The summary is a convenience layer; the source link remains the reference for final verification.
Official pages can move, typo dates, change wording, or publish updates after the first notice. Mast includes a report flow so users can flag inaccurate source interpretation or missing orders.
A good flag-status answer should be inspectable. Mast exposes source links in the current order card, calendar tooltip, timeline, API, and state-source reference pages.