Free Republic

Under the Conservatives, Britain’s high streets are on the decline. There are now 3,710 fewer fruit and veg shops, butchers, and newsagents than there were in 2010. Rishi Sunak’s recession has hammered small business and consumers alike, with the soaring cost of living, eye-watering mortgage and rent payments contributing to businesses closing and shops boarded up. And since 2022 alone, an additional 385 towns have seen their last bank branch close, or announce that they will be closing imminently. This has left local people and businesses without any options to bank locally. The decimation to small business is coupled with...

A California moving company that uses student athletes as movers is being sued for violating age-discrimination laws. Meathead Movers, a company that prides itself on using clean-cut youthful workers, is being pursued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The Fresno based business is said to have failed to recruit and hire workers over 40 into positions within the company. Employment lawyers and trade groups have said the case will shine a light on how the agency plan to approach antidiscrimination laws, after President Biden appointed commissioners to tackle the problem. Many of the allegations from the EEOC say that...

New resources will encourage zero emissions conversions and transit-oriented development that increase housing supply and cut climate pollution Today, the Biden-Harris Administration is announcing new actions to support the conversion of high-vacancy commercial buildings to residential use, including through new financing, technical assistance, and sale of federal properties. These announcements will create much-needed housing that is affordable, energy efficient, near transit and good jobs, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, nearly 30 percent of which comes from the building sector. Office and commercial vacancies across the country are affecting urban downtowns and rural main streets. A new blog released today by...

The National Owners Association called California’s recently-passed AB 1228 “draconian” and costly to franchisees in a memo distributed to its members. “The new ‘AB 1228’ legislation has been voted into law and will result in a devastating financial blow to California McDonald’s franchisees at a projected annual cost of $250,000 per McDonald’s restaurant,” the advocacy group representing some 1,000 McDonald’s franchisees said in the memo obtained by FOX Business. “These costs simply cannot be absorbed by the current business model.” CNBC earlier reported on the NOA memo. Among the bill’s key components: It would raise the minimum wage for fast-food...

Americans could be urged by officials to drink no more than two beers a week as part of strict new alcohol guidelines. Biden's health czar told DailyMail.com the USDA could revise its alcohol advice to match Canada's, where people are advised to have just two drinks per week. Dr George Koob — who admits enjoying a couple of glasses of Chardonnay a week — said he was watching Canada's 'big experiment' with interest. 'If there's health benefits, I think people will start to re-evaluate where we're at [in the US],' he told DailyMail.com. Current US recommendations say women can have...

America’s ban on incandescent light bulbs, 16 years in the making, is finally a reality. Well, mostly. A rule issued in 2007, rolled back by the Trump administration, and updated last year by the Biden administration, effectively bans the sale of common incandescent light bulbs. The rule went fully into effect Tuesday, August 1. ... The rule passed by President Joe Biden’s Department of Energy in April 2022 states that light bulbs must emit a minimum of 45 lumens per watt. A lumen is a measure of brightness. That effectively outlaws the manufacture and sale of common incandescent bulbs, the...

: LA City Controller Kenneth Mejia revealed in a tweet Wednesday that no permit was pulled to trim the now-infamous Ficus trees outside of Universal’s Gate 8. He added in a thread that “The City of LA’s Urban Forestry Division (UFD) will coordinate w/ StreetsLA’s Investigation & Enforcement Division (IED) to confirm if this case warrants the issuance of an administrative citation or hearing. If issued, the administrative citation fee starts at $250.” Mejia had previously tweeted that the trees — which had provided shade for picketers during the ongoing strike before they were pruned over the weekend — are...

New York state officials are proud to announce a new record. Gov. Kathy Hochul announced New York State set a record when it comes to New York's "landmark" paid family leave program. The paid family program allows New Yorkers to take paid time off work to care for a seriously ill family member or bond with a new child. "When I signed New York's paid family leave expansion into law, I reaffirmed our state's commitment to ensuring that workers have the protections they need to bond with their parents, children, and other loved ones," Governor Hochul said. "Now, workers are...

An influencer-backed energy drink that has earned viral popularity among children is facing scrutiny from lawmakers and health experts over its potentially dangerous levels of caffeine. On Sunday, Sen. Charles Schumer called on the Food and Drug Administration to investigate PRIME, a beverage brand founded by the YouTube stars Logan Paul and KSI that has become something of an obsession among the influencers’ legions of young followers.

When an overwhelming number of Americans support a specific public health policy, as rare as that is these days, you’d think our elected leaders in Washington would rush to pass legislation that reflects the will of their respective voters. And when that policy involves the pressing issue of solving child hunger, you’d think Congress would move expeditiously to prevent further suffering endured by a defenseless segment of the U.S. population.

Several Fourth of July fireworks displays in Los Angeles County have been canceled due to new environmental regulations aimed at reducing pollution in local waters. Though some fireworks shows were able to comply with the new permit requirements, at least one company, Pyro Spectaculars, said that they were unsafe. The Los Angeles Times reported:[T]he L.A. Regional Water Quality Control Board adopted a protective fireworks display permit in late May, which requires new best practices aimed at reducing plastics and other pollution that could fall into oceans or marinas from fireworks displays.

Tesla got a carve-out. It’s a good day for auto dealers in the Sunshine State, and not so great for motorists who’d prefer a more direct route for buying a new coupe, sedan or SUV. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a measure (HB 637) banning most direct-to-consumer vehicle sales, solidifying the future viability of car-selling operations across the Sunshine State. The measure, championed and authored by lobbyists representing the Florida Automobile Dealers Association (FADA), prohibits automakers from selling vehicles directly to buyers.That restriction, which goes into effect July 1, was considered a direct threat to the business model of Tesla, an...

The Biden administration wants Congress to mandate airlines to pay cash compensation for delays of three hours or more when carriers are responsible, and provide new requirements for transparency over fees such as for baggage when booking tickets. The bill released on Friday does not include those consumer proposals but does respond to a Biden administration call in February to ban family seating fees for airlines that assign seats ahead of time. “Baggage fees are bad enough - airlines can’t treat your child like a piece of baggage,” President Joe Biden said in February.

“The buck didn’t stop with The Big Guy, that’s where it started,” Rep. Clay Higgins says, referring to a bribery allegation against President Joe Biden....... The White House dismisses the revelation that a government whistleblower implicates President Joe Biden in a bribery scheme, calling the accusation no different than other investigations of the president’s family “going on five years.” But this allegation is quite different, noted one member of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee. “This is the first time there has been a direct link to President Biden and influence peddling,” Rep. Russell Fry, R-S.C., told The Daily Signal...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — This Easter, Americans will devour more than 1 billion Peeps — those radiant marshmallow chicks whose appearance on store shelves each year is as much a herald of spring as azaleas at the Masters. What makes the treats so vibrant is erythrosine, a chemical that shows up on ingredient labels as Red No. 3. It's one of several chemicals, along with titanium dioxide, used to color some of the most popular candy in the country — including Skittles and Hot Tamales. Both chemicals have been linked to cancer. More than 30 years ago, U.S. regulators banned Red...

President Biden recently signed the Inflation Reduction Act, a sweeping energy, tax, and healthcare law that is partly designed to reduce the deficit. The legislation includes $80 billion in increased IRS funding over ten years. The idea is that the funds could help improve tax compliance, which in turn, could bring in an estimated $203 billion in increased revenue. It’s too early to know what the impacts will be. But you may have heard some lawmakers say that because of the new law, an “army” of 87,000 new IRS agents will be coming to audit ordinary taxpayers. As is often...

The Biden administration is planning to push a policy that would require tobacco companies to reduce the level of nicotine in cigarettes sold in the U.S. The policy would see the amount of nicotine reduced to 'nonaddictive levels'. Although it would likely not come into force for several years, the move would likely disrupt the entire tobacco industry. The Food and Drug Administration first needs to outline the proposed new rules before inviting comments from the public. Then final rules would be published. Even then, tobacco companies would be able to sue likely delaying any implementation of the policy reports...

More than 30 people lost their lives from gun violence around the country over a blood-spattered Memorial Day weekend — just days after the tragic school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. Dozens of victims — including 13 in Philadelphia alone — lost their lives with violence spiraling across the nation.

One Republican senator and one Democratic senator are hoping they can find some common ground on gun reforms that will garner enough Republican support to pass the 60-vote threshold in the Senate in the wake of the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, that left 19 children and two adults dead. Republican Senator John Cornyn and Democratic Senator Chris Murphy will meet virtually on Tuesday to "see if we can agree on a basic framework" about how to go forward on gun legislation proposals, according to an aide to Cornyn. An aide to Murphy confirmed the senator "is participating in tomorrow's...

New Mexicans will see thousands more electric vehicles available to buy in 2025 when a rule approved by two environmental boards takes effect. Dubbed the clean-car rule, it will require that electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids make up at least 7 percent of automakers’ new sales within New Mexico — adding up to an estimated 3,800 vehicles. The rule aligns with California's current standards and is part of the larger effort to cut climate-warming greenhouse gases as well as ground-level ozone and particulates that can cause respiratory problems. It will undergo a two-year waiting period to allow manufacturers, car dealers...