Free Republic

Switzerland may not be in the European Union, but it could nevertheless face its own “Brexit” if the Swiss people were to vote against the free movement of people. That’s the conclusion of commentators following the launch of the SVP’s new popular initiative, which wants to ask the Swiss public to decide, once and for all, if they wish to maintain the country’s current relationship with the EU or go their own way. The initiative “For limited immigration” proposes that Switzerland manage its immigration policy unilaterally. If accepted at referendum, the Swiss government would have one year to put an...

Wealthy exodus to escape new tax rules worries California Democrats By Adam Ashton aashton@sacbee.com January 18, 2018 12:33 PM Updated 10 hours 36 minutes ago The Republican-backed federal tax bill flipped the tables on a never-ending question for California politicians: Will high taxes lead the state’s wealthiest residents to flee the Golden State for the comparable tax havens of Florida, Nevada and Texas? Republicans reliably raise that alarm when Democrats advocate for tax increases, like the 2012 and 2016 ballot initiatives that levied a new income tax on very high-earning residents. But now, with the federal tax bill cutting off...

New applications for unemployment insurance benefits plunged by 41,000 to 220,000 in the second week of 2018, the Labor Department reported Thursday, the lowest level in nearly 45 years. The report easily beat forecasters expectations for new jobless claims to drift down to around 250,000. The Trump administration and congressional Republicans have stated that they want to maintain a high level of job creation not only decrease unemployment, but also boost the labor force participation rate by encouraging people who have retired or quit the workforce to seek out jobs.

As this year's event gets underway, it has adopted a new code of conduct that applies to all the festgoers. As the 2018 Sundance Film Festival got underway Thursday in Park City, Sundance Institute founder Robert Redford hailed the #MeToo movement and the Time’s Up initiative that are forcing Hollywood, both in the mainstream and indie film worlds, to confront gender inequality and sexual harassment. “It’s kind of a tipping point,” he said. “It’s changing the order of things so that women will have a stronger voice. They didn’t have it before. Too much control by the male dominance. Now...

Good Samaritan Hospital in Dayton will close by the end of 2018. Premier Health announced on Wednesday that the hospital, based on the northwest side of Dayton, will shut down by the end of 2018. The health network — the largest private employer in the region — said the closure is “part of Premier Health’s new strategic plan.” Here’s what we know about the closure now: MAKING A DECISION: Mary Garman, chief operating officer at Good Sam, said there were several options that were looked at before the decision was made to close the Dayton hospital. She said company executives...

The state’s top cop issued a warning to California employers Thursday that businesses face legal repercussions, including fines up to $10,000, if they assist federal immigration authorities with a potential widespread immigration crackdown. “It’s important, given these rumors that are out there, to let people know – more specifically today, employers – that if they voluntarily start giving up information about their employees or access to their employees in ways that contradict our new California laws, they subject themselves to actions by my office,” state Attorney General Xavier Becerra said at a news conference. “We will prosecute those who violate...

After fielding hundreds of pitches from cities across the U.S., Amazon has whittled the list of prospective homes for its second headquarters down to a relatively short 20. According to a statement this week by the online retail giant, the $5 billion project known as HQ2 will be located in one of the following regions:

<p>NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Two Republican lawmakers have introduced legislation to make medical marijuana legal in Tennessee, but only in oil-based products.</p> <p>Sen. Steve Dickerson of Nashville and Rep. Jeremy Faison of Cosby announced the bill's filing Thursday amid wide support for medical marijuana in state polls.</p>

The Canadian energy giant TransCanada said Thursday it’s prepared to move ahead with the long-awaited Keystone XL oil pipeline and plans to start construction next year, laying to rest rumors that it would abandon the project in the wake of regulatory setbacks in Nebraska. In a statement, the company said it’s beginning to work with Nebraska landowners to secure necessary easements to allow the pipeline to go forward. “Over the past 12 months, the Keystone XL project has achieved several milestones that move us significantly closer to constructing this critical energy infrastructure for North America,” said Russ Girling, TransCanada’s president...

You can watch and listen to the discussion by clicking the URL-LINK in the post. Opportunities abound for negotiating a better NAFTA. As the Trump Administration pushes for modernization, one commonsense policy area that should be preserved and improved is energy.

L’Oreal, one of the largest beauty supply companies in the world, will feature a woman wearing a hijab in its latest ad campaign.Blogger and model Amena Khan, who will be featured in L’Oreal Paris’s campaign, argued that hair products should still be marketed to people who choose not to show their hair in public.“You have to wonder — why is it presumed that women that don’t show their hair don’t look after it?” Khan asked in an interview with Vogue.L'Oreal, one of the largest beauty supply companies in the world, will feature a woman wearing a hijab in its latest...

Paul Krugman, who really, really, really wants you to know on his Twitter account that he's a Nobel laureate in economics, has made a name for himself for his bad economic forecasts. So bad, in fact, that President Trump and the Republican Party have awarded him their top spot in their 2017 Fake News Awards, writing: [Twenty seventeen] was a year of unrelenting bias, unfair news coverage, and even downright fake news. Studies have shown that over 90% of the media's coverage of President Trump is negative.

A year after President Donald Trump was sworn into office, he continues to receive historically low and highly partisan approval ratings, despite widely positive views of the economy. He gets at least some credit for the economy, but most Americans don't feel they've personally benefitted from his policies – only 22 percent think they've been directly helped. Americans overall are feeling upbeat about the economy and the President gets some credit for that. Sixty-seven percent say the economy is very or fair good – a figure that has been at the 60 percent level or higher since Mr. Trump became...

...towards 51st state. A group called (“New California”) has taken its first step towards carving the Golden State in two – issuing a “declaration of independence” which would incorporate most of the state’s rural counties – while coastal counties from the northern San Francisco Bay Area to the southern tip of Los Angeles would remain part of the existing state.[snip]One of New California’s pamphlets reads: “The current state of California has become governed by a tyranny, which rivals those stated above. It is time to take action. The Duty of the People who are suffering the long train of abuses...

Manmade climate change is now dwarfing the influence of natural trends on the climate, scientists say. The acting director of the UK Met Office, Prof Peter Stott, told BBC News: "It's extraordinary that temperatures in 2017 have been so high when there's no El Niño. In fact, we’ve been going into cooler La Niña conditions. "Last year was substantially warmer than 1998 which had a very big El Niño. "It shows clearly that the biggest natural influence on the climate is being dwarfed by human activities – predominantly CO2; emissions." “The record temperature should focus the minds of world leaders,...

The Labor Department said first-time claims for unemployment benefits fell 41,000 to 220,000 for the week ending January 13, 2018. That’s the lowest level for jobless claims since February 24, 1973 when it was 218,000. The previous week was unrevised at 261,000. The 4-week moving average was 244,500, a decrease of 6,250 from the previous week’s unrevised average of 250,750. Lagging data for continuing claims showed the advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.7% during the week ending January 6, an increase of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week. That number is highly likely to return to its historic...

Amazon said Thursday it narrowed the list of potential sites for its second headquarters to 20 locations. Amazon said it will spend $5 billion in the place where it builds its second headquarters and will employ 50,000 there. The company previously said it was looking at metropolitan areas with 1 million people and a stable, business-friendly environment. The remaining 20 places are: Atlanta Austin, Texas Boston Chicago Columbus, Ohio Dallas Denver Indianapolis Los Angeles Miami Montgomery County, Md. Nashville, Tenn. Newark, N.J. New York City Northern Virginia Philadelphia Pittsburgh Raleigh, N.C. Toronto Washington, D.C.

Today the news came out from Torque News that Subaru Expands Takata Air Bag Recall. This is already becoming dangerous as we keep hearing more and more about Takata airbags being recalled. In fact, Takata air bag killed Florida driver who should have survived crash, report from LA Times says. In fact the company filed for bankruptcy on Sunday. The Takata airbag recall gets bigger with more Subaru Forester, Outback, WRX/STI, Impreza, Legacy and Tribeca vehicles added to the number. The 64,179 total affected additional vehicles now includes 2009-2013, Forester, Outback, WRX/STI, Legacy and Tribeca, and 2009-2011 Impreza compact models....

Venezuela’s oil output is collapsing, making it unlikely the South American country can benefit from rising global prices for oil and increasing the chances of a debt default this year that could turn its economic crisis into a humanitarian disaster.

U.S. filings for unemployment benefits plummeted to the lowest level in almost 45 years in a sign the job market will tighten further in 2018, Labor Department figures showed Thursday. Highlights of Jobless Claims (Week Ended Jan. 13) Jobless claims decreased by 41k to 220k (est. 249k); lowest level since Feb. 1973, biggest drop since Dec. 2008 Continuing claims rose by 76k to 1.952m in week ended Jan. 6 (data reported with one-week lag) Four-week average of initial claims, a less-volatile measure than the weekly figure, fell to 244,500 from the prior week’s 250,750