Free Republic

Southwest Airlines issued a press statement Thursday declaring their intention to fire around 2,000 employees and cancel service to four airports following financial difficulties. “[W]e are implementing cost control initiatives, including limiting hiring and offering voluntary time off programs. We now expect to end 2024 with approximately 2,000 fewer Employees as compared with the end of 2023,” Bob Jordan, the president and CEO of Southwest Airlines ... Jordan also announced that the company was shutting down its service to three airports in the United States and one in Mexico. “[W]e have made the difficult decision to close our operations at...

Program will address ‘insidious problem’ with racism in medicine: nurses association Nursing students at the University of Illinois soon will receive “diversity, equity, and inclusion” training via virtual reality courtesy of a $20,000 grant to address racism. The American Nurses Association, which awarded the grant through its National Commission to Address Racism in Nursing, says the funds will address an “insidious problem” with racism in nursing. But other medical professionals and scholars say the project is a waste of money. The university’s College of Nursing plans to use the grant to hire a software engineer to create virtual reality training...

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) daughter criticized Democrat judges for giving out harsh sentences to January 6 defendants. Alexandra Pelosi was caught slamming the “liberal” judges who are “out for blood” as they hand out lengthy prison sentences while other J6 protestors get hit with just a fine or probation. “I think I learned in kindergarten that justice is supposed to be fair. A judge is supposed to be the same, and they’re not supposed to be political,” Alexandra said. “And now it’s like one judge you get really makes a difference because some judges are giving probation and...

Flipping a gun for a price higher than one paid now may turn anyone into a dealer, making any such sale unlawful if it does not involve all the licensing and paperwork that govern gun dealers.. On Friday, the 31st anniversary of the massacre of Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas, the ATF issued new regulations that make it more difficult to comply with federal laws regulating gun dealing and background checks. Since the 1930s, federal law has required gun dealers to be registered as Federal Firearms Licensees (FFL). The requirements hinged on the meaning of “engaged in the business of”...

An armed U.S. Secret Service agent assigned to Vice President Kamala Harris‘s protective detail fought unarmed with other detail agents on Monday morning. The incident occurred at the Washington, D.C.-area Andrews Air Force Base, before Harris arrived, and after the agent suffered what the Secret Service has characterized as a medical incident. The Washington Examiner is aware of the agent’s name and specific detail responsibilities but is withholding those details for privacy reasons. The Washington Examiner understands that the agent became aggressive with other agents. When the special agent in charge and a detail shift supervisor attempted to calm the...

Many of the Lahaina wildfire survivors who were placed in temporary housing at hotels are now living in tents on local parks, beaches, and parking lots, eight months after the deadly blaze .. Locals complained .. that little is being done to help displaced residents find rental homes, while 70% of the town's rental units are operating as Airbnbs for tourists.. Lahaina resident Benny Reinicke, 30, .. it's 'insulting' that FEMA is offering families cash to relocate elsewhere and says the agency should focus on rebuilding homes in the town itself.. It's an incongruous sight. On one side, there's glorious...

Aidan Parisi pledged to 'resist' and called for 'intifada' after Columbia ordered him to vacate his on-campus apartment.. For more than two weeks, Columbia University graduate student Aidan Parisi has defied the university’s suspension, refusing to vacate his dorm room on the school's Manhattan campus. The school announced Parisi’s suspension on April 4 following his participation in a pro-Hamas event. And while Columbia leaders have pledged to enforce the suspension, they have yet to follow through. In the meantime, Parisi has contributed to the mayhem that has engulfed the campus over the past several days, serving as a leader of...

NEW YORK, NY — As pro-Palestine groups continued to gather on campus following the establishment of the Gaza Solidarity Encampment, Columbia University protestors clarified that they only want "Death to America" after America is done paying their student loans for them. "Death to America… in like, 3 or 4 years when I graduate!" shouted one student protestor. "America truly is the ‘Great Satan' that ravages and oppresses other countries and deserves to be wiped off the face of the earth…as soon as the American taxpayers finish paying off our tuition loans! "But as soon as that's done, then, yeah, totally,...

Swiss Air flight aborts takeoff from JFK, safely leaves minutes later... A Swiss Air flight traveling from New York City to Zurich last week had to abort takeoff, averting a "potentially dangerous situation," the airline confirmed. Flight LX17 from John F. Kennedy Airport left the gate at 4:21 p.m. April 17, according to FlightAware. The aircraft was cleared for takeoff at the same time an air traffic controller on another frequency cleared four other jets to cross the runway, according to audio obtained by NPR. "Due to the high level of situational awareness and quick reaction of our crew, a...

Public health agency rolled back some redactions after Epoch Times appeal... The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) hid how a woman who suffered chest pain and other symptoms following COVID-19 vaccination received a shot because of a mandate at work, newly obtained documents show. The agency also redacted how multiple children were diagnosed with Kawasaki Disease after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine, according to the documents. The Epoch Times obtained more than 1,400 pages of emails from the CDC concerning its Clinical Immunization Safety Assessment (CISA) project, which analyzes post-vaccination problems reported by health care providers. The tranche...

Joe Biden on Tuesday arrived in Tampa, Florida to attack the 6-week abortion ban during remarks at Hillsborough Community College’s Dale Mabry campus.. Biden is hoping to shore up the Gen Z vote in Florida by attacking the state’s 6-week abortion ban that goes into effect May 1.. A giant Laken Riley billboard truck circled Biden’s speaking venue. 22-year-old Laken Riley, a University of Georgia student, was recently murdered by a Venezuelan illegal. The illegal alien who murdered Laken Riley crossed into the US on Biden’s open border invitation. According to an affidavit unsealed, the barbaric savage who murdered Laken...

Attorney generals for 17 Republican-led states have sued the Biden administration over its latest student loan debt forgiveness plan, arguing it does not have the authority to wipe out student loan debt for an estimated 30 million Americans. Under Biden’s new effort, called the Saving on a Valuable Education plan, “borrowers who originally took out $12,000 or less in loans and have been in repayment for 10 years are eligible to get their remaining debt canceled,” an April 8 news release states. The SAVE plan would also forgive debt for “borrowers in public service for 10 years who have made...

This is all Obama. What you see happening right now in New York City. It all started at Columbia University way back in the early 1980’s. Obama was my Columbia U classmate. And now it’s all full circle back to our roots (excuse the pun). Columbia University is the canary in the coal mine. George HW Bush talked about “1,000 points of light.” Obama uses “1,000 points of destruction” to achieve his goal- the intentional destruction of America. You can see it all happening just blocks apart right now – all built around Columbia University and NYC. Upper Manhattan is...

The charges against activist and independent journalist Tommy Robinson were dropped on Tuesday after a judge at the Westminster Magistrates’ Court found that a police order banning him from a protest in London was unlawful. Mr Robinson, 40, was arrested in central London on November 26th for supposedly violating a ban from attending a pro-Israel demonstration. Police argued that he refused to comply with the order and therefore used synthetic pepper spray on him, placed Robinson in handcuffs and arrested him. ... Speaking outside the courthouse on Tuesday alongside one-time UKIP backer Lord Pearson of Rannoch and broadcaster Katie Hopkins,...

Fashion retailer Express filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States and intends to close more than 100 stores, it said on Monday. The retailer whose portfolio includes brands such as Express, Bonobos and UpWest Express, listed assets and liabilities in the range of $1 billion to $10 billion, according to a filing with the bankruptcy court in Delaware. ... As part of the bankruptcy process, the company will close approximately 95 Express retail stores and all of its UpWest stores, starting Tuesday, it said, without specifying the locations.

The Port of Baltimore is “closed until further notice” following the Francis Scott Key Bridge tragedy, sending several industries into disarray and jeopardizing national security. In 2023, the port handled a record amount of international cargo, ranked ninth for both dollar value and tonnage in the United States. Vital for both imports and exports of a variety of commodities, the Port of Baltimore has always had international significance and the impact of its closure will be wide-ranging and long-term for the supply chain in the United States and beyond. Given the seriousness of this issue, Congress must come together to...

As federal net-zero policies attempt to shift transportation, heating, and other essentials onto the electric grid, one of the hottest growth sectors of America’s economy is poised to increase electricity demand exponentially, further straining an energy infrastructure that is being pushed into the red. Data centers, the so-called “brains of the internet,” are industrial warehouses packed with rows upon rows of servers. They process, communicate, and store the data behind everything from bank records, online retailers, and social media platforms to Netflix shows and your personal iPhone videos. “Data centers are essential to cloud computing and its ability to give...

Nike will lay off about 740 employees at its world headquarters in Oregon, a letter showed on Friday, as the top sportswear maker looks to rein in costs after warning of a revenue dip in the first half of fiscal 2025. The "second phase of impacts" would begin by June 28 at its headquarters, Michele Adams, Nike's vice president for people solutions, said in a legally mandated notice to state authorities. The company's shares were up marginally in after-hours trading. They have declined nearly 13% this year. Nike had in December announced a cost savings plan for $2 billion over...

On April 17 and 18, Colorado Parks and Wildlife received reports of livestock depredation by wolves in Grand County. The agency confirmed that four cattle were killed... Four yearling cattle have been killed by a wolf or wolves in Grand County. Colorado Parks and Wildlife believes the depredation occurred between Monday night and Tuesday morning. In an email to Sky-Hi News, Parks and Wildlife officials stated that they responded to a possible livestock depredation incident on Wednesday morning and then again on Thursday morning. Both incidents occurred on the same property. On Wednesday, the agency investigated three yearling cattle that...

Housing starts fell to 1.32 million. The numbers: Construction of new homes fell 14.7% in March, as home builders scaled back new projects. The pace of construction slowed as builders contended with higher mortgage rates sapping demand. Housing starts fell to a 1.32 million annual pace from 1.55 million in February,