Free Republic

Nine shot one dead in Detroit and 7 shot in West Philadelphia. No Confederate Flag in sight.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency unveiled its proposal for new fuel-economy standards that apply to big rigs and other heavy-duty trucks, marking another step in the Obama administration’s push for stricter climate regulations. Based on a draft released Friday, the federal rules will require that tractors use 24% less fuel compared to projected 2018 levels. Heavy-duty pickup trucks and vans must achieve a 16% reduction. The pending rules impact large diesel-powered vehicles like 18-wheelers, buses, garbage trucks and heavy-duty pickups. These commercial vehicles account for roughly 7% of all vehicles on U.S. roads but 25% of fuel consumption. Friday’s draft...

QUESTION: Do you hear anything that would indicate that Donald Trump would make a positive difference in the “Big Bang” should he become president? He says he will jawbone Ford Motor Co/ to not build a plant in Mexico and that he will use some form of tariff to “fix” the trade balance between China and the U.S. ANSWER: Trade is not our problem, debt is. The Donald knows all about debt since his corporations have filed for bankruptcy twice. Donald Trump has become infamous for his TV show yelling, “You’re fired!” every week on primetime television. Yet, after Trump’s...

DETROIT may be one of the only cities in the rich world where it is possible for someone on a fairly modest income to buy a street. At the edges of Boston-Edison, a historic district of gorgeous old houses built as one of the city’s first wealthy suburbs, so low has the cost of housing fallen that fairly grand houses can be acquired simply for the cost of back property taxes. ..Chief among the costs that are higher in Detroit is transport. One of the reasons people who live in Manhattan don’t mind paying so much for housing is that...

Michigan has moved to protect the religious freedom of adoption agencies. Both houses of the Michigan legislature passed the bill in recent days and Gov. Rick Snyder signed it into law Thursday. Gary Glenn, a state representative and head of the American Family Association of Michigan, says the law protects faith-based adoption agencies so they can continue to provide adoption referral services to the state and to local governments without violating their religious convictions.

HOLLY HILL, Fla. (WWJ/AP) – Police in central Florida say two Michigan boys who were spending the summer with their grandmother shot a BB gun at four people who were relaxing by the pool at an apartment complex. Incident happened June 8 at the Blue Tide Apartments in Holly Hill, according to The Daytona Beach News-Journal. The pellets hit one woman in the shoulder and mouth, breaking two bottom teeth. A man was struck in the lower back and his wife was struck in the chest. Another woman was struck in the shoulder. Police Chief Steve Aldrich says the 12-and...

The bad news: Women are falling far behind men in financial literacy. The even worse news: Men apparently don’t know much about the topic in the first place. ... The authors surveyed people in the U.S., Germany and the Netherlands, asking three multiple-choice questions. In the U.S., only 38% of men got all three questions right. The American women did even worse, with only 22% scoring three out of three. The other countries showed a similar pattern. Here’s one of the questions: “Suppose you had $100 in a savings account and the interest rate was 2% per year. After five...

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon received a $50,000 donation from the United Auto Workers international headquarters in Detroit days after his June 4 veto of a bill that would stop employers from having workers pay union dues as a condition of employment.

A lot of misinformation is being spread about Trade Promotion Authority or TPA that is currently being debated in Congress. First and foremost I want to tell you why I support TPA and why I think it's an important step forward for not only West Michigan but the entire country. The Constitution lays out specific roles for both the President as well as Congress in terms of trade. The President's role is to negotiate with foreign counties on behalf of the United States, while the role of Congress is to review any potential trade agreement and then vote to either...

Bucking the trend of states that have caved on religious liberty due to fear of reprisals from gay activists, Michigan passed a law Thursday offering protections to religious adoption agencies from being forced to place children in the homes of same-sex couples. The law had broad support in the Republican controlled legislature and was signed on Thursday by Governor Rick Snyder, a Republican. Snyder has voiced opposition to a broader religious liberty bill statewide that mirrors the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act signed by former President Bill Clinton. RFRA protections, once non-controversial and bipartisan now face the ire of gay...

LANSING, MI — Private faith-based adoption agencies that receive state funding but choose to deny service to gay parents on religious grounds have won the blessing of Michigan's Republican-led Legislature. The state Senate, in an unexpected and unannounced move, took up religious objection adoption legislation on Wednesday, approving the three-bill package in a series of 26-12 votes.

A Detroit woman defended herself with gunfire early Tuesday morning when a group of men broke into her home. The woman, .., said she was jolted awake around 2 a.m. when one of the men broke through her bedroom window of her home on Whitehill and pointed a gun in her face. Three or four more men followed behind. “I was able to get to my gun. They didn’t know I had it. By that time, it was just gunfire,

One of the largest companies to manufacture solar panels in the United States uses a surprising resource to keep costs low and compete against producers from China: prison labor. Suniva Inc, a Georgia-based solar cell and panel maker that is backed by Goldman Sachs Group Inc, farms out a small portion of its manufacturing to federal inmates as part of a longstanding government program intended to prepare them for life after prison. Suniva does not actively publicize its work with the prisons, saying it prefers to talk about its in-house factories in Georgia and Michigan, which handle most of its...

When the American flag is flown upside down, if you were not aware, it is a signal of dire distress. Can you imagine what it is like to suddenly have low-flying military helicopters, explosions, and gunfire rocking your home in the middle of the night? This message went out on Facebook around midnight last night from the official Lapeer County Police, EMS, and Fire Facebook page: "ATTENTION VIEWERS: PER FLINT POLICE OPERATIONS (FPO) THE US ARMY IS DOING TRAINING IN FLINT THIS WEEKEND AND YOU MAY HEAR HELCOPTERS, GUNFIRE, & EXPLOSIONS. PLEASE DO NOT BE ALARMED." That message was sent...

A conference to discuss and analyze Islam that began Friday continues today in Rapid City. Today's schedule for the Answering Islam Conference begins at 9 a.m. in the Rushmore Room at the Ramkota Hotel and Convention Center. Topics include "How to Reach Muslims for Christ," "How has Islam infiltrated American Politics" and "How to Refute Islam." Speakers include Shahram Hadian, who is described on a promotional poster as a former Muslim who became a Christian pastor, and Tom Wallace, founder of the "Fortress of Faith" radio show. There is no charge for admission. The event has a number of local...

After years of unfounded hysteria from so-called environmentalists, the media and Hollywood that fracking causes drinking water contamination, the Environmental Protection Agency just issued a major blow to anti-fracking activists. A new report from the EPA, based on a study sanctioned by Congress, shows drinking water contamination only results if fracking wells aren't built or maintained properly, which is a rarity. "We did not find evidence that these mechanisms have led to widespread, systemic impacts on drinking water resources in the United States. Of the potential mechanisms identified in this report, we found specific instances where one or more of these mechanisms...

(INTELLIHUB) — A ten-day US Army urban military training exercise has begun in Flint, Michigan with explosions rocking neighborhoods and scaring residents who had no idea what was actually happening. With less than three hours between a city press release and the beginning of the exercise, residents were left in the dark about the urban military training until the last possible moment. Most had no idea what was happening as their homes shook from the force of the simulated explosions. “It was like a big huge explosion, it shook my whole house, it shook the ground.” (Watch video at link)...

HOWELL, Mich. (WJBK) - GOP Presidential hopeful Ted Cruz brought his campaign to Howell tonight where 650 people applauded his conservative Texas principles. The senator spoke about unions, said he did not back federal assistance to keep GM and Chrysler alive and spoke about the right to carry guns on school grounds.He also made a remark about Vice President Joe Biden, which he later apologized for, on Twitter. "Union members are a plus for this country," he said. "It's very interesting, but union members have been left behind. "(President) Barack Obama, (Senate Democratic Leader) Harry Reid and Hillary Clinton have...

HOWELL, Mich. (WLNS)—A presidential candidate is making a stop in Michigan Wednesday night.Texas Senator Ted Cruz will travel to Howell for a Lincoln Day Dinner at Crystal Gardens. Ticket prices to the 6 p.m. event ranged from $60 to $500.Stay with 6 News for continuing coverage of Cruz’ visit. WLNS’ Tim Skubick will sit down with the Oval Office contender for an interview airing Wednesday night on 6 News at 11.——-More Information:Livingston County GOP Dinner: http://www.livingstonrepublicans.com/226.html

Please Join the Livingston County Republican Partyat their 55th Annual Lincoln Day Dinnerwith Keynote Speaker, Senator Ted Cruz. Wednesday, June 3, 2015, 6:00pm - 8:30pmVIP Reception at 5:30pmProgram Starts at 6:30pm Crystal Gardens of Howell Dinner $60 person and $100 coupleVIP Reception with ticket $150 individual and $250 coupleTable of 10 $500For sponsorship information,please contact (517)518-1118