Free Republic

DALLAS –Texas Central, developers of the state’s high-speed train, announced on February 7th that it reached a significant milestone in its land option program, the result of collaborative and ongoing engagements with property owners and stakeholders along the project’s potential route. The company said it has reached option agreements on about 30 percent of the parcels estimate to be needed for the bullet train’s route in the 10-county stretch between North Texas and Houston. Negotiations have resulted in option agreements in all 10 counties, including 50 percent of the parcels for the proposed route in Waller and Grimes counties. Grimes...

U.S. Senator John McCain has again called on the United States to send weapons to Ukrainian forces fighting pro-Russia separatists in the east of the country. At a press conference in Kyiv on June 20 with two other visiting U.S. senators, McCain (Republican-Arizona) said it would be "disgraceful and shameful" for the West not to act as Russian President Vladimir Putin, in McCain's view, sought to dismember Ukraine. McCain, one of the most vocal supporters in the U.S. Congress on arming Ukraine, said the Ukrainians had "proven they are willing to fight." Speaking alongside McCain, U.S. Senator Tom Cotton (Republican-Arkansas)...

The SunRail commuter train finished its first year of operation $27.2 million in the red, bringing in $7.2 million while spending $34.4 million. The shortfall was covered by taxpayers through the state Department of Transportation, which oversees the system running from DeBary in Volusia County through downtown Orlando to south Orange County. Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, chairman of the SunRail board, called the performance "good for a first year." He predicted SunRail's losses would fall in coming years because the train would carry more passengers and advertising income would increase.

On the field, the San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders have had as bitter a rivalry as any in the NFL but in a sense, they’re now partners. The teams will officially announce Friday that, while they work on stadium deals in their current cities, they will jointly pursue a shared, $1.7-billion NFL stadium in Carson as an alternative. While theirs might seem to be an unlikely pairing -- the Silver & Black and the Powder Blue -- the Raiders and Chargers have actually been closer over the years than many people might think.

European leaders, pressured by sliding markets and doubts over their ability to act in unison, agreed on Sunday to provide a huge rescue package of nearly one trillion dollars in a sweeping effort to regain lost credibility with investors.