Free Republic

Head of the Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development says Tesla has hired more than 1,000 workers at its Gigafactory plant outside of Reno, and on pace to increase hiring by another 150 to 200 workers each month. Executive Director Steve Hill told the Senate Finance Committee last week during a budget review meeting that the California-based electric carmaker and energy company is ramping up hiring and expects the factory to have 3,200 workers by March 2018. “They’re hiring 150 to 200 more every month,” says Hill. News of Tesla’s workforce expansion comes on the heels of an independent audit...

Customs agents have seen all sorts of things come through travelers' baggage. And what they seized from two women at Washington Dulles International Airport last month may take the cake. On January 29, two women arrived from Mongolia. Customs and Border Protection officers sent them for a routine agriculture examination. What was found inside might turn your stomach. The women had a combined 42 pounds of horsemeat concealed inside juice boxes. That includes 13 pounds of horse genitals that one of the women claimed were for medicinal purposes.

BOSTON (CBS) – An immigrant worker at Logan Airport says his dream of becoming a U.S. citizen was stolen. In January he received a notice in the mail inviting him to a naturalization ceremony. He brought his mother. “This was like the end of it all. I was really proud. It was at the JFK library,” the employee said. The man spoke to WBZ-TV on the condition of anonymity because of what happened next. “They check this list and realize my name is not on there and they’re like, ‘You’re going to have to leave. Somebody’s going to have to...

As cities across Ontario finalize their budgets and try to squeeze out savings to expand public transit, something doesn't add up. Too many cities, including Toronto, are missing out on hundreds of millions in savings. That's because Ontario has a labour law loophole that's putting cities, companies and taxpayers at a huge disadvantage. The heated debate over road tolls in Toronto has distracted from a far simpler way of saving for public transit expansion. Here it is: Change the way construction projects are tendered. Right now, Toronto and too many other municipalities including Hamilton, Sault Ste. Marie and the Region...

The president gets to live there, but the White House actually belongs to the American people and starting March 7, they can start to take tours for the first time during Donald Trump's presidency. First lady Melania Trump said in a statement Tuesday she's looking forward to welcoming visitors. "I am excited to reopen the White House to the hundreds of thousands of visitors who come each year. The White House is a remarkable and historic site and we are excited to share its beauty and history. I am committed to the restoration and preservation of our Nation's most recognizable...

Left’s theatres of political warfare—whether made-for-TV rent-a-mob demonstrations or stepped up legal battles behind courtroom doors President Trump has been working at breakneck speed since inauguration, and perhaps more care should have been exercised in drafting the executive order imposing a 90-day travel ban from seven designated countries known for lawlessness and harboring terrorists. Were it redrafted, the travel ban could stop the potential bad guys, but provide entry for existing green card holders and those with prior visa documentation. Nevertheless, the President had full and proper authority to issue such an order under the powers vested by the Constitution...

The last man who walked on the moon has already passed away. Will there ever come a time when another person gets to be credited with the honor of walking on any part of the universe other than Earth? Space is the ultimate destination. And it’s been 30 years since that fateful moon walk which, sadly (and maybe disappointingly), has yet to be repeated. We’ve been hearing and constantly talking about going to Mars. But until now, it’s still just talk, though there are concrete plans on the way. To make the trip to Mars (or other planets or stars)...

This week the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit upheld a lower court's blockage of President Donald Trump's Executive Order instituting temporary restraints on the entry of foreigners from seven countries currently embroiled in war and significant terrorist activity. Despite the existence of statutory authority enacted in 1952 expressly granting the president the power to issue such an Order, the Ninth Circuit judges ruled Trump's actions void on the grounds that it violated the Constitution's First Amendment clause barring the government from establishing a religion. The Court's decision honed in on the Executive Order's language calling for barring...

State Dining Room 9:47 A.M. EST THE PRESIDENT: Thank you for being here. Nothing like having meetings in the White House. Good place. Good place for meetings. Good place for a lot of things. People don’t realize I inherited a mess. A big mess. I think they know. I think they understand. Well, thank you all. I know so many of you through reading and through business magazines, and you’ve done an amazing job. And I want to congratulate you. I know you’re under pressure from a lot of foreign elements and foreign carriers. I’ve been hearing that a little...

When protesters for and against President Donald Trump’s sweeping travel ban on visitors from seven mostly Muslim countries clashed at LAX a week ago, they nearly came to blows. Saturday’s continuation of the demonstrations, which included a formal “Make America Safe Again Rally” by Trump supporters, proved much less inflammatory. “I didn’t vote for Trump; I voted for the Constitution,” declared Matthew Woods, a 58-year-old artist who lives in Canoga Park, clutching three large American flags, not including one serving as a cape. “Our message: Make America safe again. “Our president has a right to limit immigration from any country...

The Taoiseach has said he will consider inviting Donald Trump to visit Ireland when he meets the US president in Washington during St Patrick’s week. Speaking in Malta, where he was attending an EU summit, Mr Kenny said he would not be deterred by any controversy such an invitation might arouse. “I’ll consider that when I go to Washington. I wouldn’t be afraid of any fallout from it. I will consider the question when I get there,” he said. “I’ve had quite a deal of controversy since the president extended his invitation to the traditional St Patrick’s week engagement with...

Before Donald Trump became President Trump, 101 business leaders openly endorsed him — including Louis Sola, founder and CEO of Miami-based yacht brokerage company Evermarine. Sola was hopeful about candidate Trump, but how does he feel about President Trump a week and a half after he moved into the White House? He couldn’t be more thrilled. “He has only a week in office, but what a week! I am very optimistic about his presidency. He is a man of action and clearly in charge. We needed a clear leader, and we have one now who is willing to stand up...

LJUBLJANA, Slovenia — The tiny European nation of Slovenia is undergoing a tourism boom partly because it is the native country of U.S. first lady Melania Trump. The national Statistics Bureau said Tuesday that the number of overnight stays in Slovenia by American tourists has jumped by 10 percent in 2016 when compared to 2015. Nearly 4 million foreign tourists visited the country of 2 million in 2016, up by about 10 percent....

Minister of State for Training and Skills John Halligan has called on the Taoiseach to withdraw from his scheduled St Patrick’s Day meeting with President Donald Trump in the White House. Mr Halligan, a member of the Independent Alliance, told The Irish Times it was his personal view Enda Kenny should not travel to Washington for the traditional ceremony where a bowl of shamrock is presented to the president. “Unless he changes his views on issues like immigration, and his attitude to women, we should have as little as possible to do with the president,’’ he added. Mr Halligan said...

Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin (D) charged that “Trump’s moves against immigrants will make America less safe. If the jihadis were angry before, they’ll surely be enraged by the Administration’s efforts to block their entry in this country. Similarly, what does he expect to happen when he cracks down on sanctuary cities that are trying to keep the feds from deporting the criminals they’ve been shielding? If they fear they can be easily deported they’ll have nothing left to lose and could go on a spree that will increase the carnage in these cities.” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) in echo of...

Irate that US President Donald Trump “is upending the convivial relationship our two countries enjoyed while Obama held the presidency,” Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto vowed “to do everything in my power to protect the rights of Mexican nationals living in the United States.” Peña rejected accusations that his stance was hypocritical given Mexico’s harsh treatment of illegal immigrants in his country. “Mexico has a right and an obligation to protect our resources from being consumed by those who have no right to be here,” Peña insisted. “We are a poor country with too many mouths to feed. The United...

An elderly woman demanded a Donald Trump supporter seated next to her be moved, but she quickly found out that’s not how the world works. Scott Kotesky, in a window seat, posted video on Saturday showing a woman in the middle seat complaining about him to airline personnel. According to Kotesky: Just had the craziest experience ever on an airplane: I’m boarding my flight from Baltimore to Seattle and approach my seat. I had an upgraded seat that I paid a little extra for because of the long 6 hour flight. As I approach my row I smile and motion...

Newly installed signs share Sierra Vista’s status as a gateway to the Arizona Trail, inspiring residents and visitors alike to explore this key outdoor recreation asset that begins at the international border with Mexico and meanders over 800 miles north to Utah. The City recently installed signs at each end of Buffalo Soldier Trail, completing a project initially spurred by Bernie Stalmann, a local resident who is a longtime member of the Arizona Trail Association board of directors. Sierra Vista is the fifth of 33 gateway communities in the state to install these signs provided by the Arizona Trail Association....

As this administration draws to a close, Audrey Edwards is packing as fast as the Obamas. By January 20, Inauguration Day, she'll be nearly 6,000 miles away from Brooklyn not watching the festivities in Paris. A journalist and real estate agent, she first got the idea to leave the US when former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani ran for president in 2008. But when Trump rode down that gilded escalator, called Mexicans rapists, and announced his candidacy for Commander-in-Chief, Edwards put friends on notice: "If somebody as crazy as this guy gets in, I'm out of here." She plans to...

The hottest ticket to the Women’s March on Washington is on the bus-sharing startup Skeddadle, which allows people to commission private bus rides and is trying to change the future of long-distance transportation. Most of Skeddadle’s business comes from people scheduling events – going to ski resorts or music festivals for a weekend. It’s a social experience where passengers share rides with people who have similar interests. But Skeddadle sees itself as public transit of the future, and is building towards being the least expensive, most convenient way to get in or out of a city. “The March is amazing...