Free Republic

A travel nightmare engulfed five major Northeast airports Monday after construction contractors accidentally severed a Verizon cable. Ground stops are in effect for Newark Liberty International (EWR), Teterboro (TEB), Philadelphia International (PHL) and John F Kennedy International (JFK), with some delays reaching seven hours. Meanwhile, flights departing from LaGuardia Airport (LGA) in Queens, Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) and Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) are also facing ground delays. Bryan Bedford, the administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), said Monday that the 600-foot fiber cable cut occurred 'somewhere between' New Brunswick and Newark, New Jersey. 'Somebody dug it up,' Bedford...

The White House will oversee news outlets that will become part of the White House press, not the White House Correspondents Association (WHCA), a White House spokesperson said Tuesday. The WHCA has customary authority to choose a rotation of news outlets that can access oval offices and other regions with limited access, but the Trump administration has overturned that policy. Qualified White House presses have dropped from 1,417 members to 975 members after the White House announced new standards requiring annual renewals for hard passes, Politicico reported in 2023. The Biden White House also made changes to the White House...

Four American startups have brought their first small nuclear reactors to life, each reaching the point where the reactor can sustain a controlled chain reaction. The companies are chasing a specific goal: generating power on-site for the electricity-hungry data centers behind the artificial intelligence boom. Reaching criticality is a significant technical milestone, though it remains a long way from a fully operational commercial power plant.

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered: Section 1. Purpose. The H-1B nonimmigrant visa program was created to identify uniquely skilled and highly specialized foreign temporary workers to strategically supplement the United States economy. Instead, the program has been widely abused by certain employers, third-party placement groups, and outsourcing firms to undercut and displace the supply of skilled United States labor. The large-scale, systematic abuse of the H-1B program to obtain non-qualifying foreign labor has undermined the additive purpose of the program and...

Paramount has reached a settlement with California Attorney General Rob Bonta over a multi-state antitrust lawsuit, paving the way for its massive $81 billion Warner Bros. Discovery merger, according to sources. By approximately 10:20 a.m. ET, shares in Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery jumped 6.6% and 9.8%, respectively, after reports that advanced settlement talks over the weekend had been successful. The settlement terms include a commitment to release 30 movies a year; a multiyear pledge to remain in California, after previously threatening to exit; and independent editorial boards for CBS News and CNN, sources told The Post. The Wall Street...

Investing.com -- Saudi Aramco has informed at least two oil refining customers in Europe that they will receive no crude oil next month following an attack on the kingdom's main pipeline to the Red Sea, according to a report from Bloomberg News, citing people familiar with the matter...

The tech leaders who once hailed AI use as the key to unlocking every employee’s full potential are now changing their tune. Shopify CEO Tobias Lütke said during an interview on "The Knowledge Project" podcast, released on Tuesday. His take: AI helps employees produce more material, more quickly — without taking responsibility for whether it is useful or correct. "We call those 'slop grenades' that people toss at each other," he said. "And that's definitely a bad thing." the tools make it easy to pass along work that has not been properly evaluated. He offered an example: Someone might send...

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has dismissed dire warnings that artificial intelligence could soon lead to humanity’s extinction — calling such predictions overblown “doomsday narratives.” “2030 is not going to be the end of the world. There is 0% chance that’s going to be the end of the world,” Huang told CBS News correspondent Jo Ling Kent in an interview airing Sunday. “Scaring people is unnecessary. It is irresponsible.”

Washington homeowners could face tens of thousands of dollars in costs to convert natural-gas homes to electric after the Washington Supreme Court struck down the voter-approved initiative designed to protect natural gas as an energy option. The Building Industry Association of Washington has estimated that converting an existing natural-gas home to all-electric can cost approximately $40,000, depending on the home and upgrades required. Conversion can involve replacing gas furnaces and water heaters, installing electric appliances, and upgrading electrical panels and wiring. The court’s ruling does not itself require homeowners to convert to electricity. Rather, it eliminates Initiative 2066, which restricted...

The Iran and Ukraine wars have exposed the world’s reliance on the Middle East and Russia for diesel Persian Gulf states and Russia have invested tens of billions of dollars in refineries over the past decade to grab a bigger share of the global diesel market. Now, war in both regions has sent exports plunging, squeezing supplies of a fuel that powers much of the global economy. Diesel prices are soaring—they eclipsed $6 a gallon in the U.S. for the first time last week and have kept climbing, hitting $6.45 on Friday. The surge has rattled governments and markets around...

The Beatles told us: "All you need is love." They were right, but along with love must come marriage. But marriage rates have plummeted, especially among young men. A Pulitzer Prize-worthy story by Sean Salai of The Washington Times crunches all the numbers. To say they are worrisome would be a vast understatement. -- In 2025, nearly twice as many men ages 18 to 39 were unmarried as were married. -- There were 30.4 million unmarried men ages 18 to 39 in 2025, up 47% from 20.7 million in 2000. -- In the same period, married men in this age...

The agency is also axing Biden-era rules that would have forced coal-fired plants to shutter and gas-fired plants to complete costly environmental upgrades.. The Trump Environmental Protection Agency is planning to propose the permanent repeal of federal regulations of power plants’ greenhouse gas emissions, asserting that such rules have "virtually no benefit," the Washington Free Beacon has learned. In tandem with that proposal, the agency is finalizing plans to gut other Biden-era climate rules that forced existing coal-fired plants to close down and stymied future gas plant development. Together, the moves represent a historic action that the EPA says is...

The legendary investor’s son Howard will assume the role, completing a succession plan years in the makingWarren Buffett stepped down as chairman of Berkshire Hathaway and appointed his son Howard to succeed him, the final phase of a succession plan that has brought the $1 trillion conglomerate into a new era. Buffett, who had tipped Howard as Berkshire’s next chairman years earlier, announced the news Friday in a letter to investors. Buffett ceded his role as CEO to Greg Abel in January. He said he would remain on the board and serve as chairman emeritus. Howard, known as Howie, will...

Use of tuition aid, free school lunch programs and more could be grounds for denying applications for legal permanent residency under a new rule. States and cities are suing.Immigrants applying to live permanently in the United States can be rejected if they receive public benefits, beginning this week. Use of Medicaid, food stamps, tuition assistance and free school lunch programs, among other government assistance, could all be grounds for denying a green-card application. The policy from President Donald Trump’s administration, which took effect Friday, marks a dramatic change to a long-standing federal policy consistent with the president’s efforts to restrict...

If you needed another reminder why this year’s midterm elections are so important, Barack Hussein Obama II is back to make the case: Democrats intend to seize control over artificial intelligence and shape it to their advantage. The former president, who has refused to exit the political stage a decade after leaving office, wants his communist-curious comrades to scare voters about potential threats from AI in the final weeks of election season (Remember when we used to vote in person and tally all those votes in a single day?) Obama is a blowhard, but he knows how to tap into...

This video features a fireside chat with the Secretary of Energy (appearing as Secretary Wright) from September 17, 2026, discussing the Trump administration's approach to American energy policy. Key Discussion Points: Energy Abundance vs. Independence: The administration emphasizes moving beyond mere energy independence toward energy abundance, arguing that increasing production lowers costs and boosts national security (0:29-1:34). Criticism of Previous Policies: The Secretary expresses strong disagreement with the energy regulations and goals of the Obama and Biden administrations, claiming they focused on shrinking production and increasing costs (1:53-2:08). The Math of Energy: Throughout the discussion, the Secretary focuses on "the...

City says it's developing a long-term environmental monitoring planWith the fire at Summerside's Sunbank solar farm burning for nearly two weeks, both the city and the province are continuing to monitor conditions at the site. Summerside and the P.E.I. government said in a joint news release that the situation is stable, with air-quality being monitored and reviewed by public health officials. The province's Chief Public Health Office recommends air-quality testing continue at the site. Testing indicates there is no evidence of health risks to residents, while Summerside's drinking water is safe for consumption, according to the release. "I have reviewed...

Walmart is making a bigger move into healthcare, and this time it is targeting one of the largest and most valuable groups of consumers in America: Medicare beneficiaries. The retail giant is partnering with nonprofit insurer SCAN Health Plan to launch co-branded Medicare Advantage plans in two states. The plans are expected to be available to more than 2 million Medicare enrollees, pending regulatory approval. Walmart is also following a familiar name into the business. SCAN recently announced a similar Medicare partnership with Costco. That makes the trend more interesting than either deal on its own. Walmart Wants to Connect...

Sept 17 (Reuters) - Starbucks (SBUX.O), opens new tab agreed on Thursday to settle a discrimination lawsuit by the state of Florida, pledging not to ​adopt race- or sex-based quotas or preferences in hiring, ‌promotion and pay decisions. Starbucks and Florida's Republican Attorney General James Uthmeier jointly announced the settlement of a lawsuit filed by the state last ​December. Florida accused the company of violating state anti-discrimination law, ​including by setting racial quotas and tying executive compensation ⁠to meeting diversity goals. Starbucks denied wrongdoing and said in a ​statement it would focus "on offering great jobs and career opportunities to...

Former recent Federal Reserve chair contender and BlackRock chief investment officer of fixed income Rick Rieder thinks the guy who ultimately got the gig — Kevin Warsh — has one big challenge on his hands. That is, a rate hike won't necessarily bring down the cost of things for households. "What is difficult concerning inflation today, based on the San Francisco Fed's analysis, is that the cyclical parts of inflation are generally well behaved, yet it is the acyclical parts of inflation that are difficult to contain, and tend to resist movements in interest rates," Rieder wrote in a new...