Free Republic

Roger Kamba, Minister of Public Health for the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), complained on Friday that travel restrictions against his country due to the Ebola outbreak are “discriminatory” and cannot be justified by science or medicine. United States imposed travel restrictions in May, announcing that travelers from the DRC, Uganda, and South Sudan would not be allowed into the United States if they lack U.S. passports. American passport holders, green card holders, and service members inbound from the Ebola outbreak region were required to “undergo enhanced public health screening” and were required to enter the U.S. at one...

The longer we go without oil from the Persian Gulf, the less we’ll need it, says Christopher Smart for the New York Times. Whatever peace agreement the United States and Iran may cobble together, there will be no quick return to pre-war energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz. Even after the mines are cleared, it will take a brave tanker captain to trust that the passage is once again secure - and higher insurance costs could raise the price of that trip by millions. But with every passing day, the world is learning to live without the Gulf’s seaborne...

A remarkable two-month sprint higher for the major U.S. stock-market indexes encountered its first major hiccup on Friday, as the Nasdaq Composite plummeted more than 1,121 points — its biggest one-day point drop on record, according to Dow Jones Market Data. That translated to a 4.2% decline for the Nasdaq, the biggest in percentage-point terms since April 10, 2025, data showed. A 2.6% drop for the S&P 500 on Friday was its worst since Oct. 10.

Human beings are unique among living creatures in being able to alter their own fertility deliberately, imposing their own constantly changing choices and preferences on childbearing. We are now watching a revolutionary transformation of human birth choices play out around the world in a way that only science fiction writers could have imagined even a generation ago. Humanity is in the midst of a headlong global birth crash—a plunge underway all around the world, in rich and poor regions alike, very possibly presaging an indefinite global depopulation, with our “peak human” moment coming shockingly soon. For many decades, demographers assumed...

Officials in Northern Colorado are celebrating a new project to improve energy reliability and availability in their communities ... Platte River Power Authority CEO Jason Frisbie says the project is a major step toward reducing its carbon footprint ... The facility will strengthen the county's electric system by storing energy for later distribution during periods of high demand.

Anthropic is proposing that the world’s top artificial intelligence companies come up with a coordinated way to pause development of advanced AI systems, warning the technology is improving so quickly there’s a risk humans would lose control. The company behind the Claude chatbot said in a blog post Thursday that as cutting-edge AI gets increasingly faster at carrying out tasks, “it would be good for the world to have the option to slow or temporarily pause” its development. Anthropic said its internal research institute plans to explore the issue in collaboration with others and “take actions” to help build the...

TGI Fridays was a once a powerhouse in the casual dining scene known for its lively atmosphere, happy hours and fan favorite American comfort foods like loaded potato skins, burgers and chicken wings. With over 600 U.S. locations and hundreds more internationally at its peak, TGI Fridays was a globally recognized brand that combined strong operational scale with a fun guest experience. Now as the 61-year-old chain rebuilds in the wake of its November 2024 bankruptcy, leadership is working to recapture Fridays’ reputation as “the most celebratory, craveable brand in casual dining.” After years of media coverage about the chain’s...

The US economy added 172,000 jobs in May, blowing past expectations, according to the government's closely watched jobs report. The unemployment rate remained flat at 4.3%. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had anticipated payroll growth of 88,000 for the month. April's jobs report — which itself was a massive beat — was also revised to show an even better 179,000 jobs gained, compared to the 115,000 reported earlier. March's payroll growth was similarly updated to show 214,000, bringing the first monthly gain above 200,000 since early 2024. Payroll gains were seen across several sectors — notably not relying just on the...

The U.S. economy added more jobs than expected in May, posting strong payroll gains for the third month in a row, a sign the U.S. labor market is steadily recovering from a weak patch last fall and winter. The U.S. added 172,000 jobs in May, the Labor Department said Friday, beating expectations.

A shifting economic landscape has culminated in Texas dethroning California as the nation’s premier hub for Fortune 500 companies. Data from the 2026 Fortune 500 list show Texas leading with 57 headquarters, compared with California’s 56, marking a reversal from two years ago, when California held the lead. Additionally, corporations in Texas generated $2.8 trillion in revenue, while those in California reported $2.7 trillion in revenue. “Texas is the undisputed headquarters of headquarters,” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said in a press release reacting to the news. “The world’s leading businesses invest with confidence in Texas because of our welcoming business...

An American who worked as an editor and commentator for state-run media in China, Thomas Pauken II, pleaded guilty Thursday to working as an unregistered agent for the Chinese government in the U.S. During a roughly 40-minute hearing in Alexandria, Virginia, Pauken, 51, told U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema he was unaware of the legal requirement to register before acting for a foreign government, but he also said he understood that his lack of knowledge was not a defense to the charge.

The developer behind one of Manhattan’s most recognizable skyscrapers has delivered a surprisingly blunt verdict on the project that helped redefine Billionaires’ Row. Kevin Maloney, founder of Property Markets Group and co-developer of the ultra-slender 111 W. 57th St., praised the tower’s striking design while acknowledging the financial pain it caused. “From an architectural point of view, it’s a marvel,” Maloney said Tuesday during a panel discussion at the National Association of Real Estate Editors conference in Miami. Then, he admitted: “Financially, it was a disaster.” The candid assessment came just weeks after the building’s crown jewel, a four-story penthouse...

The oil industry is warning the Trump administration that a Hormuz-sized hole in the world’s petroleum market is steadily draining inventories to levels that are likely to send global energy prices surging in the next several weeks, according to four executives. Industry executives have flagged the issue to senior White House officials and Cabinet members in recent weeks as part of the Trump administration’s ongoing dialogue with the U.S. energy industry, the people said. The warnings came as recently as late last month as data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration and other sources began showing that fuel makers were...

Karell Reader’s heart sank when she saw acres of apple trees piled up on her neighbor’s Watsonville farm last month. Her neighbor used to sell apples to California cider empire S. Martinelli & Company, but he was forced to bulldoze dozens of apple trees after the company canceled his contracts. For farmers in Pajaro Valley, a fertile region between Monterey and Santa Cruz, growing and selling Newtown pippin apples to Martinelli’s had been a lifeline for over a century. But now, apple farmers like Reader’s neighbor are scrambling to find solutions after the 158-year-old company blindsided them by canceling their...

great video 11 minutes from Patrick Ben David and his crew Be there or square! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TdLArrO9lc

Monterey Park voters made history Tuesday by passing the first permanent ban on data centers nationwide. Voters are on track to overwhelmingly approve the ban, with 86% in favor according to the latest ballot count, leading organizers to claim victory (the official results won’t be certified until July 10). Where other jurisdictions have passed temporary measures to curb the controversial development of these massive server farms, Monterey Park voters’ decision in this election will keep developers at bay unless voters want to revisit the decision in a future election. “It really goes to show the power of community,” Monterey Park...

According to payroll processor ADP, private employers added 122,000 jobs during May, exceeding economist expectations of 110,000 and accelerating from April’s revised total of 105,000. The report arrives at a critical moment for investors. Wall Street is trying to determine whether the economy is heading toward a soft landing, a renewed growth cycle, or a more pronounced slowdown. At the same time, Federal Reserve officials are searching for evidence that inflation pressures are cooling enough to justify future interest rate cuts.For now, the labor market appears to be sending a clear message: employers are still hiring.A Stronger Labor Market Than...

Russia's oil and gas tax revenue, which accounts for around a fifth of ​total budget income, increased by 32.4% year-on-year in May ​to 678.9 billion roubles ($9.3 billion), Finance Ministry data showed ⁠on Wednesday, thanks to a global oil price rally fuelled ​by the Middle East war. Revenue declined by 20.7% from April, when ​the budget received additional payments from profit-based tax, paid cyclically. Russia, the world's third-largest oil producer and exporter after the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, ​has been one of the main beneficiaries of the rise in ​oil prices after the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran began at the...

ROSELAND, N.J., June 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Private sector employment increased by 122,000 jobs in May and pay was up 4.4 percent year-over-year according to the May ADP National Employment Report® produced by ADP Research in collaboration with the Stanford Digital Economy Lab ("Stanford Lab"). The ADP National Employment Report is an independent measure of the labor market based on the anonymized weekly payroll data of more than 26 million private-sector employees in the United States. ADP's Pay Insights captures over 15 million individual pay change observations each month. Together, the jobs report and pay insights use ADP's fine-grained data...

TEMPE, Ariz., June 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Economic activity in the services sector continued to expand in May, say the nation's purchasing and supply executives in the latest ISM® Services PMI® Report. The Services PMI® registered 54.5 percent, the 23rd consecutive month in expansion territory. The report was issued today by Steve Miller, CPSM, CSCP, Chair of the Institute for Supply Management® (ISM®) Services Business Survey Committee: "In May, the Services PMI® registered 54.5 percent, an increase of 0.9 percentage point compared to April's figure of 53.6 percent. The Business Activity Index remained in expansion territory in May, increasing 1.8...