Free Republic

There continues to be a debate among global geopolitical analysts regarding whether the United States and China are engaged in a Cold War or a competition for global dominance.The answer is irrelevant.By anyone's observation, China seeks to dominate the 21st century, and they will do so by "any means necessary." In the process, they will use their military might to create a sphere of influence that is designed to cow nations that range from Japan to Australia to India.Their invasion of Taiwan is almost a foregone conclusion among many military observers, who believe it is not a question of if...

Nvidia has agreed to buy assets from Groq, a designer of high-performance artificial intelligence accelerator chips, for $20 billion in cash, according to Alex Davis, CEO of Disruptive, which led the startup’s latest financing round in September. Davis, whose firm has invested more than half a billion dollars in Groq since the company was founded in 2016, said the deal came together quickly. Groq raised $750 million at a valuation of about $6.9 billion three months ago. Investors in the round included Blackrock and Neuberger Berman, as well as Samsung, Cisco , Altimeter and 1789 Capital, where Donald Trump Jr....

President Donald Trump’s revamp of the H-1B white-collar outsourcing program has prompted cautious approval from advocates for American professionals and college graduates. “It does not end H-1Bs, but it fundamentally reshapes who benefits from them,” said Hany Girgis, a tech-training CEO. Employers and their lawyers are expected to file lawsuits against the new rules, which somewhat shift the distribution of new H-1B workers towards employers who offer higher wages. That shift will modestly pressure companies to hire young American graduates — but will not restrict the huge inflow of foreign workers via other programs, including the “cap-exempt” H-1B, J-1, L-1,...

A Delaware judge on Monday rejected JPMorgan’s request to halt ongoing payments tied to Charlie Javice’s legal defense, ordering the bank to continue complying with an existing fee-advancement order while its appeal proceeds. Javice and her lawyers spent $530 on gummy bears, more than $3,000 on first-class airline tickets, a $581 dinner that included a $161 seafood tower and $25,800 on hotel upgrades — then billed the costs as part of the staggering legal tab she wants JPMorgan Chase to pay, the bank alleged in court filings. According to the filings, the expenses included a $284 car ride covering just...

Even more surprising than the blockbuster 4.3% economic growth rate recorded in the third quarter of 2025 was the fact that some 90% of the nation’s professional economists got it all wrong. These economic whiz-kids’ faulty forecast comes on the heels of their predictions last week that inflation was going to be above 3%. Instead, the actual number was 2.7%. Welcome to the gang that can’t shoot straight. Maybe it’s time for this cadre of Keynesian economists to send their PhDs back to the Ivy League schools they got them from, and just admit they have no idea what they’re...

A group of immigrant truckers sued California's Department of Motor Vehicles on Tuesday, alleging the state violated thousands of workers' rights when officials took action to revoke their commercial driver's licenses. California officials said last month that the state notified about 17,000 truckers that their commercial driver's licenses would be revoked because the expiration dates went past when the drivers were legally allowed to be in the U.S. That number has since grown to 21,000. The move came after the Trump administration started cracking down on states' issuance of the licenses to immigrants. The federal government has threatened to withhold...

Jaguar’s transition to becoming an EV-only brand is almost complete, following the final vehicle with an engine rolling off one of its UK production lines. Though nothing has been officially announced by Jaguar, the Jaguar Enthusiasts Club reported on last week’s landmark occasion, in which an F-Pace SUV rolled off the line on December 19, 2025. The F-Pace SVR’s black paint was reportedly a tribute to the final E-Type which too was finished in black, though the larger focus was on what was under the SUV’s bonnet, with its supercharged 5.0-litre V8 engine being the last to leave a Jaguar...

A joint venture between two industry giants will lead to the launch of a flagship EV, and it’ll take an unexpected title when it does come to market. The Afeela 1 is going on sale in California next year as the first model from Sony Honda Mobility, a partnership between the tech and car giants, with a vision to take on the upper end of the EV market. While some cars already offer onboard gaming via their touchscreens – or even have rear screens you can plug devices into – the Afeela 1 will be the first car to feature...

Donald Trump has said the US will keep or sell the crude oil contained on tankers it has seized off the coast of Venezuela, as well as the vessels themselves.The US president's comments came as Washington continues to pressure the South American country's leader Nicolás Maduro to stand down.Speaking to reporters in Florida on Monday, Trump said of the oil "we're going to keep it", adding: "Maybe we will sell it, maybe we will keep it. Maybe we'll use it in the Strategic Reserves. We're keeping the ships also."The Trump administration has accused Venezuela of using oil revenues to fund...

"You're heading into 2026 with one of the biggest banks on Wall Street telling you the economy can ran stronger than most people expect. Bank of America's Global Research team used its December 2025 outlook to stake out a clearly bullish position on next year's growth, especially in the US." Average inflation over the last 20 years: 2.52% Inflation today: 2.7% Not the end of the world.

Key Points * The Trump administration will start garnishing the wages of student loan borrowers in default in early January, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Education confirmed to CNBC on Tuesday. * More than 5 million student loan borrowers are currently in default, and that total could swell to roughly 10 million borrowers soon, the Education Department said earlier this year. ============================================================== The Trump administration will start garnishing the wages of student loan borrowers in default in early January, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Education confirmed to CNBC on Tuesday. It will be the first time...

The global disruptions we have seen in recent years are frequently presented as a chaotic sequence of events: a ‘pandemic’, inflation, energy shortages and war. Little wonder that most people are confused. However, a structural analysis reveals a more deliberate controlled demolition of the 20th-century social contract.We are witnessing a transition from a productive capitalist model, which required a healthy mass labour force, to what Yanis Varoufakis calls a techno-feudalist order.The engine of this transition was a desperate financial stabilisation strategy carried out by means of a public health event. As identified by Professor Fabio Vighi, the global financial system...

The “economy” symbolizes survival at its most basic level. It is through an economic system that we gather items for our continued existence and, more importantly, for continued survival of our loved ones. So yes, it’s always the economy (affordability).Since the economy is so important to our basic survival, what economic philosophy best promotes and protects that system? Is it more government? Or more private enterprise? We need to answer this basic question before promoting another “solution.”Politicians would have you believe that another law or rule or some grand federal program will solve all our problems. They would have us...

Denmark said Monday it will summon the US ambassador after President Donald Trump announced he had appointed a special envoy to Greenland, the Danish autonomous territory he has threatened to annex. In response, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa said they stood "in full solidarity with Denmark and the people of Greenland". Denmark said Monday it would summon the US ambassador after President Donald Trump appointed a special envoy to Greenland who immediately vowed to make the Danish autonomous territory "a part of the US". Since returning to the White House in January,...

The first CEO of the Internal Revenue Service is reinforcing signals from the Trump administration that Americans could see the "biggest tax refund ever" in the new year. "We should expect exactly what the president said, as always happens," Frank Bisignano – also the commissioner at the Social Security Administration – said on "Mornings with Maria" Tuesday. "And the great leadership of the Treasury secretary has positioned us to be able to deliver in a whole bunch of ways for America." Bisignano confirmed that major tax refunds are expected in 2026, echoing President Donald Trump’s end-of-year address last week in...

It’s the benchmark of success, a milestone of responsible adulthood, a time-tested way to amass wealth for you and your progeny. Homeownership, we’re told again and again, is a status that every right-thinking person should aspire to — the white-picket-fence-fronted embodiment of the American Dream. But what if it’s also a little overrated? For generations it has been taken as a near article of faith across the country that ownership is both the financially and socially superior way to inhabit a home and that public policy makers should always promote it. California legislators and housing advocates spent this past year...

Californians will see the minimum wage increase to $16.90 per hour starting Jan. 1. The adjustment — a boost of 40 cents per hour — was calculated in August by the Department of Finance as part of its minimum wage annual review required by state law. California has been raising its minimum wage over the past decade. Former Gov. Jerry Brown in 2016 signed a watershed law to increase minimum wage from $10.50 per hour to $15 per hour, plus annual adjustments for inflation. The current rate of $16.50 per hour suggests that a minimum wage worker needs to work...

The U.S. economy grew at a much greater-than-expected pace in the third quarter, boosted by strong consumer spending, a delayed report released Tuesday showed. U.S. gross domestic product, a sum of all goods and services produced in the sprawling U.S. economy, expanded by 4.3% in the July-September period, the Commerce Department said in its initial reading of third-quarter growth. Economists polled by Dow Jones expect a gain of 3.2%. Consumer spending expanded by 3.5% in the third quarter after rising 2.5% in the second quarter. Increases in exports and government spending also boosted growth, while a smaller dip in private...

More than 125 congressional Democrats are pushing the Trump administration to withdraw a proposed rule that would open the door to denying a person a green card if they use public assistance, including Medicaid or food stamps. "This proposal punishes families for caring for their children. It would scare parents away from health care, food assistance, and early education that U.S. citizen children are legally entitled to, putting kids at risk and destabilizing entire communities," Rep. Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y., chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, said in a statement to The Hill. "Congress never intended public charge to be used...

Trump’s uncharacteristically wooden address to the nation revealed a panicked president