Free Republic

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Tuesday sidestepped a question about reports that he declined a call from then-President Trump on Jan. 6, 2021, emphasizing that the last time he spoke to the former president was in December 2020. “I've said repeatedly the last time I spoke to the president was the day after the Electoral College declared President Biden the winner. I publicly congratulated President Biden on his victory and received a phone call after that from President Trump and that's the last time we’ve spoken,” McConnell said when asked why he did not take Trump's calls the...

NEW YORK, (Reuters) - A closely monitored section of the U.S. Treasury yield curve inverted on Tuesday for the first time since September 2019, a reflection of market concerns that the Federal Reserve could tip the economy into recession as it battles soaring inflation. For a brief moment, the yield on the two-year Treasury note was higher than that of the benchmark 10-year note . That part of the curve is viewed by many as a reliable signal that a recession could come in the next year or two. The 2-year, 10-year spread briefly fell as low as minus 0.03...

Inflation is roaring along caused by government spending and energy policies, hurting the American middle class and lower-income groups. Now we see the US Treasury 10Y-2Y flattening towards zero and the10Y-5Y curve slipping deeper into inversion as Q1 GDP growth slows to 0.867. The US yield and dollar swap curves remain steeply upward sloping, but with the dollar swap curve around 120 basis points high than the Treasury yield at the 6-month tenor. Various Federal Reserve talking heads are sounding like Derek Zoolander. “With inflation at a four-decade high, Fed Chair Jerome Powell has set the central bank on course...

Oil economics and the shell game... Here's an astonishing read. Important and verifiable information: About 6 months ago, there was a news program on oil and one of The Forbes Bros. was the guest. The host said to Forbes, "I am going to ask you a direct question and I would like a direct answer; how much oil does the U.S. Have in the ground?" Forbes did not miss a beat, he said, "More than all the Middle East put together." The U.S. Geological Service issued a report in April 2008 that only Scientists and oil men knew was coming,...

For the first time in its history, Alaska will conduct a statewide election primarily by mail because officials worry they lack the time to gather the people and paper needed to conduct an in-person election in June. In Michigan, Ingham County Clerk Barb Byrum says she fears increased animosity toward election officials is contributing to the shortage of poll workers needed for local elections in May. And around the country, election officials are racing to place advance orders for ballot paper, registration cards and mail-in ballot envelopes. The supply chain and staffing shortages that have plagued the rest of the...

Americans' level of concern about inflation is at its highest point since 1985, a Gallup poll released Tuesday found. Seventeen percent of respondents said "High cost of living/inflation" was the most important problem currently facing the United States, up from eight percent in January. An additional 15 percent said the biggest problem was either "Fuel/Oil prices" or the "Economy in general." Fifty-nine percent said they worry "a great deal" about inflation, including 79 percent of Republicans, 25 percent of Democrats, and 63 percent of independents. According to The New York Times, the Biden administration "initially expected rapid inflation to fade"...

Rep. Matt Gaetz @RepMattGaetz BREAKING: FBI Cyber Chief can't find Hunter Biden's laptop... BREAKING: FBI Cyber Chief Can’t Find Hunter Biden’s Laptop Visit https://gaetz.house.gov/

The more than 250 black journalists, including New York Times columnist Charles Blow and television personality Marc Lamont Hill, are now out of a job. Former Republican Congressman J.C. Watts, who compared Trump supporters to Klansmen, was the founder of the network. “We are more than athletes and entertainers, and on the hard news side, we’re more than crime,” Watts said, according to a Washington Times report. “For every 17-year-old African American male that you show me that’s being carted off in handcuffs on the 10 o’clock news … I can show you 50 17-year-old African American males that get...

Reports of explosions and fire at arsenal near Belgorod (Russia)

March 29 was chosen as the day to honor Vietnam War veterans because on March 29, 1973, the last of America’s troops left Vietnam and the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam was disestablished, according to the Vietnam War Commemoration. The relatively new military holiday was signed into law by President Donald Trump in 2017, five years after President Barack Obama proclaimed the holiday in 2012, according to White House press release archives.

Ukrainian troops in Mariupol are taking ammunition off of Russian troops and smuggling in weapons to resupply and hold out against the Russian assault. Western officials in a briefing to reporters Tuesday said there is evidence of Ukrainian troops in Mariupol smuggling weapons into encircled areas for reinforcement as additional Russian troops close in. "Ukrainian forces, though remarkably adept at smuggling weapons into areas which are encircled, they are also largely being able to resupply their fighters by taking weapons, ammunition, off Russian soldiers in the city itself," Western officials told reporters in a briefing.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody (R) announced on Tuesday a lawsuit over the Biden administration’s extended mask mandate on planes and transportation hubs, noting that the rule is not grounded in science. “The state of Florida joined by 20 other states has filed an action against the Biden administration and multiple parties within to challenge the mandatory mask mandate within transportation hubs and on airplanes,” Moody announced alongside the governor.

In the middle of Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine, Donald Trump's priority on Tuesday was urging Vladimir Putin to hand over any documents he may have about Hunter Biden's dealings with Russian oligarchs. The ex-president said he was particularly interested in an alleged $3.5 million payment from the former mayor of Moscow's widow to a company co-founded by Hunter Biden, according to an excerpt from a new interview with Just The News. 'Why did the mayor of Moscow's wife give the Bidens -- both of them -- $3.5 million? That's a lot of money,' Trump in a 30-second clip on...

The snow squalls that caused Monday’s 50-car pileup on Interstate 81 that killed five motorists and injured dozens more literally slipped under the radars of the National Weather Service. A snow squall caused near white-out conditions around 10:30 a.m. when the first crash took place on I-81 north near mile marker 116 in Foster Township. Drivers told reporters they were blinded and their vehicles knocked around as additional vehicles crashed into them. The National Weather Service had made no observations of snow squalls in the area of the crash in I-81 until it sent out warnings at 12:15 p.m.-1:30 p.m.,...

Blockchain project Ronin said Tuesday that hackers stole cryptocurrency worth almost $615 million from its systems, in what would be one of the largest cryptocurrency heists on record. The project said that unidentified hackers on March 23 stole some 173,600 ether tokens and 25.5 million USD Coin tokens. At current exchange rates, the stolen funds are worth $615 million, but they were worth some $540 million at the time of the attack. This makes it the second-largest crypto theft on record, according to blockchain analysis firm Elliptic.

Ricky Gervais is giving fans a sneak peek at how he would have opened the show if he had been asked to host the 94th Academy Awards. “I’d start with ‘Hello, I hope this show helps cheer up the ordinary people watching at home,'” he tweeted, responding to a fan who said they wished he was hosting. “‘If you’re unemployed for example, take some comfort in the fact that even if you had a job, your salary probably wouldn’t be as much as the goody bag all the actors have just been given.'” Gervais was taking a swipe at this...

The Saudi-US relationship is in the throes of a crisis. As a Saudi who went to college in the US, loves America and wants to see it strong, I am increasingly disturbed by the unreality of the American discussion about the subject, which often fails to acknowledge just how deep and serious the rift has grown.A more realistic discussion should focus on one word: “Divorce.” When President Barack Obama negotiated the nuclear deal with Iran, we Saudis understood him to be seeking the breakup of a 70-year marriage. How could we not? After all, the flaws in the deal are...

FBI Assistant Director, cyber division, Bryan Vorndran on Tuesday said he doesn’t know where Hunter Biden’s laptop is because it’s not in his purview. The FBI withheld the laptop from President Trump’s legal team during the first impeachment.

Star Trek has a tradition of booking big name guest stars, going all the way back to the original television series of the 1960s with attorney Melvin Belli. This week, the producers of Star Trek: Discovery unveiled Hollywood’s most tightly-kept secret in casting the biggest name in progressive politics, Georgia Democrat and candidate for governor, Stacey Abrams. Abrams, who narrowly lost her last bid to current Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, plays the president of United Earth in the season finale of the Paramount streaming series.

This isn’t the first time Will Smith has slapped someone at an awards show: A decade ago, he smacked a man in the face on the red carpet for “Men in Black III.” Video from 2012 shows Smith backhanding Ukrainian jokester Vitalii Sediuk, who was posing as a reporter, in the face while doing interviews for his movie in Moscow. Seduik — whose wild altercations with celebrities have seen him arrested or served with restraining orders — overstepped the mark when he bizarrely reached out to kiss Smith on both cheeks, claiming that was a traditional Ukrainian greeting.