Free Republic

For the moment, Fed Chair Jerome Powell and several Fed governors are singing “No sugar tonight” for the economy. As The Fed sings “No sugar tonight” exemplified by the number of expected Fed rate hikes by February 2023 has grown to 10.4. Mortgage rates are now the highest since 2009, but inflation is the highest in 40 years. The result? The REAL 30-year mortgage rate is -3.25%. REAL average hourly earnings are now a terrible -2.99% YoY thanks to the worst inflation in 40 years. REAL home prices are growing at 11.8% YoY. Traders are betting that even with the...

On his second full business day at the helm of the combined Warner Bros. Discovery, CEO David Zaslav with new CNN President Chris Licht huddled with Ted Turner in Washington, D.C., then flew to Atlanta to meet employees at the Midtown campus of what used to be known as Turner Broadcasting. There, Zaslav took selfies, toured the facilities and gave a pep talk to staff in nearly the same spot where the intrepid Turner introduced the 24/7 news operation CNN to the world more than 42 years earlier. AT&T formally spun off the WarnerMedia media properties April 8 into a...

It feels like yesterday when Joe Biden promised there would be “No Malarkey” in his White House. To underscore the point, he had the words painted in giant letters on a bus he used in 2019. However you translate malarkey — “bulls–t” is the best option — it’s clear Biden broke his promise there wouldn’t be any. In fact, spreading malarkey here, there and everywhere is the hallmark of his presidency, which is why his party is in a panic. Of course, Biden was a master of malarkey long before the election. He claimed in 2019 he never spoke to...

Joe Kahn is the incoming executive editor of the New York Times who will be replacing Dean Baquet. Here is one of the photo shots of him from a recent New York magazine profile. Go ahead and add a caption.

The offspring of Indonesia's infamous Krakatoa volcano erupted on Sunday, spewing a towering volcanic ash cloud some 3,000 metres (9,800 feet) into the sky. Mount Anak Krakatoa, which means Child of Krakatoa, belched thick ash over the strait that separates the islands of Java and Sumatra forcing authorities to warn nearby residents to wear masks outside.

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that Title 42, which prohibits immigration into the United States from with which there was a danger of disease, was against American values. The Trump administration invoked the rule to combat the coronavirus pandemic.

WASHINGTON, Wednesday, April 23. ANOTHER COMMISSIONER NOMINATED. To-day the President nominated RUFUS KING, ex-Postmaster-General, to the Senate, as Commissioner under the Emancipation act, to fill the vacancy occasioned by the withdrawal of BERRETT. The fact aroused a storm of indignation among the Republican Senators. They assert that when they fought BUCHANAN's Administration oat of power, and Mr. LINCOLN's in, they did not suppose the latter would call more than three of BUCHANAN's Cabinet to assist him in administering the affairs of the Government; but as Mr. KING is the fourth -- Dix, HOLT and STANTON already holding fat offices --...

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has issued a warning about the future, which looks grim. If things continue as they are now – and they more than likely will – global food shortages will continue. The result will be supply issues and civil unrest, likely beginning in the Third World and spreading from there. Protests have already erupted in Peru due to unrelenting inflation, and this is probably only a taste of what is to come as the problem spreads. Sky-high food prices, especially in poorer countries, will make it unaffordable for many families to make ends meet. This will...

A pattern of fires striking food facilities across the United States suggests that arson team are targeting food facilities for destruction. This theory, if confirmed, is consistent with other engineered tactics now being deployed to destroy food abundance in America: (snip) The partial halting of grain and fertilizer deliveries by Union Pacific railroad, which is largely owned by Blackrock and Vanguard investment funds. The mass culling of chickens and turkeys, using fraudulent PCR testing to claim there’s another “bird flu epidemic” that requires the mass destruction of egg-producing chickens (and other birds used for meat). The government paying farmers to...

"This is a great victory for the principle of state preemption," said SAF founder Alan M. Gottlieb. "This should send a signal to other municipal governments—especially the city of Seattle against which we have a nearly identical pending lawsuit—that they cannot enact their own gun restrictions in violation of state law or the state constitution." Edmonds officials had adopted a so-called "safe storage" mandate for firearms owners living within Edmonds city limits. The problem was that in 1985, the state legislature adopted the state statute, preempting "the entire field of firearms regulation within the boundaries of the state, including the...

Only 32 percent of the winter wheat crop in the United States received a “good” or “excellent” rating from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), new reports show. While this represents a slight increase of two points compared to a week ago, the figure is far behind 2021’s 53 percent rating, illustrating just how bad America’s wheat crop is due to persistent drought conditions in many areas. “Winter wheat rated as fair was 32 percent and winter wheat rated poor to very poor was 36 percent,” reported the Longview News-Journal. “Winter wheat headed was 5 percent, 1 point less than...

Nearly two months after Russia invaded Ukraine, a Russian general described Russia’s next phase of military operations as what may be an invasion of Moldova. In comments reported by the Russian state-run TASS news agency on Friday, Russian Maj. Gen. Rustam Minnekaev, Deputy Commander of the Central Military District, said the “second phase” of Russian military operations in Ukraine will focus on establishing a “land corridor” between Russia, the Russian-occupied territory of Crimea, and Transnistria, which is a pro-Russian breakaway region of neighboring Moldova. “Since the beginning of the second phase of the special operation, it has already begun, literally...

Earlier this week, Wikipedia removed the entry on Hunter Biden's investment firm Rosemont Seneca Partners. This comes as Hunter Biden's investment firm has been at the centre of various inquiries about his offshore business operations. As per a report by New York Post, a Wikipedia editor named Alex stated that this organisation is only discussed in connection with its famous founders, Hunter Biden and Christopher Heinz adding that "keeping it around" risked the page becoming a magnet for Hunter Biden conspiracy theories. The deletion took place on Wednesday. US President Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden has been in the middle...

Some so-called right-wingers want these people to conquer all of Europe. Putin's Uruk-hai Kadyrovites pose in the rear against the backdrop of a destroyed civilian building in Mariupol. They say that Mariupol is completely captured. But the essence of this video is not in false statements, but in the general picture of "white russian soldiers", under the green banners of Islam and the crypto-soviet flags of Minas Morgul ("ДНР" - in black speech).

...some of the systemic issues that have allowed accused teachers to get favorable exit deals and move to new schools with their reputations intact, where they may continue to abuse students...Lackluster prevention training. Poor record-keeping. Inconsistent policies from school to school and district to district. Union protections, costly litigation and disbelief....For students willing to report harassment and abuse by school employees... Even if parents do believe the student, the school can pose additional obstacles. Principals or investigators interviewing the student may question their intentions, and even encourage them to think twice about making a report....In practice, not all schools escalate...

So far, only one case has been confirmed, the WHO said. The patient was a 31-year-old man, who began experiencing symptoms on April 5. He sought treatment at a local health facility after being sick for more than a week at home. The man was admitted to an Ebola treatment center on April 21 for intensive care but died later that day, the WHO said. The previous outbreaks in Equateur Province were in 2020 when 130 cases were reported, and in 2018, when 54 cases were recorded, the WHO said The DRC's equatorial forests have been a hotbed of the...

Paper ballots tucked in paper envelopes. No absentee voting, and no early voting either. French voters in Sunday’s presidential election are using and old-school system that has defied calls for more flexibility or modernization. As France’s 48.8 million voters are invited to choose between President Emmanuel Macron and his far-right challenger Marine Le Pen, here is a look at how the French election works: HOW DO THEY CAST BALLOTS? Voters make their choices in a booth, with the curtains closed, then place their ballot in an envelope that is then put into a transparent ballot box. They must show photo...

BEIJING (AP) — China is promoting coal-fired power as the ruling Communist Party tries to revive a sluggish economy, prompting warnings Beijing is setting back efforts to cut climate-changing carbon emissions from the biggest global source. Official plans call for boosting coal production capacity by 300 million tons this year, according to news reports. That is equal to 7% of last year’s output of 4.1 billion tons, which was an increase of 5.7% over 2020. China is one of the biggest investors in wind and solar, but jittery leaders called for more coal-fired power after economic growth plunged last year...

Does the thought of sharing a commercial airline flight with a fellow passenger who insists on not wearing a mask scare you? Fear not. Airlines say they have options — including refunds in some cases – for those disturbed by bare-faced fliers. Many air travellers in the next few weeks bought their tickets before a federal judge in Florida on Monday struck down the requirement to wear a mask in airports and during flights, as Breitbart News reported.

The Biden White House and Cuban officials kicked off talks to curb illegal migration coming from the Caribbean country. On Thursday, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said the US is hoping to continue almost 30-years of dialogue with Cuba.