Free Republic

NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James today announced a record multistate agreement with the owner of TurboTax, Intuit Inc. (Intuit), for deceiving millions of low-income Americans into paying for tax services that should have been free. As a result of Attorney General James’ agreement, Intuit will pay $141 million in restitution to millions of consumers across the nation who were unfairly charged. In addition, Intuit must suspend TurboTax’s “free, free, free” ad campaign that lured customers with promises of free tax preparation services, only to deceive them into paying. All 50 states and the District of Columbia...

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) on Thursday announced the Senate will vote on abortion legislation, via the Women’s Health Protection Act, Wednesday. This legislation “would enshrine abortion on demand and up-to-birth in federal law as well as void all state laws aimed at protecting the lives of the unborn.”

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) is denying a request to use $3.5 million to train non-doctors to perform abortions in his state. Comptroller Peter Franchot, a Democrat who is running for governor, requested the funds, citing the leaked draft of a Supreme Court opinion overruling Roe v. Wade.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the powerful Middle Eastern oil cartel, stuck to its planned incremental production increase, shrugging off calls from the West for greater supply. Both the cartel and Russia, collectively known as OPEC+, will stick to their plan to raise production by a modest 432,000 barrels per day in June, multiple delegates told Reuters, despite pleas from the Biden administration. The White House has repeatedly called upon OPEC+ to boost its oil output over the last year as supply chains have been snarled amid the COVID-19 pandemic recovery. White House national security adviser Jake...

Florida’s Gov. Ron DeSantis said on May 3 he is concerned about the national economy as he fears President Joe Biden’s policies will “plunge the United States into a recession.” And DeSantis said that while inflation continues to rise with an upsurge in prices of goods, Florida’s economy is looking good. The comments came during a press conference where the governor presented a $20 million check to Lee County for flood control and other water management projects. DeSantis said that Florida’s income for April exceeded expectations. “It’s our current estimate that the state of Florida brought in about $760 million...

After Joe Biden declared Wednesday that “MAGA is the most extreme political organization” in US history, reporters questioned White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki if Americans should expect that kind of rhetoric to continue, and she said yes. CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins noted that Biden “was sharply critical of the MAGA crowd,” asking Psaki “is that what we should expect to speak his message going into the midterms?” Psaki responded, “I would expect you will hear” more of this rhetoric from Biden “over the next coming months.”

While trying to cross a road to meet his girlfriend, a man in Taiwan was killed after he was hit by four cars in succession. This unfortunate tragedy happened on Monday (May 2) at 3am in Taipei, reported English newspaper Taiwan News. The man, surnamed Chuang, was crossing the road under the pouring rain but the traffic light had turned red before he could make it across, according to the Taiwanese news outlet. The 41-year-old then tried to dash across the road but he was struck by a taxi driven by a man surnamed Ting, who immediately pulled over to...

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The US Federal Trade Commission is reportedly reviewing Elon Musk's $44 billion Twitter buyout for potential antitrust concerns. The FTC now has 30 days to consider the deal and decide whether to issue a second request to probe the matter further, although most experts believe there are no antitrust concerns that could block the takeover, according to Bloomberg. However, the anti-monopoly activist group Open Markets Initiative, where Democratic FTC Chair Lina Khan used to work, has urged the agency to block the deal, saying that it 'poses immediate and direct threats to American democracy and free speech.'

Larry Ong is a senior analyst with SinoInsider, a New York-based risk consultancy that focuses on Chinese elite politics.China is not doing well, and Xi Jinping is largely to blame. Draconian efforts to curb coronavirus outbreaks throughout China and highly restrictive policies aimed at propping up the real estate sector have dealt visible damage to the national economy. Economists forecast a coming recession as foreign capital outflows accelerate amidst the “zero-COVID” policy, Xi’s “no limits” friendship with Russia rousing Western ire and the specter of sanctions, Beijing’s continued crackdown on China’s profitable big tech firms, and the U.S. Federal Reserve’s...

The American people have seen right through President Biden’s propaganda and lies on the effectiveness of the Covid-19 injections because according to CDC data, 70% of the entire population of the USA have not had either a first, second or third dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. President Joe Biden has lied to the American people and is still lying to the American people. In July 2021, Biden falsely stated that “You’re not going to get COVID if you have these vaccinations,” and “If you’re vaccinated, you’re not going to be hospitalized, you’re not going to be in the ICU unit,...

Despite obvious resistance, within days of Emmanuel Macron’s re-election, France began progressing with the fourth dose of Covid injections for everyone and introduced a “digital identity assurance” app. The European Union (“EU”) as a whole is planning to introduce their digital identity application sometime this year to enable people to enjoy the “greater flexibility ideal for post-pandemic life.” However, a mere two days after his victory over Marine Le Pen, Macron launched a new law compliant with Brussels’ demands – the creation of the “Digital Identity Guarantee Service” (“SGIN”) which will allow French citizens to have a digital identity card...

Recent reports claim that Russian President Vladimir Putin may officially declare war with Ukraine as early as next Monday. Russia is currently referring to the invasion as a special military operation. Officially declaring war would, under Russian law, allow for the full mobilization of Russia’s reserve forces and the drafting of conscripts. “I think he will try to move from his ‘special operation,'” British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace told LBC Radio last week. “He’s been rolling the pitch, laying the ground for being able to say, ‘look, this is now a war against Nazis, and what I need is more...

In an apparent lesson from Covid, American Oligarch Bill Gates wants eyes on any potential future pandemic. Among his proposals is for the WHO to initiate a worldwide surveillance team consisting of experts who can rapidly identify new health threats worldwide and immediately coordinate with global governments to prevent illnesses from evolving into pandemics CNBC reports. Gates, who has called his proposed task force the “Global Epidemic Response and Mobilization” (GERM) initiative, told the Financial Times that the initiative would need significant financial investment from the WHO and its member states to establish an international team of experts, among them...

The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee has approved the No Oil Producing and Exporting Cartels Act (NOPEC) bill, Reuters reports, paving the way–if signed into law by the president–for a lawsuit against OPEC for antitrust behavior and market manipulation. The Thursday vote saw the U.S. Senate panel come out in favor of NOPEC, which has been on and off the table for decades, failing to get past Congressional committees until recently, when gasoline prices in the U.S. have maintained all-time highs. It is still unclear whether the bill, approved by the Senate panel, will move on to the Senate or to...

Following the leak out of the Supreme Court, which showed the likelihood of Roe v. Wade being overturned, pro-abortion activists gathered at the capitol to protest en masse and terrorize all opposing voices. Daily Wire reporter Mary Margaret Olohan documented the protest on Wednesday and said that the “viciousness” among the crowd “was palpable.” Olohan described a small number of counter-protesters who were pro-life experiencing ‘mob and pitchfork’ like berating as pro-abortion activists screamed, cursed, and pressed a siren blaring megaphone to their ears. Most of the pro-life voices outside the supreme court building, she recounted, were forced to escape...

U.S. consumer demand for meat at the retail level remains exceptionally strong despite rising prices caused by increased production costs and supply chain challenges. A new CoBank report says that may change soon. Once the full effect of increased costs of producer price inflation shows up in the retail meat case, demand will get tested.“Retail meat prices will remain high throughout 2022,” says Brian Earnest, lead animal protein economist with CoBank. “The sharply higher costs for feed, energy, and labor haven’t fully impacted wholesale and retail meat prices, but that will soon change.”

Dr. Anthony Fauci has warned the world is “still in the middle of a pandemic,” less than two weeks after stating the U.S. was “certainly … out of the pandemic phase.” “You said last week that we are out of the ‘acute component’ of the pandemic phase. In real terms, what does that mean for Americans?” Foreign Policy’s Ravi Agrawal asked, prompting Fauci to say that “we are still in the middle of a pandemic.”

Scientists in Germany have investigated the environmental impacts of replacing meat with microbial protein – an alternative food option produced by microbes such as fungi in fermentation tanks. Results show the public shouldn't feel pressured to 'only eat greens', as they can make a big environmental difference just by eating meat alternatives infrequently. Mycoprotein is one example of a microbial protein. It is produced from fungi and found in Quorn, a vegetarian meat substitute product already found on the supermarket shelves.

The bad news for unpopular President Joe Biden continues to roll in, the latest from a new survey that shows likely voters, by a 2-to-1 margin, do not want him to run again. Even more embarrassing for the Democratic president is one of the largest gaps yet between him and former President Donald Trump in a 2024 matchup. In the survey previewed by Secrets, Trump is up 50%-36%. 4 “A majority of voters think President Joe Biden shouldn’t seek reelection in 2024, and he would lose a rematch with former President Donald Trump by double-digit margins,” read the early analysis...