Free Republic

Farmers in Ukraine, the breadbasket of Europe, have run out of fuel. Two weeks into Russia’s assault on Ukraine supply chains are disrupted and a critical shortage of fuel for tractors and trucks is pushing Ukraine’s agricultural sector toward collapse. If it does not secure diesel soon, Europe could face massive price spikes for agricultural commodities and challenging food shortages.

Can collaborative robots work with humans? Robots are filling more jobs than ever before, a trend that was accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, a shrinking pool of willing workers and new innovations that reduced the cost of automation for smaller companies. FAIRFIELD, Ohio — Editor's note: An earlier version of this story erroneously reported the cost of the cobot at the Fairfield Skyline. A Skyline restaurant in Fairfield has a new server that rolls through a 12-hour shift while treating customers to songs like "Happy Birthday" and the "Skyline Time" jingle. While it isn't getting paid hourly, it costs about...

I think the dimocrats will try this option later in the election after firing blanks. I think the dimocrats will say "If you Trump supporters believe that Trump won in 20 then he can't be on the ballot for a third election in 2024 because it would be unconstitutional." I actually think they would try some weirdo crap like that. And I think they'd use it as justification to run barak obama for a third term. They'd simply says, "If you're going to run Trump for a third term then we can barry for a third term too". After all,...

“‘Our Father who is in heaven . . .’” (Matthew 6:9). Knowing God as our Father carries with it a definite list of spiritual privileges and benefits. First, it means we need not fear, as pagans do before their false gods or unbelievers do in their agnosticism. Second, real knowledge of God resolves uncertainties and gives us hope. A good earthly father does what it takes to protect and provide for his children; so our heavenly Father does much more to love and sustain His children (cf. Matt. 7:11; John 10:29; 14:21). Third, knowing the Father alleviates loneliness. Family, friends,...

I believe if a Christian has an intensity for a holy life — if he desires to give his all to the Lord — there can be only one reason why he fails to enjoy the freedom promised by the Holy Spirit’s indwelling. That reason is unbelief. Jesus could not perform his works when there was unbelief, and his Spirit cannot do anything in our lives when we harbor unbelief. It is vital for every follower of Jesus not to judge God’s promises according to past experiences. If we cast ourselves fully on his promises and hold the Spirit to...

Gas prices went up again on Wednesday, setting a new record for the 12th straight day even after resident Joe Biden’s unprecedented release from the nation’s emergency petroleum reserves began on Sunday. According to AAA’s gas tracker, the nationwide average for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline is $4.56, surpassing the prior day’s high when prices passed $4.50. Diesel fuel, used for tankers, trains, trucks, farming machinery, and other industrial equipment, also reached a new high at $5.577 per gallon on Wednesday. The daily consecutive records come weeks ahead of Memorial Day, when prices traditionally reach their spring peak. In...

Many news stories stress that our ecosystems are under assault by Burmese pythons and Asian carp. This leads people to conclude that it is the less charismatic fauna such as reptiles and fish that are the most threatening of invasive species. Proposed amendments to the Lacey Act that the U.S. House passed Feb. 4 seem to perpetuate this narrative, with a proposed ban on all exotic animal species moving across state lines. (The 122-year-old Lacey Act bans trafficking in illegally taken fish, wildlife, and plants.) But one animal that the International Union for Conservation of Nature considers among the world’s...

Elon Musk lashed out against “phony social justice warriors” on Wednesday after Tesla was booted from a key stock index that tracks sustainable and socially conscious companies. The mogul’s rage came after Tesla was removed from the S&P 500 ESG index, a list of companies that ratings agency S&P Global believes are making “meaningful and measurable sustainability-focused enhancements.” ESG stands for “environmental, social and governance.” About $65 billion is indexed or benchmarked to the S&P ESG index, compared to more than $13 trillion for the overall S&P 500 — which includes Tesla — according to Barron’s.Tesla were trading down 6.1%...

WASHINGTON, D.C. — They let their cyber fingers do the walking. Opposition research that found a since-debunked back channel between Donald Trump and Russia got started with a simple search of the name Trump in the “phone book of the internet.” The misguided origin of the purported Russia-Trump cyber connection was revealed in a document entered into evidence at the trial of former Hillary Clinton campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann.

Stories about parental regret might get clicks, but BuzzFeed acting as a PR machine against motherhood might also influence people’s decision to become a parent.As BuzzFeed contemplates its future, the website should reconsider its approach to motherhood. The media outlet is rethinking its news division because it loses money, offering voluntary buyouts. BuzzFeed would likely gain some mom consumers if it changed its tune on motherhood. In April, BuzzFeed ran an article headlined, “Mothers Are Revealing How They Realized They Regret Having Children And How They’re Coping Now, And They’re Such Nuanced And Valid Feelings.” The first mom the article...

USING TRANSCRIPTS, ..summation and explanations

Putin unleashes the Terminators: Russia's much-vaunted war vehicles are finally deployed as Ukraine continues to obliterate invading tanks with the help of British missiles Video shows the Terminator armoured vehicles, designed to support infantry units in urban areas, in Donbas Russia's invasion of Ukraine has taken a heavy toll on Putin's main army tanks with his resources depleted It is the first time the Terminator vehicles have been deployed and used in battle Vladimir Putin has finally deployed his 'Terminator' military vehicles in battle in Ukraine as Kyiv continues to obliterate invading Russian tanks with the help of British missiles....

one freshman Democrat told Intelligencer they came away with a feeling of pity toward Cawthorn. “I just felt more sympathy than anything else. This is a person who clearly has ambition, whose pain and whose ability to create new life through that pain could be inspiring, but instead has become self-destructive.”

..........The amount owed to each athlete would be the half of the sport’s total revenue minus the team’s total student grant-in-aid package divided by the number of players. For instance, each USC football player could make upwards of $200,000 a year. Think about taking $15 million to $20 million that currently has been used to reinvest in football resources and to fund the rest of the athletic department and transferring it to football players, and it’s easy to see why administrators are getting ready for a fight.

As Russia hides the scale of its losses in Ukraine, more and more information has leaked out, angering of Russian soldier families and discouraging previous supporters of the invasion. “I look at my government totally different since the war started,” said Tatyana Efremenko, 39, whose son Nikita Efremenko was a conscript on the Moskva missile cruiser when it was sunk. She is still searching for her son. “There are very harsh things I would like to say about our leadership, but maybe best if I don’t because they would put me in prison for it.” In an extremely rare moment...

WASHINGTON — Leading senators of both parties have struck a deal over a draft bill that would expand a 1996 war crimes law to give American courts jurisdiction over cases involving atrocities committed abroad even if neither party is a U.S. citizen, in the latest response to Russia’s apparent targeting of civilians in Ukraine. The idea behind the draft, a copy of which was obtained by The New York Times, is that if someone who committed war crimes abroad later comes to the United States and is discovered, that person could be prosecuted for those actions by the Justice Department.Killings...

Pollution cuts more lives short worldwide than war, terrorism, malaria, HIV, tuberculosis, drugs or alcohol.That's the takeaway of a report published Tuesday in The Lancet Planetary Health, which analyzed the combined health risks of air, water and toxic chemical pollution in 2019. The results show that pollution is responsible for around 9 million premature deaths each year, or one in six globally. That puts its toll on par with smoking."We haven't been yelling from the top of the streets, saying, 'Look at this!' loud enough,'" said Richard Fuller, the report's lead author and the founder and CEO of the nonprofit...

Former President Trump is urging celebrity physician Mehmet Oz to declare victory in Pennsylvania’s GOP Senate primary even as the race remains too close to call. In a post on Truth Social, the social media platform Trump founded last year, the former president said Oz should proclaim himself the winner of the contest, arguing that doing so would make it “much harder for them to cheat with the ballots that they ‘just happened to find.’” Oz, whom Trump endorsed last month, is deadlocked with former hedge fund CEO David McCormick in the Republican Senate primary, with fewer than 3,000 votes...

President Biden’s daughter Ashley Biden tested positive for COVID-19 and had to scrap plans to join her mother, first lady Jill Biden, on a trip to Latin America. Michael LaRose, Jill Biden’s spokesman, disclosed Ashley Biden’s positive test on Wednesday, before the first lady departed for the trip. Ashley Biden is not considered a close contact of either President Biden or the first lady, White House officials said. Jill Biden is scheduled to stop in Ecuador, Panama and Costa Rica on the trip, which is otherwise moving forward as planned.

Jay the Revelator! He revealed that The Fed will not hesitate to keep raising rates until inflation comes down. Which means that mortgage rates may be rising. Mortgage applications decreased 11.0 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending May 13, 2022. The Refinance Index decreased 10 percent from the previous week and was 76 percent lower than the same week one year ago. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 12 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 12 percent compared with the...