Free Republic

For the first time since the Cold War, the U.S. Army is set to acquire and field a new light tank. The service announced today that General Dynamics Land Systems has won its Mobile Protected Firepower program competition and has been awarded a contract worth up to $1.14 billion. The initial Mobile Protected Firepower (MPF) contract award will cover an initial low-rate production order of 96 vehicles. The Army expects to take delivery of the first examples, from an initial lot of 26 MPFs, in December 2023 and have its first unit fully equipped with them by 2025. The service...

The Supreme Court on Thursday curtailed the Environmental Protection Agency’s powers to restrict greenhouse-gas emissions from power plants, in a decision that could limit the authority of government agencies to address major policy questions without congressional approval. Elaborating on earlier decisions, the high court said federal agencies need explicit authorization from Congress to decide issues of major economic and political significance, drawing on a principle known as the “major questions doctrine.” In his decision for the 6-3 majority, Chief Justice John Roberts said Congress never gave the EPA the authority to change the methods a power plant uses—regulations known as...

The Ukrainian Navy announced Thursday it recaptured Snake Island, a critical Black Sea outpost taken by Russia early in the war, which has since galvanized Ukrainian resistance as a symbol of fortified defiance. Russia confirmed its withdrawal Thursday morning, but called the move a “goodwill gesture”... Natalia Humeniuk, a spokeswoman for the Ukrainian military’s southern command, told the New York Times on Tuesday that it destroyed three anti-aircraft missile systems that Russian had stationed on the island, as well as Russia’s radar station.

In a paper published in Wildlife Society Bulletin, researchers collected data for birds causing fires from being electrocuted throughout the contiguous United States from January 2014 through December 2018. There is no central database for this sort of thing, so they got creative. They set up Google Alerts for three keyword searches: bird (and) fire, eagle (and) fire, and hawk (and) fire, and filtered out unrelated results. Next, they manually sorted through the results and discarded wildfires that were not confirmed to have been started by a bird, looking for photographic evidence of a burned carcass at the ignition site...

A George Soros-backed prosecutor in Virginia released on probation a violent repeat offender who went on to kill an elderly homeless woman—the third case of its kind in the jurisdiction this year. Fairfax County commonwealth's attorney Steve Descano (D.) in October charged Chante Antonio Jones with assault and battery before releasing him on recognizance, slapping him with just a $212 fine and one-year period of supervised probation. Police on Monday arrested Jones for beating 63-year-old Michelle Huntley to death at a bus stop where she had taken shelter. The brutal killing last week is just the latest instance in which...

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is preparing to cite the United States’ largest oil field for violating ozone pollution standards, a move that will threaten the end of oil and gas production in the region. According to the Texas Governor’s Office, the proposed regulations will directly affect the Permian Basin, the largest oil field in the United States, accounting for 95,000,000 gallons of gasoline per day or 40% of the oil produced domestically.

(Translation) The number of taxicab drivers on the island is decreasing, which is felt by the tourist who needs a transportation service and passengers who arrive in Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport early in the morning. It is estimated that, in the last years, there has been a 40% decrease in the number of these workers, according to Juan de León, President of the Taxi Drivers Federation, who understands is due to factors that affect the economy in general. According to data collected among cab drivers, it is estimated that there were over 5,000 taxis in Puerto Rico one decade...

Stocks fell sharply Thursday, as the S&P 500 caps off its worst first half in more than 50 years. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 348 points, or 1.1%. The S&P 500 slid 1.2%, and the Nasdaq Composite pulled back by 1.6%.

From Madison reading Cato and Cicero when framing the Constitution to the outsized impact both Rome and America had on the world around them, the United States has long been associated with historical Rome. There are great similarities, and there can be much to learn. When most of us think of the worst emperors Roman in history we think of names like Commodus, Nero, Caligula and Elagabalus. To a man they were vain, self centered, bloodthirsty hedonists who took what they wanted and tortured and killed many thousands of Romans and provincials. All emperors, including the great ones like Augustus,...

The Supreme Court’s announcement on Thursday that it will hear Moore v. Harper, a case that could concentrate an unprecedented amount of power in gerrymandered state legislatures, should alarm anyone who cares about democracy. The case is perhaps the gravest threat to American democracy since the January 6 attack. It seeks to reinstate gerrymandered congressional maps that were struck down by North Carolina’s highest court because they “subordinated traditional neutral redistricting criteria in favor of extreme partisan advantage” for the Republican Party. The plaintiffs argue that the state supreme court didn’t have the authority to strike these maps down, and...

Russia’s energy giant Gazprom on Thursday lost more than a quarter of its market value after the state-owned company decided not to pay out dividends. “The shareholders have resolved that in the current situation it is not opportune to pay out dividends based on the results of 2021,” Famil Sadygov, deputy chairman of Gazprom, said in a statement. “At the moment, Gazprom prioritizes the implementation of its investment program, including gas infrastructure expansion in the regions of the Russian Federation, and the preparations for the coming winter period. In addition, we undoubtedly must be ready to meet our obligations to...

President Joe Biden said he would back killing the filibuster to pass federal abortion legislation and blasted the Supreme Court's 'outrageous' repealing of Roe v. Wade during a press conference in Madrid on Thursday. Speaking to reporters at the end of a NATO summit in Madrid, Spain, he condemned the ruling and its impact. 'America is better positioned to lead the world than we ever have been,' he said. 'But one thing that has been destabilizing is the outrageous behavior of the Supreme Court of United States in overruling not only Roe v. Wade, but essentially challenging the right to...

A pair of lawsuits that for years has plagued Virginia’s largest school system with allegations that it ignored students’ accusations of sex assaults are back in front of federal judges. One of the lawsuits includes allegations of horrific abuse suffered by a student at a Fairfax County middle school and was the basis for a 2014 federal investigation. ... The middle schooler filed an amended complaint earlier this month after the school board’s efforts to block her suit were rejected. Her ordeal began in October 2011, according to the lawsuit, when she was a seventh grader at Rachel Carson Middle...

Leading Biden officials outlined their methods to keep pushing the administration’s climate agenda if the Supreme Court limits the powers of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Wednesday. The Supreme Court is likely to weaken the Biden administration’s efforts to limit carbon dioxide emissions in West Virginia v. EPA, with several of the justices having probed the extent of EPA’s authority in oral arguments. President Joe Biden’s senior officials remain confident in their ability to advance the administration’s aggressive environmental agenda by using the Clean Air Act and other government powers. During a panel at the Aspen Ideas Festival, EPA...

On Thursday, OPEC+ — the international oil cartel effectively led by Saudi Arabia – held a meeting via video conference where the group decided not to further increase oil production from its previously announced plans. The group will meet again August 3. Biden's comments come as gas prices hover near record highs in the U.S., with the average price of a gallon topping $5 nationally for first time ever earlier this month. President Biden said Thursday he would not ask Saudi Arabia individually to increase its oil production on his forthcoming visit to the Kingdom, but would instead encourage all...

In China, Speeding Toward the Future By Bill Gates| January 12, 2011 I travelled to China for the first time in 1990 on Microsoft business and have been back many times since. One very memorable trip was in 1995 with Melinda, my father and Warren Buffett. We rode the trains and traveled around as tourists for several weeks—it was an incredible trip and a lot of fun. My recent trip was unique and especially exciting, as I had the opportunity to do work that spans my various interests. I met with our team at Microsoft Research Asia, where I saw...

World leaders at the Group of 7 summit in Germany signaled they will turn back to fossil fuels despite their commitments to a green energy transition thanks to the ongoing energy crisis. The war in Ukraine is heavily restricting fuel imports, with Russia cutting off European access to the Nord Stream pipeline and the US imposing a fuel embargo on Putin. As a result, the U.S. and European countries are abandoning their climate agenda to return to fossil fuels. Amid skyrocketing fuel prices, the Biden administration has been forced to abandon certain planks of its climate agenda. Biden called for...

Some data points: May 22 vs May 21 Cars: -96.7% (3,700 cars) Trucks: -39.3% ICE motors: -57% Pass. train wagons: -59.8% Freight wagons: -51.8% Fiberglass cables: -80.8% Fridges: -58.1% Washing machines: -59.2% AC electric motors: -49.9% Elevators: -34.7% Excavators: -60%

An overwhelming majority of Americans say the U.S. is heading in the wrong direction, including nearly 8 in 10 Democrats. 79% describe the Biden economy as “poor”. These numbers come from an AP-NORC poll. Gas prices are at record highs — double what they were when Trump left office. The middle class is being destroyed. Prices are up 17% from a year ago. VIDEOS AT LINK.............. On Friday morning Joe Biden was questioned on his devastating record and on an America that is going backward. In response to the criticism, Joe Biden lied. And Joe Biden blamed the US Supreme...

Young v. Hawaii - Carry ban NJ Rifle v Bruck - Magazine ban Duncan v Bonta - Magazine ban Bianchi v Frosh - "Assault Weapon" ban. All granted, vacated (lower court judgement reversed) and remanded for new proceedings in light of NYSRPA v. Bruen.