Free Republic

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Sunday sidestepped a question on whether he wants President Biden to run for a second White House term in 2024, lauding the president’s accomplishments but saying he “can’t talk campaigns.” “Do you want him to run? Do you want him to run again?” host Jonathan Karl asked Buttigieg on ABC’s “This Week,” highlighting recent polling data that suggests Democrats may not want another four years with Biden.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is moving ahead with a plan to place new limits on credit card late fees that it says will save consumers money and prohibit companies from charging excessive penalties. But banking groups say the proposal would result in higher costs for consumers. The proposal comes less than a year after the bureau found that credit card companies in 2020 charged $12 billion in late fees, which have become a ballooning revenue source for lenders.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov will likely be dismissed from his ministerial post next week, Ukrainian news outlet Ukrainska Pravda reported on Feb. 5, citing government and military sources.According to the sources, the likely replacement for Reznikov is understood to be Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine's military intelligence agency HUR. In a soon-to-be-published interview with Ukrainska Pravda, Reznikov reportedly denied any knowledge of an imminent dismissal.“I have not had any conversations about my resignation from this position,” he reportedly said.A government source confirmed to the Kyiv Independent that Reznikov was likely to be replaced in the very near future.

'We're tired': 116-year-old Seattle business to close shop over encampment safety concerns by HANNAH EVERMAN and JEREMY HARRIS Friday, February 3rd 2023 SEATTLE HOMELESS CRISIS FORCES CLOSURE OF 116 YEAR-OLD BUSINESS Thea Sand: "We’ve just kind of had it with what’s happening in Seattle" SEATTLE (KOMO) — A business in Seattle's SODO neighborhood has survived everything from world wars to the Great Depression and even multiple pandemics, but says it can't continue to stay open anymore due to the homeless crisis downtown. Thea Sand, the fifth-generation owner of Emmanuel's Rug and Upholstery Cleaners SODO, said she is closing her business...

Americans’ positive views of the United States economy remains well below half, but have ticked up slightly over the past week, according to a new CBS poll. The new poll found that 33 percent of Americans think the condition of the economy is good, an increase from last week’s number of 28 percent. As the nation’s debt limit remains in limbo, more than half of Americans say that Congress should not raise the debt ceiling while 45 percent saying that it should. But when presented with the prospect of a default, 67 percent said it should raise the debt limit....

This documentary puts an amusing spin on US oligarchs' genocidal activities, from eugenics to perpetual war, to the deadliest vaccines in 100 years. Starring: Sucharit Bhakdi, Jay Bhattachary, Anthony Fauci, Sunetra Gupta, Annie Jacobson, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Pierre Kory, Martin Kulldorff, Kristin Massey, Peter McCullough Directed by John L. Potash

20 YEARS AGO — Just the other day, I was sitting in my living room when I heard a loud bang from the basement. Undoubtedly, it was one of my kids destroying yet another piece of our home — but I'll never know. That's because the noise made me turn my head, resulting in me hurting my back. Yes, a head turn can now hurt my back. When I was a kid, I'd ride my bike off a shed roof and hit the ground like a satellite returning to Earth's atmosphere. I'd then pop up, grab a popsicle and go...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfOAJP2wB3s

Pope Francis accuses his critics of exploiting the death of his predecessor Pope Benedict XVI for their own interests. The current pontiff said this to journalists on the plane on Sunday on the return flight of his Africa trip. "I believe that Benedict's death has been instrumentalised," Francis said, speaking of people who were only pursuing their own agenda.

Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) joined Maria Bartiromo on Sunday Morning Futures this morning. Gallagher told the FOX News audience that President Trump required universities to disclose their CCP donations. There were over $6.1 billion in donations discovered that were not previously disclosed due to Trump policies. According to Rep. Gallagher, who will head the House Select Committee on China, President Trump started enforcing Section 117 of the Higher Education Act which requires disclosure of gifts in excess of $250,000. Joe Biden dropped it. Why was that? The Biden Center at UPenn received over $50 million from China after they set...

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) – Ukraine’s defence minister expressed confidence Sunday that Western allies would agree to the country’s latest weapons request – warplanes to fight off Russian forces that invaded nearly a year ago. Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov told a news conference in Kyiv that Ukraine has already received everything from its “wish list to Santa,” except planes. “There will be planes, too,” Reznikov predicted. “The question is just what kind exactly…. Consider that this mission is already completed.”

A lady walks into Tiffany's. She looks around, spots a beautiful Diamond bracelet and walks over to inspect it. As she bends over to more closely inspect it, she farts. Very embarrassed she looks around nervously to see if anyone noticed her little whoops and prays that a salesperson was not anywhere near. As she turns around her worst nightmare materializes in the form of a salesman standing right behind her. Good looking as well as "cool as a cucumber" he displays all of what you would expect of a professional in a store like Tiffany's. He politely greets the...

Bias and stereotypes lead to college-educated Black women facing greater challenges in the dating market. Black women are among the highest educated female demographic in America. Students and experts told Insider that predominantly white college campuses don't create a fair playing field for Black women when dating. A viral TikTok of white, female college graduates showcasing their engagement rings while waiting to receive their degrees sparked a conversation online about the pressure on young women at southern colleges and universities to get engaged before graduation. The phenomenon has many names, but is perhaps most commonly trademarked as "ring by spring"...

Recently, Hurricane Ian caused significant damage and flooding throughout Florida and the southeastern United States. During the response and reconstitution after the hurricane, first responders encountered numerous vehicle fires involving electric vehicles (EVs) that are powered by lithium-ion batteries. Subsequent investigations have revealed that the vehicle fires resulted from exposure of the lithium-ion batteries to salt water. Many vehicles had been susceptible to flooding. Saltwater exposure can significantly degrade lithium-ion batteries, causing a chemical reaction that creates an extreme fire risk. Review of vehicle registration records revealed there are over 7,000 EVs in Lee County, Fla., with potential for damage.

By Alan Patterson 02.03.2023 An imminent ban on U.S. exports to Huawei is seen as the first volley in a new wave of restrictions that will impair China’s semiconductor, AI and quantum computing industries—all critical for tech dominance in military and commercial realms. The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden has stopped licensing U.S. companies to export to Huawei as Washington aims for a total ban on sales of U.S. technology to the Chinese telecom equipment giant, the Financial Times reported this week, citing people inside the White House familiar with the plan. China’s largest chipmakers like Semiconductor Manufacturing International...

Migrant patients are overwhelming a border town's sole hospital, straining medical resources and placing the facility on the brink of collapse without sufficient funding to accommodate the influx of people. Dr. Robert Transchel, the president and CEO of Yuma, Arizona's Yuma Regional Medical Center, told co-hsot Rachel Campos-Duffy Sunday on "Fox & Friends Weekend" that the problem is nothing new. "It's been a long journey," he said. "We've been at this for well over a year now. We tracked our uncompensated care for a period of over six months, and we calculated that we've provided over $20 million in uncompensated...

A New York State Police trooper was arrested and charged with issuing over two dozen fake traffic tickets to unsuspecting motorists in 2021 and 2022. Edward Longo, 34, issued 32 tickets and supporting depositions containing false statements and false information without performing traffic stops or observing traffic violations on eight different occasions between May 10, 2021, and October 2, 2022, according to the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office. Prosecutors allege that Longo never actually conducted a stop or witnessed a traffic violation. One of the people Longo is accused of falsely ticketing had died prior to their supposed interaction, officials...

This story from last week keeps getting worse. The husband of 32-year-old Lindsay Clancy went to the store for about 20-minutes. When he returned, he found his three small children unconscious, suffocated by their mother. Now, her attorney is saying she was overmedicated with 13 psychiatric drugs at the time of the murders. According to One America News:

In the wake of the 2020 presidential election, Americans have been hung out to dry by the Biden administration. Between the rising prices of goods to the potential ramifications of all-out nuclear war in Eastern Europe, it’s only taken two short years for Joe Biden and the radical tyrants in his circle to dismantle the positive strides toward American sovereignty made during the Trump administration.As 2024 approaches, the golden days of Trump’s America First agenda are beginning to look better and better – even to the critics. As Joe Biden fumbles his way through a classified document scandal and continues...

Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) on Sunday called it “unacceptable” for the United States to get to a point where it is unable to pay its bills if the debt ceiling is not raised. “The worst thing that could happen is we get to a point this summer where, suddenly, we can’t raise the debt ceiling and the full faith and credit of the United States is at risk and we don’t pay our debts,” Gottheimer told Jake Tapper on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “That’s unacceptable. You can’t not pay your bills.”