Free Republic

Germany is becoming less attractive to top foreign talents, according to a new Bertelsmann/OECD study that will worry Olaf Scholz's government, which is trying to get more foreign skilled workers to fill labor market gaps. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) "Indicators of Talent Attractiveness," released on Thursday, shows Germany slipped from 12th place in 2019 to 15th this year among the 38 OECD countries. The analysis is based on seven "dimensions" that foreign talents are said to value: Quality of opportunities, income and tax, future prospects, family environment, skills environment, inclusiveness, and quality of life. The study...

Over the years, Ford's pony car has gained performance and sophistication, sometimes at the expense of old-school character. Now, the new 2024 Ford Mustang is getting further from its roots by losing its AM radio receiver as controversy over the technology's future in new cars escalates. The AM radio's discontinuation was discovered in an order guide for the new Mustang that circulated on the Mustang7G forum. A Ford spokesperson confirmed the feature's deletion to The Drive, citing that "countries and automakers globally are modernizing radio by offering internet streaming through mobile apps, FM, or digital." This makes the Mustang the...

One in four Massachusetts physicians plans to leave medicine in the next two years, according to a survey from the Massachusetts Medical Society that is renewing concerns about the stability of the state’s health care workforce. More than half of the almost 600 doctors surveyed said they had already cut back on time with patients — or were likely to do so. Fifty-five percent of doctors overall said they felt burned out. But the rate varies by gender: 63% of women doctors reported burnout, compared with 47% of men. Concerns about staffing shortages have plagued the health care industry and...

The longtime Palm Beach, Fla., home of the late conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh has sold for $155 million, according to property records. The roughly 2.7-acre waterfront property was quietly on the market last year, asking $150 million to $175 million, The Wall Street Journal reported. The sale is a record deal for Palm Beach, according to property records and real-estate appraisal firm Miller Samuel. In 2013, hedge-funder Ken Griffin paid $129.6 million for four parcels. Last year, Oracle Corp. co-founder and chairman Larry Ellison purchased a $173 million home in nearby Manalapan, Fla., setting a record for that area. Located...

Visa and Mastercard dropped their plans to track firearm and ammunition purchases because of my legislation. When conservatives fight, we win. pic.twitter.com/m1rOfJSoVU— Riley Moore (@RileyMooreWV) March 9, 2023 NEW YORK (AP) — Visa and Mastercard paused their decision to start categorizing purchases at gun shops, a significant win for conservative groups and Second Amendment advocates who felt that tracking gun shop purchases would inadvertently discriminate against legal firearms purchases. The decision is, at the same time, also a defeat for gun control groups. There had been hope that categorizing credit and debit card purchases would allow authorities to potentially see...

The US national debt will balloon by nearly $20 trillion over the next decade under the spending outlined in President Biden’s $6.9 trillion budget proposal released on Thursday.Under Biden’s budget plan for fiscal 2024, the gross national debt would surge to nearly $51 trillion as of the year 2033 — up from its current level of roughly $31.5 trillion. The federal debt as a share of US gross domestic product (GDP) would swell to a record 110% by 2033, up from 98% this year – shattering a dubious record that has stood since the end of World War II.The portion...

President Biden’s Fiscal Year 2024 budget proposal contains nearly $4.7 trillion in new tax hikes on American individuals and businesses. Biden’s proposed tax hikes come just months after Democrats passed more than $700 billion in tax increases in the so-called Inflation Reduction Act.Biden’s budget proposal is a direct violation of the President’s campaign pledge to not raise taxes on small businesses.Below is a list of tax hikes included in Biden’s budget proposal. This list will be updated as more details of Biden’s Budget become available.Highest Personal Income Tax Rate Since 1986. Biden’s budget calls for a top combined federal tax...

The Senate of Georgia passed a bill last week that aims to toughen up oversight measures on the state’s prosecutors, after a special purpose grand jury counsel wrapped up investigations into alleged election interference by former President Donald Trump and his allies.The Georgia State Capitol building in Atlanta, ornamented with gold leaf from Dahlonega, Ga. (Mary Silver/The Epoch Times)The bill, SB 92 (pdf), would create a Prosecuting Attorneys Qualifications Commission, which would “have the power to discipline, remove, and cause involuntary retirement of appointed or elected district attorneys or solicitors-general.” The Republican-majority Senate passed the bill in a 32 to...

At first slowly but in recent weeks with seemingly gathering pace, two trends have emerged. On the one hand, many of the core claims behind lockdowns, masks, and vaccines are unravelling and the prevailing narrative has been in retreat on all three fronts.But there is still a long way to go, as indicated by the cussed refusal of the Biden administration to let Novak Djokovic play at Indian Wells.On the other hand, the explosive lockdown files in the UK have blown apart the official narrative. We the sceptics were right in our dark suspicions of the motives, scientific basis, and...

Sweden’s COVID policies worked like a charm, compared to everybody else. Their excess death rate since COVID began killing people is lower than every other country in the OECD.The weird thing is we aren’t sure why that is.The superiority of Sweden’s more laissez-faire policies was obvious from the beginning, but I assumed that time would show that mortality rates in Sweden would pretty much match those in other countries while avoiding all the negative consequences caused by draconian policies followed by most other countries.I was wrong.Sweden’s excess mortality during the pandemic is vastly lower than almost every other country in...

Biden admin mocked after First Lady gives ‘International Women of Courage Award’ to a man 'The world has 3.9 billion women. On International Women's Day, the Biden Administration gave a man the women of courage award.' When Republican Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice launched the annual International Women of Courage Awards (IWOC) during the George W. Bush presidency, she likely didn’t envision handing out awards to men pretending to be women, but the Biden Administration has done just that during a recent White House ceremony. The event was hosted Wednesday by First Lady Jill Biden and Secretary of State Antony...

It seemed only an anomaly – a dip in college attendance – which was easily attributable, thanks to the pandemic. But what was once a burp has become a trend and a worrying one at that for institutions of higher learning (Well, their cash flow, to be more precise.).The undergraduate college enrollment decline has accelerated since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Public institutions — especially two-year colleges — experienced the steepest declines.International enrollment and transfer enrollment also saw sharp declines during the pandemic.The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center found that between fall 2019 and fall 2022:Note Reference[3]• Postsecondary institutions...

A new study brings precision to the understanding of which antibiotics work best for acne treatment and why. This is important for two key reasons. Acne affects nearly everyone at some point in life—it is, in fact, the eighth most common disease for all humans, affecting more than 85% of adolescents and young adults. And second, because antibiotics have long been an important go-to treatment for acne, dermatologists write more antibiotic prescriptions than any other specialty in medicine. Broad-spectrum antibiotics do not distinguish between good and bad bacteria, so they try to inhibit them all. In contrast, narrow-spectrum antibiotics target...

According to the NY Times, Manhattan’s DA has warned Trump’s legal team that charges could be coming over his hush money payment to Stormy Daniels.The Manhattan district attorney’s office recently signaled to Donald J. Trump’s lawyers that he could face criminal charges for his role in the payment of hush money to a porn star, the strongest indication yet that prosecutors are nearing an indictment of the former president, according to four people with knowledge of the matter…The Manhattan inquiry, which has spanned nearly five years, centers on a $130,000 payment to the porn star, Stormy Daniels, who said she...

While rival network anchors whine and Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Senator Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) squirm over Tucker Carlson’s airing of unedited footage from January 6, the viewing public has definitely picked a winner—and it’s Fox News.A whopping 4.1 million viewers tuned in to “Tucker Carlson Tonight” on Tuesday, while only 1.4 million found the time to watch Chris Hayes on MSNBC. Anderson Cooper over at CNN, meanwhile, was only able to pull in a very sad 577,000.Cable News Ratings Overload Tue Mar 7Fox News had more total and 25 to 54 year old demo viewers than MSNBC,...

The Department of Education's request for funding for the Office of Federal Student Aid took into account the costs and savings from the plan Borrowers across the country are in financial limbo as they wait for the Supreme Court to decide whether the White House's student-debt cancellation plan is legal. But the Biden administration's own financial planning presumes the initiative will survive the courts. As part of the Department of Education's funding request to Congress for $2.7 billion for the Office of Federal Student Aid, officials took the costs and savings into account of President Joe Biden's plan to cancel...

The chief of Lithuania's military intelligence said Russia has enough resources to continue the war in Ukraine for two more years at the current intensity...

The second stage of a Chinese rocket that launched three spy satellites has just broken up this week over Texas, according to the U.S. Naval Institute. Here’s what the Chang Zheng “Long March” rocket looked like taking off from China in June.[🔴China’s 21st launch in 2022] At UTC 02:22 June 23, 3 Yaogan(遥感/RemoteSensing)-35-02 satellites were successfully launched by #CZ2D Y64 rocket in Xichang, Sichuan. This is the 424th launch of Long March rocket family. HD: https://t.co/018SGyq48M pic.twitter.com/0kDtkg7hua— CNSA Watcher (@CNSAWatcher) June 23, 2022The four-ton rocket reentered the atmosphere on Wednesday at 17,000 miles per hour and disintegrated, but it’s only...

The Catholic Church’s LGBTQ OdysseyWelcome to the full-fledged freefall.As it confronts perhaps the ultimate challenge to its credibility, the Catholic Church finds itself in full-fledged freefall.Two American bishops publicly and strongly disagree about whether LGBTQ Catholics need to repent of their sexual behavior. One, the recently appointed cardinal of San Diego, argued for what he called “radical inclusion” without repentance. Another, a specialist in canon law, did more than disagree vigorously. He called his fellow prelate a heretic who should be relieved of his position.Meanwhile, as his church burns, Pope Francis imitates that great Roman violinist, Nero.San Diego Cardinal Robert...

Immunotherapy has been shown to greatly improve survival rates for certain types of cancer. However, in some cases, it can lead to an over-activation of the immune system, which can be dangerous. In a recent review by researchers, potential therapies have been identified, which might make it possible to continue with immunotherapy even when facing severe side effects. For certain types of cancer, immunotherapy has greatly improved survival rates. However, in some patients, it can lead to a dangerous over-activation of the immune system. This rare side effect was only clinically recognized during regular clinical use rather than in clinical...