Free Republic

JPMorgan estimated previously that excess savings had peaked in August 2021 at $2.1 trillion, boosted by government stimulus checks. That's since been whittled down to below $148 billion, per the firm's calculations as of October. "Consumers are facing tighter credit conditions and rising rates, wind-down of Covid-era stimulus and relief programs, declining excess savings and liquidity, and multiple years of above average inflation," JPMorgan strategists wrote at the time. As Bank of America wrote in a recent note, the plight of elder millennials is particularly difficult. Older millennials — a demographic of Americans born in the 1980s that holds significant...

Thousands of people marched in the Belgian and German capitals on Sunday to protest soaring antisemitism since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. The demonstrations in Brussels and Berlin were the latest in a series of rallies in European capitals that have expressed support for Jewish communities. Previous marches in Paris and in London drew tens of thousands of people. There have also been many pro-Palestinian rallies, often drawing large crowds. Marchers at the Brussels rally held up signs reading “You don’t have to be Jewish to march against antisemitism,” “antisemitism kills” and other slogans. Police said at...

Dec. 11 (UPI) -- A diamond ring worth more than $800,000 went missing from its owner's hotel room at the Ritz in Paris and was later discovered in the bag of a vacuum cleaner. A Malaysian businesswoman reported to Paris police that her ring had vanished from the table in her room at the hotel while she was out shopping, and she suspected it had been taken by a hotel employee. Ritz employees launched a search for the missing item, and security guards ended up finding it in the bag of a vacuum cleaner used by cleaning staff, hotel officials...

Special counsel Jack Smith’s team has asked the Supreme Court to step in and decide the issue of presidential immunity regarding former President Donald Trump’s federal election interference charges. Smith is asking the court to immediately resolve the issue, to prevent any delay of the March 4 trial date. “Respondent’s appeal of the ruling rejecting his immunity and related claims, however, suspends the trial of the charges against him, scheduled to begin on March 4, 2024,” the special counsel wrote in a filing Monday. “It is of imperative public importance that respondent’s claims of immunity be resolved by this Court...

A Texas woman whose fetus has a fatal diagnosis and who has been awaiting a decision from the Texas Supreme Court about whether she will be allowed to get an abortion said Monday that she has decided to leave Texas to get the procedure. Kate Cox, a mother of two who is around 20 weeks pregnant, found out just after Thanksgiving that her developing fetus has trisomy 18, a fatal diagnosis. Seeking to terminate the pregnancy to protect Cox's health and future fertility, she and her husband sought a court order to block Texas’ abortion bans from applying in her...

A gun control activist was “aghast” and dismayed to learn that the burgeoning blue-city gun buyback culture is actually feeding a secondary arms and gun parts market. The New York Times focused on a recent gun buyback in Flint, Michigan, noting that Gunbusters, a Missouri company, was contracted to handle the weapons which were surrendered. According to the NYT, “[Gunbusters] has taken in more than 200,000 firearms over the past decade from about 950 police agencies around the country, from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to St. Louis to Hartford, Vermont.”

EXCLUSIVE — The National Archives and Records Administration said Monday it would make more than 62,000 pages of records available for the House GOP impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden. In August, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) asked for unrestricted special access to unredacted emails and documents from Biden’s time as vice president regarding Hunter Biden and Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company for which Hunter Biden was a board member. While the emails were released, they were heavily redacted and provided little context of the substance of the email. Specifically, Comer requested the unredacted version of all emails...

Many banks are kept afloat by borrowing from a special short term rescue fund at the Fed. To date over $ 100 billion has been borrowed to keep the banks solvent. The banks are sitting on a keg of financial dynamite with over $ 650 billion in unrealized losses on Treasury securities in addition to dealing with their silent bank run problem. The Banks are having a bunch of massive problems related to their lending business as well.

Have you ever wished for a dedicated gym partner who would push you to your limits and motivate you to achieve your fitness goals? Well, look no further than this adorable video that has taken the internet by storm. In this heartwarming clip, a grey cat takes on the role of its owner's personal trainer, adding an unexpected twist to their workout routine.

[Catholic Caucus] The Sedemenefreghismo Thesis: a Prudential Allocation of Our Cares to What We Can Control As reported by Vatican Journalist Marco Tosatti, a group of nine Italian theologians recently published their so-called “Sedemenefreghismo Thesis,” named for the Italian term they invented:“‘Sedemenefreghismo’ is an invented Italian word based on the word ‘sedevacantism’ which means ‘holding that the (Holy) See (sede) is vacant’ and ‘me ne frega,’ meaning, ‘I don’t care’, so that this invented word could be translated as ‘I don’t care at all whether the (Holy) See (is vacant or not).’” Although a superficial reading of this definition —...

An Ohio woman pled guilty to a misdemeanor charge for defacing a pro-life reproductive health clinic earlier this year, with the potential of facing jail time for the act. "Defacing facilities that provide reproductive health services will not be tolerated in our society," Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said of the plea. "The Justice Department is committed to enforcing the FACE Act to protect all patients who seek reproductive health services and all persons and facilities that provide such services." Whitney M. Durant, also known as Soren Monroe, admitted to painting the words...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday pushed for the U.S. to continue supporting Ukraine, arguing it was vital to stand united against dictatorships and that politics must not “betray the soldier” in the fight for freedom. Zelensky, speaking at the Pentagon-funded National Defense University in Washington, D.C., in a visit to the Capitol this week, said that American weapons “can get the job done” and defeat Russian forces in Ukraine, asking the U.S. to maintain its support. “It’s crucial that politics don’t even try to betray [the] soldier, because just like weapons are needed for defense, freedom always requires unity,”...

Russian language transcript available at the link. Click "more" and then "Show Transcript"

As I’m refining a book on women and prophecy, I’ve been pondering the remarkable figure of Elizabeth, older relative to Mary, the mother of Jesus. Luke records that Elizabeth, along with her husband Zechariah, was “righteous in God’s sight, living without blame according to all the commands and requirements of the Lord (Luke 1:6).” This is a high commendation for Elizabeth, clearly a woman of spiritual excellence. But despite her steadfast devotion to God, the joy of bearing and raising a child has eluded this praiseworthy woman—and now she is beyond her child-bearing years. Or so it would seem. When...

The Martians kidnap Santa Claus because there is nobody on Mars to give their children presents.

Winter storm warnings are in effect for eight states, with a massive storm set to bring heavy rain, wind and snow to the eastern United States. The storm warnings are currently in effect for parts of Alaska, Idaho, New Hampshire, Viginia, New York, West Virginia, Vermont and Washington. In its latest forecast, the National Weather Service (NWS) said that a low-pressure system "will continue dumping heavy rain onto the Washington and Oregon coasts" on Sunday while spreading snow across the northern Cascades and northern Rockies.

Just a thought for this Christmas season. One of the greatest myths in all of Christendom is that Mary (Miriam) - the young Jewish girl of king David's line - who gave birth to the Savior of the world was sinless. I myself was taught this as a boy in the Catholic church and it wasn't till I was born again and started reading the Holy Scriptures for myself that I saw the true folly of such a myth. My dear friends, no greater lie could ever be told or fantasy ever believed! When this lie is embraced it derails...

Casey and Ron DeSantis are seeking to clarify comments the Florida first lady made on Friday that appeared to encourage out-of-state voters to participate in the Iowa caucuses. "We're asking all of these moms and grandmoms to come from wherever it might be, North Carolina, South Carolina and to descend upon the state of Iowa to be a part of the caucus, because you do not have to be a resident of Iowa to be able to participate in the caucus. After the Fox News appearance, Casey DeSantis clarified on X that by participating in the Iowa caucuses, she didn't...

The Air Force said on Monday it has disciplined 15 people in connection with the intelligence-seeking activity of classified information leaker Jack Teixeira. File Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons Dec. 11 (UPI) -- The Air Force Inspector General said Monday it disciplined 15 branch members for not taking proper action when they learned of the intelligence-seeking activity of classified information leaker Jack Teixeira. The inspector general's report focused on lax oversight at the air base where Teixeira worked but investigators added that they believed Teixeira's immediate supervisors were not aware at the time that he was sharing highly classified documents...

[IMAGE]Mars Disappearing Solar Wind: MAVEN Visualizations: A zoomed in view of MAVEN’s orbit during a period of low solar wind. Credits: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. View visualizations ›In December 2022, NASA’s MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN) mission observed the dramatic and unexpected "disappearance" of a stream of charged particles constantly emanating off the Sun, known as the solar wind. This was caused by a special type of solar event that was so powerful, it created a void in its wake as it traveled through the solar system.[IMAGE, 2:27 min video]The Day the Solar Wind Disappeared from Mars: Learn...