Free Republic

Utilities inflation arguably hurts restaurants more than higher food and labor costs Every time Oakland restaurateur Geoff Davis looks at his PG&E bill, he feels helpless. “I talk about it a lot with my friends. It’s a big line item for us,” the chef-owner of Burdell told SFGATE. “Last month [PG&E] was like 40% of our rent. It’s an insane amount and obviously this is my first time being an owner, but I know from other places that I’ve worked that it wasn’t this big of a number.” It’s an expensive time to run a restaurant — or to eat...

Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) became the third Republican to co-sponsor a motion to vacate House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) shortly after the House advanced the speaker’s four-pronged foreign aid plan to a final passage vote. Gosar joins Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Thomas Massie (R-KY) in supporting vacating Johnson from the top leadership position after Democrats helped Johnson push a procedural rule vote over the finish line — a sign that certain House Republicans are growing frustrated with the speaker’s leadership. “I have added my name in support of the motion to vacate the Speaker,” Gosar said in a...

Warning: Disturbing video: A horrific scene occurred on Friday outside the Manhattan courthouse where the trial of former President Donald Trump is underway. A man doused himself with a flammable liquid before setting himself on fire near the courtroom on day four of the criminal trial, just moments after a full jury of 12 was impaneled. The video captures distressing images of a man twitching on the ground while engulfed in flames. Another individual rushed in with a fire extinguisher to help, as law enforcement stripped off their jackets and took other measures in an effort to extinguish the flames....

A verdict is due imminently in the case of George Alan Kelly, a 75-year-old Arizona rancher accused of fatally shooting an unarmed migrant on his property near the U.S.-Mexican border in January 2023. Illegal migration has surged over the past couple of years, particularly after the end of coronavirus era restrictions. According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection figures there were 9.8 million encounters between law enforcement and irregular migrants between October 2019 and January 2024, a figure nearly equal to the population of Michigan. Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, has claimed irregular immigration has created a "bloodbath"...

This exciting pitmaster is putting her own stamp on Texas-style smoked meatAt Southern California’s newest barbecue hotspot, there is no white bread available for sopping up the sauce. Instead, Smoke Queen Barbecue fills its trays with unique smoked meats and an array of sides seen nowhere else before. For perhaps the best example, check out the restaurant’s take on Louisiana-style dirty rice (a Southern staple); theirs is infused with the flavors of Singaporean Hainan chicken and flecks of Chinese sausage. It may look about as simple as a slice of white bread, but the complex flavor is anything but easy...

BISBEE, Ariz. — Boots dusty, lungs heaving, Dr. John Wiens searched the boulders of a desolate Arizona mountaintop for the last survivors of a 3-million-year-old lizard population — then said the words that both confirmed his life's work and broke his heart. "They're not there," he said. "It seems like the species is now extinct." The loss of plant and animal species on Earth is happening at a speed never seen in human history, according to the United Nations. That includes the likely extinction of the lizards Wiens has studied for 10 years — the population of Yarrow's spiny lizards...

Hillary Clinton described Joe Biden and the Democrat party and she trashed Trump during her podcast interview with Marc Elias, a far-left lawyer who helped Hillary purchase the fake Trump-Russia dossier in 2016. Typical projection. “Putin does what [Trump] would like to do,” Hillary Clinton said to corrupt left-wing lawyer Marc Elias on his “Democracy Docket” podcast. “Kill his opposition, imprison his opposition, drive journalists into exile, rule without any check or balance. That’s what Trump really wants. And so we have to be very conscious of how he sees the world because in that world, he only sees strong...

Both are pizza-like in their ingredients and flavor, but they’re not the same.What's the Difference Between a Stromboli and a Calzone? The term “baked goods” can evoke imagery of cookies, cakes, and muffins, but baked goods don’t always have to be sweet. Take savory turnovers, for example. They’re typically made from a base of dough or puff pastry, but instead of fruit and sugar, they’re filled with various meats, cheeses, vegetables, and sometimes sauces. Oftentimes, the result is something that closely resembles pizza (or a pizza pocket)—especially if we’re talking about the stromboli and calzone. At a glance, both dishes...

Explanation: A jewel of the southern sky, the Great Carina Nebula is more modestly known as NGC 3372. One of our Galaxy's largest star forming regions, it spans over 300 light-years. Like the smaller, more northerly Great Orion Nebula, the Carina Nebula is easily visible to the unaided eye. But at a distance of 7,500 light-years it lies some 5 times farther away. This stunning telescopic view reveals remarkable details of the region's glowing filaments of interstellar gas and obscuring cosmic dust clouds. The Carina Nebula is home to young, extremely massive stars, including the still enigmatic variable Eta Carinae,...

China issued a stern rebuke to the U.S., after House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) referred to the country's leader Xi Jinping, Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, and Iran as an "axis of evil." -snip- The speaker told reporters on Wednesday: "I believe Xi [Jinping] and Vladimir Putin and Iran really are an axis of evil. I think they are in coordination on this." He added he believes Putin would "continue marching through Europe" and even "have a showdown" with NATO ally like Poland if permitted. Liu told Newsweek that rhetoric like Johnson's threatens the state of U.S.-China relations. "We urge the...

@BusinessInsider How Kraft cheese, once an American staple, lost popularity

Biden's weakness has emboldened the crazies. Democrats must be puzzled. After spending the last four years demonizing MAGA as domestic terrorists and anti-democratic to boot, they're now surrounded by real domestic terrorists and democracy haters, coming at them like the Wicked Witch of the West's flying monkeys. According to the Free Press: CHICAGO — In a room full of 450 far-left activists, a leader with the Freedom Road Socialist Organization kicks off a chant: “Protest is a right—not just for the rich and white.” “Have you heard that the Democratic National Convention is coming to Chicago?” Joe Iosbaker asks the...

In a surprise move, Manhattan DA, Fat Al Bragg, announced another 50 felony charges to be added to the existing charges Monday morning. Fat Al brought the charges concerning the unpermitted campaign event at a Harlem bodega. Ordinarily holding the event without a permit would only be a misdemeanor, but under NY Trump election year persecution laws, the misdemeanor charges were bumped up to felonies. Approximately 50 paid minorities were in attendance so 50 felony counts were mandated. Marxist State Media law consultant Jeffrey Toobin, a noted hands on constitutional law expert, said in his expert opinion that the charges...

The trial involving former President Donald Trump and alleged hush money payments resumed Friday with jury selection for the fourth day. So far, 12 jurors and one alternate have been seated amid challenging proceedings that saw the dismissal of two jurors. (snip) One potential juror was excused after revealing connections to former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Michael Cohen, Trump’s former personal attorney. She disclosed that her father is a lifelong friend of Christie and she works at the same company as Cohen’s son, which led her to question her impartiality. Cohen is anticipated to serve as a witness...

Former President Trump warned of the consequences of losing his presidential immunity argument, saying that if he loses that protection, so will "crooked" President Joe Biden. > The former president and presumptive Republican presidential nominee argued that presidential immunity is essential to the proper functioning of the presidency in a Friday post to his Truth Social account. "Without presidential immunity, it would be impossible for a president to properly function, putting the United States of America in great and everlasting danger!" he posted, in all capital letters. "If they take away my presidential immunity, they take away crooked Joe Biden’s...

It's no secret to Chicago-area residents that Chicago is a food city through and through, but the Windy City is far from the only place to find a unique meal or snack in the Prairie State. Food website Tasting Table took a dive into Illinois cuisine and listed 15 uniquely Illinois foods that readers should try at least once, with several Chicago staples included. Of the familiar tourist favorites, Chicago popcorn, deep dish pizza and Chicago-style hot dogs led off the list, paying recognition to foods long associated with the cuisine of Chicago. While those classics are familiar to many...

It should have been a dead giveaway. The Brazilian woman who took her dead uncle into a bank to sign a loan in her name arrived there by taxi — with video even showing the driver helping her move the corpse from his car. Érika de Souza Vieira Nunes was arrested Tuesday after taking the body of her 68-year-old uncle, Paulo Roberto Braga, into a bank and then moving his hand to sign a key document to get her a $3,400 loan. Newly emerged video now shows Nunes — who reportedly told cops that she didn’t know her uncle...

Outraged Papua New Guinea academics have slammed President Joe Biden for his 'unacceptable' suggestion that his uncle was eaten by cannibals in the country after his plane was shot down during World War II. Biden implied on two occasions Wednesday that his maternal uncle 2nd Lieutenant Ambrose J. Finnegan had met a grisly end at the hands of cannibals after his plane was shot down by the enemy over New Guinea in 1944. But the White House and official defense records confirmed that Finnegan died when the military plane he was in experienced engine failure and crashed into the Pacific...

Key Democrats revealed new legislation Friday that would strip former President Donald Trump of his Secret Service agents if he is convicted and sentenced to prison. Rep. Bennie G. Thompson, the top Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee, said it’s about making sure Mr. Trump doesn’t get special treatment for whatever crime he might be sentenced. He is worried that having to accommodate a Secret Service protective detail could lead to accommodations for a former president. “It is regrettable that it has come to this, but this previously unthought-of scenario could become our reality,” the Mississippi lawmaker said. “Therefore,...

KEY POINTS * The New York Attorney General’s office asked a judge to void a $175 million bond posted by former President Donald Trump to secure a much larger monetary damage award in his civil business fraud case. * The AG’s office in a court filing said that Trump and other defendants in the case had failed to show there is enough identifiable collateral to back the bond. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The New York Attorney General’s office on Friday asked a judge to void a $175 million bond posted by former President Donald Trump to secure a much larger monetary damage award...