Free Republic

America’s middle class is weary.After nearly five years of high prices, many middle-class earners thought life would be more affordable by now. Costs for goods and services are 25% above where they were in 2020. Even though the inflation rate is below its recent 2022 high, certain essentials like coffee, ground beef and car repairs are up markedly this year.“Life felt more doable a year and a half ago,” said Holly Frew, a college communications director with a household income around $135,000 living in Atlanta. “I need to know where the light is at the end of the tunnel.” The...

Another major fire tore through a massive metal-making plant in upstate New York — and it could cost automaker Ford billions. On Thursday, Novelis, the world's largest recycler of aluminum and a major supplier to American automakers, said its 1.5-million-square-foot Oswego facility went up in flames. Firefighters were called just before 9am after heavy smoke and flames erupted in the plant's hot-rolling area, where heated slabs are pressed into long sheets destined for automakers. More than 80 firefighters from 20 departments battled the five-alarm blaze for nearly nine hours, using tanker trucks and multiple ladder trucks to douse the roof....

Just a running arithmetic commentary on where we are.

The Democrat National Committee (DNC) has taken out a huge loan in anticipation of next year’s midterms as the party lacks leadership with nothing to show for shutting down the government. Politico on Thursday cited a filing with the Federal Election Commission regarding the $15 million loan. “The national party committee framed the line of credit as an early investment to boost its candidates in New Jersey and Virginia earlier this month, and help build up state parties ahead of next year’s midterms. But the need for a loan still puts the DNC in sharp contrast with its GOP counterpart,...

The U.S. is sending “signals” that everything could be off the table if Kyiv does not quickly sign a proposal, which was drawn up by special envoy Witkoff. KYIV — The White House is pressuring Ukraine to sign on to its new peace proposal by Thanksgiving or lose U.S. support in its war with Russia, according to five people familiar with the talks. U.S. Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll presented Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday with a version of the 28-point plan President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff recently drafted with Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev. That plan, which has...

The Bureau of Labor Statistics said it was canceling the release of the October consumer price index, leaving the Federal Reserve without a key piece of inflation data to ponder when it next decides on interest rates on Dec. 10. The CPI data, previously scheduled to be released on Nov. 7, was canceled because the government shutdown made it impossible for the BLS to “retroactively collect” certain parts of survey data, the organization said on its website. November’s CPI data, previously scheduled to be released on Dec. 10, will now be released on Dec. 18 after the Fed decision, the...

Secretary of Energy Chris Wright might possibly be the biggest unsung hero in the Trump 2.0 Cabinet. While his fellow Cabinet secretaries like Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth regularly get the big headlines, Wright flies a bit under the radar. But, that doesn't mean he's not busy taking bold, common sense actions to push America toward policies that prioritize affordable, reliable, and secure energy sources. Regular readers of RedState will know that Wright has been taking bold action to undo burdensome regulations and policies implemented by the Biden administration. Our own Ward Clark has...

Ukraine is at “one of the most difficult moments” of its history, the country’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday, warning that a US plan for ending the war widely seen as favoring Russia would mean his country losing its dignity or a key ally. The 28-point plan put forward by US President Donald Trump puts pressure on Kyiv to cede territory, limit the size of its military and promise not to join NATO in exchange for an end to the war, all long-standing Kremlin demands. “The pressure on Ukraine is now at its most intense. Ukraine may now face...

Sean Hannity 🇺🇸 @seanhannity BREAKING: Jim Jordan reveals his phone records were targeted in the Biden DOJ’s Arctic Frost probe: "We know they spied on President Trump, then we learned it was Senators, then the Speaker of the House, and now we’ve learned they were spying on me for two and a half years, all the way back to January 2020. This is the epitome of the weaponization of government against the other party." BREAKING: Jim Jordan reveals his phone records were targeted in the Biden DOJ’s Arctic Frost probe:"We know they spied on President Trump, then we learned it...

A pho restaurant in the South Bay has temporarily closed after a video appearing to show unsanitary meat handling practices in back of the restaurant went viral. The restaurant has emerged at the center of an online controversy after someone posted video of a man slamming frozen beef ribs on the bare ground in back of the restaurant. The video, which was shot from a rooftop vantage point, shows the meat being thrown onto pieces of cardboard and skidding off into the pavement, which appears stained with refuse water from a trash compactor. At one point in the video posted...

A Louisiana cheer mom who had sex with her daughter’s 14-year-old classmate has been sentenced to 26 years in prison — after her own child begged for her to get the harshest penalty possible. Leann Yammarino, 45, pleaded no contest to having sex with a 14-year-old who went to her daughter’s school in Ascension — while also sexting at least five other teenagers, according to WBRZ 2. Her young daughter addressed the court on Tuesday — begging for her mom to get the maximum penalty for ruining her family’s life, the outlet said. Five other students, ages 14 to 16,...

MAXIMILLIAN ALVAREZ: By the time you hear this, Starbucks workers in over 25 cities across the country may be on strike. Last week, a super majority of unionized baristas with Starbucks Workers United voted to authorize an unfair labor practice strike ahead of the holiday season. The strike would begin on Thursday Nov. 13, on so-called Red Cup Day, Starbucks’s annual corporate holiday. ... MICHELLE EISEN: Yes, thanks so much for having me. Last week, we announced that 92% of union workers voted to authorize a strike, should the company not respond to our multiple requests for them to return...

A New Jersey man already convicted twice of scamming investors out of more than $230 million is now headed back to federal prison for another Ponzi-like fraud scheme. Eliyahu “Eli” Weinstein, of Lakewood, had his last term commuted by President Donald Trump in January 2021 to time served. On Friday, Nov. 14, Weinstein was sentenced to 37 years in prison for the more recent scheme that cost investors more than $44 million. The 50-year-old Weinstein — who used the alias “Mike Konig” — was convicted alongside 51-year-old Aryeh “Ari” Bromberg of multiple counts, including wire fraud and securities fraud. NJ...

Summary Two sources say US gives Kyiv one-week deadline to accept framework Washington threatens to withhold intelligence, weapons unless Kyiv makes deal Kremlin says Kyiv should make 'responsible decision' now White House says plan was hammered out by Rubio, Witkoff KYIV, Nov 21 (Reuters) - President Volodymyr Zelenskiy appealed to Ukrainians for unity on Friday and vowed he would never betray Ukraine, in a solemn address to the nation after the United States presented Kyiv with a peace plan that endorses key Russian demands.Speaking in the street outside his office, a location he uses only rarely for major addresses,...

A vote to condemn the “horrors of socialism” passed on a mostly party-line vote Friday, with 98 Democrats voting against it and 199 Republicans voting for it. The bill passed 285-98. No Republicans voted against the bill, although 20 Republicans did not vote. On the Democrat side, it was far from unanimous, with 86 members voting in favor, and 98 against. Two Democrats voted “present” and 27 did not vote. The resolution, sponsored by Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, R-Fla., reads “socialism has repeatedly led to famine and mass murders, and the killing of over 100,000,000 people worldwide,” and recognizes “many...

On Wednesday, US District Court Judge Michael Nachmanoff grilled interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan in his courtroom during a hearing on disgraced former FBI Director James Comey’s attempts to dismiss his case for vindictive prosecution. While the hearing was specifically about the vindictive prosecution, Judge Nachmanoff, towards the end of the hearing, found that Halligan had signed the two-count indictment without first presenting it to the grand jury. This left the case “hanging by a thread,” as reported by Politico: The Trump administration’s criminal prosecution of former FBI Director James Comey appeared to be in serious jeopardy Wednesday as the...

The House voted 285-98 on Friday to denounce the “horrors of socialism,” a sharp rebuke delivered just hours before President Donald Trump sits down with New York’s incoming democratic socialist mayor, Zohran Mamdani. Eighty-six Democrats crossed the aisle to back the resolution, while two voted present. Republicans were unified in support. Speaker Mike Johnson and other GOP leaders have blasted Mamdani’s victory in the nation’s largest city, casting him as the latest radical avatar of the Democratic Party. They’ve already signaled they plan to use him as a political battering ram heading into the 2026 midterms. Democrats brushed off the...

Far-left Democratic Representative Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick might soon be expelled from Congress if House Republicans get their way. The reason: A federal grand jury has indicted her and other defendants, including her brother, for purloining $5 million from the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) and using it for contributions to her 2021 congressional campaign. The indictment isn’t Cherfilus-McCormick’s first brush with federal law. In April, she was the target of a complaint to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) for myriad shenanigans with campaign funds and contributions. The indictment and the FEC complaint are cited in the expulsion resolution from GOP Representative...

This is absolutely wild, y'all. 🚨#BREAKING: A white, liberal, Charlotte NC teacher with a nose ring says the hallways of her school are now a "ghost town" after Border Patrol's immigration enforcement.She also begins crying about how the school has only sent out videos, "in English..." pic.twitter.com/NTfziEN84T— Matt Van Swol (@mattvanswol) November 20, 2025Yes, she's literally crying about THIS message from Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools 👇 Over 30,000 students were absent in the Charlotte area while ICE was in town. School officials say illegal aliens have "constitutional right" to "free" education. The feds show up in a few North Carolina cities and...

An Illinois judge ignored a prosecutor's warnings that a man who is now accused of setting a commuter on fire was likely to attack again and allowed him to walk free, court records show. Lawrence Reed, 50, was released on an ankle monitor after assaulting a social worker in August, CBS News reported. Despite the prosecutor warning Cook County Judge Teresa Molina-Gonzalez that Reed had a lengthy rap sheet and his next crime would 'likely be violent,' she allowed him to walk free.