Free Republic

A group of Republican and Democrat senators, along with the United Steelworkers (USW), are calling on President Joe Biden to hike United States tariffs on imported aluminum to save American jobs. In a letter to Biden’s Commerce Department Secretary Gina Raimondo, the senators warn that aluminum extrusion plants in the U.S. are at risk of being eliminated as a result of imported aluminum extrusions.

en. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) called on President Biden to keep a Missouri aluminum plant open, after it was reported that its operation would be curtailed by Jan. 28. Hawley issued a statement on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, on Thursday after reports that Magnitude 7 Metals, the second-largest U.S. aluminum smelter, is going to lay off most of its staff. “This cannot be allowed to happen,” Hawley wrote Thursday. “The plant accounts for nearly 30% of the nation’s aluminum. It’s vital to national security. President Biden must invoke the Defense Production Act and keep it open.” Hawley referenced...

A Taco Bell employee was slapped by a customer who blamed the fast-food chain for breaking his microwave after it blew up when he tried to reheat his meal at home. Footage of the swear-ridden clip was shared widely across social media over the weekend, with viewers saying that the consumer had tried to heat food still wrapped in foil. This is a catastrophic mistake as metal must never be cooked in a microwave. It remains unclear whether that was why the man's microwave exploded, but footage of his encounter back at the restaurant shows him complaining about the...

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Video of history of aluminum in our environment link to video

Now a federally-funded study has found a possible link between vaccines containing aluminum and a higher risk of asthma in children. Results showed children who received all or most of their routine childhood shots had a 36 per cent higher risk of being diagnosed with persistent asthma by age five than kids who got fewer vaccines. Experts and health officials say the research has important shortcomings and is not a reason to change current vaccine programs that are proven to save lives. The study doesn't claim aluminum causes the breathing condition and instead suggests a casual association. More work is...

EU and U.S. imports of Russia's main base metal products aluminium and nickel during March-June increased by as much as 70%, official trade data compiled by Reuters from the United Nations Comtrade database show. The total value of EU and U.S. imports of the two metals from March to June were $1.98 billion... Analysts said the United States and Europe have learned lessons after huge disruption on construction, auto and power sectors caused by sanctions imposed by former U.S. President Donald Trump on Russian aluminium 2018. Russia's Rusal is the world's largest aluminium producer outside China and accounts for about...

The second largest aluminum mill in the United States has idled operations, laying off about 600 American workers, due to “untenable” electricity and energy prices. In June, Century Aluminum Co. executives announced that they would idle the Hawesville, Kentucky aluminum mill for about 9 to 12 months as a result of skyrocketing prices to merely keep the plant’s lights on. Similarly, executives with two steel mills are suspending operations because they cannot afford the costs of energy to keep the plants open. This comes after executives warned federal regulators about debilitating energy prices months ago.

A large aluminum plant in Kentucky is temporarily halting production and laying off more than 600 workers due to rising energy costs. Century Aluminum has announced plans to shut down its Hawesville smelter for nine to 12 months starting in August. The plant, with about 628 workers, is the second-largest employer in Hancock County, the Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer reported. The county's judge-executive, Johnny Roberts, told the newspaper the company gave him no assurances the plant would reopen after that. Roberts said the company told him that its power costs have risen dramatically this year. Century Aluminum said the Hawesville plant is...

Ford Motor Co.’s hot-selling Mustang Mach-E electric SUV and other plug-in models are being rendered unprofitable by rising raw material costs. “We actually had a positive bottom line profit when we launched the Mach-E, commodity costs have wiped that out,” Chief Financial Officer John Lawler said Wednesday at the Deutsche Bank Global Automotive Conference, referring to 2020, when the vehicle went on sale. “You’re going to see pressure on the bottom line when we launch our EVs, they’re not going to be positive.”

At 563 carats, the Star of India is the world’s largest gem-quality blue star sapphire, and is approximately 2 billion years old. (Image credit: D. Finnin/Copyright AMNH) ================================================================== What does the legendary Star of India — a 563-carat star sapphire the size of a golf ball — have in common with a 35-million-year-old petrified redwood slab; a massive cluster of sword-like crystals that looks like it came from "Game of Thrones;" and a 5-ton (4.5-metric ton) stone pillar that can "sing?" You can see all of them, along with 5,000 other amazing stones, in the newly renovated Mignone Hall of...

MOSCOW (Mineweb.com) -- It is almost forty years since those fine falsettos, the Bee Gees, put their pop classic, “Massachusetts”, on the top of the charts. They had no idea that their lyrics might become the alleged plot of a scheme by a trio of Ukrainian metal men to steal hundreds of millions of dollars in proceeds from the processing of manganese ore, and the sale of ferromanganese, ferrosilicon, and silicomanganese to steelmakers around the world. “And the lights all went out in Massachusetts,” sang Robin and Barry Gibb. “They brought me back to see my way with you.” On...

Soaring battery metal costs are leading to a renewed interest in ithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries. Manufacturers are looking to cut cobalt use as they are looking to cut costs and improve their ESG profile. Tesla is making the switch to LFP mandatory in all its markets after a positive reception in the U.S. In the vast majority of cases, technological innovation leads to newer, cheaper, and more efficient designs than their predecessors. But every once in a while, technological progress goes into reverse gear when progress turns out to be turbocharged regress. ... During an investor presentation last year,...

Fired FBI executive Andrew McCabe says America's conservatives are as bad as Islamic terrorists and the federal government needs vastly increased powers to spy on them. The stunning words from McCabe came during his recent speech at the University of Chicago, and were captured by a report in The Federalist about his comments on conservatives. "I can tell you from my perspective of spending a lot of time focused on the radicalization of international terrorists and Islamic extremist and extremists of all stripes … is that this group shares many of the same characteristics of those groups that we've seen...

Welcome to The Bicycle Thread. A monthly PING List for bicycle enthusiasts to share experiences, information and ideas.

A truck driver plowed into a group of bicyclists during a race event in eastern Arizona, and police said Saturday that an officer shot the suspected driver, who had fled the scene in their vehicle. The Show Low Police Department said that at approximately 7:25 a.m., a black Super Duty Ford F150 struck multiple bicyclists during a "Bike the Bluff" race event. Six victims were taken to the hospital with with injuries — four of whom were in critical condition, while two were "critical but stable," police said. Police said at least two other "walk-in" victims at Summit Healthcare were...

A critical element in everything from engines to bodies is in short supply ... Essentially, you can’t make cars without aluminum. You can’t work with aluminum without using magnesium. And as of December, you may not be able to work with magnesium much — if at all. 85% of the world’s supply comes from ... China, ... (which) just ordered 35 of its 50 production facilities to shut down. The remaining 15 have been told to scale back operations by half, leaving production drastically reduced.

Oleg Deripaska could be a target of Durham’s spygate probe SOURCE — NBC NEWS FBI agents on Tuesday swarmed the home of Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska in Washington, D.C., an agency spokesperson confirmed to NBC News. The reason for their presence wasn’t immediately clear. The spokesperson said the agency is conducting “law enforcement activity at the home,” but wouldn’t elaborate. Deripaska is a billionaire oil tycoon with close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin. He was among two dozen Russian oligarchs and officials who were sanctioned by the Treasury Department in April 2018. A press release announcing the sanctions said...

A record-breaking ruling for the family of Bob Levinson, a former FBI Agent who vanished while in Iran 13-years ago. Thursday, a U.S. judge ruled Iran must pay Levinson's family $1.46 billion, the largest judgement for a case of this kind... Levinson disappeared in 2007 while working as a CIA contractor in Iran. His family immediately called on (Atty. David) McGee, who was Levinson's friend, to help bring him home... Earlier this year, Levinson's family announced they were convinced the husband and father of seven was dead. In a statement, they said the judgement was the "the first step in...

FBI agents are at the home of Russian tycoon Oleg Deripaska, the agency confirmed Tuesday. The agents are conducting “court-authorized law enforcement activity” at Deripaska’s home in Washington, D.C., an FBI spokeswoman told CNBC. The spokeswoman did not provide additional details about the FBI presence. Multiple agents were seen restricting access to the property, NBC News reported.