Free Republic

Electric car batteries could be used to boost power storage in the future, injecting electricity into the grid during times of scarcity or storing electricity during periods of excess, a new study found Tuesday. Renewable energy is essential for the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global warming to well below two degrees Celsius, but the need to scale up quickly and the intermittency of wind and solar have raised concerns about meeting electricity demand. One way to help solve this problem is boosting the storage capacity of electricity grids, so that even when there is no sun or wind energy...

The White House on Sunday rejected the argument that increasing domestic oil production would help lower gas prices, as the cost of oil moves toward record highs. Crude oil prices rose as high as $130.50 a barrel on Sunday evening.

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Dr. Anthony Fauci said Tuesday on MSNBC’s “All In” that COVID was not done with the United States. Anchor Chris Hayes said, “I want you to tell me what you think when you read about people being done with COVID. [cut] if you really want to get the epidemic behind you, put it in the rearview mirror, just saying you’re done with COVID. You may be done with COVID, but COVID is not done with the United States, nor is COVID done with the world. We’ve got to do what it takes...

OPEC+, the world's leading oil producers, have agreed on Sunday to extend a slight boost in output. The 23-member group, which also includes Russia, is now set to boost output by 400,000 barrels per day each month, starting with August. It all follows their prior agreement this spring, when they chose to boost oil output bit by bit starting in May, after having slashed it more than a year ago when the pandemic caused demand in crude to plummet. (more at link) Sunday's decision was made in order to help fuel a global economic recovery, the Vienna-based group said in...

A woman was arrested in Oslo on Thursday after walking out of a shopping centre with a 42-inch flat screen television between her legs.The woman, who was accompanied by a male companion, wandered out of the Elkjøp shopping centre in the Skøyen area of Oslo with the substantial item under her long flowing skirt. A witness alarmed the police after spotting the cumbersome couple leaving the shopping centre at around 8pm on Thursday. The woman was able to carry the widescreen television clasped between her legs and well hidden under her long skirt, to a nearby bus stop. The police...

DEL RIO — A Texas man caught trying to smuggle baby parrots back from Mexico by putting the birds in his pants has been fined more than $2,600. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials said Thursday that agents in Del Rio also confiscated 56 blades that are used for cockfighting. Authorities said the 33-year-old man is from the West Texas town of Comanche but did not release his name. Birds cannot be brought across the border due to concerns of spreading disease. The small, green parrots were found Sunday in the man's pockets and in his backpack.

Two women in Oklahoma were stopped as they tried to smuggle $2,600 of clothing and accessories inside their fat rolls. Ailene Brown, 28, and Shmeco Thomas, 37, were busted by a TJ Maxx employee as they tucked away FOUR pairs of boots, THREE pairs of jeans, a wallet and some gloves in the creases under their breasts and across their bellies. Some of the goods were also found in their handbags.

NEW YORK, A New York 19-year-old accused of shoving a turkey breast into his pants at a grocery store told a newspaper he took a sandwich but denied stealing the breast. Deon Williams turned down a plea deal with a six-month jail sentence for the robbery charge, claiming he was falsely accused of shoving the 12-pound Boars Head turkey breast into his pants and attempting to smuggle it out of the Fine Fare supermarket, the New York Post reported Thursday. "I didn't do it," Williams told the Post. "OK, I stole a cold-cut sandwich because I was hungry, but I...

ZACHARY, LOUISIANA (WAFB) - Zachary police say surveillance video shows a woman steal a 12-pack of beer from a small grocery store by putting it between her legs and waddling away. She is also suspected of shoving several cans of soda into her top. The Miller Light and soft drinks were taken from the Cross Roads Grocery on August 2. "It's just amazing how people go this far to steal," said David McDavid with the police department. "It just doesn't make sense." However, this "beer between the legs" bandit apparently didn't work alone. The video also shows a man try...

SACRAMENTO – State spending under Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has been growing faster than it did under former Gov. Gray Davis, who was ousted in a historic recall election driven mainly by a huge budget gap. The new state budget proposed by Schwarzenegger would spend $103.8 billion in the general fund, which pays for most programs – an increase of more than 30 percent since he took office, about the same as the boost under Davis. But it took Davis five years to raise spending by about one-third. Schwarzenegger, who was elected in the fall 2003 recall, has done the same...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed legislation Wednesday implementing a contract with California's largest state employee union that includes an average pay raise between 7.8 percent and 9.8 percent over two years. The Republican governor also signed a bill installing a union contract with a similar wage increase for 12,000 highway maintenance workers, heavy-equipment operators and state employees in other related fields. Under the deal struck in June between state negotiators and the Service Employees International Union Local 1000, the 87,000-member labor group retained its current health care package for most members, in addition to the two-year raise and a $1,000 one-time...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HIT, Iraq (Jan. 5, 2006) -- While on a long deployment overseas, Marines look forward to from letters from home, the occasional phone call or photos sent from their loved ones. These are the times where it’s the little things that matter so much – showers, a warm place to sleep and hot chow. To add one more item to this list, Marines from the 2nd Marine Logistics Group’s Food Service Company recently set up a Field Food Service System to support the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) at the unit’s base of operations, Forward...

Boosting For Billions July 11, 2004 Approximately $10 billion worth of merchandise is stolen from stores every year.  (Photo: CBS/60 Minutes) “When you talk about shoplifting, not a lot of people think about organized crime. Most people think when you say shoplifting, it's the opportunistic shoplifter"Craig Matsamato, security consultant for major retailers Retailers are just beginning to realize that a huge chunk of stolen merchandise is being taken by well-organized gangs from South America.  (Photo: CBS/60 Minutes) (CBS) "Boosting" is organized shoplifting, and if you think it's a petty crime, think again. As Correspondent Steve Kroft first reported in February, approximately...

'Boosting' arrives in Triad malls 3-23-04 By Russ Rizzo Staff Writer News & Record GREENSBORO -- A national epidemic known as "boosting" has reached the Triad, and investigators think they have just scratched the surface of its devastation for retailers. Boosting, or organized shoplifting, is blamed for a significant portion of the more than $10 billion in merchandise stolen from the nation's retail stores each year. It involves skilled and organized groups of thieves who work together to lift thousands of dollars in goods at a single take. That's what police believe is behind the $40,000 in stolen merchandise officers...

<p>PHILADELPHIA (AP) - With cash tight and bills looming, legislators around the country are turning to neighborhood pubs to help them drown their woes: At least 19 states are considering plans to boost beer taxes.</p> <p>Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell has proposed one of the heftiest hikes, a plan that would raise the tax on a gallon of beer for the first time since 1947, from 8 cents to a quarter. It would add 14 cents to the cost of an average six pack and raise $55 million.</p>