Free Republic

Buy-now, pay-later lender Klarna said on Tuesday it has raised $1.37 billion in its U.S. initial public offering, setting the stage for a market debut that could set the trend for high-growth fintech listings. The Sequoia Capital-backed Swedish company and some of its existing investors sold 34.3 million shares at $40 each, above the targeted range of $35 to $37.

More than 60 containers toppled off a cargo ship Tuesday morning in the Port of Long Beach, tumbling overboard and floating in the water. The shipping containers fell off a vessel named the Mississippi shortly before 9 a.m., and no injuries have been reported, according to Port of Long Beach spokesperson Art Marroquin. About 67 containers were in the water, the US Coast Guard said on the social platform X. Long Beach, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) south of Los Angeles, is one of the busiest seaports in the country, with 40% of all shipping containers in the United States...

(DCNF)—U.S. job growth in the year through March was much weaker than previously reported, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) revisions released on Tuesday. The U.S. economy likely added 911,000 fewer jobs in the year ending in March — or an average of almost 76,000 fewer each month — according to the BLS’ preliminary benchmark revision. The report comes after job growth slowed in August, with the U.S. economy adding just 22,000 nonfarm payroll jobs, according to data released Friday by BLS. ADVERTISEMENT The jobs report revisions were even worse than the downward adjustment of 700,000 that was previously...

Bad news for electric vehicle owners in California. The California DMV is reminding drivers that federal regulations authorizing Clean Air Vehicle decals, which allowed qualifying cars to use carpool lanes with a single occupant or pay reduced toll rates in some areas, will expire on Sept. 30. The decals were valid for up to four years, but the federal government’s decision to end the program means all decals will become invalid on Oct. 1, regardless of when they were issued.

A faith-based investment firm partnered with S&P Dow Jones Indices to create a new index and exchange traded fund (ETF) that will cater to evangelical Christian investors. Bountiful Financial and S&P Dow Jones collaborated to create the S&P 500 Christian Values Screened Index, which the firms announced as the first in a suite of indices tailored for evangelical Christian investors. "We are proud to empower Christian investors around the world to live with greater integrity by aligning their investments with their values," said David Friedman, head of Christian investment solutions at Bountiful Financial. "The launch of this flagship Index in...

The labor market created far fewer jobs than previously thought, according to a Labor Department report Tuesday that added to concerns both about the health of the economy and the state of data collection. Annual revisions to nonfarm payrolls data for the year prior to March 2025 showed a drop of 911,000 from the initial estimates, according to a preliminary report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The total revision was on the high end of Wall Street expectations, which ranged from a low around 600,000 to as many as a million. The revisions were more than 50% higher than...

Editor’s note: We expected the leftist thought police at Google would declare that this editorial was “unreliable” and “harmful“— because it blasphemes the climate religion — and strip its AdSense ads from the page. And we were right! (See below.) Al Gore famously warned that sea level rise caused by man’s use of fossil fuels was going to kill us. Barack Obama implied that he had magic powers that would control surging sea levels. A fresh study shows just how dishonest this pair and the many others who did their best to misinform the public have been. Gore’s 2006 propaganda...

RedC Biotech says its lab-grown blood could prevent the deaths of 2 million people a year, solving shortages that leave hospitals worldwide without safe, reliable supplies during emergencies, wars and disasters ================================================================== An Israeli biotech startup is developing technology it says could revolutionize the global blood supply by producing universal red blood cells from stem cells on an industrial scale. RedC Biotech, founded by Dr. Ari Gargir, is working to cultivate red blood cells in large bioreactors, potentially generating hundreds of transfusion-ready units at a time. The company’s goal is to provide a reliable and cost-effective supply of blood to...

He’s mumbling Mamdani. Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani dodged straightforward questions Monday on pressing issues facing the Big Apple — capping off days of mealy-mouthed politician speak that insiders argued showed the charismatic candidate’s shine is wearing off. The frontrunner in the mayoral election only had gobbledygook to offer on a range of topics during the public safety forum at Columbia Journalism School, even when simply asked if he supported school safety agents working in the city’s public schools. “I think it is an indication of this broken status quo that we have many schools where they will have a school...

For decades, US firms have enjoyed a strong foothold in Germany, particularly in the country’s western regions, which were under the control of the Western Allies after World War II. In the immediate postwar years, US cigarettes were so highly prized on the German black market that they effectively served as currency. […] Today, however, the climate has shifted. The image of the US in Germany has taken a major beating, raising questions about how US companies can maintain their reputation. Some US firms are now actively marketing their products as “Made in Germany.” […] Coca-Cola, perhaps more than any...

A cyber group known as “Purgatory” is behind a terrifying spree of AI-enhanced swatting calls on college campuses — and experts urge authorities to catch up to “internet speed” to stop it. Between Aug. 21 and Aug. 25, at least 10 universities across the US were thrown into chaos after fake active shooter calls sent armed federal and local law enforcement agencies to lockdown campuses, launching students into full-blown panic. The calls have since been linked to Purgatory, a group of cybercriminals who use AI tools to replicate sounds of screaming and gunfire while on the phone with local authorities,...

Who Was Colonel Harland Sanders? At the age of 40, Harland Sanders was running a popular Kentucky service station that also served food—so popular, in fact, that the governor of Kentucky designated him a Kentucky colonel. Eventually, Sanders focused on franchising his fried chicken business around the country, collecting a payment for each chicken sold. The company went on to become the world's largest fast-food chicken chain, Kentucky Fried Chicken. Sanders died in Louisville, Kentucky, on December 16, 1980.

The early economic returns on President Trump’s immigration enforcement are unambiguous: American workers are winning. After decades of being told that mass immigration was an economic necessity, the data from Trump’s first eight months in office tell a different story—one where reducing foreign worker competition translates directly into higher wages and improved living standards for native-born Americans. The foreign-born workforce has contracted by nearly one million workers since January, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Friday. This represents a complete reversal of the 2024 trend, when foreign-born workers provided essentially all U.S. job growth, adding over 2 million...

I … voted for this? ============================================================== Post See new posts Conversation ICE New Orleans @ERONewOrleans 🚨SEXUAL PREDATOR ARRESTED: ICE New Orleans arrested Cristian Soto-Galeano, a citizen of Guatemala 🇬🇹. His criminal history includes a conviction for indecent behavior with a juvenile and was sentenced to 2 years in prison. 📢We stand ready to face any challenge, big or small. ============================================================== I promise that is not a fake post. That is a verified government account - the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in New Orleans - cracking a dad joke about arresting a pint-sized pervert. The comment section loved it. COMMENTS...

The answer is…never, because evidence doesn’t matter and there is none. I know the following is exceptionally long but I believe it shows the lengths that green pushers have gone to, programming AI to dutifully push their agenda instead of just answering questions with facts. It is dangerous to our economic survival as a great country that for decades a cabal has, without evidence, indoctrinated the public, especially children, that humans, CO2, and our use of natural resources have caused dire temperature increases and disastrous climate change. The cabal includes a compliant and non-curious media, educators, scientists who go along,...

Sting’s ex-bandmates in the Police, guitarist Andy Summers and drummer Stewart Copeland, have taken the singer and bassist to court, claiming he has not paid them properly for the “digital exploitation” of the band’s hits, per The New York Times. On the contrary, Sting’s lawyers argue that the frontman, born Gordon Sumner, might have “substantially overpaid” Summers and Copeland, depending on the interpretation of a 2016 agreement. Copeland and Summers argue in their lawsuit that Sting owes them “arranger’s fees” exceeding $2 million for the “digital exploitation” of the Police’s back catalog. Sting’s legal team fired back by saying all...

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Bill Pulte, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, got into an explosive argument last week — with threats of physical violence involved, The Post has confirmed. Two sources say that Bessent, 63, threatened to beat up Pulte, 37, for allegedly trash-talking him to President. At one point, the Treasury chief lashed out at Pulte, saying: “Why the f— are you talking to the president about me? F— you.” “I’m gonna punch you in your f—ing face,” added Bessent.rump, two sources said. The shouting match was first reported by Politico and broke out at the...

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday that he is “confident” that President Donald Trump’s tariff plan “will win” at the Supreme Court, but warned his agency would be forced to issue massive refunds if the high court rules against it. If the tariffs are struck down, he said, “we would have to give a refund on about half the tariffs, which would be terrible for the Treasury,” according to an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” He added, however, that “if the court says it, we’d have to do it.” The Trump administration last week asked the Supreme Court for...

Last week the newly-confirmed head of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Susan Monarez, was abruptly fired by President Trump, barely a month after receiving her Senate confirmation in July. Although Monarez was new to CDC as of the second Trump term, her career in high-level government positions runs back to through the Biden, Trump I, and Obama administrations. Upon announcement of Monarez’s firing, the press was immediately filled with reports of “turmoil” at the agency. At least four high-ranking officials resigned in protest (even as Monarez tried to hang on). In addition, large numbers of staffers came forward (anonymously)...

Former President Joe Biden has chosen his home state of Delaware to build his presidential library — but his new board has opted against setting a budget as the former prez hunts for people willing to donate to the project. The Joe and Jill Biden Foundation tapped a 13-member board of close confidants and former officials, including former Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and longtime adviser Steve Ricchetti, to oversee the project and raise funds to preserve the 82-year-old Democrat’s four years as president. But Biden’s decision comes as construction of former President Barack Obama’s $850 million library and museum...