Free Republic

If Donald Trump is upset about higher interest rates, he should stop doing just about everything he can to undermine the U.S. economy in the eyes of the world. As the U.S. becomes a riskier place to do business because of tariffs and fiscal uncertainty, and the independence of the central bank comes under threat from the president, people will demand higher yields to make buying U.S. sovereign debt worth their while. Maybe you think Trump’s trade policy has merit or the Federal Reserve needs to be brought more firmly under the president’s control. That’s a separate question from how...

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered:Section 1. Background. The United States controls one of the largest and most abundant ocean resources in the world, with over 4 million square miles of prime fishing grounds. With this vast resource and centuries of hard work from American fishermen, our Nation has the greatest seafood in the world.Most American fish stocks are healthy and have viable markets. Despite these opportunities, seafood is one of the most heavily regulated sectors in the United States. Federal overregulation...

China is doubling down: China has just announced that they will be pulling back from US private equity investments. Chinese state-backed funds are halting new investments in US PE firms due to government pressure. According to PE executives, funds like China Investment Corporation (CIC) have already begun withdrawing planned commitments. Chinese investors are also avoiding US-linked deals, even when managed by non-US based PE funds. Just 24 hours ago, China warned they would retaliate against countries that cooperate with the US in ways that compromise their interests. It's very clear what's happening here: China is seeking to isolate the US...

President Donald Trump on Monday met with chief executives from three of the nation’s top retailers, who came to the White House to discuss how his sweeping tariff plans could impact their import-heavy business models. Walmart CEO Doug McMillon and Target chief executive Brian Cornell both attended, as did Home Depot CEO Ted Decker. A White House official told CNBC earlier Monday that a representative from Lowe’s would also be at the meeting. After the meeting concluded, an official told NBC News that no one from Lowe’s attended. After the meeting wrapped, the three companies issued nearly identical statements. “We...

A glamorous city known for sprawling mansions, boutique shops and glamor is at risk of becoming 'the next Detroit,' according to experts. Los Angeles is being rocked by an exodus of big budget TV and film production companies — long considered the backbone of the local economy. Detroit was once the center of America's auto production, but fell into decline when factories began to shut, triggering a major housing crisis. Now, some fear LA faces a similar threat. FilmLA reports that on-location production in the city fell by 22.4 percent in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the same...

A new report from GlobalData, a data and analytics group, projects global nuclear power capacity will hit 494 GW by 2035. The group’s “Nuclear Power Market, Update 2025–Market Size, Segmentation, Major Trends, and Key Country Analysis to 2035” said capacity gains will be tied to advancements in deployments of small modular reactors (SMRs), along with the continuing worldwide shift to cleaner forms of energy. The report released April 21 said recent gains in nuclear power have been driven by moves toward more low-carbon baseload power. Measures promoting energy security, in addition to interest in decarbonization of industrial sectors, also is...

“The public is vastly unaware that our highways are completely over run right now with truck drivers operating on Foreign Commercial Drivers Licenses and what are now called Non-Domicile CDL’s."

If the White House wanted a test of how firing Jerome Powell would go over in the markets, it succeeded on Monday. U.S. stocks and the dollar plunged while yields on long-term Treasurys climbed after President Trump renewed his attacks on the Federal Reserve Chairman. Monday was the first full trading day for markets to absorb National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett’s comments Friday that the White House is studying if Mr. Powell can legally be fired. On Monday Mr. Trump demanded again that Mr. Powell make “pre-emptive” interest rate cuts to avoid a slowdown. Cue the meltdown in stocks,...

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has racked up a string of lucrative directorships since leaving office, The Post can reveal, including a multi-million-dollar consulting gig with Ukraine’s top cell phone operator. Pompeo, whose security detail was revoked by President Trump in January, signed up for an advisory job with Kyivstar and its Nasdaq-listed parent VEON in June of last year, financial filings show. The 61-year-old had joined the boards of Kyivstar and VEON in November 2023 and May 2024, respectively. Documents reviewed by The Post show that Pompeo is paid $50,000 a month — or $600,000 a year —...

A jury has found Nadine Menendez guilty in her federal bribery trial, following the conviction of her husband, former New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez, on similar crimes. Prosecutors argued the two were "partners in crime" while accusing them of accepting cash, gold bars and a luxury car in exchange for political favors. The defense argued there was no proof Nadine Menendez was involved in the scheme her husband was found guilty of perpetrating. Jurors began deliberating Friday afternoon before reaching their verdict Monday afternoon. She will be sentenced in June, the same month her husband is due to report to...

Transcript linked to video. Covid history, lawsuit succeeded in MO, grabbing assets per judgment. Farmland bought by CCP getting seized. China refuses to honor the judgment, but plaintiff class (?) is seizing land by in rem jurisdiction! Ask lawyers. I'm done with paralegaling.

A federal judge has granted a preliminary injunction to block the Department of Government Efficiency from further access to sensitive personal information at the Social Security Administration. The order blocks the agency from granting DOGE access to systems containing personally identifiable information including Social Security numbers, medical records, mental health records, tax information and family court records. A federal judge has once again blocked Department of Government Efficiency staffers, operating inside the Social Security Administration, from accessing sensitive personal data of millions of Americans. U.S. District Judge Ellen Lipton Hollander on Thursday granted a preliminary injunction to block the so-called...

Did you know that your tax dollars funded the housing and transportation of illegal aliens across the country? President Donald Trump has moved to stop this phenomenon, and his efforts recently met with an important success. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops announced that it would not renew agreements with the federal government relating to children’s services and refugee support. As I wrote in my book, “The Woketopus: The Dark Money Cabal Manipulating the Federal Government,” the USCCB formed one arm of the Immigration Industrial Complex, the network of NGOs receiving federal funds to move illegal aliens across the country....

President Donald Trump will meet with major retailers on Monday after the National Retail Federation (NRF) announced it does not back the president’s reciprocal tariff policies. A White House official told Reuters that the president will meet Monday afternoon to discuss his tariff policies; the meeting will includes representatives from Walmart, Home Deport, Lowe’s, and Target. Walmart confirmed that its CEO, Doug McMillon, would attend the meeting. More than half of Walmart’s imports are from China, while Home Deport and Lowe’s also import from the country. A March report found that Target relies on China for 30 percent of its...

The Dow plunged more than 1,100 points as President Trump intensified his attacks on the Federal Reserve’s independence — calling chairman Jerome Powell “a major loser” for not lowering interest rates. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was recently off 1,084.93 points, or 2.8%, at 38,057.30 in midday trades after plunging losing 1,406 points during the previous holiday-shortened week. US markets were closed on Friday in observance of Good Friday. The S&P 500 on Monday fell 2.9% and the Nasdaq slipped 3.1%. In a fiery Truth Social rant on Monday, Trump once again called for the Federal Reserve to slash interest...

President Donald Trump's tariffs on China have raised questions about the issue of rare earth minerals and their processing, but Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said Sunday that part of the dilemma lies in the "war on mining" that was waged under the administrations of former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden."If you go back to the Obama/Biden administrations, we are in a war on mining in this country for anything, not just rare earth minerals," Burgum told "Fox News Sunday." "It's not just 'drill, baby, drill,' but it's 'map, baby, map.' We've got these materials in our country, so [it's...

It looks as though trade progress is being made with Japan, as concessions about automobiles were reported on this weekend, signaling that Trump administration could be heading towards a revised agreement with the key ally nation. Japan may loosen auto safety rules for U.S. imports to address President Trump’s concerns over the low number of American cars sold there, Nikkei reports. With differing safety standards between the two countries, Tokyo is eyeing crash test regulations as a possible trade concession, according to Nikkei. During a White House meeting, Trump criticized Japan’s trade surplus and poor U.S. auto sales. Cabinet-level talks...

Inflation risk has been a significant topic of discussion in the mainstream media for the last few years. Such is unsurprising given that inflation spiked following the pandemic in 2020 as consumer spending (demand) was shot into overdrive from stimulus payments and production (supply) was shuttered. To understand why that occurred, we need to revisit “Economics 101.”“In economics, inflation is a general increase in the prices of goods and services. Changes in inflation are a function of fluctuations in actual demand for goods and services (also known as demand shocks, including changes in fiscal or monetary policy or recession), changes...

Tennessee swindlers forged the signatures of unsuspecting homeowners on deeds to transfer the property ownership for a measly $10 in a quit-claim scheme. Stuart Breakstone and his accomplice, Rebecca Tuttle, allegedly played out their ruse on at least two separate residences in Memphis, Tenn., between 2010 and 2025, property records viewed by The Post show. The duo is accused of faking signatures of the homeowners, buyers and at least one notary on quit-claim forms to transfer the ownership of the properties for $10 ... The sleazy scheme was only discovered after a homeowner reported to police that she was no...

Chinese airlines have begun returning Boeing aircraft to the U.S., with one 737 Max recently landing back at a Boeing production hub in Seattle over the weekend, according to Reuters. Saturday’s return occurred shortly after China ordered its airlines not to take further deliveries of Boeing aircraft in response to the U.S. imposing 145% tariffs on Chinese goods, Bloomberg News reported last week. A trio of 737 Max 8 jets that were originally being readied at Boeing’s Zhoushan delivery center for two Chinese airlines were recalled to the U.S. last week, according to aviation news service The Air Current, citing...