Free Republic

Two gun controls, one of which was a bump stock ban, were defeated in the Pennsylvania House on Tuesday despite a rally by activists and pro-gun control lawmakers. WGAL reported every Republican and one Democrat, state Rep. Frank Burns (D), voted against the bump stock ban. A gun control requiring federal firearms license holders (FFLS) to report sales electronically was defeated as well.

Hillary Clinton’s feminist Broadway musical Suffs is struggling at the box office despite receiving a bounty of Tony Award nominations and an outpouring of adulatory coverage from the mainstream news media. Suffs — a nearly three-hour musical about the rise of the suffragette movement, featuring a cast comprised entirely of women and gender “non-binary” performers — played to 81 percent capacity last week, while dipping to 78 percent capacity the week before, according to data from The Broadway League.

The Port Authority announced on Monday a historic milestone in the ongoing $19 billion transformation of JFK International Airport, where a record $2.3 billion in contracts have been awarded to Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises (MWBE). The JFK redevelopment also demonstrates a significant focus on working with local contractors, awarding more than $950 million in contracts to Queens-based businesses to date. “When we embarked on this historic, $19 billion public-private effort to transform JFK into a world-class international gateway, we pledged that the economic opportunities generated at the airport would flow fairly to the neighborhoods surrounding the airport,” Port Authority...

An investor at famed Silicon Valley firm Andreessen Horowitz is the latest VC to get involved in the debate around "fake work" in the tech industry. In an interview published Monday with Emily Sundberg for her Substack newsletter "Feed Me," Andreessen Horowitz general partner David Ulevitch called Google "an amazing example" of a corporation employing people in "BS jobs." "As we (society / our economy) prioritize conglomerates and megacorps, irrelevant jobs proliferate," he said. "Anyone who works in a 10,000+ person or larger white-collar job company knows that a bunch of the people can probably be let go tomorrow and...

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said she regrets saying that Black children ​who grow up in the Bronx don’t know what the word “computer” means. “I misspoke and I regret it,” she said in a statement Monday. “Of course, Black children in the Bronx know what computers are — the problem is that they too often lack access to the technology needed to get on track to high-paying jobs in emerging industries like AI,” she said. “That’s why I’ve been focused on increasing economic opportunity since Day One of my administration, and will continue that fight to ensure every New...

The reduction in expenditure isn’t enough to balance a sharp fall in the tax take from an economy officially in recession.. Although it has slashed public service numbers and ended some programmes, New Zealand’s coalition government is heading towards its first budget with forecasts of a higher-than-expected deficit. The National-NZ First-ACT government took office with an ambitious agenda centred on major cuts to public servant numbers. To date, over 4,000 people have lost their jobs as a result, with more expected. ACT Leader and Minister for Regulation David Seymour has previously indicated the total could reach 7,500. But the reduction...

Shares of Rivian Automotive Inc. fell 4% in the extended session Tuesday after the EV maker posted mixed quarterly results, reporting a wider-than-expected loss but revenue above Wall Street’s expectations. Rivian RIVN lost $1.45 billion, or $1.48 a share, in the first quarter, compared with a loss of $1.35 billion, or $1.45 a share, in the year-ago quarter.

Mark Zuckerberg, the billionaire founder of Meta, has recently made waves with his latest acquisition—a $300 million superyacht named Launchpad. Zuckerberg’s luxurious vessel, which is longer than a football field, has drawn criticism based on his climate activism. The Hindustan Times reports that with an estimated net worth of $180 billion, Mark Zuckerberg has joined the ranks of tech billionaires like Jeff Bezos, Larry Ellison, and Google co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page in buying a luxurious superyacht. The 118-meter vessel, designed by Swedish-based Espen Øin International, boasts a sleek, multilayered exterior with a robust steel hull and an aluminum...

Elon Musk’s Tesla, the leading electric vehicle manufacturer, has slashed even more workers from the payroll following weeks of massive layoffs, leaving employees on edge and seeking closure. Business Insider reports that Tesla has been conducting a series of layoffs over the past four weeks. The latest round of cuts, which took place on Sunday night, has left employees uncertain about their future with the company. According to Business Insider, four workers reported that their managers notified them of additional cuts to their teams on Monday morning, while several Tesla workers took to LinkedIn to share their experiences of receiving...

SACRAMENTO — In May 1969 a National Guard helicopter hung over the campus of UC Berkeley, spraying protesters with what The Times then described as “heavy clouds of tear gas.” It was the sixth consecutive day of campus demonstrations over plans to develop the land known as “People’s Park.” An ambitious governor who would go on to become president had called in 2,300 National Guard troops and hundreds of Highway Patrolmen. They brought shotguns, rifles and bayonets. The problems, then-Gov. Ronald Reagan said in a feisty televised appearance, all started because universities “let young people think they had the right...

Stormy Daniels, the porn actor paid hush money to keep an alleged affair with Donald Trump secret ahead of the 2016 election, has taken the stand Tuesday in the former president’s New York criminal trial. Daniels, wearing black with her hair in a clip, smiled nervously as she entered the room, walking quickly toward the stand. She put on a pair of black, thick-rimmed glasses as she started. Trump was whispering with his attorney, Todd Blanche, and watched Daniels as she prepared to begin her testimony.

Your next new home air conditioner could set you back $12,000 or more, with federal regulators contributing to the rising cost of staying cool. Before 2020, buying and installing a new residential central air conditioner typically cost well under $10,000. Many jobs, including both purchase and installation, fell in the $6,000 to $7,000 range—about half the current price—says Martin Hoover, a co-owner of Atlanta-based Empire Heating & Air Conditioning. While many factors, including rising material costs, have contributed to the increase in prices, regulations have played an outsize role. The Energy Department in January 2023 issued a new efficiency standard...

Popular Victorian-looking rum pub Hobson's Choice, on the corner of Clayton and Haight, will shutter after 26 years in business, owner Chris Dickerson told SFGATE columnist Stuart Schuffman this weekend. Dickerson cited the lack of pedestrian traffic on the famous street for the decision, and said the neighborhood hasn't yet bounced back from the pandemic.“A lot of service industry people lived in the neighborhood. So, they’d get off work at a restaurant at 10-ish, 11-ish, and come back to the neighborhood and hang out until close," Dickerson said. "They’re no longer here."

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration has declared an “extraordinary animal health emergency” and imposed “the most comprehensive measures in the country” to combat highly pathogenic avian influenza. “Producers must immediately implement robust biosecurity practices and create emergency preparedness plans and this order starts to address these on-farm risks,” Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Director Tim Boring said statement last week. Those measures include a biosecurity manager for every farm, a secure perimeter around poultry, cleaning and disinfection for people and vehicles, a log of all people and vehicles that enter farms, isolation of lactating cows until 30 days after...

The Biden administration is being ridiculed for hypocrisy as it touts 'energy savings' at federal buildings that are nearly empty of workers - and wasting billions of taxpayer dollars. Energy Sec. Jennifer Granholm recently celebrated the Biden administration's efforts to reach net-zero emissions from federal buildings by establishing a rule outlawing the use of fossil fuels on-site. 'The Biden-Harris Administration is practicing what we preach,' Granholm said in a statement about the rule. 'Just as we are helping households and businesses across the nation save money by saving energy, we are doing the same in our own federal buildings.' But...

Gov. Healey emphasizes that hospitals remain open during process BROOKLINE, Mass. — Steward Health Care, the troubled operator of eight hospitals in Massachusetts, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection early Monday. In a statement, the company said it was seeking the process voluntarily to facilitate a restructuring process. The for-profit, private equity-backed hospital group's troubles exploded into view this year with the revelation that it owed about $50 million in unpaid rent. Steward officials subsequently closed one facility and have expressed interest in selling their other holdings. "I don't want to lose sight of the fact that this situation stems...

Stand.earth accuses B.C. company of breaking promise to reduce greenhouse gasesCanada's Competition Bureau has opened a formal investigation into Lululemon's environmental claims in its marketing campaigns, a spokesperson for the agency told CBC News on Monday. Marianne Blondin confirmed in an email that the Competition Bureau "has commenced an investigation under the Competition Act into the alleged deceptive marketing practices." "There is no conclusion of wrongdoing at this time," she wrote. "As the Bureau is obligated by law to conduct its work confidentially, I cannot provide further details on this case at this time." Stand.earth, the non-profit that filed the...

When postal manager José Belloso put his Paris apartment up for sale this year he was required to have an inspector grade the home for energy efficiency under strict rules designed to fight climate change. Belloso’s building was built in the early 1900s from millstone, a porous sedimentary rock that was popular among architects of France’s Belle Époque. His apartment flunked the inspection—and under a regulation that came into force this year, the property was barred from the rental market until costly renovations are made. Belloso was ultimately forced to knock 50,000 euros, equivalent to $54,000, off his asking price...

On Monday, in the ongoing Manhattan trial of former President Donald Trump, a witness for the prosecution gave some startling testimony. While on the stand being questioned by the defense, former Trump Organization controller Jeffrey McConney testified that former President Trump did not personally order payments made to attorney Michael Cohen, who allegedly paid the "hush money" payment to porn star Stormy Daniels."Michael Cohen was a lawyer?" defense attorney Emil Bove asked former Trump Organization controller Jeffrey McConney on Monday at the start of the fourth week of the trial."Sure, yes," McConney responded. "And payments to lawyers by the Trump...

President Joe Biden’s decision to open Obamacare enrollment to illegal aliens with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) will cost Americans about $300 million annually. On Friday, Biden’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a final rule to open Obamacare to DACA illegal aliens. Obama first created the DACA program via executive order, shielding more than one million illegal aliens from deportation through the years.