Free Republic

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- All 1,600 employees of the brand new electric vehicle battery plant in Kentucky will be laid off before Ford converts it to manufacture batteries for data centers and other utilities. Ford will turn the Glendale factory into a battery-storage business for customers such as utilities, wind- and solar-power developers, and massive data centers that train artificial intelligence, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday. And Ford announced Monday it plans to begin shipping the battery energy storage systems from its Kentucky and Michigan plants in Late 2027, a shift to "higher-return opportunities." In total, the company said...

PACIFIC, Wash. — Hundreds of neighbors in the King County city of Pacific were jolted out of bed early Tuesday as messages telling them to evacuate immediately blared through the area.“Water just started coming up. I was sleeping and next thing you know there’s all these sirens and cars and people outside,” said Johnny Sivilay, who lives on Third Avenue SE. “I came outside and my car was in water so I had to move it. People were breaking my fence trying to get to safety."

Downing Street insists the $40bn Tech Prosperity Deal between the US and UK that is on hold is not permanently stalled. The BBC reported on Tuesday evening that the prime minister’s office claimed that the UK remains in “active conversations with US counterparts at all levels of government” about the wide-ranging deal for the technology industries in both countries to cooperate. The agreement, previously billed as historic, was paused after the US accused the UK of failing to lower trade barriers, including a digital services tax on US tech companies and food safety rules that limit the export of some...

A truck driver in the country illegally has been released on a $100,000 bond after a fatal wreck in Washington late last week. 25-year-old Kamalpreet Singh, of Elk Grove, California was arrested on Thursday, December 11th after a crash on SR 167 in King County, Washington. He was released on $100,000 bond on Sunday, December 14th. According to Auburn Examiner, Singh crashed into the back of a Mazda sedan that was stopped just behind a Peterbilt on northbound SR 167 south of SR 18. The force of the impact crushed the Mazda between the two semi trucks, killing the motorist,...

DETROIT (AP) — Sixteen states and the District of Columbia are suing the Trump administration for what they say is the unlawful withholding of over $2 billion in funding for two electric vehicle charging programs. A federal lawsuit filed Tuesday in Seattle is the latest legal battle that Democratic-led states are pursuing over funding for EV charging infrastructure that they say was obligated to them by Congress under former President Joe Biden, but that the Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration are “impounding.” “The Trump administration’s illegal attempt to stop funding for electric vehicle infrastructure must come to an...

All net job growth is going to native-born Americans as foreign-born employment continues to decline, a new jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics issued on Tuesday reveals. The jobs report showed that, for another consecutive month, native-born Americans have gained jobs, while foreign-born workers continue to fall out of the workforce.

For fifteen years I’ve scalped tickets to pay the bills. But in January 2016 I almost managed a real career. I was thirty-one, I’d been in Los Angeles for five years writing scripts. There had been minor successes, a couple of small projects optioned, and I’d recently started writing with my best friend. We were writing constantly, making each other better, building momentum. Success felt close. Back then it always did. We’d written a pilot script that a veteran showrunner had agreed, in a very theoretical, very Hollywood sort of way, to “come on” to. That project had fizzled, so...

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing Verona-based Epic Systems, alleging the company runs an illegal monopoly and blocks parents from accessing their children's medical records. Paxton's suit alleges that Epic uses its electronic health records (EHR) software to effectively control how and when that data can be accessed. Additionally, the suit alleges that Epic makes it nearly impossible for health care providers to switch EHR providers by imposing huge financial penalties for doing so. "Epic publicly admits it does not "own" those records," Paxton wrote. "But Epic has used its position as an EHR software database architect to insert...

The EU looks set to scrap a landmark 2035 ban on new petrol and diesel cars on Tuesday, as part of a package of reforms aimed at supporting Europe's embattled auto industry. Carmakers and their backers have lobbied hard for Brussels to relax the ban over the past year – in the face of fierce competition from China and a slower-than-expected shift to electric vehicles (EVs). Set in 2023, the ban was a cornerstone of the EU's environmental Green Deal, which has come under increased pressure from businesses and right-wing politicians as the EU seeks to bolster its industry.

On Monday, investor Ross Gerber echoed the sentiment of Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang on artificial intelligence being an education equalizer. Gerber Kawasaki co-founder said in a post on X that AI is rapidly leveling the education playing field, arguing that students no longer need expensive tutors or test-prep classes if they know how to use AI tools effectively. He went on to add that children should be learning to work with systems such as Alphabet Inc.'s (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google Gemini, describing AI as a learning companion that can outperform traditional teaching methods in many cases. “AI is a...

OTTAWA — Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she’s keeping in mind that there’s more than one way to get Alberta oil to the Pacific Coast. Smith said in a year-end interview with National Post that, while her “first preference” would be to build a new West Coast pipeline through northern British Columbia, she’s willing to look across the border if progress stalls. One possible route to the Pacific Ocean could be through the northwestern U.S. states of Montana, Idaho and either Washington or Oregon. “Anytime you can get to the West Coast, it opens up markets to get to Asia,”...

trucking companies are hiring barely-vetted migrants happy to work long hours for low pay, many of whom don't speak english or understand our driving culture — and they're wreaking havoc on the roads On October 21, a commercial truck collided with an SUV along Interstate 10 a few miles east of Los Angeles. The dashcam footage instantly went viral: we witness the final moments of husband and wife Clarence and Lisa Nelson as their vehicle, stopped in traffic, is vaporized by the truck. Its driver? A 21-year-old illegal immigrant from India, Jashanpreet Singh, who didn’t stop or even attempt to...

Is the American Left finally waking up from its decades-long climate catastrophism stupor? For years, climate alarmism has reigned as political catechism: The planet is burning, and only drastic action — deindustrialization, draconian regulation, even ceasing childbearing — could forestall certain apocalypse. Now, at least some signs are emerging that both the broader public and leading liberal voices may be recoiling from the doom and gloom. *** The moral panic is slowly evaporating. Millions of Americans may still believe warming exists, but far fewer view it as an imminent existential threat — let alone embrace sweeping upheavals in energy policy...

The Trump administration on Monday unveiled a new initiative dubbed the “U.S. Tech Force,” comprising about 1,000 engineers and other specialists who will work on artificial intelligence infrastructure and other technology projects throughout the federal government. Participants will commit to a two-year employment program working with teams that report directly to agency leaders in “collaboration with leading technology companies,” according to an official government website. Those “private sector partners” include Amazon Web Services , Apple , Google Public Sector, Dell Technologies , Microsoft , Nvidia , OpenAI, Oracle , Palantir , Salesforce and numerous others, the website says. The Tech...

PROTECTING AMERICA’S FOOD SUPPLY AND FAMILY BUDGETS: Today, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order to stop price fixing, anti-competitive behavior, and foreign influence that drives up grocery prices and threatens the security of America’s food supply.The Order directs the Attorney General and the Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission to each establish a Food Supply Chain Security Task Force within their respective agencies to aggressively investigate price fixing and anti-competitive practices across the food sector.Both Task Forces are empowered to bring enforcement actions and propose new rules to stop anti-competitive behavior and restore competition.The Attorney General is directed...

Valero's $1.1 billion Benicia refinery exit by April 2026, driven by Newsom's regulations, threatens 8.6% of California's gasoline supply, job losses, and $1.21-per-gallon hikes. Economists warn of shortages and $8 spikes amid Phillips 66's parallel closure. California’s energy sector is reeling from Valero Energy Corp.’s decision to shutter its Benicia refinery by April 2026, a move that underscores the mounting toll of stringent state regulations on the industry’s viability. The Texas-based refiner announced it would absorb a staggering $1.1 billion write-down rather than navigate Governor Gavin Newsom’s escalating mandates, citing prohibitive costs and regulatory pressures. This closure eliminates 8.6% of...

The recent Democratic cry of “affordability” is ironic in many ways. The left-wing narrative of Trump hyperinflation was one of desperation and came only after previous memes had failed to resonate. The 2025 generic “dictator,” “fascist,” and “Nazi” smear points never helped the left much. Nor did the nihilist government shutdown over the “Obamacare crisis” work other than perhaps to depress fourth-quarter GDP. Nor did the earlier spring 2025 melodramatic predictions of an impending “Trade War,” “Recession,” and stock-market “Meltdown resonate.” Nor did the “Gestapo,” “SS,” and “Nazi” ICE smears become effective talking points. The “illegal orders” and “unconstitutional use...

Republicans on Capitol Hill who have championed the tech industry’s race to dominate artificial intelligence are confronting a growing political obstacle: voters angry over the soaring energy demands and utility costs tied to the data centers. The politics of data centers are still very much in flux, but GOP politicians may be particularly vulnerable to a voter backlash because of their pro-development views and President Donald Trump’s all-in support for AI — including blocking states from setting their own rules. Some are starting to seek distance from the White House. Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis floated new limits on data...

Roomba vacuum cleaner maker iRobot said on Sunday that it had filed for bankruptcy protection, and would go private after being acquired by Picea, its primary manufacturer. The company, which raised concerns about staying in business in March, filed for bankruptcy in the District of Delaware as it grapples with macroeconomic and tariff-related uncertainties. iRobot faces competition from Chinese rivals such as Ecovacs Robotics, which offer advanced features at lower prices.

Valero is taking a $1 billion dollar loss just to get out of California by April 2026. The company will not comply with Gavin Newsom mandates and instead is willing to lose a billion dollars to leave. “When a company takes a billion dollar loss just to leave, you know something is seriously broken.” “Valero just wrote off $1.1 billion. That is the cost they are taking to walk away from California rather than keep operating their Benicia refinery past April 2026. — This facility processes 145,000 barrels of oil per day, representing 8.6% of California's entire gasoline production. 400...