Free Republic

"I think 'Blackout Tuesday' is great," Smokey John's Co-owner Juan Reaves said. "This is our opportunity to put our best foot forward to people that may not be familiar with us, Black or White." 'National Blackout Day' is meant to highlight Black-owned businesses, and get people to send a message of support by spending their money to support Black business owners... Our news partners at the Dallas Morning News compiled a list of some Black-owned businesses in North Texas. You can find it here.

The coronavirus pandemic is pushing businesses and dwellers out of city centers and downtowns into the outskirts in the short term, but demand can be expected to return to big cities, according to the head of the largest commercial real estate broker in the country. Hessam Nadji, president and CEO of Marcus & Millichap, on Tuesday told CNBC that it will be a test for suburban areas to accommodate exponential demand. Suburban areas outside of major cities are in high demand, as people migrate from dense urban areas in response to the Covid-19 outbreak. “I think the next 18 to...

July 8 (UPI) -- The United States has set a new one-day record for new COVID-19 cases -- more than 60,000, surpassing the previous mark by several thousand. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University said 60,021 new cases were recorded Tuesday, just days after the previous national record of 54,500. Updated figures by the university on Wednesday morning placed total U.S. cases at 2.99 million and the death toll at about 131,500. More than three dozen states have shown increases over the past week and health officials say hospitalizations and patients in intensive care have also risen significantly. In Florida, health...

Even before the COVD-19 pandemic forced us to live much of our lives “online,” the emergence of 5G technology was shaping up as one of the most critical waves of innovation that we have seen in our lifetimes. With all the excitement about the potential for 5G was the worry that America would lose the race for global 5G leadership to China. Fortunately, new developments from America’s most innovative companies shows that we are ready to compete (and win) on our terms — innovation. 5G — the 5th generation of wireless networking standards — will revolutionize our technological capabilities. With...

The Philadelphia Eagles responded to DeSean Jackson posting anti-Semitic quotes attributed to Adolf Hitler on Instagram, but the team isn’t yet taking action. The Eagles have been in contact with the 33-year-old wide receiver, who posted an apology, and condemned his posts. “We have spoken with DeSean Jackson about his social media posts. Regardless of his intentions, the messages he shared were offensive, harmful, and absolutely appalling,” the Eagles said in a statement Tuesday. “They have no place in our society, and are not condoned or supported in any way by the organization. We are disappointed and we reiterated to...

Recent orders by California’s governor to halt indoor dining in many counties may not impact the Blue Plate Oysterette much. At the Santa Monica seafood eatery, diners lately have been ordering their oysters or king crab legs at an outdoor counter – housed in a vintage VW bus – and feasting at sidewalk tables or across the street overlooking the cliff-side promenade. Nonetheless, owner Jen Rush has sharp views about Gov. Gavin Newsom’s decision to close indoor spaces such as restaurants, museums, and movie theaters for at least three weeks because of a surge in COVID-19 cases. Add to that...

The award is the largest yet from Operation Warp Speed, the White House's plan to rapidly develop and deliver a viable vaccine for the coronavirus pandemic. Part of the grant will fund a Phase 3 trial starting in the fall, according to a press release. Novavax also plans to use the award for delivering 100 million vaccine doses by the end of the year... Novavax is among several biotech and pharmaceutical firms racing to introduce the first effective treatment for COVID-19. Moderna, Gilead, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, and Merck are just some of the other companies testing their own compounds....

Patrick Harrington is sitting on a rock high on a hilltop...his head in his hands. The owner of Kindness Yoga, and one of the most well-known yogis in Denver, is struggling to piece together the words to explain what happened — in the span of a week — to his once-stellar reputation and his 19-year-old business. He is stunned, though remorseful. He is eager to speak up, yet on edge for fear of saying anything that could make all of this any worse. Harrington, a straight, white guy who expanded Kindness to nine studios and 160 employees across metro Denver,...

“If Trump is nominated, the GOP must keep him out of the White House,” Tommy Tuberville’s senior adviser Rob Jesmer Tweeted, in a series of anti-Trump, pro-amnesty Tweets going back years. An investigation into Tuberville staff shows hostility towards Trump’s agenda and trump’s supporters. Jesmer is Tuberville’s media adviser and is rumored to be in contention for the coveted chief of staff position in an Tuberville administration. Jesmer will be calling the shots on immigration. What’s interest about this Tweet is that Jesmer added the picture himself. Often times an image will auto-populate when you post a URL link. Jesmer...

There’s a common fear that Wall Street, buoyed by bullish sentiment, has gotten far ahead of the economic recovery and corporate earnings. However, despite continued volatility and uncertainty, analysts don’t expect a sharp market correction and say there’s still room for some upside for U.S. stocks ahead. Much better than expected economic data combined with positive news on drug treatments and potential vaccines for COVID-19 have bolstered investor confidence in recent months. But a spike in coronavirus cases as reopenings advance and the potential for a Democratic win in November pose downside risks to the stock market, according to analysts....

July 7 (Reuters) - Walt Disney Co will stick to its plans to reopen its Walt Disney World theme parks in Orlando, Florida, to a limited number of guests on Saturday, the company said in a statement on Tuesday. Florida's coronavirus cases have soared in the last month, with the state's daily count topping 10,000 three times in the last week. The death rate from COVID-19 rose nearly 19% in the last week from the week prior, bringing the state's death toll to more than 3,800. Some workers have signed a petition asking Disney to delay Walt Disney World's reopening....

The Dakota Access Pipeline, an oil route from North Dakota to Illinois that has inspired intense protests and legal battles, must shut down pending an environmental review and be emptied of oil by Aug. 5, a district court ruled on Monday. It essentially vacates a federal permit that had allowed the pipeline to operate while the United States Army Corps of Engineers, which had granted the permits for the pipeline, conducted an extensive environmental impact review. The decision, which could be subject to appeal, is a victory for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and other Native American and environmental groups...

WASHINGTON (AP) — More than a dozen Native American leaders and organizations sent a letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on Monday calling for the league to force Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder to change the team name immediately. The letter was signed by 15 Native American advocates and obtained by The Associated Press. It demands the team and the NFL cease the use of Native American names, imagery and logos — with specific importance put on Washington, which last week launched a “ thorough review ” of its name. The letter was delivered on the same day that President...

The numbers: Restaurants, dentists and other service-style companies that dominate the U.S. economy saw a surge in growth in June as businesses were allowed to reopen, pointing to a gradual recovery after extended coronavirus lockdowns. The Institute for Supply Management’s index of nonmanufacturing companies jumped to 57.1% in June from 45.4% in May, marking the single biggest increase since the survey was created in 1997. It was also the highest reading since February and easily topped the 51% forecast of economists polled by MarketWatch. Any number above 50% indicates more companies are expanding, but the big increase in June overstates...

International students will be forced to leave the U.S. or transfer to another college if their schools offer classes entirely online this fall, under new guidelines issued Monday by federal immigration authorities. The guidelines, issued by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, provide additional pressure for universities to reopen even amid growing concerns about the recent spread of COVID-19 among young adults. Colleges received the guidance the same day that some institutions, including Harvard University, announced that all instruction will be offered remotely. President Trump has insisted that schools and colleges return to in-person instruction as soon as possible. Soon after...

People have been making donations to the foundation in recent weeks, believing it to be associated with the Black Lives Matter Movement, which it is not ============================================================================= A state attorney general in New York says that the Black Lives Matter Foundation must immediately stop seeking donations from New Yorkers who believe the organization is affiliated with the Black Lives Matter movement. The foundation is a California-based company that is not registered in New York as a charitable organization, which makes it illegal to collect donations from inside the state, New York Attorney General Letitia James said Monday. “Every organization that...

The Eurozone economy will fall into a deeper recession this year than initially thought, and the recovery in 2021 will be less robust, according to an updated economic forecast released by the European Commission on Tuesday. The revised forecast predicts the economy of the 19 nations that use the euro will shrink 8.7% in 2020 before recovering by 6.1% next year. For the 27 countries that comprise the EU, a downturn of 8.3% is expected in 2020, before growing 5.8% in 2021. This means that in 2021 Europe will still be worse off than before the global outbreak of COVID-19...

....in blue states, it should come to no one's surprise that hordes of people are left defenseless. Some might have known about their respective states' anti-gun regime, especially in California and New Jersey, but a lot of folks found out the hard way when they tried to purchase a firearm in the past few weeks. Stephen Gutowski of the Washington Free Beacon has been on this beat, noting that some California residents have been shocked at how stringent their state's gun laws have become, even mulling running for office to change them. For his latest, he wrote about a US...

The grand economic question of our time is not the coronavirus, nor the lockdown, but how quickly do we put this all behind us? We know we're in a recession, and we know what has caused it, obviously enough. What we don't know is whether this time around will be like the recession of 1920, wherein by 1921, we couldn't quite see that it actually even happened, or whether it will be more like the events starting in 1929, when it took at least a decade to claw our way back. The answer will tell us a lot about the...

Advertisers that are now boycotting Facebook to protest "hate speech" have spent years running ads and marketing campaigns on a Russian social media platform that bans gay-rights groups and is known as a haven for white supremacists. Over 100 companies announced a boycott of Facebook last week in protest of divisive political speech on the website. The boycott coincides with a public pressure campaign led by Joe Biden and other top Democrats to press Facebook to enforce stricter control over President Trump’s postings. But many of these companies—including Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Adidas, and Reebok—have been regular advertisers on VK, a popular...