Free Republic

China just raised the stakes in its standoff with Washington. Despite President Trump's recent attempts to dial down the rhetoric and hint at possible tariff relief, Beijing isn't budging. A spokesperson from China's Commerce Ministry flatly rejected any notion of progress, calling U.S. claims of renewed dialogue groundless. The message: if the U.S. wants to talk, it needs to first undo the damagestarting with a full rollback of unilateral tariffs, now as high as 145%. China also made it clear that future talks hinge on more than just kind words; Washington needs to get serious about core issues like sanctions...

Liberal campaign hurts people who need bargains Evergreen Park, Ill., a suburb contiguous with Chicago's western edge, is 88 percent white. A large majority of the customers of the Wal-Mart that sits here, less than a block outside Chicago, are from the city, and more than 90 percent of the store's customers are African-American. One of whom, a woman pushing a shopping cart with a stoical 3-year-old along for the ride, has a chip on her shoulder about the size of this 141,000 square-foot Wal-Mart. She applied for a job when the store opened in January and was turned down...

The food, makeup, underwear is at "Everyday low prices" but a Wal-Mart "date" could be for free. Wal-Mart's taking on the role of retail matchmaker to some of its customers. NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Just when you thought you'd heard it all from the king of discount shopping, Wal-Mart is now pitching itself as the new dating hot spot -- with everyday low prices to boot.