Free Republic

(English-language translation) How future events develop in Honduras rests on Roberto Micheletti's and Manuel Zelaya's prudence and sense, and their first task is to ensure that the deposed President's surprise return does not become the reason for any type of violence, as several governments, the Organization of American States (OAS), and the European Union have unanimously requested. However, there is the possibility that things get out of control. Therefore, Brazilian President Lula asked Zelaya yesterday not to take actions that may provide a pretext for government forces to intervene, and not to put the Brazilian Embassy installations in harm's way....

Roberto Micheletti, interrim President of Honduras, steps down today to allow for the peaceful transition of power to the newly elected president of the tiny nation, Porfirio Lobo Sosa. You may recall that Micheletti was appointed after former President Zelaya attempted to overturn the country’s election process (with the assistance of President Obama’s favorite thug, Hugo Chavez of Venezuela) and was promptly, unceremoniously, and constitutionally removed from office... And where is the United States while all this is happening in a tiny democracy well within our sphere of influence? Why isn’t Joe Biden one of the dignitaries congratulating Micheletti for...

A mammoth sinkhole opened along a major New Jersey interstate Thursday morning, closing several lanes and pushing motorists onto local roads to avoid the pit. The sinkhole — which appeared large enough to swallow several cars — opened on the shoulder of Interstate 80 in Wharton sometime around 7:45 a.m., according to NJ.com. Construction crews swarmed the area around Exit 34 as they tried to work out a solution to the post-Christmas surprise. Meanwhile, the state’s Department of Transportation closed the eastbound lanes — leading to a lengthy backup that clogged the highway. “Motorists should expect delays or plan an...

This race is over. Republican Dave McCormick ousted Democratic incumbent Sen. Bob Casey in the 2024 election. It’s over. McCormick is senator-elect and should be invited to the Senate’s orientation. Yet, Casey and lawyer Marc Elias are trying to steal the election. That’s not hyperbole—that’s straight from the Wall Street Journal, which scorched the duo for engaging in a black tar heroin version of election denialism (via WSJ) [emphasis mine]: The Associated Press and most other media have called the Senate race in Pennsylvania for Republican Dave McCormick. But never fear, Democrats, lawyer Marc Elias is on the case trying...

Tech firm started by Clinton campaign veterans is linked to Iowa caucus reporting debacle __________ An app created by a tech firm run by veterans of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign is taking heat for the unprecedented delay in reporting Democratic caucus results from Iowa. The firm behind the app reportedly is Shadow, an affiliate of ACRONYM, a Democratic nonprofit founded in 2017 “to educate, inspire, register, and mobilize voters,” according to its website. Shadow started out as Groundbase, a tech developer co-founded by Gerard Niemira and Krista Davis, who worked for the tech team on Clinton’s campaign for the...

The Biden-Harris Administration recently announced a final rule issued by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). This rule requires airlines to promptly provide passengers with automatic cash refunds under specific circumstances. Here are the key points: Canceled or Significantly Changed Flights: Passengers are entitled to a refund if their flight is canceled or significantly changed (as defined by the rule). Significant changes include: Departure or arrival times more than 3 hours domestically or 6 hours internationally. Departures or arrivals from a different airport. Increases in the number of connections. Downgrading passengers to a lower class of service. Connections at different...

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer on Tuesday accused the Biden administration of obstructing his impeachment inquiry, revealing it has turned over to congressional investigators just 14 of the 82,000 pages of emails that the National Archives located from Joe Biden's private pseudonym email accounts. Comer vowed to escalate his efforts to gain access to the emails in a statement just one day after Just the News reported that the National Archives had identified in a court filing a massive trove of private emails from Joe Biden's vice presidency. “The National Archives has identified 82,000 pages of emails where then-Vice...

The recent spate of flight delays and cancellations may persist for as much as a decade — due to a shortage of some 32,000 pilots, mechanics and air traffic controllers, as well as “unrealistic scheduling” by airlines, according to an investigative report. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told CBS News his office is investigating several airlines for what a rep called “unrealistic scheduling,” which leads to a carrier’s inability to provide the expected service to the flying public. Experts said the trend in staffing issues suggests that the problem could get a lot worse before it gets better — and could...

The Biden administration is working on new regulations that would require airlines to compensate passengers and cover their meals and hotel rooms if they are stranded for reasons within the airline’s control. The White House said President Joe Biden and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg would announce the start of the rulemaking process Monday. The rulemaking pledge continues a push by the Democratic administration to require airlines to improve customer service, and it comes just weeks before the start of the peak summer travel season. The aim of the rules would be, for the first time, to require airlines to pay...

Democrats tried to frame the 2022 midterms as a referendum on Republicans, whom they’ve branded a “threat to democracy,” but the real threat to our nation is how little Americans can trust elections that drag on for days or weeks.Many Americans already have a hard time believing that although nearly 75 percent of voters think the country is on the wrong track, they chose to keep many of the same crises-causing candidates. But assuming that discrepancy can be explained by the Democrats’ get-out-the-vote machine and other factors, Americans have bigger doubts — namely that three days after polls closed, voters...

Within hours of polls opening in Pennsylvania Tuesday morning, a "last minute change" is already causing vote count delays in notoriously corrupt Philadelphia. Before the change this morning, votes in the city were expected to be fully counted by Wednesday morning. From the Philadelphia Inquirer: City officials voted Tuesday morning — as polling places opened and the vote count began for the midterm elections — to reinstate a time consuming and labor-intensive process for catching double votes that will slow how quickly they can report results.If Pennsylvania’s high-stakes U.S. Senate race is as close as expected, a wait for results...

Here we go again...Just one day after 15 Pennsylvania House Republicans sent a letter to acting Secretary of State Leigh Chapman demanding to know why 240,000 unverified ballots had been mailed out ("which, according to the law, must be set aside and not counted for the 2022 General Election unless the voter produces lD," the lawmakers wrote), Chapman revealed that there will likely be delays posting the results after the midterm elections. Acting Secretary of State Leigh Chapman spoke on Monday, Oct. 24 to discuss voting procedures throughout the state."It's really important for us to get accurate information about the...

"It's really important for us to get accurate information about the election process in Pennsylvania," Chapman said. "So voters and the public know that when there are delays in counting, it doesn’t mean that there’s anything nefarious happening. It’s just what the law is in Pennsylvania."On Monday, Pennsylvania acting Secretary of State Leigh M. Chapman revealed that there will likely be delays in posting the results from the state’s midterm election.Chapman detailed in a virtual news conference how the state would be handling vote counting in the upcoming election, and said that it would likely take several days to count...

Left-wing media outlets attempt to downplay concerns over delayed election results and regularize incompetent election administration.Democrats throughout the political and corporate media spheres are attempting to normalize delayed election results in highly contested states ahead of Election Day, forecasting that final vote totals might not be fully known until well after Nov. 8.During a Zoom call with reporters last week, Pennsylvania’s acting secretary of state, Leigh Chapman, said that Americans should not be surprised if the state doesn’t have final election results on election night this November, with the Pennsylvania Democrat blaming any potential delays in vote tabulations on a...

Product tanker owners Ardmore, INSW, Scorpio see scramble for diesel supplies Retail gasoline prices in the U.S. are up 45% year on year. Diesel used by American truckers is up 75% and just hit an all-time high. But this is not just an American problem. Pain at the pump is global. And so-called product tankers — ships designed to transport cargoes such as diesel, gasoline and jet fuel — are in prime position to profit. Fuel flows globally to where it earns the highest return. Case in point: As U.S. diesel prices have skyrocketed, American exports of diesel have surged,...

Global supply chain problems look to set to worsen, a new report published on Tuesday said, as China’s COVID-19 lockdowns, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and other strains cause even longer delays at ports and drive up costs. The study by analysts at Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) found that one-fifth of the global container ship fleet was currently stuck in congestion at various major ports. In China, ships awaiting berth at the Port of Shanghai now tally 344, a 34% increase over the past month, while shipping something from a warehouse in China to one in the United States currently...

A fertilizer supply shock is imminent for US farmers as CF Industries Holdings, Inc. warned Thursday that rail shipments of crop nutrients would be reduced to top agricultural states, which couldn’t come at the worst time as the Northern Hemisphere spring planting season is underway. The world’s largest fertilizer company said Union Pacific had hit it with railroad-mandated shipping reductions that would impact nitrogen fertilizers such as urea and urea ammonium nitrate shipments to Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska, Texas, and California. Union Pacific told CF Industries without advance notice to reduce the volume of private cars on its railroad immediately....

The third attempt at a final prelaunch test for NASA's Artemis I mega moon rocket began Thursday morning, but the trial hit some snags and ended prematurely at 5:10 p.m. ET. The agency will host a news conference on Friday to share updates and next steps for the test. The mission team had been attempting to fuel the 322-foot-tall (98-meter-tall) Artemis I rocket stack, including NASA's Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft, at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, but encountered a number of delays.

A measure of U.S. supply-chain pressures rose to a record, adding to already stiff inflationary headwinds from logistics amid dwindling warehouse space and unprecedented inventory costs. The Logistics Managers’ Index, released Tuesday, advanced for a third straight month in March, reaching 76.2 from 75.2 in February. The monthly survey, released by Colorado State University and affiliated with four other American universities, asks logistics managers about inventories, warehousing and transportation. “Continued inventory congestion has driven inventory costs, warehousing prices, and overall aggregate logistics costs to all-time high levels,” the report stated. “This is putting even more pressure on already-constrained capacity.” Inventory...

Global supply chain pressures eased in February as backlogs and delivery times improved in several key markets and a measure of ocean shipping costs declined, according to new data from the New York Federal Reserve released on Thursday. The New York Fed’s supply chain pressure index, first published in January to measure the coronavirus pandemic’s impact on global production troubles and prices, remains at a historic high. But from a peak of 4.5 in December, it has fallen over consecutive months and hit 3.3 in February, with 0 representing the index’s long-term average. The index combines measures of shipping costs,...