Free Republic

The balseros, or “rafters,” as Cubans refer to them, are part of a growing exodus of Cubans feeling communism and its inevitable results: mass food shortages, a growing electricity crisis, uncontrolled spread of disease, violent government repression, and a total lack of self-determination.

An untold number of cars have been destroyed by Hurricane Ian in Florida, but the storm has also impacted electric vehicles in a way that’s proving difficult for rescue workers in the state to manage. EV batteries, corroding from water damage, are now catching on fire, Florida’s Chief Financial Officer and State Fire Marshal Jimmy Patronis said on Twitter. “There’s a ton of EVs disabled from Ian. As those batteries corrode, fires start. That’s a new challenge that our firefighters haven’t faced before. At least on this kind of scale,” he said, sharing video of firefighters in Naples surrounding a...

(I'm just the poster, not the tester) A YouTuber with 1.4 million followers attempted to tow a 1930 Ford Model A truck with his brand new 2023 Ford F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck, but it ended in “a complete and total disaster.” “If a truck towing 3,500 pounds can’t even go 100 miles — that is ridiculously stupid,” Tyler “Hoovie” Hoover says in his video. “This truck can’t do normal truck things. You would be stopping every hour to recharge, which would take about 45 minutes a pop, and that is absolutely not practical.” “This is my new 2023 Ford...

The Senate on Wednesday ratified an international treaty that mandates nations to phase out hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) to protect the earth’s ozone layer, which will impose new standards that will raise the costs of air conditioning and refrigeration. A group of 50 Senate Democrats and 19 Republicans voted to pass the Kigali Amendment to the 1987 United Nations (UN) Montreal Protocol. The amendment, which 27 Republicans voted to oppose, will limit the production and use of HFCs, man-made chemicals that are primarily used for cooling and refrigeration, by 85% over 15 years, which could substantially increase consumer and business costs in...

The head of mobility services for German electronics giant Robert Bosch GmbH has warned the electric vehicle industry of the reliance on battery cells and possible shortages in the future. Bloomberg reports that Markus Heyn, the head of mobility services for Bosch, has warned the electric vehicle industry over its overreliance on a single fuel source — battery cells — as Europe’s energy crisis worsens. Heyn, who’s also a board member of the auto parts giant, told the Monday edition of the Stuttgarter Zeitung: “We’re currently seeing the consequences of the gas shortage for Germany and Europe because we prepared...

Democratic Florida gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist lashed out Wednesday at supporters of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, saying they have “hate” in their hearts. Crist, who currently represents the state’s 13th Congressional District, defeated Democratic challenger Nikki Fried in the state’s primary race Tuesday, and will face DeSantis in November. Crist previously served as the Republican governor of Florida between 2007-2011 before switching to an Independent and later a Democrat. Crist said Wednesday he wanted the votes of “good Republicans” rather than those that support the incumbent. “Those who support [DeSantis] should stay with him and vote for him and I...

They say conservatives are jumping at bogeymen. They act like there is absolutely no effort to influence your children, especially behind your back. But sometimes they make it so obvious one wonders why they even bother denying it.The much-celebrated Assistant Secretary for Health Rachel Levine, a transgender woman, said young people must be empowered to receive “gender affirmation treatment.” During an appearance on MSNBC, Levine said youths dealing with gender dysphoria experience mental health issues, bullying, and political attacks and that we should focus on giving them gender-affirming care. This is a fancy way of saying these children should be...

Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei has not spoken to U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris since January and says “greater communication” is needed between Guatemala and the United States to address the countries’ ongoing migration crisis. Giammattei told Breitbart News during a wide-ranging interview in Washington, DC, on Tuesday that the last communication he had with Harris — a phone call in January — was not focused on migration. “She told me she didn’t want me to appoint my attorney general. We didn’t talk about human trafficking. That was the only time that I spoke to her since she went to Guatemala,...

Leading Biden officials outlined their methods to keep pushing the administration’s climate agenda if the Supreme Court limits the powers of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Wednesday. The Supreme Court is likely to weaken the Biden administration’s efforts to limit carbon dioxide emissions in West Virginia v. EPA, with several of the justices having probed the extent of EPA’s authority in oral arguments. President Joe Biden’s senior officials remain confident in their ability to advance the administration’s aggressive environmental agenda by using the Clean Air Act and other government powers. During a panel at the Aspen Ideas Festival, EPA...

President Joe Biden demanded Wednesday that gas stations start lowering their prices, in his latest attempt to address record-high prices this summer. “To the companies running gas stations and setting those prices at the pump, this is a time of war, global peril, Ukraine,” he said. The president spoke about the record high gas prices occurring during his administration during a speech on his imitation White House set across the street. “These are not normal times. Bring down the price you are charging at the pump to reflect the cost you are paying for the product,” Biden said. “Do it...

Joe Biden fell off a bike while cycling in Delaware. Reportedly unharmed. Video

Two men entered a residence in Carbon Hill, Alabama, on Thursday morning and shot and injured the homeowner. But the homeowner was also armed and fatally shot both suspects. “When I arrived on scene I noticed there were two subjects dead inside the home,” Police Chief Antoine Cobb told WIAT-TV. “They had ski masks on."The deceased suspects were identified as Clifton Embry and Dewayne Turner Jr., both 47 and both from Talladega County, AL.com reported.The 27-year-old owner of the home near Fourth Avenue Northeast and Marlin Jordan Road was shot multiple times and remained Friday at UAB Hospital in Birmingham,...

Following a report detailing the death-rattle of the Biden administration's Disinformation Governance Board, Executive Director Nina Jankowicz has officially resigned her post with the disinfo board and Department of Homeland Security. UPDATE:Following a report detailing the death-rattle of the Biden administration's Disinformation Governance Board, Executive Director Nina Jankowicz has officially resigned her post with the disinfo board and Department of Homeland Security.UPDATE: Nina Jankowicz has officially resigned from Disinformation Governance Board and the DHS. https://t.co/rLi3FvUNMw https://t.co/z4hdwTBFIB— Taylor Lorenz (@TaylorLorenz) May 18, 2022ORIGINAL POST:After a rough three weeks in which conservatives landed significant hits on and exposed major flaws with the...

Parent: ‘Re-creates conditions that evoke so many deeply hurtful things about this country’ A San Francisco history teacher allegedly was suspended and then forced to apologize for bringing in cotton plants for a lesson on slavery and the cotton gin. Last month, the Creative Arts Charter School teacher had brought in the plants, called “bolls,” to show “the sharp edges that had pierced hands while picking cotton and pulling out the seeds,” the San Francisco Chronicle reports. It took less than a day for the school to begin an investigation into the teacher and the lesson. Although school officials “declined...

Taliban Threaten Pakistan With War, Pakistan Bombs Afghanistan It’s sad when friends fight. Also entirely deserved. Pakistan’s intel people and regime are the major backers of the Taliban. They also helped shield Al Qaeda and other Taliban allies. But there are the “good Taliban” in Afghanistan and the “bad Taliban” in Afghanistan.Like most Islamist regimes, the Pakis are enthusiastic about Jihad… somewhere else. But they’re vehemently opposed to it in their own territory. The Afghan Taliban are supposed to keep the Pakistani Taliban out as a basic condition of their support by Pakistan. But cutting deals with terrorists never works...

ROME — Pope Francis renewed his appeal for an end to war Sunday, condemning the “bestiality” of the Russian war on Ukraine. “More than a month has passed since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine, since the beginning of this cruel and senseless war which, like any war, represents a defeat for all, for all of us,” the pontiff told the 30,000 pilgrims gathered in the Vatican for his weekly Angelus address. “There is a need to repudiate war, a place of death where fathers and mothers bury their children, where men kill their brothers without even having seen...

New England's most prominent exponent of the Black Lives Matter movement is facing charges of bilking donors and using charity funds for personal gain. The highest-profile race activist in Boston, Monica Cannon-Grant, has been indicted by the U.S. attorney in Boston on 18 counts: [W]ith two counts of wire fraud conspiracy; one count of conspiracy; 13 counts of wire fraud; and one count of making false statements to a mortgage lending business. The indictment also charges Cannon-Grant with one count of mail fraud. Cannon-Grant founded a group called Violence in Boston (VIB) before the George Floyd death in police custody....

Serbia revoked Rio Tinto's (RIO.L) lithium exploration licences on Thursday, bowing to protesters who opposed the development of the project by the Anglo-Australian mining giant on environmental grounds.Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said the government's decision came after requests by various green groups to halt the$2.4 billion Jadar lithium project which, if completed, would help make Rio a top 10 lithium producer."All decisions (linked to the lithium project) and all licences have been annulled," Brnabic told reporters after a government session. "As far as project Jadar is concerned, this is an end." Earlier this week, Rio had pushed back the...

A Chicago city employee went to cash her paycheck at the bank last week but it wouldn’t clear. She tried to deposit it the day after it was issued but it bounced.Lori Lightfoot is too busy pushing vaccine mandates on Chicagoans than facing the surging crime rate or paying her employees.

So much talk about omicron; so much fear mongering; so much talk about science. Most is nonsense. The best research has received little attention. It comes from esteemed senior French scientist Dr. Jacques Fantini, professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Aix-Marseille. You are about to learn what senior people in the public health establishment need to use, especially Anthony Fauci, who claims he speaks for and represents "science." If he knows the French research, he is not sharing it with the public, nor are the mainstream media. The key scientific achievement by Fantini is the calculation...