Free Republic

During an appearance on FNC’s “Sunday Morning Futures,” White House senior economic counselor Peter Navarro explained the long-term implications for the Trump administration’s tariffs and how they will function to ensure fair trade for the United States. “Let’s not forget, every economic report that’s been coming out in the last month has been pushing us towards expansion and strength,” Navarro said. “And we just had a blowout jobs number on Friday, 228,000 jobs. That was 50 percent higher than was predicted. So, again, there’s cognitive dissonance between what the media is saying, wanted to push us into recession, and what’s...

Sibanye Stillwater, the South African company that operates the nation’s only major palladium mine in south-central Montana, said Thursday that it plans to lay off about 40% of its Montana workforce as it scales back its operation in an effort to offset losses caused by low metal prices. In a letter to workers, U.S. Executive Vice President Kevin Robertson said the company will halt mining at the west section of its Stillwater mine southwest of Columbus until prices rise. It also plans to restructure operations at its East Boulder mine south of Big Timber and its Columbus-area processing and recycling...

General Motors CEO Mary Barra said there are so many companies trying to sell EVs in China right now that it's driving a price war that isn't sustainable. Barra made the comments at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference in San Francisco on Tuesday, responding to a question about the explosion of EV sales in China. More than 120 brands sold EVs in China in 2023 compared to around 60 in the US — putting into perspective just how much competition there is for GM and other manufacturers. The EV market in the country is oversaturated, Barra said Tuesday, echoing comments she's...

CNN host Chris Wallace reminded viewers Wednesday that just “six months ago” Democrats were considering ways to remove Vice President Kamala Harris from President Joe Biden’s ticket. Before Harris became the Democratic nominee for the upcoming presidential election, approval ratings for the vice president had been dismal, falling as low as 36.3% in November 2023. Wallace noted that while the Democratic National Convention (DNC) was going “fine” as it entered its third night, some delegates and Democratic officials disapproved of Harris staying on the ticket with Biden initially when he was still in the race. “I‘ve been thinking about this...

Log onto Facebook. Before you know it, you’ll see ads from Temu or Wish, pitching cheap products. Or open your old email account, the one that you’ve had for years, so it gets the most spam. Every other message is an offer from some unknown store, selling the sort of thing in which a person like you just might be interested. Or log onto Amazon and look for something, anything at all. Twenty percent of the hits, maybe more, will be “sponsored” items, often from a brand you’ve never heard of. Of course, you can shut down the internet, close...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - This story began December 1 at 5 p.m. with a phone call to our newsroom from a horrified University Hospital employee. The employee claimed security had just wheeled an elderly woman all the way out to the corner of Hancock and Ali, just off hospital property, dumped the woman out of the wheelchair on the sidewalk and left. VIDEO ON LINK

As part of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service on Monday, I led a team of people in cleaning up a litter-strewn block of North Philadelphia. Over 100 of us spent two and a half hours picking up debris, eventually hauling away more than 10 tons of trash. Less than 48 hours later, someone illegally dumped a bunch of construction waste on that same block. To say I didn’t expect that may be a little naive, but it brings up some larger questions: What do we have to do to stop illegal dumping in Philadelphia? What can Philadelphians...

NEWARK, N.J. (NewsNation Now) — A U.S. Postal Service mail carrier in New Jersey has been charged by federal authorities for allegedly throwing away bundles of mail, including 99 general election ballots that were supposed to be delivered to West Orange residents, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office. Nicholas Beauchene, 26, of Kearny, New Jersey, was charged with one count of delay, secretion or detention of mail and one count of obstruction of mail. “Approximately 1,875 pieces of mail – including 627 pieces of first-class, 873 pieces of standard class, two pieces of certified mail, 99 general election ballots destined...

A Virginia sheriff has apologized to a black pastor who was arrested for pulling a gun on a group of white neighbors as they allegedly assaulted and threatened to kill him.

The United States is not doing enough to promote free trade and the elimination of trade barriers around the world. In fact, it’s doing just the opposite and imposing barriers on billions of dollars’ worth of imports. As a result, new trade restrictions implemented by World Trade Organization member countries have reached historic highs. Over the last two review periods, new trade restrictions totaled $588.3 billion and $339.5 billion, respectively. For the previous two periods, new trade restrictions totaled roughly $100 billion or less. The latest figures present a worrisome and unpredictable climate that is harming the overall health of...

The industry body UK Steel said that, with exports to America worth half a billion dollars a year, producers in Britain would be “hit hard”. Employees at the giant Port Talbot steelworks in Wales have described the move as “another body blow.” Mark Turner, who works at Tata, the company that owns the Welsh steelworks, said there is a major worry that the UK steel market will become saturated if other countries subject to the charges end up “dumping” their steel into Britain, pushing prices down. He added: “Our biggest concern is dumping. The American markets are going to be...

Tariffs are a wonderful idea, aren’t they? A tariff – technically, a tax on an imported good, usually as a percentage of the good's value – sounds almost too good to be true. A tariff raises money on imports, but encourages Americans to stop importing, and to buy local goods instead of foreign; it serves a foreign policy purpose by punishing our enemies, and it helps pay for seaports and border protection. Quite a multifaceted, targeted tool. It’s like one of those magical diet pills that helps you get thinner in the waist, broader in the shoulders and chest, make...

China has a message to President Donald Trump if he imposes heavy tariffs on steel and aluminum imports: The Asian nation will retaliate. On Friday, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross recommended that Trump impose trade measures against foreign suppliers of the metals because of national security. Trump plans to make a decision by April on the recommendation, which includes a 53 percent tariff on steel from 12 countries, including China....... "If the United States' final decision affects China's interests, we will take necessary measures to defend our rights," said Wang Hejun, a senior official at China's Commerce Ministry, according to a...

Commuters who take the Interstate 10 high-rise bridge over the Industrial Canal should be ready for continued delays, with two eastbound lanes shut down out of concern for the span's structural integrity, the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development said Friday. Following a large tire fire Wednesday under the bridge on the east side of the canal, crews have shut down two of the three eastbound lanes on the bridge, and the work could continue into early next week. The westbound lanes are open. An overhead traffic camera operated by WWL-TV on Friday showed heavy traffic on the eastbound approach...

Canada suggested on Thursday it could scrap plans to buy Boeing fighter jets if the United States backed Boeing’s claims that Canadian plane maker Bombardier dumped jetliners in the U.S. market. “Canada is reviewing current military procurement that relates to Boeing,” Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said in a statement released late on Thursday. Canada “strongly disagrees” with the U.S. Commerce Department decision to investigate Boeing’s claims that Bombardier sold planes below cost in the United States and benefited unfairly from Canadian government subsidies, the statement added. The remarks came after the U.S. Commerce Department launched an investigation into Boeing’s...

The Trump administration is taking retaliatory action against Canada over a trade dispute, moving to impose a 20% tariff on softwood lumber that is typically used to build single-family homes. In an interview Monday, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said the tariff will be applied retroactively and imposed on Canadian exports to the U.S. of about $5 billion a year. He said the dispute centers on Canadian provinces that have been allegedly allowing loggers to cut down trees at reduced rates and sell them at low prices. The determination that Canada improperly subsidizes its exports is preliminary, and the Commerce Department...

The European Commission has imposed anti-dumping duties on steel products from China to stop them flooding Europe’s struggling steel market. […] The Chinese exports will now be taxed with duties ranging from 18.1 percent to 35.9 percent. …

--SNIP-- Arlo Guthrie famously was arrested for littering in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, and ended up being rejected for the Vietnam War draft because of his conviction for that crime. The folk singer wove his experience into the satirical 18-minute (and 34 seconds) ballad in 1967 that radio stations around the country play every Thanksgiving. Pagliarini is one of a number of people who spoke about tuning in on the holiday. For some, the listening tradition goes back several generations

Central banks around the world are selling U.S. government bonds at the fastest pace on record, the most dramatic shift in the $12.8 trillion Treasury market since the financial crisis. Sales by China, Russia, Brazil and Taiwan are the latest sign of an emerging-markets slowdown that is threatening to spill over into the U.S. economy. Previously, all four were large purchasers of U.S. debt. Few analysts expect much higher yields in the Treasury market as a result. Foreign private purchases of U.S. debt have increased amid pessimism about the world economic outlook. U.S. firms and financial institutions continue to buy...

NEW YORK (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump stood firm Monday on his description of Mexican immigrants as criminals. The businessman, under fire from critics in and out of his party, issued a lengthy statement refusing to back off comments he made in the speech launching his presidential bid last month. In it, he called Mexican immigrant criminals and rapists, prompting several businesses, including NBC, Univision and Macy’s, to cut ties with Trump. In his new statement, Trump said “the Mexican government is forcing their most unwanted people into the United States” and claimed that in many cases, they...