Free Republic

President Donald Trump on Wednesday boasted the U.S. has “total control” of the Strait of Hormuz, despite what the “FAKE NEWS” may report to the contrary, before praising Allah for the nation’s stranglehold on the critical shipping passage. “I THINK WE WILL KEEP IT!” Trump posted on Truth Social. “Our Naval Blockade is being called, by everyone, ‘A WALL OF STEEL,’ and there is nothing Iran can do about it.” The president repeated claims that Iran’s military had been decimated: "They have no Navy, they have no Air Force, their remaining soldiers are unpaid, the IRGC is decimated and fleeing,...

The Trump administration’s plan to override a late Biden-era waiver approving California’s 2035 ban on gas-powered cars — embraced by 12 states and Washington, D.C. — hit a major roadblock as the Senate’s parliamentarian ruled the act is not subject to standard congressional review. ... the EPA, which falls under the president’s authority, must approve waivers for each new California policy. That’s why California Gov. Gavin Newsom visited the capital in the waning days of the Biden administration to secure approval of several waivers — including its ban on emissions-producing cars in 2035 — before the Trump administration took power....

The Biden administration moved on Thanksgiving eve to bar future coal leasing in the Powder River Basin, one of America’s most coal-rich regions, according to multiple reports. The Powder River Basin, a region that spans parts of Montana and Wyoming, accounted for about 43% of U.S. coal in 2019, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The administration made its move to formally end coal leasing in the area and roll back previous approvals for development plans on Wednesday as Americans prepared to enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday, according to E&E News. “The decision is to make no federal coal available...

A coalition of 24 states, led by Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers, have signed a brief against a federal electric truck mandate. On March 29, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rolled out a new electric truck mandate to increase sales of electric semitrucks from 2027 through 2032. EPA will require electric models to account for 60% of new urban delivery trucks and 25% of long-haul tractor sales by 2032. The cost of electric trucks are typically two to three times more expensive than diesel trucks, according to the Institute for Energy Research. Truckers will also have to invest $620 billion...

Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said Tuesday on Fox News Channel’s “America Reports” that people who do not want electric cars were like those who wanted “landline phones forever.” Buttigieg said, “Let’s be clear consumers have wanted and purchased more EVs every single year than the year before. Tesla is facing more competition as GM and Ford and Stellantis and other competitive players make sure they get a piece of the EV market. Let’s be clear, the automotive sector is moving toward EVs and we can’t pretend otherwise. Sometimes, when these debates happen, I feel like it’s the early 2000s...

The Biden Regime canceled its plan to refill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve because oil is “way too expensive.” Biden drained the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve to its lowest level in 40 years. Now, the Biden administration is CANCELLING their plans to refill it because oil is "way too expensive." pic.twitter.com/NYqEZ2Aosa — RNC Research (@RNCResearch) April 3, 2024 This comes as gas prices are once again skyrocketing. Recall that Biden drained the SPR to its lowest level in 40 years. Biden sold the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPR) to Europe, India and China. Joe Biden depleted the SPR to help China....

Last Friday the Biden administration raised the mandatory amount of biofuel, specifically ethanol, that must be blended within the U.S. gasoline supply. The previous amount of 10% (summer blend) was raised to a year-round 15% (waiver) by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This is likely to lead to two sets of bigger issues, less food and higher gas prices. ♦ First issue. – The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) is a government mandate, passed in 2005 and expanded in 2007, that requires growing volumes of biofuels to be blended into U.S. transportation fuels like gasoline and diesel every year. Approximately 40...

With deteriorating economic conditions putting a damper on his poll numbers and jeopardizing his 2012 re-election prospects, Barack Obama now portrays himself as a free-market leader for a change. Yet while he poses for pictures with CEOs and unveils a private-sector "jobs plan," his administration remains fundamentally committed to sabotaging the American marketplace at every turn. In North Carolina this week, Obama accepted the recommendations of his jobs council — corporate leaders who were asked to provide new economic ideas. What he got instead was a hodge-podge of recycled reforms — including an unspecified reduction in red tape, a pledge...

ANIMAL rights activists face trial on terrorism charges in America next month for their campaign against a British research centre. The seven members of Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (Shac) are all from America, but at least one trained as an activist in Britain. They were arrested in FBI raids across four states over their alleged activities against Huntingdon Life Sciences. The company’s headquarters are in Cambridgeshire, but it has a laboratory in New Jersey. The seven, who face trial in New Jersey, are charged with conspiring to commit animal enterprise terrorism. If convicted they face heavy fines and up to...