Free Republic

Former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Robert Redfield said Wednesday he suspects the spreading Ebola outbreak in Africa will spread across three new countries and become a “very significant pandemic.” “I suspect this is going to become a very significant pandemic, probably going to leak into Tanzania, leak into southern Sudan, maybe leak into Rwanda,” Redfield said during an appearance on NewsNation’s “Elizabeth Vargas Reports.” “So, it’s going to be very disruptive,” he added. A majority of the Ebola cases are in Congo and Uganda. Local health officials in the two nations reported 536 suspected cases, 105...

There have been persistent rumors that industry insiders are bracing for a widespread shortage of motor oil. Are these rumors accurate? I decided that I was going to investigate this and discover the truth. Unfortunately, I have very bad news. Multiple sources within the industry are confirming that we are facing much higher prices and physical shortages of certain products if the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened soon.I realize that what I have just shared is not welcome news, but it isn't going to do any good to stick our heads in the sand.According to Axios, supply chains for...

PARIS, May 18 (Reuters) - Fatih Birol, head of the International Energy Agency, said on Monday ​that commercial oil inventories were depleting rapidly with only a few weeks worth ‌left due to the Iran war and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz to shipping. Birol, who is participating in the Group of Seven finance leaders meeting in Paris, told reporters that the release of strategic oil reserves ​had added 2.5 million barrels of oil per day to the market, but ​said these reserves "are not endless". The onset of the spring planting and summer ⁠travel seasons in the northern...

The US is heading toward a federal debt load that could reach 175% of gross domestic product over the next three decades unless Congress takes corrective action, according to a new special report from the Wells Fargo Investment Institute. But the firm's Global Fixed Income Strategy Team stopped well short of sounding an alarm for investors, arguing instead that the trajectory, while troubling, remains manageable. The report draws on Congressional Budget Office projections and Treasury Department data to paint a detailed picture of the country's fiscal position. The debt-to-GDP ratio is already expected to hit 101% in 2026, matching its...

U.S. gasoline inventories are on pace to drop to historical seasonal lows by late summer, further straining a tight fuel market upended by the war in Iran. Stockpiles are expected to fall below 200 million barrels by the end of August, Morgan Stanley analysts wrote in a May 4 note. The projections for record seasonal low fuel inventories are the latest indication that the global energy supply crunch appears set to continue for months to come. “The U.S. gasoline market is genuinely tight and tightening further into summer,” Morgan Stanley analyst Martijn Rats and strategists Charlotte Firkins and Amy Gower...

There’s been a change of mood across the country – and not one that is favorable to the GOP. Last November, the prediction markets gave Republicans a 70 percent chance of keeping control of the Senate. Now their odds have deteriorated. It looks likely that the Democrats will win both the chambers – so what’s happened? The latest polls all tell the same story. The economy is no longer Trump’s superpower. Of those polled by Fox News, three- quarters rate the economy negatively, with 70 percent feeling it’s getting worse. Voters now trust Democrats on the economy more than Republicans...

In A Nutshell * Marine heat waves in 2023 reached record-breaking intensity, duration, and global coverage, affecting 96% of the world’s oceans. * The North Atlantic experienced a 525-day heatwave with a 276-year return period, and similar long-lasting events occurred in the Southwest Pacific and Tropical Eastern Pacific. * Researchers linked these events to region-specific drivers such as reduced cloud cover, weakened wind systems, and El Niño conditions. * Scientists suggest these extremes may represent an early warning sign of a potential climate tipping point. ================================================================================= ZHEJIANG, China — The world’s oceans experienced their most extreme fever ever recorded in...

On Thursday, the Supreme Court greenlit South Carolina’s efforts to remove abortion providers, such as Planned Parenthood, from the state’s Medicaid reimbursement program. Naturally, MSNBC’s Ana Cabrera Reports freaked out over the decision, with Law Prof. Leah Litman warning the move could lead to a rise in cancer. Cabrera put the ball on the tee when she asked, “So, Leah, what do you see as the ramifications of this decision?” Litman began by painting a gloomy scene, “I think the practical implications of this decision are going to be momentous. I mean, Medicaid serves as an important, you know, source...