Free Republic

I’ve covered Washington government for years. I understand rounding errors. I get that numbers shift, estimates change, projections don’t always pan out. That’s bureaucracy. That’s life. And then the Department of Commerce dropped a bombshell. Washington drivers are paying billions more at the pump. For what, exactly? The national average for gas is $2.82 a gallon. Idaho is $2.80. Oregon is $3.39. Washington? We’re at $3.82 statewide. In Seattle, it’s $4.12. We have the third-highest gas prices in the entire country. Washington families have paid billions more at the pump since the Climate Commitment Act (CCA) took effect. Before the...

The gas pump has emerged as a rare source of relief for Americans drowning in higher prices — and that positive trend is expected to continue in 2026, regardless of the uncertainty in Venezuela. Gas prices are projected to average just $2.97 a gallon nationally this year, according to forecasts from fuel savings platform GasBuddy. If that forecast, shared first with CNN, proves accurate, 2026 will be the fourth straight year of falling prices at the pump and the first with the annual average below $3 a gallon since 2020. It’s a far cry from 2022, when the gas pump...

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides, and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis made a joint statement this evening following a trilateral meeting in Jerusalem. Prime Minister Netanyahu began: "This is not our first meeting. It's our tenth meeting. But I said in our discussions that I think it's the most consequential. The last time the three of us met was a short time before the October 7th massacre, before terror once again reminded us that stability in this region is never guaranteed, and that strength, clarity and cooperation are not options. They are a must." "The Middle...

1) Republican push: cut/suspend fuel taxes and “hidden” regulatory costsState-level GOP bills: Republican legislators have repeatedly introduced measures to suspend or roll back fuel-tax increases or reduce regulatory cost add-ons, but these efforts have generally failed in Democrat-controlled committees/chambers. Federal pressure: Some California Republican members of Congress have urged the Governor to suspend scheduled state fuel tax increases and pause implementation of certain CARB policies they argue raise prices at the pump. 2) Democratic/administration posture: don’t cut fuel taxes; manage markets + pursue climate policyNo major move to reduce state fuel taxes: Democratic leadership and the Governor have not pursued...

NEW YORK — Exxon Mobil said Friday that it will wind down a drilling project in Russia in compliance with U.S. sanctions, but said it received a license to keep working beyond the sanctions' deadline in order to complete the work. U.S. sanctions against Russia over its involvement in the Ukraine require the removal of U.S. workers on projects in the Russian Arctic and other select locations by September 26.

Supply and demand. If there’s little supply and demand remains constant, things cost more. If there’s plenty of supply and demand remains constant or declines, they cost less. Unfortunately for Californians, the basic law of supply and demand doesn’t well fit with Democrat ideology. Democrats don’t bother to live in the real world. They create their own to conform to their self-imagined intellectual and moral superiority. Their imaginary utopia can’t compete with reality, which inevitably comes crashing down on their heads. In this case, reality is gas prices, which are credibly predicted to reach $10 a gallon while elsewhere in...

Lawmakers in California at both the state and federal levels are warning that refinery closures could push prices higher while leaving the state more dependent on foreign oil. At the center of the warning is the planned shutdown of two major refineries: Valero’s Benicia facility and Phillips 66’s Los Angeles plant. Together, the closures would eliminate nearly 20% of California’s in-state refining capacity, according to Reps. Vince Fong and Stan Ellis, both Republicans from Bakersfield. Valero, which has operated its 170,000-barrel-per-day Benicia refinery for roughly 25 years, announced it will close the site in 2026 because of high operating costs...

President Donald Trump on Friday celebrated his decision to permit U.S. automakers to manufacture so-called "tiny cars." "I have just approved TINY CARS to be built in America. Manufacturers have long wanted to do this, just like they are so successfully built in other countries," Trump posted on Truth Social. "They can be propelled by gasoline, electric, or hybrid. These cars of the very near future are inexpensive, safe, fuel efficient and, quite simply, AMAZING!!! START BUILDING THEM NOW! Thank you to the DOJ and the Departments of Transportation and Environment." So-called "tiny cars" are popular in Japan and other...

The last time gasoline was this cheap, 4% inflation seemed alarming, JD Vance was still a private citizen and the United States had only just begun its messy withdrawal from Afghanistan. Gas prices dropped below an average of $3 a gallon in the United States on Tuesday for the first time in four-and-a-half years, according to AAA. The milestone represents a rare feel-good story in a years-long affordability crisis marked by high prices for necessities. The national average for regular gas dipped to $2.998 a gallon, compared with $3.001 on Monday. Pump prices are down about six cents in just...

Gov. Newsom is single handedly sending California into energy poverty, rather than economic and energy prosperity Most California residents recognize that California’s highest-in-the-nation gas prices are self-inflected, as is the gasoline crisis in the state. This has subsequently increased dependency on foreign oil suppliers and shippers to supply fuels, and as we reported recently, this poses a direct threat to U.S. military force readiness on the West Coast. California today produces less than 23% of its own in-state petroleum needs and imports over 65% of its crude oil from foreign sources, yet the oil and gas industry in California account...

Gas prices have been falling since President Donald Trump took office and major cities like Denver are actually seeing prices dip well below $3 per gallon, right ahead of Thanksgiving. According to Gas Buddy, the average price for fuel per gallon in Colorado is $2.590, with figures showcasing the lowest average this year. For greater perspective, that is down 24 cents from last year’s average of $2.830. KDVR also reported that one gas station in the Denver region dipped below $2: Here’s where the cheapest gas prices were in Denver on Sunday and Monday: Shell, 7273 E. Evans Ave. –...

Last night, on October 19, a series of explosions occurred at the Novokuibyshev Oil Refinery in Russia’s Samara Region following a drone attack. Drones also struck a gas processing plant in the Russian city of Orenburg. According to eyewitnesses, black smoke rose above the Novokuibyshev refinery after the attack, and videos shared on social media show heavy smoke over the facility. Regional Governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev confirmed the UAV attack but did not disclose details regarding the damage. The Novokuibyshev refinery, owned by Rosneft, is one of the key enterprises in the Samara Region, with a capacity to process up to...

As of Tuesday, the average price of regular unleaded gas in Missouri was $2.72 per gallon. On Oct. 20, 2024, the price was $2.85 per gallon, and it was $3.25 per gallon in 2023, $3.44 per gallon in 2022 and $3.03 in 2021.

A little-known microbe in your gut produces methane and may help your body extract more calories from food, according to a study led by Arizona State University. Deep inside your gut lives a vast community of microbes, and among them is one unusual resident that produces methane. This lesser-known methane-producing microbe may influence how efficiently your body absorbs calories from food, according to new research from Arizona State University. This community of microbes is collectively known as the microbiome. In some people, the gut microbiome generates large amounts of methane, while in others it produces very little. Researchers discovered that...

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said he aims to end Iraq’s $4-billion dependence on Iranian gas by early 2028, outlining a plan to recover flared gas and attract foreign investment during an interview with CNBC published Tuesday."We developed a clear vision to address this structural imbalance that affects our ability to generate and produce electricity and provide it to citizens," Sudani told CNBC’s Dan Murphy in Baghdad.Via AFPHe said Iraq had signed investment deals with TotalEnergies, Chinese, and Emirati companies to capture and process gas currently burned off at oil sites. "For the first time in Iraq’s history, there...

Yesterday, a baffling video started making the rounds on social media showing Tennessee representative Tim Burchett casually claim that alien entities are here on Earth, and that they're rising out of the ocean. "What if, these are entities that are here on this earth, that have been on this earth for who knows how long, and we think they're coming from way out," he says while strolling along the streets of DC, the Capital rotunda glowing in the distance. "Maybe they did a millennia ago, but they're here, and they're in these deep water areas." Throughout the minute long cell...

Amid California’s worsening affordability crisis and warnings of a 75-percent price increase at the gas pump, state legislators over the weekend sent a package of bills aimed at tackling energy costs, fuel supply, and pollution to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk.Newsom announced the deal with state lawmakers last week, and the two chambers extended their session through Saturday to finalize last-minute negotiations before the Legislature adjourns until January.“After months of hard work with the Legislature, we have agreed to historic reforms that will save money on your electric bills, stabilize gas supply, and slash toxic air pollution—all while fast-tracking California’s transition...

It starts off looking harmless. You’ve pulled into a petrol station, you’re in a rush, maybe even heading off on holiday, and a stranger at the next pump leans over with a polite smile. ‘Could you put five euros on your card for me? I’ll give you the cash now.’ It sounds like nothing – a neighbourly gesture, a quick favour. But what many drivers in Spain don’t realise is that this “harmless” exchange is the basis of a clever new scam sweeping petrol stations across the country. And those five euros? They could end up draining your bank account...

Phillips 66 will begin shutting down its 139,000 bpd Los Angeles-area refinery as soon as next week , sources told Reuters, moving forward on a closure plan announced last year. Units at the plant will idle in phases through Q4 2025, with the facility permanently offline by year-end. The decision isn’t a surprise—Phillips 66 said in October it would exit the site, citing “market dynamics.” But it comes with fallout about 600 employees and 300 contractors will lose their jobs by December, with only a handful reassigned to the company’s marine terminal. The company insists it will support workers through...

A new law went into effect in Colorado earlier this month requiring health warning labels on gas stoves, similar to those placed on cigarette packages. It’s one example of multiple efforts, primarily in blue states, to stop consumers from using gas-powered appliances in their homes. After a Biden administration official in 2023 alluded to the possibility of a ban on gas stoves in the name of public health, legacy media outlets produced a number of “fact checks” insisting the Biden administration wasn’t going to ban gas stoves. They claimed the whole idea was just a "right-wing conspiracy." Conveniently, most of...