Free Republic

In his second term, President Donald Trump certainly hasn’t been afraid to go bold — and now it could be the stock market’s turn. The slate of reforms under consideration could be the biggest positive development for our financial markets since the early days of the Reagan administration, if not since the creation of the federal securities laws themselves. It could also finally put the brakes on the rise of “woke capital.” For years, political activists have been using America’s biggest corporations as vehicles for their social agenda. They call it “ESG” — environmental, social and governance investing — but...

Jim Farley, the CEO of Ford, is claiming that he cannot fill 5,000 mechanic jobs – even though they pay $120,000 per year. This is a problem that TV personality Mike Rowe has been talking about for years. We don’t have enough young people in the country who are learning skills, such as working with tools, or how to do things like be an auto mechanic. Meanwhile, we have a surplus of people in college who are going into massive debt wasting their time on useless topics like gender studies, women’s studies, and various social justice topics. The New York...

TULSA, OKLA. (KTUL) — Oklahoma is experiencing rapid growth in the data center industry, with 36 facilities either planned, under construction, or already operational. This expansion has prompted concerns over the massive consumption of electricity and water by these centers, leading one Oklahoma lawmaker to spearhead an interim study examining their potential impacts on the state's resources. State Rep. Amanda Clinton's (D-District 71) study highlights that decisions regarding the location of these facilities are primarily made at the local level, with minimal state oversight. The study demonstrated that data centers consume significant amounts of water and electricity, potentially straining local...

"There is a lot of chatter these days about holding those evil companies that hire illegals to some type of legal retribution. Let me explain why this is the willful failure of government, not the actions of some greaseball company owners." ... "When the first unscrupulous contractors started working with illegal aliens, they generally paid cash under the table. No payroll taxes or anything like that were paid. When this percolated up to the powers that be, there was an outcry. About hiring illegal aliens and putting hard working American citizens out of work? Not a chance. They came down...

November morning in New Hampshire. Pat Buchanan is standing among the men and women of a footwear factory, listening to the assembly-line cobblers about the threats posed by cheap imported shoes to not only their jobs but their communities and their country. It’s an early winter evening in Wheeling. The guys at the pub [wonder] what they will do when the smelter shuts down, never to be re-opened. How could we lose? Surely America will see what’s coming? Surely conservatives and the Republican Party will embrace the cause of these Americans whose efforts defeated first fascism and then communism, only...

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang announced that the company will build seven supercomputers for the Department of Energy with up to 100,000 chips all made in America. Huang said, “The first thing that President Trump asked me is, ‘bring manufacturing back.'” The New York Post reports that Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang made several significant announcements during the keynote address at the company’s GTC event in Washington, DC, highlighting the company’s ongoing success and its commitment to advancing e AI technology. The event, held for the first time in the US capital, signifies Nvidia’s pursuit of work with the government and contractors...

[H/T Keflavik76]𝙲𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚎𝚛𝚟𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚟𝚎 ᥫ᭡ 𝙳𝚒𝚟𝚊™@1776Diva❌𝐖𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐝𝐠𝐞 𝐚 𝐛𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝟏𝟏/𝟓/𝟐𝟒, 𝐰𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐝𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥- 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐏𝐇𝐄 ‼️Listen as tech expert and billionaire Marc Andreesen talks to .@joerogan about the plans for totalitarian control that were being laid out for the @KamalaHarris administration. 😳October 7, 2025

Some leftists are now claiming that conservatives are foolish to expect President Trump, who once went bankrupt, to turn the economy around. As leftist claims frequently do, it shines a spotlight on their willful ignorance of history. Our society glorifies overnight successes and flawless trajectories. But it's worth refamiliarizing ourselves with the stories of individuals who have plummeted to financial ruin only to rebuild their careers and create successful businesses. These serve as powerful reminders of human resilience. Bankruptcy, a word synonymous with defeat, has marked the journeys of countless individuals who have refused to let it define them. Instead...

Conservatives are up in arms about Trump's decision to have the government buy a stake in Intel. Classic, textbook socialism. Trump sees the Intel deal as a first step toward creating an American "sovereign wealth fund," with many more investments to follow. This is about keeping America competitive with Communist China, which controls the world's second and third largest sovereign wealth funds. Traditionally, countries rich in national resources, particularly oil, have used sovereign wealth funds to diversify and grow their economies.

Texas Instruments is building a $60 billion U.S. manufacturing megaproject where Apple vows to make "critical foundation semiconductors" for iPhones and other devices. CNBC went to Sherman, Texas, for an exclusive first look inside the newest fab of seven TI's building in Utah and Texas to provide U.S.-made chips to customers like Nvidia and Ford. TI shares have suffered amid tariff concerns, and it's lost analog market share for several years, but top leaders are confident about the huge spend. Why Texas Instruments Is Betting $60 Billion On Making Cheap Chips In The U.S. | 15:41 CNBC | 4.01M subscribers...

The last sugar beet factory in California is closing after almost 80 years in business. The Spreckels Sugar Company factory in Brawley in the Imperial Valley has already begun the closure process that will soon lead to the loss of 700 local jobs. The Southern Minnesota Beet Sugar Cooperative, which owns and runs the factory, said it could no longer keep up with declining sugar prices as well as post-pandemic inflationary pressures. The factory was the last of its kind in the state that turned the root sugar beet into sugar, and marks the latest of a series of companies...

President Trump has proven once again why he’s the most effective advocate for American workers in modern American politics. He fully understands the threat China poses, and his administration is doing exactly what needs to be done to ensure American competitiveness.While strengthening our manufacturing, he’s also tackling trade diplomacy with China. Because President Trump knows we need both: to grow our ability to compete with China by manufacturing right here in the U.S. and also to pursue trade diplomacy that actually helps American businesses and consumers.The early signals of this effort are positive.For example, Ford’s $5-billion investment in car manufacturing,...

Rescue crews raced to save multiple people trapped beneath the rubble after an explosion at a U.S. Steel plant near Pittsburgh on Monday, an official said. The blast happened just before 11 a.m. at the Clairton Coke Works. Abigail Gardner, director of communications for Allegheny County, told The Associated Press there are no confirmed fatalities yet.

Ever wondered what fuels each state’s economy? In most cases, the biggest industry is either real estate or manufacturing.This Markets in a Minute graphic, via Visual Capitalist's Jenna Ross, in partnership with Terzo, highlights the industry contributing the most to GDP in every state.The Biggest Industry RankingReal estate powers the economy in over half of states. This is largely because the Bureau of Economic Analysis treats homeowners as landlords renting to themselves, and includes the rental value in GDP. If economists did not include this value, a jump in the homeownership rate would cause GDP to drop. On top of...

Here’s a story you won’t see the mainstream media cover, ever: the white African farmers once demonized and stripped of their land and livelihoods under Robert Mugabe’s Marxist dictatorship in Zimbabwe didn’t just vanish into thin air. These fighters packed up, crossed the border, and rebuilt. And guess what? They’re doing amazing. If you don’t recall, back in the early 2000s, Zimbabwe’s government kicked off a so-called “land reform” plan that drove white farmers off their land, often violently, and handed them over to Black Zimbabweans. Roughly, about four thousand white farmers were forced out, and many were attacked or...

The chemical spill released 3,000 gallons of nitric acid from a tank at the Austin Powder Red Diamond Plant in McArthur– which manufactures explosives used for mining and construction – around 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, a Vinton County spokesperson told WLWT. Spillage from the 5,000-gallon tank caused nearby roads to shutter and the Federal Administration Authority to enforce a temporary flight restriction.

Official White House photos by Emily HigginsWEST MIFFLIN, Pennsylvania -- Flanked by a sea of steelworkers dressed in their orange safety jackets and hard hats, President Donald Trump was given a hero's welcome at the Mon Valley Irvin Works to mark the signing of the U.S. Steel-Nippon Steel deal, the largest investment in state history. "With the help from patriots like you, we are going to produce our own metal, make our own energy, secure our own future, build our country, control our own destiny, and we are once again going to put Pennsylvania steel into the backbone of America,"...

The U.S. is one of the highest-paying countries globally, but the average earnings differ significantly between industries.This infographic, via Visual Capitalist's Niccolo Conte, ranks average annual salaries across major U.S. industries using data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics as of March 2025. The data covers private industries, and annual salary figures are estimated by multiplying average weekly earnings by 52.Which Industries Pay the Most?The average annual salary across all U.S. industries (ex. government employees) is around $64,000. In the utilities sector, the highest-paying industry, the average employee makes nearly $114,000 annually.Here’s a look at the highest and lowest-paying...

The left-wing cofounder of a group that received gushing coverage for its efforts to “defund” conservative media will step away from the advocacy organization at the end of next month, The Post can reveal, following a legal challenge and attempts to rebrand in the wake of President Trump’s return to the White House. Nandini Jammi — whose Check My Ads Institute seeks to yank advertiser funding from right-wing figures and outlets purportedly spreading “disinformation” — announced on her LinkedIn “with enormous pride” that she was “stepping down.” The move comes on the heels of a funding shortfall amid impending legal...

California has been losing population for the last two years due to high taxes and regulations. Up until now, most of the people leaving the state are just average people seeking greener pastures.Now the entertainment industry is starting to flee the state for many of the same reasons. What happens to Los Angeles when there is no more Hollywood? It’s a huge part of the city’s identity. (snip) None of this is going to change if they keep electing the same kind of leaders. Why do none of them understand this?