Free Republic

Walmart is lowering prices on thousands of products, including beef, Coca-Cola and laundry detergent, saying the cuts are aimed at reducing the costs of seasonal summer items. The largest U.S. retailer on Monday said the price cuts will be available in its stores and in Sam's Club locations, on Walmart.com, SamsClub.com, and through the Walmart and Sam's Club apps. The reductions apply to groceries and other household items, such as grills, sunscreen and lawn mowers. President Trump praised Walmart for the reductions and sought to claim credit for the decision. "I have just been informed that one of the biggest,...

Ninety-five per cent of Americans believe the US is suffering an affordability crisis, as many report trouble with the rising cost of groceries and gas, according to a survey, conducted by Harris Poll. Despite stable employment and record-high stock markets, more Americans believe the overall economy is getting worse (57%) than in February (46%), when the poll was last conducted and before the war in the Middle East sent gas prices soaring. Fewer people today also believe the economy is getting better (16%, compared with 28% in February) and more say their financial security has gotten worse. Even rural Americans,...

I have used USAA for my auto insurance for 11 years and have been reasonably satisfied with them.However this morning I got an email from them informing me my auto insurance rate is going up by 20%, TWENTY PERCENT!I have no traffic violations, speeding tickets or other violations and the only time I've used them was 9 years ago with a car tow.My credit score is 700+ BUT I am turning 75 years old this month and that has to be the reason for the huge rate increase.Although I've been loyal to USAA I'd like some other auto insurance companies...

The Federal Budget Deficits are large by historical standards. The deficit totals $1.9 trillion in fiscal year 2026 and grows to $3.1 trillion in 2036. Relative to the size of the economy, the deficit is 5.8 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2026 and increases to 6.7 percent in 2036. Deficits averaged 3.8 percent of GDP over the last 50 years (see Chapter 1). Debt held by the public rises from 101 percent of GDP in 2026 to 120 percent in 2036, well above the previous record of 106 percent just after World War II. Outlays are large by...

A new Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas working paper estimates the record surge in illegal immigration during the Biden administration boosted employment while driving up home prices by as much as 30% and rent by 20%. The paper combined immigration court records with government administrative data to create the first ever calculation of how a wave of 7 million illegal immigrants from 2021 through 2024 affected local labor and housing markets. "From early 2021 to early 2024, the U.S. experienced an unprecedented boom in unauthorized immigration, followed by a rapid slowdown beginning in mid-2024. We provide the first systematic empirical...

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was the Trump administration’s frontman for waging war on Iran during weeks of kinetic operations aimed at decimating its nuclear threat. Since President Trump signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Iran to end the war, without securing significant concessions on its missile or nuclear stockpiles, Hegseth has said little about the shift in strategy — as Vice President Vance takes the spotlight in defending the tenuous diplomacy. The public positioning of the top Trump advisers reflects reporting on their private counsel to the commander in chief, with Trump saying in March that Hegseth was “the...

The White House on Wednesday officially asked Congress for $87.6 billion in supplemental funding to pay for the Iran war, curtail the ongoing Ebola outbreak and provide aid to U.S. farmers, among other requests, according to a copy obtained by The Hill. In a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), White House Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought asked for $67 billion for the Defense Department, down from an expected $200 billion first floated by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in March. But even with a smaller price tag, the bill will need some support from Democrats to...

Trump said in the post on Wednesday: "The big Oil Companies are not dropping their price at the pump commensurate with the sharply lower prices they are paying for Oil. "Those prices are dropping like a rock! In other words, customers are being 'gouged.'" He added that he had ordered the Department of Justice (DOJ) to "immediately start looking into this".

The Trump administration on Wednesday sent Congress a long-awaited supplemental funding package to help cover the cost of the Iran war. The administration is asking for about $87.6 billion to address "urgent needs" related to the Iran war, as well as other funding to respond to the Ebola outbreak in Central Africa and provide support for American farmers. The request will face an uphill battle and puts vulnerable Republicans in a politically tricky position, since backing it could be seen as support for the unpopular war. It's all but certain to face stiff opposition from Democrats, putting its passage in...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon has told senators it needs roughly $80 billion, mostly to cover the cost of the U.S. war against Iran, adding to what is already a sizable military spending boost being sought by President Donald Trump. The White House Office of Management and Budget has yet to make a formal request to Congress. But Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has been making the rounds on Capitol Hill, including Monday evening. A top deputy defense secretary told senators about the Iran funding request last week, according to two people familiar with the situation but not authorized to discuss...

So, how are gas prices where you are?Two weeks ago in my part of S.E. Tennessee: $4.49 - $4.69/gal Today? I filled up at $3.29/gal as I'm going to my good friend Lazamataz's house in Georgia, and we're going to take in an Atlanta Braves v. San Francisco Giants game tomorrow in a Corporoate Suite.

Ever gotten so deep in credit card debt that you stopped opening the bills because it felt hopeless and looking at the numbers simply stressed you out? If not, I congratulate you on your thrift and prudence. But a lot of people have reached that point, as you will discover if you spend much time on personal finance forums. If you are someone who pays off your credit card every month, it can be hard to understand why anyone would just stop opening their bills. Sure, it is hard to contemplate your financial problems. But contemplation, however unpleasant, is not...

Records show the price tag for the White House ballroom is rising to $600 million, with half of the costs funded by taxpayer dollars, according to a new report from The Washington Post. The news comes months after President Trump said private donors would pay for the $400 million initiative to construct a new ballroom in place of the East Wing. At the end of March, Trump told reporters “We’re donating a building that’s approximately $400 million.”

Dear Senator Warren,When I watched your recent video on X about Elon Musk becoming the world’s first trillionaire, I found myself in the unusual position of agreeing with you—at least in part. That is not a sentence I write often.You see…you are correct that something has gone profoundly wrong in an economy that can produce a trillionaire. You are correct that the gap between the financial elite and ordinary Americans has become so vast that most people can barely comprehend it. And you are correct that millions of Americans increasingly feel as though the economy is rigged in favor of...

In a post back in January, commenting on the November 2025 off-year elections, I remarked that the buzz-word of the moment for the Democrats appeared to be “affordability.” Many credited that theme as being the winning issue that took the Virginia and New Jersey Democratic gubernatorial candidates (Abigail Spanberger and Mikie Sherrill) over the top. And yet the policies that Spanberger and Sherrill had advocated as the centerpieces of their “affordability” agendas were taken from the playbooks of California and New York, otherwise known as the leading states for intentionally driving up costs for their residents. Anybody could see that...

".......Lisandro Barazarte, a photographer with the local newspaper, Notitarde, caught images of several of the men shooting into the crowd while steadying their firearms on their palms. "They were practiced shooters," Barazarte said. "More were armed, but didn't fire." When it was over, two La Isabelica men were dead: a 22-year-old student, Jesus Enrique Acosta, and a little league baseball coach, Guillermo Sanchez. Witnesses told the AP the first was shot in the head, the second in the back. They said neither was at the barricades when he was killed.... ....."They put a pistol in my face and said they...

Republicans on Capitol Hill are seething that Donald Trump is not more focused on the economy as this year's midterm elections approach, warning it could obliterate the narrow GOP congressional majority. Polling indicates that voters are souring on Trump and his Republican allies in Congress ahead of his November's elections that will prove fateful for the President's agenda. In addition to the lack of attention to fixing the economy, senior aides also identified the nomination of Federal Housing Finance Director Bill Pulte, a close ally of the President, to lead the Office of the Director of National Intelligence as an...

The housing market was expected to rebound this year, but the Iran war has changed that trajectory... In early June, the average 30-year fixed-rate was 6.52%, according to Freddie Mac. Just before the war began, rates fell below 6% for the first time in years... The rate environment is typically driven by numerous economic and political events, but the war is driving the movement now, Joel Berner, senior economist at Realtor.com, said. “Over the last couple of months, the rate market has been held hostage by this conflict in Iran,” he said. “When it looks like a ceasefire is in...

U.S. equities gained on Thursday, boosted by a rebound in chip stocks after recent pressure, after President Donald Trump said that he has called off the strikes on Iran scheduled for this evening. The S&P 500 gained 1.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite added 1.5%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 712 points, or 1.5%. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were last trading around the flatline at roughly $90 a barrel. Oil prices had risen earlier in the day after President Donald Trump said in a post on Truth Social that the U.S. will be attacking Iran “VERY HARD TONIGHT.” He...

June 11 (Reuters) - Iran's top ​joint military ‌command announced the closure ​of ​the Strait of ⁠Hormuz ​on Thursday, ​including oil tankers and commercial ​ships, ​saying any vessel ‌that ⁠will attempt passage will ​be ​shot ⁠at.