Free Republic

The United States is finalizing plans to send the Patriot missile defense system to Ukraine, a decision that could be announced as soon as this week, three U.S. officials told Reuters on Tuesday...Two of the officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the announcement could come as early as Thursday but was awaiting formal approval from U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and President Joe Biden.

The Biden administration announced Wednesday a $135 million commitment to helping to relocate Native American tribes whose homes are threatened by the effects of climate change. Using money from the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law, the voluntary community-driven relocation program, led by the Department of the Interior, will assist 11 tribes with adapting to climate change — or, when necessary, moving their communities altogether. “As all of you know, there are tribal communities that are at risk of being washed away, washed away by superstorms, rising sea levels and wildfires raging,” President Biden said at the White House on Wednesday, speaking...

Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump · 4h It’s Mitch McConnell’s fault. Spending money to defeat great Republican candidates instead of backing Blake Masters and others was a big mistake. Giving 4 Trillion Dollars to the Radical Left for the Green New Deal, not Infrastructure, was an even bigger mistake. He blew the Midterms, and everyone despises him and his otherwise lovely wife, Coco Chow!

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday said he experts Russia to continue hammering Ukraine’s infrastructure with missile strikes, vowing to mount a response to the attacks. “We also understand that the terrorist state is concentrating forces and means for a possible repetition of mass attacks on our infrastructure,” Zelensky said in his nightly address. “First of all, energy. In particular, for this, Russia needs Iranian missiles. We are preparing to respond.

Bright orange scooters now share — and sometimes command — Pittsburgh’s sidewalks. They’re an integral part of the Move PGH pilot project, the city’s plan to bundle transit options to help residents get around without owning a car, whether by bus, bike, scooter, zip car or more. Statistics reported by Move PGH, a year into its two-year pilot, are encouraging: People have taken more than 576,000 scooter trips for a total of hundreds of thousands of miles. They have biked tens of thousands of miles, and ridden Scoobi mopeds for more than 14,000 miles. Experience has dispelled Initial fears about...

Germany fears an increase in attacks on infrastructure and possible sabotage. General Carsten Breyer, the commander of the territorial command of the Bundeswehr, warned about such risks for the country in an interview with Bild am Sonntag. “We are in command, first of all, we are ready for hybrid threats. This is a state between not quite peace, but not war either,” he said. The general noted that after the cases of drone flights over barracks and military facilities, as well as explosions on the Nord Stream gas pipelines, Germany’s defense forces have increased their readiness for possible new attacks....

Electronic Vehicles are being pushed on the public before the technology is ready. This article by Andrew Thomas addresses the folly of this approach.These are excerpts from this excellent piece: "...You cannot tell progressive politicians that the technology for EV’s is still in its infancy. You cannot convince them that the current state of technology makes them completely impractical and unworkable on a national scale. We are at the same point in technological history as we were in 1896, when we transitioned from “horseless carriages” powered by steam and electric motors to gasoline engines. What we see on the EV...

Some drivers may be confused or intimidated by roundabouts, those circular intersections where all traffic circles to the left until motorists find their exit to the right. But drivers better get used to them — the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation is sold on the improved safety and traffic flow roundabouts provide and expects to install more of them to replace traditional intersections that use traffic signals or stop signs. The department last week released a study that reviewed 36 roundabouts that had replaced traditional intersections for at least three years. It found that deaths at those locations dropped to just...

A new proposal passed by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) cements the state as the first to ban natural gas heaters and furnaces. The decision, which was passed unanimously, aims to phase out sales of the space heater and water heater appliances by 2030. The commitment is part of a broader range of environmental efforts passed by the board this week to meet the federal 70 parts per billion, 8-hour ozone standard over the next 15 years. “While this strategy will clean the air for all Californians, it will also lead to reduced emissions in the many low-income and...

A Texas law blocking construction of a Chinese-owned wind farm close to an Air Force base could ripple across state lines to inspire new laws deterring China from burrowing into American infrastructure. The Lone Star Infrastructure Protection Act—which became law in June 2021—prohibits companies and other entities from entering into agreements in Texas involving critical infrastructure if they are “owned or controlled” by governments or citizens of China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran. “These nations must be banned from connecting into our critical infrastructure due to their rampant human rights abuses, illegal intelligence gathering, intellectual property theft, critical infrastructure attacks,...

For months, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has been saying that $5.6 billion in additional federal funds through the Biden administration’s stimulus program won’t come close to addressing all of the state’s road and bridge needs. Now, a national online research organization agrees, at least on money for needed bridge work. InMyArea Research released a report last week that claims the $26.2 billion in stimulus funds for bridges nationwide over the next five years falls an estimated $7.3 billion short of the amount needed just to upgrade bridges rated in poor condition. Pennsylvania’s allocation of $1.63 billion for bridges is...

Seventeen states with vehicle emission standards tied to rules established in California face weighty decisions on whether to follow that state's strictest-in-the nation new rules that require all new cars, pickups and SUVs to be electric or hydrogen powered by 2035. Under the Clean Air Act, states must abide by the federal government's standard vehicle emissions standards unless they at least partially opt to follow California's stricter requirements. States including Washington, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon and Vermont are expected to adopt California´s ban on new gasoline-fueled vehicles.

Former President Trump laid into Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Sunday after Senate Democrats passed their long-awaited health care, tax and climate package. “Mitch McConnell got played like a fiddle with the vote today by the Senate Democrats,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “First he gave them the fake Infrastructure Bill, then Guns, never used the Debt Ceiling for negotiating purposes (gave it away for NOTHING!), and now this,” Trump said. “Mitch doesn’t have a clue – he is sooo bad for the Republican Party!”

Six months ago, state officials couldn’t have been happier as the U.S. Department of Transportation regularly announced billions of additional dollars that would be available for road and bridge projects. Now, with rampant inflation and problems getting basic materials like concrete and asphalt, especially for overnight work, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation officials say they are concerned that the federal windfall may not have nearly the benefit they expected. Cheryl Moon-Sirianni, PennDOT’s district executive for Allegheny, Beaver and Lawrence counties, said last week that low bids for contracts have been coming in 10% to 20% higher than the department anticipated. Among...

More than 230 consumer, environmental and public interest groups urged the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the electric utility industry for widespread abuses. These include bribery, fake dark-money campaigns and denying customers access to renewable energy.…

WASHINGTON — As President Joe Biden ramps up his efforts to help Democrats in the midterm elections, he’s focused on a selling point that, so far, voters aren’t: his plan to rebuild the country’s infrastructure. Standing in an industrial building near the Port of New Hampshire last month, flanked by construction and boating equipment, Biden talked dredging, bridges and lead pipes.

Following a slowly growing national movement, Pennsylvania may be ready to try the idea of charging drivers a mileage-based fee to make up millions in transportation revenue lost to more fuel-efficient hybrid and electric cars. Melissa J. Batula, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s acting executive deputy secretary, said the department is working with the General Assembly to draft legislation establishing fees for those who pay little or nothing toward road maintenance. That’s because the state gets about 75% of its road money from the gasoline tax. A commission appointed last year by Gov. Tom Wolf recommended a series of steps...

PennDOT scrubbed bridge inspectors’ notes from its website, reducing the ability of residents to access safety data of bridges they regularly use, according to a recent report by the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. The revelation by the Post Gazette comes after the Fern Hollow Creek bridge in Pittsburgh collapsed in January injuring 10 people. PennLive reported at the time that Pennsylvania has the second-highest number of bridges in the nation that fall within the “poor” condition category as defined by federal standards. According to the Post Gazette, PennDOT’s public online map of bridge reports contained, up until this past February, direct...

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation will negotiate with a nine-member group of contractors headed by an Australian firm to replace nine bridges proposed for tolling at an estimated cost of $2.5 billion. The group — which calls itself Bridging Pennsylvania Partners — lists Macquarie Infrastructure Developments LLC of Sydney as the lead contractor and includes FCC Construccion, S.A., of Spain, as well as six Pennsylvania companies. They include Joseph B. Fay Co. and Shikun & Binui America Inc., of Pittsburgh. The contract will require that 65% of the work be done by Pennsylvania firms. State Sen. Wayne Langerholc Jr., R-Johnstown...

Tacoma Narrows Bridge tolls will be reduced by 75 cents beginning in September, with the intent that they remain at that rate until the span is paid off in 10 years. The decrease is the result of Substitute Senate Bill 5488, which requires transfers of $3.25 million from the general fund to the toll bridge account each quarter until June 2032, for a total of $130 million. After the House changed the bill on Saturday, the Senate had to concur on Thursday, which sponsor Sen. Emily Randall, D-Bremerton, said it would. Rates — currently set at $5.25 with a Good...