Free Republic

Portraits of other recent predecessors with whom President Donald Trump has a contentious relationship, former President George W. Bush and his father, George H. W. Bush, have also been moved. Trump directed staff to move the Obama portrait to the top of the Grand Staircase, two sources familiar with the matter told CNN, where it will now be out of view from thousands of visitors who tour the White House each day. One of the sources added that the portraits of both Bushes are also now in the staircase area. Multiple sources have said that the president is directly involved...

U.S. manufacturing contracted for a fifth straight month in July and factory employment dropped to the lowest level in five years amid tariffs that have raised prices of imported raw materials. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said on Friday that its manufacturing PMI dropped to 48.0 last month from 49.0 in June. A PMI reading below 50 indicates contraction in manufacturing, which accounts for 10.2% of the economy. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the PMI edging up to 49.5. The weak PMI reading is consistent with economists' expectations for a slowdown in activity in the third quarter as...