Free Republic

The estranged wife of an elderly financier griped in Manhattan court Tuesday that he gave her a measly allowance of $10,000 a month — then slashed it in half when she asked him to start his estate planning. Stephanie Foster, 57, added that hubby John H. Foster — an 82-year-old private-equity bigshot now claiming dire financial straits in their multiyear divorce proceeding — eventually dwindled her allowance to nothing, forcing her to submit expense reports to his management company to get reimbursed. She complained on the stand that even his initial hefty monthly payout to her “was less than what...

Planet Earth hit 12 consecutive months where the global average temperature reached a record high, according to new data released on Wednesday. In addition, last month was the hottest May on record, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S). The data from European climate scientists showed that it was also the 11th consecutive month during which the global average temperature reached or eclipsed 1.5 degrees Celsius. The global average temperature in the last 12 months was 0.75 Celsius above the 1991–2020 average and 1.63 Celsius higher than the pre-industrial average.

The media U.S. mortgage payment was down nearly $400 in December from its October peak, enticing some homebuyers back into the market, according to a Thursday report from real estate group Redfin. The median mortgage payment was $2,361 for the four week period ending in Dec. 31, Redfin found. That’s $372, or 14 percent, less than it was in October and the lowest average monthly payment in nearly a year. The weekly average mortgage rate, which hit a 23-year high of 7.79 percent in October, also fell to 6.61 percent at the end of December after the Federal Reserve signaled...

For the first time ever, migrant encounters along the southern border exceeded 300,000 in a single month, according to a report citing unofficial CBP sources. The report states December was the highest month in history for migrant encounters along the southwest border. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials, including Border Patrol agents and CBP OFO officer, encountered 302,000 migrants along the southwest border in December, according to an official source speaking with Fox News on Tuesday. The reported encounters set a new single-month record for CBP encounters and mark the first time this number has exceeded the 300,000-migrant threshold.

Monthly housing payments hit a record high this week after mortgage rates rose for the first-time in more than a month, according to data from real estate brokerage Redfin. The average 30-year fixed rate mortgage jumped to 6.39 percent this week, pushing up the typical homebuyer’s monthly payment to $2,538. At the same time a year ago, the average mortgage rate stood at 5.11 percent. This week’s rise in mortgage rates followed a dip in the number of new homes under construction, which could put even more pressure on would-be buyers. “There’s not much on the shelves to choose from,...

White House Senior Advisor Kellyanne Conway delivered a surprise announcement on Friday morning’s “Fox & Friends,” saying that President Donald Trump would like to make his wide-ranging Thursday interview a monthly occurrence. .. Kellyanne: “The president had a great time bringing his case directly to the American people as he does on social media and these bilateral Q & As, certainly at the South Lawn, the press pool sprays, and with other interviews.” But then Conway dropped the other shoe. “And the president has said that he would like to perhaps come once a month and as news breaks, but...

Mine had! RedMDer posted this graphic to the current FReepathon thread:That immediately prompted me to find out.OK, I admit that I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer. But my wife handles all our financials when it comes to credit cards and paying the bills.I thought I was contributing but instead I HAVE BEEN PART OF THE PROBLEM with this ridiculously drawn out FReepathon!!!I feel like a heel, a cad, a FReeloader!Don't let yourself be a houeto! Double check and make SURE your donation is going in. Jim will gladly look up your account to VERIFY!Hats off to RedMDer, to...

Tired of endless Freepathons. So I want to help end them. For every Freeper who signs up for a minimum $25 monthly donation, I will increase MY monthly donation by $1 to a max of $50 more per month. May not look like much, but if you do the math, it is. Anyone else willing to play?

Things that I could give up once or twice this month to keep freerepublic free . 1. 100 rounds of 9mm ~$12 (I'll still send 200) 2. Overpriced coffee ~$10 (yeah, those guys) 3. Breakfast at work ~$10 (cereal's OK) 4. A 12 pack of beer ~$10 (I could fudge on this one.) 5. 1 upper deck seat ~$15 (minor league game)

Mystery charges on my Credit Card caused me to issue a fraud notice and I now have a new account number. FR has my old number for my monthly charges. I want to continue my donations, so what to do?

Its Beer Thirty! At The First Monthly Homebrewing Thread That time of day at which drinking a beer becomes necessary and required to proceed with life as we know it in modern society. I am enjoying a homebrewed Nut Brown Ale as I post this thread. It is a very tasty brew that has a nice caramel and slightly nutty flavor, nicely carbonated with a tan head. At 8.3% it can definitely sneak up you! Yesterday I bottled a Porter and I have a Honey Ale in my primary that is fermenting nicely. A Copper Ale is scheduled for brewing...

I've heard varying quotes of how many daily users there on on Free Republic and even the most modest of them has my ire growing. Do ya wonder why?

I am curious how many are monthly contributors and how much a month they contribute. Let us get started! I contribute $30 per month. Too low? Good enough? Don't know.

February 2009 produced the largest monthly budget deficit in the United States government's history. The U.S. Treasury announced that February's budget deficit came in at a staggering $220.9 billion. The addition of February's record monthly deficit results in a deficit of $655 billion for the first five months of fiscal 2010...

Video on site"It allows me the privilage of the female experience."

Can Freerepublic exempt freepers who have paid their share from the fundraising banners in the threads? Sure, I know that we have a proven formula here that works. I hate to mess with what has given us results. But, I find the banners/whatever to be mildly annoying as well as amusing. Would it be legaly/practically to provide a bonus to paying freepers that they don't need to see the banners?

Not really sure where to put this. Would like to post it for any comments, additions, subtractions, other FReepers might have. Suggestion: How about programming some stars that go with your handle on posts as a vanity tag. So you'd get one star attached to your handle per $10/month you are currently giving to FR on auto deduction plan. (or per $20/month.) Would like to hear what other FReepers think about the idea, even if they disagree! What do you think? Would it be cool, or not? **1-Eagle <--- wahoo! I gots two stars! (well, and 1/2, grin)

WASHINGTON - A once-a-month injection to treat alcoholism won federal approval Thursday, expanding availability of a drug previously sold only in daily pill form. The Food and Drug Administration approved Vivitrol, spokeswoman Laura Alvey said. Cambridge, Mass.-based Alkermes Inc. will make the injectable form of the drug, also known as naltrexone. Cephalon Inc., of Frazer, Pa., will market and sell it. The companies hope monthly injections of the drug, to be administered at a doctor's office, will prove an easier regimen for alcoholics to follow than the daily pill. The drug is to be used in conjunction with counseling or...

BANGOR - Mainers could be paying as much for electricity starting March 1 as they did five years ago when policy-makers promised lower prices once the state's electricity industry was restructured. Today, the Maine Public Utilities Commission likely will increase the standard-offer electricity rate by as much as 50 percent, from roughly 5 cents per kilowatt-hour to 7.5 cents. It could mean paying about $16 more per month for the average homeowner.  Stephen Ward, the state's public advocate, expects this magnitude of price increase. It's a vote that wasn't supposed to take place. Standard offer, or the default rate consumers...

DON'T MISS OUT ON YOUR LIMITED EDITION MONTHLY DONOR FR COFFEE MUG!!! SIGN UP AS A MONTHLY DONOR! IF YOU ARE A MONTHLY DONOR BY DECEMEBER 1, YOU WILL GET THIS FREE MUG!The winner of the FR Monthly Donor Coffee Mug is..........RIRI! (you get a mug for being the winner!!!!) Part two of the contest: create the slogan on the other side of the mug!EACH COFFEE MUG WILL BE PERSONALIZED!!!!! (we will be contacting you, via freepmail, to get your shipping preferences and the name you would like printed on the mug)Please submit your slogan entries on this thread to...