Free Republic

The GOP-led Senate voted Thursday to take away California’s ability to set its own tailpipe emissions standards, effectively killing the country’s biggest driver of EV investment. The vote was 51-44. The move nullifies a measure, enacted by the state in 2022 and later adopted by 11 other states, banning the sale of new gasoline-powered cars by 2035. The House already passed the same resolution. Now it heads to President Trump for his signature. U.S. carmakers and auto dealers argued that keeping in place the waiver—which permits California to set stricter emissions rules than the federal government—could cripple the industry by...

AP — Russia and Ukraine have no direct peace talks scheduled, the Kremlin said Thursday, nearly a week after their first face-to-face session since shortly after Moscow’s invasion in 2022 and days after U.S. President Donald Trump said they would start ceasefire negotiations “immediately.” “There is no concrete agreement about the next meetings,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. “They are yet to be agreed upon.” During two hours of talks in Istanbul on May 16, Kyiv and Moscow agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war each, in what would be their biggest such swap. Apart from that step, the...

Billionaire investment manager Ray Dalio has warned that the risks of US debt go beyond credit ratings amid the US government's mounting debt in the current economic scenario. The founder of one of the world's largest hedge funds said that regarding the US debt downgrade, credit ratings understate risks because they rate the risk of the government not paying its debt. According to Dalio, credit rating agencies do not include the greater risk that countries in debt will print money to pay their debts, thus causing bondholders to suffer losses from the decreased value of the money they are getting...

Brief represents the first time the Trump administration has weighed in on green investing issues.. The Federal Trade Commission is throwing its weight behind a high-profile federal lawsuit led by 12 Republican-led states accusing three of the world's largest asset managers—BlackRock, State Street, and Vanguard—of artificially constricting the coal market in violation of U.S. antitrust laws, the Washington Free Beacon has learned. The filing in the case is a remarkable move that represents the first time the Trump administration has waded directly into an issue or case related to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) policies. Led by powerful asset managers...

The full House of Representatives has passed the reconciliation bill to defund the Planned Parenthood abortion business. The bill passed 215-214. Two Republicans voted against the bill — Reps. Thomas Massie and Warren Davidson — and another, House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris, voted “present.” Rep. Andrew Garbarino and Rep. David Schweikert missed the vote. “We’re going to get it [to Trump’s desk] by Independence Day, July 4th,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said Thursday regarding the budget bill. The House Energy and Commerce Committee signed off on the bill first last week and then the House Budget Committee followed suit...

Russian armed forces are actively working to accomplish this task, the Russian leader statedMOSCOW, May 22. /TASS/. A decision has been made to establish a security buffer zone along the Russia-Ukraine border, Russian troops are currently engaged in implementing this initiative, President Vladimir Putin announced during a meeting with government officials. "We have approved the creation of a necessary security buffer zone along our borders. Our armed forces are actively working to accomplish this task," Putin stated. He emphasized that, given the recent developments in the Kursk, Belgorod, and Bryansk regions, immediate efforts are required to restore and rebuild areas...

A lot of what I do here at Bearing Arms is write about things that annoy me. Every gun control bill that flows down the pipe annoys me to no end. Even the victories, such as they are, aren't that great in my mind, at least in most cases. I mean, I was thrilled when Georgia passed constitutional carry, but it only had a secondary impact on me, personally. Today, though, I get to take a step toward actual celebration, because the biggest Second Amendment legislative victory in my lifetime is one step closer to happening. That's right, boys and...

t’s the new Hunger Games of world politics — the televised Oval Office take-down by President Donald Trump. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa was the latest leader to become a MAGA prop Wednesday, as Trump lectured him on false claims that White South African farmers are the victims of a genocide. Foreign leaders now enter the hallowed lair of the US president — who runs press conferences like they’re WWE cage matches — at their peril Trump’s dressings-down are a metaphor for a US foreign policy that is erratic, politicized and awash in conspiracy theories. As Ukraine and Jordan also...

Nine out of 10 U.S. companies say they expect to bring some or all of their production or sourcing back home in response to new tariffs imposed under President Donald Trump’s trade policy, according to the latest Allianz Trade Global Survey.The survey, published on May 20, hints at an acceleration in reshoring efforts as U.S. firms adapt to the tariffs, as Trump pursues a global trade reset to boost domestic manufacturing and correct what he says are decades of unfair practices by other countries that put the United States at a disadvantage.Allianz researchers found that roughly 90 percent of U.S....

Authorities cracking down on national organized-crime rings swiping $18 billion a year through ATM card-skimming have now turned their sights on aiding Big Apple victims. The US Secret Service, which investigates financial crimes along with protecting the president, started the crackdown in California last year because of the staggering problem and has now expanded to team up with a new NYPD task force to try to thwart the criminals better here. “It’s billions of dollars [stolen] annually across the nation, so that jumps off the page by any metric,” Secret Service spokesman James Byrne told The Post on Wednesday, as...

Sara Brenner, worked as a career employee at the FDA until she was recently promoted to the No. 2 position under the new FDA Commissioner. Marty Makary. Brenner has recently stated that she never took the COVID vaccine despite it being a requirement for federal employees.Brenner’s reasoning was that she was pregnant and concerned about the safety of the vaccine for both her and her child. Perhaps she arrived at that conclusion because she’s an expert on nanobiotechnology (although the picture she provided at the link is a curious choice), and therefore had serious and fully legitimate clinical reservations.The question...

An evenly divided Supreme Court ruled Thursday that states cannot provide funding to religious charter schools, turning away from a potential decision that would have fundamentally changed K-12 education.The 4-4 split meant the justices upheld the Oklahoma Supreme Court’s ruling that both Sooner State law and the US Constitution prohibit taxpayer funding from going toward religious schools. Justice Amy Coney Barrett had recused herself from arguments, having taught at the University of Notre Dame’s law school for about 15 years. The school’s religious liberty clinic had been representing one of the parties in the case, St. Isidore of Seville Catholic...

On the very day Donald Trump became president again, he signed an executive order prospectively eliminating birthright citizenship for children born to aliens unlawfully present in the United States. Immediately, lawsuits were filed in a half-dozen jurisdictions across the country challenging this order. The groups bringing these suits claim the order disrupts long-standing legal norms governing citizenship. Yet, in fact, Trump’s contention — that birthright citizenship is not possessed by children of illegal aliens under the “correct interpretation of the law” — is exactly right. Birthright citizenship is conventionally understood to apply to any child born in the United States,...

As RedState reported, two Israeli embassy workers were gunned down in cold blood by a man who chanted "free, free Palestine" in the aftermath. Sarah Milgram and Yaron Lischinsky, who were planning to get engaged soon, were attending an event on collaboration to deliver aid to Gaza when Elias Rodriguez, a member of the Chicago-based Party for Socialism and Liberation, allegedly shot them from behind. Now, more information is coming out about Rodriguez, who is a "pro-Palestinian" (see: pro-Hamas) activist. Before allegedly carrying out the murders, he released a manifesto online in which he wrote, "Those of us against the...

Solar stocks plunged on Thursday after House Republicans passed a tax bill that terminates key clean energy credits. Residential solar installer Sunrun plummeted more than 35%. The legislation ends tax credits for installers like Sunrun that lease equipment to customers. The GOP bill is a “worse than feared” scenario for clean energy, as it takes a “sledgehammer” to the Inflation Reduction Act, Jefferies analysts led by Julien Dumoulin-Smith told clients in a note. Some 70% of the rooftop solar industry now uses lease arrangements, making the bill disastrous for companies like Sunrun, Guggenheim analyst Joseph Osha told clients. Enphase and...

The British government’s plans to hand control of the strategically significant Chagos Islands to Mauritius are set to be signed off on Thursday, after an 11th-hour legal injunction failed to stop an effort that has been intensely controversial in both the United Kingdom and the United States. Prime Minister Keir Starmer intends to return the islands to the African country, while maintaining control of the US-UK Diego Garcia military base, and the deal is expected be finalized on Thursday. It comes after a High Court judge briefly blocked the move in a ruling made at 2 a.m. local time (9...

Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett recused herself from the case. The Supreme Court on Thursday voted 4-4 to block the creation of a taxpayer-funded charter school in Oklahoma. Catholic dioceses had sought to establish St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School as a school that would have been eligible for public funding. Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett recused herself from the case, according to Reuters. The state Supreme Court in 2023 ruled 6-2 against the school, after state AG Gentner Drummond sued to "prevent the type of state-funded religion that Oklahoma's constitutional framers and the founders of our country sought...

Yaron Lischinsky was preparing to propose to his girlfriend Sarah Milgrim. He had just bought an engagement ring, and planned to ask on a trip to Jerusalem next week. But on Wednesday night in Washington, they were shot dead by a man who shouted "free Palestine" outside the Capital Jewish Museum as they left an event billed by organisers as a discussion of the Gaza crisis that aimed to "turn pain into purpose". Their deaths have shocked colleagues at the Israeli embassy, sparked international outrage and prompted Israeli leaders to blame "rising hostility" and antisemitism after Hamas attacked the country...

The European Union has stepped in to provide Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty an infusion of millions of dollars to keep functioning as the international broadcaster battles the Trump administration to release funds Congress has already designated for it. "We are grateful for the emergency funding to help keep Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty afloat," the network's president, Steve Capus, said in a statement from Brussels, where he has been meeting with European officials. "Radio Liberty's survival remains at risk as long as these funds are withheld," Capus said, referring to $75 million held back by the Trump administration. Radio Free Europe...

A pro-Palestinian man is in custody after allegedly killing two Israeli embassy staff members who were leaving an event at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday night, authorities confirmed. The Embassy of Israel to the US identified the victims as Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, who were set to be engaged. Steven Jensen, the FBI's Assistant Director in Charge of the Washington Field Office, said the agency will be investigating the "heinous crime" for hate crime motivation or ties to potential terrorism.