Free Republic

What is happening to the world economy? An analogy frequently used to describe the global economy is that of a plane and whether it will enjoy a soft landing or suffer a hard one. "...the minutes released by the US Federal Reserve last week. They showed a number of policymakers fearful of overtightening monetary policy. Such concerns are even greater here." "...businesses find it harder and more expensive to raise funds, because of a credit crunch, tough lending conditions and a more risk-averse environment in capital markets. " "...the economic forecasts from the International Monetary Fund. In late July, they...

Approaching the vehicle, authorities smelled alcohol coming from the car while also spotting five adults and three infants sitting inside. The three babies were being held in the arms of the women instead of strapped into a car seat. The male driver was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol and driving with a suspended license. The female passengers were arrested for felony child endangerment. Bodycam footage of the arrest shows one mother, who is seen sitting on the ground while holding her baby, pleading with deputies to not take her child away. The woman is heard saying she...

Hyundai Motor America (005380.KS) will recall 281,000 vehicles in North America over seat-belt pretensioners that could explode and project metal fragments, causing injuries. The recall, which comes after three injury reports, covers some 2019-2022 Accent, 2021-2023 Elantra, and 2021-2022 Elantra hybrid vehicles. In the event of a crash, front driver or passenger-side seat-belt pretensioners could explode upon deployment. Dealers will secure seat-belt pretensioners with a cap. Seat-belt pretensioners are part of the a system that locks the seatbelt in place during a crash to provide additional protection to occupants. This recall expands and replaces four earlier recalls. All Accent, Elantra,...

NBA great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar writes in Jacobin arguing that athletes like Kyrie Irving aren’t making a “personal choice” by refusing the COVID vaccine — they’re jeopardizing the public health of all through their platforms. =========================== I'm a huge fan of LeBron James, both as one of the greatest basketball players ever and as a humanitarian who cares about social injustice. I have written his praises many times in the past and undoubtedly will in the future. I admire him and have affection for him. But this time, LeBron is just plain wrong — and his being wrong could be deadly,...

KEESEVILLE — State troopers disguised as construction workers issued 26 tickets Tuesday in the “Operation Hard Hat” initiative on the Adirondack Northway (Interstate 87) near the Clinton-Essex County line. The New York State Police Troop B and state Department of Transportation announced the news Thursday. Operation Hard Hat is a joint initiative of the two agencies to crack down on work zone violations and highlight the importance of safe driving through active construction and maintenance zones. They say this initiative, like past ones, was successful, and they plan to do more later this summer.

A woman filmed driving without a seat belt says it wasn’t her fault because the belts are ‘racist to fat people’. The anonymous woman from New Zealand said she finds it difficult to strap herself in because she is overweight. If they’re going to give me a fine for not fitting my seatbelt, that’s just being racist, to the fat people.’ ‘They’re just being racist, like what do they think the whole world is skinny or something? What about the big people?’ One of the passengers points out seat belt sizing is not racist as ‘fat people’ are not a...

Ford said Thursday that it has 23 reports of smoke or fire in U.S. and Canadian trucks, but it's not aware of any injuries. NHTSA began investigating in early August after getting five fire reports, including three reports that trucks were destroyed. According to Ford, seat belt pretensioners can generate excessive sparks when they tighten before a crash. That can ignite gases inside a support pillar between the front and rear seats, causing insulation and carpet to catch fire... The Regular Cab and SuperCrew Cab trucks were built between March 12, 2014 and Aug. 23, 2018, according to documents posted...

Paramus, N.J. (CBS) – New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed a bill into law Saturday that requires new school buses to have lap and shoulder seat belts. The legislation is in response to a deadly school bus crash in Mount Olive, Morris County. The bus was headed to a field trip back in May when it collided with a dump truck.

August 8, 2017 (LifeSiteNews) — KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has produced a Twitter ad meant to pay tribute to Gay Pride events now taking place in Amsterdam. The only thing is, the tweet serves to do the exact opposite. The ad shows three sets of seat belts. The first consists of two “female” ends. The second pairs two “male” ends. The third depicts a male with a female end and is clearly the only seat belt pairing that actually works. If KLM equipped its aircraft with set number one or number two, its entire fleet would be grounded for safety...

PHILADELPHIA - A former top U.S. transportation official says federal investigators looking into the fatal train crash in Philadelphia should consider seat belts when they formulate their recommendations. Ray LaHood was transportation secretary from 2009 to 2013. He told NBC News on Wednesday that he's ridden Amtrak's Northeast Corridor line frequently and has often thought about seat belts. His comments have rekindled the debate over whether passengers would be safer if they were required to wear seat belts.

The Supreme Court justices’ stance on President Obama’s Medicaid expansion provision could be good news for states that want to lower their drinking ages from the federally mandated 21. ... The Supreme Court ruled that threatening to take away a state’s Medicaid funding unless the state does what the federal government wants is “unconstitutionally coercive” and declared it invalid. Because any given part of a Supreme Court decision can set a precedent for future laws and can even invalidate an established law if it is challenged using the Supreme Court’s new argument, the Medicaid decision could affect the National Minimum...

Pope Benedict moves through the crowd in his popemobile at World Youth Day in Madrid. Credit: Official WYD flickr.com-madrid11 Freiburg, Germany, Dec 3, 2011 / 05:36 pm (CNA).- In a case that brought amusement to the Vatican, a German court decided to throw out charges against Pope Benedict for not wearing a seat belt during his recent papal visit to the country.“There will be no fine for the Pope,” city spokeswoman Edith Lamersdorf told German news agency Badische Zeitung on Nov. 30. “The charges were quashed.”Lawyer Christian Sundermann had filed a complaint on behalf of an unnamed Dortmund resident...

Minority children might be at greater risk for car crash-related injuries because fewer wear seat belts, a study finds. The study, presented Saturday at the American Academy of Pediatrics' national conference in Boston, looked at statistics on 37,375 children younger than 16 collected from the National Trauma Database from 2002 to 2006. Among those children, less than half -- 45.7% -- were in restraints. The lowest use of seat belts was found among black, Hispanic and Native American children.

The death of North Dakota Senate Republican majority leader Bob Stenehjem leaves questions about how his successor will be chosen

North Dakota's Senate majority leader, Bob Stenehjem, was not wearing a seat belt and was thrown from the sport utility vehicle he was driving when he was killed in an Alaskan highway crash, authorities said Tuesday.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee drivers may soon have to start strapping their pets into a seatbelt with driving. Under a bill sponsored by Rep. Jim Cobb, dogs or other animals must be restrained while in the interior of a motor vehicle in motion. According to the Spring City Republican, not only can it be distracting for drivers to have a pet roaming around a vehicle, it could be potentially dangerous for them. Jessie Medina is the general manager at the PETCO store in Bellevue and told Nashville's News 2 there are already plenty of products available.

Texas law already requires buckling up in the front seat, and starting Sept. 1, it'll be the law to do so in the back seat, too. The change affects people ages 17 and older; those 16 and younger already are required to wear a seat belt in the back seat

If seat belts save lives, how come you’re not dead? For days now, horrified Nanny Staters have been wringing their hands over the fact that Massachusetts - liberal Massachusetts! - has the lowest rate of seat belt use in the nation. Lower, even, than those yahoos up in New Hampshire, and they don’t even have a mandatory seat belt law. This recent spate of “viewing with alarm” is inspired by the handful of roadway deaths over the weekend where seat belts were not in use. Across the state, only 67 percent of drivers are buckling up. There’s death, destruction and...

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Drivers better buckle up or pay the price: More cash-strapped states want to give law enforcement officers the authority to pull over motorists just for not wearing their seat belts. More than a dozen states that are considering making the switch to primary seat-belt enforcement laws need to do so before July to be eligible for millions in federal money. One of those states is Ohio, which would get $26.8 million if it changes its law. Currently, officers in the state must first have some other reason to stop drivers over before issuing seat-belt citations. States...

Seat belts debated The state has rejected them as too costly to place on school buses By Alexandre Da Silva adasilva@starbulletin.com The crash of a public school bus carrying Kahuku High water polo players Thursday is renewing the debate of whether students should buckle up. The Legislature will likely consider a resolution next week to urge the Board of Education to require seat belts in school buses, said state Rep. Marilyn Lee, vice chairwoman of the House Finance Committee. Historically, calls to install the restraints have failed, here and nationally, largely because of the cost to retrofit school buses, which...