Free Republic

During an interview with Telemundo 47 on Friday, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) argued that the state is going to lose money under the Republican tax and spending bill and people will lose health care and responded to if she’ll have to cut services to some immigrants by saying, “I don’t want to go there.” And “This is something we have to look at very seriously for how we can not leave these people without essential care.” Hochul said that “no state will be able to make up those kind of cuts. We just don’t have enough money. And...

The U.S. services sector picked up speed in April, according to the Institute for Supply Management, with growth broadening across key components of the economy’s largest segment. The Services PMI rose to 51.6 percent last month, up from 50.8 percent in March and beating expectations for a modest dip. The increase marks a reversal from the prior month’s slowdown and suggests the sector may be reaccelerating heading into the second quarter. Three of the four major subindexes that feed directly into the headline PMI improved in April, with increases in new orders, supplier deliveries, and employment. Only the business activity...

A leading medical firm has quietly recalled hundreds of human tissue products destined for transplants around the nation that were supplied by a North Carolina body parts broker believed to have a tainted history. The broker used an unsterile embalming room to carve up dozens of corpses to procure tissue, a Raleigh funeral home director said Tuesday. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration shut down the body broker on Friday, but refuses to say how many people may have received potentially risky tissue. It is the second scandal in less than a year in the booming tissue transplant industry. Cadaver...

Lately, Docker has become a valuable tool for developers and tech enthusiasts. But beyond deployment, Docker containers can be powerful allies in streamlining workflows and boosting personal output. These isolated environments offer a fantastic way to tackle tasks and focus on what truly matters. Here are the Docker containers I use regularly to boost my efficiency and get more done. 7. Nextcloud An ideal Microsoft 365 replacement https://nextcloud.com/ 6. Vaultwarden 1Password, who? https://github.com/dani-garcia/vaultwarden 5. Homepage Manage all your self-hosted services https://gethomepage.dev/ 4. Firefly III Keep track of finances https://www.firefly-iii.org/ 3. Excalidraw Brainstorm ideas https://excalidraw.com/ 2. Code-server Level up your development...

The reverend at the National Cathedral prayer service for the inauguration called on President Trump to have mercy on transgender children and immigrant families in her sermon on Tuesday. Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde said to Trump, who was sitting in the first pew, that millions of Americans have “put their trust in you” before making her plea to the president. “I ask you, to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared. There are gay, lesbian, transgender children, Democratic, Republican, independent families — some who fear for their lives,” she said. She added, “The people who pick...

Non-detained docket has exploded in recent years to more than 7.6 million people EXCLUSIVE: Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has ended two programs that provide social services to illegal immigrants who are released into the U.S. interior, telling lawmakers that one brings "immense cost with little improvement" and that another is out of line with ICE’s mission. The agency responded to Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., and 15 members of Congress who wrote to ICE in May asking for more information about the "Alternatives to Detention" program, which monitors illegal immigrants not in ICE detention. The agency defended the program and...

The U.S. Postal Service’s multibillion-dollar program to purchase electric mail delivery trucks is severely delayed, another bungled EV program to further tarnish Joe Biden’s presidency. The Washington Post reports that the U.S. Postal Service’s ambitious plan to modernize its aging delivery fleet with electric vehicles is significantly behind schedule. The $10 billion project, which received $3 billion in funding from the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, is a crucial part of outgoing President Joe Biden’s climate change agenda.

President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday nominated former third-party candidate Robert F. Kennedy to lead the Health and Human Services (HHS) Department. Trump announced in a written statement on social media: I am thrilled to announce Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as The United States Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). For too long, Americans have been crushed by the industrial food complex and drug companies who have engaged in deception, misinformation, and disinformation when it comes to Public Health. The Safety and Health of all Americans is the most important role of any Administration, and HHS will play a big...

Inflation ticked higher once again in March, with consumer prices up 0.4 percent over the previous month and 3.5 percent compared to one year earlier. The latest data marks the third month in a row that the consumer price index (CPI), a closely watched gauge of inflation, has come in hotter than expected, likely throwing cold water on hopes that the Federal Reserve would begin cutting interest rates soon.

Denver Mayor Mike Johnston announced a reduction in DMV and Parks & Recreation services Friday to help the city deal with the influx of migrants after the failure of a bipartisan immigration bill in Congress. "This is a plan for shared sacrifice. This is what good people do in hard situations as you try to manage your way to serve all of your values. Our values are we want to continue to be a city that does not have women and children out on the street in tents in 20 degree weather," Johnston said in a Friday morning news conference....

The goods and services American workers could afford with $100 in 2020 now cost $119.27, a recent Bloomberg report found. The increased prices will likely impact the 2024 election results since they come after President Joe Biden implemented his economic policy of so-called “Bidenomics.” Over half of voters in key swing states said grocery prices are the top way inflation has impacted their budget, according to a Bloomberg News/Morning Consult survey.

The cost of housing migrants is so extraordinary — an estimated $4.3 billion between April of 2022 and July 2024 — that Mayor Adams says he must cut city services to afford it. [Emphasis added] To manage those expenses, Adams says the city is planning to trim services such as library hours, meals for senior citizens, re-entry programming for Rikers Island prisoners, and free, full-day care for three-year-olds. Last month, Adams also sought to unwind the city’s right to shelter, which entitles the migrants to housing within 24 hours of their arrival. [Emphasis added] … Data provided by the comptroller’s...

We all want uninterrupted postal service, but that's just not always possible. The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) has a responsibility to ensure the safety of its employees, customers, and our mail. And sometimes, that means operations can't proceed normally. Over time, we have seen the Postal Service suspend deliveries because of aggressive animals, and close post offices in the midst of natural disasters. Now, the agency been forced to suspend services in six different states. If you were planning to head to the post office anytime soon, you may need to change your plans depending on where you live. The...

The city of Jackson issued the following statement. After six months under an emergency contract and without compensation, Richard’s Disposal will cease all city-wide garbage collection. Their final day of garbage pick up will be Saturday, October 8. The announcement affects approximately 150,000 residential customers as well as municipal court and other municipal buildings around the city that are being serviced with roll off containers. The stoppage includes the twice-per-week pick-up of all residential garbage (including the collection of bulk items and bagged leaves). Household Hazardous Waste can still be dropped off at 1570 University Boulevard (at the corner of...

The 50 migrants who landed on Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts last week were shipped off the island so fast one local resident was left lamenting she didn't have time to help. "I wish that I had been more involved, that I had heard [about] it when it [the migrants' arrival on the island] originally happened," Joyce Dresser told Fox News Digital on Saturday as she sold books during a street festival in Oak Bluffs. That island town is famous for its colorful "gingerbread house" Victorian homes. Listen to this article 0:00 / 3:09 1X BeyondWords The 50 migrants who landed...

If your mobile phone is more than a few years old, you may need to upgrade your device before your mobile provider shuts down its 3G network, to avoid losing service. For more information on your mobile providers' plans for 3G retirement and how you can prepare, contact your provider directly. What is happening? Mobile carriers are shutting down their 3G networks, which rely on older technology, to make room for more advanced network services, including 5G. As a result, many older cell phones will be unable to make or receive calls and texts, including calls to 911, or use...

Churches across the country are canceling their Christmas masses as a surge of COVID-19 cases grips the nation, The Associated Press reports. Among the well-known churches that have decided to nix their annual gatherings are the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.; Boston's Old South Church; and the St. John the Divine, the cathedral of the Episcopal Diocese of New York.

President Biden is signing an executive order on Monday intended to cut back on the bureaucracy around government services for the public such as renewing their passports, applying for loans or changing their name. The order, which Biden will sign on Monday afternoon on camera, affects 36 "customer experience improvement commitments" across 17 federal agencies. The order targets various government services dealing with travel, retirement, business, health and updating personal information, according to a White House fact sheet. For example, the order will call for a streamlined enrollment experience for retirees looking to enroll in Social Security, and it will...

Amtrak will be cutting some services because of staff shortages due to the COVID-19 federal vaccine mandate, according to testimony given to Congress on Thursday.Amtrak President Stephen Gardner told the House Transportation subcommittee in a written testimony (pdf) that 94 percent of the company’s staff members have been fully vaccinated while 96 percent have received at least one dose of the vaccine.“However, because many engineers, conductors and on-board service employees retired or left Amtrak during the pandemic, and we temporarily halted hiring due to funding uncertainty and covid-related distancing requirements that inhibited training, we anticipate that we will not initially...

During a portion of an interview broadcast on Tuesday’s edition of “CBS Evening News,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen cautioned that, due to the U.S. economy being in a state of recovery, “there may be isolated shortages of goods and services in the coming months.” Yellen stated that America has an “economy that’s recovering.” And “So, there may be isolated shortages of goods and services in the coming months. But there is an ample supply of goods, and I think there’s no reason for consumers to panic about the absence of goods that they’re going to want to acquire at Christmas.”