Free Republic

U.S. consumers just delivered a clear message: they’re not as worried as the experts thought. The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index jumped by 12.3 points in May, the largest monthly gain in four years, as Americans grew more upbeat about the economy, the job market, and their own financial prospects. The reading came in at 98.0, up sharply from April’s 85.7, and blew past all forecasts by economists. Econoday’s survey had a range of forecasts from 84.0 to 91.3, with the consensus at 87.3. It wasn’t just a bounce—it was a breakout. The Expectations Index, which measures how consumers see...

Keith Ellison is Minnesota’s incumbent Fifth District congressman, deputy chairman of the Democratic National Committee and DFL candidate for Minnesota attorney general. He was a long-time apostle of hate on behalf of Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam, though the local Minnesota media haven’t gotten around to revisiting the issue as Ellison seeks statewide office. Now he is an apostle of hate on behalf of the causes of the increasingly mainstream far left of the Democratic Party.h Speaking last week at a debate with GOP candidate Doug Wardlow, Ellison explained that he had operated under the impression that Farrakhan...

Shake Shack plans to close multiple "underperforming" restaurants in several U.S. states, according to a document filed to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday (August 27). The popular chain plans to close nine stores located in California, Ohio and Texas, however, no other stores are expected to be affected and the plan won't impact expansion in the three states, according to the filing. All Shake Shack management affected by the closures will be offered positions at neighboring locations and hourly employees will be eligible for rehire. Six of the nine Shake Shacks scheduled to close are in California...

Former Fox News and Newsmax host Eric Bolling is sounding the alarm to his fellow Republicans, saying former President Trump’s team waited too long to “shake things up” after Vice President Harris entered the race. “Wake the F— up.. we are LOSING!” Bolling posted to his X account, along with a four-minute video. Bolling, a friend of Trump’s, said he warned the former president and his teams that it was not the right idea to wait until after the Democratic National Convention (DNC) to begin attacking Harris. “You waited too long, guys, you waited too long,” he said.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer falsely claimed Sunday that he refused to shake Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hand during his address to Congress last week because of “serious disagreements” over policy. A photograph and video footage of Schumer meeting with Netanyahu privately before the speech, released by Netanyahu’s office, show him shaking Netanyahu’s hand. Schumer simply refused to repeat the cordial gesture in public. Viewers watching Netanyahu’s address noted that Schumer pointedly refused to shake Netanyahu’s hand as he walked down the aisle of the House chamber toward the podium.

I can't find anything on it yet other than it registered initially at 3.9 apparently at USGS. Will probably see some updates around later. Wife, and I were having lunch at 1:20 P.M. when we heard "THE SOUND" we hear often before the quake hits us. "THE SOUND" the quake makes traveling towards us, and then the inevitable WHAM, JUMP, SHAKE, and the "THE SOUND" as the quake moves on to surprise more unsuspecting luncheoneers across its path in Southern California. No damage. Just shook us up in the middle of egg salad sandwiches, and potato salad. Glad it wasn't...

The 7.1 magnitude earthquake that shook California on Friday also ripped open a fissure.

Angela Merkel experiences some sort of serious, shaking seizure while listening to the national anthem while meeting the new Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Berlin. Her whole body visibly shaking as she received the new Ukrainian president at the chancellery. Merkel later said she was fine. Right.

The Obama administration puts its own special spin on the Taylor Swift hit. Approximately 2:15 minutes. Subscribe to Reason TV's YouTube channel to get automatic notifications when new material go live. Written and performed by Remy. Music tracks and background vocals by Ben Karlstrom. Additional background vocals by Geri Karlstrom. Video produced and edited by Meredith Bragg. Scroll below for lyrics and visit http://reason.com/reasontv/2014/10/20... for hyper-linked lyrics, downloadable versions, and more. Follow Reason on Twitter at @reason. Follow Remy on Twitter at @goremy and Reason at @reason. LYRICS: They say you're tapping all the phones They say you use too...

Uh... did anyone in Wichita or Oklahoma City/Tulsa feel that?

Gannett Title and link only.

Pretty damn strong shake here in Lafayette, strong enough to wake me from sleep.

Gov. Rick Perry Monday turned down what he characterized as President Barack Obama’s offer for a “quick handshake on the tarmac” at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on Wednesday, but said he would juggle his schedule to accommodate a “substantive meeting” with the president on the border crisis any time during his two-day visit to Texas. In a letter to the president, Perry wrote, “I appreciate the offer to greet you at Austin-Bergstrom Airport, but a quick handshake on the tarmac will not allow for a thoughtful discussion regarding the humanitarian and national security crises enveloping the Rio Grande Valley in South...

The magnitude 4.4 earthquake that struck near Westwood is the most significant shake in Southern California since a 5.5 earthquake hit Chino Hills in 2008, a U.S. Geological Survey seismologist told reporters at a news conference Monday morning. Robert Graves said there have been at least six aftershocks since the 6:25 a.m. earthquake. The largest so far has been a magnitude 2.7 earthquake that struck five miles northwest of Westwood.

Whoopsie!!!! Decent double tremor. Specially when you are on the second floor. Probably a lame attempt to scare me. I'm guessing 3.1 Going back to sleep.

Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad predicts that an earthquake will hit the country’s capital of Tehran and displace its 12 million residents. The cause of the catastrophic quake? Promiscuous women, reports The Guardian. “Many women who do not dress modestly ... lead young men astray, corrupt their chastity and spread adultery in society, which increases earthquakes,” Hojatoleslam Kazem Sedighi, a senior Iranian cleric and seismologist, was quoted by Iranian media. In the Islamic Republic, women are required by law to cover from head to toe, but some, especially the younger generation are lax in adhering to strict dress codes.

Weird. It's been years since I felt three earthquakes in a week much less in 3 days. Guess it's time to pack up and move to the Sierra's for some excellent beach front property.

Just had another earthquake. A baby one maybe a 3? San Jose

We just had an earthquake like 30 seconds ago in Oakland. The office shook pretty good.

<p>"Some powerful interests who had been dominating the agenda in Washington for a very long time and they're not always happy with me. They talk about me like a dog. That's not in my prepared remarks, but it's true," he told a crowd largely consisting of union members.</p>