Free Republic

A mix of high borrowing costs, dwindling job openings and growing economic and political uncertainty have left many U.S. households at a standstill, with many Americans saying they feel unable to buy new homes, take new jobs or move to new cities. The Federal Reserve’s interest rate cut last week — the first of the year, with the expectation that more will follow — may have boosted stock prices, but it isn’t likely to make much of a difference to everyday Americans, economists say. While the economy is generally in good shape, many people feel stuck. “Consumers have been increasingly...

President Donald Trump on Friday rolled out a version of his administration’s long-promised gold card, a $1 million fast-track for wealthy foreigners to live and work in the United States. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, in a call later with reporters, said the gold card will replace the current EB-1 and EB-2 visa programs for people who are of “exceptional value” to the United States. He said the administration expects to initially make 80,000 gold cards available but will continue to evaluate the model and could eventually phase out other visas.

President Trump fired the Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner last month because he didn’t like the monthly jobs numbers. He claimed the numbers were “rigged.” But Friday’s monthly report for August confirms that job creation has stalled amid his tariff barrage. Employers added a mere 22,000 jobs last month while the numbers were revised down for the previous two by a combined 21,000. This means only 107,000 new jobs were created in the last four months—an average of 27,000. Monthly job gains averaged 167,000 last year. Nearly all of the new jobs last month were in social assistance and healthcare...

Job creation sputtered in August, adding to recent signs of labor market weakening and likely keeping the Federal Reserve on track for a widely anticipated interest rate cut later this month. Nonfarm payrolls increased by just 22,000 for the month, while the unemployment rate rose to 4.3%, according to a Bureau of Labor Statistics report Friday. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for payrolls to rise by 75,000. The report showed a marked slowdown from the July increase of 79,000, which was revised up by 6,000. Revisions also showed a net loss of 13,000 in June after the...

Conservative activist Scott Presler is sounding the alarm for Republicans, warning that unless the party immediately changes its strategy, November could bring devastating losses. In a late-night video, Presler said he wasn’t trying to spread doom and gloom, but reality. “I’m not here to bring you a happy video. I’m here to give you a dose of reality,” he began. "I'm here to tell you, Republicans are gonna lose everything this November unless we change things and quickly." Presler pointed to three key battlegrounds—Virginia, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania—where Republicans are in danger of losing everything. “You’re gonna lose the governorship...

Several postal services around the world have paused package deliveries to the United States this week, and it's not because they're overwhelmed with shipping demand. The suspensions, which affect shipments of goods valued under $800, follow a recent executive order that President Trump signed that effectively ends the de minimis exemption on August 29. The fallout has been swift and global. We're talking about major disruptions from Europe to Asia that might impact many American small businesses, limit where you can shop, and make it more complicated and expensive to receive the items you order. What countries have limited deliveries,...

At least 25 countries have decided to suspend their package deliveries to the United States following the Trump administration's announcement of the abolition of a tax exemption on small packages entering the United States from August 29.

The crackdown on small-dollar imports has left businesses and consumers scrambling. Postal services in Japan and Switzerland are the latest to pause shipments to the United States this week, days before an exemption for certain import taxes is about to expire. The loophole, known as “de minimis,” has allowed goods worth less than $800 to enter the United States duty-free since 2016. President Donald Trump signed an executive order last month to abolish the practice. It is set to end Friday. The change has rocked small businesses and consumers, leaving many concerned about shipping backlogs and higher costs. Some business...

President Donald Trump announced the United States is prepared to accept up to 600,000 Chinese students as part of a trade deal his administration is trying to strike with China."We're going to allow, it's very important, 600,000 students," Trump told reporters Monday at the White House. "We're going to get along with China. But it's a different relationship that we have now with China."

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump started the week declaring a diplomatic breakthrough in his bid to prod Moscow and Kyiv closer to peace, announcing he had begun arranging for direct talks between Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Four days later, the Republican president’s optimism has diminished. Russia’s top diplomat made it clear Friday that Putin won’t meet with Zelenskyy until the Ukrainians agree to some of Moscow’s longstanding demands to end the conflict. It’s a stinging setback for Trump, who had been touting his diplomatic blitz as resulting in indisputable momentum for a deal to halt...

President Trump has now imposed his new tariff regime on the world, and the triumphalism is palpable in MAGA land. But maybe hold the euphoria, as this week’s reports on jobs and the economy suggest the new golden age may take a while to appear. Friday’s labor report arrived with a particular jolt, with a mere 73,000 net new jobs in July. Even more bearish were the downward revisions of 258,000 jobs in May and June. Job gains over the last three months are barely more than 100,000. The details in the report provide little solace. The jobless rate ticked...

Coca-Cola said on Tuesday it plans to launch a beverage for the U.S. market that use cane sugar instead of high-fructose corn syrup. The announcement, which came as the company reported second-quarter earnings, follows a social media post by President Trump last week claiming that he had persuaded Coca-Cola to use real cane sugar in its U.S. cola. Coke said the new product will use cane sugar produced in the U.S. and will expand its product range. "This addition is designed to complement the company's strong core portfolio and offer more choices across occasions and preferences," the company said in...

On Thursday, Chairman of the Board of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Bill Pulte, said Fed Chair Jerome Powell may be criminally referred to the Justice Department for alleged perjury about the $2.5 billion building renovation plan. “I am told by very reliable Congressional sources that there may be a criminal referral coming from one or more Congress members to the DOJ for Jay Powell’s alleged perjury about the $2.5BN building,” Pulte said on X. I am told by very reliable Congressional sources that there may be a criminal referral coming from one or more Congress members to the DOJ...

The White House appeared to respond to rumors that either President Donald Trump's Attorney General Pam Bondi or FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino was out following the Department of Justice's announcement about no Epstein "client list.""President Trump has assembled a highly qualified and experienced law and order team dedicated to protecting Americans, holding criminals accountable, and delivering justice to victims," a statement on Friday from White House principal deputy press secretary Harrison Fields read, per Semifor White House Correspondent Shelby Talcott.White House statement on today’s FBI/DOJ Epstein news cycle:“President Trump has assembled a highly qualified and experienced law and order...

For years, the MAGA base has been demanding real accountability, not just for January 6th protestors or anti-Hillary meme posters, but for the actual predators and monsters who walk free among us under our broken, two-tier justice system. One of the biggest demands from Trump’s America First supporters has been the truth around Jeffrey Epstein’s supposed client list. MAGA was promised sunlight on this issue. They were promised justice. And instead, many feel as if they’ve been gaslit, stalled, and handed recycled documents while the real power players skate free, without a care in the world. From the very beginning,...

The U.S. private sector lost 33,000 jobs in June, according to new data from payroll-processing firm ADP, marking a sharp reversal from expectations of continued employment growth and raising fresh concerns about the labor market’s trajectory. Economists surveyed by Econoday had forecast a gain of 103,000 jobs for the month. Instead, the report released Wednesday morning showed the first monthly decline in private-sector employment since January 2021. Manufacturing, which had been a weak spot in the labor market, added a solid 15,000 jobs. Construction added 9,000 jobs. Natural resources and mining, which includes oil and natural gas extraction, added 8,000...

Many come here to read dispatches from the War between Good and Evil, to red-pill and encourage.....and to pray and give thanks to the God who fights for us.Q has reminded us repeatedly that together, we are strong. As the false "narrative" is destroyed and the divisive machinery put in place by the Deep State fails, the fact that patriotism has no skin color or political party is exposed for all to see. 3038 Mar 12, 2019 2:55:14 PM EDTQ !!mG7VJxZNCI ID: 4fe510 No. 5643022>Decide for yourself (be free from outside opinion).>Decide for yourself (be objective in your conclusions).>Decide for...

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has been seen mourning over his soldiers believed to have been killed in the Russia-Ukraine war, images aired by state media showed on Tuesday. Aired by Korean Central Television, the images showed Kim solemnly placing a North Korean flag over a coffin during a ceremony for the return of the remains of North Korean soldiers who were deployed and killed in the conflict. The images showed photos of Kim in the background footage during a joint cultural event co-hosted by North Korea and Russia in Pyongyang on Sunday, marking the first anniversary of the...

President Donald Trump issued a blunt warning to Israel on Tuesday to “not bomb Iran” as he departed for the NATO summit in The Hague, taking a critical position just 24 hours after brokering a fragile ceasefire already threatened after a missile strike from Iran. Speaking to reporters before takeoff, the president said that both Israel and Iran had breached the terms of the truce and made clear he was “not pleased” with Israel’s promise to launch retaliatory airstrikes after agreeing to the deal. Asked by a reporter about whether Iran had violated the ceasefire Trump replied: “They violated but...

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — It was an unprecedented attack years in the making, with some last-minute misdirection meant to give the operation a powerful element of surprise. U.S. pilots dropped powerful bombs early Sunday on two key underground uranium enrichment plants in Iran, delivering what American military leaders believe is a knockout blow to a nuclear program that Israel views as an existential threat. American sailors bolstered the surprise mission by firing dozens of cruise missiles from a submarine toward at least one other site. Dubbed Operation Midnight Hammer, U.S. officials say the plan was characterized by a "precision...