Free Republic

Democrats scored a stunning upset on Saturday in a special election runoff for Texas Senate, according to a projection from Decision HQ, giving the party a major boost ahead of the November midterms. Fort Worth Democrat Taylor Rehmet, a machinist and Air Force veteran, defeated Southlake Republican Leigh Wambsganss to fill the vacant state Senate District 9. The district favored President Trump--who endorsed Wambsganss earlier on Saturday--by 17 points in 2024...

Following a month where the trade deficit hit its lowest level since early 2009, it shot up to $56.8 billion, an increase of 94.6% from October...On a year-over-year basis, the deficit through November stood at $839.5 billion, or about 4% higher than the same period in 2024.

The value of the U.S. dollar plunged Tuesday, after President Donald Trump said he was not concerned about the currency's recent drop. "I think it’s great," Trump said, speaking to reporters in Iowa, when asked if the dollar's value had declined too much. “The dollar’s doing great.” Before Trump's comments, the benchmark ICE U.S. Dollar Index was already on pace to record its worst three-day drop since Trump's April 2025 "Liberation Day" tariff rollout. After Trump’s comments, the value of the dollar as measured by the index sharply extended its slide to as much as 1.5%, putting it on track...

The maker of the popular Jim Beam bourbon whiskey says it will halt production at its main site in Kentucky for all of next year. The distillery will stay closed while the firm takes "the opportunity to invest in site enhancements," it told the BBC in a statement on Sunday. "We are always assessing production levels to best meet consumer demand and recently met with our team to discuss our volumes for 2026." Distillers in Kentucky - famous for its bourbon - face uncertainty, in part, due to US President Donald Trump's trade policies. The brand is owned by Japanese...

One of Kentucky’s largest bourbon producers apparently is pausing whiskey production at the end of the year. Jim Beam, which is one of the largest makers of American whiskey in the world, is planning to shut down production in Happy Hollow in Clermont on Jan. 1 through 2026. The visitors center on site will remain open for Kentucky Bourbon Trail visitors. “We are always assessing production levels to best meet consumer demand and recently met with our team to discuss our volumes for 2026,” according to a statement from the company. “We’ve shared with our teams that while we will...

President Trump defended White House chief of staff Susie Wiles in an exclusive interview with The Post Tuesday — saying she was right to tell Vanity Fair he has an “alcoholic’s personality” and that he has full faith in Wiles to continue in her role.Trump, 79, reiterated that he avoids alcohol, saying in the interview he has a “possessive and addictive type personality” and that he wasn’t offended by her word choice. “No, she meant that I’m — you see, I don’t drink alcohol. So everybody knows that — but I’ve often said that if I did, I’d have a...

iRobot, the maker of the Roomba vacuum cleaner, filed for bankruptcy protection on Sunday, saying that it would go private after being bought by Picea Robotics, its primary manufacturer.The company, which raised concerns about staying in business in March, filed for Chapter 11 protection in Delaware bankruptcy court as it grapples with increased competition from lower-priced rivals and new U.S. tariffs. iRobot generated about $682 million in total revenue in 2024, but its profits have been eroded by competition from Chinese rivals like Ecovacs Robotics. iRobot remains dominant in key markets like the U.S. and Japan, but competition forced it...

Trump’s tariffs and immigration raids are driving the latest farm crisis. White farmers have stood by him year after year—and still do. On Monday, Donald Trump announced that his administration will give farmers a $12 billion bailout—a tacit admission that his trade policies suck. Farmers have spent much of the last year complaining about rising production costs, falling crop prices and the loss of multiple markets due to Trump’s tariffs and the trade wars they have launched. All in all, farmers are projected to lose roughly $44 billion in profits this year, in large part because of Trump administration policies....

Democrats continued their run of successes in special elections by flipping a state House seat in Georgia Tuesday, according to a projection from the CNN Decision Desk. The Democratic victory, in a district that voted for President Donald Trump by about 12 percentage points last year, comes ahead of next year’s critical midterms, when Georgians will vote in closely watched races for Senate and governor. Eric Gisler, a Democrat who owns a local olive oil store, will defeat Republican Mack “Dutch” Guest in the 121st House District, in the northeastern part of the state, near the college town of Athens....

President Donald Trump fumed about a House Democrat — who he just pardoned — choosing to remain with the party rather than defect to the Republicans. In a blistering post to Truth Social early Sunday, the president bashed Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) for announcing his intent to run for re-election as a Democrat, despite receiving a pardon from the president. Cuellar was facing charges for allegedly taking over $600,000 in foreign bribes. (The congressman’s wife, Imelda, was also charged in connection with the scheme.) “Can you imagine???” Trump wrote. “The Democrats, under the Crooked Joe Biden Administration, who always use...

A grand jury in Virginia on Thursday declined to indict New York Attorney General Letitia James on a new indictment related to allegations that she committed mortgage fraud. The decision comes after a federal judge dismissed the initial case against James last month, ruling that the federal prosecutor who brought the case was not lawfully appointed. The prosecutor, Lindsey Halligan, was appointed by Attorney General Pam Bondi. The grand jury's decision was first reported by CNN and NBC News, citing sources familiar with the matter. The second attempt to indict James was presented to the grand jury in Norfolk, Virginia,...

Representative Nancy Mace is reportedly planning to discuss retiring early from Congress with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who announced her resignation in late November. New York Times reporter Annie Karni wrote Wednesday that the South Carolina Republican has told those around her she is frustrated with Speaker Mike Johnson and sick of the way he has run the House, primarily with how women have been treated there. News 4 reached out to Mace's team for comment and was directed to the congresswoman's latest post on X, where she said that there is frustration that discharge petitions are "the only way...

The U.S. labor market slowdown intensified in November as private companies cut 32,000 workers, with small businesses hit the hardest, payrolls processing firm ADP reported Wednesday. With worries intensifying over the domestic jobs picture, ADP indicated the issues were worse than anticipated. The payrolls decline marked a sharp step down from October, which saw an upwardly revised gain of 47,000 positions, and was well below the Dow Jones consensus estimate from economists for an increase of 40,000. Larger businesses, entailing companies with 50 or more employees, actually reported a net gain of 90,000 workers.

Measures of the consumer outlook for both personal finances and buying conditions for durable goods plunged more than 10% ...

CHICAGO, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Tyson Foods (TSN.N) will close a major beef plant in Lexington, Nebraska, with about 3,200 employees in January after U.S. cattle supplies dropped to their lowest level in nearly 75 years, the meatpacker said on Friday. The closure in the heart of cattle-feeding country signaled that supplies will remain tight, forcing meatpackers to pay steep prices for cattle to process into steaks and hamburgers. Beef prices have set records due to low supplies and strong demand, raising costs for consumers. President Donald Trump said last month that he was working to bring down prices. Tyson...

Former Republican state legislator Austin Smith pleaded guilty Monday to what he previously called “ludicrous” charges that he personally forged more than 100 signatures on his petitions for reelection last year. The Republican from Surprise was a member of the far-right Arizona Freedom Caucus, which has a history of spreading false claims of election fraud in the 2020 presidential election and pushed for election law changes in the state legislature.

Home Depot's recent earnings report has raised alarms about more than a retail slowdown, signalling stress in the U.S. housing market and financial pressures on homeowners and potential buyers alike. The home improvement giant posted a 0.2% gain in same-store sales for the quarter and lowered its full-year profit forecast, citing persistent challenges in housing and consumer spending. Analysts say the numbers reflect broader concerns about affordability and economic uncertainty in the nation's housing sector. Rising mortgage rates, higher building costs, and inflationary pressures are keeping many prospective homebuyers on the sidelines. Homeowners are also postponing major remodelling projects, opting...

On the campaign trail, Donald Trump was unapologetic about putting America first. He promised to secure the nation’s borders, strengthen the domestic workforce and be tough on countries he thought were taking advantage of the United States.Now, 10 months into his second term, the president is facing backlash from some conservatives who say he is too focused on matters abroad, whether it’s seeking regime change in Venezuela, brokering peace deals in Ukraine and Gaza or extending a $20-billion currency swap for Argentina. The criticism has grown in recent days after Trump expressed support for granting more visas to foreign students...

In a landslide election, California voters approved Proposition 50, a ballot measure that reconfigures the state’s U.S. House map temporarily in a response to Republican gerrymandering efforts in other states. The approved measure will set the stage for a competitive midterm election next year as Democrats go head-to-head with Republicans in their battle to win back the House. The Associated Press called the race as soon as polls closed in California at 8 p.m. The special election attracted 7.2 million early voters as of Monday, according to the data from the California Secretary of State's office. AP wrote on its...

It was a long shot for Republican Virginia Lt. Governor Winsome Earle-Sears, and now it’s over. Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) has won the gubernatorial race, ending a contest that’s been riddled with drama. Sears had opportunities to turn things around. A white elderly Democrat carried a sign that was primarily seen as racist when Sears spoke out at an Arlington School Board meeting regarding the story of Richard Cox, a sex offender, who camped out at a high school girls’ locker room, claiming to be transgender. Spanberger’s answer to this question was also a trainwreck. Truth be told, Abby...