Free Republic

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...

President Trump on Thursday called on Senate Republicans to initiate the “nuclear option” and get rid of the filibuster, which would allow them to end the government shutdown and pass legislation with a simple majority. “It is now time for the Republicans to play their ‘TRUMP CARD,’ and go for what is called the Nuclear Option — Get rid of the Filibuster, and get rid of it, NOW!” Trump posted on Truth Social. Trump’s post came on the heels of a trip to Asia, where he said he faced questions about how Democrats shut down the government, “and why did...

It is day 30 of the Schumer Shutdown with no end in sight. President Trump on Thursday night called on Republican Senators to initiate the nuclear option to get rid of the filibuster. It takes 60 votes to invoke cloture and end the filibuster. “….BECAUSE OF THE FACT THAT THE DEMOCRATS HAVE GONE STONE COLD “CRAZY,” THE CHOICE IS CLEAR — INITIATE THE “NUCLEAR OPTION,” GET RID OF THE FILIBUSTER AND, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” Trump said. In a follow-up Truth Social Post President Trump said during his trip to Asia this week everyone kept asking him how the Democrats...

The beef industry is battling multiple challenges: a prolonged drought across key cattle states, record‑high feed costs and the smallest U.S. cattle herd in 75 years.Beef prices in the United States are at record highs heading into the holiday season — and tariffs aren’t the only reason. At Oak Barn Beef in West Point, Nebraska, family tradition runs deep. Owner and operator Hannah Klitz is a fifth‑generation cattle producer. Alongside her husband, she sells farm‑to‑table beef to the local community and ships products nationwide. "Quarter four is normally our busiest quarter, just because of all of the gifting — and...

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Friday the U.S. will host a new Qatari air force facility in Idaho, where pilots will train to fly F-15s. Hegseth said the Trump administration has signed the letter greenlighting the building of a Qatar Emiri air force contingent at the Mountain Home Air Force Base located in southwestern Idaho. Qatar Emiri air force is the air arm of Qatar’s armed forces. “Location will be host to a contingent of Qatari F-15s and pilots to enhance our combined training, increase lethality, interoperability,” Hegeseth said Friday. “It’s just another example of our partnership.”Mountain Home Air Force...

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."