Free Republic

As External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar prepares for crucial talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow, India finds itself at the centre of a diplomatic storm. President Trump has unleashed his most aggressive economic assault on India in recent memory, wielding tariffs and sanctions as weapons to force New Delhi away from its Russian partnerships. The pressure campaign began in August 2025 with sweeping 25% tariffs on Indian exports, later doubled to 50% specifically targeting Russian oil imports. For a nation whose economic planners depend heavily on US markets, this represents a devastating blow. Nearly 70% of India's...

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday accused India of profiteering from cheap Russian oil imports during the war in Ukraine, describing the practice as "arbitrage" and condemning it as unacceptable. "They are just profiteering. They are reselling," Bessent told CNBC's "Squawk Box" in an interview. "This is what I would call the Indian arbitrage — buying cheap Russian oil, reselling it as product." "They've made $16 billion in excess profits — some of the richest families in India," Bessent said.

Since the Emerson College July national poll, President Donald Trump has tightened the presidential race to a two-point margin, and is now trailing former Vice President Joe Biden 49% to 47%. In July, former V.P. Joe Biden held a four-point lead over President Trump –– 50% to 46%. Spencer Kimball, Director of Emerson College Polling explains “the Republican convention gave Trump his most positive week of news coverage which likely attributes to his bounce in this month’s poll and increasing job approval.” Voters planning to vote early in person are breaking for Trump 50% to 49% while those who plan...

Edward Markey appears headed for a bruising defeat unless he can turn around his struggling campaign in the next two months — a difficult ask for a 73-year-old incumbent running against a well-funded young heir to a political dynasty. The latest developments are not good for Markey — and we’re not even talking about his staggeringly stupid decision to pose on his porch with an American flag on the floor. Democratic sources say two new polls in separate congressional districts show Markey trailing U.S. Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy III by double digits. One of the polls was from a Democratic...

Forty-three percent of likely voters would back Bloomberg if the election were held today, compared to 37% who would vote for Trump.

“We are talking to China, the meetings in September, that hasn’t changed,” Trump told reporters Sunday on the White House South Lawn after returning from Camp David. Tariffs went into effect early Sunday on $112 billion of Chinese imports. The 15% tariffs cover a wide range of consumer goods, including everything from certain types of clothing and shoes to some consumer electronics like cameras and desktop computers.

» In July 1974, the NAACP filed a suit against the Boy Scouts of America on the grounds that in LDS troops ... the deacons quorum president was automatically the patrol leader, meaning that an African-American Scout could not gain patrol leader experience. When the church realized the inappropriateness of such restriction ... it dropped the policy and the court dismissed the suit. President [Spencer] Kimball had been subpoenaed to appear for deposition and bring "all church records and writings concerning the policy and position of the church regarding blacks." He felt greatly relieved at avoiding that burden and the...