Free Republic

President Donald Trump’s promised tariffs on softwood lumber risk disrupting the supply chain for something nobody wants to be caught without: toilet paper. The Trump administration plans to almost double duties on Canadian softwood lumber to 27%, with the possibility of additional levies pushing the rate to more than 50%. While Trump advocates for new tariffs partly to bolster U.S. manufacturing, they may also hit the availability of northern bleached softwood kraft pulp, or NBSK, a key component in making toilet paper and paper towels. NBSK constitutes about 30% of standard U.S. bathroom tissue and half of a typical paper...

In the world of cheap drones, Skydio was the great American hope. Its autonomous flying machines gave the U.S. defense and police agencies an alternative to Chinese manufacturers, free from the security concerns tied to dependence on Chinese supply chains. But Skydio’s vulnerabilities came into sharp focus days before the U.S. presidential election, when Chinese authorities imposed sanctions and severed the company’s access to essential battery supplies. Overnight, the San Mateo, Calif.-based Skydio, the largest American maker of drones, scrambled to find new suppliers. The move slowed Skydio’s deliveries to its customers, which include the U.S. military. “This is an...

Washington state’s trucking industry is urging Gov. Jay Inslee to reconsider a first of the year commitment to align with California’s Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT) regulation, which requires a certain percentage of so called "zero emissions" (ZEV) trucks to be sold in the state. This goes back to 2020, when Washington lawmakers committed to follow California’s strict emissions mandates. It got more critical last month when on Oct. 23, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) amended its ACT standards to require manufacturers to gradually increase the percentage of zero-emission vehicles they sell with targets from 4% to 7%. Washington has...

Key Points Approximately 50,000 ILA union longshoremen were walking off the job at East Coast and Gulf Coast ports from New England to Texas starting at 12:01 a.m. ET on October 1 after failing to reach an agreement with ports ownership on a new contract, the union’s first strike since 1977. Between 43%-49% of all U.S. imports and billions of dollars in trade monthly move through the U.S East Coast and Gulf ports. The International Longshoreman’s Association, the largest maritime union in North America, rejected an offer from the port management group USMX on Monday that included a wage hike...

Does anyone know where a person can purchase large quantities of medications? Following thyroid cancer treatment 10 years ago I need synthroid and I would like to be able to have more than a monthly refill. Thanks.

A looming strike by dockworkers at ports from Massachusetts to Texas could snarl supply chains and raise prices on a wide array of consumer goods—just as the holiday shipping season approaches. Members of the International Longshoremen's Association, a union representing 85,000 dockworkers, plan to strike Tuesday if they can't reach agreement on a new contract with the United States Maritime Alliance, which represents large shipping lines. A walkout would be the first East Coast dock strike in the U.S. since 1977. A strike would shut down container facilities at 14 ports stretching from Boston to Houston. Those ports handled more...

A looming dock worker strike could throw the economy — and the presidential election — into chaos, an October surprise that would likely hurt Democrats. The International Longshoremen’s Association, which represents about 85,000 dock workers nationwide, is threatening to strike on October 1 if the union cannot reach an agreement with port ownership. Negotiations broke down in June between the union and the United States Maritime Alliance, which represents port management. The two sides are in a stalemate over both wages and the automation of port operations. A strike would shut down five of North America’s 10 busiest ports, 36...

Hezbollah pager operation casualty update: - 4,000 Hezbollah Terrorists injured. - 400 in critical condition. - 18 High-Ranking commanders injured. - 500 plus lost their eyesight - 11 Hezbollah Terrorists dead. Numbers from Syria are not known yet. This is the biggest blow to hezbollah since it was founded And imagine the paranoia of all communication devices, and subsequent breakdown of communication

Postal contractor Midwest Transport Inc. is winding down... An Illinois-based trucking and logistics company, which contracted with the U.S. Postal Service to haul mail has notified over 650 employees, including more than 480 drivers, that the carrier is ceasing operations ... Former truck drivers for Midwest Transport Inc. (MTI), headquartered in Robinson, Illinois, told FreightWaves that they received telephone calls from their regional managers late Thursday notifying them the company was winding down operations. ... According to an email sent to MTI employees and drivers about the closing late Friday, which was obtained by FreightWaves, the company stated that postal...

Southern California appeared to be under siege from a blockade. More than 50 enormous vessels bobbed in the frigid waters of the Pacific Ocean, marooned off the twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, Calif. As days stretched into weeks, they waited their turn to pull up to the docks and disgorge their cargo. Rubberneckers flocked to the water’s edge with binoculars, trying to count the ships that stretched to the inky horizon. This was no act of war. This was what it looked like when the global economy came shuddering to a halt. ...Given the scale of container...

The Enemies of Food FreedomIn every war, there is necessarily an enemy force, and the war on our food supply is no exception. My previous article addressed the ongoing attacks on farmers across the globe. In today’s article, we will look at some of the culprits behind this agenda. For anyone who delved into the entities behind the tyrannical Covid policies, many names on the list below will seem quite familiar.Bayer/MonsantoBayer merged with Monsanto in 2018, combining the companies responsible for Agent Orange and pioneering chemical warfare. In 1999, Monsanto’s CEO Robert Shapiro bragged that the company planned to control...

Timothy Bundren must have heard wrong. The sun wasn’t up yet. He was still groggy from starting his morning routine of walking through chicken barns. His phone rang and his contact with the global meat company headquartered in Springdale, Arkansas, just two hours south of his farm, started telling him he would no longer be raising chickens. Bundren, 52, didn’t believe him at first. Just hours later, he was supposed to meet with the bank about another loan to buy the farm down the road. Bundren waited an hour and then called the man back. The news didn’t change, but...

The Biden Administration’s regulations are coming so fast and furious that it’s hard even to keep track, but we’re trying. On Thursday the Environmental Protection Agency proposed its latest doozy—rules that will effectively force coal plants to shut down while banning new natural-gas plants. “With the announcement today, the power sector can make planning decisions with a full array of information,” EPA’s press release declares. Translation: Get moving with the green-energy transition because we’re determined to eliminate fossil-fuel power. Barack Obama’s regulation spurred a wave of coal plant closures. Now President Biden is trying to finish the job by tightening...

The Port of Baltimore is “closed until further notice” following the Francis Scott Key Bridge tragedy, sending several industries into disarray and jeopardizing national security. In 2023, the port handled a record amount of international cargo, ranked ninth for both dollar value and tonnage in the United States. Vital for both imports and exports of a variety of commodities, the Port of Baltimore has always had international significance and the impact of its closure will be wide-ranging and long-term for the supply chain in the United States and beyond. Given the seriousness of this issue, Congress must come together to...

WASHINGTON — Problems with an upgrade installed on some Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighters rolling off the production line have now disrupted plans to incorporate those upgrades on existing aircraft, and the F-35 Joint Program Office does not have a date for when those jets will get the much-anticipated retrofits. The F-35 program “was scheduled to begin TR-3 [Technology Refresh 3] retrofits in April 2024 with the intent to modify 149 aircraft over the subsequent 12-month period,” JPO spokesperson Russ Goemaere told Breaking Defense. But now, “[t]he Program is working closely with F-35 customers to establish a new start...

“… Others believe this was a deliberate attack of US infrastructure based on various factors that do not seem to add up. Could it have been an inside job or a foreign agent? The truth will come to light, as it always does. Let me begin by explaining how crucial the Francis Scott Key Bridge was to America’s supply chain. Around 52.3 million tons of international cargo estimated to be worth $80.8 billion passed through the port in 2023. Around 4,900 trucks, carrying around $28 billion in goods, must be rerouted due to the bridge collapse. It is the second...

When I awoke early on Tuesday morning, I was stunned to learn that the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore had collapsed. We are being told that it was a tragic “accident” and that there is no evidence that any foul play was involved. Hopefully that is true. But no matter how it was caused, this tragedy is going to have an enormous impact on U.S. supply chains. And of course this comes at a really bad time, because Houthi missile strikes in the Red Sea and low water levels in the Panama Canal have been putting a tremendous amount...

Wendy’s is preparing to test an “Uber-style” surge-pricing model where prices will fluctuate throughout the day based on demand — meaning a Dave’s burger will cost more during the lunchtime rush. Wendy’s CEO Kirk Tanner — who rose to the chief role earlier this month — announced the new system on a call with investors, noting that the pricing menu will begin testing in 2025, Daily Mail earlier reported. With the dynamic pricing model, the chain’s iconic Dave’s Single could increase by as much as $1 at lunchtime and drop down by the same amount after the lunch rush. With...

WND reported just days ago on a video that showed empty stores in France, where a climate agenda threatened the production processes for farmers, and they more or less staged a strike.And just recently, in Germany, farmers blocked highways in protest over costly and unnecessary agriculture policies.Now, however, there's a new campaign against farmers, in which the United Nations works with banks to debank the food producers, closing their accounts and not allowing them to operate their businesses.The report is from NewsAddicts, which explained officials from 12 U.S. states have sounded an alarm after finding out the "unelected globalist United...

Farmers not sufficiently 'woke' can have accounts shut down without notice.. Farmers are under attack in multiple food-producing nations now... empty stores in France, where a climate agenda threatened the production processes for farmers, and they more or less staged a strike. ... And just recently, in Germany, farmers blocked highways in protest over costly and unnecessary agriculture policies. Now, however, there's a new campaign against farmers, in which the United Nations works with banks to debank the food producers, closing their accounts and not allowing them to operate their businesses. ... officials from 12 U.S. states have sounded an...