Free Republic

As President Donald Trump and his administration have ratcheted up pressure on Ukraine to stop striking Russian refineries, citing harm to American consumers, they have remained silent on recent Russian strikes on US businesses in Ukraine. Russia has escalated its attacks on facilities tied to American corporations – and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine writ large – over the past several months. According to Andy Hunder, the President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine, Russian missiles and drones have damaged facilities belonging to some of America’s most notable brands, including Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, McDonalds and Oreo. Although Russia has tried...

Diesel futures traded sharply higher Tuesday, as doubts mounted about the likely impacts of the Trump administration’s latest efforts to push prices down. U.S. diesel futures were up 5% by midday to their highest level in weeks. In Europe, diesel futures rose by about 3.8%, while gas futures spiked to levels not seen all year. A move higher in futures markets typically signals that prices will climb in the coming days. Already, the average nationwide price of diesel is up 70% since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28. The cost of unleaded gas has risen by more...

Trump announces an immediate “energy ceasefire” between Russia and Ukraine, saying both sides have agreed to the arrangement.

President Donald Trump said Friday that Russia will supply millions of tons of diesel to the global market under a deal he struck with President Vladimir Putin. Russia will immediately supply more than 300,000 tons of diesel, followed by 500,000 tons in November, and 1 million tons immediately thereafter, Trump said in a post on Truth Social. Moscow will then deliver another 3 million tons of diesel based on the condition of Russia’s refineries, Trump said. Diesel prices have surged around the world as Ukraine has pounded Russian refineries, forcing Moscow to ban diesel exports to the global market. Iran...

"Half of Russia’s six largest diesel-producing refineries were forced to cut or halt output in September after strikes, according to a Reuters tally. ... Other forces have tightened diesel. Gulf refineries were damaged after the Iran war widened in February."

Much of President Donald Trump’s second term has focused on changes to the nation’s capital. But his ambitions to remake the physical architecture of the presidency transcend Washington: Trump wants to transform his West Palm Beach golf club into a presidential retreat modeled after Camp David. The plan calls for a parcel of the private club to be designated a permanent, official sanctuary for foreign leaders and future U.S. presidents, designed to host international summits and house presidents when they take vacations in Florida, according to a proposal presented to Palm Beach County officials by Trump International Golf Club’s legal...

President Trump on Wednesday said, "I could've done very bad things to Hillary Clinton" and former presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden. Trump made the comment Wednesday during an Oval Office announcement for his “Trump Accounts” for children, the Independent reported. The president previously claimed that if Democrats gain control of Congress in November, they would impeach him. A reporter asked about Trump's assertion, saying, “For what?” “They don’t know,” Trump said, before mentioning Clinton, whom he ran against in the 2016 presidential election, and his Democratic predecessors. “I could've done very bad things to Hillary Clinton,” he said. “I...

President Trump on Thursday said “it’s possible” the Iran war could cost him the November midterm elections by risking Republican control of the House, Senate or both. “Well, it’s possible. It should help,” Trump told reporters outside the White House before heading to a campaign rally in the Choctaw Nation in Oklahoma. “Because Iran will not have a nuclear weapon. So when you say, ‘Is it OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon?’ I would say 100 percent of the people say no, including worldwide. So, when you say it that way, it would help. If you don’t say...

US President Donald Trump's top negotiators have met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, as efforts to end the war in Ukraine gather pace. Footage released by the Kremlin showed Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner being greeted by Putin, who said the current situation "is not so easy". Witkoff thanked Putin for agreeing with Ukraine to halt strikes on each other's capitals for three days. On Sunday the envoys will travel to Kyiv for more talks - their first such visit to Ukraine's capital. On Friday, Trump said Witkoff and Kushner were "bringing with them a proposal to end the...