Free Republic

In today's broadcast Gerald Celente explains the deteriorating situation in Ukraine as well as the latest NATO updates. WARNING: VERY STRONG LANGUAGE THROUGHOUT VIDEO

It looks like the trains may stop running on time for Christmas. On Monday, the SMART Transportation Division (SMART-TD), the largest railroad union in the country, narrowly voted down a contract offered by the White House. That means the possibility of a strike just in time for the holiday season. The SMART Transportation Division, or SMART-TD, which represents about 28,000 conductors, rejected the contract in a vote that garnered record turnout, the union said Monday. The contract was nixed by a slim margin, as just 50.8% of workers voted against it. The second-largest rail union, made up of engineers, voted...

The International Brotherhood of Boilermakers (IBB) announced Monday its members voted against ratifying a tentative agreement with the major freight railroads, making IBB the third labor group to turn down the deal brokered by the Biden administration and upping the chances of a nationwide strike. The IBB said in a statement that it has now entered a "cooling off" period and plans to continue to negotiate further with the National Carriers' Conference Committee (NCCC), which represents the nation's largest railroads, including BNSF, CSX, Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific. IBB joins the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen (BRS) and the Brotherhood of...

VIENNA - The United Nations’ atomic watchdog hasn’t been able to access data important to monitoring Iran’s nuclear program since late February when the Islamic Republic started restricting international inspections of its facilities, the agency said Monday. The International Atomic Energy Agency reported in a confidential document distributed to member countries and seen by The Associated Press that it has “not had access to the data from its online enrichment monitors and electronic seals, or had access to the measurement recordings registered by its installed measurement devices” since Feb. 23. While the IAEA and Iran earlier acknowledged the restrictions limited...

Americans are expected to spend roughly $4.7 billion on gas during the Friday through Monday of Memorial Day weekend, according to GasBuddy, an app and website focused on finding real-time fuel prices. That breaks down to about $1.18 billion spent on gas each day, give or take $1 million, Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, tells CNBC. GasBuddy predicts the national average price of gasoline will be $2.98 per gallon during Memorial Day weekend, the highest price on record for the May holiday weekend since 2014 when gas hit $3.66 per gallon. (AAA is reporting slightly higher...

New York (CNN Business)A nasty surprise awaits the 34 million drivers expected to hit US roads this Memorial Day weekend — the highest gas prices in seven years. And that could be the least of the problems for the those taking to the highways for summer vacations. The gas shortages experienced earlier this month when a key pipeline shut down could once again be on the horizon, according to experts. This time, the squeeze could be triggered by the lack of tank truck drivers to deliver the fuel, and a repeat of panic buying by travelers topping off their tanks."I...

The average national gas price on Wednesday hit $3 per gallon for the first time since 2014. Costs have been on the rise since a cyberattack over the weekend forced Colonial Pipeline to temporarily shut down operations. The pipeline delivers nearly half of all fuel along the East Coast. “Areas including Mississippi, Tennessee and the east coast from Georgia into Delaware are most likely to experience limited fuel availability and price increases, as early as this week,” AAA spokesperson Jeanette McGee said Tuesday in a news release. “These states may see prices increase three to seven cents this week.” As...

Shoppers had better start budgeting more for their grocery bills, according to the latest consumer price index, which shows prices are increasing — and they’re likely to keep going up. The monthly consumer price index, released Tuesday morning by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, showed a 0.6 percent increase in March, the largest one-month increase in nearly a decade. Over the past year, prices have increased 2.6 percent overall. Gas skyrocketed up 9.1 percent last month. Since February, fruits and vegetables have risen nearly 2 percent and the index for meats, poultry, fish and eggs have risen 0.4 percent, according...

An Asian man was arrested last night by California police, after abducting a woman who he thought was white so he could rape her in revenge for supposed anti-Asian hate crimes. Irvine Police arrested Michael Sangbong Rhee, a 37-year-old Asian male, on Friday night for kidnapping with the intent to commit a sexual assault against an Asian woman. In a press release, Irvine PD said that Rhee forced the woman at gunpoint into the back of her car when she was outside her apartment complex on Thursday afternoon. After committing “sexual battery” on the woman, Rhee fled when she alerted...