Free Republic

The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore came as quite a shock. After a massive container ship struck one of the bridge’s pillars, the entire span quickly fell apart, costing several lives. It’s hard to overstate the bridge’s importance, particularly for the automobile industry. In addition to handling 11 million vehicles per year, it provided a vital way for trucks to access the Port of Baltimore while avoiding the dense city core. The impact on the region will be felt for months, if not years. The question is, what now? President Joe Biden has said that the...

Early Tuesday morning the Singaporean-Flagged Cargo Ship crashed into the supports and took down the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland. The M/V Dali can be seen suffering a Total Loss of Power at least Twice before the Crash. But there’s more to the story. DC Draino reported on a CISA Conference in February 2024 (just last month) where the US government confirmed that China compromised US infrastructure via cyber attacks – including transportation. DC Draino: Feb 2024: The US Gov’t confirmed China compromised US-Infrastructure via cyber attacks…to include *TRANSPORTATION* CISA and its U.S. Government partners have confirmed that...

The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland which crosses the Patapsco River has reportedly Collapsed within the last few minutes after being Struck by a Large Container Ship

The head of the powerful Transportation Workers Union is warning members not to be “fooled” by the AFL-CIO’s recently published scorecards for U.S. Congress members - because the process is “deliberately biased” to boost Democrats. TWU national president John Samuelson sent a letter Thursday to his union’s 155,000 transit workers, airline staffers and other members, saying the AFL-CIO “disincentivizes pro-trade union Republicans,” leading to a rigged result in favor of Democrats in its Legislative Scorecards released Feb. 29. “Do not be fooled,” added Samuelson. The AFL-CIO - which is comprised of 60 international and national unions, including the TWU -...

The Biden administration is poised to soon finalize gas-powered car tailpipe emissions standards that consumer advocates and energy industry groups have dubbed a "de facto electric vehicle mandate." The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) proposed tailpipe emissions – which were in recent weeks submitted to the White House Office of Management and Budget for final review – are designed to ensure a staggering 67% of new car sales are electric by 2032. Over the weekend, the New York Times and Washington Post reported the White House is set to double down on that lofty goal while loosening earlier targets. "The President...

Two New York City governmental departments are using the photo of Kansas City Chief star Travis Kelce screaming in coach Andy Reid’s face during the Super Bowl to front their public warning campaigns. NFL fans will recall that early in Super Bowl 58, Kelce was seen on the sideline getting in coach Reid’s face and bashing into the elderly man in frustration. Kelce has since apologized for his ignorant actions. Now, the New York City Department of Transportation has used the image to push its anti-car agenda, the New York Post reported.

HB 1708 has been introduced in Missouri to restore Second Amendment rights. The bill does this by incrementally removing infringements on the carry of firearms while on public transportation, in churches, and for people between the ages of 18 and 19. The bill has evolved over the past few years. Last year, it passed the House of Representatives but was killed in the Senate by not being brought to a vote. In 2022, the bill again passed the House 101 to 40. It was killed in the Senate by not being brought to a vote. In 2024, the bill is...

Three years ago, the P.E.I. government rolled out its new electric school buses with much fanfare. Now some drivers say the buses are plagued with problems, with 16 to 18 of the vehicles in the shop at a time on occasions, out of a total of just over 100. Robert Geiss, president of CUPE Local 1145, which represents school bus drivers on the Island, says he believes the provincial government rushed into buying the new buses — and now students and drivers are paying the price. He said the biggest problems are with the heating systems, leaving some buses icy...

The American economy can’t catch a break. In addition to the massive price inflation of food, cars, housing, energy, and so many other elements, international companies are now suffering from a near-doubling of ocean transportation costs in just the past three months, due to simultaneous crises in Central America and the Red Sea that have restricted international shipping through the Panama and Suez Canals. This is adding to the cost of goods all over the world, along with damaging lead times, as longer transits cause disruptions to both factory schedules and retail offerings. For thousands of years, ocean carriers moved...

As a result of California Governor Gavin Newsom’s executive order, gas-powered vehicles will be banned by 2035. This refers to new vehicles and existing gas-powered cars and trucks that will be allowed on California roads for the moment.Other states are following California. But with electric vehicles (EVs) comes an investment. What are the economic ramifications of banning gas-powered vehicles? Can California afford it? Can America afford it?(Shutterstock)California Banns New Gas-Powered Vehicles 2035Gov. Newsom’s executive order was announced in 2020 and was followed by the California Air Resources Board’s approval in August 2022. Automakers and car dealers will be restricted to...

“The electric things have their life too. Paltry as those lives are.” – Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Just as President Joe Biden starts showering hundreds of billions more of taxpayers’ money to “electrify” the nation’s fleet of automobiles, the bottom is falling out of the EV market. The latest indication is the sharp drop in prices for used EVs. A report from iSeeCars.com, a search engine for auto buyers, found that the average price for all cars declined 5% in 2023 compared with 2022. But the resale price EVs plunged 33%. While a used EV sold for...

Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg on Thursday touted the achievements his department has made over the last year and gave Americans pointers on air travel before they take off for the holiday season. “This year we have seen some of the busiest air traffic days in U.S. history. And so far, this year, our aviation system has been handling the increased volume well,” Buttigieg said in a video posted to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. “In fact, cancelations are lower than they were before the pandemic, and we’re pushing hard to keep it that way.”

The Biden-Harris regime has announced a new “White House Council on Supply Chain Resilience.” This new council is charged with preventing such problems as we experienced in the famous “supply chain crisis” of 2021 and early 2022 that preceded, and contributed to creating the current economic downturn. Granted, the Biden-Harris regime had already created a “Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force” in the first months of 2021, virtually as soon as they changed the names and dress sizes on the White House letterhead, and that didn’t seem to help. Maybe they’re hoping we forgot about that one. But then again, maybe...

Proterra, which President Joe Biden once said was "making me look good," sold hundreds of electric buses to municipalities across North America. Every transit district Just The News spoke with, except one, has inoperable buses awaiting repairs. Across the country, towns and cities of various sizes envisioned an electrified public transit system that could shuttle residents with vehicles that produced no carbon-filled exhaust. Many of those communities purchased buses from Silicon Valley-based Proterra, which was able to produce 550 buses over its 19-year existence before it went bankrupt in August. The company announced last month it had concluded auctions as...

A federal agency is calling for a nationwide mandate requiring new vehicles to have software surveilling American drivers for adherence to local speed limits. On November 14, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) published a news release advocating “intelligent speed assistance technology and countermeasures including interlock program for repeat speeding offenders” in “all new cars.” The agency cited an investigation it conducted into “a multivehicle collision in North Las Vegas, Nevada, last year that resulted in nine fatalities” — finding it was “caused by excessive speed, drug-impaired driving and Nevada’s failure to deter the driver’s speeding recidivism due to systemic...

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency Wednesday after a train derailed in Livingston and spilled chemicals that caught on fire, sending plumes of smoke into the air. At least 16 cars of a southbound CSX train were involved in the derailment which happened at about 2:23 p.m. just north of the tiny town of 400 residents in Rockcastle County, CSX said. Two of those train cars were carrying molten sulfur which leaked out during the derailment and ignited, according to the company. When molten sulfur burns, it often releases sulfur dioxide, which can be toxic. Residents of...

Gimme (inexpensive) shelter! The good news is that The Federal Reserve finally cooled inflation. Well, at least core inflation cooled to 4%, twice The Fed’s target rate. At least The Fed is making progress. But on the housing front, shelter CPI is still up 6.7% YoY while transportation services are up 9.2% YoY. So, as long as you don’t have to rent or go anywhere, inflation looks good! Shelter CPI is over 3x The Fed’s inflation target rate, despite mortgage rates being up 169% under Biden. The 10-year Treasury yield cooled to 4.50% as investors see no further action from...

An American retired lawyer and university professor was caught on camera on Tuesday shooting dead two climate change protesters in Panama. Kenneth Darlington, 77, appeared before a judge in the town of La Espiga on Wednesday afternoon, and after a two-hour hearing was remanded in custody. Eliécer Plicett, a lawyer for the two victims, both of them teachers, said Darlington was being charged with murder and illegal possession of a gun, TVN Noticias reported. Darlington was seen on Tuesday, in front of a large number of photographers and television crews, walking up to a road block on a section of...

A Cleveland man has been arrested by police for allegedly trying to cause trains in the city to derail by jamming metal into tracks and rail lines. Joseph Findley, 43, has been arrested by the FBI on federal terrorist charges following a string of alleged attacks against railroad carriers on October 6. He is accused of placing railroad spikes onto the path of oncoming trains and wedging pieces of metal into a rail switch. During a test run for a CSX employee appreciation day, one train hit an obstruction on the track and temporarily derailed before the wheels dropped back...

Supply chains are not something most of us think about on a day-to-day basis. Or they weren't, until the last few years, when we've been exposed, at least on the right, to the fragility and susceptibility of said supply chains. This author works in the shipping industry and has a few thoughts. First and foremost, one needs a rudimentary understanding of how the supply chain actually works, so here is a summation. Let's call it Supply Chain 101: 1. A producer creates goods. 2. Goods need to get to market, which is handled by shippers. 3. Markets may be local,...