Free Republic

She’s cracking. Gov. Kathy Hochul sounded off Wednesday about the “outrageous” price of eggs — jokingly telling New Yorkers to make chocolate cake with applesauce instead. The unprompted recipe suggestion came as Hochul, during a news conference in Midtown, slammed President Trump’s tariffs for driving up prices on everything from avocados to children’s toys. “And I’m done talking about the price of eggs — just give up eating them,” she said, drawing laughter. “It’s just outrageous, outrageous.” “You can make a really good chocolate cake with applesauce,” she added. “I digress, it’s also vegan.”

(AFP) — Developing countries should strike swift trade deals with the United States at the “earliest possible” opportunity, the president of the World Bank told AFP Friday, after a busy week with global financial leaders in Washington. Ajay Banga was interviewed by AFP at the World Bank and International Monetary Fund’s Spring Meetings, which have been held this year under a cloud of uncertainty about President Donald Trump’s stop-start tariff rollout. The Bank has been advising developing countries to get a deal done quickly with the United States, and to then focus attention on cutting trade barriers and boosting regional...

Megyn Kelly is urging Americans to have patience with President Trump as backlash over his far-reaching “reciprocal” tariffs continues to grow. “He’s asking everybody to be a little patient. I think given the guy’s success in the first term, economically, we should give it to him,” Kelly told the Daily Mail. “He’s earned the right to our patience, and I’m prepared to provide it,” the host of SiriusXM’s “The Megyn Kelly Show” declared. Trump’s sweeping tariffs on nearly all imports went into effect over the weekend, and even steeper levies began Wednesday, hitting US allies and adversaries alike, with China...

Sen. John Fetterman (Pa.), the maverick Democrat who has praised President Trump at times, on Thursday condemned the Trump administration’s decision to bar transgender individuals from serving in the U.S. military and called for a reversal of the policy. “I am unapologetically pro-military — I believe in a strong, lethal military. But I am also unapologetically pro the LGBTQ community,” Fetterman said in a video posted to X. “I am calling on President Trump to rescind this executive order — to allow and honor the inherent dignity of our service members regardless of what their race is, what their gender...

Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (KY) has reportedly told his colleagues to oppose the idea of term limits, which aligns with his past public statements. A report from Axios said two sources indicated McConnell told Senate Republicans that “imposing term limits on the Senate leader is a bad idea during a Wednesday meeting about the direction of the conference”: McConnell was one of several senators who spoke during an hour-and-a-half conference meeting, which was called by conservative Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.). McConnell spoke against imposing term limits for the top GOP position, calling it a bad idea, according to...

Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson called on the US to give Ukraine “what they need as fast as possible” a day after President Biden ruled out the possibility of sending F-16 fighter jets to the war-torn nation. “This is not the moment to delay any support for Ukraine. This is the moment to double down on our support. Give them what they need, whether it’s the tanks or the long-range artillery fires. They need to kick Putin out of the whole of the territory,” Johnson told Fox News Channel’s Bret Baier Tuesday during an interview on “Special Report.” Biden,...

Former Vice President Mike Pence is offering his support for Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) in his bid for Speaker, urging Republicans to rally around the former minority leader after the House on Tuesday failed to secure a Speaker on its first ballot for the first time in 100 years. Pence joins his former boss, ex-President Trump, in calling for GOP lawmakers to cast their ballots for McCarthy. “Urging Every Republican in @HouseGOP to support my friend, Kevin McCarthy as the next Speaker of the House,” Pence tweeted on Wednesday. “@GOPLeader’s Leadership & Vision led to The New Republican Majority &...

During a press conference at Broward Health Medical Center in Ft. Lauderdale, DeSantis noted what workers at the Jackson Health System in Miami are doing, which is noting which patients with COVID-19 are there because of the pandemic and which ones are there for other reasons but happen to test positive while they are there. "I think that’s an important distinction to make when you have a variant like omicron which is much more widespread," DeSantis said. "You are going to have people who get into a car accident and go into the emergency room. They’re swabbing everybody, and you’re...

Dr. Anthony Fauci suggested on Sunday that fully vaccinated Americans who received a coronavirus booster shot should still do more, wearing masks and undergoing a coronavirus test before gatherings in congregate settings, despite the fact that public health officials originally pitched vaccines as the avenue to return to a state of pre-pandemic normalcy. “Well, we got to do better. I mean, we are doing better,” Fauci said during an appearance on CNN’s State of the Union when asked if the state of testing is currently “acceptable” in America.

An unvaccinated Virginia man who thought he was “invincible” to COVID-19 is rallying anti-vaxxers to get their shots from his hospital bed, where he is laid up with a dire case of the virus. Travis Campbell, 43, has been in the hospital for more than a week with COVID-19 complications, and his wife and two of their children have also fallen ill, according to NBC News. Campbell is now hooked up to multiple breathing apparatuses and fighting through his grim condition to post videos to Facebook urging people to get inoculated. “I made it through another whole night, and I’m...

Pence urges young conservatives to get COVID-19 vaccine Former Vice President Mike Pence on Wednesday urged young conservatives to get vaccinated against COVID-19 as the country grapples with rising case counts amid the spread of the highly contagious delta variant. "Now let me say this about the vaccine: I got the shot. My family got the shot. And I want to encourage anyone here who hasn’t gotten the shot who’s eligible to go get it. And if you’re not sure about it, go ask your doctor and get the very best advice you can," Pence told the Young America Foundation's...

Twice failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is urging Americans to encourage their friends and family members to get vaccinated “today” as Democrat politicians toughen their rhetoric toward unvaccinated individuals. “The vaccines are protecting millions of people from COVID-19. Encourage a friend or family member to get vaccinated today,” Clinton said, linking to data from the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) comparing cases of the Chinese coronavirus among vaccinated individuals and unvaccinated individuals:

President Biden on Tuesday called for patience after leaving Americans confused about whether to continue wearing masks amid CDC guidance that vaccinated people have no reason to continue wearing the COVID-19 shields. Biden has been erratic in his embrace of the CDC’s pivot, drawing ridicule from critics who say Democrats hypocritically accused them of not following science during the pandemic.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Wednesday that the US economy urgently needs more relief from Congress as COVID-19 cases surge. Democratic and Republican leaders are wrangling over details for stimulus legislation ahead of a Friday government funding deadline. “The case for fiscal policy right now is very, very strong and I think that’s widely understood,” Powell said following a Federal Reserve meeting, the New York Times reports.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said it’s unknown how long flights from other countries will continue operating, so Americans abroad who wish to return should do so immediately. Pompeo warned that the window to bring Americans home from abroad could be closing. Pompeo said more than 26,000 U.S. citizens from more than 50 countries have been repatriated back to the U.S. The top diplomat said the repatriation task force remains committed to bringing all Americans home. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is urging Americans who are still abroad and wish to return to the United States to do so “immediately,”...

President Donald Trump signaled his support Thursday for work requirements for food stamps. “When the House and Senate meet on the very important Farm Bill – we love our farmers – hopefully, they will be able to leave the WORK REQUIREMENTS FOR FOOD STAMPS PROVISION that the House approved,” Trump wrote on Twitter. The House version of the farm bill barely passed with a vote of 213-211 and included work requirements for single food stamp recipients. Democrats voted unanimously against the bill. The House and the Senate have to take the bill to conference, however, which will likely strip the...

Azaz (Syria) (AFP) - Turkey on Saturday urged the United States to withdraw personnel from a Kurdish-held town in northern Syria after Washington told Ankara it would stop arming a Syrian Kurdish militia that Turkey is fighting. As Turkey's offensive in Syria entered its second week with new air strikes and artillery, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said it was "necessary for them (US) to immediately withdraw from Manbij", where Washington has a military presence. Turkey launched operation "Olive Branch" on January 20 against the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) militia in its western enclave of Afrin, supporting Syrian opposition...

After trade ministers from the U.S. and 11 other countries on either side of the Pacific on Thursday signed one of the biggest trade deals in history, President Obama called on Republicans and Democrats to approve it "this year." Obama said in a statement he would "continue working with Democrats and Republicans in Congress to enact it [the Trans-Pacific Partnership] into law as soon as possible so our economy can immediately start benefiting from the tens of billions of dollars in new export opportunities." "We should get TPP done this year and give more American workers the shot at success...

<p>Republican presidential hopeful Jeb Bush said Tuesday that the government should have broad surveillance powers of Americans and private technology firms should cooperate better with intelligence agencies to help combat "evildoers."</p> <p>At a national security forum in the early voting state of South Carolina, Bush put himself at odds with Republican congressional leaders who earlier this year voted to end the National Security Agency's bulk collection of phone records.</p>

A new Twitter campaign called #NoFlaggingChallenge is encouraging people around the nation to shoot video of themselves ripping Confederate flags off their poles and posts, and then put the film on the Internet for the world to see. Some are predicting the campaign – which basically urges people to trespass on private properties – won’t end well. “This #NolagginChallenge is going to end badly,” wrote one Twitter used, Twitchy found. And another: “PLEASE DON’T do this stupid #NoFlagging Challenge. You could get shot! No joke people are crazy enough to shoot you for it!” And a third: “please please be...