Free Republic

The interpretation of a few words of regulation by the U.S. Treasury Department could upend expectations for how tens of billions of dollars in new electric-vehicle tax incentives will be distributed, according to Bloomberg discussions with a dozen manufacturing executives, battery analysts and government officials. At stake over the coming weeks is the extent to which a critical part of the battery supply chain will end up being made in North America or remain where it’s currently concentrated, in Asia. “There are specific factories — and there are thousands of jobs tied to those — that are hanging in the...

The poster Simplicius76 has a large number of videos of the war, most from a Russian point-of-view.

Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has called urgently for “meaningful and fair” peace talks over Russia’s invasion amid further attacks, including a claim by Moscow that it had used a hypersonic missile for the first time, hitting a depot in the west of the country.In a video address early on Saturday, Zelenskiy said: “It’s time to meet. Time to talk. It is time to restore territorial integrity and justice for Ukraine. Otherwise Russia’s losses will be so huge that several generations will not be enough to rebound.”“The war must end,” he added. “Ukraine’s proposals are on the table.”

Grocery company Kroger announced Monday it will be shuttering two of its stores in Long Beach — a Ralph’s location and a Food4Less store — in response to a city ordinance requiring a $4 “hero pay” salary boost for some workers. “As a result of the city of Long Beach’s decision to pass an ordinance mandating extra pay for grocery workers, we have made the difficult decision to permanently close long-struggling store locations in Long Beach,” according to a company statement. “This misguided action by the Long Beach City Council oversteps the traditional bargaining process and applies to some, but...

Of all the purposes for which you might put U.S. taxpayer dollars at risk, helping wealthy petro-states borrow millions to buy Boeing jets would not rank among the most urgent. Yet that is what the Export-Import Bank does: In fiscal 2013, Ex-Im backed $8.3 billion in aircraft and related sales, including a $117.5 million loan guarantee to support Boeing 737 purchases by Dubai — a typical transaction for an agency that has, over the years, earned the sobriquet “Bank of Boeing,” though it does also support Caterpillar and General Electric, among others. Now Ex-Im suddenly faces extinction: Its charter expires...

President Obama on Thursday will order the federal government to use renewables for 20 percent of its electricity needs by 2020. The Associated Press first reported the news and obtained a copy of the executive order to be released Thursday. The White House confirmed the report to The Hill. It will nearly triple the use of the federal government's renewable sources and apply to all federal agencies, civilian and military. "The federal government occupies nearly 500,000 buildings, operates 600,000 vehicles and purchases more than $500 billion per year in goods and services," the AP reported late Wednesday. "The government currently...

For the first 10 years the state's flagship economic development program didn't do any audits of businesses that were collecting tax credits, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation CEO said Wednesday. Greg Main of the MEDC said that is now changed and every tax credit since 2006 will be reviewed by the end of this fiscal year. Main testified at a House tax committee hearing in Lansing about two weeks after an Auditor General report pointed out lax oversight of the tax credit program. State Representative Tom McMillin, R-Rochester Hills, estimated the MEDC may have given out $150 million in erroneous...