Free Republic

The iconic denim brand Levi Strauss has warned that growing international backlash against President Donald Trump could negatively affect its sales and those of other U.S. companies. In a recent filing with the United Kingdom's national business registry, the California-based company noted the risk of "rising anti-Americanism as a consequence of the Trump tariffs and governmental policies." Levi's warned that this could increasingly push consumers in the U.K. away from American goods and toward non-American alternatives.

Linehan, who is known for British sitcom "Father Ted" was arrested at Heathrow Airport on Monday. LONDON, England – Graham Linehan, cocreator of the British TV sitcom Father Ted, was arrested at Heathrow Airport on Monday. Linehan, 57, is known for his controversial posts about transgender people. Police did not name Linehan, but confirmed the arrest of a man at the airport on suspicion of inciting violence on the social media platform X. Linehan has gained attention for his posts about trans women, some of which involved threats of violence. He is scheduled to appear in court on Thursday for...

As Americans across the nation mark Labor Day, President Trump stands as the champion of the American Worker. From surging native-born employment and rising blue-collar wages to innovative workforce initiatives like expanded apprenticeships and trade school funding, the Trump Administration is reversing decades of neglect and finally putting American Workers first.President Trump is overseeing a private sector boom.President Trump has created over half a million new jobs since he took office — all of them coming in the private sector.Employment for native-born Americans has grown by 2.4+ million since January, accounting for ALL net job gains in President Trump’s second...

On Tuesday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “11th Hour,” Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield (D) stated that if President Donald Trump is successful in his legal battle to use emergency powers to implement tariffs, then when a Democrat becomes president, “we’re going to have an emergency on climate change and maybe we’ll start putting tariffs on oil.” Rayfield said, “I wish that we could sit here and have a real, candid conversation with Republicans who support this and say, listen, we’re going to get a Democratic president in here soon, and what’s good for the goose is good for the gander. And...

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) is calling for a federal investigation into radical organizer Aisha Nizar, after Nizar openly encouraged Palestinian activists to intervene in the U.S. F-35 fighter jet supply chain. The so-called “People’s Conference for Palestine,” held August 29 in Detroit, brought together thousands of anti-Israel agitators, leftist groups, and pro-Hamas sympathizers under one roof. Far from a “peace” summit, the event quickly devolved into calls for sabotage, economic warfare, and even direct intervention against the United States military supply chain. According to recently released reports, radical organizers are furious that shipments of U.S.-made F-35 components are being...

Nan Palmero was at a rehearsal dinner in Mexico City’s trendy Roma Norte neighborhood, ahead of a wedding of two American friends, when he heard a “rumbling” outside. From the restaurant’s second story, Palmero described seeing a large group of people moving through the streets, some holding placards, shouting “Gringos leave.” He later learned that demonstrators smashed restaurant windows and damaged vehicles, including the new car of his friends’ wedding planner — a local resident — he said. “They wrecked her car, they smashed a window, they ripped off a mirror, they spray-painted the side of it. It was really...

Public sector unions, with millions in dues and political sway, fuel progressive agendas, dominating local elections and reshaping America from city halls to state capitals. Public sector unions constitute the bedrock of progressive power in the United States. The estimated total nationwide membership exceeds 7 million, or 32 percent of all public employees. This compares to an equal number of unionized employees in the private sector, 7 million, but that only represents 6 percent of private sector employees. The fact that one in three public employees are dues-paying union members gives them influence in the public sector far in excess...

Private Chinese firm China Concord Resources Corp (CCRC) is developing two oilfields in Venezuela, from which it expects to produce 60,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude by the end of next year, thanks to a planned investment of $1 billion, an executive involved in the project told Reuters on Friday. Private Chinese operators are a rare sight in Venezuela, where Chinese state-held majors have developed oilfields in the past. Yet, CCRC has signed a 20-year production sharing contract with Venezuela and is already producing 12,000 bpd from two oilfields The Chinese company’s plan entails pumping as much as 60,000...

If you want to know where America’s oil boom is happening, no need to look at the whole map—because it’s limited to just ten counties in the Permian Basin. Between 2020 and 2024, these small dots in Texas and New Mexico delivered 93% of all U.S. crude oil growth, according to the latest EIA and Enverus data. It's almost like the rest of the US doesn’t even matter when it comes to oil production growth. The U.S. added 1.9 million barrels per day (bpd) of new crude and condensate output over that stretch. But nearly all of it came from...

Russia’s gas giant Gazprom on Tuesday signed an agreement with China’s state energy firm CNPC to build a second huge natural gas pipeline from Russia to China, Gazprom’s CEO Alexey Miller said. Russia bets on selling increased volumes of energy products to China after losing Europe as a key oil and gas export market following Putin’s war in Ukraine. Gazprom and CNPC signed today a “legally binding memorandum” on the construction of the Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline from Russia to China via Mongolia, Russian media quoted Miller as telling reporters in Beijing. Power of Siberia 2 has been...

Despite record solar and wind capacity additions and booming renewable energy output, China is not giving up on coal, on the contrary. During the first half of 2025, China commissioned as much as 21 gigawatts (GW) of coal power, the highest amount in the first half of the year since 2016, the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) and Global Energy Monitor (GEM) said on Monday in their H1 2025 biannual review of China’s coal projects. Projections are that coal capacity commissioned for the full year would exceed 80 GW. Globally, China is the leader in renewable...

Miss England is controversial at the best of times, not least for its now-banned swimwear round. Each year, models who make it to the semi-finals have to choose categories to compete in to secure a place in the final. The choices include the Bare Face round, where contestants are judged on their looks without make-up, and the Talent round, in which they showcase a special skill. Now, the pageant is causing a stir after introducing an AI round – in which contestants have to get as many bookings as they can for an AI-generated version of themselves. Only three of...

Environmental organizations lost their bid Tuesday to immediately access $16 billion in grant money that was frozen by the Trump administration earlier this year. In a split decision, a three-judge panel from the DC Circuit Court of Appeals found the Trump administration was within its rights to stop $20 billion from the Biden-era Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund that was promised to eight groups. “While some grantees may be forced to shutter their operations during the litigation, their harms do not outweigh the interests of the government and the public in the proper stewardship of billions of taxpayer dollars,” Tuesday’s ruling...

The Real Economics of Tariffs: Why America Holds All the Cards The debate over tariffs is often frustrating because it so seldomly touches on reality instead of whiteboard economics of the Ivory Tower. Critics focus on textbook theories about comparative advantage and free trade efficiency, but they ignore the fundamental reality of how global trade actually works today. For decades, the U.S. has played a peculiar role in the global economy: we consume what the rest of the world produces. That is not a neutral or natural arrangement. It’s the result of policy choices—ours and theirs. And tariffs are finally...

A federal judge ruled Tuesday that Google can keep its Chrome browser but will be barred from exclusive contracts and must share search data. Alphabet shares popped 6% in extended trading. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta ruled against the most severe consequences that were proposed by the U.S. Department of Justice, including selling off its Chrome browser, which provides data that helps its advertising business deliver targeted ads. “Google will not be required to divest Chrome; nor will the court include a contingent divestiture of the Android operating system in the final judgment,” the decision states. “Plaintiffs overreached in seeking...

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he will ask the Supreme Court for an “expedited ruling” to overturn an appeals court decision that found most of his tariffs are illegal. “If you take away tariffs, we could end up being a third-world country,” Trump told reporters at the White House. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, in a 7-4 ruling on Friday, said that Trump does not have the authority to implement most of his tariffs.

Guest post by Robert Bowes Will Too Late Jay Powell allow an illegitimate Fed meeting September 16-17, 2025? Cook’s false occupancy statements on mortgage applications are confirmed by her numerous errors and omissions in her signed U.S. Office of Government Ethics financial filings. But wait, there’s more. Did Cook exploit regulatory lapses at a free-wheeling DC credit union where they ignored risks and gave her two low-interest rate mortgages? Cook likely could not have tricked the underwriting systems at major banks, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac, but was approved for two first mortgages from Bank-Fund Staff Federal Credit Union (“BFSFCU”),...

The US H-1B visa system is about to undergo a major shakeup, which could impact many Indian professionals, who account for the largest percentage of recipients annually. According to US government data, 191,000 H-1B visas were issued to Indian professionals during the fiscal year 2023. In FY 2024, that figure increased to roughly 207,000. The White House has approved a proposal from US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to replace the long-standing lottery system with a wage-based selection process. Under the new framework, H-1B visas would be issued to applicants in order of the salaries offered to them, starting with...

Perhaps the only thing that might stop the Federal Reserve from cutting interest rates in a few weeks would be a surprisingly strong U.S. jobs report. Just don’t count on it. Hiring has slowed sharply since the spring after the Trump administration launched the biggest trade wars in decades. Even with those trade disputes dying down, businesses have been slow to add new employees. The U.S. economy added an average of only 35,000 new jobs from May through July, marking the smallest three-month increase since the pandemic in 2020. Wall Street isn’t expecting a big uptick in August, either. A...

As Democrats panic over their diminished power and struggle to curtail President Trump, one of the party’s former senators is finding lucrative opportunities in Republican-controlled Washington. Since leaving Congress in January, Kyrsten Sinema has launched an array of projects and new jobs focused on cryptocurrency, artificial intelligence and psychedelic research. She leads an organization that advocates for Arizona business. She is a member of the Coinbase Global Advisory Council, works at a lobbying and law firm and remains a professor at Arizona State University. She chairs an association for companies that work in AI and says the group “played a...