Free Republic

One trite Wall Street saying is that copper is the only metal with a PhD in economics. This is because copper is an industrial metal, the demand for which waxes and wanes with economic growth and shrinkage. So falling copper prices can be a sign that economic trouble lies ahead, and the converse is also true. I would argue that copper's more reliable role is as a leading indicator of inflation, as illustrated in this week's chart. It shows the price of copper, shifted forward by 2 months to reveal how the growth rate of the Consumer Price Index (CPI)...

Former President Donald Trump met Wednesday in New York with Polish President Andrzej Duda, the latest in a series of meetings with foreign leaders as Europe braces for the possibility of a second Trump term. The presumptive Republican nominee hosted Duda for dinner at Trump Tower, where the two were expected to discuss Ukraine, among other topics. Duda, who has long expressed admiration for Trump, is also a staunch supporter of Ukraine and has encouraged Washington to provide more aid to Kyiv amid Russian's ongoing invasion. That funding has been held up by Trump allies in Congress. As he arrived,...

Wisconsin's status as a political battleground has increased for the 2024 election. According to a new Marquette Law School Poll released Wednesday, registered voters are evenly split between the candidates in the races for President of the United States, as well as the U.S. Senate race in Wisconsin. Among registered voters polled by Marquette, Republican former President Donald Trump gained 51% support, while Democratic President Joe Biden received 49%. Among likely voters also, Trump is the choice of 51% and Biden of 49%. When adding additional candidates, among all registered voters, Trump received support of 41%, with Biden at 40%,...

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators blocked roadways in Illinois, California, New York and the Pacific Northwest on Monday, temporarily shutting down travel into some of the nation's most heavily used airports, onto the Golden Gate and Brooklyn bridges and on a busy West Coast highway. In Chicago, protesters linked arms and blocked lanes of Interstate 190 leading into O'Hare International Airport around 7 a.m. in a demonstration they said was part of a global “economic blockade to free Palestine,” according to Rifqa Falaneh, one of the organizers. Traffic in the San Francisco Bay Area was snarled for hours as demonstrators shut down all...

Nathan Frederiksen is doing pretty well for himself. He turns 40 this year and is on track to retire by 60. It takes some sacrifice — he drives the “unsexiest car ever,” takes a DIY approach to home repairs and doesn’t eat out much — but he’s able to save 10% of his income for retirement and maintain an emergency savings fund while supporting his wife and four children in the suburbs of Boise, Idaho. “I understand that I’ve been lucky with some of my job prospects, but I don’t make a crazy amount of money,” he told CNN. “I...

A brazen Los Angeles cash heist on Easter weekend in which thieves cracked a safe and got away with as much as $30 million is believed to be one of the largest such heists in U.S. history. The heist has triggered rampant speculation among a public long infatuated with daring burglaries and hefty criminal paydays. L.A. police and the FBI were tight-lipped Friday about any new developments in their joint investigation, but police Cmdr. Elaine Morales told The Los Angeles Times, which broke news of the crime, that thieves were able to breach the money storage facility in the suburban...

Private money to fund elections will be banned in Wisconsin after voters approved a constitutional amendment Tuesday put forward by Republicans in reaction to grants received in 2020 that were funded by donations from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. Voters also approved a second question put on the ballot by the Republican-controlled Legislature that amends the constitution to say that only election officials can administer elections. That’s already state law, but putting it in the constitution makes it more difficult to repeal or change. Democrats opposed both measures, which they argued would make it more difficult to conduct elections in the...

The MONTHLY Gardening Thread is a gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. If you have specific question about a plant/problem you are having, please remember to state the Growing Zone where you are located. This thread is a non-political respite. No matter what, you won’t be flamed, and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack the...

HOUSTON (AP) — Three boys, ages 11, 12 and 16, and dubbed the “Little Rascals," have been arrested for robbing a bank in Houston, authorities confirmed Wednesday. Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said the youngsters are in custody and have been charged with robbery by threat. Gonzalez said that because of their ages, no additional information would be released, and the sheriff's office didn't immediately respond to a request for more information. The FBI’s Houston office says they were wanted for robbing a Wells Fargo bank in the Greenspoint area of north Houston on March 14. The FBI posted an...

French bulldogs. U.S. dog owners. C'est l'amour. Frenchies remained the United States' most commonly registered purebred dogs last year, according to American Kennel Club rankings released Wednesday. The club calls the Frenchie the most popular breed, though other canine constituencies may beg to differ. Is it a coup to be celebrated? Au contraire, say longtime fans who rue what popularity is doing to the breed. Nevertheless, after lapping Labrador retrievers to take the top spot in 2022, the bat-eared, scaled-down bulldogs held on in the new standings, which reflect puppies and other dogs that were added last year to the...

TWO RIVERS, Wis. -- A blanket belonging to missing three-year-old Elijah Vue was found north of Manitowoc, the Two Rivers Police Department confirmed Monday. Police said the red and white-plaid blanket was found earlier in their investigation along Goodwin Road east of County Road B in Manitowoc County, roughly 3.7 miles from where Elijah Vue was reported missing. Elijah was last seen on Feb. 20 in the 3900 block of Mishicot Road in the City of Two Rivers. His mother, Katrina Baur, is charged with chronic neglect of a child as a party to a crime stemming from his disappearance....

Six months ago, Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin announced they'd be resuming abortion services in Wisconsin. Since then, CEO Tanya Atkinson says the need for the procedure has been more clear than ever. "When we announced the decision to resume services, the appointments were filled within 24 hours, and our appointments have remained filled since that time," Atkinson said. The decision came after a Dane County Circuit judge ruled that the 1849 law that caused Planned Parenthood to halt abortion services when Roe v. Wade was overturned nearly two years ago did not apply to abortion. "Our commitment was to restore...

Vice President Kamala Harris visited Madison Wednesday, in another visit by the highest-level politicians to Wisconsin during what is shaping up to be a key battleground for Campaign 2024 and the road to the White House. Harris visited the Metro Transit Satellite Bus Facility, where she and Acting U.S. Secretary of Labor Julie Su touted Biden administration policies and successes. As part of her visit, Harris met with construction workers to talk about the importance of their work. She also introduced a new federal apprenticeship program. “When we invest in the American people, including the American worker, everyone benefits,” Harris...

The MONTHLY Gardening Thread is a gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. If you have specific question about a plant/problem you are having, please remember to state the Growing Zone where you are located. This thread is a non-political respite. No matter what, you won’t be flamed, and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack the...

Driving in Wisconsin has become a more expensive endeavor in recent days. The greater Madison region has seen some of the highest prices of regular unleaded gasoline at stations tracked across the state. According to the AAA gas price tracker, the Madsion metro average Thursday reached $3.27/gallon. That amounted to an average of a 10 cent rise from Wednesday, and a climb of an average of 22 cents since February 22. The Madison average from one month ago was $2.75/gallon. One year ago, the average was $3.08/gallon. In the Janesville/Beloit metro area, the average price of regular unleaded gasoline Thursday...

Scientists have looked back in time to reconstruct the past life of Antarctica’s “Doomsday Glacier” — nicknamed because its collapse could cause catastrophic sea level rise. They have discovered it started retreating rapidly in the 1940s, according to a new study that provides an alarming insight into future melting. The Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica is the world’s widest and roughly the size of Florida. Scientists knew it had been losing ice at an accelerating rate since the 1970s, but because satellite data only goes back a few decades, they didn’t know exactly when significant melting began. Now there is...

The National Rifle Association and its former longtime leader were found liable Friday in a lawsuit centered on the organization’s lavish spending. The New York jury found that Wayne LaPierre, who was the NRA’s CEO for three decades, misspent millions of dollars of the group’s money on pricey perks for themselves. LaPierre, 74, sat stone-faced in the front row of the courtroom as the verdict was read aloud. The verdict is a win for New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat who campaigned on investigating the NRA’s not-for-profit status. It is the latest blow to the powerful group, which...

WAUKESHA, WI — A group of teenagers believed to be from the Chicago area broke into a luxury car dealership in Wisconsin and drove off with nine vehicles worth more than a half-million dollars, police said. Sunday's heist at a Jaguar-Land Rover dealership in Waukesha was captured on surveillance camera footage showing nine masked suspects filing into the dealership before each drives off in a car in the city about 19 miles (30.5 kilometers) west of Milwaukee. The video also shows one car being backed up and smashed through an overhead service door. Waukesha Police Capt. Dan Baumann said the...

The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. If you have specific question about a plant/problem you are having, please remember to state the Growing Zone where you are located. This thread is a non-political respite. No matter what, you won’t be flamed, and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack...

Imagine if you could drive at night with your high beams on all the time, bathing the road ahead in bright light but without ever blinding other drivers. In Europe and Asia, many cars offer adaptive driving beam headlights that can do this. ADB is a lighting technology that has been available for many years in other parts of the world including Europe, China and Canada, but not in the United States. It can actually shape the light coming from headlights rather than scattering it all over the road. If there’s a car coming in the other direction, or one...