Free Republic

President Donald Trump on Friday celebrated his decision to permit U.S. automakers to manufacture so-called "tiny cars." "I have just approved TINY CARS to be built in America. Manufacturers have long wanted to do this, just like they are so successfully built in other countries," Trump posted on Truth Social. "They can be propelled by gasoline, electric, or hybrid. These cars of the very near future are inexpensive, safe, fuel efficient and, quite simply, AMAZING!!! START BUILDING THEM NOW! Thank you to the DOJ and the Departments of Transportation and Environment." So-called "tiny cars" are popular in Japan and other...

The last time gasoline was this cheap, 4% inflation seemed alarming, JD Vance was still a private citizen and the United States had only just begun its messy withdrawal from Afghanistan. Gas prices dropped below an average of $3 a gallon in the United States on Tuesday for the first time in four-and-a-half years, according to AAA. The milestone represents a rare feel-good story in a years-long affordability crisis marked by high prices for necessities. The national average for regular gas dipped to $2.998 a gallon, compared with $3.001 on Monday. Pump prices are down about six cents in just...

Gov. Newsom is single handedly sending California into energy poverty, rather than economic and energy prosperity Most California residents recognize that California’s highest-in-the-nation gas prices are self-inflected, as is the gasoline crisis in the state. This has subsequently increased dependency on foreign oil suppliers and shippers to supply fuels, and as we reported recently, this poses a direct threat to U.S. military force readiness on the West Coast. California today produces less than 23% of its own in-state petroleum needs and imports over 65% of its crude oil from foreign sources, yet the oil and gas industry in California account...

Gas prices have been falling since President Donald Trump took office and major cities like Denver are actually seeing prices dip well below $3 per gallon, right ahead of Thanksgiving. According to Gas Buddy, the average price for fuel per gallon in Colorado is $2.590, with figures showcasing the lowest average this year. For greater perspective, that is down 24 cents from last year’s average of $2.830. KDVR also reported that one gas station in the Denver region dipped below $2: Here’s where the cheapest gas prices were in Denver on Sunday and Monday: Shell, 7273 E. Evans Ave. –...

Last night, on October 19, a series of explosions occurred at the Novokuibyshev Oil Refinery in Russia’s Samara Region following a drone attack. Drones also struck a gas processing plant in the Russian city of Orenburg. According to eyewitnesses, black smoke rose above the Novokuibyshev refinery after the attack, and videos shared on social media show heavy smoke over the facility. Regional Governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev confirmed the UAV attack but did not disclose details regarding the damage. The Novokuibyshev refinery, owned by Rosneft, is one of the key enterprises in the Samara Region, with a capacity to process up to...

As of Tuesday, the average price of regular unleaded gas in Missouri was $2.72 per gallon. On Oct. 20, 2024, the price was $2.85 per gallon, and it was $3.25 per gallon in 2023, $3.44 per gallon in 2022 and $3.03 in 2021.

A little-known microbe in your gut produces methane and may help your body extract more calories from food, according to a study led by Arizona State University. Deep inside your gut lives a vast community of microbes, and among them is one unusual resident that produces methane. This lesser-known methane-producing microbe may influence how efficiently your body absorbs calories from food, according to new research from Arizona State University. This community of microbes is collectively known as the microbiome. In some people, the gut microbiome generates large amounts of methane, while in others it produces very little. Researchers discovered that...

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said he aims to end Iraq’s $4-billion dependence on Iranian gas by early 2028, outlining a plan to recover flared gas and attract foreign investment during an interview with CNBC published Tuesday."We developed a clear vision to address this structural imbalance that affects our ability to generate and produce electricity and provide it to citizens," Sudani told CNBC’s Dan Murphy in Baghdad.Via AFPHe said Iraq had signed investment deals with TotalEnergies, Chinese, and Emirati companies to capture and process gas currently burned off at oil sites. "For the first time in Iraq’s history, there...

Yesterday, a baffling video started making the rounds on social media showing Tennessee representative Tim Burchett casually claim that alien entities are here on Earth, and that they're rising out of the ocean. "What if, these are entities that are here on this earth, that have been on this earth for who knows how long, and we think they're coming from way out," he says while strolling along the streets of DC, the Capital rotunda glowing in the distance. "Maybe they did a millennia ago, but they're here, and they're in these deep water areas." Throughout the minute long cell...

Amid California’s worsening affordability crisis and warnings of a 75-percent price increase at the gas pump, state legislators over the weekend sent a package of bills aimed at tackling energy costs, fuel supply, and pollution to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk.Newsom announced the deal with state lawmakers last week, and the two chambers extended their session through Saturday to finalize last-minute negotiations before the Legislature adjourns until January.“After months of hard work with the Legislature, we have agreed to historic reforms that will save money on your electric bills, stabilize gas supply, and slash toxic air pollution—all while fast-tracking California’s transition...

It starts off looking harmless. You’ve pulled into a petrol station, you’re in a rush, maybe even heading off on holiday, and a stranger at the next pump leans over with a polite smile. ‘Could you put five euros on your card for me? I’ll give you the cash now.’ It sounds like nothing – a neighbourly gesture, a quick favour. But what many drivers in Spain don’t realise is that this “harmless” exchange is the basis of a clever new scam sweeping petrol stations across the country. And those five euros? They could end up draining your bank account...

Phillips 66 will begin shutting down its 139,000 bpd Los Angeles-area refinery as soon as next week , sources told Reuters, moving forward on a closure plan announced last year. Units at the plant will idle in phases through Q4 2025, with the facility permanently offline by year-end. The decision isn’t a surprise—Phillips 66 said in October it would exit the site, citing “market dynamics.” But it comes with fallout about 600 employees and 300 contractors will lose their jobs by December, with only a handful reassigned to the company’s marine terminal. The company insists it will support workers through...

A new law went into effect in Colorado earlier this month requiring health warning labels on gas stoves, similar to those placed on cigarette packages. It’s one example of multiple efforts, primarily in blue states, to stop consumers from using gas-powered appliances in their homes. After a Biden administration official in 2023 alluded to the possibility of a ban on gas stoves in the name of public health, legacy media outlets produced a number of “fact checks” insisting the Biden administration wasn’t going to ban gas stoves. They claimed the whole idea was just a "right-wing conspiracy." Conveniently, most of...

Trapped in underground rocks, a potential energy resource has eluded generations of British politicians. It's called shale gas and the method of getting it out of the ground, known as fracking, has proved politically difficult. Fracking, short for hydraulic fracturing, has been banned many times by different prime ministers since 2011 over concerns about earthquakes and environmental impacts. And yet despite this, Reform UK - which is leading in national opinion polls - believe it's worth going after the gas again. "We've got potentially hundreds of billions of energy treasure in the form of shale gas," Richard Tice, the party's...

The move to develop the Amu Darya field aligns with the Taliban’s goal of self-sufficiency, but can the cash-strapped regime go it alone?In late July, Afghanistan’s Taliban-run government decided to pursue unilateral development of the Amu Darya oil field, at least for the time being. It seems unlikely the cash-strapped regime will be able to maximize the potential of the oil field without foreign investment, but it will still be able to collect millions of dollars in revenue by going it alone. The move aligns with the Taliban’s oft stated goal of self-sufficiency. However, international investors may be troubled by...

Forced electric load reduction and possible rolling blackouts in Maryland. Electric system in crisis. Got Coal?

When my friend Rebecca in Highland Park, NJ, opened her PSE&G gas and electric bill last month, she almost fell out of her seat: It had tripled. It’s now costing her more than $1,000 a month to keep her modest home running. “It’s been creeping up for months, in spite of the fact that nothing about our house has changed,” she told me. “In years past, it was averaging about $300 a month.” “I don’t know how we’re expected to absorb these new bills,” she posted on Facebook. Her neighbor Felix Urman wondered the same as he ticked off his...

Ali Saleh Kahlah al Marri, an admitted former al Qaeda operative, has been released from a American jail and permitted to return home to Qatar. No formal statement has been released yet by either government, but it is being reported that al Marri's release was the result of a bilateral agreement between the Qatari and American governments. According to the US Bureau of Prisons, a prisoner with the same name and estimated age (ID number 12194-026) was freed on Friday. Additionally, a source from al Marri's family told the Qatari press he was recently released and arrived in Doha Saturday....

Gas prices often increase in the summer as more motorists hit the road, but this year’s pump prices have dropped to match the summer of 2021, the last time seasonal gas prices were this low. The national average is down about 3 cents per gallon from last week, returning to the price from a month ago, $3.16. One year ago, gas prices were at $3.574. Gas prices were also at a four-year low on Independence Day. The White House is attributing the phenomenon to President Donald Trump’s energy agenda, which Energy Secretary Chris Wright told The Daily Signal can be...

HELL'S KITCHEN, Manahttan -- New York City authorities made a disturbing discovery inside a van that had been involved in an accident Tuesday night on a busy street in Manhattan. Police were called to the scene near 42nd and 10th Avenue just after 7 p.m. The 31-year-old driver was operating a 2013 Chevrolet express van that had a food cart attached which became loose and struck a parked 2021 Kia Serrano with a 48-year-old woman and a 10-year-old boy. Police say the driver, Sayed Khaled Elsayed Abdelmohsen, fled the scene, but the 48-year-old woman followed him in her vehicle. First...