Free Republic

SACRAMENTO Sealing a groundbreaking deal to combat global warming, California lawmakers on Thursday sent Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger a bill that would make the state the first in the nation to force its major industries to cut their carbon emissions. The legislation requires California businesses to begin reporting their emissions of greenhouse gases so the state can slash their output an estimated 25 percent by 2020. Schwarzenegger has said he would sign the bill, which incorporates guidelines he outlined last year in an executive order. Lawmakers approved the bill by a 47-31 vote, a day after it passed the Senate. "We...

Through an appearance on NBC's “Meet the Press” and through other actions of late, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has put the GOP on notice that he's the governor of every Californian and not just fellow Republicans. “I will run as an Arnold Republican, which is I am there to govern and to serve the people of California, meaning Democrats and Republicans, even though there are some on the right wing that are not happy about that,” Schwarzenegger told host Tim Russert about his bid for re-election. Good for Arnold. It's exactly the right message, and it comes at exactly the right...

The U.S. trade deficit soared to a record $66.1 billion in September after the Gulf Coast hurricanes pushed America's foreign oil bill to an all-time high. The U.S. Commerce Department announced Thursday that overall imports to the U.S. rose by 2.4 per cent during the month to $171.3 billion, while U.S. exports fell by 2.6 per cent to $105.2 billion. The soaring deficit, which was much bigger than analysts expected, came as China reported a record global trade surplus of $12 billion in October.