Free Republic

The U.S. killed an Afghan Taliban leader in a drone strike in Pakistan’s tribal agency of Kurram today, according to reports from the region. The commander, Jamiuddin, was a “trusted man” within the Haqqani Network, a subgroup of the Afghan Taliban, who helped fighters move from Pakistan to Afghanistan. An unmanned aerial vehicle, likely a Reaper operated by the CIA, fired two missiles at a vehicle as it stopped in the Mata Sanghar area of Kurram, sources told Reuters. A Pakistani official also said an unnamed “associate” was also killed in the attack. A Haqqani Network leader told Reuters that...

BEIJING — China said on Thursday that it would temporarily exempt foreign companies from paying tax on their earnings, a bid to keep American businesses from taking their profits out of China following Washington’s overhaul of the United States tax code. There is, however, a catch: To be eligible, foreign companies must invest those earnings in sectors encouraged by China’s government — including railways, mining, technology and agriculture — according to a statement from the Finance Ministry. The measure is retroactive from Jan. 1 this year, the ministry said. The move would “promote the growth of foreign investment, improve the...

It sounds like something straight out of a sci-fi movie, but Colorado has been named one of 10 finalists for the Hyperloop One competition, which could end with a vacuum-sealed tunnel shooting people from Cheyenne to Pueblo and Vail to Denver at speeds up to 700 miles per hour. The futuristic, pod-based transportation system for Colorado could cost as much as $24 billion, but it's only one of a number of major developments in the realm of transportation throughout 2017. The proposed route for a Colorado Hyperloop accounts for roughly 360 miles total, and the Los Angeles firm that's sponsoring...

Barack Obama will no doubt be chronicled, among other things, as the first anti-American president. No wonder; he’s the product of an educational system that has become increasingly radical and anti-American with each passing decade, and his mother was a stereotypical leftist anthropologist with a passion for the Third World. The pattern is unmistakable. As Luis Fleischman notes, Obama wanted to make deals with our enemies, Iran being the most dramatic example. But just look at Latin America: The Obama Administration tried to avoid confrontations with anyone it wanted to make a “historic deal” with. Most of these “historic deals”...

The Republican Party is sick, so sick it can’t breathe, and its lack of oxygen has given it severe muscle fatigue. There’s a chance that what ails the GOP is terminal, but to give ourselves a chance at recovery, we’ve got to move—physically. The party’s national committees, think-tank brains, campaign strategists, and government functionaries all live in the fever swamps of Washington that firmly anchor the snotty southern end of the Acela Corridor. The GOP’s elected and unelected leaders all want to heal the party, but no amount of voodoo will cure this disease. It’s time to move our whole...

Oh Great Pumpkin! Where were you in 2017? You were supposed to bring us evidence of Trump-Russia collusion but you never showed up. Oh well, perhaps we will see you in 2018. Please! Pretty please, Great Pumpkin! Andrew Prokop of Vox wrote a rather dispirited December 28 article about how no evidence of Trump-Russia collusion has yet appeared despite the mainstream media early this year loudly hyping the reality of such collusion. In fact, it seemed that finding evidence of such collusion was a mere formality since the MSM guaranteed it happened. The only problem is, despite nearly eight months of...

Russian media is reporting that the long awaited upgrade of the Kashtan (Chestnut) close-in weapon system (CIWS) will begin testing in 2018. Trials will start on a land range before moving to the sea aboard one of Russia's Project 1241 Molniya missile corvettes in the Black Sea. The country's new Project 22800 Karakurt corvettes will be the first vessels to receive the system operationally once testing is complete. Panstir-ME appears to be something of a mix between the potent Pantsir-S1 land-mobile self-propelled anti-aircraft artillery gun system and existing Kashtan CIWS installations found on many Russian-built naval vessels dating back to...

Days before his resignation from the U.S. Senate, Sen. Al Franken thanked family, staff and his constituents for support that allowed him to fight for issues for Minnesotans. "Serving the people in the U.S. Senate has been the honor of my life," the senator said. "And I'm here tonight to say thank you." Franken's speech to supporters and friends comes after he resigned earlier this month amid a storm of sexual misconduct allegations. He will officially step down on Tuesday. During his speech, Franken talked about how thankful he was to be able to grow up in a middle class...

Johnny Football is free again. He might be back on the field soon, too. The Canadian Football League on Thursday cleared Johnny Manziel to play north of the border after ruling in September it would not allow him to play. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats, who have his rights after adding him to their Negotiation List in March, have 10 days to offer him a contract. The CFL's preseason schedule begins on May 27. The regular season begins in June. On Aug. 30, the Tiger-Cats worked out the former Texas A&M Heisman Trophy winner but said they were not interested in signing...

"As I listened to the end of the year "analysts," I was struck by how little they know, how little they have questioned their own mistakes, and how mutually reinforcing their false information has been."

The Immigration and Border Authority, under the auspices of the Interior Ministry, will soon announce that illegal infiltrators from Sudan and Eritrea will have 90 days to leave Israel or face jail, Haaretz reported. The order will not apply at first to children, parents of small children who depend on them for support, the elderly, victims of human trafficking, and those suffering from severe health issues. Illegal infiltrators who have applied for refugee status will also be exempt at first if they have not yet received a response to their request. The move comes after the Knesset passed a law...

BELMONT, the Bronx — Twelve people are dead and several others injured as a massive fire ripped through an apartment building in the Bronx on a frigid night, Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a press conference on Thursday. About 170 firefighters responded to the blaze at the five-story, walk-up apartment building at 2363 Prospect Ave., near East 187th Street around 7 p.m. It quickly escalated to a 5-alarm fire.

DENVER (CBS4)– The Colorado Department of Transportation is gearing up for a major project that will change the landscape of Interstate 70 through the central part of Denver. The Central 70 Project will dramatically impact the community from Colorado Boulevard to Brighton Boulevard. The Colorado Department of Transportation is now hiring people who live there. “The Central 70 Project is by itself a major economic driver for the entire Denver-metro region. CDOT wanted to also ensure that these economic and job opportunities were made available to local residents,” said Shailen Bhatt, CDOT Executive Director. “CDOT is one of only a...

(Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N) was sued on Wednesday by a transgender woman who said she was wrongfully fired after complaining about harassment at the Sam’s Club warehouse store in North Carolina where she had worked for 11 years. Charlene Bost, 46, said co-workers at the Kannapolis store where she had been a member service supervisor called her “sir,” “that thing with an attitude” and “shim,” a slur combining “she” and “him.” She also said her male boss subjected her to unwanted physical advances and referred to her as “it.”

A creepy prehistoric doll with almond-shaped eyes has been unearthed in Siberia. Another plaything, a mythical dragon-like animal head, made from antler or horn, was found alongside the artefact in the Bronze Age grave of a small child. The finds have been added to what has been described as 'the oldest toy collection in the world' following a series of 4,500-year-old discoveries in the remote Khakassia region. The toy, which is made of soapstone, is believed to be the oldest doll designed for play ever found.

Mumbai:  Fifteen people including 12 women, most of them in their twenties and early thirties, were killed in a massive fire that started from a restaurant in Mumbai's Kamala Mills compound late on Wednesday evening, and spread rapidly to nearly restaurants and offices as well. Fire-fighters took more than three hours to douse the huge flames that leapt up in central Mumbai's nightlife hub. Initial reports indicate most of the casualties were reported from the vicinity of the restaurants that had opened in the 37-acre premises over the last few years. A case of culpable homicide has been registered against...

The Ministry of Labor of Russia rejected in full the applications from Primorye employers to attract more than 9,000 citizens from the DPRK, RIA Novosti was told in the press service of the Krai administration. Earlier , the UN Security Council unanimously introduced new sanctions against the DPRK, which will significantly limit the export and import capabilities of Pyongyang. Resolution 2375 established the strictest UN sanctions regime in the 21st century. One of the paragraphs of the resolution limits the issuance of work permits to the citizens of the DPRK. In October, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on...

Israeli Minister of Transportation Yisrael Katz said: "I decided to call the new train station which will be established in the Jewish Quarter near the Western Wall and the Temple Mount in the name of President Donald Trump, because of his historical and brave decision to recognise Jerusalem, the eternal capital of the Jewish people, as the capital of the state of Israel and his intention to move the American Embassy to Jerusalem.” The station will be built inside the walls of the Old City. Once built, trains will be able to drop passengers off close to the Western Wall,...

Since the 2016 election, the intelligence community has been under greater scrutiny—and for good reason. The leaks emanating from this cadre of professionals in D.C. was not exposing government malfeasance from the Trump administration, but classified information that was putting America’s national security interests at stake. It seemed to have been done to hamstring a new administration. As apolitical operatives, this was not their job. If you can’t handle working under a new administration, then resign. Leaking to undercut the Trump presidency because you’re sore about Hillary Clinton losing is not an act of patriotism. Former investigative journalist for CBS...

Hen is a gender-neutral personal pronoun in Swedish, intended as an alternative to the gender-specific hon (she) and han (he). Ahead of Christmas Eve, the Swedish Church in Västerås put an advertisement in one of the local newspapers to invite to the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, son of God. But in the ad, Jesus was called "hen" - something that caused many to rage. "We did not want to decide on the sex of the little child right away," says vicar Susann Senter, who explains that the decision is partly due to the Church's equal treatment program....