Free Republic

Here’s one reason to own gold. The appreciation of Russia’s gold reserves has nearly replaced the value of the assets frozen by the European Union when the country invaded Ukraine. Based on calculations by Bloomberg, the value of Russian gold reserves has surged by $216 billion since February 2022. The EU froze approximately €210 billion in Russian sovereign assets held within the bloc. That equals about $244 billion. As Bloomberg put it, the surge in gold reserves “restores most of Russia’s lost financial capacity,” even if it never gets those assets back. Russia has held its gold reserve steady throughout...

An anti-ICE activist who disrupted a Minnesota church service Sunday was previously arrested outside the White House after screaming at families in line for a tour, court records show. Kelly faces two disorderly conduct charges for allegedly harassing officers, pedestrians, and families in line for a White House tour in early December, calling the guests “Nazis” and yelling “f*** you,” according to court records. During the incident, Kelly heckled officers, yelling “traitors!” and asking, “How does it feel to protect a pedophile?” according to a police officer’s affidavit. “[Kelly] also screamed ‘you Nazis’ at pedestrians who were traversing the south...

NEW: Multiple sources tell me & colleague David Spunt that the federal magistrate in Minnesota who refused to sign off on an arrest warrant for Don Lemon is Douglas L. Micko and that his wife works as an Assistant Attorney General in Minnesota AG Keith Ellison's office.

VIDEOAt Davos 2025, Blackrock CEO Larry rudely shunned and refused to speak to reporters from Rebel News of Canada. Perhaps realizing the error of his ways, Larry in his new role as Chair of the World Economic Forum has become a new man and declared that people must be willing to engage in dialogue with each other in a spirit of openness. Fink also refreshingly stated that perhaps people should not shy away from perhaps even having an argument with people holding other points of view. As a man of his word, watch how Larry Fink has completely changed his...

..... The woman, who cannot be named due to British law, made the statement in testimony during the London-based trial of the 22-year-old man who is accused of beating her, Matvei Rumianstev, the U.K. Metro reported Wednesday. Barron, the court heard, contacted police after picking up a FaceTime call and allegedly seeing the woman being beaten by Rumianstev, who was reportedly jealous of the woman’s friendship with the then-president-elect’s son. “He helped save my life. That call was like a sign from God at that moment,” the woman said during cross-examination. The woman was responding to assertions by lawyers for...

U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar filed paperwork for her campaign for Minnesota governor Thursday, weeks after Gov. Tim Walz ended his campaign for a third-term amid a widening scandal of fraud in state-run social service programs. “This is a preliminary step necessary for any candidate considering a run,” according to a person close to the senator who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. “The senator will make an announcement of her plans in the coming days.” Klobuchar, 65, is a proven vote-getter, having been reelected three times since first winning her seat in 2006....

The nominations for the 98th Academy Awards were announced Thursday morning. Leading the pack was “Sinners,” with a record-breaking 16 nominations, including best picture, best director for Ryan Coogler and best actor for Michael B. Jordan. “One Battle After Another” received one nomination after another for a total of 13, also including best picture, best director for Paul Thomas Anderson and best actor for Leonardo DiCaprio. Timothée Chalamet is in the running for best actor as well for “Marty Supreme,” which would make him one of the youngest best actor winners after Adrien Brody’s win for “The Pianist” in 2003....

A federal magistrate judge on Thursday rejected the Justice Department’s attempt to bring charges against former CNN anchor Don Lemon in connection with Sunday’s anti-ICE protest at a Minnesota church, Fox News Digital has learned. Lemon livestreamed left-wing agitators who stormed St. Paul's Cities Church under the suspicion that its pastor had collaborated with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Lemon told viewers that "the freedom to protest" is what the First Amendment is all about. Lemon was expected to face charges after Attorney General Pamela Bondi warned that "no one is above the law" on the heels of the...

President Donald Trump’s budget office this week ordered most government agencies to compile data on the federal money that is sent to 14 mostly Democratic-controlled states and the District of Columbia in what it describes as a tool to “reduce the improper and fraudulent use of those funds.” The order comes a week after Trump said he intended to cut off federal funding that goes to states that are home to so-called sanctuary cities that resist his immigration policies. The memo, obtained by The Associated Press, directs federal agencies to submit information by Jan. 28 to the president’s budget office....

MARINA, Calif. — Community leaders in Monterey County are calling for transparency and accountability after an officer fatally shot a man. On Jan. 18, 2026, 31-year-old Ronald Chyron Tinsley was fatally shot by Marina police during a traffic stop near Marina Heights Drive and Arroyo Drive. The Monterey County Black Caucus (MCBC) is calling for the immediate release of all available body camera footage, all physical/digital evidence, and a thorough investigation of the case. "We are deeply concerned by attempts to shift public focus toward Chyron’s past rather than the conduct of law enforcement," MCBC wrote in a statement. "A...

CAIRO (AP) — Desperate Palestinians at a garbage dump in a Gaza neighborhood dug with their bare hands for plastic items to burn to keep warm in the cold and damp winter in the enclave, battered by two years of the Israel-Hamas war. The scene in the Muwasi area of the city of Khan Younis contrasted starkly with the vision of the territory projected by world leaders gathered in Davos, Switzerland, where they inaugurated U.S. President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace that will oversee Gaza. At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Trump claimed that “record levels” of humanitarian aid...

Former special counsel Jack Smith, testifying Thursday before the GOP-led House Judiciary Committee, was unequivocal about who caused the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. "Our investigation revealed that Donald Trump is the person who caused Jan. 6, that it was foreseeable to him and that he sought to exploit the violence," Smith testified. "We followed the facts and we followed the law -- where that led us was to an indictment of an unprecedented criminal scheme to block the peaceful transfer of power." Smith, who led investigations into Trump's alleged interference in the 2020 election and alleged...

Fake Nobel Winner found "responsible" in $9M lie to DC jury. snip BREAKING: The Superior Court in DC just NUKED disgraced climate scientist Michael Mann AGAIN. Last year, Mann was sanctioned for "knowingly feeding the jury false data" in a manner of misconduct that was "extraordinary in its scope, extent, and intent." Today, the court doubled... pic.twitter.com/fQff5YsM7V — Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) January 22, 2026 Here are some highlights from today's decision (my emphasis in bold): The Court has considered Dr. Mann's request for reconsideration. For the reasons Mr. Simberg and Mr. Steyn articulated orally during in-court arguments and presented in...

@RepThomasMassie Ouch, I thought Switzerland was neutral territory !

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - Two Twin Cities activists arrested Thursday for an anti-ICE protest at a St. Paul church over the weekend will be released from custody, supporters say. Federal authorities announced the arrest of three activists on Thursday: Attorney Nekima Levy Armstrong, St. Paul School Board Member Chauntyll Louisa Allen, and activist William Kelly. Supporters gathered at the St. Paul federal courthouse on Thursday morning as Levy Armstrong and Allen were slated to appear before a judge for a hearing. We're told supporters planned to pack the courtroom, but a judge only allowed in attorneys due to...

Explanation: The silhouette of an intriguing dark nebula inhabits this cosmic scene. Lynds' Dark Nebula (LDN) 1622 appears against a faint background of glowing hydrogen gas only visible in long telescopic exposures of the region. In contrast, a brighter reflection nebula, vdB 62, is more easily seen just above the dusty dark nebula. LDN 1622 lies near the plane of our Milky Way Galaxy, close on the sky to Barnard's Loop, a large cloud surrounding the rich complex of emission nebulae found in the Belt and Sword of Orion. With swept-back outlines, the obscuring dust of LDN 1622 is thought...

Billy Bob Thornton has a theory about why Taylor Sheridan isn’t being recognized at award shows. “I think a lot of it’s political. I really do,” the “Landman” star, 70, said in a new interview with Variety. “I think some people assume Taylor is some sort of right-wing guy or something, and he’s really not.” SNIP “Even with this show being about the oil business, he just shows you what it’s like. He’s not saying ‘Rah, rah, rah for oil,’ ” the actor explained. “It’s just the people who work in this business or who are affected by this business,...

MINNEAPOLIS, MN — Another long day of work was on the docket, as white liberal women clocked in for another long day of protesting the arrest of migrant sex offenders. Progressive women emerged from their homes and headed into work for a full day of yelling at ICE agents and obstructing law enforcement who would be out working to arrest sex offenders and other violent criminals here in the country illegally. "It's honest work," Amanda Hanks posted on Instagram. "I'm out here every day protecting innocent pedophiles, rapists, and sex offenders, but it's exhausting. I'd love a day off, but...

An anti-deportation protester who dared Attorney General Pam Bondi to arrest him for crashing a Sunday church in Minnesota is now in custody, Bondi said Thursday.William Kelly was seen on video with a crowd invading and loudly disrupting a service at Cities Church in St. Paul over allegations that the pastor worked for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Bondi described the protest as an attack on congregants’ religious liberty and announced multiple related arrests, including Kelly’s, in Thursday X posts.

Several organizers of the protest were calling for the resignation of a church pastor who they said works for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. --- Federal agents with Homeland Security and the FBI arrested three protesters — Nekima Levy Armstrong, Chauntyll Louisa Allen and William Kelly — in connection with a demonstration that interrupted Sunday service at Cities Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Attorney General Pam Bondi said on social media Thursday.