Free Republic

Delegates from Afghanistan, Pakistan, China and the United States held talks on Monday to resurrect a stalled Afghan peace process and end nearly 15 years of bloodshed, even as fighting with Taliban insurgents intensifies. Senior officials from the four countries are meeting in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, to launch a process they hope will lead to negotiations with Taliban insurgents, who are fighting to re-impose their strict brand of Islamist rule and are not expected at Monday's talks. The Pakistani prime minister's foreign affairs adviser, Sartaj Aziz, opened the meeting, saying the primary goal should be to convince the Taliban...

Anyone come across shooting a buck but you get an anterless deer?, strange story from Mack of Georgia. Read the rest of the story here.

The FBI is investigating whether Hillary Clinton's State Department improperly directed contracts to Clinton Foundation donors, in possible violation of public corruption laws, Fox News is reporting. Three sources confirmed the previously-unknown investigation angle to Fox reporters Catherine Herridge and Pamela Browne. "The agents are investigating the possible intersection of Clinton Foundation donations, the dispensation of State Department contracts and whether regular processes were followed," one law enforcement source told Fox. Examples abound of Clinton’s State Department opening doors for Clinton Foundation donors, as well as to the then-secretary of state’s friends and political allies.

The Republican presidential candidate once dubbed "The Rocky Balboa of politics" by former Representative Michelle Bachmann, has received the support of a man who ought to know a lot about Rocky Balboa and characters who defy the odds to win it all. "I love Donald Trump," said actor-director Sylvester Stallone, who created the character of Rocky Balboa for the series of Rocky movies that concluded with last year's release of Creed. "He's a great Dickensian character. You know what I mean? There are certain people like Arnold, Babe Ruth, that are bigger than life."

Police say a Pennsylvania woman was driving under the influence and holding a baby on her lap when she crashed her vehicle into a curb. Police tell LNP that Erika Rizzon, of Ephrata, struck a curb at the intersection just after 10 p.m. Saturday in Ephrata. Witnesses told police that the 32-year-old Rizzon was holding a baby at the time of the crash.

In what would be a dream ticket for some and a nightmare to others, Bernie Sanders has been dropping some not-so-subtle hints that he would select Elizabeth Warren as his running mate. This would be a smart move on Bernie's part. He has been functioning as a stand-in for Warren and derives support from her wing of the Democratic Party. The left would be electrified. The rest of the country would be horrified as these two Neo-Marxists traveled the land promising to take wealth from some and give to others.

Donald Trump continues to raise the issue of Sen.Ted Cruz's (R-Texas) American citizenship. In a Fox News Sunday interview (below), Trump argued that the Canadian-born senator must "get this problem solved" before potentially running against a Democrat in the fall and facing a lawsuit. "Does 'natural-born' mean born to the land, meaning born on the land? In that case, he's not. But nobody knows what it means because it hasn't been adjudicated and it hasn't gone to the Supreme Court," said Trump. On America's Newsroom this morning, Fox News senior judicial analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano said that Cruz's American citizenship...

Gunmen storm Iraqi mall, killing 10 and taking hostages, Iraqi officials say Published January 11, 2016 Associated Press taking hostages, Iraqi officials say Published January 11, 2016 Associated Press Facebook260 Twitter0 Email Print BAGHDAD – Gunmen set off a car bomb at the entrance to a mall in mainly Shiite eastern Baghdad on Monday, killing at least 10 people and wounding 25 as the attackers raced inside and took hostages, Iraqi officials said. Police and medical officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief reporters, estimated that 50-75 people were trapped inside the Jawhara...

Iowa GOP top line. Cruz 28, Trump 24, Rubio 13, Carson 11, Bush 4, Paul 5, Christie 3, Huckabee 2, Fiorina 3, Kasich 2, Santorum 0. If we flash back to the FoxNews poll we have Cruz 27, Trump 23, Rubio 15, Carson 9, Bush 7, Huckabee 2, Paul 5, Christie 4, Fiorina 1, Kasich 1, Santorum 1. Back just before Christmas, Gravis also did an Iowa poll, Gravis, as you know, was the gold standard for Iowa polling in 2014. Cruz 31, Trump 31, Rubio 9, Carson 7, Bush 4, Huckabee 4, Paul 1, Christie 2, Fiorina 3, Kasich...

Myrtle Beach police arrested a woman for biting off part of a Walmart Employee's finger during an altercation early Sunday morning. About 2:10 a.m., loss prevention officers at the Walmart at 541 Seaboard Street witnessed Carolynn Wright, 23, allegedly concealing merchandise. Two employees tried to stop Wright as she was leaving the store. However, a physical altercation ensued. According to the police report, Wright punched one of the employees in the head causing bleeding. Wright then bit down on another employee's finger, biting a portion of it off. A customer witnessed the incident and attempted to call 911. While calling,...

U.S. oil prices dropped below $32 a barrel Monday for the first time since 2003 on a stronger dollar and continued concerns about Chinese demand. Prices slumped to 12-year lows this month as the global glut of crude that has weighed on oil prices for more than a year continues to persist.

Donald Trump is an unabashed backer of federal support for ethanol, a popular issue in Iowa that could provide the GOP front-runner with an effective closing argument against Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) ahead of the Feb. 1 caucuses. Cruz has a narrow lead in polls of Iowa votes, but the race is close, and Trump has vowed to win the Hawkeye State. "Iowa is important to me," he said in an exclusive interview last week with The Hill. "It would be a less risky answer not to say that. I could tell you that, 'Well, I hope I do well...

Good Morning/ Afternoon, megaRushReadyForMondaydittos From Biggirl PING!

A documentary (teaser) that explores the game of Shrovetide football that has been played in the town of Ashbourne, England for the past 350 years. There are almost no rules and the object is to get the ball from the center of town to one of two goals three miles apart at the opposite sides of Ashbourne. The winner is whoever scores more goals over two days of play.

Two would-be robbers who were fatally shot at a liquor store in the Gresham neighborhood Saturday night have been identified as a 15-year-old boy and a 17-year-old boy, authorities said. Keshawn Marzette, 15, of the 8300 block of South Throop Street, and William Larson, 17, of the same address, were pronounced dead on the scene, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office. Autopsies Sunday determined both died of multiple gunshot wounds and their deaths were classified as homicides, the office said. The two were shot to death by a store employee about 8:30 p.m. when they tried to rob...

Murder in Istanbul: Kremlin's hand suspected in shooting of Chechen The shooting in broad daylight of Abdulvakhid Edelgireyev – a key Chechen Islamist figure who fought with an al-Qaida affiliate in Syria – is the latest in a series of audacious killings of enemies of the Russian state in the Turkish city ...He survived the battlefields of Syria, and those of east Ukraine. But in November his life came to an abrupt end in a flurry of bullets: he was shot dead in broad daylight in Istanbul as he embarked on a shopping trip with his three-year-old niece. Edelgireyev and...

Poor starving REFUGEES my butt! You gotta watch this all the way through. EPIC HUNGARIAN TRUCKER RUNS THE CALAIS MIGRANT GAUNTLET https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=382njADcWvE

As 2016 takes off, hope seems hard to find—the stock market diving, Shiites and Sunnis rattling sabers in the Middle East, North Korea announcing nuclear advances. By the headlines, you'd swear the world is falling apart! Challenged by my Christian speaker buddies to pick a word focus for 2016, I chose the word "light." Jesus loved light imagery. He claimed, "I am the light of the world." He challenged believers, "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on...

Lost amidst the finger-pointing at the Cincinnati Bengals' utter collapse at the end of their playoff loss against the Pittsburgh Steelers is the strange actions by Steelers linebackers coach and former player Joey Porter.