Free Republic

In the suitability for prime minister polls, former prime minister Naftali Bennett continues to emerge as the principal challenger to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In a direct head-to-head matchup, Channel 12 places Bennett within one percentage point of Netanyahu. In the multi-candidate Channel 14 poll, Bennett ranks second, holding a 12-point lead over the next closest challenger. The dominant topic this week was the fallout from revelations of betrayal within Netanyahu’s office, following reports that senior advisers received funds from Qatar. A Maariv poll shows that 60% of respondents with an opinion do not believe Netanyahu’s claim that he was...

The House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday released the 255-page transcript and video of the deposition of former special counsel Jack Smith’s deposition before the committee that took place earlier in the month. During his opening statements, Smith said he and his team "developed powerful evidence that showed that President Trump willfully retained highly classified documents after he left office in January of 2021, storing them at his social club, including in a ballroom and a bathroom. He then repeatedly tried to obstruct justice to conceal his continued retention of those documents." He later added, "I made my decisions in the...

(The Center Square) – Daycare centers that receive hundreds of thousands in taxpayer subsides did not appear to have any children when The Center Square visited the facilities this week and were either openly hostile or told journalists that they were hoping to have children in their care, but did not have an application available or anyone to talk with about enrolling a child. The focus on Washington's taxpayer subsidized daycares comes at the time federal authorities are conducting what they call a "massive" investigation into fraud in Somali-run facilities in Minnesota. According to fiscal.wa.gov, a home-based daycare on 6th...

🥳🥂 HAPPY NEW YEAR 2026 🥂🥳 The Year of Accountability!

When Congress returns next week, lawmakers will have less than a month to pass the remaining nine appropriations bills funding federal agencies in fiscal year 2026. Already, however, there are signs of further delay, with two Republican senators pledging to vote against the bill for Labor and Health and Human Services due to its inclusion of $5.69 billion for refugee assistance services. The amount is less than the $6.3 billion that HHS’s Administration of Children and Families, which runs various refugee and asylee support programs, received in fiscal years 2024 and 2025. But it is still three times higher than...

YouTuber Nick Shirley said on “PBD Podcast” on Wednesday that people have been telling him he will be assassinated like Turning Point USA (TPUSA) founder Charlie Kirk after his viral video on alleged Somali fraud. Shirley’s Friday video showed him finding that multiple supposed Minnesota Somali-run daycare centers, including one that reportedly obtained $4 million in taxpayer funds, lacked children. On the podcast, Shirley detailed threats he has received, along with how his family has been affected. “They’re saying, ‘You’re going to be Kirked … you’ll be the next Kirk.’ And it’s just like, are you kidding me? I hate...

Major cities are erupting. IRGC are uncharacteristically restrained, and even retreating in some cities. Theory that they're scared that Israel and/or the US might intervene if they are overly violent. Other theory that they're short-handed and don't have the man-power, due to IRGC members defecting to Reza's camp. They have thus far only killed two people. In the middle of a water shortage, they tried using a water cannon, and nobody ran. They stood their ground, and maybe the pressure was insufficient to bowl over a crowd, which has the shrill voices of women prominent in their chanting. International Community...

Democratic Virginia Governor-elect Abigail Spanberger has appointed a chief diversity officer who previously appeared to agree with comments about parts of the U.S. Constitution needing to be dismantled. Spanberger announced the appointment of Dr. Sesha Joi Moon to serve as the Commonwealth of Virginia’s chief diversity officer and director of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) on Tuesday, saying in a statement that Moon’s “experience across government, education, and the nonprofit sectors gives her firsthand insight into the ways in which we can build a stronger, safer, and more prosperous Virginia for every family.” However, during part of an August 2024...

President Trump’s heralded decision to make DEI DOA couldn’t come a moment too soon for Nicole Parker. The so-called diversity, equity and inclusion initiative was a boondoggle that wrought incalculable damage across every sphere of employment in the country. No one knows that better than Parker, a former FBI special agent of 12 years who described how a civil war brewed inside the once-venerable agency, with “lines drawn” between two clashing factions she termed “FBI 1 versus FBI 2.” One side represents “integrity, meritocracy and protecting the American people” while the other force pushes “personal agendas and identity politics, DEI...

President Donald Trump issued the first vetoes of his second term Tuesday, blocking two bipartisan, infrastructure-related bills. The president argued that blocking both measures was necessary to save taxpayer dollars. “Enough is enough. My Administration is committed to preventing American taxpayers from funding expensive and unreliable policies. Ending the massive cost of taxpayer handouts and restoring fiscal sanity is vital to economic growth and the fiscal health of the Nation,” Trump said in a message to Congress, explaining his veto of one of the bills, H.R. 131, which aims to lower the payments certain communities in Colorado make for the...

A Wyoming lawmaker arrested for drunken driving told cops he boozed it up behind the wheel to cope with “anxiety,” authorities said. Bill Allemand, a Republican in the Wyoming House of Representatives, was pulled over in Buffalo when officers spotted him driving erratically around 12:30 p.m. Sunday, according to a police report obtained by WyoFile. An open can of beer was found in the front-seat cupholder next to Allemand, while four unopened cans were found in the passenger seat — and there was even a loaded handgun in the seat alongside him. “[Allemand] admitted that he drinks while driving for...

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine believes the state's day care system is protected against fraud as unproven online allegations circulate about widespread fraud among Somali immigrant-run day cares. In a statement Dec. 31, DeWine said that while "people are rightfully concerned about what is happening with state-funded childcare facilities in Minnesota," Ohio has a number of systems in place to prevent fraud in its publicly-funded childcare system.

In this video, I'll break down how to survive an encounter with every major apex predator that has been known to attack humans. From the skies to the depths of the ocean, I will cover the tactics you need to know if you ever find yourself face to face with nature’s deadliest hunters. We start with the eagle, whose razor-sharp talons can inflict deep wounds, and explain why covering your head and eyes is crucial. Moving into the icy waters, the leopard seal, a swift and aggressive predator, requires you to stay calm, make yourself appear larger, and slowly retreat...

The Trump administration is freezing child care funding to the state of Minnesota in response to a viral video that purports to expose extensive fraud by federally funded day care centers. Nick Shirley, a 23-year-old self-described "independent YouTube journalist," posted the 42-minute video on X and YouTube the day after Christmas. In it, he and an older man — identified only as "David" — visit various seemingly empty day care centers, bombarding Somali employees with questions and accusing them of not providing services to any children despite receiving public funds. The pair claim to have exposed over $110 million in...

Breaking911 @Breaking911 Journalists in Washington state are visiting addresses listed as Somali-run “daycares” that have received hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxpayer funding, only to find private homes valued around $500,000 with no evidence of daycare operations

A Somali-run day care in Minneapolis is claiming somebody broke in and stole “important documents,” but cops say the facility didn’t report anything was actually taken. The alleged burglary comes as the national spotlight shines on the unfolding multibillion-dollar fraud scandal involving Minnesota human services, with particular scrutiny on day care facilities run by Somali immigrants after dozens of people from the community have been busted for pilfering state funds. Nasrulah Mohamed, manager of Nakomis Day Care Center, told reporters that a suspect entered through the kitchen at the rear of the facility, damaging a wall and breaking into the...

It's the end of December, which means people all over the world are making their lists of New Year's resolutions for 2026 — and President Donald Trump is no different. Through high-level contacts, The Babylon Bee has obtained the following copy of Trump's resolutions for the coming year: Build a wall around New York City: To keep the riffraff from escaping into the U.S. Put his face on all U.S. currency: Nobody remembers people like Lincoln, Andrew Jackson, or Ben Franklin anyway. Reconnect with Macaulay Culkin: Make sure he knows where to find the bathroom. Broker peace with all the...

Military commissars sprayed a gas canister at a young mother with a small child while her relative was being pushed into a car. The 'bounty hunters' are paid $200 a head for meat to send to the front. The average survival time is measured in days once on the front line.

Because the cost of living in California is so high, Democrat lawmakers think increasing the minimum wage to $16.90 per hour will help hourly workers afford a median-priced $900,000 home California residents will be impacted by more than 900 new laws effective January 1, 2026. Because we need 900 new laws in the leading regulatory hell state in the nation. Minimum WageBecause the cost of living in California is so high, Democrat lawmakers think increasing the minimum wage to $16.90 per hour will help hourly workers afford a $900,000 home – the median home price in the Golden State. Even...

Students at the University of Nottingham are upset after a history course labeled J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings as racially offensive. The controversy comes from a module called Decolonising Tolkien et al, taught by historian Dr. Onyeka Nubia, which examines how British literature has historically reflected racial bias. According to course materials, darker-skinned characters in Tolkien’s works, including orcs and other groups, are depicted as morally corrupt, while lighter-skinned characters are shown as virtuous. The module argues these depictions tie into a long tradition of racial stereotyping. The course also examines how Tolkien’s Eastern characters, such as Easterlings,...