Free Republic

The Iranian government is reportedly planning to permanently sever its citizens from the global internet — confining them instead to a state-run system as part of a continued crackdown on dissent following the Islamic regime’s slaughtering of thousands of protesters. Filterwatch, a digital rights monitoring project which has tracked Iranian internet censorship since 2012, says info it obtained indicates Tehran is moving toward “absolute digital isolation.” The Islamic Republic is abandoning its old model of “mass internet censorship” in favor of a “permanent shift” toward a “sealed intranet” while “access to the outside world is granted only to those with...

Der Tiger (Amazon)

This post is the first in a series drawn from a new book entitled Martyrs of Blood, Martyrs of Sweat: The Letters of Saint Andrew Kim Dae-geon and Venerable Father Thomas Choe Yang-eop, as translated and edited by Brothers Anthony and Han-yol of the Community of Taizé, published by Arx Publishing. This engrossing work contains all of the extant correspondence of these first two native Korean Catholic priests. Andrew Kim would go on to be martyred and later canonized a saint. Thomas Choe perished of exhaustion and sickness after ministering in his native land for over a decade. During their...

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday said authorities “must break the back of the seditionists” and blamed US President Donald Trump for “casualties” after the Islamic Republic’s bloody crackdown on a protest wave against the country’s clerical authorities. Iranian authorities have repeatedly blamed the US for the mass demonstrations they have called “riots” and “terrorist” operations. Trump had threatened to strike Iran if it did not stop killing protesters, but starting Wednesday sounded a more conciliatory tone, saying he was assured the killings would stop. In a speech broadcast by state television to mark a religious holiday, Khamenei...

Explanation: Apollo 14's Lunar Module Antares landed on the Moon on February 5, 1971. Toward the end of the stay astronaut Ed Mitchell snapped a series of photos of the lunar surface while looking out a window, assembled into this detailed mosaic by Apollo Lunar Surface Journal editor Eric Jones. The view looks across the Fra Mauro highlands to the northwest of the landing site after the Apollo 14 astronauts had completed their second and final walk on the Moon. Prominent in the foreground is their Modular Equipment Transporter, a two-wheeled, rickshaw-like device used to carry tools and samples. Near...

An open-source developer has posted Wine patches that remove one of the last blockers for Adobe Creative Cloud installers on Linux. With the patched Wine build, Adobe Photoshop 2021 and Adobe Photoshop 2025 are reported to install under Linux.

I Asked AI To Predict The 2028 Election Map... Jaw Dropping Results | 15:24Election Time | 370K subscribers | 439,307 views | December 20, 2025

The House Oversight Committee is probing “Squad” Rep. Ilhan Omar’s skyrocketing family wealth after a $9 billion Somali social services fraud scandal exploded in her district,The Post has learned. Oversight panel Chairman Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) said staff lawyers are exploring the extraordinary step of subpoenaing Omar’s spouse over his allegedly shady business practices. “We’re going to get answers, whether it’s through the Ethics Committee or the Oversight Committee, one of the two,” he told The Post. Republicans want to know how Somali-born Omar (D-Minn.) and her politically-connected husband Tim Mynett went from nearly broke to being worth up to...

Uber is advocating for a ballot measure that would limit how much lawyers can collect in fees for car crash cases. Attorneys say it would obliterate many personal injury practices and leave victims unable to sue. Trial attorneys have raised more than $40 million to defeat the proposal. The long-simmering fight between some of L.A.’s best-known billboard attorneys and Uber, one of their most frequent targets, is poised to spill out of the courtroom and onto the November ballot.The ride-share giant is gathering signatures for an initiative that, if passed by voters, would cap how much attorneys can earn...

Iran's supreme leader has for the first time publicly acknowledged that thousands of people were killed during recent protests. In a speech on Saturday, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said thousands had been killed, "some in an inhuman, savage manner", and blamed the US for the deaths. A violent response to the unrest has claimed 3,090 lives, according to US-based Iranian Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), with some activist groups putting the death toll far higher. An internet blackout has made it extremely difficult to get clear information. US President Donald Trump recently urged Iranian demonstrators to "keep protesting" and threatened...

Coraopolis council voted Thursday evening to terminate a police partnership with ICE following an hour of tense public comment in the standing-room-only meeting of roughly 75 residents. Coraopolis, which in recent years has seen a blossoming immigrant and Latino population, is the latest in a series of local municipalities to have formalized cooperation agreements with federal immigration enforcement only to back out of the program after public scrutiny. On Thursday, Police Chief Jason Stewart shed more detail on the partnership, known as a 287(g) agreement, that was initially signed by former council President Robb Cardimen December 23. ICE, Stewart said,...

Summary Subpoenas prepared for Minnesota governor and Minneapolis mayor Minnesota Democrats alleged to have impeded immigration agents Walz says Trump has 'weaponized' federal justice system WASHINGTON, Jan 16 (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation of Minnesota officials, including Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, over an alleged conspiracy to impede immigration agents, a source familiar with the probe said on Friday. The source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said subpoenas were prepared for Walz and Frey as part of the inquiry, but it was not immediately clear whether they had been...

According to the French president, Paris will join the military exercises in Greenland based on its commitment to the sovereignty of states in Europe and the United NationsPARIS, January 17. /TASS/. French President Emmanuel Macron has promised a coordinated response from the European countries to the US decision to impose duties on February 1 over Washington’s wish to annex Greenland, he said on X. "Threats of tariffs are unacceptable and have no place in this context. The Europeans will respond to them unanimously and in a coordinated manner, if they are approved. We will defend European sovereignty," Macron wrote. "No...

The headmaster of Chicago’s tony Latin School will resign less than two weeks after it was revealed that students were rehearsing Nazi marching themes for the second year in a row. Dr. Thomas Hagerman revealed his plans to leave his job in a Jan. 14 email to the Latin School community which cited health issues as the reason for his exit. “This decision comes after a great deal of thoughtful deliberation. I have been repeatedly reminded about the importance of attending more intentionally to my health and overall sustainability,” Hagerman wrote*** The surprise resignation comes two weeks after middle schoolers...

By Dr. John BergsmaThe Readings for the Second Sunday of Ordinary Time this year are like a “holy hangover” from the Feasts of Epiphany and Baptism that we celebrated last week. Traditionally, three events of our Lord’s life have been celebrated clumped together around January 6, between the Christmas season and the transition to ordinary time. These are the arrival of the magi (Epiphany), the Baptism, and the Wedding at Cana. These are the three events in the various Gospels that “manifest” or show forth Jesus’ glory at the beginning of his life or career: the Magi in Matthew, the...

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem has declared that the terror group will not give up its weapons, warning that such a move would mean "the end of Lebanon." According to Qassem, Hezbollah is prepared to pay additional prices in order to preserve its military capabilities. "The weapons in our hands are meant to defend ourselves, our resistance, our people, and our homeland," he said. Qassem also claimed that relinquishing the weapons would weaken Lebanon and advance Israel’s strategic objectives. Warning the Lebanese government against implementing plans to disarm militias, Qassem claimed such plans are being promoted under pressure from the United...

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For a year, Wall Street’s dominant theme has been the so-called K-shaped economy, in which the well-to-do have powered financial activity despite lower earners’ struggles. This week, the nation’s largest banks reported a broadly disappointing set of quarterly earnings, the first stumble after a yearlong spree of rising markets and softening regulations paid off handsomely for the finance set. Results at Bank of America, Citi, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo all fell short of expectations, and their shares fell. Troubles ranged from delayed merger deals (JPMorgan) to stubborn expenses (Citi) to questions about the efficacy of artificial intelligence tools (Bank...

Black female professionals have seen a steep drop in employment over the last year. They are turning to each other for pep talks and résumé advice.When Nneka Obiekwe started a WhatsApp group chat in September, she was just trying to help her out-of-work friends. A consultant and skilled networker, Ms. Obiekwe, 37, is the kind of person friends turn to when they are looking for a referral or connection to a hiring manager. But since March, she had been receiving pleas every few weeks. By autumn, her network was tapped out. Most of the people reaching out were, like Ms....

WASHINGTON (AP) — When President Donald Trump announced the audacious capture of Nicolás Maduro to face drug trafficking charges in the U.S., he portrayed the strongman’s vice president and longtime aide as America’s preferred partner to stabilize Venezuela amid a scourge of drugs, corruption and economic mayhem.Left unspoken was the cloud of suspicion that long surrounded Delcy Rodríguez before she became acting president of the beleaguered nation earlier this month.In fact, Rodríguez has been on the radar of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration for years and in 2022 was even labeled a “priority target,” a designation DEA reserves for suspects...