Free Republic

Elon Musk is on the verge of becoming the first person ever worth $800 billion. Musk’s xAI Holdings raised $20 billion from private investors at a $250 billion valuation earlier this month, Forbes just confirmed. That’s up from the $113 billion valuation Musk claimed when he merged his artificial intelligence startup xAI with his social media company X (formerly Twitter) last March. Forbes estimates that the deal boosted the value of Musk’s 49% stake in xAI Holdings by $62 billion to $122 billion. The world’s richest person by far, Musk is now worth a record $780 billion, according to Forbes’...

As its immigration crackdown in Minneapolis intensifies, the Trump administration is leaning into messaging that borrows from phrases, images and music about national identity that have become popular among right-wing groups. ...The administration says it’s tired of criticism that its messaging is framed around white supremacy or Nazi slogans. “It seems that the mainstream media has become a meme of their own: The deranged leftist who claims everything they dislike must be Nazi propaganda,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said. “This line of attack is boring and tired. Get a grip." César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández, a law professor at Ohio...

Daily Readings from the USCCBSecond Sunday in Ordinary TimeJohn the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. He is the one of whom I said, ‘A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.’” John 1:29–30Central to the Jewish faith was the Feast of Passover, the commemoration of God’s deliverance of His people from slavery in Egypt (Exodus 12). In Jesus’ time, Passover was one of three major annual feasts during which the Jews made a pilgrimage to the...

In a candid admission that’s turning heads, legendary New York sports radio host Mike Francesa conceded that red state cities are now more attractive to NFL coaches than New York City. Speaking on his show, amid reports that John Harbaugh is poised to become the next head coach of the New York Giants, Francesa argued that red-state, no- or low-tax cities offer a superior quality of life, safety, and financial incentives compared to New York. Francesa, long known as the “Sports Pope” for his passionate advocacy of all things New York sports, painted a stark picture of the city’s decline.

WICHITA, Kan. — The Wichita Police Department is investigating a shooting that occurred Thursday night in east Wichita during a reported home invasion robbery. On Jan. 15, 2026, at about 7:30 p.m., officers assigned to Patrol East heard several gunshots and then received a Gunshot Detection System (GSD) alert in the 5300 block of E. Funston. Officers arrived before 911 calls came in. When officers arrived, they found a 22-year-old man with multiple gunshot wounds. Officers began life-saving measures until Sedgwick County EMS arrived. EMS transported the man to a local hospital, where he remains in serious but stable condition....

The Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement is a wild card ahead of this year’s midterm elections. President Trump and parts of the Republican Party have aligned his Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement with MAHA and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., hoping to boost GOP prospects. MAHA helped give Trump an important ally in Kennedy, a longtime Democrat before he endorsed Trump and joined his administration. That gave Republicans access to a new group of voters, which could be key to helping lift the party in a year where Trump’s ratings are underwater. Trump’s overall...

Nigel Farage has insisted Reform UK will not become the Conservative Party 2.0 following the defection of former senior Tory Robert Jenrick. Writing in the Telegraph, external, the party's leader said Reform "is not a rescue charity for every panicky Tory MP" and any potential defectors would have to be prepared to admit publicly that the previous Conservative government "broke the country". Reform's deputy leader Richard Tice told the BBC that Jenrick was "a great new asset" who brought ministerial experience. However, with around 20 former Conservative MPs joining the party in recent months, critics have argued Reform is becoming...

"You have ten minutes to cry,” came the officer’s curt command to the couple as he revealed the corpse of their twentysomething daughter, gunned down in the historic streets of Isfahan. After searching morgues and hospitals for days when she didn’t come home from the demonstrations, they paid 700 million tomans (£3,700) in so-called “bullet money” demanded by the security forces and were driven five hours to another town where her body had been thrown into an old grave. excerpt- Yesterday, for the first time, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, admitted that “several thousands” have been killed...But The Sunday Times...

– In the narrow, sun-baked streets of Mogadishu, faith is a secret kept behind locked doors and whispered prayers. The city hums with the clatter of market stalls and the wail of distant sirens, but inside dimly lit homes, Christians gather in silence, clutching Bibles that must never be seen. Last year, an article about the underground Christian community there captured the attention of millions online, with some moved to prayer and others to outrage. The article, “Serving the Hidden Church in Somalia,” was originally published in May. It received the usual responses on our Facebook, Instagram, and X accounts...

Affluent, white, female, urban liberals, the “AWFULs,” seem to be everywhere in recent years. Whether it be protesting for “pro-choice,” wearing “pussy hats,” or hurling insults and garbage at federal law enforcement, their numbers appear to be rising. This is, figuratively and literally, a scary sight. Many of these — ahem — ladies do not have children, whether by their choice, others' choice, or abortion. But they are quite nurturing of crime and willing — indeed eager — to nurse evil. They appear far more willing to protect sloth, license, indigence, and crime than an innocent baby or child. I’m...

The Talk Shows Jan 18th, 2026 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows:FACE THE NATION (CBS): Margaret Brennan anchors: DHS Secretary Kristi Noem; Sen. Mark Warner (Deep State-Va.); Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio); Minneapolis democrat insurectionist Mayor Jacob Frey; CBS pollster Anthony Salvanto with new polling. FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): Anchor Shannon Bream: Sen. John Cornyn (RINO-Texas); Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.); Deputy US Attorney General Todd Blanche. Panel: Matt Gorman, Mary Katharine Ham, Marie Harf and Josh Kraushaar.MEET THE dePRESS (NBC): Hosted by Kristen Welker: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent; Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Tim CoKaine (D-Va.)....

🇺🇸Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem 🇮🇱(1/18/26)[Prayer]A New Study For A New Year: PersonalitiesGenesis 12:9-208 And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the Lord, and called upon the name of the Lord. 9 And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south. 10 And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was grievous in the land. 11 And it came to...

The Rev. Franklin Graham issued an urgent call to prayer, encouraging Americans to come together at noon on January 14 to collectively seek God — a move he believes is essential for a nation he believes has turned its back on the Lord. "Our nation is falling so far from God and His truth," Graham told CBN News. The Samaritan's Purse CEO cited as evidence confusion he observed this week at the Supreme Court, where justices are currently weighing whether states can preclude biological men from participating in women's sports. Graham said 10 years ago such an argument wouldn't have...

New York City socialists are mustering an army of more than 4,000 anti-ICE activists to form “rapid response” battalions and obstruct the feds in an expected imminent crackdown on illegal migrants in the Big Apple. Mayor Mamdani’s comrades with the DSA outlined the mission Thursday at a monthly meeting of their Immigrant Justice Working Group in the swanky Midtown digs of the Chinese Communist Party-linked People’s Forum, where photos of communist idols Fidel Castro and Che Guevara decorate the walls. “As we’ve seen in other cities, we still do anticipate a big wave of federal immigration enforcement,” a DSA leader...

Events in Europe, the Middle East, and here are moving so quickly, it seems that decades of deceit, corruption, and just plain stupidity are nearing their end sooner than we could have imagined. Here’s a sample of the tremors this week which promise to undo the near past. IranCredible reports indicate 23,000 civilians have been murdered by the mullahs’ forces, and videos (again made public due to the extraordinary efforts of Elon Musk’s teams to work around the mullah's blackouts) reveal incredible brutality. Corpses with catheters and heart monitors still attached support accounts of persons being snatched from hospitals and...

BREAKING: Another FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitive has been captured. Alejandro Rosales Castillo - a Ten Most Wanted Fugitive since 2017 - was arrested in Mexico on Friday. He has been wanted on charges for the 2016 murder of his former coworker, 23 year old “Sandy” Ly Le in Charlotte, North Carolina - and will remain in custody pending extradition back to NC. Incredible work @FBICharlotte, and thank you to so many partners who delivered - the government of Mexico, Legat Mexico, State Dept, HSI, US Secret Service, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police, and more. This is the FIFTH Ten Most Wanted Fugutive...

A TikTok video recently caused a stir on social media. Posted by user @filimonovadrian, it presents a surprising social experiment that questions our perception of others. The premise is simple: to observe whether a small change can cause a noticeable difference in the attitudes of passersby (especially men).In this experiment, a young woman is filmed with a hidden camera while walking with cardboard boxes. She deliberately drops them to simulate a situation where she might need help. The video is in two parts: In the first part, the woman is wearing jogging pants, a simple and comfortable outfit often...

NUUK, Greenland — Native Greenlander Amarok Petersen was 27 years old when she learned the gut-wrenching truth about why she couldn’t have children — and that Denmark was to blame. Suffering from severe uterine problems, a medical doctor discovered an IUD birth control device in her body that she didn’t know she had. Danish doctors had implanted it when she was just 13 as part of a population control program for thousands of native Greenlandic girls and women.

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A Massachusetts woman is suing the town of Hopkinton, alleging officials negligently approved a criminal immigrant with a history of workplace sexual violence to operate a business where he later assaulted the plaintiff when she was 16 years old. The lawsuit, transferred to federal court Jan. 5, names Greek national Petros "Peter" Sismanis, who is in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody. According to court documents, Sismanis was convicted in June 2025 for the 2023 sexual assault of the plaintiff while she worked at Hillers Pizza. The complaint also notes that Sismanis was previously accused in 1998 of rape, indecent...