Free Republic

On Monday, Iraq's president asked Ibadi to form a new government, despite opposition from Maliki, who has said he wants a third term as prime minister. "The country is now in your hands," Massoum told deputy parliamentary speaker Ibadi, in a televised ceremony. "I hope you will be successful in forming a broader-based government." Massoum's request came despite a legal ruling by Iraq's highest court earlier on Monday declaring that Maliki's Shiite-led State of Law political bloc was the largest grouping in parliament.

Five years ago Bobby Jamison, Sherilyn Jamison and their six-year-old daughter Madyson mysteriously vanished. It wasn't until more than four years later that their decimated, skeletal remains were found on a remote Oklahoma mountainside, lying side-by-side, face down in the dirt, three miles from their abandoned truck. On Saturday their loved ones held a memorial for the family. The modest but emotional ceremony may have given their family and friends a scrap of comfort - but it did little to end their torment. They still have no real idea what happened to their loved ones in a case that has...

Parliament voted to free ex-Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko from prison by decriminalizing the article in the criminal procedural code under which she was convicted. A constitutional majority of 310 lawmakers from a cross-section of different parties, including the Communists, voted for the measure. This makes the legislation veto-proof, preventing President Viktor Yanukovych from blocking the move. Yanukovych is widely blamed for ordering the imprisonment of his political rival. The bill that parliament passed included other articles of the criminal procedural code that were decriminalized. Batkivshchyna Party lawmaker Oleksandr Turchynov, a close ally of Tymoshenko and her former deputy prime minister,...

Author Richard Matheson has passed away at the age of 87. As this is breaking news, there are not a whole lot of details we can offer at this time, we'll update this spot as more information comes in but Matheson's daughter, Ali, wrote the following: "My beloved father passed away yesterday at home surrounded by the people and things he loved...he was funny, brilliant, loving, generous, kind, creative, and the most wonderful father ever...I miss you and love you forever Pop and I know you are now happy and healthy in a beautiful place full of love and joy...

In a dramatic development that occurred just as US President Barack Obama was leaving the country, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu spoke with Turkey's Tayyip Erdogan for the first time since the Israeli prime minister took power in 2009. Netanyahu voiced regret for the loss of life in the 2010 Mavi Marmara incident, apologizing for any mistakes that led to the death of nine Turkish activists. Breaking a three-year deadlock, the two agreed to normalize relations. "Prime Minister Netanyahu expressed an apology to the Turkish people for any error that may have led to the loss of life, and agreed to...

Panetta removes military ban on women in combat, opening thousands of front line positions.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration says it is requiring airlines to temporarily stop flying Boeing's 787 Dreamliner. The Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday ordered U.S. airlines to temporarily stop flying Boeing's 787 Dreamliner following a series of mishaps. The agency said the decision to ground Boeing 787s was prompted by a second incident involving lithium ion battery failure. Earlier Wednesday, Japan's two leading airlines grounded their fleets of Boeing 787s after one of the Dreamliner passenger jets made an emergency landing.

House Speaker John Boehner offered Wednesday to pursue a deal with a victorious President Barack Obama that will include higher taxes "under the right conditions" to help reduce the nation's staggering debt and put its finances in order. "Mr. President, this is your moment," Boehner told reporters, speaking about the "fiscal cliff" that will hit in January. "We want you to lead." Boehner said House Republicans are asking Obama "to make good on a balanced approach" that would including spending cuts and address government social benefit programs. "Let's find the common ground that has eluded us," Boehner said while congratulating...

With 100% of the votes tallied, it looks like same-sex marriage has been passed by Washington State voters. Sign of the times.

Breaking; Egyptian electoral commission declares Mohammed Morsi, candidate of the Muslim Brotherhood, or Ikwhan, winner of the Presidential run-off.

The kinds of drones making the headlines daily are the heavily armed CIA and U.S. Army vehicles which routinely strike targets in Pakistan - killing terrorists and innocents alike. But the real high-tech story of surveillance drones is going on at a much smaller level, as tiny remote controlled vehicles based on insects are already likely being deployed. Over recent years a range of miniature drones, or micro air vehicles (MAVs), based on the same physics used by flying insects, have been presented to the public.

Bee Gees' singer Robin Gibb has died following a lengthy battle with cancer, his family have said.

Anti-corruption police spokesman Jaroslav Ibehej has told CTK that the office has been conducting a large investigation since Monday. He refused to elaborate. The server iDnes has written that the police were making a search in Rath's office in the regional governor's building in Prague. The server has written that the investigation is connected with European subsidies for a hospital in Kladno, central Bohemia. Regional state attorney Lenka Bradacova has told the server iDnes that the police had detained five men, including one deputy, and three women, in connection with the case. Rath has come under the suspicion of harming...

Rock star Bruce Dickinson has vowed to create 1,000 jobs at a “centre of excellence” for British aviation. The Iron Maiden frontman, a fully qualified pilot, yesterday bought 132,000sq ft of old RAF hangars in South Wales. He aims to use the site at St Athan, Vale of Glamorgan, to service Boeing 737s, train pilots on simulators and, one day, build airships. His firm, CARDIFF AVIATION, hopes to take on the first 50 to 60 staff this July. Hundreds more would follow as contracts come in.

The idea of the average mayor pole dancing would not appeal to most voters, but in the Italian town of Taranto, porn stars Amandha Fox and Luana Borgia both think it will get one of them the job.

An all-too-familiar sight at LAX and the rest of the nation’s airports will soon be coming to the city’s busiest train station. KNX 1070′s Pete Demetriou reports rail passengers have started seeing Transportation Security Administration on patrol at Union Station on a more frequent basis. As many as 25 VIPR (Visible Intermodal Prevention & Response) teams began patrolling train stations nationwide last summer conducting an estimated 9,300 “suspicionless” spot searches of travelers. The agency has said the presence of officers with explosive detection dogs, radiation monitors and other devices will act as a deterrent in the nation’s busiest travel hubs.

Before video games and robotics competitions, toys were much simpler: girls got dolls; boys got model trains and bicycles. Toys that promoted learning and experimentation were rare until one inventor, Alfred Carlton (“A. C.”) Gilbert, started making toys that taught children about science and engineering. His most famous, the Erector set, became one of the best -selling toys of its day and inspired children across the country to build everything from bridges to robots. Gilbert was a man of many talents. He financed his medical degree from Yale University by working as a magician, invented the pole-vaulting box and won...

Barack Obama has abandoned a commitment to veto a new security law that allows the military to indefinitely detain without trial American terrorism suspects arrested on US soil who could then be shipped to Guantánamo Bay. Human rights groups accused the president of deserting his principles and disregarding the long-established principle that the military is not used in domestic policing. The legislation has also been strongly criticised by libertarians on the right angered at the stripping of individual rights for the duration of "a war that appears to have no end". The law, contained in the defence authorisation bill that...

Taking a hard line on a U.S. foe in the Middle East, Republican presidential front-runner Newt Gingrich indicated Wednesday that he would unilaterally "replace" Syrian President Bashar al-Assad because he is running a "bad dictatorship." The former House speaker was asked on a morning radio show in Chicago to offer a "30-second" answer to what he would do about Syria, where anti-government protests have led to a violent crackdown. Gingrich said, "I can give you a three-second answer. Replace Assad. I mean Assad is our enemy. He is an ally of Iran. It is a bad dictatorship. It is to...

He's the master filmmaker whose intensity and attention to detail are unmatched in Hollywood. Stanley Kubrick's directing credits include Lolita, Dr. Strangelove, 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange and The Shining. Steven Spielberg once said: 'Nobody could shoot a picture better in history.'