Free Republic

Former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad — a polarizing hardliner who became the face of Tehran’s nuclear defiance and incendiary anti-Israel rhetoric — was reportedly killed in Israeli airstrikes during Saturday’s strikes inside Iran. A report by the Israeli media outlet Ma’ariv stated that Ahmadinejad was under house arrest at the time and was killed in a targeted strike on his home. Ahmadinejad served as Iran’s sixth president from 2005 to 2013, rising from relative obscurity as mayor of Tehran to defeat establishment figure Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani in a surprise 2005 runoff. Critics at home and abroad described him as a...

I mean, he’s probably one of the most shady congressmen out there. Still mind boggling HE was the first call Savannah Guthrie made…not to emergency services…not to the sheriff’s department…not 911…she called Mark Kelly of Arizona when her mom had disappeared. He seems more and more shady as time goes on.

Iran has sent short-range ballistic missiles to Russia, according to U.S. and European officials, despite sharp warnings from Washington and its allies not to provide those armaments to Moscow to use against targets in Ukraine. The new missiles are expected to help Russia further its efforts to destroy Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure, which President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said this week now involved 4,000 bombs a month across the country. The U.S. and European officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, confirmed that after months of warnings about sanctions, Iran has shipped several hundred short-range ballistic...

And Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have never looked so out of touch.You know things must have been bad for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in Munich for the New York Times to attempt some damage control.But rather than the substance of her arguments, it was her on-camera stumbles when answering questions about specific world affairs that rocketed around conservative social media and drove plenty of the discussion about her visit, as political observers speculated whether they would make a dent in a potential presidential run in 2028.It must be nice to have a full court press — a propaganda machine — to...

Stephen Colbert still has a late night show, but not for much longer. The cancelled, not-so-funnyman who hates guns, gun owners and the right to armed self-defense has suffered a precipitous ratings collapse in recent months years. What caused viewers to flee? Could it be his relentless alienation of over half of America with his insufferable woke scolding posing as comedy? The Park Place has the grim news many of us view with a certain Schadenfreude delight:The Stephen Colbert ratings freefall has reached an undeniable breaking point. As The Late Show with Stephen Colbert approaches its already-announced cancellation, the program...

Viewership for Bad Bunny's Super Bowl LX halftime performance fell 7% compared to the game's peak total, Nielsen's quarter-hour ratings data showed. Sunday's championship in San Francisco maxed out at a record 137.9 million viewers -- 134.3 million on NBC and 3.6 million on Spanish-language broadcaster Telemundo -- during the 7:45-7:59 p.m. ET window as the Seattle Seahawks inched away from the New England Patriots in the second quarter. Total viewership fell to 128.2 million while Bad Bunny was on stage in the 8:15-8:29 p.m. ET window, Front Office Sports reported Wednesday. NBC lost almost 10 million viewers from the...

An Irishman who overstayed his 90-day tourist visa more than 15 years ago has been held in a Texas immigration detention facility for nearly five months rather than be deported, despite calling it a form of “torture.” Seamus Culleton, who is married to an American woman, told Irish media that he has a valid US work permit and a pending green card application when he was suddenly picked up by agents in Boston, where he runs a construction company. He was cuffed and eventually flown more than 2,000 miles from home to a camp facility at Fort Bliss Army base...

Less than 14% of nearly 400,000 immigrants arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in President Trump's first year back in the White House had charges or convictions for violent criminal offenses, according to an internal Department of Homeland Security document obtained by CBS News. The official statistics contained in the DHS document, which had not been previously reported publicly, provide the most detailed look yet into who ICE has arrested during the Trump administration's far-reaching deportation operations across the U.S. The internal DHS figures undermine frequent assertions by the Trump administration that its crackdown on illegal immigration is primarily targeting...

Struggling paper expected to announce sweeping job cuts

Russia has used a record number of ballistic missiles to target Ukraine's energy sector, President Volodymyr Zelensky has said. The combined missile and drone strikes hit power plants and infrastructure in Kyiv and multiple locations causing "the most powerful blow" so far this year, according to private energy company DTEK. The strikes were launched as temperatures dropped to -20C (-4F) and left more than 1,000 tower blocks in the capital without heating once again and damaged a power plant in the eastern city of Kharkiv beyond repair. Zelensky said Russia was "choosing terror and escalation" rather than diplomacy to end...

The recent closure of a California oil refinery — and plans to shutter another in the near future — have some experts warning of potential fuel shortages and price spikes in Nevada and other Western states that depend on the Golden State. California supplies roughly 88% of Nevada’s fuel, including diesel and jet fuel. But Phillips 66 closed a refinery in the Los Angeles area in October, and earlier this year, Valero submitted a notice that it plans to close a Bay Area refinery by April 2026. Combined, the two refineries produce 284,000 barrels of oil per day, about 17%...

I took a few images from the 2 minute video for this post:Andrew Bridgen@ABridgenMore fraud uncovered in Ukraine a $3bn ‘redirect’ of aid for Ukraine linking the deputy prime minister who has been arrested, the EU and AstraZeneca. All ultimately benefiting Zelenskyy. You could not make this up - no wonder they want the war to continue. Please watch and share.Jan 29, 2026·

Russia launched a mass aerial attack on Ukraine overnight Jan. 24, killing at least one person and injuring others, while causing widespread damage to energy infrastructure. In Kyiv, one person was killed and four others injured during the attack. Explosions were first heard at 1:20 a.m. local time, according to Kyiv Independent journalists on the ground, who reported blasts throughout the night, including the interception of a ballistic missile. The Ukrainian Air Force tallied 396 aerial weapons, including 21 missiles and 375 drones. Hypersonic "Tsirkon" missiles, ballistic Iskander missiles, and Kh-22/Kh-32 cruise missiles were used. The attacks continued Russia’s targeting...

Multiple reports have come in showing what appeared to be federal officers shooting a suspect in Minneapolis, a city already at the heart of increased tensions between immigration enforcement and local protestors. According to Bill Melugin of Fox News, an altercation between an unknown person and Border Patrol agents resulted in one of the agents shooting the person. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) also confirmed to Fox News that the person was armed. Melugin also provided an image of the weapon. There is a video of the incident circulating on social media. However, we have chosen not to publish...

Ukraine is on the brink of "a humanitarian catastrophe" after months of Russian airstrikes on the energy system, and any future peace agreement must include a halt to attacks on energy infrastructure, Maksym Tymchenko, CEO of DTEK, the largest private energy company in Ukraine, has said. Tymchenko said Russia, which launched its full-scale invasion nearly four years ago, has conducted a campaign of "energy terror" since October 2025, striking power plants and overloading air defence systems. The authorities report that Kyiv and the surrounding regions have been hardest hit, and Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko has urged residents to temporarily leave...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia’s latest drone and missile attacks had left more than one million consumers without electricity in Kyiv, with thousands of apartment blocks also losing heating during freezing winter temperatures. In a rare wartime admission, Zelenskyy criticised the performance of Ukraine’s air force against Russian Shahed drones, despite the availability of Western-supplied interceptors and F-16 fighter jets. Moscow has escalated strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, while Kyiv has urged Western allies to urgently deliver air defense missiles and military support.

Protests against President Donald Trump are set to take place across Oregon on Tuesday, marking one year since Trump returned to the White House. The events are likely to be the largest coordinated national effort since the “No Kings” rallies in 2025. The “Free America Walkout” is part of a nationwide protest aimed at mobilizing people to stand up against the administration and protect the country from what organizers say is an “escalating fascist threat.” Multiple walkout events are planned across the state, including a rally at Couch Park at 2 p.m. in Northwest Portland. The Women’s March, a global...

Russia launched a barrage of ⁠drone strikes on Ukraine's energy infrastructure overnight on Monday, cutting off power in five regions across the country amid freezing temperatures and high demand, Ukrainian officials said. The Ukrainian air force said that Russian troops had launched 145 drones. Air defense units shot ‍down 126 of them, it said. "As of this morning, consumers in ‍Sumy, Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, and Chernihiv regions are without power," the energy ministry said in a statement. "Emergency repair work is underway ⁠if the security situation allows." In the southern Odesa region, energy and gas infrastructure was damaged, the regional...

SNIP While many European leaders are still hoping they might be able to talk things out, discussions have essentially been futile so far. Europe has been hesitant to retaliate against the United States, in part because it relies on America for military technologies and support for NATO. But Brando Benifei, a member of the European Parliament and the chair of its delegation for U.S. relations, said that calculus may be shifting, in part because popular opinion in Europe has turned more critical of the U.S. “A lot of people are saying that we are clearly over a red line,” he...

Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov says 200,000 soldiers are absent without official leave — AWOL — and that 2 million are "wanted" for avoiding military service. "I don't want to be a populist — I want to be a realist," Fedorov said. "The Ministry of Defense is coming into my hands with a [$6.9 billion] shortfall, 2 million Ukrainians who are wanted and 200,000 who are AWOL," Fedorov said Wednesday in an address to Parliament. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appointed Fedorov, 34, at the start of the year. The former head of Ukraine's digital transformation policies is credited with spearheading the...