Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“A suicide bombing attack at a wedding in northwestern Pakistan has killed at least seven people, according to the police. The bombing tore through a building housing members of a peace committee during a wedding ceremony on Friday in Dera Ismail Khan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, police official Muhammad Adnan said on Saturday. The committees are made up of residents and elders and supported by Islamabad as part of its efforts to counter fighters in the regions along the Afghan border.” (01/24/26)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/1/24/suicide-bombing-at-wedding-in-northwest-pakistan-kills-seven
Source: The Atlantic
“ICE Is Turning Real Conflict Into Viral Content.” (01/23/26)
https://www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/2026/01/ice-is-turning-real-conflict-into-viral-content/685721/
Source: The American Conservative
by Ali Rizk
“As President Donald Trump has shown reluctance to engage in a risky large-scale bombing campaign against Iran, hawkish voices are advocating for alternative courses of action in an apparent bid to keep Washington on a confrontational footing with Tehran. The proposals being put forward appear clearly designed to present Trump with what may look like risk-averse strategies but in fact are not. Two alternative courses of action in particular have emerged: the assassination of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, and the partitioning of Iran along ethnic lines. Both these options could have dramatic negative repercussions that would far outweigh any supposed benefits.” (01/23/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/the-hawks-new-plans-for-iran-are-disastrous/
Source: In These Times
Margaret Vail Palmquist
“he Minnesota shutdown is well underway, kicked off with a large picket line by workers and an act of civil disobedience Friday morning by faith leaders outside of the Minneapolis/Saint Paul International Airport, where many protesters are decrying the abduction of five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos. The preschooler, according to school officials, was used as ’bait’ when he arrived home from school in Columbia Heights on Tuesday, January 20. They say that agents led him to his door and instructed him to knock so that they could assess if anyone else was home.” [editor’s note: OR, as ICE alleges, the father ran and the agents took the child to warmer places so he did not freeze – SAT] [additional editor’s note: If you’ll believe the ICE gang, you’ll believe anyone and anything – TLK] (01/25/25)
https://inthesetimes.com/article/ice-is-made-up-of-a-bunch-of-cowards
Source: Independent [UK]
“A Texas sheriff has been charged with fraud two months after President Donald Trump pardoned his brother, Democratic congressman Henry Cuellar – although the president later accused him of being disloyal. Webb County Sheriff Martin Cuellar Jr., 67, from Laredo, was accused by federal prosecutors of defrauding his office by misappropriating funds to run a for-profit disinfecting business during the Covid-19 pandemic. Last month, Cuellar’s brother and his brother’s wife, Imelda Cuellar, were pardoned by Trump in a federal bribery case. … Martin Cuellar, along with his assistant chief, Alejandro Gutierrez, 47, and a former assistant chief, Ricardo Rodriguez, 65, opened Disinfect Pro Master in April 2020 and used employees from the sheriff’s office to run the company’s day-to-day operations both on and off the clock with the county, prosecutors alleged.” (01/23/26)
https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/crime/texas-sheriff-fraud-trump-pardon-henry-cuellar-b2906103.html
Source: The New Republic
“Trump Explodes in Wild Fury After Poll Hits Him with Worst Results Yet.” (01/23/26)
https://newrepublic.com/article/205587/trump-explodes-wild-fury-poll-hits-worst-results-yet
Source: Law & Liberty
by Richard Jordan
“What The Wind and the Lion can teach us about our new era of rough-riding foreign policy.” (01/23/26)
https://lawliberty.org/the-american-grizzly/
Source: EconLog
by Tarnell Brown
“Mass deportation is often framed as a pro‑worker policy. Remove unauthorized immigrants, the argument goes, and native wages will rise as labor supply contracts. This logic is intuitive, politically potent, and economically incomplete. Mass deportation is a massive market intervention. When examined through the lens of labor markets, production complementarities, and historical evidence, mass deportation emerges not as a wage‑enhancing reform but as a broad negative shock — one that reduces output, raises prices, and ultimately leaves most American workers worse off.” (01/23/26)
https://www.econlib.org/econlog/the-deportation-labor-shock
Hey, everyone …
It’s a “Hybrid Friday” at the freedom movement’s daily newspaper — we’ve got a full 60-item email and social media edition going out, plus another 50 (maybe more by the time you read this) news stories, opinion pieces, and audio/video links here at our web edition. Enjoy!
Crass commercialism:
If you’re looking for a new ISP, please check out Starlink via the link below — you get your second month free and I get a free month as well. I’ve been using Starlink for more than two months now. My short and sweet review: “Cheaper, more reliable than, and at least as fast as my previous cable Internet provider.”
https://starlink.com/residential?referral=RC-DF-8980236-19330-50
Have a happy, healthy, and prosperous weekend!
Yours in liberty,
Tom Knapp
Publisher
Rational Review News Digest / Freedom News Daily
Source: Associated Press
“The toll in Iran’s bloody crackdown on nationwide protests has reached at least 5,002 people killed, activists said Friday, warning many more were feared dead as the most comprehensive internet blackout in the country’s history crossed the two-week mark. The challenge in getting information out of Iran persists because of authorities cutting off access to the internet on Jan. 8, even as tensions rise between the United States and Iran as an American aircraft carrier group moves closer to the Middle East. U.S. President Donald Trump likened the carrier group to an ‘armada’ in comments to journalists late Thursday. Analysts say a military buildup could give Trump the option to carry out strikes, though so far he’s avoided that despite repeated warnings to Tehran.” (01/23/22)
https://apnews.com/article/iran-protests-crackdown-death-toll-acb1968a973f19be217ea28b4a7adb0b
