As we prepare to enter the new year, we’re taking you back to some of The Daily Wire’s best reporting from 2024. This article was originally published on July 18.  ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA—Arab Gulf states have quietly and sometimes secretly purchased at least $282 million worth of real estate in Washington’s most elite neighborhood. Situated high atop the banks of the Potomac River and overlooking the nation’s capital, Virginia’s “Gold Coast” has long been the home of America’s ruling class. Today, it’s home to a number of high-profile Washingtonians, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, whose home on Arlington’s tony Chain Bridge Road has been swarmed by an encampment of anti-Israel protesters since Hamas’s October 7th invasion of Israel. But since 2019, a mysterious entity called 600 CBR LLC has been buying up property in the area, building up a compound that sold for three times as much as Jeff Bezos’ $23 million D.C. mansion. Though the buyers behind 600 CBR are unknown, the real estate blog UrbanTurf reported in 2022 that “the buyer is from the United Arab Emirates and that settlement documents confirm this.” The embassy of the United Arab Emirates owns extensive property just down the block from the 600 CBR compound, and the compound’s primary residence is directly across the street from Blinken’s $5 million home. Since October 7th, anti-Israel protesters have been living in the narrow strip between the road and the LLC’s property, with their tents, signs, and buckets of fake blood just inches from its fence. If the UAE is behind 600 CBR, it’s not the only Gulf State with real estate holdings in the neighborhood. Saudi Arabia owns a compound on one side of the 600 compound, and Qatar owns land on the other. 50% OFF ALL DAILY WIRE ANNUAL MEMBERSHIPS FOR A LIMITED TIME! It is unclear whether the various Arab nations who own the properties are involved in the protests outside Blinken’s home, which The Daily Wire reported likely violate several state and local laws. The UAE embassy did not answer questions from The Daily Wire about whether UAE royals are behind the purchase, nor their stance on the protest outside Blinken’s home. This map shows the site of the Potomac River’s “Gold Coast,” with foreign-owned properties highlighted at left, in relation to DC, at right. / Daily Wire The Gulf states are the latest foreign entities to buy up key real estate in the United States. In June, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) said that China was purchasing farm land near U.S. military bases to serve as launch pads for drones. Beijing has a history of acquiring American land, with one Chinese Communist Party billionaire secretly purchasing 200,000 acres of Oregon farm land in 2015. Qatar’s efforts to expand its influence in the United States were on full display this week after Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) was convicted of working to benefit Qatar while securing millions of dollars from a Qatari investment fund for his friend, who in turn paid him. When a Daily Wire reporter attempted to knock on the door of the 600 CBR compound’s main building, he was intercepted by a Middle Eastern man in sunglasses who said in accented speech, “This is private villa…get out…please don’t ask questions.” Asked who owns the villa, he said “that is private, I cannot talk.” Shortly after, someone left the house driven in a black SUV. Mortgage documents generally point to a property buyer’s identity. But 600 CBR’s purchase seems to have been made in cash, keeping all identifying information about the buyer out of public records. A transaction for just one of its parcels set the record for the largest residential transaction in the D.C. region’s history. The articles of incorporation for 600 CBR LLC were signed in 2019 by Kathryn W. Hambrick, a lawyer who specializes in managing sovereign wealth funds, according to a Daily Wire review of state records. Hambrick did not return a request for comment on which country’s sovereign wealth fund may have been behind the purchase. Whoever funds 600 CBR has plenty of company. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Embassy owns a $130 million compound that includes the historic Merrywood estate, the childhood home of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Merrywood was later purchased by AOL CEO Steve Case, and sold to the Saudis in 2018 for $43 million, the highest-ever home sale in the region at the time. It is next door to the home where Sen. Ted Kennedy lived until his death. The Saudi properties’ combined assessed value is $130 million, according to Fairfax County real estate records. The ownership of some of the most expensive property in Fairfax County by embassies—even though the embassies themselves are in Washington—deals a blow to the tax base, as they are exempt from property taxes. The Embassy of the State of Qatar’s nearby compound is assessed to be worth $20 million. The oil-rich nation has just 300,000 citizens—half the size of the District of Columbia—but recently counted 2 million residents. The vast majority of its residents are foreign laborers working in conditions sometimes described as “modern slavery.” Qatar has been in the international spotlight since Hamas’s invasion of Israel. The terrorist group’s leaders operate out of Qatar, and the nation’s representative to the Arab parliament said “There can be no peace or negotiations with the Zionist entity.” Qatar has also enmeshed itself into D.C.’s culture by becoming part-owner of the Washington Capitals and Washington Wizards. The $62 million worth of properties owned by the United Arab Emirates, mostly purchased in 2022, are also exempt from property taxes. If the UAE is indeed behind the 600 CBR compound, it would bring the UAE-connected holdings to an assessed value of $132 million. One of the properties on the 600 CBR compound is “The Falls,” which was purchased for about $45 million in 2020 from AOL co-founder Jim Kimsey, making for the largest purchase in the region’s history, the Washington Business Journal reported at the time. It features 42,000 square feet of living space and a guest house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. It also includes a property, purchased for $23 million in 2022, that was home to former Virginia Gov. Chuck Robb and his wife, the daughter of former president Lyndon B. Johnson. Standing yards from this enclave of the Gulf nations’ mega-mansions, pro-Palestinian protestors scream day and night at the United States’ top diplomat that the children of Gaza are starving.

An Azerbaijan Airlines flight that crashed on Christmas, killing dozens of people, was shot down by Russian antiaircraft fire, according to an investigation. An investigation by Azerbaijan indicated that the plane was “hit by a Russian antiaircraft missile, or shrapnel from it,” The Wall Street Journal reported. Separate aviation experts said that there was visible evidence that the plane had been hit by a munition. The flight from Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, was headed for Grozny, Russia when it “suddenly diverted course when flying over a part of Russia where the military had been shooting down Ukrainian drones,” the report said. “The plane went down in western Kazakhstan near the Caspian Sea city of Aktau.” Sources familiar with the investigation told The Journal that Russia refused to allow the plane to land on its soil and that Russia intentionally jammed the plane’s GPS. WATCH: This is a full length video of the Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash in Kazakhstan. What the hell happened? pic.twitter.com/7CL6SwMne8 — Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) December 25, 2024 Of the 62 passengers and five crew members who were on board, 38 were killed and 29 survived — many of whom are in critical condition. Those who survived said they heard a loud explosion that happened before the flight started having problems. “Everyone heard the explosion,” said Subkhonkul Rakhimov, who survived the crash, in an interview with RT. Russia’s Federal Air Traffic Agency claimed that the plane hit a flock of birds. WSJ Chief Foreign-Affairs Correspondent Yaroslav Trofimov highlighted a report from an Azerbaijani publication that highlighted how Russia turned the aircraft out of its airspace and what Azerbaijani officials believe the reason was: As is known, the Grozny airport refused to allow the aircraft to land. Moreover, the Azerbaijani aircraft was also denied landing permissions at the airports in Makhachkala and Mineralnye Vody. The disoriented crew, subjected to air defence fire and electronic warfare (EW) systems, was redirected to the Kazakh city of Aktau. It can be assumed that this recommendation was given with one goal: to have the aircraft crash into the Caspian Sea, where all witnesses would perish and the aircraft would sink. Kill and hide. Azerbaijani officials tell local media that Russia hit flight J2-8243 with an anti-aircraft missile and then jammed electronics and denied permission to land in three airports, steering the damaged plane into the Caspian Sea so that it would crash there and… pic.twitter.com/BuXePAteTJ — Yaroslav Trofimov (@yarotrof) December 26, 2024 Zaur Shiriyev, a Baku-based nonresident scholar at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, said that Azerbaijan expects “not only an apology but also an explanation as to why the pilots’ request to land was denied and why their GPS was jammed over the Caspian Sea—both of which could have saved the plane and its passengers.” An Azerbaijan official told Reuters that no one believes that the aircraft was intentionally shot down but they do expect Russia to confess to what happened. Sources told the publication that they believe a Russian Pantsir-S air defense system is what shot the plane down. A U.S. official said that preliminary findings from the investigation showed that there were signs that the plane was hit by a Russian anti-aircraft system. The incident was similar to a 2014 incident when Russia-backed separatists shot down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over Ukraine, killing 298 people.

Santa Claus doesn’t usually see many lizards at the North Pole, so this visit from Marty the Iguana must have been quite a treat! The animal got to sit right on St. Nick’s lap for photos. His owner, Katie, shared the cutest footage from the adorable encounter on social media. It looks like the man in red has a scaly new friend!  In the clip, Santa gently held Marty the iguana on his lap. Although the critter moved his head a few times, he was very polite for the most part. This lizard definitely deserves to be on the “nice” list for posing so sweetly for photos!  @katieskritters17 Marty was so excited to see Santa again! #martytheiguana #greeniguana #iguana #iguanasoftiktok #lizard #pet #petpictureswithsanta #reptile #reptilekeeper #santa #santapetsmart #elf ♬ original sound – ✧༺♡༻✧   According to the comments section, this iguana isn’t the only unusual animal Santa has interacted with this holiday season. A couple of users claimed to have seen the same actor greeting a variety of other unique pets!  “We saw this Santa at the PetSmart in Amherst yesterday when we brought our bearded dragons,” one person wrote.  Another added, “Hey! I just saw this same Santa with a raccoon!” Screengrab from TikTok In a follow-up post, Katie included all the adorable photos her iguana took with Santa Claus. This slideshow features a hilarious snapshot of Marty wearing a white beard and red hat to match the actor. There’s also a pretty great picture of the lizard occupying the man’s chair!  Of course, this wasn’t Marty the iguana’s first time meeting Santa. Last December, Katie posted another video of her lizard sitting on a different Kris Kringle actor’s lap. Perhaps that’s why the animal sat so nicely for photos this year — he already knew the drill!  It certainly looks like Marty had a good time during his visit with jolly old St. Nick. As for what this iguana asked for this Christmas, that’s between him and Santa!  You can find the source of this story’s featured image here.   The post Everyone’s In The Holiday Spirit… Santa Gets Extra Special Visit From An Unexpected Fan! appeared first on InspireMore.

Life hasn’t always been easy for Britney Spears. She skyrocketed to fame as a teenager, making her one of the best-selling music artists of all time. Along with a very successful music career at a young age, she married and had two sons by age 25. She gave birth to son Sean Preston Federline in September 2005 and son Jayden James Federline in September 2006. But not long after her sons were born, Britney and her husband, Kevin Federline, divorced in a highly publicized breakup in 2007. This began a downward spiral for the pop princess that lasted many years. Britney’s father, Jamie Spears, put his daughter under a conservatorship in February 2008 that lasted until November 2021. During that time, her father had nearly complete control of her life. Britney Spears’ relationship with her children suffered, but this year, she shared an emotional reunion video with one of her sons on Christmas. The mom of two seemed thrilled to have Jayden with her. View this post on Instagram A post shared by XILA MARIA RIVER RED (@britneyspears) Britney Spears Reportedly Hadn’t Seen Her Son For Two Years Prior To Their Christmas Celebration A proud Britney shared a video of herself with Jayden on Christmas, and the pair seemed happy to be together. She wrote in the caption, “Best Christmas of my life!!! I haven’t seen my boys in 2 years!!! Tears of joy and literally in shock everyday koo koo crazy so in love and blessed!!! I’m speechless. thank you, Jesus!!!” The pair mugged for the camera in the video and shared Christmas greetings. Britney Spears and her son seemed full of Christmas spirit. Just a few days before Christmas, Jayden posted a video of a new song he produced on Instagram. View this post on Instagram A post shared by jayden james (@jjayden_james) Perez Hilton commented, “Keep it up!” Another fan wrote, “Good job! Support your mother, everything she went through was to protect you and your brother! You are the son of a living legend. Support your mother and we will support you!” Hopefully, 2025 will be a great year for Britney and her entire family, and they will all find peace and love together. This story’s featured image is by Kathy Hutchins via Shutterstock. The post Britney Spears Sees Her Youngest Son For 1st Time In 2 Years On Christmas Day appeared first on InspireMore.

It is safe to say that the majority of UFO and alien encounters – cases of alien abduction aside – unfold from a distance, with brief sightings of strange aerial objects or even bizarre-looking humanoids from afar. Furthermore, these sightings are, by and large, peaceful and without incident. There are, though, some encounters that go beyond even alien abduction and certainly beyond sightings of strange lights in the distance. These encounters have descended into armed stand-offs between the respective witnesses and otherworldly creatures. What makes some of these incidents even more remarkable and fascinating is that they bleed heavily into other areas of interest, such as cryptid creatures and the world of the supernatural.  

The Amazon rainforest of South America is truly a marvel to behold. Covering most of the Amazon basin of South America, this basin encompasses 7,000,000 km2 (2,700,000 sq mi), of which 6,000,000 km2 (2,300,000 sq mi) are covered by the rainforest, much of it little explored by the outside world. It is the largest tract of rainforest in the world, holding unparalleled biodiversity and a multitude of species that have yet to even be discovered, and among these are said to be some truly monstrous mystery beasts, including giant snakes, giant spiders, living dinosaurs, and others. 

'Overjoyed and so thankful'

'Come get some'

Paul McCartney & Wings, commonly referred to simply as Wings, was formed in 1971 by former Beatle Paul McCartney and his wife Linda McCartney. The band came together after McCartney left The Beatles in 1970, seeking to create new music in a fresh band dynamic. Wings initially began as a small, experimental group, with Paul and Linda joined by guitarist Denny Laine, but soon expanded into a full-fledged band. Over the years, the lineup shifted, but the band’s sound remained consistently focused on rock, pop, and experimental influences. Wings released several successful albums, including Band on the Run (1973), which The post Complete List Of Paul McCartney & Wings Band Members appeared first on ClassicRockHistory.com.

1. 13 Energy Bar Recipes For A Healthy Afternoon Pick Me Up Looking for energy bar recipes to give you a little afternoon energy boost? Homesteading often means being on your feet almost all day. I get up early in the morning, fix breakfast for the family, then go about my chores around the homestead… Click to read more 2. 13 Homemade Compost Tumblers For Your DIY Composting Project If you want to know how to make compost at home, then using compost tumblers may be one option you should check out. There are several ways on how to make compost and recently, I decided to try a compost tumbler. So if you want to give this method a try too, here are a few DIY compost tumbler ideas and designs you can check out… Click to read more 3. How To Make Vinegar From Apple Scraps Find out how to make vinegar from apples in four easy steps. All you need are some apple scraps to make homemade apple scraps vinegar right in your homestead! Follow these four easy steps on how to make vinegar and never buy this essential homesteading ingredient again! Click to read more   What have you done this week? Let us know in the comments below.