In his death, former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani has quickly become a darling of the Islamic hardliners in Iran.
Those who missed no opportunity in recent years to denounce his every word and did everything they could to drive him into isolation are now describing him as a pillar of the revolution and a comrade of the supreme leader.
Such is the politics of the Islamic hardliners. They sense a massive collective grief at the death of an influential and popular figure of the Islamic revolution who championed the cause of moderation in recent years.
The hardliners have decided they are better off joining the crowd. They fear they may appear isolated in public opinion, particularly at a time when we are only four months away from the presidential elections.
Hardline newspapers that saw him as a seditious enemy of the revolution have today carried his pictures on their front pages mourning his death.
The Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who at one point would not even take a call from his long-time friend and comrade, will perform the ceremonial prayers over Rafsanjani’s coffin before burial.
The fact is the Islamic hardliners lack popular appeal and electability. Association with Rafsanjani, even now, after his death, could provide a degree of acceptability.
At the same time his death has left a big hole in the confidence of the moderates and the reformist movement in Iran.
The former president was one of the most influential figures of the revolution. He knew the most intimate secrets of 37 years of upheaval in Iran.
Although he began politically as an Islamic hardliner, Rafsanjani had increasingly moved to the centre of Iranian politics in the last two decades, and in recent years, he became a champion of the reformists and a strong moderating influence, gaining huge popularity.
He was in favour of better relations with the West, he was against Iran’s involvement in Syria and he believed he could swiftly mend relations with Saudi Arabia and end the ongoing bloodletting in the region.
At home he was in favour of an economy run by the private sector. He strongly backed the nuclear deal that Iran reached with six world powers – a deal which saw the lifting of international sanctions against Iran in return for the curbing of the country’s nuclear activities.
He believed extremism was eating the fabric of the society from within.
In 2013 when the hardliners barred him from standing as a candidate in the presidential elections, he threw his weight behind Hassan Rouhani, who duly won the elections. Now his death has robbed the reformists of perhaps their most important backer.
But it has to be said that many in Iran have not forgiven Rafsanjani for widespread human rights abuses during his tenure as president and speaker of parliament in the first couple of decades of the revolution.
Many lost their sons, daughters, fathers and mothers to the executioners of the regime that Ayatollah Rafsanjani endorsed and largely led. Memories of this kind are not easily erased, although he moved on to become a voice of reason and compassion in his later years.
But Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei is unlikely to view the death of his long-time rival with relief. Rafsanjani was an agent of continuity as well as a force for the stability for the regime.
Iran has lost a moderating voice at a time when the country remains in flux in the ever intensifying struggle between the moderates and the hardliners.
In these conditions, a big change, such as the sudden absence of a figure like Rafsanjani, who acted as counterweight to the hardliners, could bring with it a period of uncertainty, even instability.

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(CNN) An assistant coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers faces aggravated assault and other charges after an altercation at a local bar Sunday night following the team’s AFC wild-card win over the Miami Dolphins.

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The United Nations Security Council condemned the truck ramming attack in Jerusalem that left four Israeli soldiers dead.
The statement released late Sunday “condemned in the strongest terms the terrorist attack in Jerusalem on January 8” and expressed condolences to the families of the victims and to government of Israel.

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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (CBSNewYork/AP) — The Iraq war veteran accused of fatally shooting five people and wounding six at a crowded Florida airport baggage claim is due for his first court appearance.
Esteban Santiago is scheduled to be in Fort Lauderdale federal court Monday morning. The 26-year-old from Anchorage, Alaska, faces airport violence and firearms charges that could mean the death penalty if he’s convicted.
The initial hearing Monday is likely to focus on ensuring Santiago has a lawyer and setting future dates. Santiago has been held without bail since his arrest after Friday’s shooting at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
The FBI has says Santiago flew on a one-way ticket from Alaska to Florida with a handgun in his checked bag. Agents say he retrieved the gun and emerged from an airport bathroom firing.
The motive is still unclear, but Santiago allegedly confessed to planning the airport attack and surveillance video obtained by TMZ will likely be key evidence in the case.
The footage shows Santiago walking through the airport before he reaches into his waistband, pulls out a gun and begins firing. Startled passengers behind him are seen ducking for cover.
“By the time I was laying down, I wasn’t looking anywhere else,” said survivor Annika Lee Dean. “Looking at the carpet and praying to God that my children would have a mother.”
Investigators say Santiago had two magazine clips and fired 15 shots. When it was all over, five people were dead. Among them was 62-year-old Terry Andres of Cape May County, New Jersey who was traveling with his wife Ann who watched it all unfold.
Another six people were left injured.
A law enforcement source tells CBS News the 9mm handgun that Santiago used was the same gun he had when he went to a FBI office in Anchorage, Alaksa in November. He had complained to agents that he was hearing voices and being forced to watch ISIS videos.
Police confiscated Santiago’s gun and had him committed for a mental evaluation for four days. About a month later, police returned the gun to Santiago.
“There is a federal law with regard to having a gun by somebody who is mentally ill, but the law requires that the person be adjudicated mentally ill, which is a difficult standard,” said U. S. Attorney Karen Loeffler.
In Puerto Rico, Santiago’s mother says she spoke with him ten days before the shooting and that he sounded strange.
“I wanted to scream or cry, but since he was so far away, I could not do anything,” Elizabeth Ruiz said.
FBI agents have said they have uncovered no evidence yet linking Santiago to international terrorism. They say he apparently chose the Fort Lauderdale airport at random.
(TM and © Copyright 2017 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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(CNN) An Orlando police officer was killed Monday and a manhunt is under way for the gunman who shot her, the Orlando Police Department said.
The Orlando Police Department family is heartbroken today. One of our own was taken in the line of duty. There are no words. pic.twitter.com/M48o1nnr4h
Markeith Loyd is the suspect who shot OPD officer this morning. Anyone w/info please call 1-800-423-TIPS @CrimelineFL pic.twitter.com/TeABsCsTh4
The following schools are also on lockdown: Robinswood MS and Pinewood ES. Total now 17. Repeat: students & staff are safe. https://t.co/XYb61vvGfd
CNN’s Kate Connerly contributed to this report.

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PARIS- Several people were arrested and some held for questioning by police in France on Monday in connection with the robbery of reality TV star Kim Kardashian in Paris last October, Europe 1 Radio and other French media reported.
French police said at the time that the 36 year-old was robbed at gunpoint of some 9 million euros worth of jewelry by masked men who tied her up in her Paris apartment early on Oct. 3.

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