• Sydney Police Move in to Rescue Hostages Held in Café by Man Haron Monis, a Self-Styled Iranian Sheikh with Ties to ISIS

    It appears that a 15-hour standoff between a lone gunman and police has come to an end. Man Haron Monis, a self-styled Iranian sheikh, has been identified as the man who walked into a busy chocolate café in Sydney, Australia's financial district and took a number of hostages, according to AOL. The situation remains fluid, but as of now we know police stormed the cafe and, while gunshots rang out, at least some hostages were able to escape to safety.Monis already has an illustrious criminal record with various charges of sexual assault, and he also has been arrested for sending hate mail to families of Australian soldiers who have died in Afghanistan. Monis is currently free on bail after being considered an accessory to murder after his alleged girlfriend was killed and he then set his wife on fire.After taking several people hostage earlier today, said ABC News, Monis encouraged them to use social media to get his wish for an ISIS flag and a conversation with Australian political figures across to everyone listening. At times the hostages were seen pushed up against the plate-glass windows and Monis could be seen pacing wildly. After about 11 hours in captivity, five hostages were able to make a run for safety and, upon realizing it, Monis reportedly became more unstable, leading police to start to formulate their plan to go in after him.

  • Is ISIS Trying to Sell the Body of Slain U.S. Hostage James Foley?

    It seems the Muslim extremist group ISIS has hit a new low — even for it. After months on end of threatening the lives of various hostages and extorting money from various governments in order to secure the release of some of those same hostages, the group has found a new way to make money. It is now ready to sell the remains of hostages who have been beheaded!According former Syrian rebel fighters, ISIS wants $1 million in exchange for the remains of James Foley, the first Western hostage who it publicly beheaded in August. A source for BuzzFeed is reporting that it is willing to provide DNA in order to prove that the remains do indeed belong to Foley, but first it want its money. Once a million dollars has changed hands, then ISIS will send the DNA to Turkey, where the deal would officially take place.

  • U.S. Senator John McCain Weighs In on Chuck Hagel's Resignation from President Obama's Cabinet

    When U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced his resignation earlier today, it seemed that few Washington insiders were surprised. He reportedly had been dissatisfied with his job heading up the Pentagon and admitted that this decision was a mutual one made after only two years on the job. It had originally been Hagel's job to help guide our troops home after a 13-year war and to help our military to make as smooth a transition as possible. Hagel did accomplish that, but he seemed to see little hope of being able to do much else under the current administration.President Barack Obama has readily admitted that change is necessary and feels that putting a new person into the official role of Defense secretary might be a good move.U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., spoke earlier today about Hagel's frustration and how that did not mean he was no longer invested in his job, but instead felt that his options for action were extremely limited:

  • Chris Rock's Jokes About ISIS, 9/11 and Boston Marathon Bombing While Hosting 'Saturday Night Live' Leave Many Outraged

    The only thing worse than knowing in advance that an episode of Saturday Night Live might be a bit lackluster is putting tons of faith in a host only for them to miss the mark. Chris Rock did the honors last night and while some were entertained, it seems that his jokes about terrorism hit a little too close to home for some. Rock spoke of the irony of those who had trained to run the 26 mile Boston Marathon only to be told to run because there's a bomb. While Rock repeatedly expressed his love for NYC his comments connected to 9/11 were a bit too much for some.

  • Security Increased at 9,500 Federal Buildings as Government Fears Random, Lone Terrorist Attacks

    Several recent events have prompted the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to decide to tighten security at more than 9,500 facilities across the country that are used by 1.4 million visitors each day. The heightened security is no doubt directly related to the lone gunman, Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, who managed to storm into Canada's Parliament last week shortly after killing Nathan Cirillo, a solider guarding Ottawa's National War Memorial. That incident, plus ISIS, continuously calling for lone-wolf jihad missions certainly has made the U.S. reconsider just how well-protected we all are.

  • Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper Vows Country Won't 'Cower in Fear' After Terrorist Attack on Parliament Hill by Michael Zehaf-Bibeau

    Canada woke up a changed nation this morning, much in the same way Americans did the morning after 9/11. It does not matter if a coordinated attack is carried out or just one lone gunman on a personal mission succeeds, the end result is the same: The vulnerability creates the overall feeling that nothing is safe. It is now believed Michael Zehaf-Bibeau acted alone yesterday when he gunned down Cpl. Nathan Cirillo at Canada's National War Memorial before waging an attack that left Parliament Hill on lockdown for several hours. Prime Minister Stephen Harper said his country would not "cower in fear."

  • Monty Python's John Cleese Admits That He Is 'Looking Forward' To Death

    John Cleese was out promoting his autobiography So Anyway... last weekend at the Cheltenham Literary Festival and he offered up some interesting thoughts on his future endeavors. At 74-years old Cleese has let it be known that he has no intention of embarking on another long film process. After being involved with the likes of A Fish Called Wanda, the Shrek series and Fierce Creatures Cleese admits that spending another 2.5 years working on a film would probably kill him- not that he is afraid of death.

  • President Obama Lays Out Four-Part Combative Plan To Battle ISIS

    In recent weeks ISIS has been front and center in the minds of most Americans when the topic of terrorism comes up. This group has been touted as being potentially more dangerous than Al Qaeda and their brutal videotaped beheadings of two American journalists certainly has gotten them exactly the kind of attention that they wanted. On Wednesday, President Obama finally laid out plans to combat ISIS in a prime time speech.
View More
Festivals
Popular Now
Real Time Analytics