- ISIS released videos of beheading 2 Japanese hostages, then burned alive Jordanian fighter pilot when their ransom demands were not met. They claimed Jordanian airstrikes on their training centers killed one of the remaining American hostages a few weeks later. The Pentagon estimates ISIS has about 20,000 to 30,000 fighters. Obama asked Congress to formally authorize use of military force against ISIS on the 11th of Feb.
- A new peace treaty between Russian Separatists and the Ukranian government (brokered by Germany’s Prime Minister) seems to be holding again (AP).
- Russia has attempted to create stronger ties with individual members of the European Union (DW).
- In France a cartoonist who had depicted the prophet Mohammed was killed in a brutal and coordinated attack on his publication’s office. The threat of homegrown terrorism is hitting home across the world as a result.
- A UN report, from a panel of experts monitoring nuclear sanctions, claims a North Korean shipping company renamed 13 of its 14 ships, and transferred their ownership to shell companies, which meant they were effectively erased from the blacklist database (BBC).
- Obama vetoed the Keystone pipeline bill despite months of negotiation between the House and Senate to get it passed (Reuters).
- Congress threatens to withhold funding from the Department of Homeland Security to put pressure on Obama to adjust immigration policy after his Executive Order postponed deportation for thousands (Washington Post).
- Obama speaks on a campaign to combat US citizens, mostly teenagers attempting to travel to Syria to fight for ISIS with community based efforts and CENTCOM announced a coordinated counter-ISIS campaign planned for the Spring in Iraq (USNews)
- Massive winter storms in January and February have buried much of the Northeast in snow.
- Dock workers strike on the West Coast resolves but oil refinery workers threaten to do the same which could cause severe increases in gas prices (Breitbart).
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