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Representatives of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) stated that they will ruin the Kaaba after capturing Saudi Arabia. APA reports quoting Turkish media that ISIS wants to take control of Arar city of Saudi Arabia and start operations here. ISIS member Abu Turab Al Mugaddasi said that they would destroy the Kaaba in Mecca: “If Allah wills, we will kill those who worship stones in Mecca and destroy the Kaaba. People go to Mecca to touch the stones, not for Allah.”

BYLINE: In the Hashemite Kingdom, government leniency toward home-grown Islamists is coming home to roost The rapid advance of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in northern Iraq has set off warning bells in Jerusalem, which fears a Jihadist takeover of Jordan, Israel’s eastern neighbor and a Western ally. Former national security adviser Yaakov Amidror told Army Radio on Sunday that Israel should extend aid to Jordan in its potential fight against ISIL on its eastern border, if such assistance is requested. “We need to help with whatever they may need in order to overcome the problems developing...

Twenty years ago I thought I would do this job forever. I had a dream: work in Providence till I was 60 and they threw me out, and then move somewhere else where they have a volunteer department and I could put my experience to good use. The department offered a 50 percent pension after 20 years, we contribute 9.5 percent of our pay toward the fund, and the city contributes the rest. “That’s nice,” I thought, never considering that I would actually leave after 20. Time marches on, and 20 years passed in the blink of an eye. The...

THE UNITED NATIONS, June 27. /ITAR-TASS/. The US plans to spend $500 million for training and outfitting Syrian rebels is a step in the wrong direction, Russian Permanent Ambassador to the UN Vitaly Churkin said on Thursday. In his words, 500 million dollars is “a very big sum of money.” “I am sure that it is possible to spend it for something more useful,” he told a news conference at the Russian Permanent Mission at the UN. “They (the United States) put the situation on the wrong track,” the diplomat said. He said with regret that the US “adds fuel...

A gang of men attacked an American student while he was drinking in the street - grabbing a glass bottle from his hands and smashing it over his head, a court was told. Francesco Hounye, 23, from Florida, had been in Britain for just three days when he was set upon by the men while he was walking home with a friend in Shadwell, east London. Shaleem Uddin, 20, Shadhat Hussain, 19, Kamrul Hussain, 22, and Massom Rahman, 22, targeted Mr Hounye when they saw him swigging from a bottle of Jagermeister. (VIDEO) They then chased him, beat him, and...

The swiftness of the Sunni insurgency in Iraq has raised fears that it could spill into neighbouring Jordan, which has always struggled to contain its own home-grown jihadists. In the latest developments, militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isis) seized the Turaibil crossing with Jordan along with the al-Walid crossing with Syria after government forces pulled out. On the Jordan/Iraq border, a reporter from the German news agency DPA reported sighting a mobilisation of troops, tanks and missiles. In a video released on YouTube, five of the group's Mujahideen pledged to take the holy war to...

ISIS fighters are ordering terrified families in Iraq to hand over their daughters for sex. Leaflets in the captured cities of Mosul and Tikrit claim the women – virgins or not – must join jihad, or Holy war, and cleanse themselves by sleeping with militants. Those that refuse to do so are violating God’s will, it is claimed, and will be beaten or killed. ISIS fighters have been taking women captive in Syria since last year when a Saudi-based cleric issued a fatwa – religious order telling them to. Now the sick practise is happening to Iraq. (...)

A U.S. Navy sailor from Washington State is currently serving on a submarine thousands of miles away in the Pacific Ocean, but a judge has ordered him into an impossible custody scenario: Appear in a Michigan courtroom Monday or risk losing custody of his 6-year-old daughter. Navy submariner Matthew Hindes was given permanent custody of his daughter Kaylee in 2010, after she was reportedly removed from the home of his ex-wife, Angela, by child protective services. But now a judge has ordered him to appear in court Monday, or risk losing his daughter to his ex-wife in addition to a...

The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (Isis), the radical islamic insurgent group that has pledged to seize control of Baghdad, has employed a sophisticated social media strategy to garner online support for its cause. The Dawn of Glad Tidings, an official Isis Arabic-language Twitter app promoted by some of the organisation's leading figures, has been used to give updates about the group and spread its message through user accounts. When the app is downloaded, Isis is able to post tweets automatically on behalf of all those who have signed up. The app has already been downloaded hundreds of times,...

The Department of Veteran Affairs is drawing online criticism for tweeting about the world’s oceans on Monday. The VA tweeted about how the world’s oceans are under threat from over-fishing, pollution and even climate change. Veterans Affairs @DeptVetAffairs Our ocean is under threat. Join people all over the world and make a difference. #OurOcean2014 http://thndr.it/1tP7rrQ 9:02 AM - 16 Jun 2014 The tweet linked to a press release from the State Department that let people tweet out their own support for a number of ocean-related issues, such as avoiding shark-fin soup and only consuming seafood caught in a sustainable manner....

Let's play a game. Let's say you've done something wrong and will therefore be punished. Here's your punishment: You must retire from your job. You will receive a full pension. Your days will be free for whatever your heart desires. Hey, stop smiling. You're being punished! In the real world, of course, retirement is generally seen as a good thing, especially if the retiree will be financially comfortable. But when a cop misbehaves, retirement is treated like the guillotine. Consider the plea deal for Schenectady Detective John Hotaling. His road-rage charges will be essentially dropped if he trades his badge...

A commander of the al-Qaeda splinter Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has been killed in Mosul as Iraqi forces continue slowing the militants’ advance. Media reports said on Saturday that Abu Omar al-Esseily was killed in an attack against his car in the militant-held city, which is the provincial capital of the Nineveh province. There were no immediate details about the ISIL commander’s death. Mosul, Iraq’s second city, fell to the hands of the ISIL militants in a lightning advance on June 10, which followed the capture of Tikrit, located 140 kilometers (87 miles) northwest of the...

The jihadist Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant posted pictures online of militants bulldozing a berm dividing Iraq and Syria, symbolising its goal of uniting its forces in the two countries. The jihadists could be seen clearing a road through the berm, before trucks drove through as a militant stood nearby holding the group's black flag, in photos shared on websites and Twitter. Creating a cross-border Islamic state is one of the group's main aims. The first shot was dated June 10 and carried the title of the photo series, "Smashing the Sykes-Picot border" -- a reference to the...

BYLINE: Compared with the five-star reviews, the one-star ones are a lot more, er, colorful. Hillary Clinton is a polarizing figure. So when she releases an autobiography, opinions on said book are going to diverge. This is especially true with her book release now, seeing as many are interpreting the media blitz surrounding the book to be a test run for a 2016 campaign. On Amazon.com, as of this writing, there are 19 five-star, perfect reviews of Hard Choices. And then there are 44 one-star reviews. (The most popular line being "should be listed as fiction." Zing.) There are only...

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WATERVLIET - Firefighters in Watervliet spent Thursdsay morning, not fighting fires but raising money for the World War II veteran who had his benefits slashed to just $6 a month. They're hoping to raise at least $3,000 for 89-year-old Joseph Teson. As NewsChannel 13 first told you over the weekend, the Department Of Veterans Affairs told Teson he was overpaid by more than $3,000. So, they're withholding most of his benefits until they get the money back. Teson's relatives say he relies on the money and is now selling some of his coin collection just to pay the bills. “The...

WATERVLIET – On this Memorial Day weekend, World War II veteran Joseph Teson is thinking about his fallen comrades – and his personal finances. Teson, a D-Day survivor, told NewsChannel 13 the federal government has reduced his veterans benefits to just $6 per month in order to recoup an overpayment. “I don’t know how they did it, but they did it,” Teson, 89, said Saturday. “I didn’t say nothing. I just let it go. Everybody else complained but me.” Teson said he used to receive about $300.00 per month in veterans benefits, about a third of which he donated to...

HOUSTON (CBSDFW.COM) – Deputies with the Harris County Precinct One Constable’s Office say a man has been terrorizing a neighborhood in the Woodland Heights area of Houston by going to the bathroom in several yards at night. “We’ve had reports from six to eight neighbors out there that someone is actually coming into their yard and defecating — generally on their driveways,” said Sgt. J.C. Mosier. Authorities believe the unknown man is committing the act between 1:00 and 4:00 a.m., but a motive for crimes has not yet been established. “I think the neighbors are laughing about it, but that’s...

The working day in the retrial of former state Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno will be shorter — as long as the former political powerhouse is not too talkative outside of court. U.S. District Court Chief Judge Gary Sharpe conditionally ruled on Thursday that the trial, which begins Monday, will start at 10 a.m. and last until 4:30 p.m. each day. He said Bruno, 85, of Brunswick requested the shorter days for medical-related reasons. (...) But Sharpe said his view will change if he sees Bruno outside the courthouse speaking to reporters about the trial. The longtime Republican senator...

WASHINGTON — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo urged the White House Wednesday to give "immediate attention'' to safety issues involving the increased use of freight trains to transport crude oil. He made his comments just hours before the latest derailment in Lynchburg, Va. Cuomo later said the accident and other recent derailments are "a startling pattern that underscores the need for action." "In addition to steps that states like New York are taking, the federal government must overhaul the safety regulations, starting with taking DOT-111 trains off the rails now," he said in a statement. "These trains travel through populated...