Aug 21 Female Kurdish fighters take arms against Islamic State extremists By Anya van Wagtendonk After Kurdish and Iraqi forces recaptured a critical Iraqi dam from Islamic State militants Monday, much attention turned to the role U.S. airstrikes may have played in securing a victory. Less attention has been given to an increasingly fierce segment… Continue reading
Aug 20 Watch Displaced Iraqis traumatized by Islamic State, betrayed by neighbors By PBS News Hour The humanitarian crisis in Iraq is taking its toll on displaced Christians and those in the minority Yazidi community. As brutal attacks from the Sunni militant group known as the Islamic State continue, hundreds of thousands have fled to the… Continue watching
Aug 20 U.S. official: More airstrikes in Iraq By Lara Jakes, Lolita C. Baldor, Associated Press WASHINGTON -- American fighter jets and drones continued to pound Islamic State militants in Iraq on Wednesday, and military planners weighed the possibility of sending a small number of additional U.S. troops to Baghdad, U.S. officials said, even as the… Continue reading
Aug 20 Watch President Obama: World is appalled by journalist James Foley’s killing By PBS News Hour Continue watching
Aug 19 Journalist James Foley reportedly killed by Islamic State group By News Desk News of Foley’s murder was released in a video via an official Islamic State group Twitter feed. In the video, Foley is forced to read a letter condemning the U.S. bombing campaign in Iraq, calling it the “final nail” in… Continue reading
Aug 19 Sharp black-white divide on perceptions of Ferguson as clashes continue By Domenico Montanaro, Rachel Wellford, Simone Pathe Today in the Morning Line: Poll finds racial gap on Ferguson perceptions Why Obama can’t bridge the divide The last primary of the key Senate races Hillary heads to Iowa Dividing line: A new Pew Research Center poll… Continue reading
Aug 18 Watch 11:16 Despite military advances, displaced Iraqis fear risks of returning home By PBS News Hour Saving the Kurdish city of Irbil from the onslaught of Islamic State fighters was one of the goals of U.S. airstrikes launched earlier this month. But a sense of foreboding remains in the region, and many of the displaced residents… Continue watching
Aug 18 President Obama cites progress in Iraq, announces Holder is heading to Ferguson By Jim Kuhnhenn, Associated Press President Barack Obama plans to speak Monday about the situations in Iraq and in Ferguson, Missouri, after meeting with top aides on both trouble spots. Continue reading
Aug 18 President Obama pauses vacation, returns to Washington By Julie Pace, Associated Press The exact reason for Obama's return shortly after midnight remained unclear, though it appeared aimed in part at countering criticism that Obama was spending two weeks on the Massachusetts island in the midst of multiple crises. Continue reading
Aug 17 Watch Kurdish forces retake key dam from Islamic State in ‘strategic victory’ By PBS News Hour In what may be considered a strategic victory, Kurdish forces recaptured the area around the Mosul Dam in northern Iraq, with the help of repeated air strikes to the area on Sunday. PBS NewsHour Foreign Correspondent Margaret Warner joins Hari… Continue watching