Islamic State is calling on its members to carry out jihad in Russia. During a nine-minute video posted to a popular messaging site used by the group, a masked man driving a car in the desert yelled, “Listen Putin, we will come to Russia and will kill you at your homes…Oh Brothers, carry out jihad and kill and fight them.” The video comes after talks between the United States and Russia to ramp up military and intelligence cooperation against Islamic State and al Qaeda in Syria.
This South China Sea business isn’t cooling down, even after arbitration talks at the Hague. China’s government is resisting pressure from voices in the military to get more aggressive in the region. Four sources with strong military and leadership ties say elements within the People’s Liberation Army are pushing for a stronger – potentially armed – response aimed at the United States and its allies in the region.
U.S. presidential nominee Hillary Clinton accused rival Donald Trump of scapegoating the parents of a Muslim soldier killed in Iraq. After the couple’s speech at the Democratic National Convention last week, Trump questioned why the soldier’s mother, Ghazala Khan, didn’t speak and suggested she might not have been “allowed” to speak. In answer to Trump’s comments, Khan wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post explaining the pain she still feels every day – 12 years after her son’s death – and blasting the Republican as knowing nothing of sacrifice.
Quote of the Day
“I don’t begrudge anyone of any other faith or of no faith at all, but I do tremble before those who would scapegoat other Americans, who would insult people because of their religion, their ethnicity, their disability.”
-Hillary Clinton
They didn’t say Trump’s name, but top Republicans, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan, also condemned Trump’s remarks.
Around the country
A gunman opened fire at a crowd leaving a nightclub in Austin, Texas Sunday. He killed a woman and seriously wounded three others. Police say they’re looking for a 24-year-old suspect named Endicott McCray in connection with the shooting.
Donald Trump’s “not thrilled” about the dates of this fall’s presidential debates, mainly because they conflict with NFL games. Trump tweeted that Clinton was trying to rig the debates so fewer people would watch, even though the debate dates were decided a year ago by a non-partisan group. Trump also told ABC that he received a letter from the NFL saying the debate dates were “ridiculous.” Brian McCarthy, a spokesman for the NFL said there was no such letter.
The deadly Soberanes Fire is still raging in southern California. Extremely hot and dry weather conditions aren’t helping firefighters contain the blaze. Officials don’t expect it to be fully contained until the end of August.
The Brain Behind this Blog
