Perry says GOP needs to retake Congress
COLUMBIA, S.C. – Texas Gov. Rick Perry told South Carolina Republicans on Wednesday that it’s important for the GOP to control Congress so they can solve the country’s immigration problem and other national issues.
The Texas Republican hardly mentioned the 2016 presidential race during his 10-minute speech Wednesday night, instead telling the crowd of about 100 people how important it is for Republicans to take back Congress so they can have a voice on issues like immigration reform.
Second American reported killed in Syria
WASHINGTON – The U.S. is trying to determine if a second American fighting with the Islamic State group has been killed in Syria.
State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Wednesday that the U.S. has no independent confirmation of reports of a second American killed while fighting with the militant group. “We’re looking into it,” she said.
NBC cited an anonymous member of the opposition Free Syrian Army as saying two Americans were killed in a battle last week with Islamic State fighters.
The U.S. confirmed the death of one American, Douglas McArthur McCain.
A relative, Kenneth McCain, told The Associated Press that the State Department called to tell his family that Douglas McCain had been killed in Syria.
Journalist’s mom pleads for son’s freedom
BEIRUT – The mother of a hostage American journalist pleaded for his release Wednesday in a video directed at the Islamic State group, while new images emerged of mass killings, including masked militants shooting kneeling men after the capture of a strategic air base in Syria.
Shirley Sotloff’s plea came as a U.N. commission accused the group of committing crimes against humanity and President Barack Obama weighs options for targeting the extremists’ stronghold in Syria.
The Islamic State militants have threatened to kill 31-year-old Steven Sotloff unless the U.S. halts its airstrikes against it.
Sotloff, who free-lanced for Time and Foreign Policy magazines, appeared in a video released online last week by the Islamic State group showing the beheading of fellow American journalist, James Foley.
Associated Press
