Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13

The NSA is Targeting Users of Privacy Services, Leaked Code Shows
Jul 4th, 2014
Daily NewsWired
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Steinitz Skeptical That Iran and West Can Reach Deal
Jul 4th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Minister Yuval Steinitz

Flash 90

Intelligence and Strategic Affairs Minister Yuval Steinitz said on Friday that Israel does not expect world powers to reach a nuclear agreement with Iran by the July 20 deadline.

Speaking to the Reuters news agency as Iran and the West gathered for another round of talks aimed at ending the international dispute over Iran's nuclear program, Steinitz said, "My estimate is that there will not be [a deal]. I think the Iranians came with a very hard line.

"The Iranians came without willingness to compromise but with a desire to exploit this stage to soften and improve the opening positions of the other side," he added.

Steinitz led a high-level Israeli delegation to Washington on Monday, meeting U.S. negotiators Deputy Secretary of State Bill  Burns and Under Secretary of State Wendy Sherman.

He told Reuters his visit to Washington showed how important the matter was for Israel, "more even than the serious terrorism from Gaza and the murder of the youths and the problems on the northern border with Lebanon and Syria."

Steinitz reiterated Israel's position that Iran should dismantle its entire program to enrich uranium. Not insisting on this "is already a kind of a concession by the West, or by the powers, (that) we think is wrong," he said.

Asked what Israel would do if there was an agreement that it did not see as satisfactory, Steinitz said, "We are keeping all options open. We will have to see what the deal is, to what extent it is good, to what extent it is bad, if it meets the minimum demands or not."

Iran and the six powers, also known as the P5+1, are striving to turn an interim deal signed in November into a comprehensive settlement by July 20.

So far there has been little progress and Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, said last week that Iran rejected the West’s "excessive demands".

Israel has repeatedly warned against a bad deal with Iran and expressed its dissatisfaction with the interim deal.

On Thursday, Western diplomats close to the negotiations said that Iran has reduced demands for the size of its future nuclear enrichment program, but predicted that it would not be easy to clinch a deal by July 20.

Iran has previously insisted that it will never give up on what it sees as its right to uranium enrichment.

Earlier this week, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry warned Iran that a nuclear deal is still possible, but time is running out.

Specific Terror Threat to Attack Entebbe Airport, U.S. Embassy Warns
Jul 4th, 2014
Daily NewsDebkafile
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

The U.S. Embassy in Kampala, Uganda, warned Americans in the country on July 3 of a "specific threat of an attack on Entebbe International Airport by an unknown terrorist group" in the hours of 9 pm and 11 pm local time Thursday. Travelers were advised to “review their plans.”

The Somali Al-Shabab, linked to al Qaeda, set off a pair of bombs at the World Cup in 2012 leaving 74 dead. In 1976, Israel carried out a daring raid to rescue 103 hostages from a French airliner hijacked by the Palestinian Liberation Organization to Entebbe, Uganda. There,the hijackers separated the non-Jews from the Jews, released the former and held the rest hostage for the release of 53 terrorists in Israeli and other prisons.

Instead, Israel carried out an epic long-distance rescue operation, airlifting special forces 4,000km  to Entebbe. Three hostages died in the raid, as well as seven hijackers and one Israeli soldier, Binyamin Netanyahu’s brother Lt. Col Yonatan Netanyahu.

Putin Says Legal Initiative to Counter Nazism Timely
Jul 4th, 2014
Daily NewsRia Novosti
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

President Putin holds meeting of Council on Inter-Ethnic Relations

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that an initiative to establish a legal basis for countering Nazi ideology is well-timed.

“I consider the initiative to define a legal basis for countering a surge of nationalism and glorification of Nazi criminals timely,” Putin said at a meeting of the Presidential Council for Interethnic Relations.

The Russian president stressed that in some countries neo-Nazi organizations are reviving and gaining ground in politics. According to Putin, ethnic and religious intolerance and calls for violence are turning into slogans for groups striving for power.

On May 5, Putin signed a bill introducing a punishment of up to five years in jail for the rehabilitation of Nazism, denying facts established by the Nuremberg trials and dissemination of false information about the Soviet Union’s activities during World War II.

The measure also stipulates a fine of up to 300,000 rubles ($8,400) or up to a year of community service for desecrating symbols of Russian military glory.

A bill that equates symbols of organizations that cooperated with fascists, including Bandera insignia, to Nazi symbols is currently under consideration in Russia’s parliament.

NSA Man Says Agency Can Track You Through Power Lines
Jul 4th, 2014
Daily NewsThe Register
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Divining information from electrified wires is a known technique: Network Frequency Analysis (ENF) is used to prove video and audio streams have not been tampered with.

The technique works by analysing the nearly inaudible 50 Hertz energy hum generated by power grids which is inadvertently captured by most audio recording devices. Investigators could strip away layers of audio until the bare hum remains. That hum can then be scrutinised for unnatural variations.

ENF analysis became topical this week when German outlet Heute.de reported an un-named former NSA staffer claimed the agency has used it to determine the physical location where a recording of TV interviews took place by matching captured energy hums with those previously recorded across the grid.

NSA operatives could therefore guess at a whistleblower's location.

Technology to conduct ENF is not exotic. Bandpass filters can detect variations in the 50Hz hum which would detect dips and rises as small as 0.001 Hz over 10 seconds.

That it is possible to geolocate variations in grid hum, which Heute.de reports the NSA and CIA can do, is more novel.

But experts are dubious the reports are correct.

"Let me start by saying that in principle it could well be possible to use ENF to determine the location a recording was made as well as the time it was made," Philip Harrison, an ENF forensics veteran of 18 years based in London told The Register.

"It's possible that there are some other aspects of the signal that vary by location that haven't been discovered yet, or perhaps the NSA have discovered them."

Harrison had performed ENF to verify audio recording presented as evidence in court showing that a undercover police recording of an illegal weapons deal had not been tampered with. In 2010, ENF was used in a high profile murder case in the UK. Blighty's Metropolitan Police Service have stockpiled a comprehensive database of electrical grid frequencies since 2005 to help with further cases.

Vulture South contacted Harrison and others about the ex-NSA agent's claims. Harrison saw three problems that were likely intractable for anyone other than the seemingly superhuman hackers at the NSA.

"Firstly," Harrison said, "the NSA would need to know over what geographic area the specific type of variation occurred".

Research published last month by the University of Porto, Portugal, (Real-Time Monitoring of ENF and THD Quality Parameters of the Electrical Grid in Portugal) examined local variation in the nation's power grid. It found fundamental differences in the structure of the harmonics of the 50 Hz which could be detected because Total Harmonic Distortion was strongly affected by local factors and had as a result little geographical consistency.

That research considered only a handful of locations meaning it was unclear how the features could vary between sub-stations or power stations, Harrison said. The NSA could know of other signal aspects that varied according to location, but that was speculative.

The second problem was the need to log ENF values and the secret signal sauce that allowed location to be determined. "This could mean hundreds or thousands of logging devices in a country if you want to be able to locate a recording accurately," he said.

The problem was a prodigious one because of the huge amount of frequency variation in local power grids. All manner of electrical devices could cause a dip or spike in neighbouring networks.

"You would need a tap on every one of thousands of transformers," said Ian Appleby, a former veteran of the Australian energy and defence sectors who maintained a comprehensive knowledge of electronics, but not of ENF. "In the industrial area where I used to be, my UPS (uninterruptible power supply) would freak out when nearby commercial places shut down causing a spike in frequency."

He doubted the feasibility of mapping a whole power grid considering these immense variables.

A third problem relates to the hit and miss process of extracting the relevant data from captured recordings.

"From my experience of casework this is the hardest part," Harrison said. "It's not always easy to get out the variation in 50 Hz since it is at such a low level in the signal, let alone trying to get more information out about the harmonics or some other aspect of the signal."

"So while it might be able to work in principle, actually applying it to a real-world recording could be a lot harder."

The audio and video equipment used to record whistle blowers could be identified, according to NSW-based Brian Stokes who had a background in the field but not ENF. He and other engineers agreed with Appleby's remarks.

"The possibilities of characterising the recording equipment such as microphone, input amplifier, etcetera are rather good, but the likelihood of determining the geographical location of the recording based upon artifacts of the mains supply, given the levels of filtration in DC supply design, sounds improbable."

If the NSA did have the technology, it was bad news for whistleblowers. The Heute.de source said they could nail a whistle blower in less than three weeks, even faster if they spoke at a monitored journalist's favourite haunt. ®

Norway Calls on 'Occupier' Israel to Show Restraint
Jul 4th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Anti-Israel

Norway’s Foreign Minister on Friday warned against an escalation between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA), and also made sure to point a finger at Israel as “an occupying power”.

“The events of the last few days clearly show how quickly the current tense situation could spiral out of control. I urge both the Israelis and the Palestinians to exercise restraint,” Foreign Minister Borge Brende said in a statement.

MK Chetboun: This is the Time to Eliminate Hamas
Jul 4th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Member of Knesset Yoni Chetboun (Jewish Home) responded, Friday, to reports of an imminent cease-fire with Hamas by saying, "We don't work with Hamas. This is exactly the time to go out on a campaign to eliminate Hamas in Gaza."

Chetboun called on the diplomatic-security cabinet "to wake up and free itself of its fears and paralysis. Israel is strong. This is the time of decision makers to make decisions."

Liberman Slams Ceasefire Proposal As 'Huge Mistake'
Jul 4th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Avigdor Liberman

Flash 90

Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman (Yisrael Beytenu) released harsh criticism against the State of Israel's response to Hamas on Friday, amid a constant barrage of rocket fire and rumors of peace being brokered through Egypt.

"These quiet messages we send to Hamas offering a ceasefire are a huge mistake," Liberman said Friday while visiting the city of Sderot. "Answering this [terror] with silence is a serious mistake and we in Yisrael Beytenu reject this approach." 

"How can it be that, after we have three boys kidnapped and murdered, and two consecutive weeks of rocket fire, Israel's approach is: silence will be met with silence?" he asked. "Even while we visit here, Hamas continues to grow stronger, and produce an eight inch diameter rocket that can reach Tel Aviv and Gush Dan."

"We must accept the reality that this is a mistake," he added. "Instead of dealing with the problem, we are rejecting the problem." 

Liberman than laid out a plan, saying "we must first destroy the terrorist infrastructure and stop rocket production today," noting that rockets now "are capable of reaching Netanya."

He also proposed a ground assault.

"It is impossible to destroy terrorist infrastructures only from the air," he dismissed. "Most of these plants for missile production are under schools, clinics, and mosques." 

"We need to get our hands on all those who committed and supported the kidnapping and murder of children," he continued, calling for the targeting of Hamas leaders.

"That also includes the Ismail Haniyeh and Khaled Mashaal, the heads of Hamas; and all those who came out, encouraged and supported [the abduction] - and it does not matter if they sit in Qatar or Gaza," he stated. "The money comes from Qatar - and Hamas, Khaled Mashaal and Azmi Bishara are sitting in Qatar. Bishara sits there and puts money in operations in Israel."

Liberman added that he has high hopes for US involvement in the situation.

"I spoke with the chairman of the Subcommittee of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the U.S. Congress, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen about it," he said. "Hamas is a terrorist organization even by American law. One of the [abducted] boys was a US citizen [Naftali Frenkel hy"d; ed.] and I hope that Congress will act against the Qataris."

"I look forward to seeing that Jewish communities and organizations in the US have their say in this matter," he added. 

Liberman has been particularly vocal about launching another ground assault into Gaza, and even more so since the horrific abduction and murder of yeshiva students Eyal Yifrah (19), Gilad Sha'ar (16), and Naftali Frenkel (16) last month. 

Earlier this week, Liberman proposed - and not for the first time - that Israel should "consider" retaking Gaza, noting that a "limited" operation in Judea and Samaria against Hamas could prove ineffective.

"We have to decide whether we are going to explore the alternative of full occupation of the Gaza Strip," Liberman said. "We saw that a limited operation only strengthens Hamas in the end; the alternative is clear."

Friday's remarks surface in the wake of rumors of a ceasefire being negotiated with Hamas through Cairo, although Israel has yet to confirm those rumors.

In the meantime, several top-ranking officials have noted that Hamas's time during the 48-hour ultimatum to stop the rocket fire is dwindling, and the IDF is preparing for a strike.

Let the Headlines Speak
Jul 4th, 2014
Daily NewsFrom the internet
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Germany Arrested A Suspected 'US Spy' Who Admitted Ties To An Investigation On Snowden
German authorities have arrested a German man employed by the domestic intelligence agency (BND) on suspicion of spying for the United States, two politicians with knowledge of the affair told Reuters on Friday.  

WHO urges global effort to contain Ebola
In a communiqué issued at the end of the U.N. World Health Organization’s two-day emergency ministerial meeting on the Ebola virus in Accra, Ghana, health ministers from 11 West African nations called for immediate action, agreeing that the current outbreak poses a serious threat to all countries in the region and beyond.  

Third Day of Riots: Clashes on Temple Mount
Arab rioters attacked police on the Temple Mount Friday afternoon, unimpeded by restrictions imposed on Muslim worshipers to access Judaism's holiest site due to ongoing violent riots in Jerusalem.  

Obama remembers college professor at White House LGBT Pride event
Obama thanked his gay college professor Monday for being an influence on shaping his thoughts about gay rights issues. During remarks to celebrate LGBT Pride Month, the President lauded his freshman year professor, Dr. Lawrence Goldyn.  

BLACKWELL, Oklahoma - The United States Geological Survey reported a 3.1 magnitude earthquake in Kay County late Thursday night.
At 11:55 p.m. Thursday, a quake was recorded six miles west northwest of Blackwell and 19 miles west northwest of Ponca City, at a depth of over two miles. There are no reports of major injury or damage at this time.  

Missouri Earthquake Today 2014 Strikes New Madrid Seismic Zone
A Missouri earthquake today 2014 has struck near Malden. The Missouri earthquake today July 4, 2014 began in the morning hours. Damage assessment is pending.  

Archbishop Condemns Satanic 'Black Mass' at Okla. City Civic Center as ‘Sacrilegious’
Catholic Archbishop Paul Coakley, head of the archdiocese of Oklahoma City, condemned a scheduled Black Mass by a satanic group, for which tickets are being sold at the Oklahoma City Civic Center, as “sacrilegious,” a “blasphemous mockery of the Mass. ...The Black Mass of Oklahoma, being offered by the group Dakhma of Angra Mainyu, is scheduled to take place in the Civic Center Music Hall on Sept. 21 at 7PM. Tickets are $15.00.  

Iron Dome intercepts Palestinian rockets fired from Gaza
The Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepted two Kassam rockets fired by Palestinians at southern Israel on Friday. A Palestinian mortar exploded in an open field near the Eshkol regional council. No injuries or damage was caused. Another Palestinian rocket exploded in the western Negev town of Ofaqim. Still no word on casualties.  

Palestinians riot, police respond with tear gas during funeral procession of slain teen
Hundreds of Palestinians hurled stones at security forces that were deployed on Jerusalem’s city streets on Friday as part of preparations for the funeral procession of a young Shuafat teen killed earlier this week. Police and security forces stepped up their presence in all of Jerusalem ahead of the funeral for Muhammad Abu Khdeir, the teenager found dead in the Jerusalem Forest Wednesday morning.  

U.S. Congressman Blocked From Entering Child Immigrant Facility
An Oklahoma Congressman who visited an Army base being used to house illegal immigrant children now wonders what the federal government is hiding after he was denied access to the facility. But when he showed up at the facility, Bridenstine says he was told by a guard with a security unit which calls itself the “Brown Shirts” that he could not observe the children or their living conditions.  

Hurricane Arthur Makes East Coast Landfall, 22,000 Without Power
More than 22,000 Americans were without power at the start of the July 4 holiday after Hurricane Arthur scythed through North Carolina's Outer Banks early Friday. Thousands more had already fled in preparation for the Category 2 storm, which has seen maximum sustained wind speeds of 100 miles per hour, lashings of rain and a storm surge of up to five feet.  

Joan Rivers: ‘Obama Gay, Michelle a Tranny’
Joan Rivers calls President Obama “gay” and describes Michelle Obama with a homophobic slur in a new video. Asked by a street reporter whether a gay president or a female president will take office first, Rivers replied, “We already have it with Obama.”  

The NSA Is Targeting Users of Privacy Services, Leaked Code Shows
If you use Tor or any of a number of other privacy services online or even visit their web sites to read about the services, there’s a good chance your IP address has been collected and stored by the NSA, according to top-secret source code for a program the NSA uses to conduct internet surveillance. There’s also a good chance you’ve been tagged for simply reading news articles about these services published by Wired and other sites.  

Facebook is always trying to alter people’s behavior, says former data scientist
We’re hardly ever fast to wake up to what might be going on with our data. But once in a while, we’re suddenly roused and make a noise. Such has been the case with the revelations surrounding Facebook’s manipulation of the News Feeds of almost 700,000 people in order to see if it would make them happier or sadder, depending on the content presented. Now, a former member of Facebook’s Data Science team has revealed that, for much of its existence since 2007, the team operated with seemingly little supervision.  

Small earthquake recorded in Scottish Highlands
The quake happened on Thursday evening at around 18.30 GMT, according to the British Geological Survey (BGS).  

Quake rattles parts of northern Pakistan
A strong earthquake shook parts of parts of northern Pakistan on Friday, Geo News reported. Panic gripped residents of Skardu ,Astaur and adjacent areas and they came out of their houses to save their lives.  

6.3 earthquake strikes north of NZ
A magnitude 6.3 earthquake has struck off the Kermadec Islands, north of New Zealand, this morning.  

Hurricane Arthur makes landfall at Outer Banks
Hurricane Arthur has made landfall near the southern end of North Carolina's Outer Banks. The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said Arthur reached land about 11:15 p.m. Thursday between Cape Lookout and Beaufort, North Carolina.  

Iraq crisis: Isis rebels 'hunt opponents', say refugees
Isis rebels have been methodically hunting down non-Sunnis and those opposed to the militants, refugees from the rebel-held towns have told the BBC. Isis demanded officials and soldiers pledge allegiance to the caliphate they recently declared or face execution.  

HGTV's Booted Benham Brothers Say Christians ‘Must Be Willing to Die’ to Stop Gay Marriage
David and Jason Benham — the twin “Flip It Forward” hosts HGTV parted ways with in May after discovering their anti-gay views — are rallying Christians to step up the fight against gay marriage, and went as far as to say those dedicated to the cause must be “willing to die” for it. “If people remain silent, then it's gonna to continue to get worse. But when folks step up, and speak boldly the truth, then it can actually be pushed back …You have to be willing to die,” David said during an interview with the Christian Post (above).  

The Next Financial Crisis Is Brewing Right Now, and Regulators Are Missing It
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), not typically seen as a strident regulator, is warning about risky lending as low interest rates drive a reach for higher yields. Both the OCC and the Federal Reserve have decried the slippage in underwriting standards on particular loan products.  

The Arab Spring Just Got Serious Again - Kuwait Is Burning
Same stuff... different country. Once again someone (former opposition leader Musallam al-Barrak) exposed the corruption among the elites (revealed documents that allegedly prove billions of illicit financial transfers were made to senior officials, including judges) and the leaders (Kuwait officials) decided he should be arrested and charged with slander.  

Islamic State 'seizes key Syria oil field'
Fighters from the Islamic State group have seized control of Syria's largest oil field on the Iraqi border, forcing the withdrawal of rival fighters, Syrian activists say. The Nusra Front, which has controlled al-Omar oil field since late last year, abandoned the facility on Thursday without firing a bullet, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.  

Israel Said Sending Troop Reinforcements to Gaza Border
Jul 4th, 2014
Daily NewsDebkafile
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Islamic State Fighters Seize Key Syria Oilfield After Rival Faction Switches Allegiance
Jul 4th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;War

AFP/Getty ImagesAn image made available by Jihadist media outlet Welayat Raqa on June 30, 2014, allegedly shows a member of the IS (Islamic State) militant group parading with a tank in a street in the northern rebel-held Syrian city of Raqa.

The extremist Sunni jihadist group that declared a caliphate in parts of Syria and Iraq has seized control of one of Syria’s most important oilfields after fighters from other factions switched their allegiance to support it.

In a crucial strategic advance for the Islamic State (IS), the organization that is tearing Iraq apart, anti-government rebels in Syria who had been loyal to the rival Jabhat al-Nusra switched sides, handing over Al-Omar oilfield, which has the potential to produce up to 75,000 barrels of oil a day.

The development represents a huge step up for the group — formerly known as the Islamic State of Syria & Al-Sham (ISIS) — in its struggle against Al-Nusra, which is backed by Al-Qaeda but regards the new grouping as dangerously extremist.

This means its caliphate now stretches from Deir al-Zour, central Syria, to Abukamel on the Iraqi border. Within neighbouring Iraq, to the east, it holds the cities of Mosul and Tikrit, has free rein in Anbar province and is threatening to attack Baghdad.

ISIS Seizes Another Syrian Oil Field
Jul 4th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;War

ISIS fighters parade in the northern Syrian city of Tel Abayd, Jan. 2, 2014

Reuters

Jihadists from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) seized an eastern Syrian oil field near Iraq and inched closer to the Turkish border on Friday, The Associated Press (AP) reported.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that fighters from the group seized the al-Tanak oil field early Friday. Another group, the activist collective of Deir el-Zour, also reported the seizure.

The field is in the eastern Syrian province of Deir el-Zour, near Iraq, and it followed the group's seizure of Syria's largest oil field on Thursday. Both oil fields were taken from other rebel groups.

The extremist Sunni Muslim group now has nearly full control over a corridor from the Syrian provincial capital of Deir el-Zour to the border town of Boukamal, reported AP. The area neighbors parts of northern and western Iraq that it seized last month, allowing the group to flow freely between the two countries.

The Islamist group has already amassed great assets during its blitz offensive in Iraq, seizing Iraq's largest oil refinery, a chemical weapons facility, and becoming the "world's richest terrorist organization" by looting 500 billion Iraqi dinars ($425 million) from banks in Mosul.

ISIS on Sunday declared itself an Islamic "caliphate" and proclaimed its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as “Caliph”. It has also renamed itself “Islamic State” after the declaration.

Over the past three days, the Islamic State fighters have been pushing strongly northwards up the Euphrates river toward Turkey, shelling a town just 11 miles (18 kilometers) from the border, said the Britain-based Syrian Observatory.

A local activist, who uses the name Ahmed al-Ahmed, also confirmed the information.

ISIL Sleeper Cells Planning Zero Hour Attack on Baghdad: It Can Come Any Minute
Jul 4th, 2014
Daily NewsThe Washington Times
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Intelligence Minister Says Gaza Operation is 'Inevitable'
Jul 4th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Yuval Steinitz

Flash 90

The IDF is continuing preparations for a possible extensive operation in Gaza, Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz stated Friday - remarking that such an operation is inevitable.

"Gaza is, indeed, growing an army with artillery," Steinitz stated on IDF Radio's "Good Morning Israel" show.

"We should try to choose the timing [of an operation] and not have our enemies choose the timing," added Steinitz. 

Roughly 40 rockets have been fired from Gaza into Israel over the past few days, pummeling Israelis in the Eshkol and Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council areas.

Israel delivered an ultimatum to Hamas on Thursday to stop the rocket fire from Gaza within 48 hours, or deal with an Israeli attack on Gaza.

However, Hamas declared late Thursday that they are "not afraid" of retaliation, even as a Hamas source reportedly told the BBC on Friday that a cease-fire would be declared "within hours" following negotiations with Egyptian mediators.

That report aired roughly the same time that another five rockets peppered southern Israel, despite the IDF ultimatum.

Over 15 rockets and roughly as many mortar shells rained in on Israel Thursday afternoon, causing two fires - one in the Sderot industrial area - and damaging several homes. The mortars inflicted mild wounds on an IDF soldier, who took shrapnel to the leg.

Earlier on Thursday, Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon and Finance Minister Yair Lapid visited the rocket-battered city of Sderot, where Lapid said "no sane country" would accept such a situation, and Danon called on the government to "do whatever it takes to destroy the Hamas organization."

Hurricane Arthur Strengthens As It Nears North Carolina Coast
Jul 4th, 2014
Daily NewsCBS News
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Arthur strengthened into a Category 2 hurricane with winds increasing to 100 mph on Thursday night as it threatened to strike near the North Carolina coast on Independence Day.

Thousands of vacationers and residents fled parts of the state's popular but flood-prone Outer Banks, and Fourth of July celebrations up and down the East Coast were postponed or faced the threat of cancelation.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center said little additional change in strength was expected Thursday night and Friday and that the storm would begin weakening Friday night.

On Thursday night, Arthur was located about 55 miles northeast of Cape Fear, North Carolina, and about 110 miles southwest of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. It was moving northeast at 15 mph.

In the Outer Banks, Nichole Specht, 27, and Ryan Witman, 28, left Hatteras Island at 3:30 a.m. Thursday, beating the expected traffic jam. The island was under an evacuation order, with no traffic allowed in. Officials asked an estimated 35,000 residents and travelers to leave through North Carolina Route 12, the only road on and off Hatteras.

Specht and Witman found the road wide open for their return home to Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Specht said her parents left their rental later, at 5 a.m., and also found clear sailing.

"We were just saying we were really, really lucky this year that the weather was so great, and then this," Specht said as she ended a two-week vacation that included scouting sites for the couple's wedding next year.According to CBS affiliate WRAL, New Hanover County and the City of Wilmington declared a state of emergency effective on Thursday morning. The North Carolina ferry system shut down the Ocracoke-Hatteras route at 5 p.m. Thursday.

Forecasters expect Arthur to pass over or near the Outer Banks - a 200-mile string of narrow barrier islands with about 57,000 permanent residents - early Friday, bringing rain, heavy winds, storm surge and dangerous rip tides.

"We don't know for sure if the exact center of Arthur is going to pass over land or not. The chances have been increasing for that to occur with the last couple of forecasts. But even if the exact center doesn't go over you, you will experience impacts tonight. The weather is going downhill in North Carolina, even as we speak," said Rick Knabb, the director of the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami.

The projected path of Hurricane Arthur

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov

Before the storm hit, tourism officials had expected 250,000 people to travel to the Outer Banks for the holiday weekend. Gov. Pat McCrory warned people: "Don't put your stupid hat on," urging them to put safety before picnics, barbecues and pre-paid beach cottage vacations.

But some visitors stayed put, hopeful the fast-moving storm would follow predictions to pass through Friday and salvage the rest of the weekend. About 20 miles north of the only bridge off Hatteras, Sean Fitzgerald and his 5-year-old son, Cade, enjoyed a sunny morning lounging in beach chairs in the town of Kill Devil Hills.

The sand was dotted with tourists. A handful of surfers took to the water. Like all areas north of Oregon Inlet, Kill Devils Hills wasn't under an evacuation. Fitzgerald said he saw no need to disrupt his family's vacation.

"I plan to sit on the beach as long as the sun is here," then head out for a seafood dinner, said Fitzgerald, 44, of Fairfax, Virginia.

Those who don't evacuate should prepare for possibly getting stuck for several days without food, water or power, National Hurricane Center forecaster Stacy Stewart said Thursday.

"We want the public to take this system very seriously, go ahead and start their preparations because time is beginning to run out," he said.

Astronaut Reid Wiseman, who on Wednesday said Arthur "looked mean" from his vantage point aboard the International Space Station, posted another photo of the storm on Twitter Thursday:

The holiday weekend was not expected to be a complete loss on the Outer Banks. Forecasters said Arthur, the first named storm of the 2014 Atlantic hurricane season, would move through quickly with the worst of the weather near Cape Hatteras about dawn Friday. Then it was expected to clear. The National Hurricane Center predicted Arthur would start to weaken Friday night.

Farther north, the annual Boston Pops Fourth of July concert and fireworks show was moved up a day to Thursday night because of potential heavy rain on Friday. Several other communities in New England postponed or moved up their fireworks displays as well.

If Arthur makes landfall in the U.S. on Friday, it would be the first hurricane to do so on the Fourth of July, according to National Hurricane Center research that goes back to the 1850s.

BBC: Hamas Ready to Announce Ceasefire Within Hours
Jul 4th, 2014
Daily NewsDebkafile
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

American Woman Arrested for Trying to Join ISIS Jihadists
Jul 4th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Member of ISIS

Reuters

A 19 year-old Denver woman was arrested for attempting to join the terror group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) earlier this year, according to court papers released Wednesday amid high concerns in the US over Islamism in Iraq and Syria. 

Shannon Maureen Conley was taken into police custody in April, CBS News reports, as she tried to board a flight to Turkey. The goal: to join ISIS, after meeting with and marrying an Islamist fighter she met online. 

Conley, a 19 year-old nurse, recently converted to Islam. Last year, she reached out to "Y.M.," a Tunisian allegedly fighting for ISIS based in Syria. 

FBI agents were aware of Conley's contact with the foreign national and reached out to Shannon's parents, John and Ana Conley, before the arrest, according to the Daily Mail. 

But Conley refused to be dissuaded, with her parents noting that she suffered from mental problems. 

"She conceded her knowledge of Islam was based solely on her own research that she conducted on the Internet," the affidavit said.

Conley also posted multiple statements and videos supporting Islamic holy war, or Jihad, to her Facebook page, including several quotes from Muslim leaders and articles from pro-Palestinian websites.

Under the name Halima95, she joined a Muslim dating site as well, claiming she already lived in Morocco, eats only halal food, and plans to marry within the next year. 

FBI agents and counter-terrorism officials warned Conley multiple times over the remarks, but she allegedly told them she would rather go to prison than give up her attempts to join the jihad. 

Questions have been raised over how much the Conley parents knew of the scheme, especially as they reportedly refused to give their blessings to the Tunisian national's marriage with Shannon, despite her dreams of becoming a nurse in an ISIS camp. 

Nevertheless, Shannon set off for Syria before being arrested at Denver International Airport on April 8 with one-way tickets to Turkey via Frankfurt, and with Al Qaeda propaganda in her luggage. 

Conley could face up to 15 years in prison if convicted on charges of conspiracy of providing materials to support terrorists, according to CNN. 

Western powers have already expressed concern that some of their citizens have traveled to fight in the civil war in Syria, some of them joining extremist groups that might one day seek to strike their home countries.

It has already been confirmed that one American citizen carried out a suicide bombing within Syria; in February it was estimated that at least 50 U.S. citizens are fighting in Syria against President Bashar Assad, and are liable to bring terrorism back to the US once the war is over.

The US has been placing a specific focus on preventing Islamism from spreading in America in the same way it has spread through Britain, as a recent expose revealed. The US sent a special CIA unit to the UK to help assess the threat earlier this year; security measures have also been increased throughout several US airports.