A New Perspective on Constantine

(Worthy News) – As ISIS’ territorial control erodes in Iraq and Syria, many of the more than 40,000 foreign fighters who joined the terrorist group have started to head back to the countries from which they came.

There are now at least 5,600 people from 33 countries who have left ISIS’ so-called caliphate and returned home, according to a report from The Soufan Center.

Some countries have seen more returnees that others: About half of the fighters from the UK, Sweden, and Denmark have returned, while 10% of the fighters from Russia or former Soviet republics have gone back. [ Source: Business Insider (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – A robot woman in Saudi Arabia was granted citizenship this week, sparking a backlash that said the robot appeared to have more rights than millions of human women and foreigners living in the Gulf nation.

Sophia, a robot with human female features that can make facial expressions and hold conversations, wooed the crowd when it debuted at a economic summit in the country’s capital, Riyadh, this week.

Soon after, though, social media users pointed out that Sophia had quickly achieved more rights than millions of women and foreign workers in Saudi Arabia, which has been criticized globally for repressing women’s and civil rights.

For one, Sophia appeared on stage alone, without the modest dress required of Saudi women; she donned no hijab, or headscarf, nor abaya, or cloak.

She also did not appear to have a male guardian, as required by Saudi law for women in the country. Male guardians, often a male relative, must give permission before women can travel abroad, open bank accounts or carry out a host of other tasks — and they accompany women in public. [ Source (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – The National Archives on Thursday released thousands of pages of never-before-seen documents that describe several ways the U.S. considered killing Cuban dictator Fidel Castro.

“The plans involved a number of bizarre schemes and, in at least one instance, involved some contact with organized criminal elements. Among the means considered were poison, botulism pills, and the use of Cuban Exile groups,” said one intelligence report on Cuba.

Among a range of schemes to harass Cuba, including an effort to create crop failures on the island. Here are five ways the U.S. thought about eliminating Castro. [ Source: Washington Examiner (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – Donald Trump last night bowed to pressure from the CIA and FBI by blocking the release of hundreds of records about the John F Kennedy assassination.

The US president said he had made the decision because of national security concerns, but allowed the release of 2,800 other files.

“I have no choice,” the US president said in a memo, citing “potentially irreversible harm” to national security if he were to allow all records out now. He was placing those files under a six-month review. [ Source: UK Telegraph (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – The White House may back the first hike in the federal gasoline tax in decades in order to pay for President Trump’s $1 trillion infrastructure package.

Trump’s economic adviser Gary Cohn told moderate House lawmakers at a private meeting on Wednesday that they’ll get a chance to vote on a gas tax hike early next year as part of an infrastructure bill, according to two lawmakers who were present. The discussion over the fuel tax during the meeting was first reported by Politico Playbook.

“Cohn seemed receptive to it,” one meeting participant told The Hill. [ Source: The Hill (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – Jerusalem authorities will convene next week to approve the construction of 700 homes in two Jewish neighborhoods in East Jerusalem.

The plans, set to be authorized on Wednesday by the Jerusalem Planning and Building Committee, include 500 new housing units in Ramat Shlomo and 200 in nearby Ramot, Jerusalem Deputy Mayor Meir Turgeman told The Times of Israel Thursday.

“We are continuing to build and strengthen Jerusalem. In the 50th year since the reunification of the city, we are uniting Jerusalem with actions on the ground,” Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat said in a statement. [ Source: Times of Israel (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – Israel is willing to resort to military action to ensure Iran never acquires nuclear weapons, Israel’s intelligence minister said on Thursday in Japan where he is drumming up support for U.S. President Donald Trump’s tougher line on Tehran.

On. Oct. 13, Trump said he would not certify that Iran is complying with an agreement on curtailing its nuclear program, signed by predecessor Barack Obama, opening a 60-day window for Congress to reimpose sanctions.

“If international efforts led these days by U.S. President Trump don’t help stop Iran from attaining nuclear capabilities, Israel will act militarily by itself,” Intelligence Minister Yisrael Katz said in an interview in Tokyo. “There are changes that can be made [to the agreement] to ensure that they will never have the ability to have a nuclear weapon.” [ Source: CBN News (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – Nearly a year after President Donald Trump’s surprise electoral victory, the first step to fulfill the central pillar of his campaign—a promise to build a wall along the country’s southern border—has taken shape along the perimeter between San Diego and Mexico.

The construction of eight prototypes is complete, and they will now face a battery of tests to see how difficult they will be to climb or breach.

Six contractors across the country have met their Oct. 26 deadline to finish work on eight 30-foot models for Trump’s border wall in the bustling Otay Mesa border-area between San Diego and Tijuana, Mexico. [ Source (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – The group that led a lawsuit against the IRS for illegally targeting conservative non-profit organizations celebrated the Justice Department’s multi-million dollar settlement on Thursday.

Mark Meckler, president of Citizens for Self-Governance, hailed the $3.5 million settlement that came “after years of stonewalling.” Citizens for Self-Governance spearheaded a lawsuit brought by a coalition of conservative groups that were subjected to enhanced scrutiny from the IRS delaying their approval for non-profit status. The plaintiffs asserted that the agency unconstitutionally policed their freedom of speech and harmed their chances of raising money in order to punish the Obama administration’s political opponents.

“We all know the IRS unconstitutionally target tea party groups to shut down their political speech in a violation of the First Amendment. That has been unequivocally proven by the statements of IRS employees,” he said in a statement. “After years of stonewalling by the federal government, the litigation against the IRS for their unconstitutional behavior has been settled and the targeted groups will receive substantial payments.” [ Source: Washington Free Beacon (Read More…) ]

(Worthy News) – President Donald Trump announced plans on Thursday to combat the surging opioid epidemic in America, beginning a move that would free up resources and loosen regulations to help combat drug deaths, but falling short of his August promise to declare the the epidemic a national emergency.

“This crisis of drug use, addiction, and overdose deaths in many years, it’s just been so long in the making. Addressing it will require all of our effort, and it will require us to confront the crisis in all of its very real complexity,” Trump said.

Trump will instruct acting Secretary of Health and Human Services Eric Hargan to designate the opioid epidemic a “public health crisis,” stopping short of designating it a “national emergency,” as was recommended in July by the President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis, a blue ribbon panel chaired by Gov. Chris Christie (R., N.J.).