It seems that the American militants who took over a federal building on a wildlife refuge in Burns, Oregon, are running low on snacks. On Jan. 1, an occupier named Blaine Cooper posted a video on Facebook along with this post:
British media outlets believe they have identified the masked man in ISIL’s latest propaganda video as Siddhartha Dhar, a Londoner who used to sell inflatable bouncy castles in Britain before fleeing to Syria.
The US Justice Department brought a civil lawsuit against Volkswagen today (Jan. 4) for installing emissions-cheating software in nearly 600,000 cars.
Denmark and Sweden have imposed border controls to restrict the number of migrants coming into their countries—the latest blow to the EU’s passport-free travel zone.
A group of militants seized a US federal building over the weekend, and are now refusing to leave it. They’re calling their occupation of Oregon’s Malheur National Wildlife Refuge a “peaceful protest” against big government’s encroachment on local ranchers’ rights. But things may not be that simple.
Note: There is no new episode of Serial this week, because of the holidays. Here, we recap last week’s episode from Dec. 24.
A strong El Niño is being blamed for all sorts of extreme weather in South America, Europe, and the United States this year. For now, it shows no signs of letting up.
Germany has opened the first stretch of its new highway just for bicycles—a new way for two-wheeled enthusiasts to commute without the fear of an oncoming four-wheel vehicle.
Authorities found the body of Carlos Rosales Mendoza, the leader of the Mexican drug cartel La Familia Michoacana, near a highway in western Mexico in the early hours of the morning yesterday (Dec. 28). Rosales Mendoza’s body was found along with three others in a car park near a highway tollbooth in the Mexican state of Michoacan, La Familia’s former power base.
As sexting and revenge porn continue to raise questions about legal ownership and privacy rights, Germany’s high court has weighed in with a ruling that allows people to demand that their ex-lovers delete naked pictures of them.
Conflict has forced a million children in northeastern Nigeria and its neighboring countries out of school since the start of the Boko Haram insurgency, according to a report published by Unicef yesterday (Dec. 22). That’s on top of the estimated 11 million students of primary school age who were already out of school “before the crisis began.” (A spokesperson was unclear on when Unicef considers to be the start of the crisis. Boko Haram first appeared in Nigeria (paywall) in 2009.)
Health officials in the UK have reportedly discovered bacteria that is resistant to colistin, a drug often referred to as a ”last resort” antibiotic.
Models in France will now have to present a doctor’s note to prove they are healthy enough to work, and magazines will be forced to label retouched fashion photos, thanks to a bill French lawmakers passed on Dec. 17 to combat body image issues.
The second episode of Serial’s second season opens with a timely update: Bowe Bergdahl, the American soldier held captive by the Taliban for five years, may face a court martial for desertion charges.
The Los Angeles Police Department can’t find any evidence of “biased policing”—or racial profiling—among 1,356 allegations made against its officers, according to the Los Angeles Police Commission (pdf).
Since March, Iranian traffic police have seized more than 40,000 cars from women driving while “improperly” wearing their hijab, or headscarf, reports Agence France Presse.
If you’re a top dog in Russia, you may have a distinctive walk—one that researchers are calling a ”gunslinger’s gait” to reflect its theorized origin in the weapons-training manuals of the KGB.
Nearly 800,000 people in the Philippines evacuated their homes as Typhoon Melor—known as Typhoon Nona in the island nation—made landfall on the eastern side of the country, Reuters reports. In addition to the evacuations, classes have been suspended, as the typhoon is expected to make its way west over the Philippines through Wednesday.
US sergeant Bowe Bergdahl is facing a potential life sentence in prison after a military official ordered him on Monday (Dec. 14) to face a court martial on charges of desertion and “misbehavior before the enemy.” Bergdahl left his remote outpost in Afghanistan in 2009 and was held captive by Taliban forces for five years—a saga currently being explored by the popular podcast Serial.
UPDATE Dec. 14, 11:34 EST: The Paris schoolteacher who claimed to have been attacked by an ISIL supporter now says it was a lie, according to new reports by Le Monde and Le Parisien. Paris anti-terrorism investigators told Le Monde this afternoon that the teacher admitted having “made everything up” (French).
A woman in Michigan who opened fire on shoplifters in a Home Depot parking lot was given 18 months probation this week, after pleading no contest to reckless use, handling, and discharge of a firearm.
At a political dinner this week, Brazil’s minister of agriculture threw a glass of wine in a senator’s face. She has since been praised on social media for doing it.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a nonprofit that advocates for the equal treatment of Muslims in the US, was evacuated from its Washington DC office today after white powder was found in a suspicious piece of mail.
The governor of Alaska, Bill Walker, has called to bring back the personal income tax more than three decades after it was repealed. The measure, which is already drawing criticism from Republicans and Democrats alike, is part of Walker’s new plan to balance the budget in the face of falling oil prices.
