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Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Who Was American ISIS Fighter Douglas McCain? (Newser Nine at Nine)

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Who Was American ISIS Fighter Douglas McCain?

(Newser) - Douglas McAuthur McCain was just one of many Americans known to have traveled to Syria—but he is the first known to have died fighting for ISIS , and his background and social media profile are being combed for clues. The 33-year-old, who converted to Islam from Christianity a decade ago,... More »

Biggest-Ever Dam Removal Frees US River

(Newser) - The biggest dam-removal project in history is complete and Washington state's Elwha River is running freely for the first time in more than a century. A blast yesterday destroyed the final 30 feet of the 210-foot Glines Canyon Dam, completed in 1927, on the Olympic Peninsula. The older, 108-foot... More »

Syria Likely Gassed Civilians 8 Times in April: UN

(Newser) - The Assad regime likely used chlorine gas eight times on its own people in northern Syria villages in April, according to a report released today by an independent UN commission, the AP reports. The report also indicates that the Syrian people have been besieged by crimes against humanity at the... More »

IMF Chief Lagarde Under Investigation in France

(Newser) - Christine Lagarde, the chief of the International Monetary Fund, was placed under official investigation today for negligence in a French corruption probe that dates back to her days as France's finance minister. In a statement after a fourth round of questioning before magistrates, Lagarde said she would return to... More »

Couples Who Smoke Pot Together Stay ... Chill

(Newser) - It isn't called a peace pipe for nothing. New research backs up what most people would have probably guessed—that married couples who smoke pot tend to be less violent than those who don't, and that this is especially true when both partners toke up. In a study... More »

Coast Guard Fires on Iranian Boat

(Newser) - An Iranian boat that pointed a machine gun at the crew of a US Coast Guard cutter took off after the Americans fired a warning shot in response, the Navy says. Military officials say the Monomoy, one of the Coast Guard vessels patrolling international waters in the Persian Gulf, dispatched... More »

Girl, 9, With Uzi Kills Shooting Instructor

(Newser) - A shooting range instructor in Arizona is dead after letting a 9-year-old girl fire an Uzi set to fully automatic. Police, who have released a video of the girl taking her first shots, say she safely fired the weapon in "single-shot" mode, but she lost control of the weapon... More »

Hit Man Who Killed 300 Freed

(Newser) - The Colombian hit man known as "Popeye" has been freed from prison after 22 years—which works out to around 27 days for each of the 300 people he has admitted killing. Jhon Jairo Velasquez was the chief assassin for drug lord Pablo Escobar and is believed to have... More »

Freed Journalist Arrives Back in US

(Newser) - Peter Curtis has made it back to the US and been reunited with his mother after nearly two years in the hands of Syrian militants. "I have been so touched and moved, beyond all words, by the people who have come up to me today—strangers on the airplane,... More »