Today's Breaking News
Around the World
Islamic State losing territory, foreign fighters as coalition forces attack on multiple fronts
As losses continue to mount for Islamic State fighters along multiple fronts in Iraq and Syria, the terrorist group is facing the most serious threat to its Middle East strongholds since the beginning of the U.S.-led coalition campaign.
The world lost more than $13 trillion last year because of war
Violence and worsening conflict cost the world more than $13.6 trillion last year, according to an annual study of the toll of violence worldwide. That figure amounts to some 13 percent of global GDP.
Syria conflict: Hospitals hit in Aleppo air strike
At least 15 people are reported to have been killed and dozens wounded in a series of air strikes on rebel-held areas in the Syrian city of Aleppo.
GOP's national security plan declares war on Islamic State
America must 'lead the charge' in the overseas 'war' against terrorism, House Republicans declared in a 25-page national security proposal that represents the second plank in a six-part House GOP agenda.
Iran denies visas to three GOP congressmen who opposed nuclear deal
Three Republican congressmen who voted against Iran's nuclear deal with world powers have been denied visas by Teheran.
Hezbollah moving 'tons of cocaine' in Latin America, Europe to finance terror operations
Hezbollah's terrorism finance operations are thriving across Latin America months after the Drug Enforcement Administration linked the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group to drug cartels in the region, U.S. lawmakers were told Wednesday.

Israel-Palestinian Conflict
Netanyahu invites Russia to develop Israel's gas fields
On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Moscow. They discussed economic cooperation including energy ties.
Four killed in central Tel Aviv terror shooting; two attackers nabbed
Following the deadly terrorist shooting in Tel Aviv on Wednesday night that left four people dead and several others wounded, the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, Maj.-Gen. Yoav Mordechai, cancelled the easing of some security restrictions that were in place for the Muslim month of Ramadan.
'Every year the month of Ramadan is a month of terror,' says deputy minister
Every year the Islamic holy month of Ramadan turns into a 'month of terror,' Deputy Defense Minister Eli Ben-Dahan said Thursday, the morning after Palestinian gunmen murdered four Israelis in a shooting attack in Tel Aviv.
Hamas claims terrorists who killed 4 in Tel Aviv bloodbath as its own
The Hamas terror group said in a statement early Thursday that the two gunmen who shot up a Tel Aviv cafe on Wednesday night were members of the organization.
After attack, Israel revokes travel permits, sieges suspects' hometown
Israel's Defense Ministry said it was freezing tens of thousands of permits given to Palestinians to travel to Israel during the Muslim Ramadan holy month Thursday along with other punitive measures, in the wake of a terror attack in central Tel Aviv that killed four people.
Horror and chaos captured on video as Tel Aviv gunmen open fire
The grainy footage shows panic-stricken scenes of people fleeing a popular central Tel Aviv restaurant, knocking over tables and chairs as they attempt to run from a pair of Palestinian gunmen who opened fire, killing four Wednesday night.

Inside the United States
House GOP blocks vote on poison pill LGBT amendment
Rules Committee Republicans blocked a vote on a Democratic-offered proposal that would strip federal contracts from companies that discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, in order to ensure that the larger spending bill could pass the House.
Deadbeat America drowning in credit card debt
American taxpayers are quick to criticize the federal government for its ever-increasing national debt, but a new study released Wednesday found taxpayers are also saddled with debt, and are likely to end 2016 with a record high $1 trillion in outstanding balances.
Islamic State 'Kill Lists' Grow in Length, Targeting Ordinary Americans
Islamic State has begun distributing increasingly long “kill lists” of ordinary Americans purportedly encouraging its followers to target those individuals, vexing authorities who are at odds over whether the lists pose an actual threat or are merely scare tactics.
Ryan security plan stresses border control, immigration
House Speaker Paul Ryan is proposing to secure U.S. borders by overhauling the immigration system and installing robust defenses to keep out extremists, criminals and drug cartels.
IRS computer hack was worse than agency admitted
The IRS' computer hack was worse than previously admitted, and the tax agency failed to alert thousands of people that their information was stolen, and didn't give credit monitoring assistance to nearly 80,000 others who were targeted, an inspector general said Wednesday.
About 12 released Guantanamo detainees implicated in attacks on Americans
The Obama administration believes that about 12 detainees released from the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, have launched attacks against U.S. or allied forces in Afghanistan, killing about a half-dozen Americans, according to current and former U.S. officials.

U.S. Politics
Donald Trump's teleprompter gives hope to anxious Republicans
Presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump used a teleprompter yet again this week -- and managed to stay on script, raising hopes among Republicans that if he can control himself, and deliver a crisper message, he may be OK.
10 Reasons Trump U Case Is a Political Witch-Hunt Against Donald
Donald Trump has gotten a lot of flak, even from members of his own party, for calling into question the class-action lawsuit against Trump University in New York.

Christian News
Russian Orthodox Patriarch: USSR Preserved Christian Morality
The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, recently said that the Soviet Union preserved Russia's Christian morality - a claim that raised more than a few eyebrows. Omitting any mention of the Soviet government's mass persecution of religious institutions, Kirill's words appeared to some as an attempt to reconcile Russia's conservative Orthodox traditions with its Soviet past.
29 Christians Tortured by Hindu Extremists for Refusing to Forsake Christ
Hindu extremists have beaten and tortured 29 Christians who refused to deny their faith in Christ in the village of Katholi in India, reports say.