Chattanooga's lesson on the evolution of terrorism

July 20, 2015 - Daily News Briefing

In a time when the word 'terrorism' can evoke deep-seated fears, the Chattanooga attacks show the need for diagnosing the threat wisely.

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A US-led coalition dropped new leaflets over the de facto capital of the Islamic State group in Syria, promising those below that "freedom will come" to the region, activists said Sunday. An anti-Islamic State group called Raqqa is Being Silently Slaughtered and the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the leaflets had drawings showing dead extremists and their flag turned upside down. Four fighters with the main Kurdish militia, the People's Protection Units, or YPG, walked down a street in the picture, with two words in Arabic below translated as "Freedom will come."

A rare summer storm allowed firefighters to contain 60 percent of a wildfire that swept across a California interstate, torching vehicles and sending people running for their lives. Light rain and moist air dampened the blaze in the mountainous Cajon Pass 55 miles northeast of Los Angeles, the main artery between Southern California and Las Vegas. The wind-driven fire was sparked Friday afternoon below the elevated lanes of Interstate 15. Pushed by 40 mph winds, it raced up a hill and onto the traffic-clogged freeway, trapping hundreds of people amid a cauldron of smoke, flames, and ash and destroying 20 vehicles on the freeway.

At least 115 people were killed in a suicide car bombing at a busy market in an Iraqi town on Friday, in one of the deadliest attacks carried out by Islamic State militants since they overran large parts of the country. The blast brought down several buildings in Khan Bani Saad, about 30 km (20 miles) northeast of Baghdad, crushing to death people who were celebrating the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, police and medics said. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack in the mixed eastern province of Diyala where Khan Bani Saad is located and said the target was "rejectionists," as the group refers to Shi'ite Muslims.

In the wake of slain horse trainer Jonathan Sanders' funeral Saturday, law enforcement is asking questions about his death at the hands of a white police office. Sanders, a 39-year-old black man, died after 10 p.m. on July 8, following a physical encounter with a white police officer for the town of Stonewall, Mississippi. What happened that night when Sanders crossed paths with Kevin Herrington – a 25-year-old part-time officer – is intensely disputed. Trying to sort out the facts are the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation and the FBI. Authorities are asking for calm while they finish investigating. But there were already two protests last weekend attended by hundreds in this town of 1,100 near the Alabama line.

Buckingham Palace expressed its disappointment Saturday with a tabloid newspaper for publishing images of a young Queen Elizabeth II performing a Nazi salute with her family in 1933, the year Adolf Hitler came to power. The palace took the unusual step of commenting on the report in The Sun newspaper, which shows the queen — then about 7 years old — at the family home in Balmoral, with her uncle Edward, mother and sister. The grainy footage also shows Elizabeth's mother making the salute as the family laughs.

Bruce Springsteen gave a surprise show in a Jersey Shore bar Saturday night that lasted for nearly two hours. The Boss performed 15 songs Saturday night at the Wonder Bar in Asbury Park, mixing in favorites that spanned his career. He concluded the show with "Light of Day," which he dedicated to the huge crowd of people watching from the sidewalk outside the venue because they couldn't get in to the packed bar. Springsteen has long been known for his "drop in" performances at various establishments in Asbury Park and other Jersey Shore hotspots. But the 65-year-old rocker hasn't done as many surprise appearances in recent years, making the events more special for fans.

“The object of the Monitor is to injure no man, but to bless all mankind.” – Mary Baker Eddy

The Daily News Briefing is published Monday through Friday by The Christian Science Publishing Society in Boston, Massachusetts.

To send a comment to the Editor, email editor@csmonitor.com.

“The object of the Monitor is to injure no man, but to bless all mankind.” – Mary Baker Eddy

The Daily News Briefing is published Monday through Friday by The Christian Science Publishing Society in Boston, Massachusetts.

To send a comment to the Editor, email editor@csmonitor.com.

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