The 10 Most Important Things In The World Right Now
Happy Friday! Here's what you need to know today.
1. U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel said ISIS is the biggest threat ever. "They are as sophisticated and well-funded as any group that we have seen. They're beyond just a terrorist group," Hagel said at a press briefing. "We must prepare for everything," he added.
2. GlobalPost, the website that employed American journalist James Foley, released the last email militants from the ISIS group sent to Foley's family before they executed him.
3. The National guard is withdrawing troops from Ferguson, Missouri, as protests in the St. Louis suburb seem to have simmered down after two weeks of heated riots. The demonstrations were in response to the fatal shooting of an unarmed teen by a police officer.
4. Fed chair Janet Yellen will speak on Friday at the Jackson Hole economic conference. According to Business Insider's Joe Weisenthal: "The overwhelming consensus is that she'll acknowledge some improvement in the labor market, but she'll identify enough "slack" in the system, so as to warrant continued easy policy from the Fed."
5. Bank of America has agreed to pay $16.65 billion to settle accusations that the bank and the companies it acquired misled investors into buying trouble mortgage securities.
6. A day of mourning is being held in Malaysia as the first bodies of victims from the MH17 crash, the Malaysia Airlines plane shot down over Ukraine last month, arrive in Kuala Lumpur.
7. The American doctor who received an experimental drug after being infected with Ebola appears to have made a full recovery, although it is "unclear whether the drug or a blood transfusion Brantly got from a young Ebola survivor in Africa was helpful," the Associated Press said.
8. A Russian convoy of trucks carrying humanitarian aid was seen crossing into eastern Ukraine by an Associated Press reporter early Friday. This follows "more than a week's delay amid suspicions the mission was being used as a cover for an invasion by Moscow," the AP said.
9. The death toll from destructive landslides in Japan is rising, with officials doubling the number to 39 on Friday, while 52 people are still missing. Heavy rain brings the risk of further landslides.
10. Former Irish prime minister Albert Reynolds died at the age of 81 after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease. Reynolds is remembered for the key role he played in "delivering peace to Northern Ireland," the AP said.
And finally...
Nick Cannon has confirmed to The Insider With Yahoo that he and singer Mariah Carey are "living apart" after six years of marriage. The couple have 3-year-old twins together.