1. The notorious ISIS terrorist known as “Jihadi John” was targeted and believed to have been killed in a U.S. airstrike on Thursday night, according to the Defense Department. “U.S. forces conducted an airstrike in Raqqa, Syria, on November 12, 2015, targeting Mohamed Emwazi, also known as ‘Jihadi John,'” Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said. “We are assessing the results of tonight’s operation and will provide additional information as and where appropriate.” ABC News notes that Emwazi, a Kuwait-born British citizen, has participated in several propaganda videos showing the killings of hostages including American journalists Steven Sotloff and James Foley, British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning, and Japanese journalist Kenji Goto.
2. Sarah Parcak, a Maine native with the unique title of “space archaeologist,” has won the prestigious 2016 TED Prize, an award that the organization known for its conferences and TED Talks hands out each year to an extraordinary individual with a big, bold idea. Winning $1 million, she is using satellite data to locate archaeological sites looted by the Islamic State in northern Iraq and Syria.
3. Have you heard of The Red Barn restaurant in Augusta? When someone needs help raising money for a fundraiser, they won’t hesitate to help. The Red Barn has raised more than one million dollars for the community since 2009, the same year owner, Laura Benedict, thought it would have to close for good.
4. The Maine Center for Disease Control is looking to a federal lab to determine whether two toddlers, including one who later died, were exposed to E. coli at the Oxford County Fair. Officials in Maine want to know if the toddlers were exposed to E. coli while petting animals.
5. Today is World Kindness Day. Founded in 1998 by an organization called the World Kindness Movement, this international holiday encourages everyone to look deep into their hearts past religion, race, and other differences to do something nice for their neighbors and/or humankind.
