U.S. President Joe Biden has renewed calls for the safe return of American Journalist Austin Tice who went missing in Syria over a decade ago.

On Wednesday Biden urged leaders in Damascus to help secure the repatriation of Tice as pressure continues to increase on the White House by families of hostages and detainees, Reuters reported.

Biden said that the U.S. government knows now "with certainty" that the U.S. journalist has been held by the Syrian government and called on the Syrian government to release him after 10 years in captivity, CNN reported.

Biden said, "We know with certainty that he has been held by the Syrian regime." The president said, "We have repeatedly asked the government of Syria to work with us so that we can bring Austin home."

Biden urged movement on the case for Tice's family, saying, "On the tenth anniversary of his abduction, I am calling on Syria to end this and help us bring him home." He said, "Tice family deserves answers, and more importantly, they deserve to be swiftly reunited with Austin."
 
According to CNN, the Syrian government and leader Bashar al-Assad, have not publicly acknowledged that Tice is being detained there.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement on Wednesday, "Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens will continue to engage with the Syrian government in close coordination with the White House, Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell, and our team here at the State Department."

Carstens secretly traveled to Damascus to meet with government officials there in 2020 while under then president Donald Trump. Then in May, he met with a top Lebanese security official in Washington to "discuss US citizens who are missing or detained in Syria." 

A top priority for the Tice family and U.S. officials is to continue to engage with the Syrian government and keep that engagement sustained.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia’s state television says final verdicts have been issued in the case of slain Washington Post columnist and Saudi critic Jamal Khashoggi after his family announced pardons that spared five from execution.

The Riyadh Criminal Court issued final verdicts Monday against eight people.

The court ordered a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for five, with one receiving a 10-year sentence and two others being ordered to serve seven years in prison.

The trial was widely criticized by rights groups and an independent U.N. investigator, who noted that no senior officials nor anyone suspected of ordering the killing was found guilty.

The independence of the court was also brought into question.

4 Iranian nationals charged with alleged kidnapping plot of US journalist, court documents say

Updated: 8:44 PM EDT Jul 17, 2021

Four Iranian nationals have been charged in an alleged plot to kidnap a U.S. journalist and human rights activist living in New York, court documents show.According to an indictment unsealed Tuesday in a New York federal court, Alireza Shavaroghi Farahani, aka Vezerat Salimi and Haj Ali, 50; Mahmoud Khazein, 42; Kiya Sadeghi, 35; and Omid Noori, 45, all of Iran, conspired to kidnap a Brooklyn journalist critical of the Iranian regime.The four were charged with conspiracies related to kidnapping, sanctions violations, bank and wire fraud and money laundering, according to the indictment. They are based in Iran and remain at large, authorities said."As alleged, four of the defendants monitored and planned to kidnap a U.S. citizen of Iranian origin who has been critical of the regime's autocracy, and to forcibly take their intended victim to Iran, where the victim's fate would have been uncertain at best," US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Audrey Strauss said in a news release.A fifth person, Niloufar "Nellie" Bahadorifar, was also charged with sanctions violations conspiracy, bank and wire fraud conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy and structuring charges for allegedly providing financial services that supported the plot, according to the attorney's office.Bahadorifar, a California resident originally from Iran, was arrested on July 1 in California and arraigned on July 8, prosecutors said. Her attorney Martin Cohen declined to comment.Masih Alinejad, an activist with more than 5 million followers on Instagram, said she is the journalist targeted in the plot. Authorities released the indictment and did not name Alinejad publicly.Speaking to CNN on Wednesday morning, Alinejad said the FBI approached her about eight months ago and said her house was not safe."And I was like, you must be kidding me because I receive daily death threats, what's new? I'm here in America, they cannot do anything," she said. The FBI then revealed photos of her "private life" allegedly taken by private investigators at her home, and she said she was shocked the Iranian government got close to her "and then I took it serious."She was under FBI protection until now, she told CNN, adding that she was in different safe houses for her protection. Still, she said she would not stop her activism, in which she shares photos and videos of "voiceless" Iranian mothers protesting the regime."Not at all, you know why? Because these mothers are my heroes. Millions of Iranians who share photos and videos of themselves practicing their civil disobedience, those are the Rosa Parks of Iran," she said. "They are my heroes. To be honest, I have fear inside me, but what gives me power, these people. I am going to stop my activities the day when the Iranian people stop saying no to the Islamic Republic."She also posted a video to Twitter on Tuesday that shows a law enforcement vehicle with its top lights on outside what she says is her home. She speaks in Farsi but the video includes English subtitles."The police have been around my home for the past two weeks now. When I asked them why they were here, they told me it was to protect me," said Alinejad, according to the English subtitles. "They are here from 5 a.m. to midnight.""I see them often, even when I get out to check on my flowers in my garden. But it imbues me with a feeling of safety when I see the police protect me. This wouldn't have happened in my homeland. It's a weird feeling," she said.Before the alleged kidnapping plot, the indictment said, the government of Iran tried to lure Alinejad, referred to as Victim-1 in the indictment, by having her relatives who lived in Iran invite her to travel to a third country, with the apparent purpose of having her "detained and transported to Iran for imprisonment."Her relatives did not accept the offer, prosecutors said in their statement.According to the indictment, Farahani, an Iranian intelligence officer who resides in Iran, and his network, allegedly hired private investigators, "to surveil, photograph and video record Victim-1 and Victim-1's household members in Brooklyn" on multiple occasions in 2020 and 2021.Farahani's network procured days' worth of video and photographs and installed a live high-definition video feed of the victim's home.The intelligence network also researched ways to transport Victim-1 out of the US and to Iran, prosecutors said. Sadeghi allegedly researched a service offering military-style speedboats and researched travel from New York to Venezuela, which has friendly relations with Iran.According to officials, Farahani's network has targeted other victims in other countries such as Canada, the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates."This is not some far-fetched movie plot. We allege a group, backed by the Iranian government, conspired to kidnap a U.S.-based journalist here on our soil and forcibly return her to Iran. Not on our watch," FBI Assistant Director William F. Sweeney Jr. said. "When we find you, you will be brought here and held accountable under U.S. law."Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh called the allegations "baseless and ridiculous," the semi-official news agency ISNA reported."This is not the first time that the United States has undertaken such Hollywood scenarios," he said.The U.S. State Department said that "the Iranian government continues to deny Iranians their human rights, including through severe restrictions on the rights to peaceful assembly, freedom of association, freedom of religion or belief, and freedom of expression.""The Biden administration will continue to call out and stand up to Iran's human rights abuses, and will support others who do so both here and in Iran," a spokesperson said in a statement.CNN's Mirna Alsharif, Jennifer Hansler, Eric Levenson, Sharif Paget, Mostafa Salem and Kristina Sgueglia contributed to this report.

Ida B. Wells was a journalist, feminist, activist, and defender of civil rights

She spoke out against the injustice of lynchings of African Americans

Updated: 11:43 AM EDT Mar 18, 2021

March is all about celebrating womanhood, and throughout the month we'll be honoring influential women in history whose inspirational stories helped pave the way for female empowerment and progress. These advocates and pioneers have contributed incredible things to not only women's history, but to the history of the United States as a whole, and are an inspiration to young girls everywhere.Discover the life and accomplishments of Ida B. Wells, an African American woman born a slave who used her talents in journalism and activism to stand up for the rights of women and African Americans.

A Montana reporter got an unexpected lesson in social distancing – from bison.

KTVM reporter Deion Broxton was getting ready for a live report from Yellowstone National Park when he noticed some bison approaching him and his vehicle.

“Oh my God, oh my God. Oh no, I’m not messing with you,” Broxton can be heard saying in a video. "Oh no. Oh no. Oh no, I'm not messing with you."

Here's the video of the bison I shot once I got a safe distance away lol

pic.twitter.com/uL3XiR2ISR

— Deion Broxton KTVM (@DeionNBCMT)

March 26, 2020

When the animals got too close for comfort, Broxton made the executive decision to bail and stashed his camera in his car.

Once at a safer distance, Broxton shot video of the bison and you can see why he was so intimidated. They were large.

The video of Broxton’s hilarious reaction has now become a meme, used when people are not happy with a situation.

When Yellowstone park officials caught wind of the video, they

praised the reporter

for offering “a perfect example of what to do when approached by wildlife!”

The National Park Service even

offered a handy graphic

to remind people to practice social distancing with wild animals.

“Social distancing means avoiding large gatherings and maintaining distance (6 ft) from others. While we're at it, remember to keep it at least 300 ft for larger wildlife,” NPS wrote.

Bison have been known to charge people, even when not provoked, but attacks by the animals aren’t exactly common. Yellowstone officials say they typically see one or two each year.

For now, Yellowstone is closed to visitors until further notice because of the coronavirus pandemic.