“Jihadi John” is unmasked. ISIS trashes antiquities. And adultery is now legal in South Korea.
It’s Friday, and here are the 5 things to know for your New Day
ISIS JIHADI JOHN
Man behind the mask: You’ve seen him in all those grizzly ISIS beheading videos. He was the masked man with a British accent. We called him “Jihadi John.” Now we know his real name – Mohammed Emwazi, a Kuwaiti-born Londoner. Two U.S. officials and two U.S. congressional sources confirm it. Emwazi is believed to have traveled to Syria in 2012, according to the Washington Post, and later to have joined ISIS there.
ISIS ANTIQUITIES
Trashing history: Fellow Muslims. Christians. Ethnic minorities. ISIS seems to be alienating someone different everyday. Now they’re aggravating the folks who protect antiquities. In new video released by ISIS, militants are shown smashing statues and other antiquities with gusto, taking just seconds to ruin things that have survived centuries. The explanation for the destruction? “These antiquities and idols behind me were from people in past centuries and were worshiped instead of God,” a militant says.
PICASSO RECOVERED
LOST TREASURE: The shipper said it was a $37 piece of art being sent to the United States as a Christmas present. The feds say it was actually a stolen Picasso, missing for more than a decade and worth millions of dollars. The work of art, painted in 1911 and called “The Hairdresser,” was recovered when it was shipped from Belgium to the United States in December. It was discovered by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, and seized by Homeland Security Investigations. It will be returned to the French government, which owns the painting.
NET NEUTRALITY
What does it mean?: Depending on whom you ask: “We saved the Internet!” or “We’ve destroyed it with government bureaucracy!” But here’s what happened. The FCC adopted historic Internet rules yesterday to more strictly regulate the web. The central question was whether network owners – like Comcast or Time Warner Cable – can discriminate what runs on their cables. The FCC’s answer was: No. The FCC rules won’t be official until maybe summertime. Then major telecom companies will challenge new rules in court. A judge might put the rules on hold.
SOUTH KOREA ADULTERY
It’s legal to cheat: For 62 years, if you cheated on your husband or wife in South Korea, you could end up in prison. Not anymore. South Korea’s Constitutional Court has overturned a law that made adultery a crime, saying it violates the nation’s constitution. Before the ruling, anyone who cheated on their spouse could be charged and, if convicted, spent up to two years in prison. The same penalty also applied to “the one who fornicated with the” cheating spouse, according to the Constitutional Court’s website.
Those are your five biggies for the day. Here are a couple of others that are brewing and have the Internet buzzing.
The dress: People everywhere are debating the color of this dress. Some see white and gold. Others see blue and black. There’s no middle ground. This blogger sees white and gold. Don’t be a hater.
Snow day: This polar bear from the North Carolina Zoo sure loves the fresh snow that fell yesterday.
Llamas on the lam: One black and one white llama escape from an Arizona nursing home. Hashtag #LlamaWatch ensues.
Wedding vows: Whitney and Brian got married recently. They wrote their own vows, but Brian stole the show with his special vows just for his new daughter Brielle.
Snow-where special: A Bulgarian snowboarder stays ahead of an avalanche.