An ISIS deserter talks about life in the terror militia, the man accused of a beheading in Oklahoma faces charges today, and what were 11-year-olds doing in a Miami nightclub caught in gunfire?
It's Monday and here are the 5 things to know for your New Day.
1. ISIS DEFECTOR
I quit: When airstrikes slammed ISIS in Syria, a window of opportunity opened for one of their fighters, who’d had enough. Abu Omar slipped across the border into Turkey. He’s hunkering down, because, now, he’s got a target on his back. He tells CNN in an exclusive interview with Arwa Damon that ISIS leans heavily on foreign fighters; he met lots of guys from France in the militia. He says they’ve got major pull in the group, and they’re even more heinously cruel than Syrian ISIS militants.
2. OKLAHOMA BEHEADING
We’re sorry: “My heart’s bleeding right now,” says a woman claiming to be the mother of the man accused of beheading a former colleague in Oklahoma then stabbing another. She and a woman who says she's Alton Nolan’s sister posted an apology video to the victims’ families on Facebook. “We're all still in shock right now," the sister says. Nolan, a recent convert to Islam – likely a radical interpretation - faces charges today.
3. HONG KONG PROTESTS
No more tears: After clubbing, teargasing and arresting pro-democracy protesters over the weekend, Hong Kong riot police backed off on Monday. Throngs off demonstrators would like the Chinese government in Beijing to do the same. They are fighting for democratic rights in HK - which has long had a special status in China - like the right to nominate their own political candidates instead of just accepting those put forward by Beijing’s communist government.
4. NIGHTCLUB SHOOTING
Pre-teens gunned down: Eleven-year-olds shot in a nightclub? What on Earth were they doing there, when someone unleashed gunfire? Officials didn’t exactly know why. But a CNN affiliate station said “The Spot” had recently begun to allow teen parties on the weekends. Fifteen clubbers in all were hit by the spray of bullets. The victims’ ages range from 11 to 25. Luckily nobody was killed.
5. FAMILY FOUND DEAD
No bullets, no bruises: No sign of any violence or foul play. So, now it’s up to blood tests to determine what killed five members of a family found dead in their Utah home over the weekend. All five bodies were lying in one bedroom of a duplex. Heaters running on gas can do this sort of thing via carbon monoxide poisoning, and firefighters walked in wearing protective gear. But they found no traces of the deadly gas.
Those are your five biggies for the day. Here are a couple of others that are brewing and have the Internet buzzing.
- That sucks: Fur balls, that is. Which is why this cat loves the vacuum cleaner. Beats any brush.
- Simon says: Make a funky bird pose. Phillies fans make fun of Atlanta Braves pitcher Craig Kimbrel's windup.
- Shuffle dance: This dealer can slip you any card he likes or all of them at once.
- On cat's paws: Kittens as ninja assassins? That'll work!
- Making things clear: This glass door is open. But this pup's owner still has to play pantomime and act like he's opening the already open door, before the dog will come in.
There you go. All you need to know to get an early start to your morning.
Be sure to tune in to "New Day," from 6 to 9 a.m. ET, join us at NewDayCNN.com and go and have a GREAT NEW DAY!
Just turn on the vacuum cleaner for the cat and you've saved money on cat toys. Hopefully that cute puppy will eventually realize that the door is always open for him. Too cute.
From the heading, you would think this would be 5 uplifting things to start your day. How depressing...
Hi, Bill,
We know the news is difficult sometimes and that's why New Day gives you the #GoodStuff.
Find #GoodStuff stories here to brighten your day! http://newday.blogs.cnn.com/category/headlines/the-good-stuff/
Happy #NewDay~