Douglas Ernst

Iraq formally asks U.S. for airstrikes against ISIL

Iraq has formally asked the U.S. to launch airstrikes against the Sunni terrorist organization Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

June 18, 2014

Pentagon: Enemy drones don’t worry us because we have laser weapons on deck

The Office of Naval Research (ONR) expects future enemies of America to rely on drones, but it's not worried: Ground-based laser weapons that can easily destroy unmanned aerial vehicles are in development.

June 17, 2014

Congressman: ISIS isn’t just a small terrorist cell — ‘it’s the al Qaeda army’

Republican Congressman John Shimkus was asked about the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) on Tuesday, and in his response he stressed that the Sunni Islamic radicals advancing across the Middle East weren't part of terrorist cell but an army.

June 17, 2014

‘Intelligent drone’ designed to follow and film anonymously a huge Kickstarter success

Individuals who always wanted high quality aerial footage of them running a race, skiing down a mountain or riding the open road may soon have a drone built just for them due to Kickstarter.

June 17, 2014

Veteran told not to say Pledge at college meetings to avoid offending international students

An Army veteran attending University of Wyoming was told that as a senator in its student government he should not say the Pledge of Allegiance before meetings. The reason: It might offend international students.

June 17, 2014

Venezuela forced to ‘recycle’ coffins due to socialist nation’s shortages

Venezuelans faced with the socialist nation's regular shortages of basic necessities now have a new item to add to the list: coffins.

June 17, 2014

Putin’s nuclear navy gets an upgrade: Russia christens new top-secret submarine

Russian President Vladimir Putin has a new weapon at his disposal: a top-secret nuclear submarine named Severodvinsk.

June 17, 2014

Pentagon breakthrough will give troops Spider-Man’s wall-crawling ability during urban warfare

A recent breakthrough at the Pentagon's research arm might soon give U.S. troops the ability to crawl up walls like Spider-Man. The unsung hero, however, will be the gecko.

June 17, 2014

Hacker ‘Guccifer’ indicted for 2013 leaked George W. Bush paintings, identity theft

The man who claimed to have leaked former President George W. Bush's paintings online in 2013 was indicted by a U.S. federal grand jury Thursday.

June 13, 2014

N.J. military mom finds man under son’s bed with knife, stolen piggy bank money

While Darla Donohue's husband was away Thursday night, she found a man underneath her child's bed wielding a knife — and change from her son's piggy bank.

June 13, 2014

American teen among 3 students kidnapped in West Bank

A U.S. citizen is one of three teenagers kidnapped in the West Bank. Israeli soldiers looking for the children believe they may have been abducted by Palestinian militants.

June 13, 2014

Chelsea Clinton was paid $600K by NBC

NBC News special correspondent Chelsea Clinton, who joined the network in 2011 with no prior experience in journalism, was reportedly paid $600,000 a year until her contract was recently altered. The new deal offers her the flexibility to easily leave if her mother runs for president.

June 13, 2014

Doctor charged with sexting during surgery, suspended for ‘preoccupation with sexual matters’

An anesthesiologist has been suspended by the Washington state Medical Quality Assurance Commission over allegations that he regularly sends sexually explicit texts — during surgery.

June 13, 2014

911 dispatcher to rape accuser: ‘Quit crying’

A 911 dispatcher in Columbus, Ohio, will not be reprimanded after evidence of her telling a caller who said she was raped to "quit crying" surfaced Sunday.

June 13, 2014

Calif. criminal killed one hour after jury sets him free by mistake

A career criminal named Bobby Lee Pearson was accidentally freed by a jury in Fresno Wednesday at 11:57 p.m., and within one hour he was dead. He was stabbed in the torso and the head by a suspect at his sister's home.

June 12, 2014

Happy birthday, comrade: Vladimir Putin sends gift, calls George H.W. Bush on his 90th birthday

Not only did George H.W. Bush celebrate his 90th birthday on Thursday by skydiving, but he also received a phone call and a gift by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

June 12, 2014

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard deploys to Iraq to stop Sunni terror group

With U.S. forces out of Iraq and the nation spinning out of control, the nation has turned to someone else to help quell the violence: the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

June 12, 2014

Senior official on briefing on terror group in Iraq, Syria: ‘It makes you want to kill yourself’

U.S. officials were briefed in May on the rise of Islamic terrorist groups in Iraq and Syria, and the conclusion by one senior official could not be more blunt: "It makes you want to kill yourself."

June 12, 2014

Hillary Clinton jabs Putin: ‘I’m talking about you, Vladimir’

Hillary Rodham Clinton may need to get her "reset" button back from Russian diplomat Sergey Lavrov. The former secretary of state had some choice words Thursday for Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Council on Foreign Relations.

June 12, 2014

Putin strikes back: Russians launch surprise war games next to NATO exercises in the Baltics

NATO military officials were caught off guard by surprise guests as military exercises began in the Baltics last week — Russians.

June 11, 2014