Midday Roundup: Dual suicide attacks in Yemen kill 120

Escalating violence. Suicide bombers in Yemen attacked two mosques in the capital city of Sanaa this morning, killing at least 120 people and injuring more than 300 others. Members of the Houthi rebel group that recently seized control of Sanaa worship at the two Shiite mosques. No one has claimed responsibility, yet. Houthis have long been a marginalized minority in the predominantly Sunni country. But the Houthis face opposition from forces loyal to President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi, who was forced to flee after the takeover, as well as the Yemen-based al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. The extremist group has voted to attack Houthi loyalists. On Thursday, Houthi fighters commandeered a fighter jet and launched an attack on a palace in the port city of Aden, where Hadi was thought to be hiding. No one was injured in the attack.

Corruption probe. Federal prosecutors have launched an investigation into Rep. Aaron Schock, R-Ill., who resigned earlier this week amid a corruption scandal. Investigators are looking into how Schock spent taxpayer money and other business dealings. Witnesses will appear before a Springfield, Ill., grand jury next month. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the FBI is asking questions about Schock’s use of chartered planes, taking a large group of staffers to New York, high mileage-reimbursement claims, and the use of campaign funds for meals. The Federal Election Commission also is investigating Schock’s campaign finance reports.

ACA popularity poll. A new poll released on the five-year anniversary of the Affordable Care Act shows the gap between those who like the law and those who don’t is shrinking. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, 43 percent of people surveyed view Obamacare unfavorably, while 41 percent view it favorably. A majority of respondents said the law has not had a direct effect on their families, but 19 percent said it helped, and 22 percent said it hurt. But when asked about the U.S. Supreme Court case King v. Burwell, respondents were more in agreement. A solid majority, 62 percent, said a high court ruling against subsidies for people who buy insurance on the federal exchange would have a negative effect on the country. Fifty-seven percent said it would be bad for those without insurance.

ISIS genocide? The United Nations is accusing ISIS of committing genocide in Iraq, but only possibly. At a news conference in Geneva on Thursday, Suki Nagra, head of the UN’s Investigation Mission to Iraq, said some of the group’s attacks were aimed at destroying the Yazidi people. She said ISIS executed untold numbers of teenage boys and men on its rampage through the homeland of the Yazidi minority in Iraq. Retired Army Lt. Col. Dakota Wood, now with The Heritage Foundation, said the UN is finally recognizing what the rest of the world has known about ISIS for months. The UN recommends Iraq pursue war crimes charges against ISIS. But Wood said ISIS might not be the only group committing atrocities in Iraq. Human Rights Watch is reporting Shia militias, supported by Iran, are doing more than fighting ISIS.“They are killing Sunni occupants of these villages, sometimes under the pretext that they support the Islamic State,” Wood said, “but it seems to be more of a cleansing action of Shia pushing out Sunni in this, you know, centuries-old battle between these two religious factions.”

Social censorship. Facebook has banned a fundraising ad for a Christian movie project. The movie’s producers are raising money to tell the story of Meriam Ibrahim, the Sudanese woman who refused to renounce her Christian faith while under a death sentence. Ibrahim was later freed. Dan Gainor of the Media Research Center said Facebook’s decision to block the fundraising ad for the movie reveals the company’s liberal worldview. The ad asked people to repost a photo with the caption “Are you a Christian?” Facebook cited its policy that ads may not target personal characteristics in several different categories, including religion. But Gainor said that’s a curious answer, given Facebook’s past behavior: “Just last year there were threats against Israel on Facebook that they seemed very OK with, that stayed. It is deliberately obtuse.”

WORLD Radio’s Jim Henry and Mary Reichard contributed to this report.