Midday Roundup: ISIS, Boko Haram form terror pact

Unity in terror. ISIS leaders have purportedly accepted a pledge of allegiance from Boko Haram, the militant Islamist group operating in northern Nigeria. In a 28-minute audio message allegedly made by leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, ISIS congratulates “our jihadi brothers”in Africa. It also urges supporters who cannot make it to Syria to consider joining Boko Haram instead. The new alliance between the two groups creates a terror organization devoted to establishing an Islamic caliphate they eventually hope will take over the world. But both groups have now drawn enough attention that other countries in the regions where they operate have stepped up efforts to eradicate them. In Iraq, government forces have taken back most of the strategic town of Tikrit from ISIS fighters. And in Nigeria, forces from neighboring Chad and Niger are working to beat back Boko Haram’s advances.

Deadly diagnosis. An American aid worker volunteering in Sierra Leone was diagnosed with Ebola and flown to Maryland’s National Institutes of Health for treatment. The patient’s name and condition have not been released. A British aid worker also diagnosed with the deadly disease is being treated in London, along with two British soldiers who came into contact with her. Although the Ebola epidemic has slowed dramatically and never reached the catastrophic proportions predicted by health experts, the World Health Organization said yesterday deaths in West Africa have reached 10,000 since the first case appeared in December 2013.

No blessed day for you. Robins Air Force, in Warner Robins, Ga., has reversed a ban on security personnel telling those entering the base to “have a blessed day.”Base officials announced the ban after an airman who does not believe in God complained. “I found the greeting to be a notion that I, as a non-religious member of the military community, should believe a higher power has an influence on how my day should go,” the airman told the Military Religious Freedom Foundation. After news of the ban went viral, Air Force leaders had second thoughts. “Upon further review and consultation, the Air Force determined use of the phrase ‘have a blessed day’as a greeting is consistent with Air Force standards and is not in violation of Air Force Instructions.”

No wait time today. President Barack Obama is traveling to Phoenix today to visit the VA hospital at the center of last year’s scandal over falsified wait times and veteran care. It will be the first time the president has visited a VA facility since the scandal broke. During his visit, Obama will tout the progress made under new Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald. Wait times are shorter, the backlog for disability claims has shrunk by 60 percent, and the agency now has more mental health professionals to address the growing number of veterans suffering from PTSD and other psychological conditions. The president also plans to announce a new advisory committee, which will include corporate executives, veterans, medical professionals, and academics, tasked with recommending reforms to change the VA’s culture.

Civil rights? The University of Oklahoma fraternity booted off campus after a group of members got caught on video participating in racist chants, might sue the school and President David Boren for defamation. Sigma Alpha Epsilon leaders reportedly believe Boren’s comments after the video surfaced painted the entire fraternity—unfairly—as bigots and racists. They have talked to attorney Stephen Jones, known for his work as Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh’s lead defense lawyer. Jones plans to hold a news conference later today about possible civil rights and contractual litigation against the university.