Midday Roundup: ISIS gets its hands on nuclear material

Loose nukes. The ISIS terror group in Iraq has seized about 88 pounds of uranium kept at Mosul University, Reuters reports. The uranium is not weapons-grade, but it poses a large enough threat that Iraq is asking for international assistance to respond. “These nuclear materials, despite the limited amounts mentioned, can enable terrorist groups, with the availability of the required expertise, to use it separate or in combination with other materials in its terrorist acts,” wrote Mohamed Ali Alhakim, the Iraqi ambassador to the United Nations, in a letter to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon obtained by Reuters. ISIS has taken over a large chunk of territory and effectively erased the border between Iraq and Syria.

On the brink. The UN secretary general called on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict today to show restraint as bombs and rockets battered the border of the Gaza Strip. He said the situation was “on a knife edge,” and the region “cannot afford another full-blown war.” The Israeli army struck more than 320 Hamas sites in the Gaza Strip overnight Wednesday. The violence has reportedly killed more than 80 Palestinians. Meanwhile, the barrage of rockets from Gaza has interrupted daily life in Israel, where many schools and summer camps have closed for students’ protection.

Banished. Germany expelled the top U.S. intelligence official in Berlin today following two suspected cases of American spying. Relations between the two countries have been tense since last fall, when German Chancellor Angela Merkel learned the National Security Agency was monitoring her cellphone. “The request occurred against the backdrop of the ongoing investigation by federal prosecutors as well as the questions that were posed months ago about the activities of U.S. intelligence agencies in Germany,” government spokesman Steffen Seibert said in a statement. “The government takes the matter very seriously.”

Watch list. The Emmy Awards nominees were announced this morning. HBO’s bawdy medieval soap opera Game of Thrones lead the pack with 19 nominations, and was joined in the best drama category by familiar names, including Mad Men, Breaking Bad, Downton Abbey, and House of Cards. The first season of the HBO series True Detective was also nominated for best drama. A Thrones win would be a departure from Emmy tradition, which has shunned fantasy offerings in the past.

Verdict. A jury declared the Los Angeles Dodgers liable in the savage beating of a San Francisco Giants fan at Dodger Stadium three years ago. Bryan Stow was awarded about $14 million, after the jury agreed with his claims the stadium did not have adequate security to protect him. The father of two suffered brain damage in the beating. Doctors had to temporarily remove part of his skull to save his life, and he now uses a wheelchair. The perpetrators of the attack pleaded guilty and were sentenced in February, one to four years in prison, the other to eight.