Midday Roundup: More tales of ISIS atrocities against culture, people

Irreplaceable. The so-called Islamic State, or ISIS, has razed another ancient archaeological site that held secrets of pre-Christian history in Mesopotamia. The city of Nimrud was home to Assyrian kings in the 800s and 700s B.C. Excavations there had unearthed irreplaceable sculptures, reliefs, and palaces that told the stories of the Assyrian Empire, which conquered the northern kingdom of Israel in the 720s. (See also Emily Belz’s “Historic tragedy" from the latest issue of WORLD Magazine.) And in photographs released this month, ISIS revealed another form of brutality in the territories it controls. Militants in Raqqa, Syria, are throwing off buildings men who are accused of being gay.

Spin off. A near-miss in which a Delta Air Lines jet careened off the icy runway at New York’s LaGuardia Airport highlights the challenges of landing a plane there. The aircraft landed with its nose dangling over the freezing Flushing Bay. Some passengers sustained minor injuries. LaGuardia’s shorter runways, proximity to other airports, and closeness to the water gives planes little room for error when they land. The runway on which the Delta plane landed had been plowed just minutes before, but passengers reported it was covered with snow when they deplaned in the icy cold.

Out of this world. A NASA probe has entered orbit around Ceres, an icy dwarf planet in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter that could contain liquid water. So far, the probe, named Dawn, has found two bright spots on Ceres’ surface that could be water vapor from underground volcanoes reflecting sunlight. Though the surface of Ceres is frozen, some scientists believe there could be water underneath. The Dawn probe will slowly descend toward the surface in the next few months. If it does find water, that could make Ceres the next best planet to Earth for supporting life in the solar system.

Not a stunt. Actor Harrison Ford was injured Thursday when a small plane he was flying crash-landed on a golf course in Venice, Calif. Ford, an experienced pilot, was flying a restored, single-engine aircraft, the Ryan PT-22 Recruit, that was used in World War II to train Army Air Force pilots. He reported engine failure to the Santa Monica Airport before the crash. A spokesperson for Ford said he was banged up, but his injuries were not life-threatening.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.