The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has recently issued a series of threats against Christians corresponding to the upcoming Christmas holiday season.
The group published a propaganda poster calling upon its followers to attack the Vatican on Christmas.
The poster reads “Christmas Blood” and features a jihadist driving a car towards St. Peter’s Basilica.
Last week ISIS issued an additional threat to attack Christmas markets in Europe with some of their disturbing imagery depicting Santa Claus with his hands bound and a jihadist standing behind him.
The recent succession of terror threats has led the Department of State to issue a travel warning for American citizens traveling to Europe during the upcoming holiday season.
However, this is certainly not the first time that ISIS has threatened the Vatican or European sites.
For the past several years ISIS has threatened to take their fight to Rome and even publishes an online magazine Rumiyah (Rome) which is based on the hadith or statement attributed to Muhammad that Muslims would conquer Rome.
 'Is there an escort?' I asked. 'Yes, I've already assigned him a seat'. 'Would you please tell him to come to the Flight Deck. You can board him early," I said... A short while later a young army sergeant entered the flight deck. He was the image of the perfectly dressed soldier. He introduced himself and I asked him about his soldier. The escorts of these fallen soldiers talk about them as if they are still alive and still with us. 'My soldier is on his way back to Virginia,' he said. He proceeded to answer my questions, but offered no words. I asked him if there was anything I could do for him and he said no. I told him that he had the toughest job in the military, and that I appreciated the work that he does for the families of our fallen soldiers. The first officer and I got up out of our seats to shake his hand. He left the Flight Deck to find his seat. We completed our pre-flight checks, pushed back and performed an uneventful departure. About 30 minutes into our flight, I received a call from the lead flight attendant in the cabin. 'I just found out the family of the soldier we are carrying is also on board', she said. She then proceeded to tell me that the father, mother, wife and 2-year old daughter were escorting their son, husband and father home. The family was upset because they were unable to see the flag draped container that the soldier was in before we left. We were on our way to a major hub at which the family was going to wait four hours for the connecting flight home to Virginia. The father of the soldier told the flight attendant that knowing his son was below him in the cargo compartment and being unable to see him was too much for him and the family to bear. He had asked the flight attendant if there was anything that could be done to allow them to see him upon our arrival. The family wanted to be outside by the cargo door to watch the soldier being taken off the airplane. I could hear the desperation in the flight attendant's voice when she asked me if there was anything I could do. 'I'm on it', I said. I told her that I would get back to her. Airborne communication with my company normally occurs in the form of e-mail like messages. I decided to bypass this system and contact my flight dispatcher directly on a secondary radio. There is a radio operator in the operations control center who connects you to the telephone of the dispatcher. I was in direct contact with the dispatcher. I explained the situation I had on board with the family and what it was the family wanted. He said he understood and that he would get back to me. Two hours went by and I had not heard from the dispatcher. We were going to get busy soon and I needed to know what to tell the family. I sent a text message asking for an update. I saved the return message from the dispatcher and the following is the text: 'Captain, sorry it has taken so long to get back to you. There is policy on this now, and I had to check on a few things. Upon your arrival a dedicated military escort team will meet the aircraft. The team will escort the family to the ramp and plane side. A van will be used to load the remains with a secondary van for the family. The family will be taken to their departure area and escorted into the terminal where the remains can be seen on the ramp. It is a private area for the family only. When the connecting aircraft arrives, the family will be escorted onto the ramp and plane side to watch the remains being loaded for the final leg home. Captain, many of us here in flight control are veterans. Please pass our condolences on to the family. Thanks. I sent a message back, telling flight control thanks for a good job. I printed out the message and gave it to the lead flight attendant to pass on to the father. The lead flight attendant was very thankful and told me, 'You have no idea how much this will mean to them.' Things started getting busy for the descent, approach and landing. After landing, we cleared the runway and taxied to the ramp area. The ramp is huge with 15 gates on either side of the alleyway. It is always a busy area with aircraft maneuvering every which way to enter and exit. When we entered the ramp and checked in with the ramp controller, we were told that all traffic was being held for us. 'There is a team in place to meet the aircraft', we were told. It looked like it was all coming together, then I realized that once we turned the seat belt sign off, everyone would stand up at once and delay the family from getting off the airplane. As we approached our gate, I asked the copilot to tell the ramp controller we were going to stop short of the gate to make an announcement to the passengers. He did that and the ramp controller said, 'Take your time.'  I stopped the aircraft and set the parking brake. I pushed the public address button and said: 'Ladies and gentlemen, this is your Captain speaking: I have stopped short of our gate to make a special announcement. We have a passenger on board who deserves our honor and respect. His name is Private XXXXXX, a soldier who recently lost his life. Private XXXXXX is under your feet in the cargo hold. Escorting him today is Army Sergeant XXXXXX. Also, on board are his father, mother, wife and daughter. Your entire flight crew is asking for all passengers to remain in their seats to allow the family to exit the aircraft first. Thank you.'We continued the turn to the gate, came to a stop and started our shutdown procedures. A couple of minutes later I opened the cockpit door. I found the two forward flight attendants crying, something you just do not see. I was told that after we came to a stop, every passenger on the aircraft stayed in their seats, waiting for the family to exit the aircraft. When the family got up and gathered their things, a  Many of the passengers disembarking thanked me for the announcement I had made. They were just words, I told them. I could say them over and over again, but nothing I say will bring back that brave soldier. I respectfully ask that all of you reflect on this event and the sacrifices that millions of our men and women have made to ensure our freedom and safety in these United States of AMERICA. Footnote: I know everyone who reads this will have tears in their eyes, including me.
Prayer chain for our Military. Don't break it! Please send this on to others after a short prayer for our service men and women. Don't break it! They die for me and mine and you and yours and deserve our honor and respect.
Prayer Request: When you read this, please stop for a moment and say a prayer for our troops around the world. Send this to people in your address book. Do not let it stop with you. Of all the gifts you could give a Marine, Soldier, Sailor, Airman, and others deployed in harm's way, prayer is the very best one. GOD BLESS YOU!!! Thank you all who have served, or are serving.
We will not forget!!!!
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The sudden reversal by U.S. District Judge Gloria M. Navarro came at the end of the day, following a sealed court hearing Wednesday morning in which the judge and lawyers from both sides addressed multiple pending defense motions seeking dismissal of the case due to alleged delays or alleged withholding of discovery evidence by the federal government of information that could help in the defendants' case.
Ammon Bundy is expected to be released between 8 and 9 a.m. Thursday, said attorney J. Morgan Philpot, Ammon Bundy's Utah lawyer. He will stay at a friend's or relative's home in the north Las Vegas area, and won't be allowed to leave Clark County without approval from a pretrial services officer, Philpot said.
Navarro told lawyers she planned to send to Oregon's U.S. District Judge Anna J. Brown her proposed conditions for Payne's release before Payne could be released from custody, according to defense lawyers. That's because Payne has pleaded guilty to conspiracy in the 2016 armed takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge and awaits sentencing in the Oregon case.
Authorities arrested Cliven Bundy on Feb. 10, 2016, as he got off a plane in Portland to visit his sons. Two weeks earlier, Ammon and Ryan Bundy and Payne had been arrested in the 2016 armed takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in southeastern Oregon. Even though Ammon Bundy and Ryan Bundy were acquitted at trial in federal court in Portland last year, they were then transferred to custody in Nevada to face the federal charges in the 2014 Bunkerville standoff. Payne pleaded guilty in the Oregon conspiracy case and was then transferred to Nevada to face the federal indictment there.
