10 things you need to know today: September 14, 2014

British Prime Minister David Cameron
(Image credit: Pool Photo / Getty Images)

1. ISIS claims to behead British aid worker

ISIS on Saturday released a video purporting to show the group beheading a British man, David Haines, who was abducted last year while working for a humanitarian group in Syria. British Prime Minister David Cameron called the execution an "act of pure evil" and vowed to "hunt down these murderers and ensure they face justice." ISIS previously released videos showing the executions of two American journalists.

CNN USA Today

2. U.S. man sentenced in North Korea

North Korea on Sunday sentenced an American man who was detained in the country to six years of hard labor. The Hermit Kingdom's Supreme Court claimed 24-year-old Matthew Miller, who tore up his passport upon entering the country in April, was guilty of espionage. Miller is one of three Americans known to be held in North Korea.

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The Associated Press

3. 'Six Californias' bid fails

A ballot initiative to split California into six separate states failed to attract enough signatures to appear on the ballot in November, according to the secretary of state. However, the bid's backers claimed they did indeed have enough signatures — they said in July they'd accumulated 1.3 million of them — and would contest the ruling. Funded largely by venture capitalist Tim Draper, the campaign seeks to splinter California into six new entities, including "Silicon Valley" and "West California."

USA Today

4. Pope Francis warns of World War III

Pope Francis on Saturday warned that given the recent spate of violence around the globe, the world may be seeing a "piecemeal" World War III. Speaking at a memorial in Italy's largest military cemetery, Pope Francis decried the rise of ISIS, and mourned the loss of life in Gaza and Ukraine. "Even today, after the second failure of another world war, perhaps one can speak of a third war, one fought piecemeal, with crimes, massacres, destruction," he said.

BBC

5. At least 29 missing in Philippine ferry disaster

At least 29 people are missing after a ferry sank Saturday off the coast of the Philippines. Three are confirmed dead, and another 100 have been rescued, after the ferry sank due to "big waves and strong current," according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.

CNN BBC

6. Australia commits troops to fight ISIS

Australia has committed to send 600 troops to the United Arab Emirates to support the United States's campaign against ISIS in the Middle East. Prime Minister Tony Abbott said the nation would also send up to eight fighter jets and several support vehicles to aid the mission. "We are not deploying combat troops but contributing to international efforts to prevent the humanitarian crisis from deepening," Abbott said.

The Guardian

7. Rescuers search for missing Navy pilot

Search crews are hunting for a Navy pilot who went missing after his plane crashed into another one over the Pacific Ocean. The Navy said it could not release specific details of the crash, but that one pilot had been recovered and was in "fair" condition. The crash took place about 290 miles off of Wake Island.

Wall Street Journal

8. Obama to visit CDC to discuss Ebola

President Obama on Tuesday will visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. Obama will be briefed on the Ebola pandemic in West Africa, as well as on the respiratory illness plaguing parts of the Midwest, the White House said.

CBS

9. Golfer Greg Norman injures hand in chainsaw accident

Golf legend Greg Norman nearly severed his left hand in a chainsaw accident over the weekend. Norman says he was cutting brush in his yard when the chainsaw slipped and sliced into him. "I was one lucky man today," he wrote on Instagram, adding, "Still have left hand."

USA Today The Associated Press

10. Jay Z, Beyonce spark pregnancy rumors

Jay Z and Beyonce wrapped up their On the Run tour Saturday in Paris by hinting that they may have a second child on the way. Jay Z reportedly ad libbed the line "cause she pregnant with another one" into one of his songs, and Beyonce then cried when joined on stage by their daughter, Blue Ivy.

The Associated Press

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