Parents release letter from U.S. hostage threatened by ISIS

The parents of a humanitarian worker threatened with beheading by ISIS issued a statement pleading for his life, and released a letter in which he said he was "pretty scared to die" but at peace after converting to Islam in captivity. A former Army Ranger, Peter Kassig, who now goes by Abdul-Rahman Kassig, was kidnapped in Lebanon by ISIS in October while providing aid to Syrian refugees. He wrote that his parents should be comforted knowing he "went out as a result of trying to alleviate suffering and helping those in need." Read more at NBC News.

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Harold Maass

Harold Maass is a contributing editor at TheWeek.com. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 launch of the U.S. print edition. Harold has worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, Fox News, and ABC News. For several years, he wrote a daily round-up of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance. He lives in North Carolina with his wife and two sons.