ISIS STRONGHOLD
Life on the inside: Months ago, ISIS claimed Raqqa in northern Syria as the capital of its so-called caliphate. Now an activist is giving CNN an inside look. The details are harrowing. Airstrikes. Executions. Forced blood donations and marriages to ISIS fighters. Women younger than 45 aren’t allowed to leave the city, he says. Neither are foreign fighters. “ISIS takes their passports,” the activists says. “if anyone tries defection from this, they will kill them immediately.”
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Ratings fail: The TV audience for this year’s Academy Awards show was the lowest for the broadcast in six years. Let’s call it less than Oscar-worthy. More than 36 million people tuned in, but that’s a big drop from last year’s 43 million viewers. Why did folks tune out? It’s hard to say, but most of this year’s nominees weren’t big box office draws so that doesn’t help.
