1. Anwar al-Awlaki Killed in Yemen. An American-born Islamic cleric and al-Qaeda leader, Anwar al-Awlaki, was killed by a U.S. drone strike in Yemen. Supposedly, President Barack Obama personally ordered the killing of al-Awlaki. Al-Awlaki had a major influence in radical Islamist circles, using media to recruit new members for al-Qaeda. Al-Awlaki was also allegedly responsible for actively plotting terrorist attacks against the U.S., including a 2009 failed attempt to blow up an airliner over Detroit, and a 2010 attempt to bomb cargo planes with toner cartridges filled with explosives. He was implicated in the 2009 shooting at Fort Hood, and the failed 2010 Times Square car bombing. (Source: BBC)

2. Iran to Send Navy Near U.S. Waters. The Iranian government announced on Sept. 27 that it intends to send a fleet of ships near the Atlantic coast. In a statement expressing their contempt for American warships near their own maritime boundaries, Iran vowed to establish a “powerful presence” near the U.S., which it referred to as “the world arrogant power.” The Pentagon claimed that the Iranian threat cannot be reasonably carried out. The Iranian Navy consists mostly of destroyers and other small naval vessels, and Iran has never established a presence in the Atlantic. The U.S. has deployed the Second Fleet in the Atlantic, with at least one aircraft carrier and over 100 ships in numerous bases along the East Coast. (Source: CNN)

3. Government Plane Shot Down in Yemen. Adding to the already violent situation in Yemen, anti-government tribes shot down a government plane on Sept. 28. The plane, an armed fighter jet, was shot down while flying a combat mission north of the Yemeni capital of Sanaa. The pilot ejected from the aircraft, but was captured by forces opposed to the government in power. Yemen has seen unrest since the start of the Arab Spring, which has resulted in at least three governments in the Middle East being deposed. As many as 1,600 people are estimated to have been killed in the sustained civil disorder in Yemen. (Source: BBC)

4. Hijacker Missing for Four Decades Caught in Portugal. George Wright, who escaped from prison in 1970 and is charged with hijacking a plane to Algeria, has finally been caught in Portugal. George Wright had been serving a 15-30 year sentence for murder. Portuguese law enforcement located him in the resort town of Sintra, where he was arrested. Wright had joined the Black Liberation Army in Detroit after his prison escape, and he and four other members of the terrorist group were allegedly responsible for hijacking a plane from Detroit to Miami, and ordering it to fly to Algeria. It is not known when he will be extradited to the U.S. (Source: CNN)

5. Scientists Claim to Have Broken the Speed of Light. Scientists from the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) claim to have broken the speed of light, a seemingly impossible feat according to Einstein’s famous theory of relativity. The discovery, if proven true, would be the most significant development in physics in over a century. The experiment involved firing subatomic particles called “neutrinos” from a laboratory in Switzerland to another station in Italy. In numerous trials, the neutrinos were found to be traveling in excess of the speed of light. CERN is now asking other independent laboratories to try to duplicate the results, which would likely confirm that it is possible to travel faster than the speed of light. (Source: The Telegraph)