here's abc's brian ross. >> i'm shirley sotloff. my son steven is in your hands. >> reporter: the mother's emotional plea came eight days after isis said it would execute her 31-year-old journalist son seen in the same video release that showed the execution of james foley. >> i want what every mother wants, to live to see her children's children. >> reporter: shirley sotloff directed her plea personally to the isis leader, abu bakr al baghdadi, a brutal megalomaniac who claims he is the caliph of the muslim world. that's how she addressed it. >> i've always learned that you, the caliph, can grant amnesty. i ask you to please release my child. >> abc's brian ross with that report. >>> breaking overnight, a major explosion at a bp oil refinery outside chicago. the blast at the whiting, indiana, facility could be felt two miles away. it's in a huge plume of smoke into the night air. investigators later said that a compressor at that refinery had exploded. >>> an experienced pilot with the massachusetts national guard is still missing

roxana saberi has more. >> i am shirley sotloff. my son stephen is in your hands. >> reporter: in this emotional plea, shirley sotloff addresses the leader by his preferred title. asking him to let him to come home. >> you as the caliph can grant amnesty. i ask you to please release my son. stephen is a journalist, who covered the suffering of muslims at the hand of tirants. >> the sotloffs kept his captivity secret. they thought if they publicized his case his captors in the islamic state group would kill him. last tuesday the group released a video showing the execution of another american journalist, james foley and threatened to kill sotloff next if the u.s. didn't stop targeting iraq with air strikes. now she's speaking out. >> since stephen's capture i've learned a lot about islam. i've learned that no individual should be held responsible for sins of others. stephen has no control over the actions of the u.s. government. he's an innocent journalist. >> reporter: as shirley sotloff pleas for stephen's release, peter theo curti

i'm shirley sotloff. my son stephen is in your hands. stephen is a journalist who travels to the middle east to cover the suffering of the muslims at the hands of terrorists. he is an honorable and he alwaysalways tried to help the weak. we have not seen him in over a year and we miss him very much. we want to see him home safe and sound and to hug him. since his capture i've learned about islam. i have learned that islam teaches that no individual should be held for th responsible for the sins of others. stephen has no responsibility for the actions of others. i ask you to please release my child. as a mother i ask the justice to be merciful and not punish my son over matters he has no control over. i ask you to use your authority to spare his life and to follow the example set by the prophet mohammed, who protected people of the book. i want what every mother wants to, live to see her children's children. i plead with you to grant me this. >> now, all of this on the day that another american journalist, this one freed, spoke out. curti

. >> i am shirley sotloff. my son stephen is in your hands. >> reporter: the mother's emotional plea came eight days after isis said it would execute her 31-year-old journalist son, seen in the same video release that showed the execution of james foley. >> i want what every mother wants, to live to see her children's children. >> reporter: shirley sotloff directed her plea personally to the isis leader, abu bakr al-baghdadi, a brutal h r: f joaser joe massachusetts after being held for two years by a different jihadist group in syria. >> i had no idea when i was in prison that so much effort was being expended on my behalf. now having found out, i am just overwhelmed with emotion. >> reporter: as much as the american hostages have focused attention on syrian terror groups, it is the american recruits who have joined them that most worry authorities. today, new details emerged about the background of this american, douglas mcarthur mccain, killed fighting for isis in syria over the weekend. it turns out mccain'

in a video obtained by abc news, and already broadcast on one arabic language news channel, shirley sotlofflitant group. >> i ask you to use your authority to spare his life. i plead with you to grant me this. >> reporter: the 31-year-old sotloff was last seen alive at the end of the disturbing video which showed the beheading of american journalist james foley last week. the isis militant in the video spoke directly to president obama, calling on him to end american air strikes against isis targets in iraq. a white house spokesman called the sotloff situation tragic. >> this administration is deeply engaged and doing everything we can to seek the return of every american who is currently being held in that region. >> reporter: while one family anxiously waits, another is celebrating a homecoming. after being held captive by militants in syria for two years, american journalist peter theo curtis is back home in cambridge, massachusetts. >> i suddenly remember how good the american people are. >> reporter: the white house repeated the u.s. will not pay ransoms for hostages, but officials sai

. >> reporter: tony, this is the first time that shirley sotloff is speaking out. her plea comes eight days after the release of a video showing the execution of another journalist steve foley. >> i'm shirley sotloff. my son stephen is in your hands. >> reporter: she addresses the leader of the islamic state group by his preferred title, asking him to let her son come home. >> you, the caliph can grant amnesty. i ask you to please release my child. >> reporter: in this video she calls her son an honorable man who always tried to help the weak. >> stephen is a journalist who travels to the middle east to cover the suffering of muslims at the hand of tyrants. >> reporter: the 31-year-old miami native had reported from syria several times when he disappeared last august. the sotloffs kept his captivity secret even from close friends. they thought if they publicized his case his captors in the islamic state group would kill him. but last tuesday the group released a video showing the execution of another journalist james foley and threatened to kill sotloff next if the

i am shirley sotloff. my son is stephen is in your hands.ournalist who made a journey to cover the story of muslims suffering at the hands of tyrants. we have not seen stephen for over a year and we miss him very much. we want to see him home safe and sound and to hug him. since his capture, i have learned a lot about islam. i've learned that islam teaches that no individual should be held responsible for the sins of others. stephen has no control over the actions of the u.s. government. he's an innocent journalist. i've always learned that you, the caliph can grant amnesty. i ask you to please release my child. as a mother, i ask your justice to be merciful and not punish my son for matters he has no control over. i ask you to use your authority to spare his life and to follow the example set by the proceed -- prophet mohammed. i plead with you to grant me this. >> shirley sotloff pleading for her son's life. you know the solve love family -- sotloff family hasn't talked about his capture, they wanted to keep things quiet to keep him safe.

i am shirley sotloff. my son stephen is in your hands.tephen is a journalist who traveled to the middle east to cover the suffering of muslims at the hands of tyrants. steven is a loyal son, brother and grandson. he's an honorable man and has already tried to help the weak. we've not seen steven for over a year and we miss him very much. we want to see him home safe and sound and to hug him. since steven's capture, i've learned a lot about islam. i've learned that islam teaches that no individual should be held responsible for the sins of others. steven has no control over the actions of the u.s. government. he's an innocent journalist. i've always learned that you, the caliph, can grant honesty. i ask you to please release my child. as a mother, i ask your justice to be merciful. and not punish my son for matters he has no control over. i ask you to use your authority to spare his life and to follow the example set by the prophet muhammad who protected people of the book. i want what every mother wants. to live to see her children's chil

>> martha, in this video, shirley sotloff appealed to the vanity. she speaks to isis's leader, a title the isis commander has claimed for himself, though, he's not recognized in the wider muslim world as a religious or political leader. steven sotloff was captured by isis last year and recently appeared in journalist james foley's execution video last week. they are saying sotloff will be executed next unless attacks are stopped. >> as a mother, i ask you just to be merciful and not punish my son for matters he has no control over. i ask you to use your authority to spare his life and to follow the example set by the prophet muhammad who protected people of the book. >> now, isis of course has released some of their kidnapping victims but they've killed others. whether or not, martha, this video will work it's unclear. a lot of people are hoping this will do something to city steven sotloff. >> let's hope. let's hope. what about the other american hostage, connor? what do we know there? >> we understand isis has several americans in captivitca inclu

. >> there's a new video appeal by shirley sotloff, the mother of steven sotloff. let me just play this a little bit more for you. >> okay. >> steven has no control over the actions of the u.s. government. he's only a journalist. i've always learned that you can grant amnesty. i ask you to please release my child. >> what more can we do to try to get this man home and the others, an american woman who is an aide worker? >> what i can tell you is that we never lose work on this, as a government, not just as a military but we never lose focus on those americans being held by terrorists. that's why we executed that rescue attempt because we just don't lose focus. while we can't talk about the ways tra we' ways that we're trying to stay focus on it, i can assure you we haven't lost focus on him or the other hostages. >> and paying ransom through proxies, as the other european countries except for the u kck? >> all that is going to do is encourage more kidnappings and put more money in their pockets. it does nothing but cause more americans to be in future danger. so it

i'm shirley sotloff. my son's life is in your hands. >> reporter: asking him to let her son come home. >> that you the cali ph can grant amnesty. i ask you to marie please release my child. stephen is a journalist who travels to the middle east to cover the suffering of muslims at the hands of terrorist. >> reporter: sotloff kept his captivity secret even from close friends. they thought if they exposed his case that captors would kill him. but they have shown the execution of another journalist james foley and threatened to kill sotloff nixon. >> i learned that islam teaches no yesterday should be held responsety for the sins of others. stephen has no control over the actions of the u.s. government. hhe is an innocent journalist. >> reporter: as she please for stephen's freedom, there is the release of another journal. >> he is i'm overwhelmed by strangers who say i'm just glad you're home. welcome home. >> familie >> i want what every mother wants. to live to see her children's children. i plead with yo

i want what every mother wants, to live to see her children's children. >> that's shirley sotloff, ans to release her son who is right now being held hostage. steven sotloff's life threatened directly in the video where american james foley was executed. the islamic extremists say that sotloff's fate depends on what president obama does next. i want to bring in christiane amanpour and also a mom. hearing that plea from the mother there is just remarkable. >> well, it's tragic. it's really tragic because she knows very well that it's happened to another son, the son of the foley family. she's seen her own son in that video, and she's desperate. obviously these families have been trying behind the scenes with many government agencies to try to get their children released, those who are in fact held by isis and a number of other extremist groups, and this is a last-ditch attempt presumably. it is, in fact, according to hostage negotiators and those who work in attempting to get these captors release quite rare for a parent to make this direct, overt video plea to the terrorists, but it i

let's talk about this video released by shirley sotloff today. obviously a very emotional and moving appeal. do you think that allowed any impact on the conversation with isis? >> well, ronan, you're absolutely right. it's an emotional appeal and one of the things it's trying to appeal to the humanity of its leader, at least on a human level as a mother to the leader of isis but we've seen over the course of the several months, this is a group that really has no humanity, has demonstrated no humanity or any compassion for not only any of the western or foreign hostages it captures but also for any of the other muslim hostages, including regime officials and locals that they have terrorized with some of its tactics. it would be hard to believe that they would feel compelled to answer the calls to steven's mother no matter how appealing it may sound in that video. >>> the obama administration is looking for allies as it considers waging this war against isis. "the new york times" began a diplomatic campaign to enter a coalition. among that list, un

shirley sotloff begs them to spare the life of steven sotloff's life. >> i want what every mother wants to, live to see her children's children. i plead with you to grant me this. >> isis has been making ransom demands, but the you says it is not u.s. policy to negotiate -- but the white house says it is not u.s. policy to negotiate ransom with terrorist groups. >>> we are hearing from peter theo curtis who was taken captive by a group with ties of al-qaeda. the 45-year-old journalist said he is touched beyond words with the warm welcome he's received back in massachusetts and by the effort it took to get him there. the state department reached out to more than two dozen countries for help in negotiating curtis' freedom. >>> always watching always tracking wusa9 first alert weather. >> of course, we're always looking into the all important upcoming weekend and it's a holiday weekend. >> yeah. doubly as important. >> storm tracker showing anything? >> yeah. unfortunately we're looking at the potential for thunderstorms heading into that holiday weekend. in the meantime we are tracking a

. >> i am shirley sotloff. my son stephen is in your hands. >> the mother of kidnapped journalist steven sotloff made an impassioned plea for help. >> we want to see him home and safe and sound and hug him. >> reporter: he's been held captive by isis last august but the world first saw his face last week. that's when isis showed this video, the video of beheading of james foley. the same executioner threatened to bekill sotloff next. she begged for his mercy. >> i want what every mother wants, to live to see her children's children. i plead you to grand grant me this. >> reporter: white house spokesman josh earnest did not state. another american hostage peter theo curtis was released on sunday. he was reunited with his mother at boston's logan airport on wednesday after 122 months in captivity in syria. >> i had no idea that so muchest was being expended on my behalf. >> reporter: he had been held by a different wing. outside his mother's house in cambridge, massachusetts, on wednesday, he told reporters how th

steven sotloff's mother, shirley is begging terrorists to spare her son. >>> plus the conflict between ukraine and russia reaching a boil today. ukraine said russia invaded their territory, accusing putin of starting a war. we'll have the latest on that and so much more when "new day" begins at the top of the hour. >> looking forward to it. >>> we are following that crisis in ukraine. russia is sending in soldiers to fight with separatists. we head to moscow, after the break. >>> welcome back. ukraine says russian troops are involved in the fighting in eastern ukraine. a military commander says it is a full scale invasion. ukraine's prime minister calling for an immediate u.n. security council meeting to address this crisis. phil black is live in moscow for us. is this more incursion, something we have seen or something new and actual invasion? >> reporter: you are right, christine, a lot of allegations about incursions in recent months. this, as it is described, is much bigger. a military operation is what they are describing, potentially an invasion. the

. >> i am shirley sotloff.son, steven, is in your hands. >> reporter: the mother's last-ditch plea came eight days after isis publicly threatened to kill her 31-year-old journalist son if the usair strikes continued, as they have. >> steven has no control over the actions of the u.s. government. he's an innocent journalist. ♪ >> reporter: shirley sotloff directed her plea personally to >> reporter: shirley sotloff directed her plea personally to the isis leader, abu bakr al baghdadi, a brutal meglmania who claims he is the caliph of the muslim world. >> i've always learned you, the caliph, can grant am mess city. i ask you to please release my child. >> reporter: but isis is a group that has shown no mercy as it has conducted its ruthless holy war across syria and iraq. thousands of innocent civilians have already been executed as the group has demonstrated the thirst for blood. >> this is not the kind of terrorist group that's going to say, we can be magnanimous here and give this one up because a mother has a

shirley sotloff made a passionate plea that held james foley and threatened to murder her son stephen as well. >> since stephen's capture, i've learned a lot about islam. i've learned that islam teaches that no individual should be held responsible for the sins of others. stephen has no control over the actions of the u.s. government. he's an innocent journalist. i've always learned that you can grant amnesty. i ask you to please release my child. >> president obama is also considering a new humanitarian relief operation about 100 miles north of baghdad. up to 15,000 shiite turkmen are there without food and water currently and republican senate majority leader said he supports the president's strategy against isis and predicts many lawmakers will back him if he asks congress for its support. >>> a texas father has been acquitted of murder. david bajas was accused of shooting to death a drunk driver who killed both of his children in a car wreck. his family members were in tears in the courtroom just moments after a jury found him not guilty. nearly two years ago, that's when jose ban

. >> i am shirley sotloff. my son steven is in your hands. >> reporter: his mother made this video begging his captors to have mercy. >> i want what every mother wants. to live to see her children's children. he plead with you to grant me this. >> reporter: isis threatened to kill sotloff in the same video of the beheading of james foley. on wednesday a group of lawmakers from both parties called for debate and vote here in congress to authorize the president to take military action in iraq and syria. anne-marie. >> susan mcginnis in washington. thank you, susan. >>> a former hostage peter theo curtis said he had no idea so many people put so much effort into securing his release. >> there have been literally hundreds of people brave, determined, big-hearted people all over the world working for my release. they have been working for two years on this. >> curtis was freed by a syrian extremist group on sunday after being held for 22 months. speaking yesterday curtis said he was overwhelmed by the kindness of th

mmy name is shirley sotloff. my son is in your hands. steven is a loyal and generous son, brother and grandson. he is an honorable man and he has always tried to help the weak. we have not seen steven for over a year, and we miss him very much. we want to see him home safe and sound and to hug him. since steven's capture i've learned a lot about islam. i have learned that islam teaches no individual should be held responsible for the vins of others. steven has no control over the actions o of others. he is a journalist. i ask you to please release my child. as a mother i ask for justice to be merciful and not punish my son over matters he has no control over. i ask you to use your authority to spare his life and follow the example set by the prophet mohammed who protected people of the book. i want what every month wants, to live to see their children's children. i plead with you to grant me this. >> another american journalist who has been freed has made his first public comments. he said he's overwhelmed by the supreme cour support he

. >> shirley sotloff sent a message to isis, begging them to release her son steven sotloff. >> he has no control over the actions of the u.s. government. he's a journalist. >> reporter: last week, isis released video of the execution of another journalist, james foley. in a separate video, sotloff is seen kneeling in the same place where foley was beheaded. it's believed they were cellmates. meanwhile another family is speaking out for the first time. the san diego man was killed on sunday while fighting for isis. >> i think maybe my cousin could have lost his identity because that's not who he is. >> reporter: law enforcement officials tell nbc news it appears a second american was killed in the same battle with forces. president obama is said to be nearing a decision on expanding air strikes from iraq to syria to target isis which continues to seize more territory and recruit more members, including westerners. a troubling trend, says the white house. >> in many cases, these are individuals that have western passports. they have some freedom of movement in our modern transportation

shirley sotloff made a plea to the leader of the islamic state, the group that executed james foley.> since steven's capture i've learned a lot about islam. i've learned that they teach that no individual should be held responsible for the sins of others. steven has no control over the actions of the u.s. government. he's an innocent journalist. i've always learned that you, the kaliff can grant amnesty. i ask you to please release my child. >> that was really compelling, mike barnicle. she put a challenge to this guy, basically, saying if you're so mighty and powerful, then you, islam teaches us, you have the power to show mercy to my son. >> unfortunately, sadly, it will fall on deaf ears because we are dealing with people with an apock apocalyptic version of the future. i doubt they will pay any attention to this woman. >> we will see. they will pay for what they did to jim foley and they will find out as the days and weeks or months go by that they have pissed off the american people who are war weary and wanted to stay out of iraq. i think that moment is going to do more to show

adding to the whole emotional pressure of this debate, today an american mother named shirley sotloffe, she appealed directly to the leader of isis, she called him by his chosen, self-bestowed title. asked him, pled with him in religious terms that he should please show mercy, free her son. her son is a 31-year-old journalist who isis is believed to be holding somewhere inside syria, steven sotloffe. he's the second man who isis pictured in the execution video of james foley. they threatened to kill steven in the same way if u.s. air strikes against isis targets did not stop. u.s. air strikes against isis targets have not stopped. joining us now to show us how maps can help us make sense of all of this, is richard engel. >> i commend you for digging into this, this is complicated stuff. and i commend you for taking the time to think this through, to break it down, because i think we're about to get involved more deeply into a military conflict because of all of this stuff which is very poorly understood by the general public. >> the way that i was explaining the role of different count

. >> reporter: in a video broadcast on al arabiya, shirley sotloff urged them not to suffer a grisly murder. >> he's always tried to help the weak. >> reporter: steven sotloff has free lanced for magazines like "time" and with president obama now mulling whether to expand air strikes from iraq into syria, isis militants have decided that the fate will be determined by the next move by the white house. >> she obviously as is evident from the video feels desperate about the safety and well-being of her son and understandably so. and that is why our thoughts and prayers are with mr. sotloff's family. >> reporter: republicans are demanding the president offer much more. >> the president needs to tell the american people what our strategy is, there is no strategy. they flail from one issue to another, reacting rather than acting. >> reporter: while the president vowed in a speech tuesday to root out the cancer of isis, he did not get more specific. >> that's more of a slogan than a strategy, isn't it? >> well, i -- >> what does that mean, root out the cancer? how? >> i think the president

the mother of stephen sotloff, a plea from shirley sotloff. she is the mother of the journalist in captivity. she is reaching out right now to isis militants who are holding her son captive. he disappeared last summer and video recently surfaced of him for the very first time. it was part of sadly tragically of the execution video of james foley, and the terrorist group has vowed to kill sotloff as well and his mother in this video we just saw for the first time pleading for his mercy. i guess we do not have that video here. >> well, listen. >> stephen has no control over the u.s. government. he's an innocent journalist. i've always learned that you the caliph can grant amnesty. i ask you to please release my chi child. as a mother i asked your justice to be merciful and not punish my son for mothers he has no control over. >> that video was broadcast by the lrb network just today. >> meanwhile there is search going on and intensifying for a new jersey man who is missing in israel. he was last seen on friday when he went hiking with a friend i

sotloff. and his mother shirley spoke out. want you to listen, and then we can talk about it. >> since steven's capture, i have learned a lot about islam. i've learned that islam teaches that no individual should be held responsible for the sins of others. steven has no control over the actions of the u.s. government. he is an innocent journalist. i've always learned that you, the caliph can grant amnesty. i ask you to please release my child. >> she is pleading to isis. and before you heard her, you said you have a plea to the community? what is that? >> well, the plea is very simple. in exercising the moral and ethics inside the koran, i agree and appeal to the isis leadership. the same way that shirley sotloff did, the mother, to release this innocent journalist. and i ask all the muslim leaders in this country to come together and appeal to the leadership of isis, to release this innocent journalist who was doing his job to come back his home safe and sound. it is very heartbreaking. it really making me very emotional to a

sotloff's life depends on the u.s. halting its air strikes on isis fighters in iraq. shirley says her son was only trying to report on the suffering of muslims. >> since steven's capture i've learned a lot about islam. i've learned that islam teaches that no individual should be held responsible for the sins of others. steven has tho control over the actions of the u.s. government. he's an innocent journalist. >> incredible there. and the american journalist released by militants in syria over the weekend is now back home in boston, where he spoke briefly to reporters. peter theo curtis was held for nearly two years, but the joy of his release on sunday was tempered by the execution just days earlier of fellow journalist james foley. curtis's mother nancy says she is overwhelmed with relief and curtis thanked all those who worked so hard to bring him home. take a listen. >> in the days following my release on sunday i have learned bit by bit that there have been literally hundreds of people, brave, determined, and big-hearted people all over the world working for my release.

in a taped message, shirley sotloff data directly to the head of islamic state. since steven's capture, i've learned a lot about islam. i have learned that islam teaches no individual should be held responsible for the sins of others. steven has no control over the actions of the u.s. government. he is an innocent journalist. i have always learned that you can grant amnesty. i asked you to please release my child. as a mother, i ask your justice to be merciful and not punish my son for matters he has no control over. >> curriculum comes as freed journalist peter theo curtis has after his return to the u.s.. for nearly two years by another militant group, the al qaeda linked nusra front. curtis thanked his supporters. >> following my release on sunday, i've learned bit by bit there have been hundreds of people, brave, determined people all over the world working for my release. you have been working for two years on this. that so much effort was being expended on my behalf. having found out, i am overwhelmed with emotion. to all those people i say, a huge thank yo

nbc news has obtained an emotional video appeal from shirley sotloff whose son is being held by isis,group that executed james foley. mrs. sotloff speaks to the head of isis in the video. >> i ask you to please release my child. as a mother, i ask your justice to be merciful and not punish him for matters he has no control over. i ask you to use your authority to spare his life and to follow the example set by the prophet mohammed who protected people of the book. i want what every mother wants, to live to see her children's children. i plead with you to grant me this. >> steven sotloff has been held for more than a year now. the appeal was broadcast on television. >>> there's a lot going on this morning and here's something you should know. the nfl is reportedly looking into increasing pun neshment for payers involved in domestic violence incidents. ray rice was seen on video drags his unconscious fiance, now wife, off an elevator. he will serve a two-game suspension on saturday. meanwhile, maine's governor will boycott the league. he says the league is looking into a new policy. >>>

i'm sending this message to you, abu bakar al hosseini, the caliph of the islamic state, i am shirley sotloff. my son, steven, is in your hands. steven is a journalist who traveled to the middle east to cover the suffering of muslims at the hand of tyrants. steven is a loyal and generous son, brother, and grandson. he is an honorable man and has always tried to help the weak. we have not seen steven for over a year and we miss him very much. we want to see him home safe and sound and to hug him. since steven's capture, i have learned a lot about islam. i've learned that islam teaches that no individual should be held responsible for the sins of others. steven has no control over the actions of the u.s. government. he's an innocent journalist. i've always learned that you, the caliph, can grant amnesty. i ask you to please release my child. as a mother, i ask for justice to be merciful, and not punish my son for marts he has no control over. i ask you to use your authority to spare his life, and to follow the examples set by the prophet muhammad, who protected people of the book. i want what e

shirley sotloff's son steven has been missing since last august. he is the other journalist shown in the isis video in which james foley was beheaded. isis said sotloff's life depends on the u.s. halting its air strikes on isis fighters in iraq. in the video plea for his release sotloff's mother says her son was only trying to report on the suffering of muslims. >> since steven's capture i've learned a lot about islam. i've learned that islam teaches that no individual should be held responsible for the sins of others. steven has no control over the actions of the u.s. government. he's an innocent journalist. i've always learned that you, the caliph, can grant amnesty. i ask you to use your authority to spare his life and to follow the example set by the prophet mohammed, who protected people of the book. i want what every mother wants, to live to see her children's children. >> and meantime, a coalition of syrian rebels now say a second american isis member has been killed. the fighters made the announcement wednesday but didn't provide a name for

. >> i am shirley sotloff. my son, steven, is in your hands. >> in this emotional plea, the mother addresses the leader of the islamic state group but its preferred title, asking him to let her son come home. >> you, the khalif can grant amnesty. i ask to you please release my child. >> she calls her son an honorable man. >> steven is a journalist who traveled to the middle east to cover the suffering of the muslims at the hands of tie rants. >> he had regarded from syria several times when he appeared last august. his captivity was kept secret even from friends. they thought if they publicized his case, his captors would kill him. last tuesday, the group showed the execution of another american journalist and had threaded to kill sotloff next. >> his mother is speaking out. >> since steven's capture, i have learned a lot about islam. i've learned that islam teaches that no individual should be held responsible for the sins of others. steven has no control over the actions of the u.s. government, he's an innoce

. >> i am shirley sotloff. my son, steven is in your hands. >> reporter: the mother of kidnapped journalist steven sotloff made an impassioned video plea for help. >> we want to see him home safe and sound and to hug him. >> reporter: steven sotloff has been held captive by isis since last august but the world first saw his face last week. that's when isis released this video showing the beheading of fellow journalist james foal owe. the same executioner threatened to kill sotloff next unless the u.s. calls off air strikes in iraq. on wednesday his mother directly addressed the isis leader an bu bakr al baghdadi and begged for his mercy. >> i want what every mother wants, to see her children's children. >> our thoughts and prayers are with mr. sotloff's family at this very difficult and trying time. >> reporter: another american hostage, peter theo curtis was released on sunday. he was reunited with his mother at boston's logan airport on wednesday after 22 months of captivity in syria. >> i had no idea that so

. >> shirley sotloff being the mother mother. her son, steven, abducted more than a year ago but was seen last week in the video to show the beheading of fellow american journalist james foley. the lives of both journalists and aid workers are put in jeopardy by isis' campaign to expand its swath of iraq and syria, so, too, are the lives of the everyday people that cross their path n. a new report they document war crimes being committed by isis in syria. on wednesday the chairman of the panel investigating possible war crimes in syria had this to say. >> isis the commission as you can read in the report indicates that members of isis have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity including acts of torture, murder, and forcible displacement. >> so, earl, however complicated the politics and the military strategy are here, add on top of it the personal horror of seeing americans in these circumstances. it's no wonder the advisers are talking about what ought to happen oocht one thing i've said this continually, isis will no

a look at peter curtis held in syria for two years, and an emotional appeal from shirley sotloff pleading for her son steven's release. just below that. and a look at these freelance journalists including steven sotloff. the headline, reporting abroad and alone: the perils abound for freelancers in global hot spots. latoya is next from hairerstown, maryland. should mitt romney run in 2016? >> i think he should. i'm one of the few black republicans that i know, and i voted for him in 2012, and i just -- i didn't think he was going to win, but i was hoping that he would. but i think he should. i think it wouldsome fresh air for the united states if he won. >> host: what do you like about him, and what's your sense about the republican party including the more conservative base of the party? would they 'em brailles him, would they support him in a crowded g work p primary? -- gop primary? >> caller: i think the republican party needs someone like mitt romney. the if they want to win over like in a previous show you were talking about how they can draw more african-americans to vote republica

today, sotloff's mother shirley released an emotional video asking the leaders of the islamic state to free her son. >> steven has no control over the actions of the u.s. government. he is an innocent journalist. i have always heard that you the caliph can grant amnesty. i ask you to please release my child. >> the islamic state also believed to be holding two american humanitarian aid workers. >>> an open-ended cease-fire between israel and hamas is still holding tonight after seven weeks of conflict in which more than 2200 people were killed. in a news conference today, prime minister benjamin netanyahu said it was too early to say whether the calm will endure. he also, however, threatened hamas with a more vigorous response if it resumed firing on any part of israel. to give you a sense of what the israelis have had to contend with, this is new video posted on youtube that shows israel's iron dome simultaneously destroying 15 hamas rockets. some of the more than 4500 rockets fired at israel since the beginning of the conflict. 15 rockets simultaneously destroyed. >>> the obama admin