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and the number of abductions has soared to an unprecedented level over the past year.
• Many of the kidnappings go unreported by news organizations in the hope that keeping the abductions out of public view may help with negotiating the captives' release. The scale of the abductions -- more than 30 are believed to be currently held -- and the lack of response to individual mediation efforts have encouraged some families and employers to speak out.
• The vast majority of the kidnappings over the past six months have occurred in opposition-held parts of northern and eastern Syria, where al-Qaida-linked rebel groups are particularly strong.
• Thirteen news organizations, including The Associated Press, sent a letter last week to the Supreme Military Council, which is the leadership of the moderate Free Syrian Army, as well as individual armed groups to urge them to help curb abuses against journalists.
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Today in History
The Associated Press
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• Today is Sunday, Dec. 15, the 349th day of 2013. There are 16 days left in the year.
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• Today's Highlight in History:
• On Dec. 15, 1938, groundbreaking for the Jefferson Memorial took place in Washington, D.C. with President Franklin D. Roosevelt taking part in the ceremony.
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• On this date:
• In 1791, the Bill of Rights went into effect following ratification by Virginia.
• In 1890, Sioux Indian Chief Sitting Bull and 11 other tribe members were killed in Grand River, S.D., during a confrontation with Indian police.
• In 1893, Antonin Dvorak's Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95, "From the New World," was rehearsed before the public at New York's Carnegie Hall (the official world premiere was held the next day).
• In 1944, a single-engine plane carrying bandleader Glenn Miller, a major in the U.S. Army Air Forces, disappeared over the English Channel while en route to Paris. American forces invaded Mindoro Island in the Philippines.
• In 1961, former Nazi official Adolf Eichmann was sentenced to death by an Is (Continued on page 33)
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