Thursday's Morning Email: U.S.-Backed Kurds Move to Take ISIS Stronghold

"Kurdish Iraqi fighters, backed by the U.S.-led air campaign, launched an assault Thursday aiming to retake the strategic town of Sinjar, which the Islamic State group overran last year in an onslaught that caused the flight of tens of thousands of Yazidis and first prompted the U.S. to launch airstrikes against the militants." [AP]

Someone dies of diabetes every six seconds. [Reuters]

NEW SLAUGHTERHOUSE VIDEO SHOWS A MODERN-DAY 'THE JUNGLE' Warning: the video is very disturbing. [Matt Ferner, HuffPost]

Watch out Venmo and PayPal. [WSJ]

"The share of young women living at home with their parents or other relatives has reached its highest level since the statistics were first gathered, according to an analysis of Census Bureau data. Cultural shifts like people marrying later, rising college attendance and a more diverse population, as well as economic factors such as student debt and high rents, are keeping millennial women at home longer, said Richard Fry, the Pew Research Center economist who did the analysis." [NYT]

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WHAT’S BREWING

He tackled a suicide bomber. [Baltimore Sun]

"On Friday, 93-year-old Thomas sat in front of a computer in Virginia and saw the woman he once loved fill the screen. The 88-year-old Morris, now living in Australia, looked back at her lost love, though she couldn’t see him well because of her bad eyesight, smiled and said, 'It’s been a while,' according to a beautifully told account by the Virginian-Pilot, which was there to observe their first Skype conversation." [WaPo]

Researchers have found it can make you happy. [HuffPost]

He's right -- take a moment to thank your parents for all they do for you. [HuffPost]

"Every so often, company co-founder Mike Krieger, normally a jovial character, would suddenly turn serious and intense. He would hunker over his computer keyboard and mutter 'We’ve gotta fix this.' This meant that Instagram had slowed to a crawl for users across the globe, and the cause was always the same: Justin Bieber." [Wired]

She's been up to some songwriting, with a credit on "I Got the Boy." [HuffPost]

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WHAT'S WORKING

"Vets.gov, which is still in beta, aims to give users a streamlined version of the vast digital system managed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the mammoth government agency entrusted with administering benefits for veterans and their families and operating hundreds of benefits offices, hospitals and clinics." [HuffPost]

ON THE BLOG

"To me, it doesn’t matter that I’ve never met the girl who received my bone marrow -- that I don’t even know her name. I still feel like I have such a powerful connection with her. There’s something within our DNA that brought us together. I hold that knowledge really close to my heart." [HuffPost]

BEFORE YOU GO

~ How often you should be washing your bras.

~ Has Apple lost its design way?

~ The trailer for "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2" dropped, and it's good to see the Portokalos family.

~ Veterans Day, around the world.

~ Daniel Radcliffe doesn't know how to talk about American Muggles either.

~ The iPad Pro is HUGE.

~ The hostess gifts that'll keep you getting invited back.

~ This baby koala puts your selfies to shame.

~ The Russians accidentally (or did they?) broadcasted plans for a nuclear torpedo on state-run TV.

~ This version of Bieber's "Sorry" on hoverboards makes our inability to walk without tripping doubly embarrassing.

Send tips/quips/quotes/stories/photos/events/scoops to Lauren Weber at lauren.weber@huffingtonpost.com. Follow us on Twitter @LaurenWeberHP. And like what you're reading? Sign up here to get The Morning Email delivered to you.