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Obama to speak after militants behead American

EDGARTOWN, Mass. (AP) — The White House says President Barack Obama will deliver a statement on Wednesday, the day after Islamic State militants released a video showing an American journalist being beheaded.

Obama will speak from Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts, where he’s currently in the second week of his annual summer vacation.

The White House isn’t saying what topics Obama will address. But the statement comes as the White House is saying that U.S. intelligence officials have determined the video showing the execution of journalist James Foley is authentic.

The extremists in the video called the beheading retribution for recent U.S. airstrikes in Iraq. They’ve threatened to kill another captive they also identified as an American journalist.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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