In this task, you will be presented with a passage and have to answer a question based on your understanding of the events inferred from the passage. Try to find the best answer that is most likely to fill in "_". Note that the URLs in the text have been replaced with [Link].

(CNN) -- A federal court on Monday sentenced a Somali man to 30 years in prison for acts related to high-seas piracy, according to a statement by the U.S. Attorney's office for the Eastern District of Virginia. "Today marks the first sentencing in Norfolk for acts of piracy in more than 150 years," U.S. Attorney MacBride said in the statement. "Piracy is a growing threat throughout the world, and today's sentence ... demonstrates that the United States will hold modern-day pirates accountable in U.S. courtrooms." Jama Idle Ibrahim pleaded guilty in federal court in August, admitting he had intended to seize a U.S. merchant vessel on April 10 and hold it for ransom.NEW: A Somali man is sentenced to 30 years in prison in high-seas piracy attemptJama Idle Ibrahim is one of a group of would-be pirates who were capturedHe has admitted to trying to seize a U.S. merchant vessel and hold it for ransomUntil this year, the last piracy-related conviction in the United States was in 1861 
 Question:Ibrahim and five other would-be pirates learned too late that they had instead pulled alongside a _.
U.S.

(CNN) Rep. Keith Ellison's past ties to the Nation of Islam and his defense of its anti-Semitic leader, Louis Farrakhan, are resurfacing as he campaigns to lead the Democratic National Committee. Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, publicly renounced his association with the Nation of Islam in 2006 after it became an issue during his run for Congress, when local Republican bloggers began publishing his old law school columns and photos connecting him to the organization. "I have long since distanced myself from and rejected the Nation of Islam due to its propagation of bigoted and anti-Semitic ideas and statements, as well as other issues," Ellison wrote at the time.Rep. Keith Ellison's past ties to the Nation of Islam are resurfacing as he campaigns for DNC chair.A spokesperson for Ellison told CNN that Ellison "rejects all forms of anti-Semitism." 
 Question:During that race, Ellison rebuffed any insinuation he was, himself, anti-_.
Semitic

Thousands of people paid their last respects to Israel's former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon Sunday as his body lay in state outside the nation's parliament. "He was one of the giants. He was very special," said Ayala Weisel, who said she grew up learning of Sharon as a widely admired soldier who fought for his country. She was one of many mourners who shared memories with CNN on Sunday of Sharon, the towering military and political leader who died Saturday after eight years in a coma. Chaim Friedman, a tour guide, described Sharon as a great leader. "He was known as the bulldozer because he got his way and he made things happen. He's well respected for that," Friedman said. "Sometimes in Israel, you have to do it the straight way, or you have to find the other way to get things done, and he managed to do it.""He was one of the giants," one mourner saysMemorial ceremony, procession and military funeral set for MondaySharon is remembered for his controversial military and political careerIsraeli officials praise him, while some in the Mideast criticize him 
 Question:He believed strongly that in order for _ to survive, a strong army was needed.

Israel

