Your task is to extract the thesis of an opinionated news article by selecting some of its text segments. The thesis is a summarization of what the author wants to persuade the reader of. Your answer should consist of segments of the given text. Note that you are not allowed to combine different sentences.

[EX Q]: The hostage rescue dilemma. Saturday's failed hostage rescue mission in Yemen was indeed tragic . While the official details as to exactly what happened have not yet been released , it appears Luke Somers, an American journalist, and Pierre Korkie, a South African teacher, were killed by their captors during a night-time rescue attempt carried out by US Navy SEALs . Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) had been holding Somers and Korkie captive for over a year . It was the second such attempt to rescue Somers in two weeks . On November 25, a SEALs team hit what they thought was the compound holding Somers , who, as it turns out, had been moved from there just hours before . In Saturday's operation, the SEALs knew Somers' exact location . To maintain stealth, they landed by V-22 Osprey several kilometres away, and then made the trek overland to the compound where Somers and Korkie were being held captive . But something went terribly wrong in the final approach . Perhaps it was a barking dog or some other noise , but the SEALs came under fire as they approached the compound's main entrance . The element of surprise, which is so critical to rescue operations, was lost , and a fierce firefight ensued . Within 30 minutes, the SEALs had secured the compound and put Somers and Korkie, who were both still alive on a V-22 that had a surgical team standing by . Unfortunately, medics were unable to save them . Plainly necessary . For Somers, Saturday's rescue mission was as urgent as it was plainly necessary . Late last week AQAP released a video stating he would be killed in 72 hours unless unspecified demands were met . Those demands have not been made public, but likely involved payment of a ransom or release of AQAP captives, something the US is prohibited by law from doing . For Korkie, the sense of urgency in attempting the rescue operation is more controversial . According to the South African charity Gift of the Giving, a deal had been made with AQAP to release Korkie in just a matter of days, suggesting to many that it would have been better to wait . Maybe there was a deal that would have gone through in the end . Maybe there wasn't . But in rescue operations, hope is not figured into the equation , where planners and decision makers have to weigh the risks of action against the consequences of inaction . By their very nature, hostage rescue operations are among the most difficult and risky military missions to carry out . With little margin for error, either in intelligence or the operation itself, they demand highly trained and equipped special operations units that only a handful of countries have . Are they dangerous and uncertain? Absolutely . Are they impossible? No . In 2012, US Navy SEALs rescued Jessica Buchanan, an American aid worker, and Poul Hagen Thisted, a Danish aid worker , who had been held hostage by Somali pirates for 93 days . The pirates were demanding a $45m ransom for their release . In this particular case, precise intelligence as to their exact location, along with concerns about Buchanan's rapidly declining health, were major factors in moving forward with the rescue mission . Under the cover of darkness, the SEAL Team parachuted 19km from where they were being held, and then moved cross-country to conduct the rescue . Nine pirates were killed during the operation , and Buchanan and Thisted were unharmed . In 2009, US Navy SEAL snipers ended the hostage ordeal of American Richard Phillips, captain of the cargo ship Maersk Alabama , which had been hijacked by Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean five days earlier . Talks with the pirates ended when they threw the phone used to communicate with negotiators into the ocean . When one of the pirates pointed his rifle at Captain Phillips' back , snipers shot and killed all three in near simultaneous fashion . Captain Phillips was unharmed . Heartbreaking failures . In 2005, US Delta Force operators rescued Roy Hallums, an American civilian contractor kidnapped by an al-Qaeda cell in Iraq, after 311 days in captivity . Again , the intelligence as to Hallums' location was exact - pull up the kitchen carpet and open the faux cement trap door leading into his one room cell . Hallums was unharmed in the operation . But , as was all too evident on Saturday, there are heartbreaking failures, too . This past July, US special operations forces attempted to rescue James Foley in Syria . Unfortunately, the intelligence as to where he was being held was incorrect . Foley was brutally murdered by ISIL just a few weeks later , the videotape of which was released on the internet for the world to see . In 2010, the US special operations team attempting to rescue her in Afghanistan accidentally killed Linda Norgrove, a British citizen . There are other failures, all tragic, as well . But there are also other successes , where hostages like Jessica Buchanan, Poul Thisted, Captain Phillips and Roy Hallums, all of whom faced indefinite captivity or even death, are home with their families because decisions were made to rescue them based on calculated risks . No guessing, no maybes, no "let's keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best" . Rescue missions are risky, both for the hostages and for the operators who carry them out . Lives are at stake , and it's never an easy choice to give the "green light" . But given the circumstances, particularly when dealing with terrorist organisations, leaders can't always sit back and wait to see what happens . Sometimes, it's less risky to act than not to . And in the case of a hostage rescue operation, I'd place my life in the hands of men dedicated to the task before taking my chances with the likes of a terrorist in the hope that maybe they'll let me go .
[EX A]: Saturday's failed hostage rescue mission in Yemen was indeed tragic

[EX Q]: My brain tumour will be removed this week, and I can be thankful. On the morning of my diagnosis I rush to get ready for work . It's 6am and I make a cup of black tea . As I carry it across the room , even though I'm being careful, I spill most of the boiling liquid, burning my hand . What's wrong with me, I think . By 10.30am my GP will telephone me at work with the results of a brain scan I had a couple of days before: an acoustic neuroma, sitting behind my right ear, 42mm in size - a brain tumour . The GP says that, so as not to delay things, he's faxing the referral to neurosurgery right away for urgent attention . Faxing? "Any change," he says,"go to A&E  ;". "Change? What does that mean?" I ask , becoming more alarmed with every word he says . "Have you been sick?" he asks . "No." "That's good." I feel sick . Diagnosis is a long, arduous path that is difficult to navigate . People get sick of you being sick and stop listening . To the untrained eye I look fine . But look closer and you'll see that I can't close my right eye , so it doesn't blink . My face is sagging on the right side , I get sores on the right-hand corner of my mouth due to the drool that manages to escape because of facial weakness on that side . Less obvious are the hidden symptoms . Right-sided facial numbness; overwhelming fatigue; tinnitus and reduced hearing in my right ear; a lack of co-ordination leading to an overpowering unsteadiness . All because I have this 42mm tumour that is taking up space in my head, slowly strangling the nerves relating to hearing, balance and facial sensation . I feel stupid for not noticing and not pursuing some of the symptoms when I first experienced them years ago . I listened to others too much when they told me it was normal and didn't listen to myself when I knew it was not . There is a certain amount of relief when you finally get a diagnosis, especially one so definitive . At the end of November, the moment I found out, work sent me home and there I have been ever since . Later that week I get a call from my bank . "Sorry for not calling," I say,"I've had a pretty rough week." I nearly tell them I've just found out I've got a brain tumour , but I catch myself . I realise how powerful that news is . It can get you out of almost anything . I've felt the power every time I've said it , but I still don't believe it's happening to me . My sister had breast cancer three years ago and it's taken all this time to stop the illness dominating her life . She has stopped obsessively searching for lumps, and says:"It's history, old news, like it happened to someone else." Will I ever acknowledge the reality of what's happening to me? I'm a 41-year- old woman, married, with no kids by choice . Children would mess up the vice- like grip my husband and I like to have on our lives . My morning commute takes an hour and a half so I read prolifically . I manage a small IT team at a prominent university . Apart from reading I love to cook . That's who I am: work, reading and cooking . Sounds boring, but I loved it . I haven't finished a book since being sent home from work . And don't ask me what's for dinner . I'll become dithery and confused, and eventually settle on cheese and crackers . After the relief of diagnosis, fear sets in . I know the snail's pace at which the NHS usually moves , so watching it jump into action induces panic in me . Within a couple of days, the hotshot neurosurgeon calls . He tells me it is a slow-growing tumour that I have probably had for years and that a few more weeks while they plan my operation won't make any difference . He tells me that as acoustic neuromas go, this one's big , but the good news is it's benign, it's not cancer , though it must come out and soon . Then the bad news- I will lose all hearing in that ear and one side of my face may be permanently paralysed from the operation . The news that I didn't have cancer didn't register ; I was too busy counting my losses . A few days later I went to a support group for people with brain tumours , where I met people with brain cancer . Their lumps were in places like the memory, speech or personality part of their brains , and for some the prognosis wasn't good . The phone call they got from their doctors was much worse than mine . I came away feeling grateful, devastatingly so . It sounds vain , but facial paralysis bothers me more than deafness . People will be able to see there is something wrong . I worry that they'll stop seeing me and see only a problem with my face . Not satisfied with taking half my hearing, the surgeon may take away my smile, my frown and that weird raised eyebrow look I've inherited from my dad . Not being able to express myself in full feels like I'm losing a big part of who I am . Admittedly, that is a woman who has worked in London for more than 20 years, trained in the art of remaining expressionless and speaking to no one . Now I smile or speak to strangers, luxuriating in my facial movements . I find much more to smile about nowadays . The internet tells me these types of tumours grow at a rate of about 1mm a year . If they have a spurt they might make it to 2mm a year . Has the tumour been growing all of my life? I think back to key moments : did I miss out on promotions due to the fatigue of a growing tumour? I did a degree part-time a few years ago and got a 2:1 . I now think my certificate should say 2:1 (with a brain tumour) . The morning after my diagnosis I was woken up by The Voice . Wake up, it said, there' s lots to do . It has been telling me what to do ever since , and so far it has never been wrong . We all have that voice , but the busyness of our lives causes it to fade into the background . Never has mine been so loud . Do yoga , it will improve your balance . Call your brother who you haven't spoken to in two years . Write a thank-you letter to the doctor who diagnosed you . Tell them you're scared before you have that brain scan . Write a will . My operation, a craniotomy, is planned for this coming Thursday . I have two main worries . The first is the horror of surrendering myself to it . I have to turn up at the hospital at 7.30am . They are trusting me to have eaten or drunk nothing for at least six hours . Like an inmate at a prison, I will have my possessions checked in . They will give me a gown to wear that is not my own . Then I will say goodbye to my husband, not knowing when I will see him again . Depending on the hotshot neurosurgeon's schedule I may have to wait a number of hours, empty-bellied and frightened . Eventually I will have one side of my head shaved before they put me to sleep . Don't make me do this voluntarily . Treat me like a wild animal running through the woods, take me out with a sedative dart when I am cooking or doing my favourite yoga pose . Then let me wake up when it is all over . Don't tell me I am brave . The people who choose to get involved with me are the brave ones . My husband, for picking me up every time I fall over when I lose my balance physically - and metaphorically . My mother, for clearing her schedule for as long as it takes to get me better . People like my yoga teacher , who didn't run a mile when I approached her for help, but instead restored some of my balance and made me feel strong . My second worry is something I've never been good at in my life . Now I must face it head-on - the unknown . The doctors can't tell me how long my hospital stay will be . Will they need to open me up again because my brain is bleeding? Will I have to have a shunt fitted because fluid isn't draining from my head? Will the surgeon sneeze and nick my facial nerve? Most suffering is in the worry . It means I have to live in the lacuna of uncertainty, embracing not knowing and carrying on , a new skill I practise daily . I know that if you take my life as a whole this is an interruption . This will end . I refuse to make it who I am, my identity . Rather ,  it is an experience, one that leaves its imprint on my body . It has brought my life into sharp focus and revealed what I have to be thankful for: people, strangers and intimates for their kindness and well wishing; my tenacity and determination for carrying me through; and as much as I'm trying to shake it off, my plan for creating a freezer-full of food to be eaten post-op . I am ready .
[EX A]: Diagnosis is a long, arduous path that is difficult to navigate

[EX Q]: If California truly leads the nation, we can elect a black woman to the US Senate. Here in California, it's been a blockbuster week in politics : Barbara Boxer is finally stepping down as perma-Senator after over 20 years ; former San Francisco mayor and current lieutenant governor Gavin Newsom is running for governor ; and attorney general Kamala Harris gunning for Boxer's soon-to-be- vacated seat . Why does it matter? There' s certainly something compelling about Harris' daring bid for US Senate : there are only one in five senators are female in this Congress ; and there are only two black Senators currently (Cory Booker of New Jersey and Tim Scott from South Carolina) . If Harris won , she not only would contribute to the growing number of women in power, but having three actual black senators at one time would make history because, to date, two is the best we've been able to achieve as a nation . In America's entire history, only eight black people have ever been senators and of those, only half were actually elected, rather than appointed . Yet African-Americans make up about 13% of the population, according to the 2013 census . True proportional representation would see black senators in the double digits in Congress . California has outsized importance in the US economy : on its own, it is the world's eighth-largest economy, just behind booming Brazil but ahead of Russia and Italy . California's contributions are one of the chief reasons the US remains the world's biggest economy ... and a black woman is poised to be one of the most nationally influential politicians in the state . California's internal public policy tussles - and its standard more-liberal- than-the-nation solutions - often help lead the rest of the nation and the world forward, be it on pollution standards, minimum wage increases, medical marijuana legalization, organic produce certification, healthcare access for the uninsured, public-private technology innovation such as iHubs and tax breaks that encourage local production of zero-emission Teslas, same sex marriage and wetlands protections such as the CA Coastal Act of 1976 . California's politicians can bring to Washington the ability to combine strong, safe regulatory experience with a booming economy and environmental protections, offering a compelling counter-point to Republicans who argue otherwise . And ,  with the exception of Jerry Brown's first stint as governor from 1975-1983, California internal top politics has been tended to be dominated by southern California figures like Ronald Reagan and Arnold Schwarzenegger - but Harris (and Newsom) are both northern California people through and through . Instead of Hollywood values and priorities holding sway in the state, northern California's tech-powered financial and cultural strength may finally have a chance to drive the state's politics . And while Boxer, her fellow senator Dianne Feinstein and House minority leader Nancy Pelosi all hail from northern California, they spend much of their time in Washington DC  - so Harris's move to DC will provide us with a new generation of representatives steeped in the area's emerging tech-focused culture . While I believe California has much to gain from politicians like Newsom and Harris who see their work as largely cooperative and people-focused- as opposed to the ideological culture warriors who normally represent us in national policy debates - there's a long road ahead for each . Harris, for instance, may have to contend with billionaire Tom Steyer and former Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa in a Democratic primary (and Villaraigosa would make history of his own) . But Harris is likely to have a lot of support behind her and  - being young, at 50 - a run now for Senate still leaves the door open to run for governor 10 or 20 years down the road . After all ,  stranger things have happened in CA politics : who would have thought that B-list actor Ronald Reagan would rise from California to become the GOP's iconic president , or that Jerry Brown, now 76-years-old, would become governor again after over 30 years?
[EX A]:
Barbara Boxer is finally stepping down as perma-Senator after over 20 years attorney general Kamala Harris gunning for Boxer's soon-to-be- vacated seat