End Game?: President Obama, in a lengthy speech on national security yesterday, said the long “war on terror” has to end. “Our systematic effort to dismantle terrorist organizations must continue,” Obama said. “But this war, like all wars, must end.” The President said he would begin to curtail the use of drone strikes to kill enemies. Drones have been a tremendous success in taking out extremists, but hundreds of non-combatants also have died in the strikes. Obama patiently waited while he was interrupted for several minutes at the National Defense University by a woman heckler from the anti-war group Code Pink. He said, “I’m willing to cut that young lady interrupting me some slack, because it’s worth being passionate about,” he said. “The voice of that woman is worth paying attention to.” The “young lady” is 60.

Cashiered: Lois Lerner, the IRS officer who pled the 5^th rather than testify about targeting conservative groups for scrutiny, was replaced yesterday and put on administrative leave.

National: The Boy Scouts of America voted to allow openly gay scouts in the organization over the objection of some religious and conservative scout leaders. Many Boy Scout locals are chartered through churches. It’s only a partial end to the scout’s ban on gays; the BSA will still not allow openly gay adults to be leaders in the organization.

• A section of a four-lane bridge on Interstate 5 north of Seattle collapsed late yesterday, dropping cars and their passengers into the Skagit River. Several people were seen sitting on top of their cars in shallow water, waiting for rescue, no one was seriously injured. The collapse may have been caused by a truck crashing into the bridge.
• A 5.7 magnitude earthquake struck north of Sacramento last night. By a more informal rating system that means soup cans off the shelf.

World: Several explosions and gunfire were reported in Kabul this morning. The situation is still developing.

Hung: The jury in the Jodi Arias murder case was unable to reach a decision on whether she should be sentenced to death or life in prison. A new jury will have to be empanelled to consider punishment for Arias.

Mac World: McDonald’s has rewarded free burgers and fries for a year to Charles Ramsey, who freed three women from captivity in a Cleveland house. Ramsey had said he was walking by “eating my McDonald’s” when he heard cries for help. Now he can eat McDonald’s every day. Who’s going to step in and save him?

 -30-