National: Three US soldiers, two American civilians, and an Afghan doctor died in an IED attack on a convoy in Afghanistan. One of the dead was 25-year-old Anne Smedinghoff, a foreign-service officer. Four other State Department people were wounded, one critically.  In a statement, Secretary of State John Kerry said Smedinghoff had acted as his close aide during his recent visit to Afghanistan. “She was everything a foreign-service officer should be: smart, capable, eager to serve,” he said. The convoy was on its way to deliver books to a school.

• The 27-year-old son of popular Pastor Rick Warren, author of “The Purpose Driven Life”, has committed suicide, according to a spokeswoman for Saddleback Community Church. The church statement said Matthew Warren struggled with depression and suicidal thoughts for most of his life and had received the best medical care.

World: A disturbance broke out today outside Cairo’s main cathedral after the funeral of four Coptic Christians killed outside the city Saturday.  Police reported that a gun battle broke out yesterday after Christians drew inflammatory graffiti on a Muslim building. One Muslim also died. Egypt’s 10% Christian population has a long history of conflict with the Muslim majority. They claim that oppression continues under the new government of Muhammed Morsi.

• The Pentagon has delayed the test of an intercontinental ballistic missile scheduled for next week to avoid provoking North Korea’s tantrum-throwing leader Kim Jong Un. The US still expects that North Korea might to conduct a missile test of its own … with one of its dinky rockets that can’t reach America.

Endangered: A red algae bloom has killed at least 241 of Florida’s 5,000 endangered manatees, according to the state’s Fish and Wildlife Research Institute. The toxic algae clings to the sea grass that manatees eat. Eighty other manatees died earlier this year in east Florida after phytoplankton killed the grass.

Martini Lunch: AMC’s incisive series “Mad Men” returns tonight for its sixth season with a two-hour premiere. When last we saw Don Draper it was spring of 1967 and he was alone in a bar being approached by an available woman. Expect to skip years ahead tonight to a new ad age.

Two Left: The Louisville Cardinals came from far behind twice to beat Wichita State 72-68 in a game that came down to the wire. Michigan beat Syracuse 61-56 to make the final pair for the first time since 1993. The NCAA championship is tomorrow night.

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