Number Two: ISIS militants have beheaded a second American journalist who was captured in Syria. The extremist organization released a video of the killing of Steven Sotloff, 31, captured in Syria in 2013. The execution appears to have been carried out by the same man who killed reporter James Foley two weeks ago.

  In the video titled “A Second Message to America,” the man known as “Jihadi John”, who speaks with a British accent, says, “I’m back, Obama, and I’m back because of your arrogant foreign policy towards the Islamic State.”

The White House confirms that the video is real. Sotloff was a freelancer who had worked for Time and Foreign Policy.
Big Talks: Ukraine president Petro Poroshenko said today that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed over the telephone to a “ceasefire process.” What that means has not been explained. An initial statement announcing an actual ceasefire was retracted. A Kremlin statement said the views of the two men “coincided significantly” on how to end the fighting.
  This comes after an Italian newspaper reported that Putin told a European official that he could “take Kiev in two weeks” if he wanted to. The Kremlin doesn’t deny Putin said that, but expressed irritation about the leak of information from a private telephone call between Putin and the president of the European Commission. A Russian official said the remark was taken out of context and had an entirely different meaning.
Putin sometimes is a braggart, but his troops are already in Ukraine.
Last Down: ESPN reports that defensive end Michael Sam is flying to Dallas today for possible signing to the Cowboys practice squad. It was looking like 4th and 10 for Sam, the first openly gay player drafted by the National football league. After his release by the Rams, and 31 other teams deciding not to pick up his contract, Sam even failed to make the Rams 10-man practice squad. Sam performed well in pre-season games and appears ready for the NFL, but it remains to be seen whether the NFL is ready for him.
Tobacco Free: The CVS chain of drugstores has stopped selling all cigarettes and tobacco products. They were removed from the shelves at midnight from all 7,700 stores. CVS made the announcement in February that they were getting rid of tobacco as they re-shape themselves into a retail healthcare company to be called CVS Health.
The Beebs: Tatted pop star Justin Bieber has been arrested again, this time for getting into a fight with the driver of a mini van after colliding with Bieber’s all-terrain vehicle. Bieber said he was being chased by paparazzi at the time. He’s also been accused of assault in Toronto and he’s on probation for throwing eggs at his neighbor’s home in Los Angeles.
Desert News: The Coachella Valley High school in California’s desert date-growing country has decided to retire its bearded, hook-nosed Arab mascot after complaints from an Arab civil rights organization. A representative of the organization said there’s more to Arab culture than “Bombers, billionaires or belly dancers.” The high school has a belly dancer too.
Dept. of Corrections: Yes, we know, 23 and 17 does not add up to 30.

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