Taken: American Special Forces nabbed a suspected leader in the 2012 Benghazi, Libya consulate attack who had been living openly in, of all places, Benghazi. Ahmed Abu Khattala is being returned to the US to face charges and trial for involvement in the assault that killed US Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three security contractors. Talking tough, President Obama said that when you attack the US, no matter how long it takes, “We will find those responsible and bring them to justice.” He needed points on the Benghazi issue.

Khattala has previously told journalists he went to the consulate the night of the attack but was not part of the assault.

Iraq: The government claims its troops stopped the advance of a Sunni Muslim militia at Baqubah, 35 miles from Baghdad. It’s the second time the government has claimed to have stopped the small army of Sunni Muslim extremists. The first time, the rebels were 70 miles from Baghdad.

   Part of Iraq’s largest oil refinery is on fire today, but the government claims it is still in control.

Despite the danger to the Baghdad government and stability of the whole country, President Obama has not decided whether to conduct air attacks against the extremists. He is reported to be considering anything from all out air attacks to pinpointed drone strikes. The militants are hard to hit because they don’t wear uniforms and generally do not travel in identifiable formations.

Ukraine: The country’s new President Petro Poroshenko today announced a unilateral ceasefire in eastern Ukraine to allow pro-Russian separatists to lay down their weapons. His move came after a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Poroshenko said, “I can say that the period of the cease-fire will be rather short. We anticipate, that immediately after this, the disarming of the illegal military formations will take place.”

United Nations monitors in eastern Ukraine say at least 356 people, including 257 civilians, have been killed since May 7 in the conflict. They also list more than 200 reports of torture.

Nation: Executions have resumed for the first time since a botched lethal injection in Missouri in April. Both Georgia and Missouri carried out executions overnight without complications, although a guard in Georgia fainted. A third execution is scheduled for tonight in Florida. Lethal injection has come under attack as inhumane and states have been having difficulty getting drug companies to sell them the necessary cocktails. The Florida inmate was convicted for killing his ex wife and her 5-year-old son. He has an IQ of 78 and the cutoff for execution is 70.

A Streetphone Named Desire: Internet retailer Amazon.com is expected today to announce the release of a new smartphone. It makes phones calls and texts, but mostly it is designed to make it easier to buy stuff over the Internet … through Amazon.com. An Amazon officer once said, “We’re trying to remove the barrier between ‘I want that’ and ‘I have it.’ ” And you know, that’s just what America needs.

Curb Your Politician: Small town politics are vicious because the stakes are so small. The mayor of San Marino California, an old money suburb of Los Angeles, has resigned in an uproar after he was caught on surveillance video tossing dog poop on his neighbor’s property. It’s been dubbed “Poopgate.” Dennis Kneier said, “I can understand why this matter has some questioning my ability to lead the council.” But isn’t it the job of the mayor to deal with crap?

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