World: An Afghan security guard at a hospital in Kabul opened fire, killing three American doctors and wounding an American nurse. Two of the doctors were a father and son. The gunman was wounded in the incident and underwent surgery in the same hospital.

Sabre Rattling: Ukrainian troops killed at least five pro-Russian separatists at a roadblock in the eastern part of the country today. According to an international agreement reached last week, the armed groups were supposed to disband.

In response, Russia says it will conduct military exercises on the Ukraine border. “The starting gun on the use of weapons against their own civilians has already been fired,” Russia’s defense minister said, according to the Interfax news service. “If today this military machine is not stopped, it will lead to a large number of dead and wounded.” That could be the most bellicose statement that’s come out of Russia in the entire crisis.

Reg: The Food and Drug Administration today is expected to take regulatory jurisdiction over electronic cigarettes, the tobacco-free nicotine delivery devices sold as a healthy alternative to smoking. New regulations would ban the sale of e-cigarettes to people under age 18 and grab oversight of the mysterious liquids used to feed “vaping” devices.  Regulation is quickly moving to tame the e-cigarette business, which is still in its Wild West stage. Major cities including New York, Chicago and Los Angeles already treat e-cigs like the real thing.

De-Reg: The Federal Communications Commission is preparing to give up the principle of “net neutrality’ in which all content flows at equal speed and allow some providers a faster lane if they pay for it. The rule change comes in response to a federal appeals court ruling that said the Internet is not a utility to be regulated like telephone and electric service. Big companies like Disney and Netflix would be able to pay for prominence while potentially squeezing out smaller players and startups. And, of course, any higher costs would be passed on to customers.

The Royals: Mark Shand, brother-in-law of Prince Charles and brother of Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, died yesterday after falling outside a New York Hotel moments after smoking a cigarette. Police said Shand fell backward as he was re-entering the bar through a revolving door. The exact cause of death is not determined. Shand was a conservationist involved with saving elephants.

Gun Slinging: Georgia’s Governor has signed a new law giving licensed-carry gun owners more freedom to carry their weapons including into bars and the unscreened public areas of airports. “Our nation’s founders put the right to bear arms on par with freedom of speech and freedom of religion,” said Republican Gov. Nathan Deal in a statement released with the signing. Guns will still be banned in government building including the Georgia capital where Gov. Deal has his office.

Team Spirit: Five former Buffalo Bills cheerleaders are suing the team claiming they were paid virtually nothing for their performance at games and public appearances. Similar suits have been filed against the Oakland Raiders and Cincinnati Bengals. NFL cheerleaders are basically volunteers but nonetheless are held to strict performance, appearance, and personal behavior standards. The five women suing the Bills say they were even forced to take a “jiggle” test and appear at events in which they were dressed in bikinis and auctioned off. They are required to make unpaid public appearances, and pay their own uniform and travel expenses.

Open Secret: Actress Jodie Foster, who has managed to be both publicly and privately gay at the same time, has married her somewhat short-term girlfriend Alexandra Hedison. Foster raised two sons with a previous partner. Hedison formerly dated Ellen DeGeneres who’s now married to Portia de Rossi and … you get the idea … Hollywood’s gay scene is the same as its straight scene.

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