Iraq: The State Department ordered the evacuation of a large number of American personnel from the US embassy in Baghdad in the face of an Islamic militant force trying to fight its way to the city. How many people would leave for neighboring countries was not announced, but the Baghdad embassy is American’s largest, with a staff of 5500 in the fortified Green Zone.

The US is sending 100 marines to guard the embassy.

Today the Sunni militants took the town of Tal Afar with a mostly Shiite population of 200,000. Yesterday Insurgents set off two bombs in Baghdad, killing 21 people.

And the brutality of the Islamic fighters known as ISIS has been quickly established. Although their claims have not been completely verified, the militants say they executed 1700 Iraqi soldiers and posted pictures on the Internet as proof. The pictures look real.

Ukraine: The Russian natural gas monopoly Gazprom has shut off the gas to Ukraine for failure to pay its nearly $2 billion overdue bill. Gazprom says the near-bankrupt Ukraine can get natural gas only by paying for it first. Russia says Europe will continue to receive natural gas from the pipes that pass through Ukraine, but warned Ukraine not to tap the lines. The two countries have been trying to work out a payment deal, but Ukraine is angry that Russia recently raised the price of natural gas 80 percent.

From the Key: San Antonio came from 16 points behind last night to win its fifth NBA title, beating the Miami Heat 104-87. The Spurs won their first championship in 1999 and last won it in 2007.

World: At least 48 people were killed by unidentified gunmen in the Kenyan coastal town of Mpeketoni as they watched a World Cup soccer match on television. The attackers are believed to be from al-Shabab, the Somali extremists who massacred 67 people at Nairobi’s Westgate shopping mall last September.

First Gear: Former Formula One race driver Michael Schumacher has emerged from a coma and has left the hospital in Grenoble, Switzerland to begin a long rehabilitation. The seven-time Formula One winner suffered a severe head injury in December, skiing off piste and hitting a rock. His family has kept his exact condition private.

The Obit Page: Casey Kasem, who was a soothing voice on radio with his weekly show “America’s Top 40,” died in Gig Harbor, Wash. at age 82. His upbeat show was first broadcast in 1970 during the Vietnam War and a time of youthful rebellion. Kasem not only survived but thrived against the competition of FM radio and alternative music. He played the 40 songs ranked by Billboard magazine as the most listened-to hits of the week. As the host of “American Top 40” and “Casey’s Top 40,” Kasem did his weekly rundown for 34 years.

Kasem’s final days ended in family soap opera with his children trying to wrest control of their father’s care from his somewhat-unglued wife, Jean.

Although he made an estimated $80 million fortune with rock music, Kasem wasn’t shy about saying he didn’t like Rock all that much.

His weekly signoff: “This is Casey Kasem reminding you to keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars.”

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