Ukraine: Ukrainian officials say an “anti-terrorist” operation is underway to take back buildings occupied by pro-Russian militants in Eastern Ukraine. One Ukrainian security officer was killed today in a gun battle with militants in the eastern city of Sloviansk. One witness said the occupants of an SUV opened fire on a group of security officers standing outside their vehicles. One report says nine other people were wounded.

  In a phone call with the Russian foreign minister, Secy. of State John Kerry said the attacks “were orchestrated and synchronized, similar to previous attacks in eastern Ukraine and Crimea,” according the State Department. Kerry “made clear that if Russia didn’t take steps to de-escalate in eastern Ukraine and move its troops back from Ukraine’s border, there would be additional consequences,” the department said.

Nature Rages: An out-of-control wildfire has burned through parts of the Chilean port city of Valparaiso, destroying at least 500 homes and killing two people.  Roughly 5,000 people have been evacuated. Out in the Pacific, a magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck off the Solomon Islands, triggering a tsunami warning.

The Globe: The world has waited so long to deal with the effects of global warming that the situation is critical, according to a UN report released today. The report says that unless the world makes a concerted effort over the next 15 years the results can be disastrous for the global climate. Despite some improvements around the world, the report found that emissions of greenhouse gases rose twice as fast in the first 10 years of this century as in the last decades of the 20^th Century. The report attributes much of that to the increased building of coal-fired power plants, especially in developing countries like China.

World: Both sides in Syria’s civil war report a chemical attack in a rebel held village 125 miles north of Damascus. Videos posted by the rebels show victims including men, women, and children struggling to breathe in a field hospital. Syrian state television blamed the incident on the rebels, saying they had used chlorine gas. There’s no independent verification of either account.

>Gunmen from the Islamist Boko Haram movement have killed at least 135 people since Wednesday, Nigerian officials say. The attackers hit a teacher training college on Wednesday, burning down the library, then struck two villages the next day. Boko Haram has been fighting since 2009 to establish an Islamic state.

Nation: A Seattle couple whose car was hit during the fatal crash north of Sacramento between a FedEx tractor trailer and a bus say the truck was already on fire when it came across the center divide. Joe and Bonnie Duran described flames coming from the lower rear of the truck’s cab just before it plowed head-on into a bus carrying high school students on a college trip.  Mrs. Duran said, “It was in flames as it came through the median. … It wasn’t like the whole thing was engulfed. It was coming up wrapping around him.” Nine people died, including five high school students going to visit Humboldt State University where they planned to enroll next fall.

The Vig: The State of Colorado is expected to rake in $98 million dollars in taxes this year on legal marijuana sales, about 40 percent more than originally projected. It proves once again that some vices are illegal only until government realizes it can get a piece of the action.

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