Iraq: Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has rejected international calls to form a unity government that includes the Sunni minority to defuse the country’s civil war. Maliki is a Shiite who has squeezed Sunnis out of power in both the military and the government. He said such a move would be a “coup against the constitution and an attempt to end the democratic experience.” US military advisors are arriving to help the bumbling Iraqi army. But some Sunni militant fighters told the BBC they expect Baghdad will fall within a month.

Nation: The Obama administration’s legal memo used to justify the drone strike that killed an American citizen is taking a lot of flak. Some have described it as thin on legal reasoning and setting a dangerous precedent. The memo was used to justify the killing of Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen. The 41-page memo released as the result of a Freedom of Information lawsuit was heavily redacted to protect intelligence sources and therefore did not reveal why al-Awlaki was considered an “imminent threat.”

The core of the memo relies on the “public authorities justification,” which allows government to break the law when necessary, such as police speeding in pursuit or a fire truck going the wrong way down a one-way street. But the entire incident sets a precedent for the US government to conduct a targeted killing of one of its own citizens.

Cause and Effect: The NTSB blames last summer’s Asiana Airlines crash in San Francisco on human error, including switching off an automatic speed control system that might have averted the crash. The pilots came in too low and slow and hit the seawall at the end of a runway at San Francisco International. The panel concluded that the trainee-captain at the controls that day lacked the training for a manual landing. Three people died in the accident.

Primary Colors: Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran held off his Tea Party challenger in the Republican primary. In New York, 22-term Democratic Rep. Charles Rangel holds a slim lead. Absentee and affidavit votes could determine the outcome.

World: Pro-Russian separatists shot down a Ukraine military helicopter yesterday, killing all nine people on board and jeopardizing the cease fire that was to last at least until Friday.

In a conciliatory move, Russian President Vladimir Putin asked his parliament to revoke his authorization to use force in Ukraine. A Kremlin statement said the revocation was to give peace talks a chance and “to help normalize the situation and achieve reconciliation in the east of Ukraine.” But at the same time Russia has moved troops, and specifically artillery, back to the Ukraine border.

The Obama administration is doubtful of Putin’s sincerity about seeking peace and is preparing more sanctions targeting Russia’s financial, energy and defense industries.

The Obit Page: Versatile stage and screen actor Eli Wallach has died at 98. He played the leader of the Mexican bandits in “The Magnificent Seven” and a Mafia Don in “The Godfather: Part III”

>Johnny Mann, leader of the 1960s Johnny Mann Singers, has died at age 82. His group’s controlled harmonies and cover versions of popular songs provided a refuge for listeners who just couldn’t get with the times. He provided elevator music for the parents of the Woodstock generation.

The Sports Page: Just a week after getting stuffed at the basket in the NBA finals, LeBron James exercised an option in his Miami Heat contract to become a free agent. James was set to earn $20.5 million next year. The Heat can bid up to win him back, or let him deplete somebody else’s checkbook.

Counter Culture: Bob Dylan’s draft of the lyrics to “Like a Rolling Stone,” written on stationery from the Roger Smith Hotel in Washington, DC sold at auction for $2 million. The page has scratched out and alternative lines as well as doodles of a hat and a chicken. The lyrics were put up for sale by an anonymous man who says he bought the page from Dylan himself.

Bad Review: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has threatened war on the US over a Hollywood comedy that involves a CIA plot to kill Kim. The movie called “The Interview” starring Seth Rogan and James Franco is expected to be released in the fall. North Korean dictators have never been known for their sense of humor.

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