Ukraine: Chocolate billionaire Petro Poroshenko has declared victory in the Ukraine presidential election after winning more than 55 percent of the vote. If the margin holds in the final count, Poroshenko avoids a runoff. The 48-year-old “chocolate king” ran on a promise to make closer ties with Europe and peace with the unhappy eastern portion of his country. He’s got a mess on his hands in the east where troops are fighting Ukraine separatists and 80 percent of the polls never opened. Today there’s fighting at the Donetsk airport where pro-Russian gunmen took control and Ukrainian forces are trying to dislodge them.

A Droite: French right-wingers led what’s being described as a stunning advance in elections for the European Parliament. Marie le Pen, leader of the National Front, spearheaded the protest vote against economic austerity and high unemployment. Le Pen, who rails against globalization and foreign influence over matters Francaise, said those who voted for her party “want to be protected from globalization and take back the reins of their destiny.”

Nation: President Obama made a surprise visit to troops in Afghanistan yesterday, telling a gathering of 3,000 cheering soldiers, “For many of you, this will be your last tour in Afghanistan.” The president said he’s travelled all that distance just to thank the soldiers for what they’ve done, but he assured them the Afghan Army is taking over the fight against the Taliban.

> Three people are missing after a massive mudslide in a remote area of western Colorado. The slide 26 miles south of I-70 is described as being two miles wide, four miles long, and as much as 250 feet deep in some places.

The Obit Page: Bunny Yeager, a buxom former model turned photographer who made her name shooting women naked or nearly so, has died at age 85 in Florida. Yeager made the back office pinup into a high art and helped launch the famous model Betty Page to fame. She shot for Playboy and the once risqué magazines, Cavalier, Escapade, Nugget, Fling, Sunbathing … even National Police Gazette.

> Wojciech Jaruzelski, the last communist leader of Poland and once an everyday name in the news, has died at age 90. Jaruzelski earned infamy for sending tanks to crush the Solidarity labor union. But after years of conflict, Jaruzelski eventually allowed Solidarity candidates to run in open elections and they won a majority. Eventually he resigned. He was a dull-looking man with a receding chin who led a led a colorful life. After the Soviets overran Poland, Jaruzelski was sent to forced labor in Siberia at the age of 16. But later he rose through the ranks of the Polish Army and became a figure on the world stage.

Nobody Ever Went Broke: The National September 11 Memorial and Museum opened in New York this past week, and so did its gift shop. There you can buy 9/11 key chains, Twin Tower tote bags, and cellphone cases. Your child can cuddle with a stuffed 9/11 rescue dog. You can buy a toy FDNY fire truck and an NYPD t-shirt. It’s how Americans fight terrorists. They shop.

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