Friendly Fire: An American two-star general is reported to have been killed today by a gunman in an Afghan army uniform at a military training academy outside Kabul. Two other soldiers also were reported killed and as many as 15 wounded. Reports are still sketchy, but many of the dead and wounded may be American.

Gaza: Israel says it pulled all its troops out of Gaza by the start of a 72-hour ceasefire proposed by Egypt. Hamas said it also agreed to the ceasefire and would take part in peace talks in Cairo. The terms of ceasefire are pretty close to what Hamas rejected only a few days ago.

Israel claims that it has killed about 900 militants and destroyed 32 cross border tunnels in the month-long fight. Gaza officials say a total of 1,834 Palestinians have been killed but doesn’t say how many were fighters and how many civilians.

Ink: The Gannett Company, originally a newspaper business, announced that it is spinning off its print operations into a separate company. Other media companies including News Corp. and Time Warner have done the same to separate their ailing print business from faster-growing and more profitable digital media. Gannett owns 81 newspapers, including USA Today.

The Abortion Battle: A federal judge yesterday struck down the Alabama law that requires abortion doctors to have admitting privileges at local hospitals. The law would have forced the closure of three out of five Alabama abortion clinics. The legislature passed the law claiming it was for the protection of patients, but the judge ruled that it provided no medical benefit and actually created a burden.

A similar law was ruled unconstitutional in Mississippi last week.

Alabama’s Gov. Robert Bentley said in a statement that, “I will always fight for the rights of the unborn, and support an appeal of today’s decision,” indicating that the law was in fact not for the benefit of women seeking an abortion.

A Three-Hour Tour: About 27,000 Russian tourists are reported stranded on their vacations after the tour company Labirint shut down its operations. The company blamed the increasingly unfavorable exchange rate for the ruble and the “negative political and economic situation.” In other words, they’ve been hurt by international economic sanctions levied because of Russia’s military involvement in Ukraine.The tourist jam is just one example of how the sanctions are beginning to make Russians squirm.

Weather Report: Two Hurricanes are bearing down on Hawaii. Heavy rains in Las Vegas caused flash flooding that filled roads with mud and swept away cars.

The Obit Page: Former White House Press Secy. James Brady, who was crippled in the 1981 assassination attempt on President Reagan, has died at age 73. The friendly Brady, known as “The Bear”, was shot in the head, leaving him with halting speech and largely confined to a wheelchair. Afterwards, Brady and his wife Sarah dedicated their lives to gun control through the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.

Bang for the Buck: After holding out, the top three stars of the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory have agreed to three-year, $1 million-an-episode contracts. With signing bonuses and other gold plating, Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki, and Kaley Cuoco will each haul in about $90 million over the next three years. Yeah, we know. A lot of you have never heard of them.

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