Syria: The UN weapons inspection team came under fire this morning on its way to collect evidence in last week’s suspected gas attack. No one was injured but one of the their vehicles was disabled. The inspectors went on to collect samples and interview survivors. The Obama administration is preparing for military action to punish the Syrian regime for using poison gas.

National: A wildfire on the western side of Yosemite National Park has grown to 225 square miles and is just 7% contained. It is moving closer to Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, the source of San Francisco’s water. Two of the city’s hydro power plants had to be shut down, causing San Francisco to buy electricity on the open market.

• Army Staff Sgt. Ty Carter is scheduled to be awarded the Medal of Honor today at The White House. He is being honored for his part in one of the fiercest battles of the Afghan war at Combat Outpost Keating in October, 2009. Carter is credited with sprinting across open areas to bring ammunition and medical help to fellow soldiers. Eight men died. Carter had been a Marine and then, after flailing in civilian life, re-enlisted with the Army. He told one interviewer, “I sucked at being a civilian.”

World: Chinese prosecutors demanded a severe penalty for disgraced communist party leader Bo Xilai, whose corruption trial ended today. Bo is accused of taking $3.27 million in bribes, embezzling from a government building project, and covering up his wife’s involvement in the murder of a British businessman. The prosecutor said, “The severity of the accused’s crimes, and that he refused to admit guilt, don’t match the circumstances of leniency, and he must be severely punished in accordance with the law.” Bo could face death, but a life sentence is more likely.

No Phonies: Five new books by the late reclusive author JD Salinger will be published starting in 2015, according to reports about a new Salinger biography and an accompanying documentary. One of the books is about the Glass family of Franny and Zooey fame. His last published novel was The Catcher in the Rye in 1951, but he is believed to have continued writing in his isolated New Hampshire home until his death in 2010.

Hannah Grows Up: Miley Cyrus stripped down to latex underwear and danced in the sexually suggestive way known as “twerking” last night during her performance at the MTV awards. Time Magazine’s James Poniewozik tweeted that, “I think I’m now legally required to put myself on some kind of registry.”

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