Bangladeshis display pictures of missing relatives outside the site of the devastating building collapse.
1. ISRAELI AIRSTRIKE KILLS SUSPECTED PALESTINIAN MILITANT
Israel said Tuesday it had killed a Palestinian man who was involved in the firing of a rocket from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel on April 17. The airstrike hit a motorcycle, killing the driver — whom Israel identified as an al-Qaeda linked militant — and wounding a passenger and a bystander. It was the first such strike in Gaza since an Egyptian-brokered truce took hold in November, and the biggest test yet for the already shaky ceasefire. [USA Today]
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2. JASON COLLINS BECOMES FIRST GAY NBA PLAYER TO COME OUT
Jason Collins won praise from fellow basketball players Monday when he became the first active professional male athlete in a major American team sport to come out as gay. “I’m a 34-year-old NBA center. I’m black. And I’m gay,” Collins, who finished this season with the Washington Wizards, wrote in an article for Sports Illustrated. “Proud of @jasoncollins34,” L.A. Lakers star Kobe Bryant tweeted. “Don’t suffocate who u r because of the ignorance of others.” [New York Times]
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3. COLBERT BUSCH AND SANFORD TRADE DEBATE ATTACKS
Democrat Elizabeth Colbert Busch and Republican Mark Sanford clashed in an aggressive debate on Monday night — the only one they’ll have before next week’s special election to fill a vacant South Carolina congressional seat. Sanford called Colbert Busch, the sister of comic Stephen Colbert, a tool of Nancy Pelosi who’s too liberal for the conservative district. Colbert Busch called Sanford a hypocrite for preaching fiscal responsibility after using taxpayer money to fly to Argentina to visit his mistress. [Politico]
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4. BANGLADESH OFFICIALS SAY NO MORE SURVIVORS IN COLLAPSED BUILDING
Rescuers in Bangladesh said Tuesday that they had given up hope of finding more survivors in the rubble of an eight-story garment-factory complex that collapsed last week, killing nearly 400 people. The news stoked anger over unsafe conditions and low wages in the South Asian nation, which relies on clothing production for 80 percent of its exports. Protesters are demanding that the government enforce tougher building safety standards. [Reuters]
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5. AUTHORITIES FIND FEMALE DNA ON BOSTON MARATHON BOMB PART
Investigators say they have found female DNA on a fragment of the pressure-cooker bombs used in the deadly Boston Marathon attack. Federal agents collected DNA samples during a search of the Rhode Island family home of suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev’s widow, Katherine Russell, on Monday. Law enforcement sources said, however, that the presence of the DNA on a bomb piece doesn’t necessarily mean a woman helped with the plot — the DNA could have come from someone like a store clerk or victim. [CNN]
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6. U.S.-SOUTH KOREA MILITARY DRILLS END
The U.S. and South Korea wrapped up two months of annual joint military exercises on Tuesday. The drills involved 10,000 U.S. troops, and angered North Korea, which threatened war after the United Nations tightened economic sanctions as punishment for Pyongyang’s recent nuclear and missile tests. During the drills, which North Korea called “attack rehearsals,” the U.S. flew nuclear-capable bombers in South Korean airspace. [BBC News]
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7. VIRGIN GALACTIC SPACESHIP REACHES MILESTONE
British entrepreneur Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic took a step toward its goal of launching a commercial space flight service on Monday, when the company’s new spaceship fired up its rocket engine in flight for the first time. The SpaceShipTwo craft broke the sound barrier during the 16-second power-up over California’s Mojave Desert. Branson plans to be one of the first non-test pilots to ride the spaceship in about a year. Customers are lining up to pay $200,000 per ride. [Reuters]
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8. FRANCE FREEZES MILITARY SPENDING
France, faced with weak economic growth, is freezing its military spending over the next three years, the government announced Monday. To maintain the ability to act alone, as it has done recently in Mali, France said it would cut nearly 10 percent of defense jobs but spend more money for high-tech equipment. The decision means that the government of President Francois Hollande will have to cut back elsewhere to keep a promise to slash $79 billion in state spending over the next five years. [New York Times]
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9. NASA RELEASES IMAGE OF MAMMOTH SATURN STORM
NASA has released an image taken by the Cassini spacecraft showing a massive storm on Saturn’s north pole with an eye spanning 1,250 miles — 20 times the size of the eye of a hurricane on Earth. The space agency calls the vortex “The Rose” — scientists gave low clouds a false reddish hue to distinguish them from higher clouds. NASA said the clouds on the storm’s edges were flying at 330 miles per hour. [NPR]
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10. JETS RELEASE TIM TEBOW
The New York Jets announced Monday that they had cut quarterback Tim Tebow after a failed experimental year. “Unfortunately,” coach Rex Ryan said in a statement, “things did not work out the way we all had hoped.” The controversial player still has legions of fans, many of whom admire him for his strong Christian beliefs. But some sportswriters say his NFL career might be over now, and suggest that his next move might be to play in the Canadian Football League. [USA Today]
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