10 things you need to know today: May 25, 2012

1. SPACEX READIES FOR SPACE STATION DOCKING

It's a big day in space history as the privately funded SpaceX Dragon capsule nears the International Space Station for a monumental docking. After practicing the maneuver Thursday, the Dragon is all set to deliver a half-ton of supplies to the space station Friday. It will mark the first time a private company, as opposed to government agencies, has sent a vessel to the space station. President Obama is pressing for more commercial ventures in space, so NASA can focus on more far-flung goals, like visiting Mars and asteroids. SpaceX aims to send astronauts into orbit in the next few years. [Associated Press]

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2. NYC POLICE ARREST MAN IN ETAN PATZ CASE

Police have arrested a man in the 1979 disappearance of 6-year-old Etan Patz. Pedro Hernandez, 51, a convenience-store clerk at the time, confessed to authorities that he convinced the boy to come to the shop by promising him a soda, then took him to the basement and choked him, and put his body in a plastic bag that he put out with the trash. A motive has not been given. The married father was never a suspect in the the notorious case that consumed the nation and ignited a nationwide anxiety over and awareness of missing children. [Associated Press]

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3. MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD LEADS IN EGYPT ELECTION

The results from Egypt's historic vote to elect a new leader are being tabulated, and, thus far, the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohammed Morsi is in the lead, with 30.8 percent of the vote. The polarizing Islamic figure will likely have a spot in the run-off election to be held June 16-17. The race for second place is tight, but Ahmed Shafiq, a former prime minister under former President Hosni Mubarak, is in the number-two slot with 21 percent of the vote. [Associated Press]

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4. FRENCH PRESIDENT VISITS AFGHANISTAN

France's newly elected president, Francois Hollande, is in Afghanistan on a surprise visit. Meeting with French troops and Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Hollande explained his decision to pull French forces out of the country by the end of 2012 — two years before NATO pulls out and a year before France had initially planned to leave. "It's a sovereign decision," he told soldiers. "Only France can decide what France does." France has had troops in Afghanistan since the U.S.-led invasion in 2001. [Telegraph]

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5. IRAN NUCLEAR TALKS END WITHOUT A DEAL

Two days of talks about Iran's disputed nuclear program came to a close Thursday with no deal being made. Iran asked the six world powers for an easing of harsh economic sanctions, while the six nations asked for Tehran to cease production on uranium enriched to 20 percent. Although no agreement was made, the talks ended on a somewhat positive note, with the two sides saying they had come to a greater understanding of each other's stances and planning to meet again in Moscow in mid-June. [New York Times]

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6. FACEBOOK LAUNCHES INSTAGRAM RIVAL

After buying Instagram for $1 billion last month, Facebook has now launched Facebook Camera, an app that, like Instagram, allows users to put filters on photos and share them. The baffling move has the tech world speculating about the strategy behind Facebook's latest move. [Slash Gear]

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7. GSA SAYS CONFERENCE ORGANIZER IS OUT

A spokesperson for the General Services Administration says that Jeffrey E. Neely, the regional commissioner who organized an over-the-top Las Vegas conference, is no longer with the agency. The event is said to have cost more than $800,000 and included a $75,000 bike building execrcise. [MSNBC]

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8. MEN IN BLACK 3 OPENS

Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones return as Agents J and K in Men in Black 3, opening Friday. Many critics are calling the film better-than-expected. As a young Agent K, Josh Brolin gives a "mysteriously marvelous" performance that "defies explanation," says Joe Morgenstern in The Wall Street Journal. [Wall Street Journal]

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9. OFFICIALS SUSPEND DERBY-WINNING TRAINER

I'll Have Another won this year's Kentucky Derby and the Preakness and could become the first Triple Crown winner since 1978 if he wins the Belmont Stakes on June 9, but things aren't looking good for his trainer, Doug O'Neill. He has been suspended for 45 days over a California racing violation after excessive levels of carbon dioxide were found in one of his fillies racing at a track in the state, possibly indicating that the horse had been given performance enhancers. The suspension won't start until after the Belmont, on July 1 at the earliest. [Bloomberg]

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10. DISCOVERY COULD LEAD TO MALE CONTRACEPTIVE

Researchers have identified a gene, Katnal1, that is crucial to the manufacture of healthy sperm. Locating Katnal1 means that scientists now can try to develop a drug which interrupts the work of the gene, a procedure that could be used to help develop a contraceptive pill for men. [BBC News]