10 things you need to know today: May 6, 2012

1. SARKOZY CONFIDENT HE CAN BEAT HOLLANDE

As voters went to the polls on Sunday in France's election run-off between President Nicolas Sarkozy and challenger Francois Hollande, the incumbent seemed convinced he could pull off "the most spectacular turnaround in French presidential history." According to at least one confidential poll, says The Telegraph, Sarkozy and Hollande are "tantalizingly close." Earlier Sarkozy had drawn a comparison to the 2000 U.S. presidential election, saying: "It will be very, very close. The results risk being contested, like for Bush in Florida. It will be on a razor's edge." [Telegraph]

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2. 9/11 DETAINEES REFUSE TO ENTER A PLEA

At the first hearing in the case against alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other al Qaeda operatives, the five defendants deferred entering a plea. The judge has set a hearing date for motions in mid-June, and the trial is not likely to start for at least a year. [New York Times]

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3. TURKISH PM TO VISIT SYRIAN REFUGEES

On Sunday, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will, for the first time, meet Syrian refugees who fled the Syrian government's bloody crackdown. Erdogan's visit to the border region, where tens of thousands of Syrians have taken refuge, comes ahead of a Syrian parliamentary election on Monday that many say will not bring reform to the country. [Associated Press]

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4. GREEKS VOTE IN CRITICAL ELECTION

Greek citizens battered by two years of spending cuts voted Sunday in an election that's seen as critical to the country's prospects for getting out of a deep financial crisis. The two main parties that have dominated Greek politics for decades are expected to take a beating in the election, but the vote is unlikely to produce any clear winner — in which case, the party with the most votes will have to seek coalition partners in order to form a government. [Associated Press]

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5. U.S. ABANDONS AFGHAN CONSULATE SITE

American officials say they have abandoned their plans to build a diplomatic hub in northern Afghanistan even though the U.S. has already signed a 10-year lease and spent more than $80 million on the site. In the rush to open the consulate in the northern Afghan city of Mazar-e Sharif, officials apparently overlooked significant security problems at the site. The problems included relying on local building techniques that made the compound vulnerable to a car bombing. [Washington Post]

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6. PROTESTERS MARCH AHEAD OF PUTIN INAUGURATION

Shouting "enough lies," some 20,000 protestors marched in Moscow on Sunday to decry the impending inauguration of Vladimir Putin as president. Putin easily won the March election, reclaiming the Kremlin seat he held from 2000 to 2008. Some demonstrators acknowledged that Putin's election win has been a blow to the opposition's morale; others admitted doubts about whether the protests would spur any long-term change. [Associated Press]

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7. FLOYD MAYWEATHER DEFEATS MIGUEL COTTO

Floyd Mayweather Jr., beat Miguel Cotto to take Cotto's WBA light middleweight title, earning himself $32 million. Mayweather's winnings are the largest not only in the history of Nevada boxing, but in the sport's history, "topping the $30 million Mike Tyson was guaranteed for his ear-chomping rematch with Evander Holyfield in 1997." [Boston Herald]

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8. BUFFETT AND MUNGER WON'T BUY FACEBOOK STOCK

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett and his associate Charlie Munger won't buy Facebook stock when it goes public later this month. Buffett and Munger say they aren't interested in investing in Facebook for Berkshire Hathaway's portfolio or for their own. "We never buy into an offering," Buffett told CNN at Berkshire's annual meeting in Omaha. [CNNMoney]

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9. MALE BREAST CANCER IS RARE, BUT DEADLY

Men don't get breast cancer nearly as often as women do, but men afflicted with the disease typically don't survive as long as their female counterparts, largely because they don't realize they're vulnerable and fail to recognize the warning signs and seek early treatment. Men's breast cancer usually shows up as a lump under or near a nipple. Nipple discharge and breasts that are misshapen or don't match are also possible symptoms. [CBS News]

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10. PTSD COULD GET A NEW NAME

Military officers and psychiatrists are involved in a heated debate over renaming PTSD, or post-traumatic stress disorder. It has been called many things, including shell shock, battle fatigue, and soldier's heart, and it could soon become known as post-traumatic stress injury. Experts say dropping the word "disorder" in favor of "injury" would reduce the stigma that stops troops from seeking treatment. On Monday, a working group of a dozen psychiatrists will hold a public hearing in Philadelphia to discuss the name change. [Washington Post]