10 things you need to know today: May 13, 2014

1. Gay couples marry in Arkansas

More than 200 gay and lesbian couples married in Arkansas on Monday as the state Supreme Court considered an appeal of a Friday ruling overturning the state's ban on same-sex marriage. The conservative state, the first in the South to issue same-sex marriage licenses, is fighting to preserve the 10-year-old ban, which voters approved by a 3-to-1 margin. All but five of Arkansas' 75 counties held off on issuing licenses pending the appeal.

The Associated Press

2. Antarctic ice melt looks unstoppable, scientists say

The West Antarctica ice sheet is breaking up faster than previously believed, and its melting now might be unstoppable, two groups of scientists reported Monday. Scientists have concluded that with temperatures rising, the melting ice sheet could cause sea levels to rise 10 feet or more in coming centuries, picking up speed at the end of this one. "This is really happening," NASA polar ice expert Thomas P. Wagner. "There's nothing to stop it now."

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The New York Times

3. Keystone proposal stalls after Senate deadlock on energy bill

The Senate deadlocked on a popular bipartisan energy-efficiency bill on Monday, scuttling an effort to approve plans for the controversial Keystone XL Pipeline. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) had promised to allow a vote on the Keystone bill if Republicans dropped a filibuster on the energy efficiency proposal, but that didn't happen. The impasse appeared likely to douse the chance of a vote on Keystone in the near future.

The Washington Post

4. Ukrainian separatists ask to join Russia

A separatist leader in eastern Ukraine said Monday that the Donetsk region would ask to join Russia following a Sunday autonomy referendum. Organizers claim voters overwhelmingly approved breaking away from the Ukrainian national government. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier arrived in Kiev Tuesday in the latest international effort to resolve the crisis in eastern Ukraine, which erupted after Russia annexed Crimea in March.

CNN The New Times

5. Clay Aiken's congressional primary opponent Keith Crisco dies

Keith Crisco, who was locked in a tight North Carolina Democratic congressional primary with former American Idol singer Clay Aiken, died Monday after an accidental fall at his home. He was 71. Crisco, a textile manufacturer who was once the state's top business recruiter, trailed Aiken by 400 votes after last week's election. A final count is coming this week. If Crisco wins, local Democrats will choose their nominee.

The Associated Press

6. U.S. sends surveillance aircraft to search for abducted girls in Nigeria

The United States has started sending "manned surveillance flights" over Nigeria to help find 270 high-school girls abducted by the Islamist militant group Boko Haram last month, Obama administration officials said Monday. "As you know, President Obama has directed his team to do everything it can to support the Nigerian government's efforts to find and free these girls," White House spokesman Jay Carney said Monday.

NBC News Voice of America

7. Explorer says wreck off Haiti could be Columbus' flagship

Underwater explorer says he is confident that a sunken ship his team found off Haiti is Christopher Columbus' long-lost flagship, the Santa Maria. Clifford told CNN late Monday that he found the "smoking gun" — a distinctive 15th century cannon — in the exact spot where Columbus reported that the ship ran aground on a reef off what is now northern Haiti more than 500 years ago. "It is the Mount Everest of shipwrecks for me," he said.

CNN

8. Judge orders search for ailing radio icon Casey Kasem

A California judge on Monday ordered a search for legendary DJ Casey Kasem, who is suffering from advanced Parkinson's disease and has gone missing. Judge Daniel S. Murphy assigned a court investigator to find the former American Top 40 radio host, who is 82 and can no longer speak. A lawyer for Kasem's wife, Jean Kasem, said the radio icon had "been removed from the country."

NBC News

9. Researchers question whether find red wine really helps you live longer

Red wine might not have miraculous health benefits, after all, according to a study published Monday in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine. The researchers tracked nearly 800 elderly Italians for 11 years, measuring levels of resveratrol — red wine's supposed wonder chemical — and found that the levels didn't tell doctors anything about the patients' likelihood of suffering cardiovascular disease, cancer, or mortality in general.

JAMA Internal Medicine

10. Hotel looks into leaked video of alleged Jay Z scrap

A New York City hotel is investigating the source of a leaked security video that appears to show Jay Z being physically attacked in an elevator by Solange Knowles, the sister of his wife, Beyonce. The Standard Hotel issued a statement saying the management was "shocked and disappointed" over the release of the video, which was posted online by TMZ. In the clip, Solange appears to try to hit and kick Jay Z, with Beyonce at his side, before a security guard stops her.

CBS News TMZ