1. President Obama, Raul Castro shake hands ahead of expected summit sitdown
President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro shared small talk and several handshakes on Friday night ahead of the Summit of the Americas' opening ceremonies. The small gesture has big implications; officials expect the pair to sit down and discuss improving diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Cuba on Saturday. Such a meeting would be the highest-level U.S.-Cuba talks since Vice President Richard Nixon and Cuban Prime Minister Fidel Castro met in April 1959.
The Associated Press
2. Kansas men charged with planning attack on U.S. base to show ISIS support
Authorities arrested 20-year-old John T. Booker on Friday, as he tried to arm what he thought was a 1,000-pound bomb near the Fort Riley military base, in Kansas. Officials charged a second man — Alexander E. Blair, 28 — with failing to report a felony, after officials allege that Blair loaned Booker money to rent a storage locker for what he thought were explosives materials. Officials say Blair knew of Booker's plan to "kill as many soldiers as possible" in support of the Islamic State.
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3. Gunmen reportedly kill at least 20 workers at Pakistan dam construction site
Officials in southwestern Pakistan said several gunmen attacked a labor camp near a dam construction site on Saturday, killing at least 20 workers, many of whom were still sleeping when the shooting began. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but the gunmen left eight guards — all of whom were from Baluchistan province — alive. Many of the workers killed were from Punjab province; Baluch separatist groups have expressed frustration in the past over what they say is exploitation of Baluchistan by the more populous Punjab province.
The Associated Press
4. Jordan Spieth sets 36-hole Masters scoring record
At just 21 years old, Jordan Spieth set the 36-hole scoring record at the Masters on Friday, with a 14-under-par 130. After scoring a 64 in the tournament's first round Thursday, he finished Friday with a 6-under-par 66. Spieth's score beat the previous record, set by Raymond Floyd in 1976, by one stroke. Throughout the first two days of the tournament, Spieth has shot 15 birdies and just one bogey. He currently leads the leaderboard, ahead of second-place Charley Hoffman by five strokes.
USA Today ESPN
5. FDA panel split over smokeless tobacco warnings
An FDA advisory panel voted on claims put forward by Swedish Match, a smokeless tobacco manufacturer, on Friday. The company wants to do away with warning labels on its smokeless tobacco product snus, arguing that snus presents "substantially lower risks to health than cigarettes." The committee split on the question of whether using smokeless tobacco products really is substantially safer than smoking cigarettes, but it voted unanimously against doing away entirely with Swedish Match's warning label, saying the claims the company put forward do not prove that the product does not pose any health risks at all. The FDA does not necessarily have to adopt the advisory committee's findings, but it will use them as a recommendation.
Time
6. Pakistan lawmakers reject Saudi invitation to join Yemen campaign
Pakistan's parliament voted down a proposal on Friday to send troops to Yemen in support of a military campaign by fellow Sunni-majority nation Saudi Arabia, stating that "Pakistan should maintain neutrality in the Yemen conflict so as to be able to play a proactive diplomatic role to end the crisis." The parliament added that it still offers "unequivocal support" for Saudi Arabia, especially if faced with any threat to its own territory.
The Associated Press
7. More than 130 dolphins beach in Japan
Rescuers frantically tried to save more than 130 melon-headed whales, a member of the dolphin family, after the large pod beached itself in Japan on Friday. A coastguard official said many of the animals were being helped back into the ocean, only to be pushed again up onto the shore because of the tide. "We see one or two whales washing ashore a year, but this may be the first time to find over 100 of them on a beach," the official said.
The Guardian
8. Chinese officials say U.S. agrees to help hunt down 'economic fugitives'
Chinese media reported on Saturday that U.S. officials have agreed to help hunt down "economic fugitives" that may be in the United States. Chinese officials have said that hundreds of corrupt government officials have fled overseas, with millions of dollars' worth of assets. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security did not immediately comment on the plans, but said officials from both countries had met to discuss a variety of homeland-security-related issues.
Reuters
9. College basketball player Lauren Hill dies after fighting brain tumor
Lauren Hill, a 19-year-old freshman basketball player for Mount St. Joseph University, died on Friday after a year-long fight against an inoperable brain tumor. Following her diagnosis, the NCAA agreed to move up Mount St. Joseph's opening game, so that Hill could realize her goal of scoring a basket in a college game. She did, and also created the Layup4Lauren foundation, which, with other fundraising efforts, raised more than $1.5 million for cancer research. The U.S. Basketball Writers Association honored her with the Pat Summitt Most Courageous Award. "Life is precious," Hill had told local station WKRC-TV. "Every moment you get with someone is a moment that's blessed."
The Associated Press
10. Experts determine much-disputed 'Double Falsehood' was written by Shakespeare
Researchers announced in a study published in the journal Psychological Science that Double Falsehood is indeed a Shakespeare play. The work was published in 1728 by a man named Lewis Theobald, who said he adapted the text from original Shakespeare manuscripts lost in a library fire. The researchers reached their conclusion by using text-analyzing software to compare the play's linguistic patterns with more than 30 of Shakespeare's other works.
The Independent
