10 things you need to know today: May 31, 2015

(Image credit: Paul Sancya/Associated Press)

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1. Joe Biden's son, Beau Biden, dies at 46
2. Sepp Blatter denies ties to FIFA corruption
3. John Kerry hospitalized after bike accident
4. Patriot Act provisions set to expire at midnight
5. U.S. paid former Nazis $20 million in benefits, report says
6. U.S. police fatally shoot more than 2 people per day, report finds
7. 2 stabbed inside Tufts University fraternity house
8. Moscow police break up unsanctioned LGBT rights rally
9. A Muslim woman claims she faced discrimination on a United Airlines flight
10. Chicago Blackhawks advance to Stanley Cup finals

last updated 31 May 2015

1. Joe Biden's son, Beau Biden, dies at 46

Beau Biden, the eldest son of Vice President Joe Biden, died of brain cancer, his father announced Saturday. "His absolute honor made him a role model for our family," Joe Biden's statement read. "Beau embodied my father's saying that a parent knows success when his child turns out better than he did." Biden, 46, served in Iraq with the National Guard and had two terms as Delaware's attorney general. He was expected to run in the state's 2016 gubernatorial election.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter said at a news conference Saturday he has no ties to the soccer governing body's corruption, which resulted in the arrests of several FIFA officials earlier this week, Mashable reports. "Arrested for what? Next question," he told a reporter one day after easily winning re-election to his fifth term. He denied that the "high-ranking FIFA official" who wired $10 million in alleged bribes, as mentioned Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Justice, was him. "Definitely that is not me," Blatter said. "I have no $10 million."

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U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry was hospitalized in Geneva with a broken leg Sunday after hitting a curb on his bike, the Associated Press reports. He was in stable condition and never lost consciousness. Kerry will return to Boston for further treatment, a State Department spokesman said. The secretary was in Geneva for nuclear talks with Iran's foreign minister Saturday. He's cutting short a four-country trip that was to include meetings with Spain officials and an international conference in Paris on combating ISIS. Kerry will attend the Paris conference remotely.

A part of the Patriot Act that the NSA uses to collect phone records in bulk from millions of Americans is set to expire at midnight, along with other provisions. Last weekend, the Senate fell three votes short of cloture on the USA Freedom Act, which calls for the NSA to abandon their program. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said Saturday he wants to force the provision's expiration and buy more time to work on a new solution, The Hill reports. The Senate may take a procedural vote as early as 6 p.m. today, and, should it pass, legislators could work on amendments to a final bill.

A federal investigation shows the U.S. government paid $20.2 million in Social Security benefits to more than 130 residents linked to Nazi war crimes, the New York Times reports. The payments, much higher than previously thought, were doled out over more than 50 years, with some as recent as last year. Anonymous officials familiar with the report told NYT authorities couldn't stop people with Nazi ties from getting benefits unless those individuals were deported. Roughly a quarter of the money went to more than three dozen ex-Nazis who were eventually deported. The Social Security Administration's inspector general is expected to release the report this week.

During the first five months of 2015, police have averaged more than two fatal shootings per day, according to a data analysis from the Washington Post published Saturday. That's 385 people so far, and experts say the true figure is likely even higher. The rate is more than twice that of fatal police shootings recorded over the past decade. The report finds one in six of the victims was either unarmed or carrying a toy gun. About half of all victims were minorities, but they comprised two-thirds of unarmed victims.

Tufts University went on lockdown early Sunday morning after two people were apparently injured in a stabbing inside the Delta Tau Delta fraternity house on the school's Medford campus, the Boston Globe reports. The victims, both hospitalized, are not affiliated with the university, and the crime appears to be non-random, a university spokeswoman told the Globe. Police are searching for a suspect.

Police detained about 20 people during an unsanctioned LGBT rights rally in central Moscow on Saturday, Reuters reports, including demonstrators and anti-gay protestors. Authorities have now blocked demonstrators from holding a pride parade 10 years in a row. Police and anti-LGBT protestors attacked, beat, and pepper-sprayed demonstrators. Activists, who were outnumbered by cops at Tverskaya Square, held a rainbow flag reading "Make love not war" before police took it away.

Tahera Ahmad, a Muslim passenger who flew United Airlines, described in detail on her Facebook page an incident of Islamophobia she faced. A flight attendant refused to give her an unopened can of Diet Coke, allegedly explaining she may "use it as a weapon on the plane." Ahmed said the flight attendant and pilot apologized upon landing, but said United Airlines has not yet reached out. The company told BuzzFeed News it doesn't discriminate against its customers. Using the hashtag #unitedfortahera, some Twitter users are saying they'll boycott the airline.

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Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.