10 things you need to know today: May 14, 2013

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last updated 8 January 2015

1. LAWMAKERS SLAM JUSTICE DEPARTMENT FOR SPYING ON AP

Lawmakers from both parties sharply criticized the Obama administration late Monday after The Associated Press revealed that the Justice Department had spied on some of its reporters. The AP said officials obtained two months of telephone records — on more than 20 cell, office, and home lines — in an apparent attempt to crack down on internal leaks. The AP called the move a "massive and unprecedented intrusion." House Speaker John Boehner said Justice "better have a damned good explanation." [Fox News, NPR]

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Minnesota's Democratic-controlled state Senate has approved a bill allowing same-sex couples to marry. The state House has already signed off, and Gov. Mark Dayton, a Democrat, is expected to sign it into law on Tuesday, making the state the 12th in the nation to legalize gay marriage. The measure's success marked a stark reversal over two years ago, when the legislature was controlled by Republicans who tried to write the state's ban on same-sex marriage into its constitution. [Reuters]

A jury found Dr. Kermit Gosnell guilty of three counts of first-degree murder for killing three babies born alive after botched abortions. He was also convicted of manslaughter for the death of a patient from a drug overdose. Prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty as the case's sentencing phase begins Tuesday. Anti-abortion activists have used the trial as a rallying cry; abortion-rights supporters called it a reminder of why women need access to safe, sanitary care. [New York Times]

President Obama, facing mounting Republican criticism on several fronts, on Monday dismissed GOP questions of his administration's handling of September's attacks in Benghazi, Libya, as a partisan "sideshow." Obama, however, joined angry politicians on the right and left in slamming the Internal Revenue Service for singling out conservative groups for special scrutiny. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said Obama was displaying "faux outrage" over the IRS scandal, which he said really proved Obama is "drunk on power." [New York Times, Real Clear Politics]

Several boats carrying as many as 150 people reportedly capsized near the western coast of Myanmar, a United Nations agency said Tuesday. The boats were ferrying members of the country's long-suffering Muslim minority away from low-lying areas ahead of the potential arrival of Cyclone Mahasen, a storm that could hit parts of Myanmar and Bangladesh later this week. The boats were battered by high seas Monday night. Rescuers have recovered some bodies, but some passengers reached land. [CNN]

Vermont lawmakers on Monday gave their final approval to a bill that decriminalizes possession of up to an ounce of marijuana. Under current state law, a first-time conviction for misdemeanor pot possession carries a sentence of up to six months in jail. The new legislation, which Gov. Pete Shumlin plans to sign, replaces the criminal penalties with a $300 fine. Shumlin said now the state's police can "focus their limited resources" on more addictive drugs. [Times Argus]

Mexican police on Monday arrested two men for last week's beating death of Malcolm Shabazz, the grandson of Malcolm X. The suspects, David Hernández Cruz and Manuel Alejandro Pérez de Jesús, were waiters at a Mexico City bar where Shabazz, 28, was killed in an apparent dispute over an excessive ($1,200) bill. Shabazz, who lived an erratic life after setting a fire that killed his grandmother when he was 12, was in Mexico to support a labor activist recently deported from the U.S. [New York Times]

Pioneering TV psychologist Joyce Brothers died Monday in New York City. She was 85. On her 1950s TV show, Brothers addressed personal topics that had rarely, if ever, been discussed on television. She published 15 books and wrote a syndicated column that kept her in the public eye for decades. She became a fixture in popular culture with cameo appearances on Happy Days, The Simpsons, and other TV shows, and visited Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show nearly 100 times. [USA Today]

New Orleans on Monday identified a 19-year-old man, Akein Scott, as the suspect in a shooting that injured 19 people, including two 10-year-old children, at a neighborhood parade on Sunday. As the city's residents expressed outrage, tips pointing to Scott poured in after police released photos from a surveillance camera showing a young man firing into a crowd. Three of the wounded remain in critical condition, although all were expected to survive. [Reuters]

Angelina Jolie, 37, revealed in The New York Times that she underwent a preventive double mastectomy this year after learning she carries a "faulty" gene that sharply increases her risk of developing breast cancer and ovarian cancer. The Academy Award-winning actress said her mother died of cancer at age 56, and she wanted to be proactive for the sake of her children. "I am writing about it now because I hope that other women can benefit from my experience," she said. [New York Times]

Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.

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