10 things you need to know today: May 27, 2012

Anti-Syrian regime mourners chant as they carry the body of Khaled Shurbajy during his funeral procession on Saturday: More than 90 people were killed in an attack on the district of Houla. — (Image credit: AP Photo)

1. SYRIA DENIES IT WAS BEHIND ATTACK THAT KILLED 90

The Syrian government denied that its troops killed more than 90 people on Saturday in Houla, an area northwest of the central city of Homs. Instead, Damascus blamed "hundreds of [unidentified] heavily-armed gunmen" for the killings, and claimed that some of the government's troops were also attacked. However, U.N. observers found spent artillery and tank shells at the site — a finding which would point toward the government's heavily-armed mechanized units. The assault was one of the bloodiest single events in Syria's 15-month-old uprising. The U.N. says 32 children under 10 were among the dead. [Associated Press]

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Latest Videos FromThe Week

Watch full video here:

After sensitive Vatican documents were leaked in recent months, the Holy See launched an investigation, leading to the arrest of Paolo Gabriele, Pope Benedict XVI's butler, on Wednesday, and the ousting of Ettore Gotti Tedeschi, the president of the Vatican bank, last week. Both men were found to have secret Vatican documents in their possession. The scandal has embarrassed the Vatican when it is trying to convince the world financial community that it has shed its reputation as a scandal-plagued tax haven. But the documents allege corruption in Vatican finance as well as internal bickering over the Holy See's efforts to show more transparency. [Associated Press]

Afghan authorities said on Sunday that a NATO airstrike killed a family of eight in their home in eastern Afghanistan. The attack, if confirmed, could anger Afghan leaders at a time when Washington needs Kabul's cooperation in determining a blueprint for engagement after the U.S. wraps up its troop withdrawal in 2014. A NATO spokesman said the incident appears to have been precipitated by an insurgent attack on Western troops in Paktia province. Both NATO and the Afghan government will conduct investigations. [Los Angeles Times]

Sandy Dahl, 52, the wife of Captain James Dahl, who piloted United Flight 93 on Sept. 11, died Friday in Colorado of natural causes, according to the Captain Jason Dahl Scholarship Fund, the charity she founded. After her husband's death, Sandy became a public face for grieving 9/11 families and gradually became a confident public speaker. The scholarship fund helps young pilots pay for their education. [Denver Post]

Astronauts at the International Space Station unsealed the SpaceX's Dragon capsule on Saturday, "literally opening the door on a new era in commercial spaceflight." It was the first time any commercial spacecraft has ever traveled to and docked at the space station. Based on the Dragon's performance during its demonstration mission, space station astronauts said it isn't hard to imagine flying in the Dragon or similar commercial vehicles. [Florida Today]

A new study published in Digestive Diseases and Sciences shows a definitive link between overgrowth of bacteria in the stomach and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). The study of Greek patients is the first to use the "gold standard" method of examining gut bacterial cultures to connect bacteria to the cause of a disease that affects some 30 million Americans. The researchers say their findings confirm antibiotics are a successful treatment for IBS. [Medical News Today]