1. KHALID SHEIKH MOHAMMED TO BE ARRAIGNED
The first step in the long-delayed trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the man who has said that he orchestrated the 9/11 attacks on America was set to begin Saturday. KSM and four other al Qaeda operatives were to be arraigned at the U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. President Obama tried to have Guantanamo Bay closed after taking office, which delayed the trials of many prisoners. Fierce opposition to the closure forced the administration to scrap the plans. [CNN]
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2. ROMNEY WANTS 4 PERCENT UNEMPLOYMENT
In response to April's lackluster jobs report, GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney slammed Obama for the country's 8.1 percent unemployment rate, telling supporters at a Pittsburgh event that any unemployment rate "near 8 percent or over 4 percent is not cause for celebration." With only six months left until the election, the disappointing jobs report, in which the U.S. added a less-than-expected 115,000 jobs in April, is spurring political debate. [MSNBC]
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3. SARKOZY APPEALS TO 'SILENT MAJORITY'
As Sunday's runoff election fast approaches, French President Nicolas Sarkozy made a final plea to a "silent majority" of French voters to help him defeat Socialist candidate Francois Hollande, who is currently leading in the polls. If defeated, Sarkozy would become the first French president since 1981 to fail to win re-election. [Reuters]
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4. CAIRO CLASHES TURN DEADLY
The Egyptian military and protesters clashed in Cairo on Friday, as troops fired water cannons and tear gas on demonstrators who were marching on the Defense Ministry. The protests, which came a mere three weeks ahead of the country's impending election, erupted after unidentified assailants attacked a sit-in being held by an ultraconservative group, who was holding the event to protest the elimination of their favored candidate from the election. [Associated Press]
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5. BEASTIE BOYS' MCA DIES AT 47
Beastie Boys co-founder Adam Yauch, better known as MCA, died Friday after a long battle with cancer, the band's publicist confirmed. In 2009, Yauch announced that he had been diagnosed with a cancerous tumor in his salivary gland, and he began undergoing treatment. The Beastie Boys were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April. [CNN]
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6. DSK FACES NEW GANG RAPE ACCUSATION
Former chief of the International Monetary Fund Dominique Strauss-Kahn faces a new allegations that he sexually assaulted and gang raped an escort at a Washington hotel in 2010. Strauss-Kahn was last charged with aggravated pimping for his alleged involvement with a prostitution ring. The new accusations come from a Belgian prostitute who says that Strauss-Kahn flew her and another escort to the U.S. to participate in a sex party at the W Hotel in Washington. [New York Times]
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7. YANKEES PITCHER'S CAREER LIKELY OVER
Yankees closer Mariano Rivera, 42, suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament while he was catching fly balls in the outfield during batting practice on Thursday — an injury that will end his season, and possibly his career. Rivera is not signed on to play beyond 2012, and this spring he said that he had made up his mind about whether to continue for 2013, though he didn't say what his ultimate decision would be. During spring training, many analysts had speculated that, because of his age, Rivera would retire at the end of the 2012 season. [New York Times]
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8. AVENGERS EARNS $18.7 MILLION AT MIDNIGHT SHOWS
The Avengers, the superhero movie based on several Marvel comic book characters took in $18.7 million from Friday midnight screenings in the U.S. and Canada, according to an estimate from distributor Walt Disney Studios. That's the eighth-highest total ever for midnight screenings, behind March's The Hunger Games and the last three Twilight and Harry Potter movies. In total, Avengers, which opened overseas last week, has taken in $322.7 million so far globally. [Los Angeles Times]
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9. VOGUE BANS UNDERAGE, UNDERWEIGHT MODELS
Editors representing 19 international editions of the flagship fashion magazine vow to ban from their pages any model who is under 16 or who appears to have an eating disorder. The rule, which is still not as stringent as some critics would like, is nevertheless seen as an important step forward in the fashion industry. [Washington Post]
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10. SUPERMOON WILL BE VISIBLE TONIGHT
On Saturday evening, around 11:50pm EDT, the biggest, brightest full moon of the year will be visible. The orb will pass 15,000 miles closer to the Earth than usual and be 16 percent brighter than the average full moon. [Associated Press]
