10 things you need to know today: May 2, 2012

(Image credit: REUTERS/Bobby Yip)

last updated 8 January 2015

1. CHINESE DISSIDENT TO STAY IN CHINA

A senior U.S. official announced that Chen Guangcheng, the blind Chinese activist at the center of a diplomatic row between the U.S. and China, will remain in China after the government agreed to relocate Chen and his family to a safe environment. For the last six days, Chen had sought protection at the U.S. Embassy on "humanitarian grounds," but officials says he wasn't seeking asylum in the U.S. and wished to remain in China. Under the agreement with Chinese officials, U.S. diplomats will be allowed to check in with Chen to confirm he is being treated well. [Los Angeles Times]

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Just hours after President Obama made a surprise visit to Kabul, Taliban insurgents struck in the Afghan capital, killing seven in an attack on a compound housing foreigners. The deadly car bomb followed on the heels of Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai's signing of a strategic partnership outlining U.S.-Afghan relations after American troops largely withdraw in 2014. A Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility for the attack, saying "this was a message to Obama that those are not real Afghans that are signing documents about this country." [Associated Press]

Richard Grenell, the openly gay man Mitt Romney tapped last month to serve as his campaign's national security and foreign policy spokesperson, abruptly resigned Tuesday in the wake of a backlash over his sexuality. In a statement, he said "my ability to speak clearly and forcefully on the issues has been greatly diminished by the hyper-partisan discussion of personal issues that sometimes comes from a presidential campaign." Social conservatives took issue with Grenell's hiring, calling him "an ardent activist for same-sex marriage" and a "loose cannon." [Washington Post]

At a news conference in Orlando on Wednesday, prosecutors will announce charges against Florida A&M University marching band members in the November death of Robert Champion, a drum major who died after being severely beaten as part of a hazing ritual. On Tuesday, two music professors said they had been forced to resign over their alleged participation in a separate hazing incident. A number of students came forward and complained about the culture of violence surrounding the school's famous marching band, the Marching 100, after Champion's death. [New York Times]

The Wall Street Journal reports that Facebook is planning to hold its initial public offering on May 18. Starting this Monday, the social networking site is set to begin pitching its stock to investors. Sources caution that the May 18 date could be pushed back a few days. In other Facebook news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced Tuesday that the social network's 900-million-plus members will now be allowed to share their organ donor status and link to state databases in an effort to connect potential donors with those needing live-saving transplants. [Wall Street Journal]

At least 11 people were killed early Wednesday in Cairo when a protest outside the Egyptian Defense Ministry turned violent. Plainclothes assailants armed with guns and explosives attacked protesters who had been camping out in front of the ministry since Friday to express their dissatisfaction with several presidential candidates being disqualified last month. Anti-military activists say the attackers were acting on orders from the armed forces. The Egyptian presidential campaign officially launched on Monday and voting is set for May 23. [Washington Post]

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