10 Things to Know for Monday, May 12, 2014

Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about Monday:

1. PRO-RUSSIAN INSURGENTS SAY EASTERN UKRAINE APPROVES SOVEREIGNTY  But with no international election monitors in place during voting, it was all but impossible to verify the insurgents' claims about the referendum results.

2. 'TOO TERRIFYING FOR WORDS'  That's how Sarah Lawan, 19, characterizes her abduction by Islamic terrorists in Nigeria. Lawan escaped, but 276 other girls remain captive amid international outrage.

3. HOW FIGHTING IN ANBAR HAS HURT IRAQ'S ECONOMY  Five months of battles between government forces and Islamic militants in the western crossroads province has forced businesses to close, disrupted shipping and stopped oil exports to Jordan.

4. REPORT: US GOV'T FAILED TO INSPECT OIL, GAS WELLS  Congressional investigators say thousands of the wells across the country are potentially high risks for water contamination and other environmental damage.

5. WHY NFL'S RAMS MIGHT BE A GOOD FIT FOR MICHAEL SAM  As the first openly gay player drafted by a pro football team, Sam will practice with three former Missouri teammates, and will have fans who rooted for him when he was in college.

6. HOT AIR BALLOON ACCIDENT VICTIMS MOURNED  Richmond women's basketball associate head coach Ginny Doyle and director of basketball operations Natalie Lewis were killed in a fiery hot-air balloon crash along with the pilot, Daniel T. Kirk.

7. WHO INTENDS TO APPEAL SAME-SEX MARRIAGE RULING  Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel will ask the state's Supreme Court to review a lower court's decision to overturn a 2004 constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.

8. WHAT POLICE ARE ADDING TO THEIR TO CRISIS NEGOTIATION ARSENAL  Law enforcement officers are increasingly called upon to defuse violent, unpredictable situations with the help of texting.

9. FEDS PROSECUTE RURAL WASHINGTON POT GROWERS  While Washington state has legalized marijuana use, an upcoming federal trial for five people in Spokane suggests not all is OK with weed in the state.

10. STERLING'S WIFE WANTS TO KEEP STAKE IN CLIPPERS  Shelley Sterling says she will fight to retain her share of the team, even as LeBron James wants everyone in the family out.