Nigeria: Boko Haram militants invaded a regional state capital Monday killing at least 310 people, Nigerian authorities say. Some of the victims were reported to have been burned alive in buildings where they hid. The village of Gamboru Ngala is a staging ground for troops looking for Boko Haram and the nearly 300 teenage girls they kidnapped last month. Witnesses said the militants entered the public market area in daylight, riding armored vehicles and firing automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades.

Ukraine: Vladimir Putin’s announcement that he’s pulling back 40,000 threatening troops from the Ukraine border, and supporting Ukraine’s May 25^th election, has analysts wondering what the fox is up to. Putin urged Ukraine to cease its military operations in the East in exchange for the delay of a separatist referendum scheduled for Sunday. But the separatists say they are going ahead with the vote, suggesting events are out of Putin’s control.

The withdrawal of troops is seen as a welcome sign, but Ukraine is assumed to be rife with Russian spies and special operators stirring the pot of trouble.

What motivated Putin’s tactical shift is not apparent. It’s unclear how much economic damage has been done by international sanctions, but Russia’s stock market went up on the news of Putin’s announcement.

World: A huge explosion blew up a hotel used by government troops in Aleppo, Syria. There’s no official word on casualties, but the rebels claim they killed 60 people. Rebels forces appear to have tunneled under the hotel and planted explosives. The attack comes just a day after rebels negotiated the surrender of the city of Homs, which had been one of their major strongholds.  

–Vietnam says a Chinese ship rammed two of their ships in a disputed area of the South China Sea. China has built an oil-drilling rig that Vietnam says is in its waters.

Nation: The House voted yesterday along party lines to hold former IRS official Lois Lerner in contempt for refusing to testify about the investigation of non-profit political groups. Republicans accuse the Obama administration of targeting Tea Party groups. “This is not going to be a sideshow. This is not going to be a circus,” Speaker John Boehner said, signaling that it’s going to be a circus.

>Former American Idol star Clay Aiken is clinging to a lead of several hundred votes in the Democratic primary for North Carolina’s 2^nd congressional district. With votes still being counted, his opponent has not conceded. Aiken is a born-again Christian, a good thing for a North Carolina politician, but he’s also openly gay running in a heavily Republican district.

Mystery: A family of four was found dead yesterday inside a house in a Florida gated community. The dead are believed to be an insurance executive, his wife, and teenage son and daughter. Police are investigating it as a possible murder-suicide. The house is owned by retired tennis star James Blake, who was leasing it to the family.

Small Screen: NBC announced that it will pay $7.75 billion to cover six Olympic games from 2022 to 2032. The network has nailed down the rights to cover the feats of some athletes who have yet to be born.

The Obit Page: Farley Mowat, the Canadian author of 40 books, including “Never Cry Wolf,” has died at age 93. A veteran of WWII, Mowat was an outspoken naturalist who wrote adventure and travel books. He hated Canada’s annual seal hunt. His novel “Never Cry Wolf” was the tale of a man living in the sub-Arctic studying the behavior of wolves.

No Lie: A new type of tyrannosaurus dug up at a Chinese construction site has been nicknamed “Pinocchio Rex” because of its long snout. The technical name is Qianzhousaurus sinensis, which indicates its origin in China. The creature that lived 66 million years ago had a snout about a third longer than other types of T-Rex. As the line goes, “So why the long face?” Scientists don’t know.

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