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Yahoo President and CEO Marissa Mayer.

Brad Barket/Getty Images

The Wall Street Journal has this breaking news from the tech world:

"The Yahoo board has approved a deal to pay $1.1 billion in cash for the blogging site Tumblr."

The Journal, the only outlet reporting the approval, is sourcing its story to "people familiar with the matter." Lauren Armstrong, a Yahoo spokeswoman, told us in an email that they "don't comment on rumors or speculation."

The Journal's sister site, All Things D, had reported the deal to buy the blogging site was imminent. All Things D explained:

"Sources said that the Silicon Valley Internet giant's CEO Marissa Mayer has decided that buying Tumblr was going to be 'the stake in the ground of what her strategy is going forward for Yahoo.'

"And that is to attract younger audiences with just the kind of user-generated content Tumblr has pioneered to huge growth.

"As with all big-time acquisition deals, this one could certainly fall apart at the last minute, but source said the agreement was still in place as of today. If approved by Yahoo's board, it will be announced Monday. Yahoo has already said it has news to announce then."

It's always worth noting that these kinds of deals can fall apart.

Giga Om, by the way, ran a good story that looks at the many aspects of the deal. One of them: A $1 billion valuation for Tumblr may be a stretch. Last year, the company had revenues of less than $15 million.

Giga Om adds:

"... The painful fact is that Yahoo doesn't just look desperate — in many ways it is desperate. Mayer has made some changes since she took over the ailing former web portal, including the acquisition of Summly and a number of other mobile-focused startups and services, but the company still needs to make some aggressive moves if it is going to jump-start any growth at all. And since Yahoo has about $4 billion in cash on hand, it can arguably afford to make a big bet."

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President Obama walks across the tarmac to greet well-wishers on Sunday upon his arrival in Atlanta, Ga., where he will attend the commencement at Morehouse College.

Mandel Ngan /AFP/Getty Images

Talk during the Sunday news shows today focused expectedly on the trifecta of scandals — IRS targeting of conservative groups, the seizure of AP phone records and the attack of the Benghazi consulate — rocking the Obama administration.

We thought we'd save you some time and give you some of the highlights:

'A Culture Of Intimidation':

On Meet The Press, Sen. Mitch McConnell said the IRS controversy highlighted the administration's "culture of intimidation."

NBC News adds:

But he and Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich., admitted they lacked evidence that the targeting of conservatives was ordered by the White House.

"'We don't have anything to say that the president knew about it,' said Camp, who chairs the House committee looking into the IRS controversy, on NBC's 'Meet the Press.'

"McConnell also could not point to evidence of presidential involvement in the IRS's scrutinizing of conservatives, though the Kentucky senator argued that a need for more information justified emerging investigations into the controversy."

Obama Learned Of IRS Scandal Through News:

White House senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer told Fox News Sunday that President Obama learned of the IRS scandal when he heard it on the news.

"No president would get involved in an independent IRS investigation," Pfeiffer said. "It would be wholly inappropriate."

Pfeiffer also pledged that everyone "who did anything wrong will be held accountable..."

Politico reports that on Meet The Press, Pfeiffer also said that Republicans were trying to "make political hay" with the scandal.

"We've seen this playbook from the Republicans before," Pfeiffer said. "What they want to do when they're lacking a positive agenda is try to drag Washington into a swamp of partisan fishing expeditions, trumped-up hearings and false allegations. We're not going to let that happen. The president's got business to do for the American people."

'People Deserve The Truth':

On Face The Nation, Rep. Jason Chaffetz said Obama needs to release more documents on Benghazi.

"People deserve the truth and the families deserve the truth," Chaffetz said, according to Politico. "I can't imagine that this administration would say those same things about what happened in Boston where we had four people killed by a terrorist."

Polls Hold Steady:

CNN trains its political eye on the horse race: Despite the scandals President Obama's approval rating is holding steady:

"According to the survey, which was conducted Friday and Saturday, 53% of Americans say they approve of the job the president is doing, with 45% saying they disapprove. The president's approval rating was at 51% in CNN's last poll, which was conducted in early April."

When Did Obama Know?

CBS News' lead political story reports, "General Russell George said he informed a deputy at the Treasury Department in June of 2012 about the probe into the IRS."

CBS adds:

"The Treasury Department confirmed the timeline but said they did not know the details of the investigation until last week.

"It's the first evidence that someone within the Obama administration knew about the practice during the presidential campaign."

After analyzing forensic evidence, Nassau County Police in New York said on Saturday that it was a shot fired by an officer that killed 21-year-old Andrea Rebello.

Rebello, a junior at Hofstra University, was being held hostage by a masked gunman who broke into a house she shared with her sister. Police came looking for the man, when he turned a gun on them. The man allegedly had Rebello in a headlock.

CBC News reports that's when an police officer shot eight rounds. Seven hit Dalton Smith, the gunman, and one of them hit Rebello.

CBS News adds:

"Nassau County Police Commissioner Thomas Dale said he had traveled to Rebello's Tarrytown, N.Y., home to explain to Rebello's parents what happened.

"'I felt obligated as a police commissioner and as a parent to inform them as soon as all the forensic results were completed,' Dale said.

"The veteran police officer, who was not identified, has about 12 years of experience on the Nassau County police force and previously spent several years as a New York City police officer, Dale said."

CNN has a bit more on Rebello:

"Rebello's high school principal, Carol Conklin-Spillane, said the twins' home community in Westchester, New York, was heartbroken.

"She described Rebello as a fun-loving, personable and self-aware young woman.

"Her parents, Fernando and Nella Rebello, are closely tied to the Portuguese community, and always worked to create opportunities for their children, Conklin-Spillane said.

"Rebello, a junior, was majoring in public relations."

David Beckham, the storied midfielder who rose to international fame because of his style on and off the pitch, played his last home game for Paris Saint-Germain last night.

As the AP reports, despite being used to the lights and the big stage, Beckham, who announced his retirement from soccer last week, was finally overwhelmed.

As he walked off the field at the 81st minute, fans — including former French President Nicolas Sarkozy — chanted his name and Beckham showed emotion.

"I want to say thank you to everybody in Paris, to my team-mates, to the staff, to the fans," Beckham said at the end of the game, according to Australia's ABC. "To finish my career here could not be any more special... I want to enjoy my family now; I have all the souvenirs I want now so I'm very, very happy. Merci Paris. I'm very sad to be leaving but thank you."

Canal+ has a bit of video of the moment:

NBC Sports reports that this match may very well be Beckham's last.

"It's up to the coach, but I think that will be David's last match," PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi told NBC News.

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A customer holds a Powerball ticket and money as he waits in line on May 17, 2013 in San Francisco, Calif.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

If you bought a Powerball ticket in Zephyrhills, Fla., sit down and look at these numbers:

10, 13, 14, 22, 52 and 11.

As the AP reports, lottery officials believe only one ticket matched all six numbers in yesterday's Powerball drawing with a record $590.5 million jackpot.

"This would be the sixth Florida Powerball winner and right now, it's the sole winner of the largest ever Powerball jackpot," Florida Lottery executive Cindy O'Connell told the AP. "We're delighted right now that we have the sole winner."

CNN reports:

"The jackpot has a cash value of $376.9 million.

"The largest lottery jackpot in U.S. history was $656 million in theMega Millions game in March 2012. That was split by three tickets sold in Illinois, Kansas and Maryland.

"If there had been no winner in Saturday's Powerball, the jackpot would have shot up to $925 million for Wednesday's drawing, according to Kelly Cripe, spokeswoman for the Texas Lottery, which is part of the multistate lotteries."

We don't know about you, but if we were holding the winning ticket, we'd be following in the footsteps of Toronto's Maria Carreiro.

On the eve of a re-vote, a prominent Pakistani politician was shot and killed on Saturday.

Pakistan's Dawn newspaper reports that Zahra Shahid Hussain, who was the senior vice president of Pakistan's Movement for Justice (PTI), was shot in the head during "an attempted robbery incident."

"According to police," Dawn reports, "robbers tried to steal Hussain's hand bag and opened gun fire upon resistance by the PTI leader outside her residence in Defence Housing Authority Phase-4."

Imran Khan, the celebrated former cricket player and the chairman of the PTI, blamed Hussain's death on Altaf Hussain, the leader of rival party MQM.

"I hold Altaf Hussain directly responsible for the murder as he had openly threatened PTI workers and leaders through public broadcasts," Khan said in a tweet. He continued: "Zara Apa's murder has further strengthened PTI's resolve to stand up against criminals and terrorists!"

Pakistan's Tribune adds:

"Shortly after the incident, the MQM chief issued a statement of his own where he condemned the murder and demanded that the government immediately arrest the culprits and accord them the most severe punishment as per law.

"Imran said Zara apa, as she was known to all within the party, was an old and senior Party leader who was a mentor to the PTI youth and a committed ideological leader of the Party.

" 'I am totally shocked and deeply saddened and still cannot believe anyone would kill such a gentle lady.' "

Pakistan had ordered a re-vote in 30 Karachi polling stations after reports of irregularities. The PTI party was among those complaining of voting irregularities.

As NPR's Julie McCarthy has reported, Zahra Shahid Hussain's PTI party has become a "third force in Pakistani politics."

Update on Sunday at 3:25 a.m. ET. Notes From Julie McCarthy:

McCarthy points out that Zahra Shahid Hussain's death adds to a list of allegations of intimidation against the MQM party. The party, she says, "has dominated Karachi politics amid long-standing allegations that it has employed violence and intimidation tactics to control parts of the city."

In regards to the re-vote in Karachi, McCarthy adds that members of the PTI party "led noisy street protests and activated a strong social media campaign against the handling of the [initial] election."

Syrian President Bashar Assad essentially dismissed attempts by the United States and Russia to bring the civil war in the country to a political solution.

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Syrian President Bashar Assad made it clear in an interview with the Argentine newspaper El Clarin that he was not resigning.

Louai Beshara /AFP/Getty Images

"Believing that a political conference will stop terrorism on the ground is unreal," Assad said in an exclusive interview with the Argentine newspaper El Clarin. Assad also took the usual stance on a wide range of issues.

The New York Times sums up:

"Mr. Assad took a hard line throughout the interview, according to a transcript in English provided to The New York Times. He declared that he would run for election as scheduled in 2014 and would accept election monitors only from friendly countries like Russia and China.

"He also accused Israel of directly aiding rebels by providing intelligence on sites to attack, refused to acknowledge any mistakes in his handling of the two-year-old crisis, and disputed United Nations estimates that more than 80,000 people had died in the conflict."

According to El Clarin, Assad spoke from the presidential palace in Damascus. In the distance, the paper reports, you could hear sporadic artillery fire.

During the interview, Assad appeared to hint that he was open to dialogue. He said that when the revolution started, he instituted reforms, but all the rebels have done is resort to "terrorism." He also said that the opposition is controlled by foreign forces and there are too many different groups to actually negotiate with.

"They are different groups and bands, not dozens but hundreds," Assad said, according to a translation by The Guardian. "They are a mixture and each group has its local leader. And who can unify thousands of people? We can't discuss a timetable with a party if we don't know who they are."

According to El Clarin's translation, Assad also said that his country would not negotiate with "terrorists."

"We have an initiative that includes dialogue," he said. "But as far as terrorists are concerned, no one has to talk with terrorists. Terrorists hit the U.S. and Europe, yet no one negotiated with terrorists. One talks with political forces, but not a terrorist who kills and uses chemical weapons."

Assad would not say if he had any regrets and he also made it clear that he was not resigning.

"The captain of a ship doesn't flee when faced with a storm," he said. "I'm not a person who runs from responsibility."

The Guardian translated the video posted on Clarin's website:

A boy holds the burqa of his mother as they walk down a street in the old city of Kabul on November 1, 2009.

Nicolas Asfouri/AFP/Getty Images

After protests from some MPs and after only about 15 minutes, the Afghan parliament halted debate Saturday on a bill aimed at curbing violence against women.

As the BBC reports, the bill would have solidified a law passed by presidential decree in 2009, which banned "violence against women, child marriages and forced marriages."

Supporters of the bill wanted to bring it before parliament to make it more permanent. As is, a new president could scrap the decree but if the bill were passed by parliament, that would be more difficult.

The BBC adds:

"One of those against the move was prominent MP Farkhunda Zahra Naderi. She told the BBC after Saturday's events in parliament that her fears had been proved right.

"During the debate, mullahs and other traditionalist MPs accused President Karzai of acting against Islamic Sharia law by signing the decree in the first place, the BBC's David Loyn reports from Kabul.

"In particular, they demanded a change to the law so that men cannot be prosecuted for rape within marriage, our correspondent said."

The AP reports that the debate in Parliament was particularly heated around the issue of banning the prosecution of rape victims.

According to the AP, Nasirullah Sadiqizada Neli, a conservative lawmaker from Daykundi province, suggested that prohibiting the prosecution of rape victims "would lead to social chaos, with women freely engaging in extramarital sex safe in the knowledge they could claim rape if caught."

Fawzia Kofi, a women's rights activist and a potential presidential candidate, told the AP she was disappointed, especially because some of the bill's detractors were women.

The AP adds some background:

"Freedoms for women are one of the most visible — and symbolic — changes in Afghanistan since the 2001 U.S.-led campaign that toppled the Taliban regime. While in power, the Taliban imposed a strict interpretation of Islam that put severe curbs on the freedom of women.

"For five years, the regime banned women from working and going to school, or even leaving home without a male relative. In public, all women were forced to wear a head-to-toe burqa, which covers even the face with a mesh panel. Violators were publicly flogged or executed."

NASA scientists say they witnessed an extremely bright lunar explosion this past March. In fact, it is the biggest explosion they've seen since they started keeping track of such events in 2005.

"On March 17, 2013, an object about the size of a small boulder hit the lunar surface in Mare Imbrium," Bill Cooke, of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office, said in a press release. "It exploded in a flash nearly 10 times as bright as anything we've ever seen before."

What's cool is if you had been looking at the moon at just the right time, you would have seen a one-second flash caused by the impact of a nearly-90 pound meteoroid that was traveling at 56,000 mph. The impact was picked up by one of the Meteoroid Environment Office's 14-inch telescopes.

One intriguing question is how a meteoroid can cause an explosion on the Moon, which has no oxygen atmosphere.

NASA explains:

"Lunar meteors don't require oxygen or combustion to make themselves visible. They hit the ground with so much kinetic energy that even a pebble can make a crater several feet wide. The flash of light comes not from combustion but rather from the thermal glow of molten rock and hot vapors at the impact site."

Since NASA started keeping tabs of lunar strikes, it has counted more than 300 of them. They hope keeping track of these events will help them make decisions during long-term lunar missions.

"Is it safe to go on a moonwalk, or not?," NASA asks. "The middle of March might be a good time to stay inside."

We'll leave you with a graphic that shows all of the strikes the NASA program has recorded. The red square marks the spot of the March 17 impact:

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NASA's lunar monitoring program has detected hundreds of meteoroid impacts. The brightest, detected on March 17, 2013, in Mare Imbrium, is marked by the red square.

NASA

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In Moscow's Red Square, people still line up to visit Lenin's tomb. Though the Cold War is over, Russia and the U.S. keep watchful eyes on each other. Tuesday, Russian officials claimed to have uncovered a CIA spy.

Sergei Ilnitsky /EPA /Landov

Breaching protocol, a Russian official let a name slip during an interview with Interfax, the state news agency.

The interview was with a representative of the FSB, the Russian security agency, and the name he made public was of the person Russia believes is the CIA station chief in Moscow.

The Guardian explains:

"The US embassy declined to comment . Oleg Kalugin, a former KGB general turned Kremlin critic now living in the US, said: 'This is a deliberate attempt to make the situation worse than it is. It's an invitation to the U.S. to do the same and they probably will – and no one will gain.' ...

"[The FSB agent's] comments were widely published in Russian media and on state-run television, including the Kremlin's English-language channel, Russia Today.

"'Basically, the FSB got sick of American spies and demonstratively and publicly slapped one of them,' wrote the tabloid Komsomolskaya Pravda. 'Like a cockroach who thought he was master of the crumbs in the kitchen.'"

Of course, all of this comes after Russia arrested Ryan Fogle, a diplomat stationed at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow whom the Russians say is a CIA operative.

According to Russia Today, which reprinted the interview, the FSB agent said Fogle wasn't the first American spy caught trying to recruit Russian agents. The FSB agent told the news agency that last year, another embassy secretary was expelled from Russia for recruiting attempts. That case wasn't made public, the agent said, but the U.S. was warned.

"We hoped our American colleagues would hear us, given that we also presented to them precise information about CIA officers making recruitment attempts in Moscow and who exactly was doing that," the FSB agent said.

The BBC reports that the U.S. has not commented on the potential outing of the CIA chief in Moscow and it remains unclear whether "the same person remains in the post."

After a relatively calm few weeks, North Korea fired three short-range missiles Saturday, a South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman said.

NPR's Louisa Lim reports that North Korea fired the missiles in defiance of international sanctions. She filed this report for our Newscast unit:

"North Korea launched two guided missiles this morning and a third in the afternoon, according to South Korea's defense ministry — all landed in waters off the eastern coast of the Korean peninsula."

"This comes at a time when tensions had been ebbing, following months of escalating tensions, including threats of nuclear strikes. Pyongyang has recently withdrawn two midrange missiles which had been poised for firing on the east coast."

"The last time such short-range missiles were fired was just two months ago, in March. This latest launch comes just after the United Nations issued a report, saying international sanctions are reining in the development of North Korea's nuclear and missile programs."

The New York Times quotes Kim Min-seok, the defense ministry spokesman, saying the country remains vigilant "and prepared in case the launching of these missiles might be followed by a military provocation by the North."

Reuters has a bit more background:

"North Korea conducts regular launches of its Scud short-range missiles, which can hit targets in South Korea. It conducted a successful launch of a long-range missile last December, saying it put a weather satellite into orbit. The United States and its allies denounced the launch as a test of technology that could one day deliver a nuclear warhead."

As we reported last week, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un also replaced his defense chief with a relative unknown.

France is officially the 14th country to legalize gay marriage. Saturday, President Francois Hollande signed a bill that Parliament had passed in April, which gives same-sex couples the right to marry and adopt.

Opposition had stalled Hollande's action. As the BBC reports, after the Senate and National Assembly approved the bill, it "was quickly challenged on constitutional grounds by the main right-wing opposition UMP party of former president Nicolas Sarkozy."

Friday, a ruling by the Constitutional Council cleared the way for the president's signature. The council found the bill in accordance with the constitution, but France 24 says the body's statement "added a caveat ... saying that the legality of gay adoption did not establish the 'right to a child' and emphasizing that the interests of the children involved would continue to be the overriding consideration."

The highly charged debate spilled onto the streets when the bill first passed, as The Two-Way reported last month, and it is expected to do so again. NPR's Eleanor Beardsley tells our Newscast Desk:

"Many were surprised by the tough resistance to the measure in France, as the country is considered socially liberal. But a Catholic and more conservative heartland reared its head in opposition, holding massive protests over the last year.

"Their biggest argument, they say, is not against homosexuality, but that children deserve a father and a mother. Heretofore, same-sex couples could join in civil unions, but had to adopt abroad."

Beardsley reports a major opposition protest is scheduled for May 26 in Paris.

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Toronto Mayor Rob Ford in a photograph taken last September.

Kiichiro Sato/Associated Press

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford responded on Friday to a video that purports to show him smoking crack cocaine, calling it "ridiculous."

According to The Toronto Star, the cellphone video, seen by two of the newspaper's reporters, is being "shopped around Toronto by a group of Somali men involved in the drug trade." The Star writes that the video:

"... appears to show Ford in a room, sitting in a chair, wearing a white shirt, top buttons open, inhaling from what appears to be a glass crack pipe. Ford is incoherent, trading jibes with an off-camera speaker who goads the clearly impaired mayor by raising topics including Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau and the Don Bosco high school football team Ford coaches."

The Associated Press says Ford refused to take questions during a brief statement on Friday outside his office. He called the imbroglio, "another story with respect to The Toronto Star going after me. And that's all I've got to say for now."

The AP quotes Toronto deputy mayor Doug Holyday, who "questioned the authenticity of the video, saying 'video can be altered' and 'drug dealers can't be trusted.'"

Holyday said he has not spoken to Ford or his staff since the allegations surfaced, but noted he still believes in the mayor "at this point," the AP says.

Dennis Morris, a lawyer for Ford, told reporters that the video was false and defamatory, according to the Star:

"We're just trying to see whether or not such a video exists and whether or not any video has been doctored or altered," Morris told the newspaper. "I think unless one has expertise in crack cocaine smoking it is very difficult to gauge what a person is actually doing in an alleged video."

Two Metro-North Railroad trains have collided on a stretch of track near Fairfield, Conn., causing a "major derailment" and "preliminary reports of injuries," according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

[Update at 8:55 p.m. ET: The Associated Press quotes Connecticut officials as saying about 50 people have been hurt, four of them seriously.]

According to The Hartford Courant:

"A Metro-North commuter train derailed Friday night and hit a train heading in the opposite direction near the Fairfield-Bridgeport border, and there are preliminary reports of injuries, an MTA official said.

"At about 6:10 p.m. an eastbound train, the 4:41 p.m. train out of New Haven, derailed just east of the Fairfield metro station, said Marjorie Anders, an MTA spokeswoman. It then hit the side of a westbound train on the adjacent track.

"Emergency personnel are on scene and there are preliminary reports of injuries, she said."

Connecticut Post reporter Denis O'Malley spoke to NPR from the scene. He said injuries included one person with serious back injury and another with a neck injury.

Update at 8:20 p.m. ET: No Known Life-Threatening Injuries:

Reuters quotes Fairfield police spokesman Matt Panilaitis as saying none of those involved in the accident were believed to be suffering from life-threatening injuries.

The news agency also quotes Dianne Auger, a spokeswoman for St. Vincent's Medical Center in Bridgeport, as saying nine people were taken to the hospital as a result of the accident and one was listed in serious condition with head injuries.

The cause of the derailment was not immediately known, Reuters says.

According to The Associated Press:

"The railroad says the accident involved a New York-bound train leaving New Haven. It derailed and hit a westbound train near Fairfield, Conn. Some cars on the second train also derailed."

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A man gets a tattoo in Bangkok. The British Foreign Office says its citizens abroad have some odd requests.

Saeed Khan/AFP/Getty Images

The British Foreign Office is happy to assist its citizens, but officials want to make clear that there are some requests they won't fulfill.

Such as supplying Olympic tickets or doing a background check on that Swedish woman you met online.

Those are just a few of the "often good natured" but distracting requests that the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) says it received over the past year, according to a press release issued Thursday.

Some others that no doubt provided stodgy British bureaucrats with some much-needed levity:

— A man who required hospital treatment in Cambodia when a monkey dislodged a stone that hit him demanded help getting compensation and wanted assurance that it would not happen again.

— A man asked FCO staff in Rome to translate a phrase for a tattoo that he wanted.

— A woman requested that consular staff in Tel Aviv order her husband to get fit and eat healthily so that they could have children.

— A man asked the consulate in Montreal for information to settle a 1,000-pound wager on the color of the British passport.

— A number of British Consulates have been asked to book hotels or to advise on where to watch football.

"FCO staff help many thousands of British nationals facing serious difficulties around the world every year," says Mark Simmonds, minister of consular affairs. "We also receive over a million inquiries each year, so it is important that people understand what we can and cannot do to support them when they are abroad.

"We are not in a position to help people make travel arrangements or social plans, but we do help those who face real problems abroad. These can include victims of crime, bereaved families who have lost a loved one abroad or Britons who have been arrested or detained," Simmonds says.

"We aim to continue to focus on supporting those who really need our help in the coming year," he says.