Tuesday marks one year since the radical Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram kidnapped 276 Nigerian schoolgirls and threatened to sell them as wives and sex slaves. The savagery sparked an international outcry, and the Bring Back Our Girls movement spread across social media. Although some girls escaped, the whereabouts and the fate of the rest of the girls are uncertain. Since the girls' kidnapping, the terrorist group has pledged allegiance to the
Islamic State and has continued to kill and kidnap thousands, including a mass abduction in March that was reported to have as many as 500 victims. In late March, Muhammadu Buhari ousted President Goodluck Jonathan, but whether the former general can follow through on his campaign promise to crush Boko Haram remains to be seen: He will take office in late May. A UNICEF report released Monday estimates that 800,000 children have been displaced by the violence related to the Boko Haram insurgency.
2. Sentences expected in Atlanta cheating scandal
For the 10 Atlanta Public Schools educators convicted of racketeering charges for helping to inflate their students' standardized test scores, Tuesday may be the last chance to serve their detention from home rather than prison. Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard has offered the group of teachers and administrators a last-minute deal that includes home confinement instead of prison time and fines that are expected to be about $5,000. It's uncertain if the convicted educators will take the deal, but Judge Jerry Baxter has made it clear that he intends to teach them a harsh lesson if they don't. "I've got a fair sentence in my mind, and it involves going to jail — everybody," Baxter said.
3. Iraqi PM to make his first official White House visit
When President Obama meets Tuesday with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi in his first White House visit as prime minister, the topics of conversation are going to be the Islamic State and Iran. The Pentagon says Islamic State militants have been driven from 5,000 to 6,500 square miles of territory in northern and central Iraq, roughly 25% of the land they had seized at the height of their lightning advance. Although U.S. airstrikes have played a role in driving back ISIL, much of the success is due to Iranian-backed militias. The U.S. wants to see Iran play a smaller role in the fight, but it's been difficult to convinces the Iraqis to turn down Iranian aid, which comes with few strings attached, when they are so desperate for international assistance.
The International Monetary Fund will release its latest forecasts for the global economy Tuesday as finance ministers and central bankers from 188 countries gather in Washington for the World Bank-IMF spring meetings. Many economists predict the global economy will grow 3.4% this year, in line with last year's modest showing. But in the U.S., a strong dollar is hurting exports. Cheap oil and other commodities are lifting consumption in advanced economies, but hobbling the emerging markets that produce them, such as Russia and Brazil. IMF economists will reveal their views on how those forces and others will shape national economies around the world in 2015.
There are 42 programs in the federal government to help people get to the doctor. Eight federal agencies are responsible for the safety of consumer products. The point? A report by the Government Accountability Office finds 12 areas where federal government programs could be consolidated or streamlined in order to save taxpayers tens of billions of dollars. A draft of the report will be released Tuesday.
