10 Things to Know for Thursday, May 8, 2014

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

1. HOW UKRAINE FEELS ABOUT AUTONOMY  A majority of Ukrainians, even in the Russian-speaking east of the country, want Ukraine to remain a single, unified state, a Pew Research Center poll shows.   UKRAINE

2. WHAT MAY RAISE POLITICAL STAKES FOR MIDTERM ELECTIONS  House Republicans are set to begin a special probe of the deadly attack on the U.S. diplomatic post in Benghazi, Libya, and Democrats are considering a boycott of the committee.   BENGHAZI ATTACK

3. SENATE POISED TO GRILL POTENTIAL SEBELIUS SUCCESSOR  Sylvia Mathews Burwell, Obama's nominee to take over the federal health care agency — and assume responsibility for "Obamacare" — begins confirmation hearing.   HEALTH NOMINEE

4. BOKO HARAM KILLS HUNDREDS IN BUSY MARKETPLACE  The attack escalates Nigeria's growing crisis from the campaign of bombings, massacres and abductions being waged by the Islamic militants.   NIGERIA-VIOLENCE

5. GOP-LED HOUSE VOTES TO HOLD EX-IRS OFFICIAL IN CONTEMPT  Democrats deride the action targeting Lois Lerner as little more than an election-year ploy to fire up the Republican base.   IRS CONTEMPT

6. WHAT SILICON VALLEY, DEMOCRATS HAVE IN COMMON  The tech industry may dress differently from buttoned-up politicians, but that's where a wealthy segment of Obama's Democratic donor base can be found.   OBAMA

7. WHO ARMY IS DEPLOYING TO COMBAT PTSD  Lexy, a 5-year-old German shepherd, is getting soldiers to put aside bravado and seek treatment for stress disorders and mental health issues.   MILITARY THERAPY DOG

8. WHO'S STRUGGLING IN THE CLASSROOM  Only about a quarter of high school seniors in the U.S. are performing proficiently in math, and just 4 in 10 are making the grade in reading, a new report says.   NATION'S REPORT CARD

9. WHAT'S HOLDING BACK THE GLOBAL ECONOMY  Birth rates — crucial for economic growth — tumbled after the Great Recession in 2008 and still haven't recovered.   RECESSION-POPULATION

10. TEXANS ON THE CLOCK  Houston will have the No. 1 pick when the NFL draft gets underway, Day 1 of a three-day, made-for-TV marathon.   NFL DRAFT