Officials confirmed that all 153 aboard died after a plane in Nigeria crashed in a densely populated part of Lagos on Sunday. Thousands of on-the-ground helpers flocked to the scene after the accident involving a flight that the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority said was headed from Lagos to Abuja. The plane crashed into a building and exploded in flames, witnesses told Reuters. Emergency professionals told the Associated Press that the crash occurred just outside the Lagos airport and is the worst crash in Nigeria's history. There were at least 10 bodies pulled from the wreckage that belonged to those on the ground from where the Dana Air flight crashed, though officials believed there could be many more.

Bank of America's top executives neglected to tell shareholders about the losses at Merrill Lynch before completing the $50 billion purchase of the company in 2008. Shareholders were instead told of projections showing the deal would make money, when in fact it prompted the $20 billion taxpayer bailout. This information was revealed through documents filed Sunday night for a Bank of America shareholder lawsuit, which includes testimony from then-Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis, admitting that the documents filed with regulators and shareholders before the acquisition vote didn't include the loss estimates he had previously received. At the bank board's next meeting just days after the decision, they were given news that there had been a $14 billion pre-tax loss in the fourth quarter.

Two missiles fired by the U.S. Army killed 15 militants in a pre-dawn attack on a compound near the Afghan border, the area considered the hub of Taliban activity. This is the eighth strike since the NATO conference focusing on Afghanistan held in Chicago last month. Another attack on Sunday reportedly killed 10 insurgents.

As his forces poured shells into the city of Homs Sunday, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad got up on a soapbox to say his country was facing “a war from abroad.” Homs has been a center of antigovernment opposition during the 14-month popular uprising against Assad’s regime. “Dealing with it [the foreign threat] is different from dealing with people inside,” Assad said. In a 70-minute speech, Assad told those opposed to the government to “drop their weapons at once, and the government will not seek revenge now or later.” On Saturday United Nations special envoy Kofi Annan said that the “specter of all-out civil war” loomed over Syria. Assad also denied Sunday that his government had a role in the Houla massacre that left more than 100 Syrians dead.

Sitting Gov. Scott Walker will try to keep his job Tuesday as Wisconsinites head to the polls in an historic recall election, one that has seen more than $63 million poured into the state. Thanks to a century-old ban on independent expenditures by corporations and unions, more money has been spent on the recall than any other election before it, including the 2010 governor’s race, which saw a mere $37.4 million in campaign spending. Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, Walker’s Democratic challenger, has received 26 percent of his $4 million from out of state. Walker, meanwhile, has collected around 65 percent of his $30.5 million from beyond Badger State borders. Barrett entered the race in late March.

Pope Benedict's butler, Paolo Gabriele, is called "the usual scapegoat" by a new set of secret documents published by Italian newspaper La Repubblica. A letter accompanying the new information said they hoped to "drive out the real culprits from the Vatican," and cited them as Georg Gaenswein, Benedict's personal secretary, and Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, his secretary of state. Gabriele, who is being blamed for the original leak, which exposed corruption and cronyism in the church, is currently detained in the Vatican jail. The letter also alludes to hundreds more secret documents that could damage the Vatican's reputation.

Talk show host Bill Maher isn’t kidding. The comedian announced Sunday that he has purchased a minority ownership stake in his favorite baseball team, the New York Mets. Maher's official title is "New Partner," but he says he won't meddle in the team's affairs. "I'm just a fan," Maher said. "I'm not going to get involved. I think my role is going to be bringing luck to the team—they didn't have a no-hitter for 50 years, I buy in and I come to town and there's a no-hitter. Draw your own conclusions." The portions were being offered in an attempt to pay off the debt accrued by dealings with Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff. The ownership percentage and amount paid by Maher was undisclosed.

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell told CNN's State of the Union that President Obama's stimulus plan did assist his state during the economic crisis. “Did it help us in the short run with health care and education and spending to balance the budget? Sure,” McDonnell said. “Does it help us in the long term to really cut the unemployment rate? I’d say no.” He went on to say that some of Obama's policies have had a positive impact, but criticized his regulations. Obama and Romney surrogates have been exchanging heated remarks this week after Friday's jobs report showed a disappointing number of added jobs and a slight increase in the unemployment rate.

Tiger Woods is now neck and neck with golf legend Jack Nicklaus for the record number of PGA Tour wins after his Sunday victory at the Memorial Tournament. Woods took his fifth Memorial title in Ohio notching the 73rd win of his PGA career to tie with Nicklaus for No. 2 on the all-time list. After falling behind early Sunday, Woods had a stunning comeback on the 16th hole, where he chipped in from 50 feet out.  Woods's comeback included birdies at the 15th, 16th, and 18th holes. Nicklaus called the chip "the most unbelievably gutsy shot I've ever seen." Woods entered the season without a Tour win since 2009 and now has two under his belt for 2012.

A television staple for generations of viewers, Richard Dawson, who starred in Hogan’s Heroes and hosted Family Feud, died Saturday of complications from cancer. He was 79. “It is with a very heavy heart that I inform you that my father passed away this evening,” his son Gary wrote Sunday on Facebook. “He was an amazing talent, a loving husband, a great dad, and a doting grandfather.” Apart from his hosting responsibilities, Dawson appeared on The Dick Van Dyke Show and The Alfred Hitchcock Hour and had numerous film credits to his name, including an appearance in The Running Man. Dawson was born Colin Lionel Emm in Hampshire, England.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel rejected plans to share euro debt Saturday, saying broader economic restructuring is needed to get Europe back on its feet. Market watchers pointed to the slow movement by European leaders to rectify the currency crisis as a cause of economic woes internationally, including a dip in Chinese manufacturing and a poor U.S. jobs report. In a recent appearance, Obama attributed American economic malaise in part to “Europe and the cloud that’s coming over from the Atlantic,” adding that “the whole world economy has been weakened by it.” Merkel has said Germany will participate “under no circumstances” to shared debt in the euro zone.

All signs are that Afghanistan will retain its strategic importance even as the United States prepares to withdraw troops in the coming years. Afghan officials say their country will sign a new agreement with the Chinese government in the coming days that will strengthen the relationship between the two countries. Afghanistan has also signed agreements with the United States, India, and the United Kingdom. “The president of Afghanistan will be meeting the president of China in Beijing, and what will happen is the elevation of our existing, solid relationship to a new level, to a strategic level,” Afghan Foreign Ministry spokesman Janan Musazai told reporters.

A U.S. unmanned drone reportedly killed 10 suspected militants at a funeral Sunday for two men killed by a strike the day before. Intelligence officials in Pakistan say the drone fired four missiles in Mana Ragzhai, a village near the border with Afghanistan. The target was a gathering of men to honor a militant commander. It was the sixth U.S. drone strike in two weeks and the second of the weekend. Pakistanis have been angered by U.S. drone strikes in the country, many of them aimed against targets in the tribal areas of Waziristan, where al Qaeda and the Taliban are thought to operate with their affiliates.

In the small Mexican town of Tenancingo, the words “New York” bring dollar signs to the eyes of even the youngest—but not because they want to live here. Home to about 10,000, Tenancingo supplies many of the sex workers that end up on New York City’s streets, according to a report by the New York Daily News. “Many kids aspire to be traffickers,” said Emilio Munoz Berruecos, a local human-rights worker. “This is a phenomenon that goes back half a century.” And in this town where love is for sale and provides profits that finance gaudy pink-and-green houses, sex traffickers hold sway, recruiting women and sending many of them to the New York borough of Queens.

Five bodies burned beyond recognition were found in a sport utility vehicle in the Arizona desert Saturday in what is thought to be the result of cartel violence. “Given all these indicators, you don’t have to be a homicide detective to add up all this information,” Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu told reporters. The vehicle was found in the Vekol Valley, a desolate area frequented by smugglers of drugs and immigrants crossing back and forth across the border between Mexico and Arizona. “Clearly these people were murdered, but we don’t know the manner of death,” Babeu said. Pinal County deputies last year were reportedly involved in more than 350 pursuits, a high percentage of which involved traffickers, according to Babeu.

A rare original Tintin in America cover set a record price on a Paris auction block Saturday, netting $1.6 million. Drawn by the creator of Tintin, it’s not the first time this piece has set comic-book records—the same cover established the record in 2008 when it went for just under $1 million. The piece was reportedly bought by a private collector and is one of five original Tintin covers known to be in existence. “If he’d have been able to get it for less, I think he would have been happy,” the friend who represented the anonymous buyer at the auction told reporters. The friend would give his name only as Didier. “The aim was not to beat a record; the aim was to obtain the work, before anything else.”

The Romney and Obama campaigns will be keeping a close eye as the people of Wisconsin go to the polls for Tuesday’s recall vote. With the presidential race nearly neck and neck, the fight over whether Republican Gov. Scott Walker should be replaced may give one of the candidates a chance to pick up crucial swing-state support among Wisconsin’s divided electorate. “The vote here will definitely be seen as a harbinger of things to come,” Wisconsin political consultant Mark Graul told Reuters. “The winning side will have tremendous momentum, and there will be implications far beyond Wisconsin.” Walker is about 7 points ahead of opponent Tom Barrett in recent polls. According to the Center for Public Integrity, the recall election is the most expensive in the state’s history.

Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka went down swinging to her opponent at Roland Garros on Sunday. After a dominating a speedy first game, Azarenka couldn’t gain any momentum. “Today I couldn’t do it,” Azarenka said of her performance. “All I could hope for is for her mistake. I couldn’t make anything myself today.” Dominika Cibulková, seeded 14 slots below Azarenka, walked off the clay with the victory, winning 6–2, 7–6 (4). Azarenka showed her frustration throughout the difficult match, slamming her racket down at one point, which resulted in a warning for racket abuse. “This tournament is over for me,” she said afterward. “It’s [time] to really look forward and improve.” The men’s draw had some Sunday drama too, as Novak Djokovic climbed out of a two-set hole to advance, while Roger Federer lost the opening set before winning his match.

In an epochal display in honor of Queen Elizabeth’s 60-year reign, more than 1,000 watercraft packed the Thames on Sunday. Subjects turned out by the thousands despite it being a wee bit of a foggy day in London Town, and the queen herself led the procession in the royal barge before docking just past London Bridge. “We in Britain are experts at not letting the weather spoil our fun,” Adrian Evans, pageant master for the flotilla, told reporters. “The London Philharmonic Orchestra will be playing ‘Singin’ in the Rain’ as they travel down the river, and the crowd can sing along with them.”

They grow up so fast! Beijing Olympics star Shawn Johnson, just 16 when she captured America’s heart in the gymnastics competition, announced her retirement from the sport Sunday at the age of 20. Johnson is one of the most decorated American gymnasts in history, with three silvers and one gold medal from Beijing in 2008, along with three gold medals from world championships. Two years ago, Johnson injured her knee in a skiing accident and feared she'd never compete again. Her torn ACL and MCL turned out to be too hard to practice on. "This is a really hard moment," Johnson said. "I still have the heart, drive and desire to compete. Unfortunately my road has been cut a little short." She plans on starting college in the fall of 2013 at either Stanford or Vanderbilt.

Hundreds of women demonstrated in Istanbul on Sunday against a proposed law that they say would effectively ban abortion in Turkey. Women carrying signs that said “My body, my choice” were protesting a move by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has said abortion constitutes “murder,” to block abortions more than four weeks into a pregnancy. Abortions are currently legal in Turkey in the first 10 weeks after conception. Erdogan is known for taking stances in line with the government’s Islamic roots and on Saturday made remarks denouncing abortion at a rally. “They say it is ‘my body, my choice,’” Erdogan said. “Feminists say this. No one has the right to abort a fetus in a body.”

Elizabeth Warren made Democratic Party history Saturday when she advanced to a November challenge against Scott Brown without facing a primary. She’s the first candidate ever to get the delegates necessary to do so, winning 96 percent of the vote. Warren will challenge incumbent Sen. Scott Brown, whom she characterized in her convention remarks as “a Wall Street Republican, a Big Oil Republican, a Mitt Romney Republican.” The most recent polls show that Warren, a former Harvard professor, has a fight ahead of her. In one poll conducted by The Boston Globe and the University of New Hampshire, Brown looked likely to secure 39 percent of the vote and Warren 37 percent.

George Zimmerman, charged with second-degree murder in the death of Trayvon Martin, has turned himself in to the Seminole County jail in Sanford, Fla. Zimmerman had a 2:30 p.m. deadline to return after a judge revoked his bond Friday. The bond was pulled after a judge raised questions about the honesty of Zimmerman’s finances—which were reportedly “limited,” though he raised thousands through a legal-defense website. By turning himself in, Zimmerman hopes to show that he is not a flight risk, his lawyers said.

Ousted, disgraced, and sentenced to life in prison, the name of former president Hosni Mubarak still outrages many Egyptians. Thousands of protesters gathered in Tahrir Square on Saturday to demonstrate for a stricter sentence against Mubarak and his aides. “The Mubarak verdict mock us,” protester Sharif Ali told reporters. “He and [former Interior Minister Habib] Adly got a sentence, and their aides got nothing. When they return to court on appeal, they will be freed, too.” Protesters remained in Tahrir, the ideological home of last year’s anti-Mubarak demonstrations, continuing demonstrations that have reportedly left 100 injured across Egypt.