--- title: Morning Must Reads: May 12 description: In the news: Pro-Russian militants assert that eastern Ukraine voters opted for some sort of self-rule; Nigeria's missing girls; 2014 midterms; ex-Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's new book; Pope Francis and the Devil canonical: https://time.com/95886/morning-must-reads-may-12/ author: Alex Rogers article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-05-12T12:06:09.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T07:46:45.639Z article:section: Politics og:title: Morning Must Reads: May 12 og:description: In the news: Pro-Russian militants assert that eastern Ukraine voters opted for some sort of self-rule; Nigeria's missing girls; 2014 midterms; ex-Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's new book; Pope Francis and the Devil og:url: https://time.com/95886/morning-must-reads-may-12/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb24c27fcf0ec0da8/6986837dcd6848a30809364f/morning-must-reads1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: Morning Must Reads og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Morning Must Reads: May 12 twitter:description: In the news: Pro-Russian militants assert that eastern Ukraine voters opted for some sort of self-rule; Nigeria's missing girls; 2014 midterms; ex-Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's new book; Pope Francis and the Devil twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb24c27fcf0ec0da8/6986837dcd6848a30809364f/morning-must-reads1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Morning Must Reads: May 12 > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Alex Rogers](https://time.com/author/alex-rogers/) ## Alex Rogers May 12, 2014 12:06 PM UTC  The early morning sun rises behind the US Capitol Building in Washington, DC. The early morning sun rises behind the US Capitol Building in Washington, DC. Mark Wilson—Getty Images by [Alex Rogers](https://time.com/author/alex-rogers/) ## Alex Rogers May 12, 2014 12:06 PM UTC * “Residents of two regions of eastern Ukraine turned out in significant numbers Sunday to vote in support of self-rule in a referendum that threatens to deepen divisions in a country already heading perilously toward civil war.” \[[WashPost](http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/ukraines-rebels-say-they-are-seeking-a-mandate-not-independence-in-referendum/2014/05/11/ac02688a-d8dc-11e3-aae8-c2d44bd79778%5Fstory.html?hpid=z1)\] * “European Union foreign ministers were set to modestly expand sanctions on Russia Monday as they began a potentially more divisive debate—how tough should be their response if Moscow undermines Ukraine’s upcoming presidential vote.” \[[WSJ](http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303851804579557371640346660)\] * Inside a Nerve Center of Ukraine’s Shadow War \[[Buzzfeed](http://www.buzzfeed.com/mikegiglio/inside-a-nerve-center-of-ukraines-shadow-war)\] * Nigeria’s Missing Girls: The End of Terror is Nowhere in Sight \[[TIME](http://time.com/95580/nigeria-missing-girls-2/)\] * “House Republicans have no scheduled votes or hearings on ObamaCare, signaling a shift in the party’s strategy as the White House rides a wave of good news on the law.” \[[Hill](http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/205752-gop-goes-quiet-on-o-care)\] * How 2014 became the year of the gun-toting candidate \[[Slate](http://www.slate.com/articles/news%5Fand%5Fpolitics/politics/2014/05/republicans%5Fshooting%5Fguns%5Fgop%5Fcandidates%5Fare%5Fadvertising%5Fhow%5Fthey%5Ffire%5Fa.html)\] * Keystone, Possible Runoff Create Long Slog for Landrieu \[[RCP](http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2014/05/12/keystone%5Fpossible%5Frunoff%5Fcreate%5Flong%5Fslog%5Ffor%5Flandrieu%5F%5F122598.html)\] * Show Us the Drone Memos \[[NYT/Sen. Rand Paul](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/12/opinion/show-us-the-drone-memos.html)\] * “Cory Booker, Chris Christie, and Mark Zuckerberg had a plan to reform Newark’s schools. They got an education.” \[[New Yorker](http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2014/05/19/140519fa%5Ffact%5Frussakoff?currentPage=all)\] * Geithner: On landing a (financial) plane that’s on fire \[[USA Today](http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2014/05/12/timothy-geithner-on-stress-tests-and-lessons-learned-in-the-financial-crisis/8937033/)\] * Hillary and Me \[[Politico](http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/05/hillary-clinton-and-me-2008-campaign-106568.html?hp=t1#.U3C1XeawITQ)\] * In Washington, Walk on the Grass, but Step Gently \[[NYT](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/12/us/in-washington-walk-on-grass-but-step-gently.html?hp)\] * A Modern Pope Gets Old School on the Devil \[[WashPost](http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/a-modern-pope-gets-old-school-on-the-devil/2014/05/10/f56a9354-1b93-4662-abbb-d877e49f15ea%5Fstory.html)\] * “European Union foreign ministers were set to modestly expand sanctions on Russia Monday as they began a potentially more divisive debate—how tough should be their response if Moscow undermines Ukraine’s upcoming presidential vote.” \[[WSJ](http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303851804579557371640346660)\] * Inside a Nerve Center of Ukraine’s Shadow War \[[Buzzfeed](http://www.buzzfeed.com/mikegiglio/inside-a-nerve-center-of-ukraines-shadow-war)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/95886/morning-must-reads-may-12/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/95886/morning-must-reads-may-12/"},"headline":"Morning Must Reads: May 12","datePublished":"2014-05-12T12:06:09.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T07:46:45.639Z","description":"In the news: Pro-Russian militants assert that eastern Ukraine voters opted for some sort of self-rule; Nigeria's missing girls; 2014 midterms; ex-Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's new book; Pope Francis and the Devil","url":"https://time.com/95886/morning-must-reads-may-12/","keywords":[],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb24c27fcf0ec0da8/6986837dcd6848a30809364f/morning-must-reads1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alex Rogers","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alex-rogers/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb24c27fcf0ec0da8/6986837dcd6848a30809364f/morning-must-reads1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Morning Must Reads","caption":"Capitol","creditText":"Mark Wilson—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/95886/morning-must-reads-may-12/","name":"Morning Must Reads: May 12"}}]}] ```