Putin Gets Nobel Peace Prize Nod

No, it's not an Onion headline: Among this year's record 278 Nobel Peace Prize nominees is one Vladimir Putin. Any member of a national assembly worldwide is eligible to nominate candidates, Reuters notes, adding that the Nobel Committee is likely to take Russia's actions in Crimea into consideration. "Part of the purpose of the committee's first meeting," which happened yesterday, "is to take into account recent events, and committee members try to anticipate what could be the potential developments in political hotspots," says the director of the Norwegian Nobel Institute. Edward Snowden, Malala Yousufzai, and Pope Francis are also among the nominees, the Voice of Russia reports. (More Nobel Peace Prize stories.)