5 Things to Read Today: Europe Responds to Migration Crisis, Six Charged With Trying to Join ISIS, and More

Here are our picks from today’s top stories.

#1: Europe Holds Emergency Talks on Migration as Death Toll Rises

The European Union pledged to scale up its response to the migration crisis, seeking to stem the thousands of people risking the potentially deadly sea crossing to Europe. The measures include a broader mandate for a joint EU-Italian border-control and rescue mission. The humanitarian emergency has worsened as refugees spill out of North African countries that have descended into chaos. The EU’s moves followed a tragedy over the weekend in which as many as 700 migrants are believed to have died when a boat capsized near the Libyan coast. One of the few survivors from that ship said hundreds of people had been locked inside by smugglers and were trapped below deck as it sank.

#2: Six Minnesota Men Charged With Trying to Join ISIS

The U.S. charged six Minnesota men in connection with attempts to join Islamic State. At least one of them got to Syria and tried to help his friends follow, authorities said. Another left the group and cooperated with the FBI by recording conversations. The incident is the latest in a string of cases against Americans trying to join extremist groups fighting in Syria’s civil war. Minnesota U.S. Attorney Andrew Lugar said it highlights “a terror recruiting problem” in the state. “It’s not a Somali problem, it’s not an immigrant problem. It is our problem,” he said.

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#3: Boston Bombing Jurors to Decide Between Life Sentence and Death

Jurors return to a Boston federal court Tuesday to consider a death sentence for Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. While the legal system considers execution the harshest punishment, jurors may see a life of imprisonment, privation and regret as the tougher option, experts said. In this year’s Boston Marathon, Lelisa Desisa of Ethiopia won his second race two years after he donated his medal from his first title to the city in memory of bombing victims. Kenya’s Carolina Rotich won the women’s race , outsprinting Mare Dibaba down Boylston Street to win by four seconds.

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#4: Scientists Target New Painkillers From Spider Venom

Scientists in Australia, home to some of the most poisonous creatures on Earth, have made an important discovery about spider venom that eventually could lead to a new class of painkillers. Spiders use their venom to immobilize or kill their prey. Researchers from the University of Queensland isolated seven peptides—the building blocks of proteins—in spider venom that blocked the molecular pathway responsible for sending pain signals from the nerves to the brain. One peptide in particular, from a Borneo orange-fringed tarantula, had the right structure, stability and potency to potentially become a painkilling drug. More: Slideshow: Spider Venom Could Yield New Painkillers

#5: Love at First Sight Is Real, If You Believe

Does love at first sight ever really happen outside of the movies? According to a survey of more than 5,000 singles ages 21 to 70-plus, sponsored by the dating site Match.com, 59% of men and 49% of women in 2014 said they believe in love at first sight, and 41% of men and 29% of women say they have experienced it. Scientists say we are genetically wired for the possibility of love at first sight, but why it happens to some people and not others is largely a matter of timing and self-assurance.