Fargo, North Dakota's Red River appears to have crested at 40 feet, well below forecasters' estimates, to residents' and FEMA's relief. On Saturday morning President Obama dedicated much of his weekly address to reassuring the troubled regions of North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota that, even amid economic crisis, America would pull through to protect them. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that, though the Red reached its highest level in recorded history, its level rested just over 40 feet all day, making it unlikely that the river will reach the epic 42-foot crest predicted for Fargo, or the even more epic 51-foot one predicted for downstream town Grand Forks. Nonetheless, Fargo's mayor says that residents remain in a state of emergency, as the high water is likely to last, "oh, six to eight days, and not until that river drops to six or seven feet will I feel totally comfortable."

What goes around comes around. In Spain, prosecutors are taking steps toward opening criminal investigations into six Bush-era officials to determine whether they violated international law by authorizing torture at Guantanamo Bay, reports The New York Times. The Spanish prosecutors' case is strong, say the paper's sources—especially with "crusading investigative judge" Baltasar Garzon (claim to fame: issuing an order for the arrest of Chilean tyrant Augusto Pinochet) on the case. Bushies under review include former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, former Justice Dept. lawyer John Yoo, and former Undersecretary of Defense Douglas Feith. Spain's claim of jurisdiction arises from five Spanish Gitmo prisoners who say they were tortured there. Legal experts note, however, that even if Judge Garzon issues the warrant, it would likely end up purely symbolic, as the alleged criminals would merely have to remain in the US to avoid arrest. Nevertheless, Judge Garzon's reputation as a high-profile human rights crusader carries on.

President Obama has just unveiled his new Afghanistan strategy to the world, a plan to bolster the 17,000 US troops scheduled to join the fight with an additional 4,000 noncombat advisers. But how did he come to his decision? According to The New York Times, Obama's thinking process was as advertised during the campaign—he first consulted with Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who passed on commanders' requests for a long-term increase of combat troops and billions in new spending to bolster Afghanistan's own security forces. But Vice President Joe Biden cautioned against sinking into a possible quagmire and questioned whether more far reaching plans could make it past Congress. He also influenced Obama with his on-the-ground reporting from a recent visit, where he warned that "if you asked 10 people on the ground what American objectives were, he would get 10 different answers." Obama responded by narrowing American goals from broad nation building to defeating Al Qaeda first and foremost.

The original dungeon dad — Austria's Josef Fritzl — may be behind bars, but new cases of familial imprisonment and long-term sexual abuse are attracting attention in other parts of the world. The Times Online reports that a 64-year-old man in Turin has been arrested for 25 years' worth of raping his daughter — and for encouraging his son to rape his sister as well as his own four daughters. Turin's prosecutor called the family mindset a "droit de seigneur," French for lord's right, a supposed tradition wherein the lord of an estate is allowed to deflower any virgin who lives in his land. "According to a family rule, the eldest daughter was reserved" for the father, the prosecutor continued. Police report "conditions of slavery and mistreatment," and early psychiatric evaluations suggest personality disorders and "serious distress." The daughter reportedly approached authorities for help as far back as 1994, but her complaint was dismissed. Following the victim's new complaints about her brother assaulting his daughters, authorities bugged the family's home and collected verbal evidence that became the foundation for the new, dizzyingly large case. The men's lawyers maintain their clients' innocence.

International espionage has gone digital. New reports from two independent research centers find that a massive network of Chinese computers infiltrated and stole documents from 103 world governments, embassies, and foreign ministries. The New York Times says that the espionage ring—known as GhostNet—cannot conclusively be linked to the Chinese government, but the network's interest in the Dalai Lama and Tibetan exile centers suggest a tie to Beijing or some "patriotic hackers." GhostNet focused on Asian governments, but also infiltrated a NATO computer and the Indian embassy in Washington, D.C. The malware it used was powerful: GhostNet had the ability to manipulate cameras and recording devices on affected computers, which means the spy network could listen to and watch activities occurring in the same rooms as infiltrated PCs. Researchers say they found real-world implications from GhostNet's stolen data, including intervention by the Chinese government following an email correspondence between the Dalai Lama and a foreign dignitary. GhostNet is believed to be the biggest computer espionage system to date; however, it also represents the first time an outside group successfully uncovered the inner-workings of one. The Chinese government denies involvement.

Here we go again: Activist groups are taking to the streets of London in an effort to make their voices heard by the 20 leaders arriving for the G-20 summit. While the BBC reports a "carnival atmosphere" is now reigning among the marchers shouting slogans about the economy and global warming, and most groups have pledged peaceful, nonviolent protests, anarchists tend to make up for their small numbers at these summits by wreaking havoc. Many have expressed concern about the protests turning violent, saying such a development would undermine the united front of the diverse coalition of activists. Naturally, security forces have planned for every contingency, and law enforcement is on the ground in substantial numbers.

The last time we saw Bruce Willis with a garbage truck, he was surfing on top of it while escaping a tidal wave in Die Hard 3. Now that he's married lingerie model Emma Heming, who at 30 is 24 years his junior, he's going to have a new relationship with waste: His new brother in-law, Martin Heming, works in waste disposal in London and drives a garbage truck. "'I don’t live a glamorous life. I’m a binman and I certainly don’t earn anything like as much as Bruce Willis. I drive commercial waste around in a lorry," he said. The average joe has had very little contact with his newly famous half-sister; they share the same father but she grew up in the US. The Daily Mail hints that perhaps the new Mrs. Willis, who legalized her married to the movie star yesterday, would prefer not to have anything to do with her working-class relative. "'I sent her a message making sure she was doing OK and she said that they were OK. Then she took herself off Facebook, probably because of all the attention she was getting," said Heming.

With the markets slightly up, Treasury Secretary Geithner's "stock, once traded like the beleaguered Citigroup, is rising," writes The Wall Street Journal's David Wessel. When the markets go down, he'll be a moron again. No one knows this better than former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, who's a big fan of his successor. Though their personalities couldn't be more different, their economic philosophies have similar roots. The two, both Dartmouth graduates with backgrounds in the New York City financial world, have a strong respect for each other. Paulson, who like Geithner faced some (well-deserved?) criticism while coping with the economic crisis, is writing a book about the challenge of one of the toughest jobs in the world. "It's difficult to get the politics, the policy and the market reaction all right at any one point in time. It's virtually impossible to get all three of them right, but if you get any one of them very wrong, then you're not going to succeed," Paulson says. Geithner would likely agree.

When it comes to bailouts, America's attention has recently favored Wall Street—but worry not, Detroit, you'll get yours soon. On Friday President Obama's auto task force reached "final stages" in deliberation on how to deal with GM and Chrysler, reports the New York Times, and it looks like America's car companies will be getting more bailout cash, but with strings attached. Combined, GM and Chrysler have already received $17.4 billion. Administration officials say they will consider GM's and Chrysler's new financial requests separately from one another; GM would like $16.6 billion more, whereas Chrysler wants $5 billion. The task force is likely to establish short deadlines—"weeks rather than months"—for Detroit's new bailout-related tasks. Press Secretary Robert Gibbs noted that the auto industry's problems are formidable: "How do these companies get through the global recession that sees a great decrease in demand for the product? And how, when we emerge from recession to recovery, how do we have a sustainable path?"

If you happen to be near one of the world's major landmarks today, don't be alarmed if you see the lights go off. The Empire State Building, Sydney Opera House, Eiffel Tower, and Big Ben are just a few of the major tourist attractions that will go dim in recognition of global warming. The event, called "Earth Hour," started in Australia two years ago and has caught on fast. Last year, cities reported dips in power consumption by as much as 13 percent. Nearly 4,000 cities are participating this go-round. But without the glowing lights on the Vegas Strip, won't gamblers lose their bearings?

The economy is teaching many a practical lesson: There are better ways to spend your money than on a new piece of bling. Across the country, well-established jewelry vendors are seeing fewer clients with money to burn come through the doors. Manhattan mega-jeweler Tiffany's said its profits dropped 75 percent in the fourth quarter. Overall, more than 1,000 jewelry retailers have been forced to close up shop nationwide. And the issue is not just domestic. The diamond mines where the jewels are extracted—places notorious for poor wages and inhuman working conditions—are also struggling. Botswana, a country dependent on its diamond mines for much of its economy, is hurting after four major De Beers mines were put on hold. In India, there have been reports of several suicides over the loss of jobs in the mines.

Bauble or beloved child? Madonna is set to adopt another tot from the African nation of Malawi, and she's once again facing criticism. The star has expressed a need for her other adopted child, David Banda, to have a fellow countryman in the home, and she's expected to arrive in Malawi soon. Mercy James, a 4-year-old with no parents, is the child Madonna has her sights set on. The charity Save the Children has spoken out against the adoption, saying it is preferable for an orphaned child to be cared for by extended family or the local community. "You cannot literally take every poor child who may only have one parent living, or no parent living, across the world and transport them all into Kensington in London. It's not a solution," a spokesman told the BBC.

David Simon's wowed viewers and critics alike for five seasons with his epic drama The Wire, which explored crime, corruption, and poverty on the streets of Baltimore. Now Simon, who got his start as a crime reporter for The Baltimore Sun, is warning that unscrupulous politicians are set for a boomtime thanks to the decline of newspapers in America. "Oh, to be a state or local official in America over the next 10 to 15 years, before somebody figures out the business model," Simon tells The Guardian. "To gambol freely across the wastelands of an American city, as a local politician! It's got to be one of the great dreams in the history of American corruption." According to Simon, newspapers' best hope to avoid bankruptcy is to band together and collectively charge users to view their content online.

Worst day at work ever: A German virologist accidentally pricked herself with a syringe loaded with the deadly Ebola virus while conducting research. Within moments, scientists across the country mobilized and debated how best to save the yet-to-be identified woman. They settled on a vaccine developed nine years ago but still untested—and it appears to have worked. Though still quarantined, the woman is improving daily and showing no signs of Ebola. The symptoms are fairly easy to detect: Victims bleed from various orifices, including the eyes. Some strains kill up to 90 percent of victims. The success will likely spur further research into the vaccine, though it can never be confirmed whether the lucky scientist was actually saved by the scientific community.

A combination of torrential main and decaying infrastructure has led to tragedy in Indonesia, where a Dutch colonial-era dam exploded outside the capital city, Jakarta, killing at least 77 in the resulting flood. Indonesian officials say more than 100 people are still unaccounted for, so the death toll is likely to climb as authorities uncover more bodies. The rush of water destroyed some 300 houses and left another 200 flooded.

Last night's games yielded only one thriller, but the stage has been set for some juicy matchups today and tomorrow. Michigan State, rallying from 13 points down, came back to defeat the defending champion Kansas Jayhawks. The rest of the games went as expected. Oklahoma annihilated Syracuse, who looked like their six-overtime victory from two weeks ago finally caught up to them. UNC continued their domination, as Ty Lawson once again made spectacular plays on an injured toe. Louisville had the easiest go of it, wiping the floor with Arizona. One of the best games to look forward to? The battle of the big men that will go down in the paint as beastly Tyler Hansborough of UNC faces off against beastlier Blake Griffin of Oklahoma.

Judges Mark Ciavarella Jr., 58, and Michael Conahan, 56, of Luzerene County, Pa., have pleaded guilty to an elaborate kickback scheme in which they accepted $2.6 million in dirty money to boost profits at a juvenile detention center with rigged sentences for teens. Now authorities are trying to figure out just how they pulled off such a blatantly criminal scheme long enough to collect $2.6 million and sentence thousands of juveniles. The New York Times reports the two judges relied on fear to silence the obvious questions about their extreme preference for incarceration in their cases. “They were unstoppable,” Judge Chester Muroski, who was transferred to another court by Judge Conahan after raising a red flag on detention costs, told The Times. “I knew something was wrong, but they silenced all dissent.” The pair of corrupt judges hid their kickbacks by buying a $785,000 condominium together and faking rent and fees to cover the income.

Guatemalan security forces uncovered and broke up a training camp for drug smugglers on Friday. Reuters reports that two commanders of Los Zetas—the armed protector/assassins of Mexico's Gulf cartel—and 37 trainees fled when Guatemala's police and army descended on the compound. Among Zeta's abandoned loot were "500 grenades, six rifles, and hundreds of rounds of ammunition," reports Reuters. The camp had an airstrip, an obstacle course, and shooting ranges for moving targets. In a twist startlingly reminiscent of training camps promoting another international threat—terrorism—the police chief of Quiche, Guatemala explained that the camp recruited young men, who it would train in weapon use and instruct to lie about their occupations.

In a clear effort to avoid the mistakes of the previous administration's disaster management, President Obama has dispatched extra troops and helicopters to flooded areas in the Dakotas and made it known he is paying close attention to the crisis. "Even as we face an economic crisis which demands our constant focus, forces of nature can also intervene in ways that create other crises to which we must respond and respond urgently," the president said in his weekly video address. FEMA's new head, Nancy Ward, is in the area coordinating relief. Most recent reports put the Red River at 40.81 feet, nearly a foot over the previous record and 22 feet above flood stage. Though freezing temperatures have slowed the river's rise, it may still pass 42 feet this evening, forcing another wave of major evacuations.