Just one day after India and Pakistan arranged a meeting for high-level talks in New Delhi, an explosion ripped through the Indian city of Pune this weekend, killing eight people and injuring 33. Germany Bakery was the site of the attack that killed four foreign women, and left a large crater inside the restaurant. "We heard a big noise and we all rushed out. The impact was so much that there were tiny body parts everywhere," said an employee at the bakery. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, which was the worst since the Mumbai incidents that killed more than 100 people in 2008.

Amy Bishop, the 42-year-old biology professor who allegedly shot and killed three University of Alabama professors, and wounded three others, at a faculty meeting Friday was questioned by Massachusetts police more than 20 years ago after she fatally shot her brother. The police chief of Braintree, Massachusetts, announced Saturday that the case records of the death of Seth Bishop in 1986 are no longer available. (They’ve been missing since 1988.) Amy Bishop fired three shots at her brother, ran into the street, and was detained at gunpoint. She was then released into the custody of her mother. Police said it was an accident, and Bishop was never charged. She was then in her teens and her mother said she asked how to unload a 12-gauge shotgun, which went off in her hands, hitting her brother in the abdomen. But now the police chief says they believe they were having an argument. “The release of Ms. Bishop did not sit well with the police officers,” the police chief said, “and I can assure you that this would not happen in this day and age.” Bishop was also a suspect in the 1993 Harvard mail bombing that targeted a medical school professor.

The huge offensive underway in Marja, in southern Afghanistan, is only a scaled-up version of earlier clearing operations in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. The offensive is part of the “clear, hold, build” counterinsurgency strategy, and how long this violent part lasts depends on the Taliban’s stamina. Typically the invasion step has lasted less than two weeks, but the intensity of the fighting varies. British forces last had more than a dozen men fighting in Babaji, while just south of there, in Nawa, American Marines met little resistance. Analysts expect a mix of those battles, with Marines dodging many roadside bombs but fighting few Taliban directly. "There are reports from residents who have fled: They have tunnels built, they have bunkers built, they have [explosive devices] strung all over the place," a military analyst said. "But I would be surprised if we saw them really dig in and fight us head-on. We've never really seen that before, and I don't think you're going to see it here." How long the “hold” part takes largely depends on how long the fighting lasts.

Simon Ammann, a Swiss ski jumper, has won the first gold medal of the Vancouver Winter Olympics. This is the third Olympic title for Ammann, who won the normal hill event. Adam Malysz of Poland took silver, and Gregor Schlierenzauer of Austria took bronze. Ammann won both jumps, earning a large lead with his 105-meter effort, followed by a massive 108-meter second jump, for a total of 276.5 points. The men’s downhill skiers had to delay their golden moment, however, because days of rain and warm temperatures have turned the slope to slush. The women’s super combined was also postponed, meaning the opening weekend of the Games will be without its major competitions. Meanwhile, there has been some grumbling of the International Olympic Committee’s choice of the warmest city ever to host the winter games. Perhaps worsening the problem, the host city put some events on Cypress Mountain, which is just 30 miles from the mild clime of city. But this winter has been unexpectedly warm and dry.

They’ve never had an actual debate, but Dick Cheney and Joe Biden will go head-to-head on Sunday talk show tomorrow, with Biden on Meet the Press and Face the Nation, and Cheney on This Week. The former Vice President and the current Vice President are expected to hammer home their conflicting viewpoints on national security and the war on terror. The face-off is partially a response to a steady stream of aggressive criticism by Cheney of President Obama’s stance on security issues, and Biden is expected to talk up the administration’s work fighting al Qaeda. “If the former vice president wants to discuss the record on fighting al Qaeda and keeping America safe, then we thought it made sense for the current vice president to make the case for what the Obama administration has succeeded in doing,” said a White House official. For his part, Cheney is said to have a number of talking points planned and will argue against KSM’s upcoming trial in New York City, plans to close Guantanamo, and various military issues. In response to raised eyebrows at Cheney’s behavior, former Bush press secretary Dana Perino said, “No one else is shy about commenting about us. The fact that we have been very effective at pushing back is something to be commended.”

Two NATO troops have died during the latest surge in Afghanistan, part of a major push to gain control over the Marja region, a longtime Taliban stronghold. Meanwhile, a British general has said that UK troops in the surge have accomplished their “key objectives.” In the wee hours of Saturday, close to 3,500 U.S. Marines and 1,500 Afghan soldiers descended on Marja and brig. Gen. Lawrence D. Nicholson said, “We’re going to take Marja away from the Taliban.” The operation is one of the largest ever in Afghanistan and is marked by closer cooperation with Afghan forces than previous missions; local tribal elders reportedly support the surge. Officials are keeping a close eye on the mission, called a “test of the central government’s ability to reach down to a still-volatile part of the country and deliver sustainable governance" by the State Department representative to the Marine brigade.

President Obama plans to beat the stalemate in Congress by maneuvering around it. The New York Times reports that he’s making plans to use executive power to advance his energy, environmental, and fiscal agendas. “We are reviewing a list of presidential executive orders and directives to get the job done across a front of issues,” said Rahm Emanuel. President Obama has already decided to create a bipartisan budget commission on his own after Senate Republicans rejected one. The administration has decided to weaken enforcement of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell while it waits for Congress to officially repeal the law. And the EPA is preparing to regulate greenhouse-gas emissions.

Apparently Sarah Palin wasn’t the only one “going rogue” during her time as Governor of Alaska; newly released emails are revealing husband Todd’s surprisingly major role in the state’s government, where he was so involved that some described him as Sarah’s “co-governor.” Alaska’s public information laws led to the release of 1,200 state emails showing Todd giving instructions and opinions on issues ranging from “talking points on rural Alaska” to “potential budget vetoes,” and 243 emails are still being withheld. Palin’s former chief of staff defended the duo, saying, “The governor is absolutely entitled to involve him in policy matters as an adviser as she sees fit.” The couple’s attorney also backed up Todd, comparing his involvement to that of Michelle Obama or Hillary Clinton (although, it should be noted, she took an active role in the government under an actual position). He explained that Alaskans were aware that Todd was “a powerful First Dude.” But former state Sen. Vic Fisher said the idea of “co-governors” was unheard of. "Acting as an official of the government, that seems to be beyond proper," Fischer said, "beyond the bounds of the way the government should operate."

As a crowd thousands-strong watched the Mavericks Surf Contest in Princeton-by-the-Sea, California, powerful rogue waves unexpectedly crashed over the beach, sweeping away awards stands and medical tents. A man in his sixties was taken away by paramedics when he was toppled by a wave before being trampled by the crowd fleeing the surf. Another woman likely suffered a broken wrist. "We're here ever year and we get rogue waves but nothing like this," she said. People desperately climbed bluffs to get away from the waves, even though the area was off limits. Firefighters and paramedics remained on the scene, expecting conditions to worsen.

They ought to guard it like the tree of knowledge: Angelina Jolie has bought Brad Pitt an $18,500 200-year-old olive tree for Valentine’s Day, according to reports. The couple plans to plant it at their $60 million estate in southern France. Olive trees are traditionally a symbol of peace and reconciliation—a fact that may fuel further speculation about the couple’s purported recent troubles.

International Olympic officials announced that men’s lugers will start their race at a lower point on the same track that claimed the life of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili Friday. The men will compete from the women’s start ramp, which will make the course easier to maneuver, and a bit slower. The men had been reaching speeds of 95 miles per hour in training earlier this week; Kumaritashvili was moving at 90 m.p.h. around the last curve when he hit an unpadded steel pole. That curve has been modified with a wood wall to cover the beams, and the curve's exit has been changed. American Tony Benshoof, who injured his ankle on the track earlier this week, navigated the 16 turns without incident. For months, luge experts had worried that the track was too difficult and dangerous, but Olympic officials blame human error for Kumaritashvili’s death, saying he came out of the previous turn late and didn’t correct himself.

Marines pushed into the Taliban stronghold of Marja, in southern Afghanistan, Saturday, and met stiff resistance from bands of insurgents, as well as tough terrain. Working with Afghan soldiers, the Marines slowly cleared roads of improvised bombs and trudged through muddy ground laced with irrigation canals in this rural area that’s home to 80,000 people. This is the largest coalition effort since the Afghan war began. One Marine was killed and several were injured, but it’s unclear how many enemy fighters were killed by the ground units or the missile strikes fired by drones. The area is thick with mines, making progress slower. Marines tried to detonate roadside bombs by firing rockets that laid a line of explosives in front of them, but still they met 15 bombs in the three-quarters of a mile from their command post to a canal. Logistical vehicles got hung up in mud while insurgents fired on the Marines. The goal is to create a “security bubble” so reconstruction professionals and government officials can begin work in Marja.

Dr. Amy Bishop, the biology professor who allegedly shot and killed three of her University of Alabama colleagues Friday, was suffering professional setbacks that may have triggered the violence. Bishop was part of a biotech startup and invented a new device to cultivate cells which was an improvement on the Petri dish. However Bishop, like many others in her field, relied on her ties to academia for prestige in what the New York Times calls “the pressure-cooker world of biotechnology startups.” In a blow to Bishop’s career, she was denied tenure at the university last spring. Untenured professors are allowed to stick around just six years, and this was the final semester of Bishop’s sixth year. She had appealed the decision. Colleagues say she would quickly bring up her tenure problems, even with new acquaintances, and described her as very smart but difficult to get along with. Early Saturday morning, Bishop was charged with first-degree murder.

With the fashion world still reeling from Alexander McQueen’s suicide, more details are emerging on the circumstances surrounding the designer’s death, and it looks like a bad breakup may be partially to blame. Not long after McQueen’s mother passed away he parted ways with a man whose name he had tattooed on his arm. In an unpublished interview, McQueen had referred to his ex as “a bastard who went back to Australia and I was left looking at his name.” Police reportedly found multiple suicide notes with McQueen’s body, and a source said that “rather than feeling optimistic about the future, he was quite the opposite.” McQueen also changed his will last year, and his design house is now scrambling to gain control of sample designs, which have skyrocketed in market value since the his death.

For the first time since 1953, Valentine’s Day falls on the same date as the Chinese New Year, forcing many people in Hong Kong, where people typically celebrate both, to choose between Eastern and Western traditions—and between mothers and girlfriends. To spend lavishly on flowers and dinner or head to mom’s for a family feast? A newspaper from mainland China described the conflict as "the West's ideal of a paradise for two” versus the “Chinese New Year's ideal of a reunited family." Hong Kong commentator Benny Li, agreed, calling Hallmark holidays such as Valentine’s, Mother’s, and Father’s day as “merely artificial creations.” One male resident felt less pressure; since his girlfriend flew to Beijing, he was released of all Valentine’s obligations. And one woman plans to bring her fiancée to her hometown to meet the family for the first time. Another man says he’s going to spend the morning with the family and the night with his girlfriend: "My girlfriend was very understanding," the man says. "But I did have to be delicate in explaining it to her."

A rare misstep from Google? Google Buzz, the company’s attempt to introduce a Facebook or Twitter-like feature to Gmail, has enraged some users, who say it violates their privacy. Buzz was set up to automatically create a network of friends based on whomever the user communicated most frequently with—a problem, say, if you’re having an affair. More troublingly, it disclosed the names of some people’s doctors and exposed whistleblowers and anti-government activists. A blogger at Foreign Policy wrote, “If I were working for the Iranian or the Chinese government, I would immediately dispatch my Internet geek squads to check on Google Buzz accounts for political activists and see if they have any connections that were previously unknown to the government." The product manager for Google Buzz says, "Google remains completely committed to freedom of expression and to privacy, and we have a strong track record of protecting both.”

Because "when you are used to living in a palace with dozens of servants, you don't want to cruise the oceans on a small yacht." That's how Berkeley March, the naval architect of the world's largest private boat justified his plans, unveiled yesterday in London. The 656-foot vessel is 99 feet longer than the current longest yacht, and features a two-level movie theater, a nightclub, a casino, a helipad -- and an eight-figure price tag. That price could go even higher if the buyer has special requests like "gold furniture," explained March, who believes the recession has actually created the perfect climate for selling such an item. "The people left with a lot of money have more power now, as there is less demand."

Can a new campaign strategy save Democrats from a disappointing November? The party is settling on a new tack, says The Washington Post: inviting Republicans to vote for a series of modest and popular bills or forcing them to explain to their constituents why they oppose such measures. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s pared-down jobs bill is the first example. On its heels, in the coming weeks, Republicans can expect to vote on lifting the antitrust exemption for insurance companies, small-business assistance, an extension of unemployment benefits, and a proposal to slap new fees on Wall Street banks. "If they support the measures, great," said one senior White House official. "But if not, the votes will show their hypocrisy and obstruction, which will demonstrate something in itself."

Disturbing and inexplicable news: Acquaintances of a 30-year-old disabled Pennsylvania woman forced her to eat a combination of “vegetable oil, spices, detergent, urine, and medications” before making her write a suicide note and stabbing her to death, according to police. The six people involved then shaved Jennifer Daugherty’s head, bound her with Christmas decorations, wrapped her in plastic, and left her in a school parking lot’s garbage can. Daugherty was reportedly acquainted with her killers from a local community center, and a relative said, “One thing I can tell you is there is no reason for them to do what they did to Jennifer. There wasn’t a mean bone in her body.” Evidence also indicated that Daugherty, who had the mental capabilities of a 12- to 14-year-old, was beaten with a towel rack, vacuum cleaner hose, and a crutch prior to her death.

A biology professor denied tenure opened fire at the University of Alabama’s Huntsville campus Friday, killing three, according to police. Dr. Amy Bishop is suspected of shooting six victims in total at a faculty meeting this afternoon, leaving three dead and three others seriously wounded, university officials report. The Harvard-educated neuroscientist allegedly began shooting after she learned at the meeting that she would not be receiving tenure, according to a local NBC affiliate in Huntsville. Five of the reported victims were faculty members and one of the injured was reportedly a staff member. The University of Alabama was put on lockdown immediately and the suspect was detained outside of the campus building “without incident.”

The Winter Olympics aren’t the only contest this weekend: The Worldwide Mr. Gay contest is happening in Norway, and The New York Times looks at the Chinese contestant, Xiao Dai, a Muslim from the Western province of Xinjiang. China made news when it canceled the Mr. Gay China pageant, which was supposed to happen in January. Still, three pageant organizers and eight contestants got together and voted to send Xiao. China decriminalized homosexuality in 1997, but the government still regularly blocks gay events.

Despite the somber news that an athlete from the Republic of Georgia died in a training accident Friday, the 2010 Winter Olympics got off to a jubilant start. With more than 50,000 spectators looking on, 2,500 athletes from a record 82 countries—competing for medals in 86 events—paraded through BC Place Stadium for the first-ever indoor Opening Ceremony. Amid elaborate tributes to Canada's culture and history, Canadian singers Nelly Furtado, Sarah McLachlan and others performed. Earlier in the day, Nodar Kumaritashvili died after a crash during a practice run. The 21 year old lost control of his sled, went over the track wall, and hit an unpadded steel pole. It’s unclear how fast Kumaritashvili was going, but many sliders on the track—which is the world’s fastest and has raised some safety concerns among athletes—have exceeded 90 miles per hour. In the Opening Ceremony, Georgia's athletes wore black armbands in honor of Kumaritashvili, and the Olympic and Canadian flags have been lowered to half-staff.