The government offices of Marja have been secured from the Taliban by U.S. Marines and Afghan soldiers in the huge offensive that began Saturday in southern Afghanistan. Soldiers siezed a former police station, as well as ruins of the former government center that had been used as stalls in a weekly bazaar that raised income for the insurgents. The clearing and securing of the rural area is about two-thirds complete, a British commander said, and the Afghan National Civil Order Police will likely arrive Wednesday, far ahead of the schedule military planners envisioned. "We have had some significant resistance from isolated groups of fighters," the commander said, and the northeast part of the area has been secured, though IEDs must still be cleared. Eight civilians were killed in the fighting Tuesday, three in shooting incidents in Marja and five in Kandahar, after troops killed civilians erroneously assumed to be planting roadside bombs.

Spending on lobbying rose 12 percent last year to $29.8 million among the eight banks and private-equity firms that spend the most to influence lawmakers. JPMorgan Chase led the way—it employs 30 lobbyists and its lobbying budget rose 12 percent to $6.2 million. It rose 27 percent at Wells Fargo and 16 percent at Morgan Stanley. "I have never seen such a scrum of bank lobbyists as I have in the last year—and I've worked on quite a few bank issues over the years," said one lobbyist for state consumer organizations. "It seems like everybody is out of work except for bank lobbyists." The banks are fighting Obama’s financial-regulation plan—in particular, his aim to create a consumer-protection agency.

Is this the bombshell that's supposed to end New York Governor David Paterson's career? The New York Times has run its much-anticipated story and it focuses not on Paterson's romantic life, but rather the background of one of his longtime aides. David A. Johnson began working as an intern for Paterson when he was a state legislator. Johnson, 37, now makes $132,000 a year and has his own room in the governor's mansion. Johnson was twice arrested on felony drug charges in his teens, was once arrested on a misdemeanor assault charge, and has three times been involved in disputes with women that resulted in calls to police. (Paterson has campaigned against domestic violence.) The New York Times reports that some of the governor's veteran aides are worried that Johnson has a lot of influence but lacks the ability to help Paterson through the state's fiscal crisis. Agency heads complain they have to go through Johnson to get to the governor. In a statement Wednesday, Paterson said he is “proud” of Johnson’s accomplishments and “the conclusions reached by the Times report are not supported by the facts”: “There is no independent evidence presented that would substantiate any claims of violence committed by David Johnson against a woman, a fact underscored by the absence of a single judicial finding that any such incident ever took place.”

President Obama announced Tuesday $8 billion in federal loan guarantees for a new nuclear power plant—the first in this country in nearly 30 years. Obama used the announcement to call for cap and trade, and said that the nuclear deal is “only the beginning.” Opposition from environmentalists and safety advocates has prevented any nuclear plants from being built since the 1980s.

Toyota will be coming under more scrutiny as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened a probe into the automaker's recalls—and whether they happened fast enough. NHTSA requested documents from Toyota, including its production data and consumer complaints, to determine exactly when the company realized its cars had defective gas pedals or braking systems. Regulators say the number of people confirmed to have been killed by unexpected acceleration has climbed to 34. U.S. law caps any fines that could be imposed on the car giant at $16.4 million. With sales stalled, Toyota also announced Tuesday that it would halt production at two American plants for at least 11 days to prevent inventory from piling up.

The January 12 earthquake that ravaged Haiti was the most destructive natural disaster to ever hit a single country, according to a new study by the Inter-American Development Bank. The damage is estimated to cost $13.2 billion, and between 200,000 and 250,000 people were killed or are still missing. By comparison, the tsunami that rocked Indonesia in 2004 claimed as many lives, but that country’s population is several times that of Haiti’s. And the effects of the quake will be long lasting: In 10 years, Haiti’s economic output is expected to be 30 percent less than it would have been if the disaster hadn’t happened.

Canada's gold medal count is now up to two, as Maelle Ricker snatched the top spot in the snowboard cross Tuesday. Ricker, 31 years old, also enjoyed the added pleasure of performing before a hometown crowd. The athlete is from West Vancouver and competing in her third Olympic Games. She entered the competition as the top-ranked rider in the world. Four years ago, Ricker suffered a concussion after falling in the final in Torino. France's Deborah Anthonioz won the silver medal, and Switzerland's Olivia Nobs took the bronze.

An international manhunt began Tuesday for the assassins responsible for the targeted death of a senior Hamas official in Dubai in January. Authorities have so far been derailed by fake identities, stolen from British citizens residing in Israel. The suspected team of 11 professional assassins includes six British and three Irish citizens, according to Dubai police, who unveiled the fake passports at a news conference Monday. The victim, Mahmoud al Mabhouh, was a senior Hamas official, and many have suspected that Israel's intelligence service may have been behind his assassination. Hamas has openly accused Israel of the killing and vowed revenge.

Sadie, the adorable Scottish terrier, won Best in Show at the Westminster Dog Show on Tuesday night. Sadie was the No. 1 pooch in the nation coming into the competition, and the heavy favorite among bettors in Las Vegas. The 4-year-old with silky black tresses—full name Roundtown Mercedes of Maryscot—won her 112th best-in-show ribbon, though this latest is surely the most satisfying. The purebred dog show, held at Madison Square Garden in New York City, was briefly interrupted near the end by some pro-mutt protesters, but security quickly averted a Kanye-Taylor moment. The bitch beat out a French bulldog, a toy poodle, a Doberman, a Brittany, a puli, and a whippet named Chanel who can run 35 miles per hour for the top title.

The Tonight Show is losing bandleader Kevin Eubanks, who often bantered with Jay Leno during their 17 years working together in late night. After a transition period beginning when Jay Leno resumes his spot as host of the Tonight Show, Eubanks eventually will leave to pursue "personal touring and recording opportunities." "Kevin is talking it over with Jay and Debbie," a colleague told The New York Times in reference to the show's producer, Debbie Vickers. "He would never leave them in the lurch." The move means more turmoil for the talk show, which was turned over to Conan O'Brien, only to be returned to Leno seven months later.

The news that Barclays doubled its profit in 2009, combined with an improving U.S. manufacturing sector, spurred stocks and commodities to rise around the world. The value of the dollar dropped against 14 of 16 major currencies, falling 0.9 percent on the Dollar Index. The S&P 500 gained the most in three months, 1.8 percent, as did MSCI World Index, its largest rise in six weeks. Oil climbed the most in four months, and copper hit a three-week high. The good showing from Barclays adds to the evidence that the federal bailout managed to stabilize the financial sector; the economic index of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported that the manufacturing sector grew the fastest in four months. That trumped news about Greece’s budget woes. "Manufacturing is increasing globally and there will be demand for raw materials, even in the U.S. we're seeing an increase in manufacturing," a money manager said. "People are positioning themselves to take advantage that."

The Taliban's top military commander was captured in a secret joint operation by Pakistani and American intelligence forces in Pakistan. American officials have described the Afghan commander, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, as the most significant Taliban figure to be detained since the American-led war in Afghanistan started more than eight years ago. Mullah Baradar has been in Pakistani custody for several days, with American and Pakistani intelligence officials both taking part in interrogations, according to the officials. The officials said his capture had provided a window into the Taliban and could lead to the capture of other senior officials. Most immediately, they hope he will provide the whereabouts of Mullah Omar, the one-eyed cleric who is the group’s spiritual leader.

Though she took a 10-year hiatus, Sade's fans haven't abandoned their loyalty and are still rewarding her with impressive sales numbers. The songstress' 2000 album Lovers Rock sold 4 million copies, and Billboard expects her new album to debut at the top of the charts with an estimated 375,000 to 400,000 in first week sales. Even though Sade and her band had barely seen each other over 10 years, about two years ago they began work and rediscovered their chemistry. "It's like a real powerful long-distance relationship," Sade says. "We really do pick up where we left off in terms of our musical friendship."

BBC broadcaster Ray Gosling admitted on air that using a pillow, he ended the life of his lover, who was suffering from AIDS. Gosling said that doctors told him there was nothing they could to save the man, or lessen his suffering. "I killed someone once," Gosling said in a documentary segment aired Monday. "He was a young chap, he'd been my lover, and he got AIDS... And in a hospital one hot afternoon, doctors said 'There's nothing we can do.' And he was in terrible, terrible pain. I said to the doctor, leave me just for a bit. And he went away. And I picked up the pillow, and smothered him until he was dead. The doctor came back. I said, 'He's gone.' Nothing more was ever said." Gosling said that the killing was an "agreement" between him and his lover. The admission is intensifying the assisted-suicide debate in the U.K., where mercy killings are illegal. In a press conference, Gosling said he would not cooperate with the police, regardless of whether that would put him in jail.

The knock on Avatar was that it was an unoriginal story with magnificent effects. Fans might be disappointed then to hear that Cameron’s next move is to write a novel that will be a prequel to the film. “Jim wants to write a novel that is a big, epic story that fills in a lot of things,” says Jon Landau, Avatar’s producer. "[We] won't have time to do [these stories] in the movie, or maybe in sequels … [So the novel will] give a foundation for the world.” Stories that will be covered include Sigourney Weaver’s character’s teaching at a Na’vi schoolhouse; protagonist Jake’s story on Earth; and the death of Jake’s brother. This novel will be Cameron’s first.

The United States isn’t the only country with Main Street-Wall Street friction. In Greece, the tension turned violent Tuesday when a bomb went off at the offices of JPMorgan Chase in Athens. No one was injured, and a warning call was placed to an Athens newspaper. The time bomb damaged the door and broke some windows. Greece’s economy ran into trouble when credit-rating agencies downgraded its ratings due to huge government debts.

Winds and fading daylight prevented two rescue teams from reaching climber Joseph Bohlig, 52, of Kelso, Washington, who fell 1,500 feet into the crater of Mount St. Helens Monday. Bohlig, an experienced climber, was standing on a snow overhang that eroded, causing him to fall 1,500 feet. Though he was alive shortly after the fall and using a rescue whistle, on Tuesday a Coast Guard helicopter pilot who was part of the rescue team said, "There was no movement of the head, no attempt to signal." Crawford said Bohlig's torso was covered with snow, with his arms, legs, and head sticking out. Bohlig's body was recovered by a Navy rescue helicopter Tuesday.

After hearing the news of her close friend Lee "Alexander" McQueen’s passing, Lady Gaga revamped her plan for last night’s Brit Awards performance. Instead of her rehearsed routine—she was supposed to sing "Pokerface" in another of her over-the-top performances—Gaga sang an acoustic version of her single "Telephone" and an electronic version of a lesser-known song titled "Dance in the Dark." The singer wore all white and was surrounded on stage by fog machines and a giant statue of herself adorned in the infamous McQueen-designed lobster heels from her "Bad Romance" video. Gaga, who was rumored to have wanted to perform in all black, arrived to the show in a tiered white dress and wig. The wig stayed for the performance but the pop star paired it with a much sleeker, sheer lace bodysuit for the stage.

Mitt Romney may have nearly gotten in a fist fight while flying coach Monday, but it turns out that private planes have problems, too: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s government plane was grounded in Saudi Arabia Tuesday after mechanical trouble. Luckily for her, David Petraeus was in the area with his plane, and he picked her up. Unfortunately for the rest of Clinton’s traveling party, there was not enough room on Petraeus’s plane for them.

Malawi police are hunting down high-profile gay men and women in the African country in a new operation. Anti-gay fervor is spreading across the country and in much of Africa, a problem many blame on the influence of American fundamentalist Christian missionaries. Malawi recently prosecuted a gay couple seeking marriage—the men could get 14 years in prison—and Uganda saw thousands of protesters demonstrating in favor of a new law that would institute the death penalty for some convicted of having homosexual sex. A 60-year-old man was arrested Monday after a younger man alleged he sodomized him. A woman was driven from her town despite being acquitted of having sex with two girls. In Kenya, police arrested five men for being gay (two were reportedly beaten). Human-rights groups are worried, and blame U.S. influence. "It's very well calculated," a gay-rights campaigner said. "We have proof of American evangelical churches driving the religious fundamentalism in Uganda."

Does it have to be written on an iPad? Apple chief executive Steve Jobs will collaborate on the first-ever authorized biography with former Time magazine managing editor Walter Isaacson, according to unnamed sources in The New York Times. Jobs, who turns 55 this month, has never given a definitive account of his life, though several would-be biographers have tried, much to his frustration. In some cases, he has banned other books from the same publishers as these biographies from Apple store shelves. Isaacson has already written two best-selling biographies about Albert Einstein and Benjamin Franklin, which would put Jobs in elite company. This book is said to be in the early planning stages.

King Tut's death may not be as intriguing as previously assumed. Though some had speculated that the young pharaoh, who died at age 19 around 1324 B.C., was murdered or killed in a chariot accident, new DNA research shows that his likely cause of death was malaria. The research also shows that Tut was probably plagued by genetic defects, like a club foot--which makes sense, since the research also shows that his parents were siblings. 

Britney Spears, Jessica Simpson, J. Lo—and now Madonna? The venerable queen of pop is gearing up for her own fashion lines, following in the footsteps of younger pop stars. The designs, which would be sold exclusively at Macy's, would include clothing, accessories, lingerie, and footwear. Madge is reportedly leaning toward calling her apparel line Material Girl, and the underwear line Truth or Dare. The brand-management firm Iconix Brand Group is said to be negotiating the venture with Madonna. Iconix tallies up $10 billion in annual sales, thanks in large part to its licensing agreements with Candies, Rampage, Badgley Mischka, and others. Celebrity does not always transfer to retail revenue, however, as Jennifer Lopez's and Paris Hilton's collections have long struggled. Madonna is admittedly in another league—the star has appeared in many advertising campaigns for couture labels (including this spring's Dolce & Gabbana campaign) and even created a successful co-branded line for H&M under the banner "M by Madonna."

Sometime in 2006, Roger Ebert, perhaps America’s most famous movie critic, took his last drink and ate his last piece of food. The man who knows all of cinema’s famous last words can’t remember his own. Suffering from thyroid cancer, doctors removed Ebert’s lower jaw. With the help of a Scottish company, though, Ebert may get a more-authentic voice back—in a way. CereProc develops custom text-to-speech software, and they can use all those hours of television and commentary the Chicago Sun-Times critic has done to a tailor a new digital voice for him. Ebert, who lives in Chicago with his wife Chaz, who now uses a more-rudimentary voice program still watches and reviews hundreds of movies a year. And he writes and writes, taking to the web to create a journal. “It is saving me,” he tells Chris Jones of Esquire.

Commending their friends and family for not leaking it to the gossip pages, Nicole Richie and Joel Madden announced that after three years together and two kids, they are engaged. “P.s. thats why i love my family and friends,” Madden, lead singer for the band Good Charlotte, posted on Twitter. “None of them are sources. All good tight lipped people who let us enjoy it!” Richie, 28, and Madden, 30, have been together since December of 2006. They have a two-year old daughter, Harlow, and a five-month-old son, Sparrow.

It’s in with the old at the Obama White House: The administration is revamping its communications strategy by returning to campaign-style discipline. After criticisms of overexposure, the White House is limiting Obama’s appearances and interviews and responding rapidly to criticisms on the White House blog. Obama is hosting more events where he speaks directly to the public without the media as intermediary. So far this year, President Obama has only done one interview with a reporter who regularly covers the White House.

Bet he misses that campaign jet: Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney was threatened by a violent passenger on a flight out of Vancouver on Monday night. Romney and his wife, Ann, were sitting in economy, waiting for takeoff, when the man in front of Ann reclined his seat. When Mitt asked the man to make it upright, the man became “physically violent” and, according to some reports, tried to hit Romney. The passenger was then removed from the plane.

Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo thought that they had accomplished everything they could accomplish when they retired in 2007—two Olympic bronzes and three World Championships. But, after three years away from the ice, they came back to Vancouver for one last shot at gold. Now married, and by far the oldest skaters in the competition, Shen and Zhao thrilled the judges Monday night to earn China’s first ever figure-skating gold medal and break a win streak held by Russia and the Soviet Union dating back to 1960. "We've been in competitions for many years, and won other medals," Zhao said. "But every time we heard the national anthem and saw our flag being raised, we wished it was the Olympic Games. Today we've achieved our goal."

Twelve years after his investigation led to the impeachment of President Clinton, Kenneth Starr now has a presidential title to call his own. He was named president of Baylor University on Monday. Starr had previously served as dean of the Pepperdine law school in Malibu, California since 2004. The former appellate court judge and longtime law professor shot to notoriety during his investigations the Whitewater land deal and the Monica Lewinsky scandal. In its public statement, Baylor cited Starr’s “depth of experience” and “his dedication to the highest ideals of the Christian faith” as its reasons for hiring him.

On Friday, Dr. Amy Bishop allegedly murdered three colleagues and seriously wounded two others at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. Among the dead was Dr. Gopi Podila, the head of the biology department, the father of two teenage daughters, and a leader of Huntsville’s Indian community, where he arranged performances and choreographed traditional dances. Not only will the biology department be missing its leader, but also its administrator, who is in the hospital in critical condition. Another of the dead, Dr. Adriel Johnson, had two sons in college and a third in high school, while the third murdered victim, Dr. Maria Ragland Davis had three stepchildren. Officials spent Monday investigating Bishop’s past—including a 1986 case where she killed her brother with a shotgun and which was ruled accidental.

Flip the channel during Olympic commercials: The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show wraps up on Tuesday night with the Best of Show announcement. So far in the running are a whippet, which won the hound group; a white poodle, which won the toy group; and a French bulldog, which won the non-sporting group. Favored to win, though, is a Scottish terrier named Sadie. 2,500 dogs have gathered in Madison Square Garden for the occasion.

All is not well in the Fox family: Fox News contributor Sarah Palin has slammed Fox Hollywood after one of its shows, Family Guy, ribbed her in a scene making fun of special-needs children. (Palin’s son, Trig, has Down Syndrome.) Rather than unleashing her normal vitriol on Fox, Palin hands her Facebook account over to her daughter Bristol. “People with special needs face challenges that many of us will never confront, and yet they are some of the kindest and most loving people you’ll ever meet,” Bristol wrote. “Their lives are difficult enough as it is, so why would anyone want to make their lives more difficult by mocking them? As a culture, shouldn’t we be more compassionate to innocent people–especially those who are less fortunate?”

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad did not take kindly to allegations from secretary of State Hillary Clinton that Iran was moving toward a “military dictatorship.” While she is lobbying for tough U.N. sanctions against Iran, Ahmadinejad downplayed the importance of the Revolutionary Guard, pointing out instead that the United States has 300,000 troops currently stationed in the Middle East. "We don't take her comments seriously,” Ahmadinejad said at a press conference Tuesday. "These comments she is making are not wise.” He added: "If anyone does anything against Iran, then our response won't be the same as in the past. No, we will definitely react and make them regretful." The current back and forth was spurred by Ahmadinejad’s announcement that Iran intends to build 10 nuclear fuel plants and is working to enrich uranium.