After a new round of protests, the Muslim Brotherhood has demanded that Egypt's military leaders step down and allow for a new, civilian prime minister to take power. This marks a reversal for the group, a formerly outlawed Islamicist organization that now holds a majority in the new parliament. The Muslim Brotherhood initially said it was content to wait for the generals to hand over power in June, but as the protests have intensified, it changed its position. The change took place against the backdrop of an economic crisis and the United States threatening to pull its aid over criminal charges filed against 16 Americans tied to NGOs in Egypt.

There’s always a flip side. The $25 billion settlement that the five largest U.S. banks agreed to pay for roles they played in the mortgage meltdown will likely result in a wave of home seizures, Bloomberg reports. Translation: while the chances of a long-term housing recovery increase, delinquent borrowers are going to be hit hard. Foreclosures were slowed as attorneys battled with the banks for more than a year, but now that there’s an agreement, it’s time for some property seizures. With such a backlog of foreclosures, there are many Americans stuck in houses they can’t afford. But as many as 2 million Americans will reap the benefits of the settlement, the largest of its kind in history and the biggest civil-action suit ever against the housing industry.

Just when we thought things couldn’t get any worse. Military tanks reportedly amassed outside the city of Homs, raising fears of a brutal push into the largely Sunni areas in the coming days. Human-rights activists said that 110 people were killed in the city Thursday by government shelling and snipers. Now that the U.N. Security Council failed to denounce the Assad regime, the U.S. State Department is attempting to bring other nations together to come up with a plan of action to stop the violence in Syria. State Department officials said Thursday that Jeffrey Feltman, the top Mideast envoy, has traveled to Morocco, France, and Bahrain to put a group together. Russia and China vetoed the resolution, leaving much of the international community enraged that more couldn't be done to stop government forces from attacking the protesters, mostly located in Homs. Both France and Turkey have offered to host a meeting for countries that want to participate.

Yo, that’s a lot of meth, Mr.White! The Mexican Army confiscated on Thursday 15 tons of the drug in the western part of the country—roughly half of the total amount of meth taken off the street in 2009. Already, because of the sheer amount that was found, there is speculation that the infamous Sinaloa cartel was involved, though Army officials wouldn't confirm that. They estimated that 15 tons of meth would translate to 13 million doses worth over $4 billion. It was unclear where the drugs were headed, but experts say it looks like Mexico is becoming a major meth source worldwide—not just in the United States.

Will the real Mitt Romney please stand up? The presidential hopeful, who’s had a rough week after losing three states to Rick “the surge” Santorum, promised Fox News that his speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Friday will show that’s he’s 100 percent conservative. The points of his resume he highlighted: fighting a mandate for religious employers to provide contraceptives and attempting to block same-sex marriage in Massachusetts. Thursday, Mitt met with some conservative leaders to pitch his pureness, held a few $10,000-ticket policy discussions, and a photo session and reception. He’s expected to raise about $1 million.

Well, this doesn’t read quite like Walter Isaacson’s Steve Jobs biography. On Thursday, the Federal Bureau of Investigation released Jobs’s file, a 191-page document with details on the Apple innovator from a 1991 investigation of him when he was considered for an appointment to President George Bush's Export Council. Jobs is characterized by those who were interviewed by the FBI as someone who “will twist the truth,” is “a deceptive individual,” and only has integrity “if he gets his way.” “His moral character is questionable,” one source told the FBI, while “several individuals commented concerning past drug use.” The file also contains information about Jobs after a bomb threat was made against him in 1985.

The “Santorum surge” is apparently not a fleeting thing. Fresh off his hat trick in Missouri, Minnesota, and Colorado, the presidential hopeful is neck and neck with Mitt Romney in Pennsylvania, according to a new poll. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review/WPXI-TV poll says that Santorum has 30 percent, while Romney has 29 percent—though 55 percent say Romney can beat Obama, while only 9 percent say Santorum has it in him to take on the president. In a national Gallup Poll, Santorum has surged to 20 percent support (the same as Newt), though Romney still has 36 percent. Add the hot numbers to Santorum’s attacks on Romney’s “gotcha” politics, and we may have a tight race.

Josh Powell, the Washington-state man who killed himself and his sons by blowing up his home Sunday, told his sons that he had a “big surprise” for them moments before the explosion, said social worker Elizabeth Griffin Hall in an ABC News interview. The social worker was taking the boys, ages 5 and 7, to visit their father, who lost custody of his children in September. He lost an appeal to regain custody four days before killing his sons. Powell locked Hall outside his home Sunday after taking his children in. Hall heard Powell promise a “surprise” as she banged on the front door, then heard the youngest boy cry out. Hall smelled gas, and was on the phone with her boss when the house exploded.

No doubt appealing to his base of young, hip voters, Barack Obama announced Thursday on his Tumblr that he's joined Spotify. Obama—or one of his staffers—created a public playlist on the music-sharing site that will be played at campaign events, and asked Tumblr followers to suggest songs to add. The controversy-free list includes almost all genres, from pop to country to soul, but is notably lacking in the hip-hop and rap department. Someone seems to have created a Spotify under Mitt Romney's name, but judging from Romney's recent musical choices, it's hard to believe the presidential hopeful would ever play Ol' Dirty Bastard at a campaign event. 

Camille Paglia said Diana was the last great silent-movie star, so good was she at projecting glamour through sealed smiles in thousands of photographs. But the Princess of Wales will soon become a true film character, with the British-Australian actress Naomi Watts scheduled to play her in the first feature biopic on her last two years of life. It’ll be called Caught in Flight and will be directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel, who made Downfall, the, uh, Hitler biopic on his, um, last days. The movie will be shot in Britain this year.

More than 30 years after the Three Mile Island accident, The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is set to approve two new nuclear reactors. The two plants will be built in Georgia, about 170 miles east of Atlanta, where two older reactors are already running. The last new reactor started operating in 1996, but the NRC hasn't issued a license to build a new one since 1978, a year before the accident at Three Mile Island.

Chelsea Handler put the jokes aside during an appearance on Rosie, where she discussed an abortion she had at age 16. “I was so delusional,” Handler said. “I was like, I’m ready for a baby.” She said her parents persuaded her to have an abortion instead, and she said she has “no regrets at all.” When host Rosie O’Donnell noted that many women have said they regret their abortions, Handler said, “That’s not the stuff I’ve heard from my friends who’ve had abortions. Listen, not that it was a casual thing that they never thought of again, but it wasn’t a life-defining negative thing.” She also talked about her brother’s death when he was 22 and she was 9, saying she “shut down” after his death but that the tragedy ultimately brought her family closer together.

The ‘playboy’ prince is off to war again. England’s Prince Harry will be off to the front lines of Afghanistan as an Apache co-pilot gunner. Harry finished at the top of his class and was declared “limited combat ready.” He will be free to go to Afghanistan once he completes his pre-deployment training. The U.K. Ministry of Defence said it was safe to lift the media blackout that surrounded his previous deployment because he would be less vulnerable as a pilot than as an infantryman. He is expected to fly in combat.

Take a picture. Kodak, the inventor of the hand-held camera, announced on Thursday that it will be phasing out production of digital cameras, video cameras, and other digital products in a bid to keep costs down. The company is reeling after filing for bankruptcy last month, and said that its decision to ax digital photography may save the company upward of $100 million annually. The company, synonymous for many with personal photography, said it will continue to offer photo printing services both online and in stores.

The five largest banks in the U.S. agreed to a $26 billion settlement for the roles they played in the mortgage meltdown. As many as two million Americans could reap financial benefits from the settlement, the largest of its kind in history and the biggest civil-action suit ever against the housing industry. All 50 state attorneys general started working on the deal in late 2010 amid outrage over the corrupt mortgages. Though billions are laid out in the agreement, the money will likely help only a relatively small portion of borrowers facing foreclosure, depending on how effectively Washington manages the deal. The deal also does not rule out criminal prosecution for the banks.

Women in the U.S. armed forces have some new job opportunities: the Pentagon is relaxing its restrictions on women in combat to allow females to serve in non-infantry battalion jobs. The positions put women closer to the action in positions like radio operators, intelligence analysts, medics, and tank mechanics, but they will still be barred from front-line infantry and special ops forces. The change is expected to open up about 14,000 jobs to female soldiers. The change came as a result of a Pentagon study of women in combat.

Everybody lies—even the makers of the show House? Probably not, in this case. The producers and Fox announced Wednesday that the wildly popular medical drama—based on the character Sherlock Holmes—will end this season after eight years on television. While there had been discussions about a new deal, the show’s producers wanted to cut costs. Also, House isn’t owned by Fox, but by NBC Universal, meaning ancillary profits of the show went to the studio. It looks as if it’s the end for Hugh Laurie and the show, but we’re keeping our fingers crossed for a last-second plot twist.

With a 417–2 vote Thursday in the House, Congress banned themselves from buying stocks based on insider information, but left Wall Street consultants unaffected. The Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act, or STOCK Act, passed the House despite criticism from senators that Republican leaders cut key provisions from the bill and fast-tracked it for approval. A main sticking point was a provision cut by Eric Cantor that would have required oversight of the growing “political intelligence industry,” K Street consultants who sell inside information to hedge funds about the likely outcome of legislative proposals. That change came after heavy lobbying from the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, a major Wall Street trade group.

One of the most senior al Qaeda fighters in Pakistan, Badar Mansoor, has been killed by a U.S. drone, according to local officials. Mansoor is suspected of orchestrating attacks in Pakistan and elsewhere that killed dozens of people. Pakistani officials say Mansoor was among four militants killed in the strike. On Thursday, 10 suspected militants were killed in a drone strike in Pakistan.

Following California’s ruling to lift a ban on gay marriage, Washington state passed a bill approving gay marriage on Wednesday and is poised to be the seventh state in the country where same-sex couples can wed. The Washington House approved the measure by a 55–43 vote after it passed the Senate last week, and Gov. Chris Gregoire is expected to sign off on the legislation next week. However, it will take 90 days for the law to go into effect, and opponents are vowing to push through a ballot measure that would put it on hold until the November election. But if they don’t garner enough votes, gay couples in Washington could begin walking down the aisles in June.

It’s the Santorum surge! A campaign spokesman said that presidential hopeful Rick Santorum has raised $1 million after his surprise hat-trick victory in Colorado, Minnesota, and Missouri Tuesday night. Eighty percent of the money was from online donations—which even crashed the website. Good signs for Santorum: website traffic was nearly twice as heavy as on the day after the Iowa caucuses (though it’s important to remember Santorum wasn’t declared the winner in the state until later). While this sum is still far behind Mitt Romney’s numbers, it’s a sign that Santorum may be gaining momentum.

Two top financial leaders at Ford Motor Co.—who are both credited with leading the company’s comeback—are leaving, Ford announced Thursday. Chief Financial Officer Lewis Booth, who led the company through the 2008 banking crisis and helped repay its debt, and global product development chief Derrik Kuzak, who is credited with shifting Ford’s focus from trucks to cars, will retire effective April 1. Ford CEO Alan Mulally is staying and he said he has no plans to retire. Mulally, who said Ford has a succession plan for every management position, has already named Comptroller Bob Shanks to replace Booth and engineering chief Raj Nair to replace Kuzak.

The Obama administration is going to loosen requirements from the Bush-era No Child Left Behind Law for 10 states, according to an administration official. The states applied for a waiver that would let them substitute new, more flexible evaluation standards. Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oklahoma, and Tennessee were all approved. New Mexico was denied, but they are working to get approval. No Child Left Behind required all students to be proficient in reading and math by 2014.

Israel is working with an Iranian terror group to kill Iran's nuclear scientists, U.S. officials have told NBC News. They say Israel is financing, training, and arming Iranian dissidents known as the People's Mujahedin of Iran, a group designated as terrorists by the U.S. since the 1970s, when members allegedly killed U.S. service members. They later broke with the Iranian mullahs. Five nuclear scientists have been killed since 2007, often by a motorcycle rider attaching a magnetic bomb to the scientist's car. U.S. officials say the Obama administration is aware of the assassinations. The Iranian government claims that Israeli trainers even built a replica of one scientist’s home.

It was just last summer that President Obama's economic approval rating was a very low 26 percent. Obama must be doing something right, or at least it must appear that way to more people, because now 38 percent of Americans are happy with the way he's handling the economy. Granted, this number is still low: 59 percent of people do not approve with his economic strategy. Obama's overall approval rating is at 47 percent—which is likely thanks to positive feelings about his national defense and foreign affairs strategies. Gallup notes that the country's economic mood is on the rise, which will probably continue to boost the numbers.

Is Ron Paul slowing down? The Texas representative’s campaign chairman says that Paul was asked to be a keynote speaker at this year’s CPAC conference in Washington, but he turned down the offer to stay on the trail. It doesn’t look like Paul is that busy, however, since he hasn’t held a single campaign event in more than a week. Paul has in fact had a clear schedule since a gathering in Minnesota last Tuesday. Stranger than his break from campaigning, though, is his absence from CPAC which has become a popular event for Paul supporters in past years. 

The Marine Corps confirmed on Thursday that members of one of its sniper teams had posed for a photo in Afghanistan in front of what appeared to be a Nazi SS flag—and said disciplinary action had been taken. The photo of Marines in front of a flag with a symbol similar to that of the SS appeared on a blog after being taken in 2010. Mikey Weinstein of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation has called for a full investigation. The Marines said in a statement that the troops are no longer with the unit they were serving with when the photo was taken. A Marine Corps spokesman said the flag was intended to designate the Marines as “scout snipers,” adding that it was unacceptable nonetheless.

Ron Barber, an aide to former representative Gabrielle Giffords who was also injured in the shooting that led to her departure from the House, announced Thursday that he will run for her seat to finish the remainder of her term. Barber, 66, has been the district manager for Giffords’s congressional office since 2006, and nearly died after being shot twice during the massacre of Jan. 8, 2011. "I'm not a politician, so I'm taking this one step at a time," Barber said. He said he made the decision after conversations with Giffords and her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly. Three Republicans—2010 Giffords challenger Jesse Kelly, Tucson broadcaster Dave Sitton, and state Sen. Frank Antenori—are running in a special primary election.

A far, far better thing that Santorum does now? Depends who you ask. On Wednesday the Republican candidate, who has stumped hard on the idea that President Obama has declared war on religious freedom, went even further. It’s an outright reign of terror, according to the Catholic Santorum. “When you marginalize faith in America, when you remove the pillar of God-given rights, then what’s left is the French Revolution,” Santorum said at a campaign stop in Plano, Texas. “What’s left is a government that will tell you who you are, what you’ll do, and when you’ll do it. What’s left in France became the guillotine.” So is this Santorum’s Thermidorian Reaction?

Greek leaders on Thursday reached a deal for deep austerity cuts, a government official has confirmed. By enacting austerity cuts, Greece is now eligible to receive bailout funds from the European Union—and thus will avoid defaulting on its debt. The deal came just hours before Greece's financial backers were set to meet in Brussels to discuss the crisis. The euro and Greek stocks rose Thursday after the news of a deal broke Greece's two major labor unions called for a 48-hour strike on Friday and Saturday against the cuts. Meanwhile, Greek unemployment rose to another new record, of 20.9 percent, in November, up from 18.2 percent in October. The average jobless rate for 17 eurozone countries  edged up to 10.4 percent in November from October’s 10.3 percent.

The U.S. Postal Service announced Thursday that it had a net loss of $3.3 billion in the last three months of 2011—and the agency pleaded for legislation that is “urgently needed” to allow it to cut costs. In a statement, the Postal Service asked for the government to pass legislation that will keep benefits at their current rates, and will allow for “delivery flexibility.” The Postal Service warned it could default on its health benefits pre-payment this year, and could reach its $15 billion debt limit. In an effort to cut $20 billion in costs, the agency decided to close post offices around the county, but it has since delayed the closures, allowing Congress more time to support it.