Rick Santorum has been on the defensive a lot tonight. The audience booed him when he spoke about voting in favor of Title X family-planning funding. He backed off a bit when asked about women serving in combat. On the No Child Left Behind Act, Santorum said he supported the law even though it was “against the principles I believed in,” admitting he “made a mistake” and “took one for the team” because it was a policy advocated by George W. Bush.

Intercepted communication between Syrian Army officers reportedly revealed that they had pledged to “kill any journalist who set foot on Syrian soil”—resulting in the death of American journalist Marie Colvin and French photographer Rémi Ochlik on Wednesday, Britain’s Telegraph reported. Witnesses said Colvin and Ochlik were killed by a rocket-propelled grenade as they tried to exit a house used by foreign journalists. In intelligence intercepted by Lebanon, Syrian Army officers allegedly said they would target the journalists and then claim they had been killed in crossfire with “terrorist groups.” Meanwhile, U.K. Foreign Secretary William Hague said the British would “redouble their efforts” to end “Assad’s campaign of terror,” while French President Nicolas Sarkozy said, “Enough is enough. This regime must go.” London summoned its ambassador to Damascus in protest of the killing of Colvin, who was a correspondent for the Sunday Times.

A packed passenger train slammed into the end of the line Wednesday in Buenos Aires, killing 49 people and injuring about 600 hundred more who were in the midst of their morning commute. The train hit the barrier at the end of the track at about 16 mph, smashing the engine and crushing the next six cars. One car penetrated almost 20 feet into the one behind it. The accident is the worst in Argentina since 1970, when two trains collided at full speed in Buenos Aires, killing 200.

The FDA may be close to approving a new drug to fight obesity. An outside panel of experts voted 20–2 on Wednesday to recommend approval of the drug Qnexa even though the FDA had already rejected it because of safety concerns, saying the benefits outweigh the heart risks. The committee also recommended that the drug manufacturer, Vivus, conduct a study on potential side effects and suggested that pregnant women not take the drug. If the FDA approves the drug, it would be the first new prescription weight-loss drug in 13 years. The FDA, which is not bound by the panel's recommendation, will make a decision by April 17.

President Obama on Wednesday proposed cutting the corporate tax rate to 28 percent, but he said the elimination of many popular loopholes that companies enjoy would actually increase the amount paid to the federal government. Obama called the current U.S. tax code “outdated, unfair, and inefficient” as it famously allows many large companies to use loopholes to pay far less despite that its stated 35 percent sounds higher than many other countries. The plan also lowered the maximum rate for manufactures down to 25 percent and expanded some deductions, including for research and clean-energy tax credits. Mitt Romney countered with his own plan to cut taxes down 20 percent for individuals, and capping the individual income tax rate at 28 percent.

Virginia’s state House passed a revised measure on its controversial ultrasound bill Wednesday, after Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell said he didn’t support a law that required an invasive procedure. The new law mandates an external ultrasound before abortion, but doesn’t require a transvaginal ultrasound. McDonnell had previously indicated his support for the more invasive legislation, but backed down on Wednesday. “No person should be directed to undergo an invasive procedure by the state, without their consent, as a precondition to another medical procedure,” McDonnell said in a statement.

As the United Nations wrapped up its latest mission to Tehran and talks on the Middle Eastern country's nuclear programs faltered, the Republican presidential candidates tussled over who would do a better job than Barack Obama in reining in what they said is a rogue Iran. Newt Gingrich said that Iran’s leaders cannot be trusted, saying he would consider a preemptive strike against Iran if he thought Israel’s sovereignty and safety were threatened. Mitt Romney condemned Obama for not pursuing further sanctions against the Islamic Republic. Ron Paul called the hawks “risky and reckless,” and argued for talks, not sanctions and military action. Rick Santorum said Obama is “afraid to stand up to Iran.” When they came down to it, none of the candidates called for intervention in Syria. Apparently, they think Obama has not called on Assad to step down.

So much for interagency cooperation. Newark, N.J., officials said Wednesday they had no knowledge that the New York Police Department was investigating Muslims in their city. Mayor Cory Booker criticized the NYPD, saying it was wrong to profile people based solely on their religion. The NYPD had looked into various mosques and Muslim businesses in 2007, eventually compiling a 60-page report on Newark's Muslims. Newark Police Director Samuel DeMaio said the NYPD had asked to be shown around the city for an investigation, but didn't elaborate. DeMaio reiterated that Newark police wouldn't engage in that kind of activity.

Jurors have found former University of Virginia lacrosse player George Huguely guilty of second-degree murder in the 2010 death of his former girlfriend, Yeardley Love. After a two-week trial, the jury reached a verdict that sentences Huguely to up to 40 years in prison. An expert testifying in the trial last Tuesday said blunt-force trauma killed 22-year-old Love. She was found dead hours after Huguely kicked through her locked bedroom door to confront her about cheating and their deteriorating relationship. Huguely himself did not testify in the trial, though the jury heard from him through a videotaped statement he gave to police on the night of Love’s death.

Whitney Houston graced the cover of the National Enquirer Wednesday, but in a different way than usual: the paper ran a photo of Houston’s body in her coffin that was snapped by someone at a private viewing before her funeral. The paper does not say who took the photo, but speculation points to a family member with a cell phone. According to the Enquirer, Houston was wearing jewels worth $500,000 and gold slippers. The photo—uncensored version here—provoked outrage from Houston’s fans on Twitter after it was published Wednesday.

With one week to go before the crucial Michigan primary, Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum are deadlocked, according to a new NBC/Marist poll. Romney received two valuable endorsements Wednesday from Michigan newspapers. Acknowledging Romney’s family’s political history in the state, the editors of The Oakland Press insist that Romney deserves the votes of Michigan Republicans on his own merits and “unlike Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum and Ron Paul—we believe moderation is a virtue, not a vice at this delicate juncture in our nation's history.” The Detroit News editors urge their state’s Republicans to “go to the polls Tuesday with two missions: Pick a presidential candidate capable of leading this nation to prosperity and stability and choose a nominee who will give the GOP a fighting chance of defeating President Barack Obama this fall."

The Arizona Republican debate got off to a feisty start Wednesday evening as Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum went head-to-head on taxes and spending. Exchanging blows, Santorum accused Romney of taking up the rhetoric of Occupy Wall Street. “I’m going to represent 100 percent of Americans,” Santorum said. “We’re not raising taxes on anybody.” They also clashed on earmarks. Romney got a chance to fire back after Santorum gave a lengthy history of his earmarks, saying, “While I was fighting to save the Olympics, you were fighting to save the Bridge to Nowhere.” Santorum retorted that Mitt doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Meanwhile, Newt Gingrich (who’s still in the race, mind you) thinks that everyone’s just being foolish.

Flipping the bird on broadcast television seems to be a popular gesture among musicians these days—or at least an impromptu one. Picking up two awards at the Brit Awards ceremony in London on Tuesday, the lovely Adele flashed her middle finger when one of her acceptance speeches was cut short. “That was for the suits at the Brit Awards, not my fans,” the pop star bashfully exclaimed. “I’m sorry if I offended anyone, but the suits offended me.” The soulful “Rolling in the Deep” singer won the prize for best British album and best British female, capping a hugely successful year following her six Grammy wins last weekend.

President Obama is preparing to unveil a corporate-tax plan that would cut the rate businesses pay from 35 percent to 28 percent, senior administration officials tell The New York Times. Manufacturers would be given further incentives that would push their effective rate down to 25 percent. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, who has been working with Obama and other Treasury Department officials on the corporate-tax-reform plan for more than a year, told a Senate panel last week that they expect to find “common ground” on major principles between Republicans and Democrats in Washington.

Apparently the crackdown on corrupt mortgage firms isn’t working. According to a new nationwide survey published today by the National Association of Consumer Advocates, mortgagers are still initiating fraudulent foreclosure proceedings, either while homeowners await loan modification or by charging improper fees and making errors in the payment process. The National Consumer Law Center surveyed 260 consumer attorneys in 45 states and found that thousands of homeowners were improperly foreclosed on over the last year, and 66 percent of them had loans owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. “This survey provides yet more evidence that banks wrongfully foreclose on tens of thousands of homeowners every year,” said an attorney with NACA.

Say “au revoir” to “mademoiselle.” French Prime Minister François Fillon pleased women’s rights activists on Wednesday, granting a years-long campaign for the term to be eliminated from official documents in the country. The terms “madame” and “mademoiselle” appear on official French documents, requiring women to check one or the other, revealing their marriage status. The change will make only “madame” an option, doing away with what feminist groups called a condescending term for women on anything from a tax form to an election ballot. The only option for men is “monsieur,” and French does not have the neutral “Ms.” term that English uses.

Meet the super-donors. Super PACs, which can take unlimited donations, have given rise to a new type of political donor that is dominating the GOP primary race. Both The New York Times and The Washington Post lead with the example of Harold C. Simmons, a Texas businessman who has given more than $14 million to Republican super PACs this election. In January five donors gave a total of $19 million, accounting for a quarter of the money raised for the presidential race that month. So far it’s a Republican phenomenon, with Democratic donors giving relatively small amounts to their party’s super PACs.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez’s cancer may be worse than he’s letting on. Months after he underwent a second operation that he claimed cured him of cancer, he’s set to undergo another, to remove a possibly malignant lesion in his pelvis. In June Cuban doctors removed a “baseball-sized” tumor in Chávez’s abdominal area. He then went through chemotherapy and said he was cured. Chávez’s medical problems come just as the opposition has rallied behind Henrique Capriles to challenge the president’s 13-year rule.

President Obama is going to start getting requests at press conferences. Obama sang “Sweet Home Chicago” at a White House event last night. At first he seemed reluctant, but when blues legends B.B. King and Buddy Guy asked, the president obliged. “Come on!” said Obama when Guy asked. “You done started something. You gotta keep it up now,” said Guy. Last month Obama sang a bit of Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together” at a fundraiser.

Google is set to debut its most futuristic technology yet. Several Google employees say the company will begin selling augmented reality glasses by the end of the year. The glasses will have a small screen and a camera that will monitor the world in real time and overlay information about locations, nearby buildings, and friends who might be nearby. They’ll have a 3G or 4G data connection. The price tag is surprisingly cheap: $250 to $650. Google says the first glasses will be an experiment, and if consumers like them the company will then explore possible revenue streams.

The protests over Qurans burned at Bagram air base in Afghanistan show no signs of abating. At least four people have been killed and 20 injured in the second day of demonstrations. U.S. officials apologized for “inadvertently” putting the religious texts in an incinerator after they discovered Taliban prisoners were using them to pass messages to each other. NATO is investigating the incident. Last year, at least 24 people died in protests after an American pastor burned a Quran in Florida.

Everyone loves Ron Paul’s one-liners, and he didn’t disappoint in the early moments of tonight’s CNN debate. When asked by moderator John King why he called Rick Santorum a “fake” fiscal conservative in his new attack ad, Paul answered frankly: “Because he’s a fake.” The ad highlights some of the former Pennsylvania senator’s votes in Congress and points out that he voted five times to raise the nation’s debt ceiling. Santorum tried to defend himself, but in the end he can’t really compete with Paul’s fairly pristine fiscal record. Showing Paul his hands, Santorum joked, “I’m real, Ron. I’m real.”

A night at the spa turned tragic for four people in Atlanta on Tuesday, when a man walked in and shot four people before killing himself. About 20 people were inside the Su Jung Health Sauna in Norcross, a small town in the Atlanta metro area, when the gunman attacked. Police said the shooting was probably related to a domestic dispute, since there was evidence that the shooter was related to the spa’s Korean owner.

The mother of one of the journalists slain in Syria said her daughter had been planning to leave the country but stayed an extra day to finish reporting a story “she felt was very important.” Rosemarie Colvin told Newsday that her daughter, Sunday Times journalist Marie Colvin, was “totally dedicated to getting the story straight and getting it out.” Colvin and French photographer Rémi Ochlik were killed by shelling in Homs on Wednesday while two other journalists were wounded when rockets hit the house they were staying in. Very few foreign journalists have been allowed in Syria, and the Syrian government on Wednesday ordered all journalists who have “entered Syria illegally” to report to the nearest immigration center. Colvin and Ochlik had reportedly been smuggled into Syria.

Mitt Romney gave a sneak peek at his new and supposedly improved tax proposal while campaigning in Arizona on Wednesday. In a change from his original plan of maintaining the current top rate of 35 percent, Romney announced he would now cap the top individual income tax at 28 percent. Speaking in Arizona, Romney insisted that his new plan was not intended to benefit the 1 percent. “In order to limit any impact on the deficit, because I do not want to add to the deficit, and also to make sure we continue to have progressivity in our code, I’m going to limit the deductions and exemptions particularly for high-income folks,” he said. Romney is expected to elaborate more on his plan at tonight’s debate in Mesa, Ariz.

Following Kevin Rudd's resignation as foreign minister of Australia's Labor Party, a showdown is expected between him and the prime minister, Julia Gillard. Rudd, who announced his resignation early Wednesday morning during a visit to Washington, said he had stepped down because Gillard had failed to "repudiate" attacks by his colleagues, adding that he didn't support Gillard's run for reelection in 2013. Now it appears as though Rudd himself is planning to run for leadership against opposition leader Tony Abbott, though he won't announce the decision until he returns to Australia.

Donald Trump is at it again. Whether or not Mitt Romney wants his help, the real-estate mogul continues to do his part to campaign for his favorite presidential candidate. In an effort to round up support ahead of Michigan’s upcoming primary, Trump is lending his voice to a statewide automated phone call that denounces Rick Santorum’s claims of being a political outsider and boasts Romney as a hardworking, good man. Trump has also recorded a radio ad on behalf of Romney that will air in Michigan. 

Over a month after the Jan. 13 crash of the Costa Concordia cruise ship, eight more bodies were found by divers, bringing the death toll to 25. Seven people remain missing in the horrific crash that has brought about criminal manslaughter charges for the ship’s captain, Francesco Schettino. The bodies were found on the ship’s third and fourth decks, which had been submerged under watered and reportedly where the most desperate parts of the ship during the evacuation process, many passengers saying that those decks struggled to access life boats. The search continues following a delicate defueling process which many have criticized for having slowed the search for the missing.

So much for an easy resolution. After U.N. Officials declared their Iran mission a failure after leaving the country Russia warned Israel and the West against launching airstrikes on Iran. The Russians said attacks would be “catastrophic” and that Israel should “consider the consequences” before launching a military effort. The inspection team was blocked from visiting key sites and prevented from speaking with Iranian nuclear scientists during their visit. "We engaged in a constructive spirit, but no agreement was reached," said IAEA chief Yukiya Amano, who called the visit “disappointing.” Further ratcheting up tensions, hours before the inspection team left, Iranian Gen. Mohammed Hejaziwarned said that Iran will "not wait for enemies to take action against us."

The wife of former British prime minister Tony Blair filed a lawsuit against Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. as the company braces for the first civil trial to result from allegations of phone hacking. “If it is true that a former prime minister’s family have been targeted by Rupert Murdoch’s hackers, then it is clearly a significant moment in the scandal,” said a member of the parliamentary committee investigating the hacking cases. The phone-hacking scandal has already touched Blair’s inner circle, though not his family: News International, the British arm of News Corp., settled claims with Blair’s former press chief as well as the former deputy prime minister.

Next month, inspiring women leaders and activists from around the globe—including Nobel winner Leymah Gbowee, Angelina Jolie, Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg, Meryl Streep, Madeleine Albright, IMF chief Christine Lagarde, California Attorney General Kamala Harris, Israeli opposition leader Tzipi Livni, The New York Times’s Jill Abramson, president of Kosovo Atifete Jahjaga, Nancy Pelosi, and many more—will convene in New York City for Newsweek and The Daily Beast's third annual Women in the World Summit. Housed at Lincoln Center, the three-day event will spotlight the urgent challenges facing women today. From a Pakistani bride who fled the prospect of a cruel enforced marriage to crusade for marital rights to soap-opera writers transforming sexist societies; from female powerhouses in national security to the Egyptian blogger who’s covered a year of dashed hopes and turmoil for the women of Tahrir Square, the summit showcases women who are battling the status quo, picking up the pieces in the aftermath of war and shattering glass ceilings. The event will also feature performances by the star of Broadway’s Evita revival and a closing presentation by Oscar nominee Streep. Buy tickets and see our complete lineup of events.

Former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn walked out of a French police station Wednesday after two days of questioning. The French police, who are investigating a hotel-prostitution ring, said Strauss-Kahn will return to speak before judges who will rule on whether there is a basis for charges. Sources told the Associated Press that DSK spent the night in the police station in the northern city of Lille. According to French police, prostitutes questioned in the ongoing investigation alleged that they had sex with Strauss-Kahn in 2010 and 2011 at Paris hotels and in Washington, D.C. Strauss-Kahn’s lawyers said that he could not have known that the female attendees of orgies he frequented were prostitutes.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau launched its first big initiative Wednesday, announcing that it would look into the overdraft fees that banks charge their customers, a practice worth billions of dollars. The inquiry is to investigate the fees that an economic research firm, Moeb $ervices, say amount in up to $38 billion in revenue for banks in 2011. Banks charge up to $35 for each overdraft, enabling customers to overdraft but slapping a fee that, the firm said, is most hurtful to low-income individuals. A 2008 study found that 46 percent of young-adult account holders incurred overdraft charges. The CFPB is said to be seeking out a “penalty fee box” for customers’ account statements that would detail the total costs incurred due to overdrafts.

Jeremy Lin is laying the legal groundwork to become a superstar. On Feb. 13, in the midst of his incredible scoring streak that rejuvenated the New York Knicks and won him fans around the world, Lin’s lawyers filed an application with the U.S. patent office to trademark “Linsanity.” Lin was third in line behind two other applications, both by men in California with no ties to Lin. “We’re prepared to enforce his intellectual-property rights,” Lin’s lawyer said.

Mitt Romney’s not ready to give up his status as frontrunner just yet. Romney denied that his health-care plan ever mandated contraception in a feisty exchange with Rick Santorum. Earlier, moderator John King raised the question of birth control—eliciting boos from the audience. Meanwhile, the candidates were frothing at the mouth. Newt Gingrich immediately lashed out at King, demanding why moderators never asked President Obama about his vote as an Illinois senator for “infanticide.” He then called Obama a baby killer and said he was more of an extremist than any of the GOP candidates. Romney chimed in to say there’s never been an administration in America more opposed to religious freedom. Santorum argued that teen sexuality should be a reason why contraception shouldn’t be free, and then shifted his focus to defunding Planned Parenthood and fractured families.